March was a good month for reading! I was knocked DOWN by a vicious bug (not Covid! We already had that in the fall 😅) that also brought down Charlie, but our recovery gave me a couple of days in bed for reading. Then, Charlie got sick again, which meant a couple more days home for reading. Spring Break gave me a week to fly through a couple more. Of course, I’m sort of always flying through books, aren’t I?
One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid – 4.5 stars – Loved it. I wept! The love story (stories!)! It was an impossible situation to reflect on and I felt like the ending fizzled out a little for me after the build up of the middle. It was a little anticlimactic after the passion, but Taylor Jenkins Reid is just such an amazing storyteller. Read it and weep. Literally.
Notes on your Sudden Disappearance, by Alison Espach – 4.5 stars – Tragic and funny much in the Sorrow and Bliss was (which I also recommend). So sad, so beautifully written. One of those books that will stay with me for years. The grief, the joy, the being in between and the being left behind to live through it all. I would skip if death of a (teenage) child or fatal car crashes are a trigger for you.
Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo – 4/5 stars – Really good. This is the sequel to Ninth House, and it didn’t disappoint. That one ended on SUCH a cliffhanger, I couldn’t wait to read this book. I’ll be honest and tell you that much of the detail of the first book had left me, so I did have to go back and read a few summaries to remind myself. If you like fantasy, you should pick it up. I wouldn’t say it was scary, but more suspenseful. There will absolutely be a third after this one. I just think that Alex is such a badass. Love that about female fantasy main characters. They always rule the world.
The Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn – 5/5 stars – Historical fiction has to be REALLY good to hold my attention and this one did it. It’s not short, but I flew through it, staying up late into the night to read more more more. I LOVEd Mila, her story and was fascinated by the setting in Russia in WWII. The American part of the story was a little hokey to me, but Quinn pulled it all together by the end in such a nice little package. It was the kind of interesting and complex storyline that you really want in a historical fiction – with wonderful, real characters to root for and other truly despicable ones to hate. You can tell the author really did her homework on this one. So much of the story was true – including Mila herself! Have heard great things about Quinn’s other books too. Adding them all to my list!
Stepsisters, Susan Mallery – 2/5 stars – Guys it was bad. Skip it. Upon reflection, I can’t believe I finished the whole thing. There were just some parts that were…icky to me.
Dinner in One, by Melissa Clark – It’s not a cookbook that I would plan to buy, but was glad to get it from the library. I bookmarked the meatballs, a couple of the chicken recipes and the a few of the skillet meals to try. I am always looking for one pot meals, and this had some good ones if you’re looking for that too!!
That’s it for March! Can’t wait to see what April brings my shelves!
The Metroka Family 