I know, I can’t believe that I have my March wrap-up out already, either. AND, what’s more, is that I had a fabulous reading month. I read six books! This is good!! I haven’t read much all year but finally – FINALLY – I have found my groove.
I am genuinely really pleased and proud of myself with what books I read last month. I’ve been keeping a close eye on working towards my reading goals for this year and I think I’m doing a good job. If you don’t know what those are, I’m trying to read fewer books but keep the same page count. Basically, I’m trying to encourage myself to pick up big books and dense books.
I’m also trying to get around to reading more of my friends’ recommendations and books that have been gifted to me. AND (I know, I set myself far too many goals) I’m trying to keep a focus on ARCs. If there’s one goal I’m excelling at, it’s ARCs. But I still have so many to read – it’s endless!! Apart from anything, I’m just super proud of how on top of my reviews I’ve been this year. The majority of my books are all reviewed and that’s a first in a long time! Alright, let’s take a look.
The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz
by Jeremy Dronfield
Genre: Historical Fiction
Author: Jeremy Dronfield
Published: January 2019
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Pages: 432 [paperback]
This was sent to me by Penguin and I’m SO glad they sent a copy my way. This, I’ve been told, is called The Stone Crusher in America (I really can’t work out why). It’s an amazing historical fiction based on the diary and true story of Gustav and Fritz. I’ve never heard of such a tale as this where both father and son went through the entire war in the horrid concentrations camps and survived. It’s an amazing read to experience and reads easily – nothing to bog you down.
The Crown’s Game
by Evelyn Skye
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Author: Evelyn Skye
Published: April 2017
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 432 [paperback]
Will I continue the series? YES
This was not the read I was expecting but I ended up enjoying it nonetheless. This was a gift from my sister that I received at Christmas time and I was so excited to find the time to pick it up! I’m usually terrible at getting around to presents. I was definitely expecting more of an epic battle throughout the entirety of this book and it really isn’t that. But I still really enjoyed the setting and I ADORED the characters. They definitely saved this story for me and I’m super keen to pick up the sequel.
Heroes
by Stephen Fry
Genre: Mythology [Greek]
Author: Stephen Fry
Published: November 2018
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Pages: 478 [paperback]
Will I continue the series? YES
I say I will continue the series for this but as of yet, there has been no third book announced. I am simply very hopeful. I read this via audiobook and loved it just as much as the first, Mythos. If you haven’t read either yet then I can’t recommend them enough. This is the most fun way to re-explore Greek myth and is narrated like a fable being told to us. Stephen Fry is such an inspiring man and he has put this together so damn well.
Home Fires
by Fiona Lowe
Genre: General Fiction
Author: Fiona Lowe
Published: February 2019
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 487 [paperback]
This was such an interesting read sent to me by Harlequin. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it and by the time I was about 1/3 of the way through I thought I might put it down. But, evidently, I persevered and Jesus I’m glad I did. I LOVED this book in the end. It’s super intense and emotional, dealing with a lot of really important and tragic topics. But it’s just so well-written with some seriously amazing characters in it. I would definitely recommend this but DO go and read my review to see the trigger warnings.
My review
Thunderhead
by Neal Shusterman
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Author: Neal Shusterman
Published: January 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 504 [hardback]
Will I continue the series? YES
I am fast becoming a serious Shusterman fan. I have a copy of Dry, his latest book, and I cannot wait to pick it up having finished this. This is the sequel to Scythe, a book that attracted a lot of hype and for good reason. I love that this sequel is as good if not better than the first and not a let down ‘filler’ middle book (as is so often the case). It’s packed with adventure and murdery plots. Could not recommend this enough – I also read it via audiobook and will continue to do so as it’s done really well.
Review to come
Fry’s English Delight
by Stephen Fry
Genre: Non-Fiction
Author: Stephen Fry
Published: June 2009
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks
I am basically Stephen Fry’s number one fan, I know. Now, this doesn’t even have a page count because it’s actually a radio program they’ve converted into an audiobook. I’m really glad they did because it’s just 30-minute episodes about the English language and it’s so interesting and fun. I swear I shouldn’t have enjoyed this as much as I did, but there we go. It’s also free to download from Audible if you’re interested.
