March was a great month for getting ahead in my challenges.

#52bookclub25 - 11
#bookchain2025 - 8
#litsyAtoZ - 6
#chunksters - 3
#mounttbr - 15

Bloodlands was my top read and I just bought Snyder‘s On Freedom which I‘m excited to dive into.

I commend Shari for sharing her story and working toward changing laws in order to protect children like her family. A tragic story.

Different than what I thought (in that Isles doesn‘t appear at all), and not like the tv show (yet), but I found it a fun read and will continue the series. Very bingeable.

There‘s something for everyone here: suspense, relationships, culture, &laughs. Nura is a matchmaker who runs her company w/ professionalism &passion. Yet not everyone seems to be thrilled w/ her work as threatening letters &her clients nuptials are sabotaged.

It becomes a balancing act as Nura attempts to run her business, find the culprit, accept the changing dynamics between her &her BFF Azur, &stay present in meaningful ways for her family.

I bought this over a decade ago, and it‘s been sitting on my shelf since then. It felt like the right time to pick it up and I‘m so glad I did. It‘s packed with history and information but in a way that‘s easily absorbable.

Displaying Ashton‘s signature humor, The Fourth Consort takes place in outer space in a sci-fi light comedy. A short and quick read. Enjoyable but I did wish for a little more substance.

⭐️⭐️💫

#arc

Decent story but too slow for me. I enjoyed the ending though.

I really wish French would continue her Dublin Murder Squad series as it‘s one of my favorite.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Representation is so important. As is my continued education on diverse topics. This is a great intro graphic novel to genders and one person‘s journey and self-discovery.

I enjoyed getting a glimpse into Tibble‘s world and being exposed to indigenous life in New Zealand through her poetry.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#newzealand #maori #readtheworld2025

I enjoyed this domestic thriller which focuses on a married couple who seems perfect on TV is slowly cracking behind the scenes until a a dark secret is revealed between the two and Dawn takes off with their twins. This was fast paced, twisty and a fun ride. My only wish is that Dawn has been made a stronger character as she often made poor decisions they seemed fairly obvious.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#arc

While there are parts of this that require you to suspend disbelief, I Did Something Bad is so much more than just a romance with a hint of suspense. I would argue this is more about friendships, focusing on trust and belief, finding oneself, and even a bit of social justice issues.

I enjoyed getting to know the culture of Myanmar as I knew little outside of the civil unrest and armed conflict. ⬇️

#ReadTheWorld2025 #myanmar

The 30+ years between when it was published and now is evident, but I enjoyed it for the most part and plan on continuing the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Picking up where Bk 1 ends, we‘re thrust back into the world of Phoebe & Rocky as they & their family work a con in a CT town. As always in a Ritchie novel, I enjoyed the closeness & dynamics between the characters & their families.

At over 500 pgs, this never felt long as it was entertaining & the writing flows easily. Yet much of it also felt like it was largely filler, preparing us for the finale next book. Not a lot happens until the end.
3⭐️

I think the bones of this book are great; however, the execution needed work. It reminds me a lot of the French movie He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. I guessed the twist but it was still enjoyable to read.

Claire is engaged to Noah, a seemingly perfect fiancé, until he stops answering her calls &has a new gf. Confused &angry, Claire is determined to figure out what happened, but things begin to go off the rails the more she tries 2 find the truth.

While some essays were stronger than others, overall this was a great compilation of essays covering the past few years and focusing on feminism, climate change, and other social issues.

While def a romance, this is really a story of a woman taking back her power &rediscovering herself. Ella is divorcing her husband/music producer &in doing so, begins to regain her independence. There is a great cast of supporting characters, specifically Ella‘s friends &lawyer, & a great leading man, Miles. I loved that Miles wasn‘t afraid to be open &honest, showing emotions &having deep conversations. I also loved seeing Ella put herself first.

