March Wrap-Up

Can you believe we're in the fourth month of the year already? Hard to believe how fast time goes. This time last year I was two months into my eight month reading slump with no intention of reading and planning the most incredible summer I've ever had. Now I'm pretending to know how to adult after graduating university, and I'm eleven books ahead of my Goodreads Challenge; how times change!

March wasn't a great reading month for me as it was slow with only average reads, which is a shame after having a great month in February. In comparison to the two previous months, I've done all right but I'm one book less read than January and February, however two of those were very long books so it's all about balance. I struggled with almost all of these books but overall found them mainly enjoyable.

•  The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman ⭐⭐⭐

With this novel set in Victorian London, obviously I would love this. However, this might also be this novel's downfall as you can tell the author has done her research, and almost too well as it felt quite dense at times and the fantastical plot felt secondary. Once the magic/fantastical elements kicked in, they were underwhelming. I guess I was expecting too much with this being compared to the shadowhunters from The Infernal Devices but it was so so. This was an enjoyable read which I would consider reading the sequel at some point, but I'm not all that bothered right now.

• The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This took me a while to get into as there a huge time transition which was half expected to get the novel rolling considering the end of the previous installment. This was probably my favourite read of the month just because I was so happy to get back to these characters and story; and Jaxon Hall, of course (who is now my favourite character in the entire series). I did miss Paige's London in this book, but it was really exciting to venture around the country and how other Clairvoyants cope under Scion. I'm really interested to see where the next novel will take us, but I'm so sad I'll have to wait at least a year.

• This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab ⭐⭐⭐ 

The premise for this had me very intrigued, but I think the overall execution wasn't that great. The world building left a lot to be desired, in my opinion, as a critical reader, but knowing how to write after graduating a Creative Writing degree. Little was explained in regards to the monsters, what the world looked like and the dynamics between the warring characters. Having said this, I did really love the character Sloan as I envisioned him as a cross between Nosferatu and The Gentlemen from Buffy with a classic vampire feel which I just loved. Kate and August were cute at the end, but ultimately August bored me, and although I thought Kate was sassy at the beginning, she turned whiny after her dad wasn't paying her enough attention. The epilogue ending really peaked my interest and I would consider reading the next book, but probably when it's on sale, rather than pre-ordering it. 

• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm new to this sci-fi thing and I'd been told this was a great introduction, but I think this is more intermediate level as all the documentation and technicalities were lost on me. I was only grasping bits and pieces so I kept putting this down and not wanting to pick it back up, however once AIDEN came back online and we read from his point of view, I was onboard (pun intended). I threw my confusion and over-thinking away and threw myself into the story. There were so many twists that I wouldn't know where to start discussing non-spoilery, but this was just so good. I absolutely loved AIDEN and as our "villain", it was great to see his thought processes and eventually his redemption towards the end. If I re-read this, I'd probably rate this higher, but the shock factor of the plot twists would be lost on me so potato portarto!

• Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor ⭐⭐

I didn't think I'd ever see this book on this wrap-up... or any for that matter. I can't remember the last time I struggled with a book this much. First time round I read 163 pages with absolutely no idea what was happening so I picked it up on audiobook (my first ever one!) and restarted it. I found this easier, but ultimately, I have no idea what happened and finish this with little interest to find out. Considering how much I enjoyed the first one, I'm so disappointed but this novel felt like it did a 180 on the first which felt very urban fantasy, whereas this felt high fantasy - something I'm very unfamiliar with, so that might have had a part to play. Maybe one day, I'll do a re-read of this, but for now I'm going to put this series on hold.