March Wrap Up

hoohoo, friends of the blade,

and welcome to my monthly wrap up!

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PERSONAL LIFE

Eugh, I can’t remember anything of what happened in March. I feel like the month just passed right in front of me and in a blink, it was gone. I got a new bed and now I just need some of my stuff from home and rearrange my room. I don’t think there’s anything truly exciting to tell? Wow. What has my life become.

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BOOKS I’VE READ

The Last Sorceress by Bonnie Wynne
The Price of Magic #5

One sorceress fractured the world. Two may be enough to doom it.
Gwyn’s victory against the risen dead has come at a terrible cost.
Aranor has fallen. In the capital, another sorceress rules from a stolen throne. Survivors of the demon war flock to Ailbhe Ahriddin’s cause – and at her side: Alcide, captured and bound, his royal blood the key to enacting Ailbhe’s ultimate scheme.
Scarred by loss and the choices she’s made, Gwyn now holds Alcide’s fate – and the fate of the world – in her bloodstained hands. As she struggles to unite a broken continent, ancient enemies begin to align, testing their powers against her own.
Lives will be lost and sacrifices made as the final battle looms. And in her darkest moment, the Ninth Sorceress will face an unthinkable choice.
Because magic comes with a price. But is it a price Gwyn is ready to pay?

I loved this book, as I did the previous ones! I simply love Wynne’s imagination and her world building and I loved being there for Gwyn’s journey and her development. Read my full review of The Last Sorceress here.

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless-and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.
On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She’s eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt-and so unbelievably beautiful, he can’t focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past. Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he’s sucked further into Hallie’s orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian’s gray-scale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there’s something so familiar about her… and her very presence is turning his world upside down.

This was enjoyable but in my opinion just okay. It was fun and easy to read and it was the perfect book to get my mind off real life things.

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.
Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.
Code name: Fortune.
But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.
To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. Chloe Gong really knows how it’s done. The intrigue, the murder mystery, the romantic tension… just *chef’s kiss*, this is what I’m here for. Turns and twists and action and whip sharp conversations, smart characters, big scale and personal conflicts, this book has it all! Loved it, 10/10.

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.
After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.
But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
Including Ivan Lukov.

This is slow burn slow burn huh. I really, really liked this book and how much it focused on the individual characters and making them come to life. There is so much space for everyone to develop. I was at times skipping paragraphs of Jasmine’s inner monologues and back and forths, but in general I loved how detailed this story was. I definitely did not like Ivan’s nickname for Jasmine because wtf.

Mistakes were Made by Meryl Wilsner

When Cassie Klein goes to an off-campus bar to escape her school’s Family Weekend, she isn’t looking for a hookup—it just happens. Buying a drink for a stranger turns into what should be an uncomplicated, amazing one-night stand. But then the next morning rolls around and her friend drags her along to meet her mom—the hot, older woman Cassie slept with.
Erin Bennett came to Family Weekend to get closer to her daughter, not have a one-night stand with a college senior. In her defense, she hadn’t known Cassie was a student when they’d met. To make things worse, Erin’s daughter brings Cassie to breakfast the next morning. And despite Erin’s better judgement—how could sleeping with your daughter’s friend be anything but bad?—she and Cassie get along in the day just as well as they did last night.
What should have been a one-time fling quickly proves impossible to ignore, and soon Cassie and Erin are sneaking around. Worst of all, they start to realize they have something real. But is being honest about the love between them worth the cost?

I highly enjoyed this book! It mixes age gap and forbidden romance and makes it queer and it works so well. I liked Cassie and Erin together, they were so sweet with each other. I also liked the focus on friendships. And yeah, the sex scenes were also good even though there were almost too many of them. And the book probably has one of my favourite endings, I truly loved how it was wrapped up.

Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood

Under One Roof
An environmental engineer discovers that scientists should never cohabitate when she finds herself stuck with the roommate from hell—a detestable big-oil lawyer who won’t leave the thermostat alone.
Stuck with You
A civil engineer and her nemesis take their rivalry—and love—to the next level when they get stuck in a New York elevator.
Below Zero
A NASA aerospace engineer’s frozen heart melts as she lies injured and stranded at a remote Arctic research station and the only person willing to undertake the dangerous rescue mission is her longtime rival.

I loved these stories! I just really like Ali Hazelwood’s humor and how she writes her rival/enemies to lovers stories. Even on these few pages, she captures cute romances with fun and upbeat words that make my heart sing.