A good debut novel focusing on a woman who feels lost and finds herself in a toxic relationship where she can‘t help but romanticize the man she is with. I found the writing similar to Dolly Alderton and the story one that many will relate to at some point in their lives.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A lot of DNFs this month made it so I didn‘t read as many books as I hoped, but the I really enjoyed most of the others I read.

8 Books
2,522 Pages

#52bookclub25 - 6 books
#bookchain2025 - 4 books
#litsyAtoZ - #letterL #letterD #letterR

A lot of things in here that I never learned in school.

Super entertaining and nostalgic feeling of all the YA fantasy tropes I use to read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Picking up where March leaves off, a blend of history and memoir of Lewis‘ time with the Civil Rights Movement. An incredibly important read.

#votersrights #civilrights

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really liked the plot of this novel, an investigative author who goes to a small town to research and write about an old orphanage where abuse and a possible murder occurred. While those connected to the past begin mysteriously dying.

What made me really struggle with this book was the main character, Alex. She was a very unlikeable character to me. In short, I found her annoying.

This is a hard one to rate. On the one hand, there were lots of chapters that I really enjoyed and wanted to see more of (essentially a woman finding and losing then finding herself again all the while dealing with different types of love), but on the other hand, a lot of this felt unnecessarily risqué, and I wasn‘t sure how it helped move the plot forward. It pulled me from what I felt was the heart of the story.

I always love learning about trailblazing women &Goddard was certainly that. Her story has both triumph & tragedy, & her impact on the criminal justice system is still seen today.

There is a lot of the author‘s personal story intertwined throughout which I found an interesting decision given that she did not know Goddard & wasn‘t from the same generation. I commend her for being so open but did feel it took away from the flow & focus of the book.

It‘s surprising to me this was only recently translated to English given what an important addition it is to Holocaust history and memoirs. Debreczeni not only provides more insight into the concentration camps, he sheds light on the hierarchical structure that was present there. A difficult read but one I am glad I did as I continue to educate myself on the past.

#holocaust #hungary #wwii

Fun workplace, friendship-to-enemies-to-lovers romance with a bit of heart. I felt Grace could be a little immature at times but I really like Eric‘s character.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#arc

Humorous &thought-provoking, we follow Tilda after being diagnosed w/invisibility, an illness seen in middle-aged women where they literally begin disappearing.

Tilda refuses to believe there isn‘t a cure. She starts a journey of self-discovery. There were times my heart ached for Tilda × I was chortling along w/her.

I loved the theme of the book, the idea of seeing one‘s self, of seeing others, &having a supportive community surround you.

Read a lot of great books in January and got good head starts on my challenges!

14 Books
4,757 Pages

Top Reads
Caste
Needy Little Things
Heavy is the Head

Challenges
#52bookclub25 : 9
#bookchain2025: 3
#litsyAtoZ: 8
Countries: 6 (2 New)
Mount TBR: 14

#januaryreads

I thought there was some good information and advice in here although there were times I felt it slightly redundant or long. Still, worth a read for anyone who feels they have perfectionist tendencies.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#arc

Kept me guessing the whole time! The suspense was kept high and I thought three POVs worked really well.

I figured out part of it pretty quickly, but was stumped by the rest. Enjoyed the twisty ending even if a little unbelievable.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#arc

Powerful and moving. A great book of contemporary poetry.

#southafrica #readtheworld2025

An important, challenging, angering, heartbreaking, thought-provoking, educational book. It should be mandatory reading for everybody.

I will be thinking about what I learned in this book for a long time.

The whole time I thought I had all the twists figured out and so I was pleasantly surprised at how many I got wrong or didn‘t see coming!

Ok so is this totally cheesy and predictable? Yes. But did I love it anyway? Also, yes. Sometimes you just need that book to escape into and this was that for me.

