JLW

March Reads: Books that Sparked Joy (And Some That Didn’t)

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March was a good reading month for me, despite some duds. I managed to finish 5 books and only disliked one. That’s pretty good for me. Anyway, here are my March Reads and my thoughts on them.

Read

A book cover for Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhymes. The actors from the show are standing together. They are framed by flowers. There is a blue sky behind them. The writing is white and green.

Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn & Shonda Rhimes

Queen Charlotte pretty much follows the show, which was fine. I did enjoy the narrator very much. She made me feel really immersed in the story. However, listening to this on audiobook just made me want to rewatch the show for the umpteenth time. I’d say read this if you are like me and are a fan of the Bridgerton universe.

A book cover for Outlander. It is the tv-tie in version, so there is a scene with Claire and Jamie on it. Outlander is written in white. The author's name is at the top, also written in white, on a gold background. On the right side, there is a red emblem that says it is now a show on Starz.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

If you’re like me and you watched Outlander the show before reading Outlander the books and you’re worried that the reading experience will be hindered, I’m here to say that you don’t need to. There are a few reasons for this; there are things that happen in the book that don’t happen in the show and vice versa and things happen differently in each format. This book took me forever to read. This book is over 500 pages (depending on which version), and I was caught up in trying to read the Scottish dialogue correct. Don’t ask me why I needed to do this, I just did. If you want to do the same, make sure you have google translate next to you or listen to the audiobook along side.

Some of the characters did not track with the person they casted on the show, for me. When I was reading book Jamie I did not really picture Sam Heughan. I guess that’s the beauty of interpretation. However, there is something that book Jamie and TV show Jamie have in common; both are very handsome and charming. I do have one warning for you; I did do that thing where I compared the book to the TV show and vice versa. It didn’t change my opinion though. Both are great and I really enjoyed my reading experience. Can’t wait to continue reading the series.

A book cover for Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten. The writing is white and has a picture of Ina Garten sitting at a table with her head resting on her hand. There is a blue and white mug sitting on the table.

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

Ina Garten is an icon! Be Ready When the Luck Happens covers Ina’s early years right into her career now. I really enjoyed listening to her story, especially since my high school years/early 20s was spent watching her shows. She has a really interesting perspective on life and career and I learned a lot from her. We may not have the same personalities or approaches to life, but I did take a lot of tips away from listening to this.

The book cover for Bent Right to Your Wind by Esther Valors. There is an image of a tree, book, and some flowers. The writing is in a burgundy color.

Bent Right to Your Wind by Esther Valors

This was not the book for me. You can see all my thoughts in this post, but I wasn’t the biggest fan. I found it a bit boring and clunky. Like I said in the linked post, I think there were too many tropes.

A book cover for Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole. There is a silhouette of a girl with fire around it. It's on a white background. The writing is black.

Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole

This is the reason I continue to come back to my favorite genre…Fantasy/Romantasy. Spark of the Everflame had me hooked right from the get. There is so much action and Diem is the perfect badass FMC/protagonist. This world reminds me of the show Firefly that stars Nathan Fillion. Now, if you’re new to this genre or wanting to get into this genre and you’re worried about the world building, I’m here to put those worries to rest. This is the perfect book for you. There isn’t a whole lot of world building and there aren’t a lot of characters you have to keep track of. This is book one in the Kindred’s Curse series and all I’m saying is that I NEED to continue reading it after finishing book 1! If that tells you anything.

DNF

A book cover of The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The background color is a beige shade. There is a big red circle surrounding two people, a man and a woman. The writing is white and black.

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I don’t have much to say about The Beautiful and Damned since I didn’t finish it, but I do have some thoughts on what I did read. Right from the start, I felt lost and confused about what this book was about. Now, this is my fault for not reading the blurb on the back of the book but still. You might be asking, “Jessica, why did you even pick this one up in the first place?” You’re probably not asking that, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. I may or may not have been influenced by a certain character from a show called Gossip Girl. IYKYK. I do think at some point I will pick this one back up again because I really want to mix in some classics I never read into my reading repertoire.

Started

A book cover for The Signs by Carolyne Faulkner. The whole cover is blue with an irridescent circle in the middle. The writing is white and gold.

The Signs by Carolyne Faulkner

The Signs is a non fiction book about how to read your astrology chart. So far, I don’t have much to say so look out for this one (hopefully) in my April reads post.

I would say it’s hard to choose a favorite read from this month, but I can’t lie. My favorite read of the month is hands down Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole. I don’t tend to give 5 stars out like their candy, but I knew immediately that this one was going to be a 5 star read.

I’d love to know what you read this month and what your favorite was 🙂

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