We’re well into April now which means it’s time to recap the books I read in March. But first I want to see if you’ve noticed the little refresh this blog has gotten? I finally made the switch from blogger to wordpress and, so far, so good! There’s definitely a little bit of a learning curve that I’m still working through, and I also need to go back through some of my older posts to fix some formatting issues that happened during the transition, but otherwise it’s been great and I’m loving the new look!
Okay, so back to reading.
I read three books again in March and it was quite the mixed bag! While romance novels have been my favourite genre overall (the fun and light kind!), I’ve been trying to switch things up a bit lately, so I’ve been alternating between romance and not-romance!! This helps me branch out a little, and it also makes me enjoy those cute romance novels even more since I’m not reading a million in a row.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
March Reads:
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (Released: 2015, Genre: Historical Fiction, Pages: 564)
Summary:
The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, seperated by years and experience, by ideals, passion, and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France – a novel that celebrates the resilience of human spirit and the durability of women.
Review:
I’ll be completely honest – up until this point, this was the largest book I had ever picked up and I was a tad bit nervous going into this one with so many pages ahead of me. The exceptional ratings helped me take the plunge and, thankfully, that nervousness didn’t last too long.
I found this to be such a good, yet heartbreaking, story and it was further enhanced by it being based on a time that none of us can truly fathom. While I had read other books about war, I loved that this one centered around women and the unbelievable hardships they faced. It definitely opened my eyes to that side, as I only had ever considered the women’s perspective of losing their husbands/fathers, etc. There was so much detail and history packed in, and yet still emotional, and unnerving at times.
While I really enjoyed this read, I can’t give this one 5 stars for a few reasons: (1) I think I expected to cry a little more (not that crying is the goal but, you know, sometimes more crying equals more emotionally invested – but don’t worry, I still did shed a few tears towards the end), and (2) While it was an easier read overall, I did find the beginning (probably the first 150 pages) both slow and confusing and I was constantly having to go back and reread certain parts to get a better understanding. Nonetheless, I’m so glad I experienced this story and the overall message I took away from it; that strength comes in all different ways. Even if you’re not into historical fiction or war novels, I really do think this is worth reading.
Rating: 4 out of 5 ⭐
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (Released: 2022, Genre: Romance, Pages; 429)
Summary:
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills, and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team. Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins. Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team – including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him. But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot. Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?
Review:
I went into this book completely blind. I hadn’t heard of ‘Icebreaker’ before and I only picked it up because it was laid out on a table at my local Chapters and the cover had a figure skater on it (haha, true story)!!! I loved figured skating when I was younger! While the cover does look young and a little cheesy, don’t let that fool you because this one was steamy pretty much from the get go!
I’m extremely torn rating/reviewing this one, and I can honestly understand people giving this anywhere from 2 to 5 stars. On the one hand, there was so much I loved: enemies to lovers trope, dual points of view, comedy, discussions of therapy, witty banter, spice, athletes and competition and, most of all, a charming and, dare I say, perfect male character. But, on the other hand, some things just didn’t hit the mark with me. Who knows, maybe I’d feel differently if I was 10 years younger. Some parts just felt a little young for me, and I actually enjoyed the first half to three quarters of the book better than I did the end. Also, the summary of the book didn’t exactly match the plot of the book in my opinion. Apart from the minor issues with the plot, there were too many side characters to keep track of and this got a little confusing from time to time (I did read after though that ‘Icebreaker’ will be the first book in a series, so I suspect we’ll be getting to learn more about these characters).
Overall, I still thought this was a cute and fun read. And while I do usually prefer a slow-burn in romance novels, this one still did it for me!!
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 ⭐
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Released: 2018, Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery, Pages: 368)
Summary:
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clarke, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.
Review:
I feel like if you’re into reading at all, you’ve probably heard of this one. It’s received so much attention since it’s been released years ago, and a quick look on Good Reads will tell you just how loved this book is. Even so, I had absolutely no idea what this story was about or what type of book I was getting myself into. What an amazing and unique story! The setting and character development was so good and the picture was painted perfectly (although I will say sometimes I found there was almost a little too much detail – I guess if there’s going to be a flaw though, this one isn’t so bad).
This story had everything. It was a perfect mixed bag of mystery, romance, and historical fiction. It uncovered layers of humanity, survival and emotion, and my biggest takeaway from this novel was that everyone needs human connection.
What ultimately led to me giving this 5 stars was the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I was finished and I wanted to discuss it with anyone who would listen to me. A true sign of a fantastic read! Sometimes with so much buzz a book can fall short, but this one lived up to the hype for me!
Note: ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ was turned into a movie in 2022 so as soon as I finished the book I went straight for the movie. While I did enjoy the movie and was entertained throughout, it didn’t come anywhere close to my feelings for the book – but isn’t that usually always the case?
Rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐
Overall, March was such a good month for books and I can’t wait to share my April reads!!
Until next time.