3.25⭐️

#arc

Claire returns home to her small town after years away to help solve the murder of a teen girl in a way eerily similar to her sister‘s all those years ago. Using her skills gained during her time as a homicide detective in Detroit, Claire hopes she can close this case &move on. However, when another girl is killed &more suspicious activity arises, she realizes more sinister things have been happening for years on the island than most realize.
#arc

I read very little YA anymore & even less magical realism/speculative fiction, but the blurb for this book sounded intriguing & Desamours knocked it out of the park. I can‘t believe this is a debut.

This is pact with so much: friendship &family relationships, mystery & a teen‘s disappearance, racial inequality, mental health, chronic illness, and the unique gift Sariyah has to hear people‘s needs. Yet even so, it all fits & is balanced perfectly.

In a very dramatic novel with more than one character suffering some form of mental health issues, it‘s surprising this was written so long ago, as outside of the setting, parts of this could have been taking place in present day.

#CaPBuddyRead

Thank you for the tag @Sace

1. Texting w/ a friend I recently reconnected with
2. Face masks
3. Having time to read 🙂
4. Saw a great play about love and loss
5. The colder weather!

#5joysFridays

Thanks for hosting @DebinHawaii ! It‘s a great way to reflect on the good that happened during the week.

Cryptic letters, multiple bombings, & much more weave itself into this mystery of NOVA‘s first case: climate terrorism. There are a few good twists & some racing against the clock to solve the case before it‘s too late.

This book does take a bit to get into as the pacing is inconsistent & there are so many POVs (which change w/in the chapter, making it hard to track).

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#arc #sweeden

Originally written between 1939-1973 and translated from Danish, this collection of poems by famed author Tove Ditlevsen reminds me that though times and places may change, so much of what we feel and love stays the same. These poems could have been written last year and I would have believed it. Ditlevsen taps into the hopefulness of youth, the anguish of growing old(er), and the ruins of love in a way that hit close to home more than once.

#arc

I think how interesting you‘ll find this will depend on your previous knowledge about Pablo Escobar and/or how he was ultimately caught/taken down. There‘s a lot of details in here but if you‘ve read another Escobar book or seen a documentary (or even the TV Show Narcos), this won‘t be new information.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flowery prose & soulmates across time are at the heart of this. Arden &Evelyn are fated 2be together in every lifetime; however, they‘re also destined 2 kill each other in each one.

The past lives were interesting & varied, but the callback 2them in present time made it a little redundant to the past lives chapters.

I enjoyed the mystery of why they had 2die before their 18th bday & only wish the reason would have been a little more fleshed out.

Last book of 2024!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Even with less than 100 pages, Backman can infuse a story with depth and emotion.

Lawhon does a great job choosing badass women of history and bringing their stories to light. This story has it all: an independent, fierce woman who demands respect, a romance that shines, the tragedies of war, and heartbreak.

3.75⭐️

This one took me a bit to get into, but it did start to pick up mid way through. Alderton has a nice blend of introspection and humor in her writing that makes her characters feel real.

Soft pick. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#botm

This suffered from trying to be too much by throwing in all the tropes instead of focusing on a few & really fleshing them out (there‘s workplace romance, grumpy vs. sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, male MC has kids (nieces), toxic ex, toxic parents…). Most had limited page time & I forgot they were a part of the story after they popped up.

It was a little too sugary sweet for my taste, but if you enjoy those stories, then you‘ll like this one.

⭐️⭐️

I‘m not sure why I didn‘t DNF this. The main character, the plot, and the writing (so many similes) grated on my nerves throughout. I was curious about why the Swarm was created, but the answer left me unsatisfied.

⭐️

#arc

Cute and quirky with some moments of poignancy and ardency.

3.5⭐️

There‘s nothing I love more than to escape into a NA sports romance when I want to avoid the world. This fit the bill &delivered what I was hoping. Both Sage &Eli are athletes from different backgrounds but have more in common than what it 1st looks like. When they agree to fake date, what starts out as a mutually beneficial agreement turns into more (& w/their chemistry, they should have seen it coming). Equal parts humorous, heartfelt, &cute.