Hi everybody, and welcome to my March wrap up!
March was another weird month, but really, I have the feeling that I’ve been saying that every month and I just have to come to terms with the fact that it’s just a weird time of life π
Though most of life is still on hold, I got in some great reading this month (including a buddy read with my IRL bestie, which was fun) and had a lot of nostalgic fun when it came to my music and TV. Oh, and my hair color? So overall, not too bad! Here’s what I’ve been up to:
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Silver Flames was, to me, a shining example of everything I love about SJM books. Iβd highly recommend it to anyone who loved the original ACOTAR trilogy, anyone who loves SJMβs writing of character journeys, found families and romance, and anyone who doesnβt mind a lot of steam in their reads. Also, I buddy-read this with my IRL bestie, who’s also a big SJM fan, and it was so much fun!
Rating: 4,5 stars | Read my full review
The Roommate by Rosie Danan
I was a little late to the party for this book, but with the hype surrounding Rosie Danan’s next book that’s coming up soon, I really wanted to see what everyone was talking about. And I immediately kicked myself for not picking up this rom-com sooner. It’s a super steamy read with great characters, sizzling chemistry and so much sex-positivity and feminism and I LOVED IT!
Rating: 4 stars
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
A coworker lent me this book and I have to admit that I put off on reading it for about 2 weeks because I thought it was gonna be a heavy book to get through (I mean heavy compared to all the rom-coms and light fantasies I’ve mostly been consuming for the past year). But then I felt guilty for taking too long with a borrowed book and so I picked it up one Sunday morning… only to have finished it by Sunday night. That’s right, this was a one-sitting read that was impossible to put down. The writing, the setting was absolutely gorgeous and the mystery kept me entertained and guessing throughout it all. Absolutely recommend!
Overall rating: 5 stars
The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Oh hey, remember me saying I needed to pick up this book for about, say… the past 2-3 years? Well, I finally did and I’m so glad because this was a wonderful read! It also was not at all what I was expecting. I guess you can call this a cozy sci-fi, a read that’s easy on the sci-fi but focuses mostly on the characters and their interactions, and though the lack of plot felt a little jarring to me at times, I LOVED the characters. Honestly, this was so well written, I could read books upon books just following the Wayfarer crew on their daily shenanigans.
Rating: 4,5 stars
The Power of Five series (#1-4) by Alex Lidell
So, last year I read my first reverse harem and was pleasantly surprised. So I wanted to try more and picked up The Power of Five, a reverse harem series that was widely recommended. It’s about a fantasy world in which the magic chooses groups of five fae warriors to become a powerful quint. But one day, the magic chooses a human girl as the fifth warrior and obviously chaos (and steam) ensues. I loved the premise and I have to admit I raced through all four books in about a week. It was highly addictive, but ultimately a major let-down for me. Though I loved the four fae warriors, the main character had absolutely zero personality. And instead of building a nice slow burn romance, it was all instalovey “the magic makes me attracted to you all”. And the reverse harem aspect was not even questioned at any time, the main girl’s panties just got damp when one of the fae was around and she went with it and then kept going with it when another fae came around. Yeah, sorry, but really not my thing. I still want to try reverse harem, but I’m gonna need some more substance than this series gave me.
Overall Rating: 2 stars
Top Ten Tuesday
Bookish Characters With Bookish Jobs That I Want For Myself
9 Books I’m Cleaning Off My TBR
Twelve Spring 2021 Releases On My TBR
Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby & Other Funny Book Titles
Ten Books Featuring The Found Family Trope
Quote It Wednesday
Can’t Wait Wednesday
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
Music wise, March started off weird, as Spotify decided to remove hundreds of kpop songs from the platform due to some legal stuff. My playlists were decimated and some of my favorites like Oneus, Mamamoo and Dreamcatcher songs were just gone. I was super bummed. Luckily, it only lasted about two weeks and then the issue was resolved and the songs returned. Pfew. Obviously, when they returned, I obsessively listened to only those songs.
But, other than making up for those missed two weeks, there were also some other songs this month that I listened to:
MY FAVORITE: Against The Current – Weapon
I love Against The Current and I’m so glad they’re back! I love Weapon and as much as I LOVED their poppier songs, I’m also so happy for this heavier style to return!
Ateez – Fireworks (I’m The One)
The new Ateez album has been on repeat non-stop since its release and I have no regrets.
RosΓ© – On The Ground
RosΓ© is my BlackPink bias and I adore her first solo song so much!
Rise Against – Nowhere Generation
I used to be a huge Rise Against fan so I’m super happy to find that they have a new song and a new album coming our in June.
Wonho – Lose
I was bummed when I heard that Wonho was leaving Monsta X, but I’m LOVING his solo songs.
I actually watched some great things this month, though most of it was a rewatch.
Moxie
I have to admit I haven’t read the book by Jennifer Mathieu yet, but I REALLY wanted to watch this movie and I adored every single minute of it. This was such an inspiring feminist movie of girls standing up for themselves and for each other. It handled intersectional feminism and privilege and overall it was just so empowering and hopeful and I’m not gonna lie, I cried at the end. Highly recommend! (And yes, I need to pick up the book!)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 1)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my absolute favorite tv show as a teenager and now that it’s on Disney+ it felt like the perfect time for a rewatch. I’m watching this with my husband (he’s never seen it before) and we’re really enjoying it (even though season 1 does have a few cringe-worthy episodes). It’s also weird because when I first watched this as a teen, I was so in awe of Joss Whedon and his feminist show. Knowing now how very wrong that image of him was, it definitely makes this rewatch a wholly different experience. I’ll always love this story and cast though.
