March Wrap-Up

Hey bookworms!

OMG I can’t believe it’s April! Happy April Fools! Got any fun pranks to play today? My goodness, March just flew by and I spent the majority of it as a stress-filled tornado. I had one project that dominated all my time, buuuuut I may have some exciting news to share with you guys soon. I also celebrated my birthday this month and got a massive birthday book haul—I’m now banned from buying books for at least a couple months haha. Speaking of books, I managed to fit in 11 books. Thank goodness for manga! I haven’t been feeling my current audiobook, Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson, so I’m putting that on hold for now and finding something else. Anyhoo, here’s hoping I get more reading done in April. I’m so excited to see what this month will bring! Aside from all the yummy Easter Kinder Surprise eggs of course 😉

My Library

I did not get to read any books from my library haha. I had too many awesome eARCs and ARCs to read 😂

Netgalley eARCs

How to be the Best Third Wheel by Loridee De Villa

Review:

WOW. This book was just wow. I initially requested it because of the Filipino rep and it did not disappoint. I’m half Filipino and I could relate to practically everything in this book. The Filipino parties were just like the ones from my childhood, and omg the food 😍 I really liked how Loridee included dialogue in Tagalog with the English translation in brackets. I can understand some Tagalog, but not really read it, so it was fun to see what I could understand from the dialogue. All the Filipino awesomeness aside, let me talk about the plot. I initially thought this book was extremely juvenile and very overdramatic. I thought what happened to Lara’s friendships with her three BFFs was very exaggerated, but after reading more, I was drawn into her story and her loneliness from losing her friends to their new boyfriends. Readers can really empathize with her feelings about this situation. I also thought the book would end once Lara and James figured their relationship out, but then there’s a plot twist(?) and more drama ensues. That second arc gives you all the feels and it’s so heartbreaking to read. I love how the characters recover from that and how they decide to move forward with their lives. I really respect Lara for the decisions she ends up making and I like how her story ended. Her character growth was phenomenal. I didn’t expect that ending at all, but I think it turned out better that way. Lara’s scholastic journey was also very inspiring and I think it’s a message teens need to hear as they start thinking about their future after high school. It’s ok to not have everything figured out yet and it’s ok to take things slow. Regarding the characters, I think everyone had well-rounded personalities and I thought Lara’s friend group was so special. Even though they abandoned her for their boyfriends, when she tells them how much that hurt her, they realize their mistakes and find a way to balance their friendship and relationships, and are there for Lara whenever she needs them. Also Carol and her bat LOL 😂 Lara’s banter and love-hate relationship with James was lit. I loved their dialogue bits and Lara just has such a great sassy attitude. Overall, this is a seriously great book and I highly recommend it! It also has many great quotes 😂

5/5⭐

The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull

Review:

I really love reading about the Romanov family, so when I saw this book about Olga, I couldn’t resist and had to request it. It was so interesting to read about the Romanov story from Olga’s point of view, because usually everything is from Anastasia’s point of view. Bryn includes a lengthy author’s note in the back to give readers more insight about the history in her book and to point out fact changes she made so her story would flow better. She also has a bibliography at the end which is always great to include so you can find what sources the author used for their story and have more reading material if you enjoy the topic 😊 The story of the Romanovs is always so jarring for me because it’s wild to think that all this happened during World War I, which still feels like recent history. The book is told with alternating chapters from the beginning years of the war and the years leading up to the family’s execution. I thought that was a bit confusing and made the story hard to follow at first, but once you get used to it then it’s easier to follow. I enjoyed reading about this from Olga’s perspective, but I felt like she didn’t really do much in the story, like she just observed everything. The most action she took was during her romance with Mitya, but even then she just spends most of the story gathering information about the war and how it’s affecting her family and the Russian army. This book gets a bit more emotional the further you read, and I had to take a moment with that ending. The last page was beautifully written and will hopefully make an emotional impact on the readers. Overall, this was a really interesting take on Olga’s perspective of this time period.

4/5⭐

The White Lady by Quentin Zuttion

Review:

Yoooo this book is so sad. I empathized a bit with Estelle because I work in a hospital where I see old people everyday. I don’t interact with them to the extent the characters in this book do, but you definitely grow fond of the people you see everyday. This book is extremely emotional and shows you a non-filtered version of what working in a care home can be like. There are many moments in this book that really show each senior’s personality and lead the reader to feel for them. Every death was so sad. The artwork was so flowy and beautiful, and I loved how the ending transitioned for Estelle. I definitely cried a little when I read this, so be sure to have some tissues nearby.

5/5⭐

Sakura’s Dedication Volume 1 by Fuyu Yukimiya

Review:

This manga didn’t really go how I expected it to, but it was still a decent read. I thought majority of this volume would be Sakura confessing and trying to win Hanasaki’s heart, but she accepts him hella quickly and most of the volume is about Hanasaki trying to learn to be open to honest love, and accept someone who genuinely likes her, unlike her previous boyfriends who have all been terrible. I thought Hanasaki and Sakura’s relationship started off too quickly, but I think they are an interesting match. He’s so straightforward about his feelings and his thoughts which is so great, and Hanasaki is adorable with how embarrassed she gets when he shows her affection. I’m curious to see what happens next!