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley

Mariel Spark is prophesied to be the most powerful witch seen in centuries of the famed Spark family, but to the displeasure of her mother, she prefers baking to brewing potions and gardening to casting hexes. When a spell to summon flour goes very wrong, Mariel finds herself staring down a demon—one she inadvertently summoned for a soul bargain.
Ozroth the Ruthless is a legend among demons. Powerful and merciless, he drives hard bargains to collect mortal souls. But his reputation has suffered ever since a bargain went awry—if he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he will earn back his deadly reputation. Ozroth can’t leave Mariel’s side until they complete a bargain, which she refuses to do (turns out some humans are attached to their souls).
But the witch is funny. And curvy. And disgustingly yet endearingly cheerful. Becoming awkward roommates quickly escalates when Mariel, terrified to confess the inadvertent summoning to her mother, blurts out that she’s dating Ozroth. As Ozroth and Mariel struggle with their opposing goals and maintaining a fake relationship, real attraction blooms between them. But Ozroth has a limited amount of time to strike the deal, and if Mariel gives up her soul, she’ll lose all her emotions—including love—which will only spell disaster for them both.

This was really cute but it also felt a bit like playing Sims 4: Realm of Magic with Lego games humor mixed in. It was colorful and fun and I simply couldn’t take anyone serious. I loved the plant magic and how Mariel grows with it and shows everyone what she’s capable of. I imagined Ozroth to be grumpier and broodier than he was, but he was kind of cute. It was a quick read that I enjoyed but didn’t love.

Rude Girl by Birgit Weyhe

In Zeiten der Globalisierung können wir uns überall hinbewegen, von überall arbeiten, überall leben – gesetzt den Fall, wir haben die passende Hautfarbe, ausreichend Bildung und am wichtigsten: den richtigen Pass. Im Rahmen eines Austauschprogramms unterrichtete die weiße Birgit Weyhe aus Deutschland an einem US-College. Während einer Tagung amerikanischer Germanist*innen im Mittleren Westen wird sie mit dem Vorwurf der kulturellen Aneignung konfrontiert. Nutzt sie ihre Privilegien als weiße Autorin aus, wenn sie Geschichten über Schwarze Menschen erzählt?
Sie lernt Priscilla Layne, eine afroamerikanische Germanistik-Professorin mit karibischen Wurzeln kennen. Sie ist ein „Oreo“: zu weiß für die Schwarzen Mitschüler*innen und für die Weißen ist ihre Haut zu dunkel. Sie beschließt gegen alle und alles gleichzeitig zu rebellieren, indem sie sich in ihrer Jugend der Skinhead-Bewegung anschließt und zu einem Rude Girl wird.
Aber wie soll Birgit Weyhe eine Lebensgeschichte wie diese erzählen? Welche Fehler gilt es zu vermeiden? Das erzählerische Konstrukt selbst wird zu einer eigenen Erzählebene in dieser Biografie.

Diese Graphic Novel ist völlig zu recht für den Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse nominiert. Sie ist nicht nur wortgewaltig, sondern auch die Zeichnungen sind so passend gezeichnet. Ich mochte, wie die Geschichte in der Geschichte von Priscilla Layne kommentiert wird. Das Zusammenspiel von Geschichte und Realität war gut getroffen, die Bilder sprachen für sich, wirkten aber durch die Texte nur noch lebendiger. Absolute Leseempfehlung.

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.
Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.
Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.
But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.

It took me a bit to really get into the story but when I finally found my footing, I really enjoyed this book! I liked Lore and how smart, resourceful and capable she was, how powerful she is yet has so much to learn still. I also loved Bastian, no suprises there. I’m really excited for book 2 and where the story goes, there are so many questions I need answers to.

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BOOK HAUL

6 Times We Almost Kissed by Tess Sharpe

Penny and Tate have always clashed. Unfortunately, their mothers are lifelong best friends, so the girls’ bickering has carried them through playdates, tragedy, and more than one rom-com marathon with the Moms. When Penny’s mother decides to become a living donor to Tate’s mom, ending her wait for a liver transplant, things go from clashing to cataclysmic. Because in order to help their families recover physically, emotionally, and financially, the Moms combine their households the summer before senior year.
So Penny and Tate make a pact: They’ll play nice. Be the drama-free daughters their mothers need through this scary and hopeful time. There’s only one little hitch in their plan: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.
It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Hemlock Falls isn’t like other towns. You won’t find it on a map, your phone won’t work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.
Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie’s town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.
Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family’s good name. Or die trying.
But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.
Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

The last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride…
All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They’ve enraptured her mind, her spirit, and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family’s inn, Liesl can’t help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.
But when her own sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds—and the mysterious man who rules it—she soon faces an impossible decision. And with time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.

The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to another pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. When Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn’t really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together.

