March 2024 Reading Wrap Up
I read 6 books this month. I think that’s a personal record.
I see booktubers and booktokers reading like 20+ books a month all the time and being honest, that is so not feasible for most people. Especially people with full time jobs. Or people like me, who are graduate students working on their thesis (rip me rn pls send help). BUT - I’ve recently treasured my reading time and have been trying to make a conscious effort to spend free time reading, instead of existentially scrolling on my phone or rewatching Game of Thrones for the millionth time.
So, here’s my ratings, thoughts, and wrap ups of the six books I read this month. Using my little book scoring scale :)
B - Bedazzling (My favorite parts of the book, the ‘pros')
O - Observing (General plot points, genre/niche, ‘type’ of book I classify it as)
O - Opinionating (Critiques, where the book falls short, the ‘cons’)
K - Keeping in mind (Who is this book for? Who could benefit from/enjoy this book? Who should avoid this book?)
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent (3.5 stars)
Bedazzling - This book, overall, was pretty enjoyable and a fun read. As a fantasy lover, I liked the fresh take on vampires and the Hunger Games-esque competition in this book is always fun to read through.
Observing- Fantasy/Enemies to lovers romance with trials and complicated family relationships.
Plot Basics: Human girl, who is the daughter of a vampire king, enters the vampire competition to win any wish she has the from the Goddess of Death.
Opinionating - Compared to other fantasy series I’ve read, this book felt predictable and fell into a lot of tropes I find annoying (female main character is so small and feeble, and the brooding, misunderstood male main character is actually kind and sensitive) DON’T GET ME WRONG, I love enemies to lovers but here it felt forced and like it was just convenient for the story. The real nail is the coffin for me with this one is that after ending on a semi-cliffhanger, I really don’t have a desire to read the next book in the duology.
Keeping in mind - This book was an easy and fast-paced book that was refreshing after reading after a heavy, complicated sci-fi/fantasy book. There’s still elements of magic and spookiness, which makes it fun, but there’s nothing to earth-shattering about it. There’s a lot more fantasies out there I would recommend before this one.
Golden Son by Pierce Brown, Second Book in the Red Rising series (5.0 stars)
Bedazzling - I feel lost for words to explain the things I love about this book and this series overall (check out a full, single review of the first book, Red Rising, on my reading page hehe). Golden Son picked up quickly following the ending of the previous novel and I was pulled in immediately. There was no lag time to get back into the world and characters after the first book. The world-building, history, and complexity of the characters are top notch writing and I actually care about what happens to these characters. And the ending! (iykyk) I was gasping audibly and slapping my hand to my mouth over and over.
Observing - Sci-fi/fantasy dystopian future in space with political games and wavering loyalties. Space war, in short. Space war.
Plot basics - After the Institute, Darrow is still working on his mission in the heart of the enemy, but now with several enemies and people he cares about, things are a lot more complicated that he thought.
Opinionating - This book definitely takes some brain power to keep up with all the names (thank god there is a Dramatis Personae at the front of the book) and the world systems/rules, so you need to make sure this book has your full attention when reading.
Keeping in mind - Like the first book, there are some trigger warnings you may want to check out before reading. Nonetheless, this book is for those who want to get sucked into a complex world that keeps you looking forward to the next chance you have to read more. Caution, you may stay up to 2am reading on accident lol.
The Women by Kristin Hannah (4.25 stars)
Bedazzling - I have a book club with my older sister and Mom, since we all live in different cities, and this was our most recent read. Focusing on combat nurses during the Vietnam War, I feel like I learned a lot about what that time was like. I obviously knew the basics of the Vietnam War, but some of the nuances of the reality of that time were unknown to me. Especially the realities for women, which this novel focuses on. This book made me feel all the feelings: angry, sad, utterly depressed, horrified, annoyed, and happy crying.
Observing - Historical fiction focusing on the real, unheard stories from the Vietnam War with female friendships and third-person prose.
Plot Basics - Frankie enlists in the Army Nurse Corps when her older brother ships out to Vietnam during the war in the 60s/70s. The chaos, gore, and tragedy of war is overwhelming in her naivete and even more so, the denial that she was ever there, in Vietnam and in the war, threatens to make her boil over when she returns home.
