Where did March go and what even did, I read? Seriously- thinking back I don’t know what happened (aside from Spring Break- which those posts are coming!) and even less of an idea of what I read. I’m going to actually have to go back into my reading log to see what happened.
Ok, now I’ve referenced back- I read a total of 9 books and gave an average rating of 3.43. Not terrible! We’ll just ignore the fact that I had to review things to remind myself of those reads haha. I’m not going to reread my reviews; I’m going to write from what I remember at this time. Sometimes I think that is actually better because then you get a more accurate review- what stood out at the end of it all.
The Charlie Method by Elle Kennedy – 3.75 Stars – I really enjoyed this third book in this series. I’m not sure if there will be any more after this, but I did feel like this was a good conclusion. We saw some great character development across characters we knew and those that were introduced in this book, while still keeping with the fun-ness of a romance.
The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke – NR – How do I feel about this book? I mean it was freeing for Shari to write, triggering at times to read, and provided an insight that I don’t think that we’ve gotten from the Franke family. I read this after watching the Hulu documentary (and very much remembering when everything went down with the family), and I found that it gave so much information and insight.
The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn, Translated by Martin Aitken – 3 Stars – To this day, I still don’t know what to make of this short, strange, little story. Told in jumbled up entries, this is a futuristic novel that just makes you question everything from the story to your own reading of the words. But not in a good way (in my opinion).
The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Biosphere 2 by Jane Poynter – NR – Spoiler Alert, during Spring Break we visited Biosphere 2, an experiment that took the early 90’s by storm. Folks trying to keep a second, fully enclosed atmosphere viable and regenerating to live and exist in. This book was written by one of the “Biospherians” who lived inside for 2 years- to encompass her early life to post Biosphere. I found it to be well done and very interesting, even if I found that she still throughout the book couldn’t call certain things out for what they were.
Fake Empire by C.W. Farnsworth – 3 Stars- I remember writing in my review “The miscommunication trope is strong with this one” and I still stand by it. That is the singular thing I remember from this book – the miscommunication was way overboard and annoying and definitely took away from some things. And not just the miscommunication between the characters, but between the author and reader as well.
Magnolia Parks Into the Dark by Jessa Hastings – 4.5 Stars – I don’t think this concluding novel (concluding for Magnolia at least) could have gotten any better. It was such a solid ending, filled with equal parts of joy and sadness. It felt like we left in a really strong, full circle moment and I loved it.
You Killed Me First by John Marrs – 3.75 Stars – I think John Marrs is always just a solid easy buy and read for me. The thriller is thrilling, the book is fast paced, and there is always some fun level of banter somewhere. This one was no different and I loved seeing the suburbs of his brain and characters rather than the city life.
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson – 4 Stars – I enjoyed this mystery, the second “locked door” mystery from this author. The story is captivating and enjoyable with a…doesn’t know what he’s doing but has rules narrator. I don’t know how I felt about the ending- conflicted to say the least, but still a solid read overall.
The Secrets & Lies of Military Wives by Jenna Lumb – 2 Stars (generously) – I picked this up to be supportive of a fellow military spouse in a book group I’m in and because the people reading it in the group were giving such rave reviews. What I found were stories I either already knew (because I either lived where they took place or knew of them through groups/friends) OR stories that didn’t strike far from the norm of any military spouse group. We won’t get into the stereotyping because that’s standard and I don’t care about that, but what I will say is that this doesn’t offer much beyond just retyping the stories you’ve probably already read or seen.
So, that’s that for March.
I wanted to take a quick moment and do a little check in on the reading year as we are now fully finished with Quarter 1 of 2025 (WILD!) and wanted to see kind of where I stand. Apps do wonderful things and tell you these things haha.
So, so far in 2025 I have read a total of 10,577 pages across 25 books. I’ve bounced around the genres, though not as widely as I’d hoped, so I will note that and see where/what I can adjust. My current average rating for the year is 3.55, which I’m hoping will improve as I read more throughout the year. Overall, I’m feeling really good about this reading year at this moment.
Some standouts out of those 25 books are the Daisy Haites portion of the Magnolia Parks universe, The Favorites by Layne Fargo, and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros.
How is your reading going? Any goals? Favorites?
A Cuppa Cosy 