Another great month of reading over here! I am SO glad I’ve been in the mood to read this year because it truly brings so much joy.
I log these books as I read them, so reading back over them this month feels like the first few were months ago. I didn’t realize this month had been so long for me until reading back over these.
Spoiler alert: if you only look at one of these books this month, my favorite unsung hero of this bunch was definitely “Pretty things” – It was SO good, and I don’t hear enough people talking about it. See my review below!
What I Read in March 2021
Love Lettering, Kate Clayborn: 2 Stars
Description: In this warm and witty romance from acclaimed author Kate Clayborn, one little word puts a woman’s business—and her heart—in jeopardy . . .
Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing custom journals for her New York City clientele. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Knowing the upcoming marriage of Reid Sutherland and his polished fiancée was doomed to fail is one thing, but weaving a secret word of warning into their wedding program is another. Meg may have thought no one would spot it, but she hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid.
A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other, both try to ignore a deepening connection between them. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late . . .
My thoughts: I had heard nothing about this book, but it was available as an audiobook at the library, and I love hand lettering and design, so I decided to go for it. I liked it, but it was not the best book to start off my month. It was just a cheesy, romantic story with not much depth. It’s an interesting concept, but if you don’t have the added draw of loving hand-lettering, I think you could skip it.
Pretty As A Picture, Elizabeth Little: 3 Stars
Description: Marissa Dahl, a shy but successful film editor, travels to a small island off the coast of Delaware to work with the legendary–and legendarily demanding–director Tony Rees on a feature film with a familiar logline. Some girl dies.
It’s not much to go on, but the specifics don’t concern Marissa. Whatever the script is, her job is the same. She’ll spend her days in the editing room, doing what she does best: turning pictures into stories.
But she soon discovers that on this set, nothing is as it’s supposed to be–or as it seems. There are rumors of accidents and indiscretions, of burgeoning scandals and perilous schemes. Half the crew has been fired. The other half wants to quit. Even the actors have figured out something is wrong. And no one seems to know what happened to the editor she was hired to replace.
Then she meets the intrepid and incorrigible teenage girls who are determined to solve the real-life murder that is the movie’s central subject, and before long, Marissa is drawn into the investigation herself. The only problem is, the killer may still be on the loose. And he might not be finished.
A wickedly funny exploration of our cultural addiction to tales of murder and mayhem and a thrilling, behind-the-scenes whodunit, Pretty as a Picture is a captivating page-turner from one of the most distinctive voices in crime fiction.
My thoughts: We picked this book up to read the description on a whim one day in Barnes & Noble— Preston and I are huge movie people, so we were instantly intrigued. I liked the story line a lot, I think this is a more unique plot than most. After not seeing a movie in theaters for so long, it felt really nice to just get lost in a movie-esque plot for just a while.
There were a few areas I thought the author could have really taken this book to the top with, but there was just something a little off to me. The main character also had a “woe is me” thought to almost everything, and it got a little old listening to her whine almost? That sounds harsh, but it truly was still a great book in my opinion and totally worth the read!
The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2), Julia Quinn: 3 Stars
Description: This time the gossip columnists have it wrong. London’s most elusive bachelor Anthony Bridgerton hasn’t just decided to marry—he’s even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended’s older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate’s the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams…
Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands—and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate’s determined to protect her sister—but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony’s lips touch hers, she’s suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself…
My thoughts: We all know I’ve been obsessed with Bridgerton lately, and the books are so short I thought it was worth giving a try. I read the first in the series in February, and it honestly fell kind of flat for me. I think it was partly because I was comparing it so heavily to the show (which is amazing in my opinion) and partly because the author hadn’t quite found the right mix between FanFiction and novel. The second one though, amazing! I think it’s much better than the first book, and I actually found myself enjoying reading it more and more as it went along. It’s definitely made me excited for the second season of the show!
The Dating Plan, Sara Desai: 2 Stars
Description: Daisy Patel is a software engineer who understands lists and logic better than bosses and boyfriends. With her life all planned out, and no interest in love, the one thing she can’t give her family is the marriage they expect. Left with few options, she asks her childhood crush to be her decoy fiancé.
Liam Murphy is a venture capitalist with something to prove. When he learns that his inheritance is contingent on being married, he realizes his best friend’s little sister has the perfect solution to his problem. A marriage of convenience will get Daisy’s matchmaking relatives off her back and fulfill the terms of his late grandfather’s will. If only he hadn’t broken her tender teenage heart nine years ago…
Sparks fly when Daisy and Liam go on a series of dates to legitimize their fake relationship. Too late, they realize that very little is convenient about their arrangement. History and chemistry aren’t about to follow the rules of this engagement.
