Hoohoo, friends of the blade.
No, I’m not having a full wrap up this month. I had that post almost finished when I managed to delete it all… without back up. Yeah.
And I do not want to type that all out again, sorry. I just… don’t want to. So here, have a little life update instead: I’m stuck at home with covid, March was super stressful and at this point, I don’t even know anymore. I just don’t.
I read a total of 7 books in March, two of which were 5 sword reads! I loved The Red Palace by June Hur, as well as Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle (review). I also really enjoyed Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean! And even though I always say I don’t like crime stories, I read two in March! Next to The Red Palace I also read One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus and liked it!
Probably not my favourites, but I still enjoyed An Escape to Provence by Sophie Claire (review), mostly for how it captures Provence’s spirit and atmosphere, and His Banana by Penelope Bloom which was such a fun read!
My last read in March was Scorpica by G.R. Macallister (review) which I had a hard time with but still thought it enjoyable.
I’d also like to show you some of the amazing blog posts by other bloggers I read last month but alas, I deleted those and didn’t save them anywhere else, I’m so mad with myself! So that’s it with the little wrap up and we can continue on to the March Book Haul.
BOOK HAUL
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys – way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn’t change, even if she wanted to.
So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia’s firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love-and sexuality-never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
The Atlas #1
The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few…
– Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.
– Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.
– Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.
– Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.
– Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.
When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #1
The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.
But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
Elements of Cadence #1
Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.
As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.
Worlds Collide by Anabelle Stehl
Worlds #1
Fiona hat es geschafft: Sie ist eine der erfolgreichsten Beauty-YouTuberinnen Englands, reist von Event zu Event und wird schon bald eine eigene Make-up-Linie herausbringen. Aber ihr Leben war nicht immer glamourös. Aufgewachsen in einer finanziell schwachen Familie nutzt sie ihre Reichweite, um anderen zu helfen. Ihr gutes Image gerät ins Wanken, als YouTuber Demian einen Skandal aufdeckt, in den Fiona unfreiwillig verwickelt ist. Bei einer Convention will sie ihren guten Ruf retten … doch dann sitzt bei einem Panel ausgerechnet Demian neben ihr.
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
Lahore, Pakistan. Then.
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Cloud’s Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.
Juniper, California. Now.
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.
Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.
When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.
The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska
It’s Karnawał season in the snow-cloaked Kingdom of Lechija, and from now until midnight when the church bells ring an end to Devil’s Tuesday time will be marked with wintry balls and glittery disguises, cavalcades of nightly torch-lit “kuligi” sleigh-parties.
Unbeknownst to the oblivious merrymakers, two monsters join the fun, descending upon the royal city of Warszów in the guise of two innocent girls. Newfound friends and polar opposites, Zosia and Marynka seem destined to have a friendship that’s stronger even than magic. But that’s put to the test when they realize they both have their sights set on Lechija’s pure-hearted prince. A pure heart contains immeasurable power and Marynka plans to bring the prince’s back to her grandmother in order to prove herself. While Zosia is determined to take his heart and its power for her own.
When neither will sacrifice their ambitions for the other, the festivities spiral into a wild contest with both girls vying to keep the hapless prince out of the other’s wicked grasp. But this isn’t some remote forest village, where a hint of stray magic might go unnoticed, Warszów is the icy capital of a kingdom that enjoys watching monsters burn, and if Zosia and Marynka’s innocent disguises continue to slip, their escalating rivalry might cost them not just the love they might have for each other, but both their lives.
Sonnenkönig, Pechrabe by Kai Spellmeier
Edward Arden liebt nicht nur Männer, sondern lässt sich von ihnen auch großzügig für ein paar sinnliche Stunden bezahlen – und schwebt damit im London des 19. Jahrhunderts in ständiger Gefahr. Als Lord Frederick Francis Melville ihn dann auch noch verdächtigt, wertvolle Juwelen gestohlen zu haben, spitzt sich die Situation zu. Doch die beiden stellen schnell fest, dass sie sich gegenseitig behilflich sein können.
Edwards queeres Leben mit Affären, Freiern und bunten Partys fasziniert Freddy, doch obwohl der junge Adelige Gefühle für Edward entwickelt, ist sein Lebensweg fest vorbestimmt: Verlobung, Hochzeit, Kinder. Die gesellschaftlichen Grenzen des 19. Jahrhunderts machen den Liebenden zu schaffen und bedrohen sogar ihr Leben. Wird ihre Liebe überdauern oder an der Realität zerbrechen?
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
When Margaret Welty spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. Whoever is able to kill the hala will earn fame and riches, and unlock an ancient magical secret. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, only teams of two can register, and she needs an alchemist.
Weston Winters isn’t an alchemist–yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he’s landed, his last chance hinges on Master Welty taking him in. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, he finds only Margaret and her bloodhound Trouble. Margaret begrudgingly allows him to stay, but on one condition: he must join the hunt with her.
Although they make an unlikely team, Wes is in awe of the girl who has endured alone on the outskirts of a town that doesn’t want her, in this creaking house of ghosts and sorrow. And even though Wes disrupts every aspect of her life, Margaret is drawn to him. He, too, knows what it’s like to be an outsider. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt – if they survive that long.
Solitaire by Alice Oseman
In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story.
My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.
Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.
I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.
I really don’t.
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. You probably think that they are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and she is a girl. They don’t. They make a podcast. In a world determined to shut them up, knock them down, and set them on a cookie cutter life path, Frances and Aled struggle to find their voices over the course of one life-changing year. Will they have the courage to show everyone who they really are? Or will they be met with radio silence?
Pretending by Holly Bourne
April is kind, pretty, and relatively normal – yet she can’t seem to get past date five. Every time she thinks she’s found someone to trust, they reveal themselves to be awful, leaving her heartbroken. And angry.
If only April could be more like Gretel.
Gretel is exactly what men want – she’s a Regular Everyday Manic Pixie Dream Girl Next Door With No Problems.
The problem is, Gretel isn’t real. And April is now claiming to be her.
As soon as April starts ‘being’ Gretel, dating becomes much more fun – especially once she reels in the unsuspecting Joshua.
Finally, April is the one in control, but can she control her own feelings? And as she and Joshua grow closer, how long will she be able to keep pretending?
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.
Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.
Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?
And that was my March Book Haul! Remember how I said I didn’t like to read crime? Well, guess which of these books I’m currently reading (and enjoying). I’m really excited to read all of these books. Except for the two Alice Oseman books which I’ve read already and which are two of my all time favourite books and I just wanted them in this edition.
What does your March Book Haul look like? Which books did you get last month? Do you enjoy reading crime and thrillers?
Until next time,
