March Reading Wrap-Up + April TBR

 Hello, everyone! I hope you March was lovely and you are ready for spring. March was a very busy month for me and it was another reading slump month. I always have a reading slump in March. It never fails. I think I've only had one March out of the last five years that wasn't a reading slump month, but this year was no exception. I was hit hard with the slumps. I read some books, but not as many as I wanted. I didn't finish the ones that I had goals to, but I was able to do some reading vlogs on my YouTube channel, so that's been fun! 

THE BOOKS I READ:

    

    

     

Dawn by Octavia E. Butler- 4.25 stars This is the first book in the Lilith's Brood, or Xenogenesis, trilogy. It follows Lilith after she wakes up on a spaceship and learns the Earth has been destroyed. An alien race called the Onkali have preserved the last of humanity and plan to send humans back soon. They want Lilith to be the one to wake the humans up. Things in this are very much laid for the rest of the trilogy and it wasn't my favorite, but I love Lilith's character and the groundwork Butler sets up for the trilogy with aliens having children with humans and humanity eventually dying out. Bought copy 

She Ain't Pretty by Renee Miller- 2 stars I'm always down for weird horror. Especially if the setting is a cult and I can sometimes vibe for the weird sex demon stuff, but this one didn't work for me. The characters were unbelievable and I wasn't sure why I should feel invested and I was being told they cared for each other, but it didn't make sense why and we never saw it. Pretty disappointing. I don't know if Miller is for in terms of her horror style, but I won't rule giving her books another shot if I came across one. ARC from Netgalley

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson- 5 stars Jackson is an author I always knew I would love, but had yet to pick up. Boy, did I love this! It was amazing. We follow Enchanted after she wakes up covered in "beet juice" and finds a famous singer dead. It's a flashback story of where she got to this point and then it goes forward in the last part as what happened and who killed Korey Fields. I love the issues tackled and discussed in this book in regards to grooming, normalizing grown men preying on teen girls, and sex trafficking. It was powerful. I did a reading vlog of it on my YouTube channel, so if you want know my full thoughts head over there! Bought copy and Library Audiobook

The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike- 3 stars This was a hit and miss one for me. It was a hit in terms of building tension and suspense. Also the setting! Love the concept, but the plot was full of plot holes and conveniences. I also talked in depth about this one in two reading vlogs on my YouTube if you are on the fence with purchasing a copy or borrowing one or skipping it altogether. Bought copy

Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker- 4.25 stars I love Seanan McGuire. I love her portal fantasy and this was a lot of fun. I'm curious and excited to read Middlegame. I talked about this in depth in a reading vlog on my YouTube channel if you want to check it out. Library Audiobook

Feelings by Manjit Thapp- 5 stars This is a beautiful collection of art and moving through seasons of life with feelings in regards to seasons. ARC from Netgalley

The Night is Deep and Wide by Gillian Sze and Sue Todd- 3 stars This was a nice little children's novel, but I didn't connect a whole lot with the story and while the art was nice there was nothing with this book that will stick with me. ARC from Netgalley

Why She Wrote: A Graphic History of the Lives, Inspiration, and Influence Behind the Pens of Classic Women Writers by Lauren Burke, Hannah Chapman, and Kaley Bales- 3.25 stars Solid nonfiction, but nothing super interesting. I did like the incorporation and blending of the stories with comic/graphic novel pages. The graphic novel part was often more entertaining than the facts. ARC from Netgalley

Sheets by Brenna Thummler- 4 stars This was a beautiful graphic novel and the story was sweet and profound. It's about a girl who is running a laundromat after her mother dies and what happens when a ghost crosses to this side and starts to cause trouble at the place. It's sweet and simple, but the tackling of grief is profound and impactful. It's a wonderful graphic novel for teens. Bought copy

The Women of Weird Tales by Everil Worrell, Eli Colter, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, and Greye La Spina- 4 stars I love short stories and I love reading finds from the past that are forgotten. The Women of Weird Tales looks at four iconic women and the stories that were in the magazine. Everil Worrell is my favorite writer of the bunch and I bought a collection of her stories. This was a great collection and I recommend it a ton! I have a dedicated reading vlog of this on my YouTube channel. Bought copy

