I did not have a very good reading month. One of the books I read took me 7 days to read, which is entirely too long. I did read three 5 star reads, so that is great and there were also some not so great books. So overall, I had an average reading month.
Monthly Stats
Books
The Wicker King by K. Ancrum | August and Jack have an intense relationship. Jack starts experiencing hallucinations that are caused by a mental illness and August tries to help him through it. Jack's mental illness continues to worsen throughout the book and he starts making up a fantasy world that puts both boys in danger. I thought this book was incredibility strange and weird. I also wasn't a fan of the writing, which could of been a huge factor in why I didn't connect with the characters. The chapters were super short and clunky. I really think if the writing was better I would of enjoyed the story better. So disappointing!!
The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos | In 1941, Bucharest, Romania, a little Jewish girl is found left abandoned on the steps of a apartment complex after her parents flee. She is taken to an orphanage where she is adopted to a loving couple and they name her Natalia. The book goes on about Natalia's upbringing while living in Romania during WWII. A family friend of her father's, Victor has a big impact in Natalia's life. The first half of this book was soo good and engaging and I was very interested in the story line. However, the second half of the book was soo rushed and I felt like it was missing huge plot points. The book would skip multiple years and it was hard to stay connected to the story. I felt Victor and Natalia's relationship wasn't believable at all. I also felt like this book could of been so much more if it was written more clearly and not so many plot holes. Natalia is actually the author's mother, which I though was really interesting, but overall I felt the book was lacking.
The Huntress by Kate Quinn | This book was told in three different perspectives. Jordan a 17-year-old living in Boston post WWII whom loves photography. Her father recently marries and Jordan isn't too fond of her new stepmother and she thinks she is hiding something. Nina who is a pilot during WWII in Russia and joins an all-female bomber crew. And then there's Ian who is married to Nina and is tracking down war criminals post war. One specific war criminal he is tracking down is a woman called The Huntress, who killed his brother in particular and also children. I really liked how the three stories intertwined, but I knew who The Huntress was in like first 20 pages and I felt like the mystery behind it was kind of a let down. The book was entirely too long 500+ pages and it took me over a week to read. Now I didn't hate this book and I didn't love it. It was just an okay book. Nina's story was pretty fascinating and there was a Russian fairy tale that I found interesting. Jordan and Ian were okay story lines nothing fantastic. Overall, if this book was shorter and a little bit more suspenseful I think I would of loved this one.
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black | Since this is a sequel, the synopsis of the first book is about three sisters are taken to the Fae world after their parents are murdered. Jude and her twin sister Taryn are humans living in the Fae world and the Fae do not like them. The High King is ready to step down and he must choose who will become king of his six children. Price Cardan is the youngest, he and his friends likes to make Jude's life a living hell. And this book is the continuation of Prince Cardan and Jude. I am definitely the minority for this one! I wasn't a huge fan, I thought the first half of this book was super boring. But the author sure knows how to suck you in for the next book because the endings are great! I will continue and read the next book, but if the pacing is off again I don't know if I'll read anything else by Holly Black.
The Similars (The Similars #1) by Rebecca Hanover | Emma attends an elite boarding school called Darkwood Academy. Over the summer her best friend Oliver commits suicide and Emma is devastated. When she returns back to school in the fall, her and her classmates learn that 6 clones or similars will be attending, as well. One of the clones is Oliver and Emma wants nothing to do with the similars, but she keeps getting dragged into their clique and starts finding out dark secrets involving the similars. I really enjoyed this book I was drawn in because of clones and boarding school. As I was reading I was not aware that this was also a mystery and I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. I wouldn't even know what to do if I was Emma and my dead best friend's clone shows up at school, that would be soo incredibility weird!! And just interacting with him would be soo strange not only does he look like your best friend but his personality is completely different. I loved the plot twist it was really well done and I can't wait to read the sequel when it comes out!
You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon | Eighteen-year-old twins, Adina and Tovah have nothing in common. Adina is a viola prodigy and Tovah is waiting on her acceptance into John Hopkins to becoming a surgeon. Their mother was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease and the girls watch as their mother deteriorates. The girls take a genetic test to see if they have the disease, as well. You learn that one of them has it and one of them doesn't. This book was sooo good! It was soo heartbreaking looking at the way the disease can affect someone's life and then knowing that you will eventually go through the same thing as your mother is absolutely awful! The two sister's were horrible to each other, but the family dynamic is really what made this book amazing! I learned so much about Huntington's and also about the Jewish culture. There is also another huge part of this story that was done soo well, I don't really want to say anything because it may give some spoilers. Overall, I could not put this book down, it was really captivating and I highly recommend this book!!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner at Azkaban (Harry Potter #3) by J.K. Rowling | Loved it!!
An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir | Laia's brother is imprisoned by the Martials. She meets up with the Resistance who her parents used to work for and asked them to help her free her brother. She becomes a spy slave for them at a school where they train the Martials to become soldiers. She learns that being a slave at the school is very brutal and it may kill her. At the school she meets Elias, and he wants out of the school. They discover together that they need each other in order to survive. I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down and I was soo excited to be in this world! The book is action packed and there was never a dull moment. I loved the two main characters Laia and Elias and I also liked the secondary characters. This book had so much dept and the world building was great! There were definitively some very brutal parts of the book and honestly that's what made this book so good, the author put everything out there and never left you guessing or assuming what happened. I highly recommend this book if you are into fantasy! This was by far my favorite book of the month!! So damn good!!
Well there you have it my March wrap-up! I read some really amazing books and I read some not so great books! Have you read any of these books, what did you think about them? Let me know in the comments!!
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