March was a pretty strange month here in our house. I finally had a long overdue shoulder surgery the second week of the month. I really thought that my healing time would equal lots and lots of reading, but honestly I didn’t really feel up to it most of the time. Books were too difficult to hold and turn the pages and while I have plenty to read on my Kindle, I just didn’t really have the attention span that I thought I would. I did read some, but it certainly wasn’t a blowout reading month that I thought it would be. No five stars for me this month, several in the four range, and the rest were OK too. There really was only one that I thought was blah and you’ll see that at the bottom.
I’m still home and not doing too much as my shoulder continues to heal. I’ve been picking up my reading pace as my interest in television has been diminishing. I have a feeling April will be a stronger month and I’ve already started one that I am loving. I am hoping to get back to my 2023 reading goals TBR list, so we will see how that progresses as well.
Here are the 9 book I read in March.
Yours Truly – Abby Jimenez
This is only the second book I’ve read by Abby Jimenez, and while not a sequel, it contains some of the same characters that were in Part of Your World. I thought this one would probably be a little more rom-com-ish, but there really wasn’t a lot of comedy in the plot at all. With that said, there were a few very funny scenes (one made me seriously laugh out loud), and both main characters had a great sense of humor. But this is a serious book about serious issues, specifically, anxiety. I really appreciated how well this tough topic was discussed and I think it was very accurately portrayed showing how debilitating it can be. I did get a little tired of the trope-iness of the trope and felt that that could’ve progressed a little bit faster, but I get it. Overall, a very good read and I’m glad I made time for it. Bri & Jacob are great characters. Hat tip to the author for the Forward discussing possible content triggers. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever, Grand Central Publishing for an early release copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Yours Truly will be released on 4/11/2023 (although I have seen some reports that is available early now in many locations).
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The Maid’s Diary – Loreth Anne White
The Maid’s Diary is a high suspense and twisty read in multiple POVs. Kit Darling is a maid with wealthy clients that live in high-end luxury homes. She is a bit of a snooper and uncovers the secrets of her clients. Mix that up with a stressed out detective, an unreliable witness, and a cast of characters that are quite frankly horrible people and you’ve got a pretty good read. Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for a free e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Maid’s Diary is now available.
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The Soulmate – Sally Hepworth
The Soulmate is a very fast paced, high tension, family drama/thriller-ish book that can easily be read in one day. Difficult to put down, we meet Pippa and Gabe who live amongst a cliff overlooking top the ocean. This particular cliff has quite the reputation for jumpers and Gabe has quite the reputation for helping people decide not to jump. The plot and suspense take off quickly and continues through the last page. Fairly entertaining. Thank you to NetGalley and Saint Martin’s press for an early release e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Soulmate is now available.
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Hello Beautiful – Ann Napolitano
Hello Beautiful is a slower paced, character driven novel that centers around William, a young man that struggles deeply from mental health issues stemming from a horrible, neglected childhood. He becomes enveloped in a family of four daughters after meeting Julia at college. It’s a very sad novel and at times it’s almost a little too slow for me. But I was deeply invested in Williams’s story and was rooting for his journey towards better mental health and breaking a cycle. I didn’t love all of the characters all of the time and some of the choices they made but overall it is a very good read. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House publishing for an early release e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Hello Beautiful is now available.
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The Kind Worth Saving – Peter Swanson
The Kind Worth Saving was a highly anticipated read for me this year, it’s a follow up sequel to The Kind Worth Killing, which is one of the darkest, twistiest, thrillers I have read and I loved it. This one was pretty good, and I did like it quite a bit but I have to say it did not match up where I thought it would be. If you want to give it a try, I would definitely read The Kind Worth Killing first. There are definitely some triggers in here making it one that some may want to skip.
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One Night Only – Catherine Walsh
One night only is a fairly light romcom. That is a great palate cleanser between the serious books. This is the second book I have read by Catherine Walsh, and once again takes place mostly in Ireland, although it does start off in New York. I enjoyed Sarah and Declan‘s story and look forward to reading more from this author. One Night Only is a cute, light romance that is not too steamy.
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Blood Sugar – Sascha Rothchild
I was a bit intrigued by this one as I saw it pop up around it’s publication date with many of my online book friends raving about it. It had a weird title and a bright colorful cover. I didn’t completely understand the title until fairly far into the book but overall, it was not quite what I anticipated. It did have a very strong start but fizzled a bit. I listened to the audio version, perhaps reading the book would’ve been a better fit.
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Good for You – Camille Pagan
Good For You was a quick, enjoyable story that was OK for me. I never became fully invested in the storyline or characters. Main themes were grief, past abuse and love. I found Aly’s strong aversion to swearing odd. Go figure. Despite the cover, this is not a fluff read.
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The Love of My Life – Rosie Walsh
Another fairly entertaining story that I liked, but that’s about it. I had trouble connecting with the characters on a deeper level and honestly didn’t care a lot about what happened. Emma and Leo are married and have a young child name Ruby. When Emma becomes seriously ill, her husband, Leo, starts researching and writing about his wife’s life and learns very quickly that she’s not what she says she is.
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The Villa – Rachel Hawkins
And here was my dud for the month. I have enjoyed other books by Rachel Hawkins, but this one was not fit for me. Unlikable characters wrapped in a story that I cared nothing about. If you were to skip one from this list, this might be it.
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