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

When Aladdin discovers Zahra’s jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn’t seen in hundreds of years—a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra’s very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.
But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity—only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

In the hidden desert city of Qalia, there is secret spice magic that awakens the affinities of those who drink the misra tea. Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield a dagger like no other warrior. She has garnered the reputation as being the next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other monsters spreading across the sands.
Her reputation has been overshadowed, however, by her brother, who tarnished the family name after it was revealed that he was stealing his nation’s coveted spice-a telltale sign of magical obsession. Soon after that, he disappeared, believed to have died beyond the Forbidden Wastes. Despite her brother’s betrayal, there isn’t a day that goes by when Imani doesn’t grieve him.
But when Imani discovers signs that her brother may be alive and spreading the nation’s magic to outsiders, she makes a deal with the Council that she will find him and bring him back to Qalia, where he will face punishment. Accompanied by other Shields, including Taha, a powerful beastseer who can control the minds of falcons, she sets out on her mission.
Imani will soon find that many secrets lie beyond the Forbidden Wastes-and in her own heart-but will she find her brother?

Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong
Foul Lady Fortune #1.5

Last Violent Call contains two short stories featuring beloved characters from These Violent Delights.

Boy Like Me by Simon James Green

It’s 1994 and thanks to Section 28, there can be no mention of gay relationships in schools. When a school librarian leads Jamie to a disguised novel in the library that reflects his own confused feelings towards boys, he notices that he’s not the only one who has checked the book out. In the margins of the pages, he and another student start to leave messages for each other, and Jamie starts to believe that he’s not alone … and maybe also has a shot at finding love. That is, until the secret novel is discovered by the head teacher and all hell breaks loose.

Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata

Ruby Santos knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she signed up to write a soldier overseas.
The guidelines were simple: one letter or email a week for the length of his or her deployment. Care packages were optional.
Been there, done that. She thought she knew what to expect.
What she didn’t count on was falling in love with the guy.

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

Ava and Kaye used to be best friends. Until one night two years ago, vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting their town, and in the ensuing attack, Kaye’s mother was killed, and Ava was turned into a vampire. Since then, Ava has been trapped in her house. Her mother Eugenia needs her: Ava still has her witch powers, and Eugenia must take them in order to hide that she’s a vampire as well. Desperate to escape her confinement and stop her mother’s plans to destroy the town, Ava must break out, flee to the forest, and seek help from the vampires who live there. When there is another attack, she sees her opportunity and escapes.
Kaye, now at the end of her training as a Flame witch, is ready to fulfill her duty of killing any vampires that threaten the town, including Ava. On the night that Ava escapes, Kaye follows her and convinces her to travel together into the forest, while secretly planning to turn her in. Ava agrees, hoping to rekindle their old friendship, and the romantic feelings she’d started to have for Kaye before that terrible night.
But with monstrous trees that devour humans whole, vampires who attack from above, and Ava’s stepfather tracking her, the woods are full of danger. As they travel deeper into the forest, Kaye questions everything she thought she knew. The two are each other’s greatest threat—and also their only hope, if they want to make it through the forest unscathed.

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley

Mariel Spark is prophesied to be the most powerful witch seen in centuries of the famed Spark family, but to the displeasure of her mother, she prefers baking to brewing potions and gardening to casting hexes. When a spell to summon flour goes very wrong, Mariel finds herself staring down a demon—one she inadvertently summoned for a soul bargain.
Ozroth the Ruthless is a legend among demons. Powerful and merciless, he drives hard bargains to collect mortal souls. But his reputation has suffered ever since a bargain went awry—if he can strike a bargain with Mariel, he will earn back his deadly reputation. Ozroth can’t leave Mariel’s side until they complete a bargain, which she refuses to do (turns out some humans are attached to their souls).
But the witch is funny. And curvy. And disgustingly yet endearingly cheerful. Becoming awkward roommates quickly escalates when Mariel, terrified to confess the inadvertent summoning to her mother, blurts out that she’s dating Ozroth. As Ozroth and Mariel struggle with their opposing goals and maintaining a fake relationship, real attraction blooms between them. But Ozroth has a limited amount of time to strike the deal, and if Mariel gives up her soul, she’ll lose all her emotions—including love—which will only spell disaster for them both.

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WHAT I BLOGGED

• Happy Place by Emily Henry | ARC-review
• The Last Sorceress by Bonnie Wynne | ARC-Review

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BLOG VISITS
posts by other bloggers I’ve loved to read this month

• Review: Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O’Clover by Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books
• Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb Review by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog
• Die Glorifizierung romantischer Liebe by Ivy @ Ivybooknerd
• Rezension: Dead Romantics von Ashley Poston by Jill @ Letterheart
• Rezension: Let’s Be Wild von Anabelle Stehl & Nicole Böhm by Jessi @ xbooksheaven
• 12 Great YA Books to Read Based on Your Favourite Season by Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books
• YA Books About Disability by Afoma @ Reading Middle Grade
• Rezension: A Magic Steeped in Poison von Judy I. Lin by Julia @ The Book Dynasty

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HOW WAS YOUR MARCH? DID YOU DO ANYTHING EXCITING? WHICH BOOKS DID YOU READ?

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Until next time,