Man, March was an intense reading month for me. This was my first month back to uni after the summer break and I was absolutely determined to keep up my reading pace. Which is very difficult to do whilst you bury yourself under textbooks. But I think I did pretty darn good.
- Progress for RMTBR challenge
- Progress for Fairy-Tale Retelling challenge
- Progress for the 2016 Pop Sugar Challenge
On a slightly more hilarious note, I just came across this and I absolutely had to share it with you all. Excuse me whilst I wet myself laughing . . .
The Shattered Court by M. J. Scott
Genre: Fantasy
Author: M. J. Scott
Published: April 2015
Publisher: Roc
Pages: 313 {paperback}
Will I continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 1
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
I really enjoyed this book and it completely surprised me with how awesome it was. I highly recommend picking this up PROVIDING that you don’t mind a fair dosage of sex scenes . . .
A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Dystopia
Author: Anna Sheehan
Published: August 2011
Publisher: Orion
Pages: 352 {paperback}
Will I continue the series? MAYBE
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 1
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 1
Pop Sugar: Blue Cover
This was really quite a cool book. I think I do want to continue the series, but at the same time I probably wouldn’t cry if I never do. It’s a wicked sci-fi retelling of Sleeping Beauty and if you get the chance to read it then do!
Review to come
Iron to Iron by Ryan Graudin
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Novella
Author: Ryan Graudin
Published: March 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 104 {e-book}
Will I continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 0
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
*incoherent screaming noises*
Until I Die by Amy Plum
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy (paranormal)
Author: Amy Plum
Published: May 2012
Publisher: ATOM
Pages: 357 {paperback}
Will I continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 0
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
I JUST LOVE AMY PLUM SO MUCH. This woman is perfect and so are her books. I thoroughly enjoyed this continuation of the Die for Me series and I’m dying (har har) to buy the next book, If I Should Die, soon. I really, REALLY need to know how this is going to end.
Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy (angels)
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Published: August 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 485 {paperback}
Will I continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 1
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
A wonderfully mysterious beginning to a reasonably AWESOME series. Like seriously, if you want a perfect take on angels and demons then don’t mind me whilst I DITCH THIS AT YOUR FACE.
Hades by Alexandra Adornetto
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy (angels)
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Published: September 2011
Publisher: Angus & Robinson
Pages: 422 {paperback}
Will I read continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 1
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
*shivers* This book was also very good. I loved the continuation of the series and had high hopes for how everything was going to wrap up in the next book. If you’ve read Halo then by Jove! Do continue to read on!
Review to come
Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy (angels)
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Published: September 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 422 {paperback}
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 1
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
Annnd, then there was this one. I was almost disappointed. The book itself was really quite good but there were so many loose ends not tied up. But it’s 100% worth reading.
I read this whole series as part of the Slay That Series Read-a-Thon.
The Moth and the Flame by Renée Ahdieh
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling (1001 Nights), Novella
Author: Renée Ahdieh
Published: March 2016
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Pages: 40 {e-book}
Will I continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 0
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 1
Pop Sugar: N/A
If you want a beautiful, perfect, scream-worthy novella, then you’ve found it. This novella is AMAZING and features our favourite characters from The Wrath and the Dawn series: Jalal and Despina.
The Bone Knife by Intisar Khanani
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Novella
Author: Intisar Khanani
Published: January 2013 {1st pub. October 2012}
Publisher: Smashwords
Pages: 40 {e-book}
Will I continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 0
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
I can’t believe there isn’t another book out in this series yet for me to continue on with. I NEED MORE. I loved this – and I suspect I will forever love all of Intisar’s works, she’s fabulous. If you haven’t read Thorn yet then QUICK – what’re you waiting for??
Through Fire & Sea by Nicole Luiken
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Author: Nicole Luiken
Published: May 2015
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 432 {paperback}
Will I continue the series? YES
The Challenge Count:
RMTBR challenge points award: 0
Fairy-Tale Retelling: 0
Pop Sugar: N/A
Hm, hm, hm. I was expecting just a tad more from this book. Whilst overall it was really good and enjoyable it seemed to take a long time to tell the tale it told. I feel like more could have happened in this book at a slightly faster pace BUT, I’m really eager to continue the series anyway. I’m very attached to these characters, alright?
Review to come
What else did I blog about this month?
- I completed The Desert Island Book Tag: see my answers.
- I completed the St Patrick’s Day Book Tag: see my answers.
- I completed the Mean Girls Book Tag: see my answers.
- I completed the Totally Should’ve Book Tag: see my answers.