Opinionated - Although I really appreciated that this book shed light on the multifaceted effects of the Vietnam War (PTSD, grief, addiction, etc.), it almost felt like the author piled every possible bad outcome/affect from the war on the main character, which seemed a bit unrealistic. I think it would have been more compelling if we saw these struggles more in the MC’s friends, peers, etc.
Keeping in mind - This books deals with some pretty upsetting themes, which even had me needing to step away from it a couple times. However, the story itself I think is one of great importance. I would recommend this book to those in my generation (people in their 20s/30s) who didn’t hear much about the Vietnam War outside AP US History in high school. Especially for those who love to read stories of women’s strength and resilience.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman (4.0 stars)
Bedazzling - The premise/world were the high points of this book for sure. I loved the exploration of the relationship of personal morality and what it means to bring death in a world where humans have conquered mortality. And how different people choose to play that role. The last third or so of the novel is where most of the tension picked up and I enjoyed the ending enough to want to read the next book in the series.
Observing - Young adult, sci-fi/fantasy with easy-to-read structure and interesting side characters.
Plot Basics - In a world where humans have conquered death and diseases, appointed members of society, known as scythes, are tasked with killing a certain number of people every year to keep the population in check. Two teenagers are taken in as apprentices to become scythes and events unfold from there.
Opinionated - I enjoyed this book, but it is very much your typical young-adult dystopian story. I found the main characters a bit flat, while the side characters had more substance to them. The first chunk of the book is slow and starting off, I was prepared to give this a 3.0 star rating, but it picked up a bit in the end and had more depth so it gained a star from me.
Keeping in mind - This book, despite its moral/philosophical themes, was pretty simple, but I enjoyed it for what it was worth nonetheless. I’d recommend this as a refresh book if you’re looking for something unchallenging while in between a series or heavy books.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (4.5 stars)
Bedazzling - This short book was incredibly comforting and reminded me of the simple joys of reading. Growing up on books like Magic Treehouse and Spiderwick Chronicles, it was so fun to be transported to world like that again. The story is a heartwarming tale that shows us the power of bravery and love.
Observing - Cozy literary fiction with a whimsical island and childhood dreams.
Plot Basics - When a best-selling children’s author who went under the radar out of nowhere years ago suddenly comes back with a brand-new story, he offers a competition for a lucky few that will change the life for the winner.
Opinionated - My critiques of this book are few and don’t completely ruin the story for me as some cons do. Yes, the plot could be a little cliche and predictable at times, but this message and comfort this novel offered helped me overlook those issues. Also, the main character felt a bit naive at times, which could get annoying.
Keeping in mind - Like others on this list, this book was a palate cleanser after reading some heavier books and got me excited to read again. This is your typical snuggle-up-with-a-cup-of-tea book that you want to read on a rainy day.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (3.5 stars)
Bedazzling - This was the first R. F. Kuang book I’ve read and I could immediately tell she is a fabulous and extremely-talented author. Although most characters in this book aren’t what you would classify as ‘good’ people, Kuang’s exploration of race, appropriation, social media, and the publishing industry was illuminating. With the dream of being an author one day, I was really engaged in the logistics of what the book and publishing world is like as a business. Majority of the book also takes place in Washington, DC, so it got some bonus points from me when I saw a place mentioned I go to often (i.e Kramers lol)
Observing - Literary fiction/thriller with an unreliable & unlikeable main character and excellent writing style.
Plot Basics - When Athena, a successful Asian-American author, dies in freak accident, her less-successful author friend, June, steals her most recent manuscript and passes it off as her own.
Opinionated - While I loved Kuang’s writing style and her exploration of necessary and interesting themes, this book was disheartening and frustrating. I understand the whole point was to have a narrator who was unlikeable, but there was pretty much nothing redeemable about the main character. Like she stole a book from her recently-passed friend? Also, the constant inclusion of hate comments and doom-scrolling scenes made me want to delete every social media I’ve ever had.
Keeping in mind - Even though I found the main character insufferable and some parts dragged out, I really loved R.F Kuang’s writing style. I am definitely interested in reading Babel by her sometime soon. Also, the observation of the mix of social media, diversity, and the problems in the publishing industry felt novel and thoughtfully examined, so anyone growing up in the age of the Internet could benefit from a book like this.
This month was an awesome-reading month for me and I’m excited for some upcoming books on my TBR. I know this April will be crazy busy, but I’m still hoping to get some reading time in. :)
Liebe von Cate <3
