March 2021 Wrap-Up

Hello again! So here I am, a month after my previous wrap-up… The slump that I talked about last post continued to exist in March and resulted in only three books read. That’s the least amount of books I have read in a month in two years! I think that my brain just needed a break.

It’s been a whole year since the start of the pandemic and I am extremely lucky to be finally getting my first vaccine today. I’m grateful that there is some kind of end in sight. I spent this month talking to new people in my city on Bumble BFF (a rendition of Bumble that’s just for making friends…I am desperate for friends), cleaned up my Animal Crossing island a bit, and spent lots of time with family and virtual time with friends. The book and accidental blog hiatus therefore, didn’t end up being a total bust. Anyways, let’s jump into quick reviews of the books that I did get to in March.

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare | ★★★★☆

I reread Chain of Iron in preparation for the release of its sequel (which I put aside temporarily due to previously mentioned reading slump) and ended up liking it a little less than I previously did. It was still fun and quintessentially Cassandra Clare angsty, but I couldn’t rate it the five stars I gave it last year considering how repetitive she is with her characters. Don’t get me wrong, I want everything she writes, but she needs to shake it up a little.

Dominicana by Angie Cruz | ★★1/2☆☆

My cousin and I have our own little book club and this was last month’s book. We both listened to it on audio and we both didn’t really like it. There were a lot of things that missed the mark here for me. I think someone who has not read many immigrant stories might like this more, but as someone who has read and heard quite a few, it was pretty basic. Things that could have been examined and discussed more just were not and left me wanting more. *Cough* The fact that she is FIFTEEN and going through all of these horrible things and is basically being preyed upon by two grown men!

Not all immigrant stories are the same, but this had to be one of the most surface-level ones that I have read so far. If I don’t think about it too much, it was an alright book, but I feel like it could have been so much better. (This review was kind of mean I’m so sorry. Also check out the content warnings, but here are a few: rape, domestic violence, alcoholism.)

Fantastic Tales by Iginio Ugo Tarchetti | ★★★★☆

I randomly picked this one up because the blurb intrigued me. Translated Italian gothic short stories from the 1800s? Sign me up! I really enjoyed a few of these stories, it served me just what I wanted at the time. It was also interesting reading about the author and reasons why he may not be as well known in literature, as well as the translation work that he did which sometimes meandered into straight up plagiarism. A surprising read that made me thing about life and death quite a bit…I am glad I picked it up.

Here is my April monthly spread. I’m really feeling the possibility of Spring this year and I’ve been very into the idea of Cottagecore things – hence this random collection of things. Currently longing for a long dress and a flower field to roam.

I am going back to my mood reading basics and picking books from my shelf that I want to read when I want to read them. This month though, I will definitely be finishing these three books.

Islands of Decolonial Love is my and my cousin’s family book club pick for April and one that has been on my TBR since I saw Thunderbird Woman Reads, one of my favorite booktubers, talking about it. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and so far I’m really enjoying it. I highly recommend it for readers who like Taylor Jenkins Reid! I am also continuing my read-through of the Lisa Kleypas Wallflowers series with Scandal in Spring. I’ve been reading each book during the season that they are titled and this is finally my last installment. It’s been almost a year since my entrance into the wonderful world of historical romance with the first book in the series and oh what a time it’s been!

It feels good to be back here writing, I am going to try to get back to weekly posting this month! *Fingers crossed* Thanks for coming back to read my blog after this month of unannounced hiatus. Follow me on Instagram to keep in touch. I don’t use it much, but I’m hoping to work on it more this month. Cheers to a wonderful April!