3/5⭐

Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to my Charms Vol. 1 by Ran Kuze

Review:

This was such a fun manga, although it was HEAVY on the fan service. Mona is trying to seduce Kuroiwa but is miserably failing because he’s training to be a monk and refuses to be distracted by girls. Mona does some drastic things to get Kuroiwa’s attention, but he never reacts. Secretly he is deeply affected by Mona’s actions and has to put all his self-control into not falling for her charms, and it’s funny to see his inner thoughts about what Mona does to seduce him. He is a gentleman though, and never takes advantage of her, especially during the wet shirt scene. I also liked the side story of Haruno-san and how supportive she was of Mona’s crush. Overall, this is an interesting story and I wonder how many volumes it’ll take for Kuroiwa’s self-control to crack 😂

4/5⭐

Having an Idol-Loving Boyfriend is the Best Vol.1 by Mito Aoi

Review:

Initially I thought Onda-san was so mean to Akari, but when he goes into his idol-loving mode he is such a softie. It was interesting to see how their relationship progressed after he asked Akari out. I really loved the part about Onda-san’s birthday. This was because even though they are dating, they understand each others’ passion for their own idol, and understand that they should go have those once-in-a-lifetime experiences with their idol. They support each others’ hobbies and that’s great! It’s so cute to see how shy Onda-san is, especially when he opens up and starts getting all enthusiastic and outgoing when his idol is involved. I would love to read more of this series and see how they navigate their dating life and their love for their idols.

4.5/5⭐

Yagi the Bookshop Goat by Fumi Furukawa

Review:

Content Warning: SEX 😂

I don’t know why I always go into these types of books expecting some cute, fluffy content and then getting surprised when there’s full-on sex scenes 🙈 I honestly just saw goat and books and had to request this. I didn’t realize this was a BL manga and thought it would be a fun, innocent read about a goat working in a bookstore. You get that, but you also get so much more 😂 I thought the backstory between Yagi and Ookami was so cute and I thought it was so sweet about how Yagi got the job at the bookstore. All that hair petting at the end though, omg that killed me. Head petting is one of my weaknesses and I just couldn’t handle how CUTE they were 😍

3.5/5⭐

Fagin’s Girl by Karen McCombie

Review:

Content Warning: Death of children, death of a parent, and abuse.

If you like books with lightning-fast pacing, then this book is for you. Holy moly so much happens in this short book and there’s barely any time for build-up. There’s a ton of telling instead of showing as well. This is great for kids though, because it’s written in simple language and the fast pace and constant action should be able to hold their attention for the entire story. This book is also formatted so dyslexic readers can enjoy it as well. The author also included a tiny bit of historic background to explain the plot. I think the story was pretty realistic in portraying how bad life was for kids during that time period, but gosh it was pretty dark content. Character-wise, I thought Joe’s character was really mean and he acted terribly towards his family. Ettie was such a sweetheart and worked so hard to help her mom. I really loved the illustrations too! I think they were my favorite part of the entire story.

3/5⭐

Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke

Review:

I LOVED this retelling! Definitely a five star Peter Pan retelling. It was so magical and the romance between Tink and Hook was so steamy! They had so much passion for each other and I loved Tink’s enemy-to-lover approach to their romance whereas Hook was basically a simp in denial for her. I really enjoyed how much weight this pirate crew puts on the value of family and thought the scenes in their cove were so heartwarming. I thought it was really neat how the author wove in aspects of the original Peter Pan story to suit her narrative, like how Blackbeard is the croc and how Peter and his band of lost boys was created. I did not expect the plot twist with Lily, and the plot twist with Blackbeard also came out of nowhere. I also like the idea of how Tink discovers she can make more dust. It ties in with the romance aspect of the story so well. One small thing that kind of took me out of the story sometimes was when the author used the word “suck.” I’m not sure if this is just me but that word just feels too modern for this particular world and was a bit jarring to read in the dialogue. I thought the scene about them finding the scale was really fast, but it made room for all the drama that came after. Overall this is officially one of my favorite retellings I’ve ever read. Highly recommend.

5/5⭐

Other (e)ARCs

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian

Review:

TW: Sexual assault, hazing, bullying, homophobia, trichotillomania

This was a really interesting story about how things get covered up in schools and how people in positions in power are often pardoned for their bad actions because of their status. I liked how we got to see the story from all five of the Circle students’ POV. I thought that even though each character had only a small number of chapters dedicated to their POV, the reader still got a good sense of who they were and could empathize with each person. I thought the pacing in the story was decent until the ending where it got rushed and ended quite abruptly. I like how the epilogue showed how the Circle members were doing now, but I wish we got more of the fallout after the big event that happens at the end. I loved the found family that was formed in this story and thought the forgiveness and loyalty of the group was very admirable. I was surprised with Beth and Brunson’s side story and thought it was sweet. Overall this was a heartwarming, although sometimes painful to read and highly emotional, story.

4/5⭐

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Review:

I’ve never read any of Schwab’s books before and I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one. After finishing this book, I want to read all of her YA books because I want to experience more of her writing style. I LOVED the writing style of this book. It was so atmospheric and gave off such a vibe! It’s like you’re in a dream and it’s such a dark and spooky story. I like how the story of Gallant house is slowly revealed, because it keeps me wanting to keep reading so I learn more about it. The story isn’t really epic, but more like a relaxing and spooky read. I wish there was more because I want more story about the house 😂 The pacing was also very leisurely in the beginning and middle, but then all the action with trying to defeat the man in other Gallant happened so quickly and you’re left feeling a little stunned because a lot happens. I thought some of Olivia’s actions in the end with the shadow were kind of foolish, but other than that, it was a really great book!

4/5⭐

Audiobooks

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson

Review:

Currently pausing this audiobook for the time being because I’m not feeling interested in the story. I’m honestly feeling a bit bored by the storyline for some reason, and M-Bot is literally the highlight of this story for me right now and the only reason I want to keep listening.

?/5⭐

What were your favorite books from this month? Also, do you have any guesses about what my exciting news may be? Put your guesses in the comments below 😄

Happy reading!