What I Read in March

Despite March being my birthday month, and despite the weather turning from frigid winter to slightly more spring-like, it was overall a very meh month. Is that directly correlated to the fact I only read four books and spent too much time on my phone? I’m not a betting woman but if I were, I would say yes.

TJ Klune, The Bones Beneath My Skin

Nate Cartwright has nothing. He’s just lost his job as a journalist, his parents are both dead, and his brother doesn’t want anything to do with him. He goes to the mountain cabin he inherited from his parents, hoping the solitude will bring him clarity about his life. The cabin is supposed to be empty, but when he gets there he finds a man and a little girl hiding out. He quickly learns that the little girl is special, and the man will do anything to keep her safe. As Nate gets swept up in their life on the run, he must choose to continue letting his past dictate his future, or go forward into the unknown.

This book has the same queer quirkiness and heart that Klune is known for, but it also doesn’t quite feel like his other books. It’s definitely more romance heavy, with some overt spice which feels new for him (though this book is actually a re-release.) Overall I enjoyed this one, loved the characters, and thought the ending was very satisfying.

Rating: Really liked it 💕

Alex Aster, Lightlark

Once every hundred years, the island of Lightlark emerges from its storm-trapped location and invites the rulers of its realms to partake in the Centennial, a competition amongst the rulers to try and break the curse that has plagues them all for centuries.

Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wilding, and she has a secret. She has a lot of secrets, actually, but the one she is most afraid of people discovering is that unlike the other rulers, she has no magical ability to help her win this competition.

The thing about this book is the synopsis is somehow better than the entirety of the book. It also does not capture what happens in the book in the slightest. The world building is sloppy as worst, confusing at best. The synopsis hints at “love complicating everything,” but there is little to no romantic tension at all. This is the first in a trilogy and I will not be continuing. All that being said, this series has a major following and just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you won’t!

Rating: Not for me 👎🏻

Tricia Levenseller, Daughter of the Pirate King

We open with Alosa, daughter of the feared pirate king Kalligan, getting herself purposely kidnapped onto a rival pirate’s ship. She’s there in an attempt to find and retrieve a piece of a legendary treasure map for her father. She planned on this being an easy job, but she didn’t plan on the meddlesome first mate, or how attractive he would be.

This one was fun. Alosa is a bad-ass and we love a strong FMC. The enemies-to-lovers plot line was well done, but don’t expect any spice in this one. It also ends in a cliffhanger setting things up for book two, which I will be picking up.

You’ll probably start to notice a pirate theme in the books I’m reading over the next few months, which is a major hint about the book I’m currently working on 😉

Rating: Liked it 👍🏻

Ariel Lawhon, The Frozen River

It’s winter in Maine in 1789, and the Kennebec River is frozen. Martha Ballard, a local midwife, is summoned to determine the cause of death of a body that was found frozen beneath the ice. The body is that of Joshua Burgess, a man who, several months before, was accused of rape. Thus kicks off the events of this novel, inspired by the true story of Martha Ballard.

I’ve seen this book recommended everywhere and finally picked it up. I’ll admit it was a bit slow at the beginning, but once it started to pick up I was hooked. I was fascinated by Martha and her life as a midwife and mother in the late 1700s in New England. There are so many excellent passages about womanhood and motherhood and to me that’s really what this book is about - the strength required of women and how being a women in this country hasn’t, unfortunately, changed all that much in over 200 years.

Rating: Loved it ❤️

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