Hey y’all! I know that it’s June when I’m finally getting out the March book reviews post 😅 Better late than never right? Don’t worry April book reviews is going to be posted right after this one is done. Life somehow got away from me and while I didn’t seem to accomplish my goal of having this new blog up and running in a timely manner to share these books as soon as I read them, I was still able to accomplish my goal of reading for at least an hour every night before going to sleep.
Because we are almost to the halfway point of the year (I can hardly believe how fast 2021 has gone by), how are you doing on your personal reading goals? I’m not going to lie (also spoiler 🤫), May found me slowing down tremendously on reading and it took a lot of effort to read every night with how exhausted I was from work.
March book reviews has it all, in my opinion. We covered a lot of different genres in the six books read during the month. We started off with a good mystery thriller and moved into rom-coms for a while, taking a sharp turn into an emotional historical fiction, and finishing off the month with some contemporary fiction and historical fiction based off real people and events.
Enough of me rambling over my life, let’s delve into what each book is about and my thoughts on them!
The Survivors – Jane Harper
Jane Harper’s newest novel, The Survivors follows Kieran as he returns home for the first time in years to help his family pack up his childhood home. When a girl goes missing from the town, he is brought back to when his brother and two others went missing. Forced to finally face the guilt he’s been carrying for years about that day, he tries to help the town find this missing girl and also gets answers for what happened on that day years ago.
I first saw this book as a Book of the Month option for January and was torn between getting this book or The Dating Plan. I’ve never read on of Harper’s books, but after reading this one, I’m definitely interested in reading more by here. I loved that this book was set in a small town in Tasmania and the setting of the town was perfect for the personal turmoil everyone was going through. There were twists and turns throughout the whole novel and it was tricky to figure out what exactly happened not only with the girl going missing, but also what happened on the fateful day years ago.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Shipped – Angie Hockman
Angie Hockman’s debut novel, Shipped is an entertaining rom-com following Henley, who is juggling earning her MBA and trying to get a promotion at her marketing job for a cruise line. The only catch? She has to go on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands with Graeme, who is also up for the promotion, and they have to compete on who makes the best campaign pitch for the Galapagos Islands cruise.
I came across this book as the March pick for the Ashley Brooke Book Club, and there’s so much about this book to love. First off, the imagery you come across for the tropical island is incredible. Who doesn’t want to escape to the Galapagos in a novel. I also loved the banter between Henley and Graeme. Hockman really showed the struggle Henley goes through being a woman in a corporate setting and having her ideas brushed aside by her male boss. The plot twist at the end was definitely not expected, but I love the way she concluded the work storyline. My only disappointment was I wish we could’ve seen more of Henley and Graeme’s relationship, especially at the end of the story.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The Proposal – Jasmine Guillory
The Proposal is the second book of Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date series. This book follows Nikole, a freelance writer, breaking up with her actor boyfriend during his proposal. The catch? He proposed to her in front of an entire stadium during a Dodger’s game. Carlos is a doctor who is a witness to this disaster proposal and helps Nikole escape the crowd. They decide to enter a casual friends with benefits relationship, but what happens when one of them wants more out of the relationship?
I’ve heard so many amazing things about Guillory’s books and I couldn’t wait to finally read one. Similar to The Dating Plan, I did’t realize it was part of a series, but the only way it affected the storyline was the first book focused on one of Nik’s friends and they briefly mentioned the development of her relationship in this book. Another easy romcom read that I enjoyed. I’m excited to read the other books in her series and she has a new book in the series coming out this July!
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The Four Winds – Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah’s newest novel (easily one of the most anticipated books of 2021), follows Elsa during The Great Depression in Texas. After ruining her reputation, she moves in with the family of a man she had only met that summer and ended up getting married to and helping out on their family farm. Finally feeling a part of the family, she throws her life into helping out on the farm until the Depression rolls across the country. With her marriage also falling apart, she must make the decision to stay and fight through the struggles of farm life or move to California for a better life for her two children.
This was my first Kristin Hannah novel to read and it did not disappoint. Most people are trying to compare this book to the pandemic we are at the end of, but The Great Depression was by far much worse than what we just went through. There are some who are trying to point out that Hannah is trying to make a political statement with this novel, but I read it as a woman fighting every single day to provide and feed her family. Having to make difficult decisions to move away from her support system and venture out on her own with a son who almost died from dirt dust and a teenage daughter who blames her for everything that is happening. I recommend this book to any historical fiction lovers, but be warned, it does bring on the tears at the end.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Honey Girl – Morgan Rogers
Honey Girl is the debut novel for Morgan Rogers that follows Grace Porter as she completes her PhD and tries to figure out the real world. Torn between wanting to please her military father and wanting to follow her passion, she ends up getting married to a woman during a drunk night celebrating her graduation in Vegas. Struggling to figure out what she wants to do with her life, she leaves Portland for the summer to live in New York City with her new wife.
So many things about this book to love, but mostly I love how it I went into it thinking it was a romance novel between Grace and Yuki. However, it ended up being a story about Grace trying to find her footing in the world after spending her entire life in school. This book is so relatable to many of us who complete our degrees and then have to figure out the path we want to travel to begin our careers. This story line and the relatability to it is the reason I ended up loving this book and giving it a five star rating.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The Paris Library – Janet Skeslien Charles
The Paris Library is a historical fiction novel flipping between Odile in Paris, 1939 and Lily in Montana, 1983. One is a young adult with her dream job at the American Library and falling in love with a Parisian officer and one is a teenager navigating through life while dealing with a close death in the family. Lily begins to learn more about life while becoming friends with Odile and learning the stories of bravery and betrayal during World War II.
For me the back and forth of times is a hit or miss for me, but for this novel it helped move it along quickly. I was so intrigued to learn more about the resistance from the Library during World War II and was so excited to learn that besides the main characters, the characters from the library are actually people that worked at the library during World War II. For any World War II fan or historical fiction fans, this novel is a must read as you turn each page trying to figure out how Odile got from Paris in 1939 to Montana in 1983.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Well there you go! My reviews for the books read in March. Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments below if you have or what books you’ve recently read that you loved.
March Book Stats
Books: 6//Pages: 2,108//Own: 1//Library: 5
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