- I reviewed some books:
- The Crown and the Arrow (Renée Ahdieh)
- After the End (Amy Plum)
- Iron to Iron (Ryan Graudin)
- Jr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
- The Shattered Court (M. J. Scott)
- The Bottle Imp (Robert Louis Stevenson)
- A Thousand Pieces of You (Claudia Gray)
- Until I Die (Amy Plum)
- Halo (Alexandra Adornetto)
- Heaven (Alexandra Adornetto)
- The Bone Knife (Intisar Khanani)
- Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard)
- The Moth and the Flame (Renée Ahdieh)
- I participated in the Slay That Series Read-a-Thon: see my challenge.
- I participated in the Underhyped Reads Read-a-Thon: see my challenge.
- I unboxed the March edition of The YA Chronicles: see what’s in the box.
- I did my March Book Haul: see the books.
- I did the book meme, Page 394: see my quote.
I haven’t and don’t make monthly TBRs however if you have a wander through my Top Ten Tuesdays from March you’ll see that one of them features ten books I want to read this Autumn. But, I do have a handful of books that I’m going to focus on getting read in March. So without making a TBR that will shackle me down I’ll just leave you with the parting words that it involves Dragons and Thrones, Lights and Oceans, Me’s without You’s, Kleptomaniac Book Lovers, and Pillars that are probably in the Earth.
The Statistics
Genres Read:
Pages Read:
Total: 2,967
Progress Towards Goodreads’ Challenge:
48%, or, 29/60 books
Which makes me 15 books ahead of schedule
Overall progress of RMTBR challenge:
Points accrued in March: 5
Number of books read in March that counted: 5
Total points: 20
Mini challenges completed: 1/10
The Fairy-Tale Retelling Challenge:
Retellings Read: 1
Total Retellings Read: 3
Level Achieved: Enchanted Moura, two more points until next level
Overall progress for Pop Sugar Reading Challenge:
16/40
What about me?
This month I’m back to uni! One month down, two to go. Things are going well for uni this semester, I’m really enjoying everything and so far I haven’t been buried too deep in assignments, which is always a good sign.
I hit 100 follows on my blog! Thanks to everyone who’s stuck around to read my ramblings, it means a lot to me.
I bought a new mug! Devastatingly, I managed to smash one of my Doctor Who mugs, so of course I had to replace it. I bought a cute design from Cait (@Paper Fury)’s Society6 store which shows off a famous Lewis Carroll quote.
I bought a new Funko Pop – the most important thing here, let’s face it. If you saw my March Book Haul you might have notice my splendid Mulan Pop. It’s more adorable than an angry Mushu.
I saw Danny Bhoy live earlier in the month as part of a present for my Dad who’s birthday was on the 9th March (Happy Birthday Dad!). Bhoy was hilarious, he’s a Scottish/Indian comedian and brilliant. If you ever get a chance to go see him then DO. I’ve also booked tickets to attend an events at Boffins Bookstore towards the end of April. I’m really excited for that so keep an eye out for a post that I will do about that!
TV Series I Watched:
- Galavant: I finally finished watching this, it took me such a long time to get around to watching the last few episodes because I kept reading good books. IT WAS AMAZING. If you haven’t seen this show then I highly recommend it!!
- Dickensian: I’ve been watching this each week and it’s so good. I was a bit unsure about it at the beginning but it’s really got my attention now. It’s a mishmash of all Dickens’ characters in one story and is essentially a who dunnit for the murder of Marley (Scrooge’s partner).
- The Night Manager: scary, but good. This one stars Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie and has so far been fabulous/10. I would definitely say this is for a mature audience as it’s extremely violent and dark – but yes, well worth it.
- Shadowhunters: oh dear lord was this bad. I highly recommend NOT watching this. Ugh. The acting is beyond cringe and it very nearly ruined the books for me. This was terrible. I watched 3 episodes and whilst I want to say I won’t watch anymore . . . I probably will. It’s that terrible that I want to see more.
Movies I watched:
- The Martian, 2015 (7/10)
- Pride, 2014 (9/10)
And on a final note, I didn’t/won’t attend Comic Con (April 2-3) this year because simply put, there isn’t anyone going who I want to see. I’m holding out to go to Supanova in June though!
Tick! March done!
What was your favourite book that you read in March?
Upside-Down Books 
Wow you did awesome!!! I’m glad you enjoyed The Bone Knife by Intisar Khanani. I LOVED her Thorn book. Keep up the great work!!!
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Thanks!! I don’t think it’s possible for me to not like her books!
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