My thoughts: Mehhhh. Okay, maybe I was a little harsh on this one, but there were just so. many. rated. R. scenes. It really was so unexpected and the writing was much more graphic than I am used to. It just felt a little tasteless. Other than that, I would have really liked this one. You guys know I love reading anything about cultures or places I’m not familiar with, so the big Indian family was really fun to read about. The main character was also a female software engineer, and that was really fun because I could tell Preston what coding work she mentioned since he is also a software engineer.
The storyline was also just a little far fetched for me. I’m very picky about beach reads like this! It didn’t really hit the mark for me, but you might like it! My mom loved it.
The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah: 4 Stars
Description: Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.
By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.
In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.
My thoughts: You all know Kristin Hannah is my favorite author ever. I had really high hopes for this book, but it’s my least favorite out of The Great Alone (my favorite) and The Nightingale. It’s still really good, but the story line just isn’t as believable and authentic as her other books.
I found the main character harder to relate with than most. I thought a lot of her dialogue wasn’t as authentic as most of KH’s characters are. The ending also felt really, really rushed. I think she could have spent a lot less time detailing the day to day life of living this way (still thought that was interesting!) and spent more time writing out the strike and uprising at the end.
An Offer from a Gentleman: 3 Stars
Description: Sophie Beckett never dreamed she’d be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball—or that “Prince Charming” would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.
Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps, this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid’s garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers her his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy-tale love?
My thoughts: Another Bridgerton book, I’m sorry! Just as good as the second one, definitely better than the first.
Pretty Things, Janelle Brown: 5 Stars
Description: Two wildly different women–one a grifter, the other an heiress–are brought together by the scam of a lifetime in a page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer–traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: A mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.
My thoughts: This was unexpectedly so, so good. I can’t even remember where or who I found it through, but I am so glad I did. I immediately recommended it to my friend, and she was instantly hooked like I was too. It such a unique story line, and I liked it even more than I thought I would.
The entire time I kept thinking, is this going to happen? no this will happen. Am I right? No, I’m wrong.
It was just so good. I actually really liked the main character, and this was one of my favorite multi-narrator stories I’ve read recently, maybe ever.
Circe, Madeline Miller: 3 Stars
Description: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child — not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power — the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world.
My thoughts: You should definitely be interested in Greek mythology if you’re going to read this one, I can’t really see you loving it if you don’t like anything in that realm. I listened to this on audiobook but not extremely well if I must say. I hung on mostly through the storyline, but for some reason I couldn’t get quite hooked on every last word like I usually do with audiobooks.
I rated it highly still because it was a good book, and I could still determine the main points, plot lines and takeaways. It created amazing imagery! I had always wanted to read it, and I’m glad I did.
Verity, Colleen Hoover: 4 Stars
Description: Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of the night their family was forever altered.
She decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her. Due to extremely mature content, this book is recommended for readers 18+.
My thoughts: WOW!!! My friend from college, Abigail, runs a bookstagram account, and she actually recommended this on her page. She is obsessed with Colleen Hoover, so I wanted to give it a try. I noticed I could sign up for Kindle Unlimited for free for 30 days, and luckily most/all her books are on there.
IT WAS SO GOOD!! I loved this book, and I highly recommend it. There was a lot of mature content here, though. I couldn’t predict the true ending the entire time. I kept going back and forth between thinking the villain was the husband, the wife, Lowen, I couldn’t decide! I don’t think anyone could predict what really ends up happening, and I’m still not sure what I think really happened.
The Authenticity Project, Clare Pooley: 3 Stars
Description: Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren’t really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes—in a plain, green journal—the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It’s run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves—and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica’s Café.
The Authenticity Project‘s cast of characters—including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends—is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It’s a story about being brave and putting your real self forward—and finding out that it’s not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness. The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for—and one they will take to their hearts and read with unabashed pleasure.
My thoughts: This was really cute and sweet! It was slow at first for me, but then it really picked up toward the early middle. I liked all the characters a lot, and I liked the pacing of the characters’ growth. The writing and dialogue were both great as well.
Like I said, slow beginning though. I also didn’t like the last two pages/the ending. It just seemed like a really random way to wrap things up. Otherwise, it’s a good read! It’s definitely not a page turner, can’t put down story though.
Read with me:
Reading Next:
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
What Comes After- What I picked from Book of the Month!
I also wanted to add that I chose to DNF “Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie. Preston and I tried listening to it on audiobook, and we hated the audio performance so much we had to quit. I never DNF books, but maybe I can come back to this one in physical form.