- I reviewed some books:
- I did my February book haul
- I did my February wrap-up
- I talked about exciting March releases
Genres Read:
Star Ratings:
Pages Read:
Total: 2,333
Progress Towards Goodreads Challenge:
24%, or, 12/50 books
March was a busy month for me that slowly settled. You’ve probably seen me talking somewhere about moving into a new house. So everything is finally unpacked and sorted which is really nice. I’ve only got half of my books with my however which is really sad! I simply don’t have enough room to bring them all (the other half are taking shelter at my parent’s place).
All in all there isn’t a whole lot to report on for March. Eddie Izzard (a comedian if you don’t know him) was doing a tour with his latest show so I went to see that with my family and friends and loved it.
Our new kitten, Artemis, is also doing amazing and is totally beautiful. Did I mention we got a kitten last month? I can’t remember. But we did. He’s a beautiful, mischievous little ginger boy and I love him to bits.
One exciting thing that has just happened, however (and is technically news for April but PFT I can’t be bothered waiting) is that I finished writing my book! AHHH. That’s so exciting!! It’s so relieving to have finally got to the end of my story and been able to wrap up book one. Right now it’s positively enormous, so lots of editing awaits but wow, I’m excited to finally be up to the editing phase!
Movies that I watched:
A Star is Born, 2018: 4/10 stars
Wow, I was so not amazed by this. Yes, it’s a good film but it really wasn’t what I was expecting? So dark and depressing. I don’t know what it was but I just didn’t click with this movie at all. I didn’t like the characters and I thought it was too long and drawn out with lots of slow parts.
Isn’t It Romantic? 2019: 6/10 stars
This was super fun. I wasn’t sure what I’d make of this but I do love Rebel Wilson. It’s just a good amount of fun that’s great as a pick-me-up AND it has Liam Hemsworth in it. What more could you really ask for?
Captain Marvel, 2019: 8/10 stars
This was great!! I’d had average expectations going into it because Jayden had seen it before me and given it a bit of a meh rating. So I was blown away! I thought Captain Marvel was really cool with awesome, show-stopping powers. It’s really nice to have a girl power film added to the Marvel films now.
Mowgli, 2018: 6/10 stars
Now, this was interesting. I liked it, but it wasn’t better than Disney’s original or the remake, live-action that they did. So in light of that, I finished the film feeling a bit meh? Which is a shame. If I hadn’t seen either of the other two versions I probably would have loved this to pieces, but it just didn’t bring anything new to the table. Nonetheless, they did a really good job of reimagining things and doing some things differently which must’ve been hard for such a well-known story!
TV series that I watched:
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, series 1:
YES, I finally got into this. Sort of. I’ve only watched two episodes so far. I really like it but I’m already an absolute neat freak so part of me is confused why I’m watching it. It’s nice to see the transformations though!
Brooklyn Nine-Nine, series 3:
I’m slowly making my way through all of this and loving it. It’s such a great laugh, I’m so glad I finally started watching it at the end of last year and getting hooked. 20 minute episodes are just too easy to watch.
The Crown, series 1:
I finished this! Exciting! This was genuinely really good and such a great historical drama. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it because I loved Victoria so much and they’re quite different. But by the time I fell in love with the characters and its own style, I was totally hooked. I can’t wait to watch series 2.
Tick! March done!
What was your favourite book that you read in March?
~~ Kirstie ~~
Upside-Down Books 
Wow! I’m impressed you read & blogged as much as you were able to while moving! Kudos to you.
Congrats on the new kitten! I don’t remember seeing pictures… Feel free to include some in your April wrap up 🙂
Scythe is sitting in my TBR cart as we speak… I will get to it soon! I’ve never read a Shusterman book but I do own Scythe and Challenger Deep.
Congrats on finishing your book! What a huge accomplishment. Good luck in your editing process 🙂
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Thanks!! Haha yes I might just have to include a few pics of Artemis 😍
Nice! Scythe was my first Shusterman book so fingers crossed you like it as much as I did!
Thank you ❤️❤️
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