Even though we’re now headed into April, most of March felt like the dead of winter here on the Canadian east coast. We had several snow storms, and every time it felt like spring might be peeking around the corner, we were battered with more terrible weather.

Each year, I start to get particularly stir-crazy right about now. We’ve been trapped inside for months and all I want is to feel warm sunshine on my face. I’d like to go somewhere without needing to dig my car out first, somewhere that the air doesn’t hurt, but since that isn’t an option right now, I found myself curled up inside with a good book more often than not. The result of this was that I read (or listened to in some cases) a whopping nine books this month!  That’s a personal record for me, and one that I was excited to have reached.

I stretched myself a little this month, reading books in new formats and books outside of my usual genres. While it may not have been a great month for weather, it certainly was for reading, so I’ll count myself lucky at least in that.

Books Read in March 2023

Last month I said I’d felt like I was on a roll when it came to reading—if that was the case, this month that roll picked up momentum and became an avalanche. It’s staggering to me that I was able to read as much as I was, and so many good stories at that!

Because I read across formats and genres, I’ll break things out a little more granularly then I normally would.

In fiction, this month I read physical copies of:

• Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo: this was the second book in the Alex Stern series, the follow-up to Ninth House. The book follows the gang to hell and back and I absolutely loved it. It was a 5-star read for me, and you can catch my full review here.
• Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent: the first in The War of Lost Hearts series, and a really promising start with unique magic, a strong female main character, and banter/relationship dynamics that I thoroughly enjoyed. I rated it 4 stars and you can read my review here.
• The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty: this was the end of the Daevabad trilogy and it was everything I wanted it to be and then some. I’ve been ranting about how much I love this series everywhere. You can find my 5-star review here.
• Ruthless Fae by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti: the second book in The Zodiac Academy series and just as fun as the first. These books are wildly entertaining to me, I devour them so quickly. For that reason alone, it was a 5-star read for me and you can find my review here.
• People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry: I just love Emily Henry. And I love a good rom-com. And a book that can simultaneously make me laugh and cry. This was another 5-star read for me, and you can find my review here.
• The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang: the second book in The Poppy War series. Relentlessly dark, wickedly smart, exceptionally crafted fantasy. I rated it 4.5 stars, and will be posting my review in the coming days!

In audiobooks this month, I listened to:

• Broken by Jenny Lawson: Lawson’s signature chaotic and hilarious writing coupled with difficult topics in mental health. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and relatable.
• Brief Answers to Big Questions by Stephen Hawking: Hawking brings humour and wit to seriously dense and difficult subject matter and I loved it. His approach to some of the biggest questions of our time, like whether we are alone in this universe, was complex yet attainable. The audiobook, for me, was the perfect way to consume this type of dense scientific content.
• These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan: a YA novel, the first in a duology, with similar tropes and vibes to ACOTAR. It took me a minute to get into this one, but by the end I was cleaning my house and scrubbing floors all so that I would have an excuse to listen to it longer. Already have the next book on hold through my library.

In terms of new books I picked up this month, I was admirably restrained. I knew March was the month I needed to start Drums of Autumn (currently reading), which clocks in at well over 1000 pages, so I kept the new purchases to a minimum. I picked up:

• Daughter of the Mood Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan: I’ve heard so many good things about this book that when I saw it on sale randomly at Homesense, I couldn’t resist snagging a copy
• The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty: Chakraborty is an auto-buy author for me, she’s an absolute legend of crafting incredible fantasy. Also, this new book is about a middle-aged mother and pirate, and I am HERE for a heroine that is, for once, not an 18 year old

To Be read (TBR) Lists

While I was restrained in what I actually bought this month, I was not in the books that I added to my TBR. These are the books that made the list through my screenshots across bookstagram this month:

• The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni: a dark YA fantasy that has seventeen year old Kiva fighting for survival in a notoriously deadly prison. I saw this recommended as being very bingeable, a quality I love in a series.
• This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay: diaries of a junior doctor in the NHS, very keen to listen to this one on audiobook if I can.
• Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li: described as Ocean’s Eleven meets The Farewell. I love a good heist, very excited for this one.
• Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli: literally described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. I’ve seen this all over Instagram in the past two weeks and am very intrigued.
• On Beauty by Zadie Smith: a denser lit fic examining family life, the institution of marriage, intersections of the personal and political, and deception.

What I’m Loving Right Now

I’m not going to lie, this never-ending winter has had me feeling bleaker lately. I’ve had to actively look for joy on a day-to-day basis, otherwise, I know I’ll fall into a depression that’s not so easy to snap out of. If you’ve ever battled with your mental health, you might know what I’m referencing—that moment when you can see things heading toward a cliff and it’s important to intervene while you still have the sense to do so.

With that in mind, what I was loving this month was mostly just honouring what I felt like I needed.

Sometimes, that was rest. Letting myself sleep late on the weekend, going to bed early throughout the week, and not pushing myself to make too many plans. Just giving myself the space to decompress and work through what I needed to.

Other times, what I needed was just a break in routine, something to make our lives just a touch easier when the overwhelm of everything that needs to be done hits. For us, it meant we ate out a fair bit this month. I’m so lucky to have a husband who’s a chef and spoils me rotten, but we’ve both had crazy schedules and at the end of the day we just kept finding ourselves too exhausted to even have enough brainpower to come up with something to eat. On the upside, this meant a lot of takeout tacos, and my life is infinitely better for it.

Lastly, and perhaps obviously given this blog, reading was a hugely positive thing for me this month, specifically audiobooks. I always find that reading reduces my overall anxiety, but audiobooks have added a whole other layer to my enjoyment. I found myself looking forward to cleaning and walking the dog and doing laundry, all things that typically just feel like extra after a long day or amid a busy season, but doing them while listening to a great audiobook? Suddenly not so bad.

So all in all, that was March! It was hectic and cold and difficult and fulfilling and joyful and full of really great, entertaining books. Heading into April with some hope that spring may finally be here, and that with it, will come even more good reads 😊