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber- 2 stars How many of y'all had a vampire reading phase after Twilight? I DID! Vampire Kisses was a serious I was invested in for a while, but it was not my favorite. I decided to reread it on audio and it does not hold up. This is super outdated and cringeworthy. YIKES. It is overly descriptive and the adjectives used to describe people are horrible. Not a worthy vampire book. Let this one lay to rest. Library Audiobook 

One Summer Evening at the Falls by Peter Campion- 4 stars This is a nice poetry collection and what I liked about it was the length of the poems. The style reminded me of some romantic poets and I dug that. ARC from Netgalley

Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler- 5 stars AHHHH! Did you know I love Octavia E. Butler? Her first books in a series are usually not my favorite, but her sequels AMAZING. Adulthood Rites follows Akin, Lilith's Oankali son, who is human passing and his quest to save humans after being kidnapped from his family and living with them. It's amazing. It's beautiful. This is the science fiction novels that I love. Intense storylines with character dynamics spanning over complexities of heartbreak and human loss as well commentary on human existence and choices. So good. Butler is a genius. I have decided that this is my favorite Butler novel out of the four I've read (almost five). Bought copy

Overall Thoughts: I read 13 books in March which is a really low average. I weep. I had such a bad slump for reading. Nothing really WOWed me except two books. I do think if I read more books I loved then I would've had completed more. 

STATS:

Netgalley ARCs: 6

Books I Own: 6

Library: 3

 

Genres:

SciFi: 3

 Horror: 3

Contemporary:1

Fantasy:  1

Graphic Novel: 3

Children: 1

Nonfiction: 1

Paranormal: 3

Poetry: 1

Romance: 1

 

8 Adult Books

2 YA Books

1 MG Book

1 Children Book

 

Diverse Authors by Race:

Asian-3

Black- 3

I need to read more diversely!

LGBTQIA+ Authors: Octavia E. Butler (if any of the authors I read are identify as part of this community and aren't listed, please let me know!)

 

My 5-star reads:

 

3. Feelings

2. Grown

1. Adulthood Rites

 

Challenge Tracker for 2021

 52 Books I Want to Read in 2021:

*Black Sun

*Delilah: Treacherous Beauty

*The Elementals

*Survive the Night

*What Lies Between Us

*Leave the World Behind

*An Enchantment of Ravens

*Samson

*Horrorstor

*Dawn

*The Graveyard Apartment

*The Women of Weird Tales

*Adulthood Rites

13/52

 Read 20 Books That I Buy in 2021:

*Hope, Grace, & Faith

*Mermaid Saga Collection Volume 1

*Creepshow

*Katie

*The Project

*Mermaid Saga Volume 1

*Mermgaid Saga Volume 2

*What Big Teeth

*Grown

*Sheets

10/20

Read 10 Old ARCs:

*The Paper Boat

*Black Sun

*The Last Halloween

*Moriarty the Patriot Volume 1

*The Haunting of Beatrix Greene

*Over the Woodward Wall

6/10

Read 5 Physical ARCs or Books Sent to Me for Review:

None

Read 15 sequels:

*shine your icy crown

*Mermaid Saga Volume 2

*Adulthood Rites

3/15

*Read 5 Stephen King books:

*Creepshow

 

Currently Reading / Hoping to Finish:

     

     

WE WERE ON A BREAK:

    

   

    

         

  

My goal is to finish three of these in April. Just three! I can do it!

ARCs for April:

    

            

   

Apparently April is horror release month and I have so many that I can't wait to read. 

Audiobooks:

          

Ebooks That I'm Thinking About Reading:

    

Books I Own That I Want to Read ASAP:

    

I also want to read some Fear Street or Christopher Pike books, but I haven't decided which ones yet. 

Have you read any of these books? Did you love them or hate them? Which books on my TBR should I read ASAP? Let me know down below in the comments!