Romance is a Bonus Book (Rewatch #3!)
I’ve been in a kdrama slump for a few months now. I haven’t picked up anything new in ages and I started Tale of the Nine-Tailed but couldn’t get into it. (Have you watched it? Should I continue? Let me know!) So I figured, why not rewatch my ALL TIME FAVORITE? Though this is my third rewatch, I’m still so in awe of this little series and I LOVE everything about it. Check out my post on why this is not only my favorite kdrama ever, but also my favorite overall show ever!
Well, Belgium is officially in lockdown number 3. Though honestly, I thought number two was still in progress. And honestly, whether they’ve been calling it lockdown or not, I’ve been doing the social distancing thing since March. I miss my family and my friends.
But on the bright side, my grandparents and my mother (who is a high risk patient) had their first vaccine so that’s good. Now hopefully everyone else will follow swiftly so we can get back to a semi-normal again.
Also, I went to the hairdresser (just one week before they had to close again, boo.) After almost 20 years of being a (fake) redhead, I FINALLY went back to my natural brown color. At least, I think it’s my natural color, it’s based on 6 months worth of roots showing but other than that nobody has seen my natural color in 20 years. So yeah, it was time for a change π
Things that made me happy this month:
- SPRING IS HERE!
- My ACOSF buddy read with my bestie.
- My hairdresser appointment – no more badly cut bangs and a return to my natural hair color!
- Chill Sundays.
- This is gonna sound weird, but I discovered a new snack obsession: wasabi peas! They are crunchy, spicy deliciousness.
THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:
- SHADOW AND BONE, SHADOW AND BONE, SHADOW AND BONE!
- So many bookish releases but I’m mostly looking forward to The Crown of Gilded Bones, The Road Trip, In Deeper Waters, Second First Impressions and Twice Shy.
How was your March? What did you read? What did you listen to and what did you watch? What are you looking forward to in April?
I feel the same way about Long Way. I could read about the Wayfarer crew all day. I kind of want to sign on to the crew lol! And cozy sci- fi I love that term. I need more.
I LOVE that Against the Current song.
Haha yeah, the Wayfarer crew did make long space trips sound like fun! I’d love to read more about them.
Against The Current are so good, glad you like their new song!
I really need to get around to reading Where The Crawdads Sing because I’ve had the book for nearly a year I think by now. Oops. Also I’ve gotten into kdrama recently so I should check out Romance is a Bonus Book!
Haha, I’m glad I borrowed it so I was pressured to read it quickly or I might have never started it – but I’m so glad I did because it was amazing!
Oh, I’d DEFINITELY recommend Romance is a Bonus Book, it’s my absolute favorite <3 Hope you'll enjoy when you decide to try it!
Yay, it’s so good to hear that people are able to get vaccines! I’m really glad spring is here, too!
Yes, it’s such a relief! I know it won’t be over so quickly, but at least there’s a little less to worry about.
Iβm sorry to hear that you are back on lockdown, but glad to hear your family is able to get the vaccine. My mom is finally getting her 2nd dose today and Iβm beyond relieved. Hope that things improve in April!
Your dog looks adorable btw π
It’s indeed such a relief when our loved ones are getting vaccinated! It makes a new lockdown easier to bear for sure π
Hope you’ll have a great April!
Everytime I see Where the Crawdads Sing I’m intrigued because of the glowing reviews. But then I look at the synopsis and I’m always so confused! lol I need to give a shot. I wanted to read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet but I don’t know if I could handle so little plot. I usually don’t like books heavy on the characters >.<
I want to rewatch Buffy! I used to watch it when I was younger with my mom. I would stay home from school to watch reruns lol
Haha, I totally understand as I was hesitant about Where the Crawdads Sing too, but it was sooo good, I think once you start you won’t be able to stop (I know I couldn’t π )
I really enjoyed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet but I like character-heavy stories. The lack of plot was still a bit jarring for me though, so if you’re not a character-reader it might not be for you.
Buffy was my childhood, I loved it so much and I’m really enjoying this rewatch π
There are so many books coming out in the next few months. I want them all!!! LOL
I haven’t read Moxie but I would like to watch the movie. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I need to listen to Rise Against more. They have some great songs.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Yes, April and May are amazing for book releases!
I’d highly recommend Moxie the movie π
Rise Against are great, I also need to listen to them more.
Hi there Lindsey! You had a great March month! I can’t actually remember where the month went at all… I know I read The Evening and the Morning and that was about 1000 pages long.
Glad you enjoyed Where the Crawdads sing. Amazing read.
I need to try to do a Wednesday Wisdom more often. Same as your version of Quote it Wednesday. I love that feature.
Hope you will have a good week and a good month ahead!
Elza Reads
Hi Mareli! Pfew, 1000 pages seems quite intense! Hope you enjoyed the read π
Where the Crawdads Sing was so beautiful, I’m so happy I finally read it!
Wednesday Wisdom sounds like a super fun feature indeed π
Have a great April!