Good afternoon!  I’m sorry for the lack of posts in the last couple of weeks, but I have been on vacation.  It was a very relaxing vacation spent visiting family and I got to read a whole bunch, which was excellent.  With being on holiday, I added so much to my library.

I was really in the mood for a quirky contemporary romance, so I added Rainbow Rowell’s Landline to my collection and read and finished it straight away.  It was an excellent choice and I devoured it straight up.  I loved the main character, Georgie McCool – what an awesome name! – and adored how her relationship with her husband was explored in both past and present.  Definitely worth picking up.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard has been promoted very heavily recently, and I gave in and bought it.  I ended up really enjoying it and will write a full review soon.

Despite not being blown over by Bloodlines by Richelle Mead, I was really in the mood for that kind of book and after leafing through Golden Lily in a bookstore I picked it up in Kindle format.  I did enjoy it more than the first book in the series, but not enough to want to go out and buy the rest of the series immediately as I did with Vampire Academy.  I will probably continue the series at some point but not immediately.

One of my most anticipated releases of March was Victoria Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic.  I’d been hooked from the sneak preview I saw and had it downloaded to my Kindle on release day, February 23rd.  I’ve already finished it and will be writing a full review soon.

One of my favourite YA series is the Gem trilogy by Kerstin Gier – Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green.  The German Blu Ray of Sapphire Blue comes out next week and I have ordered it from Amazon Germany.  Amazon also has the first five chapters for free of the English translation for Gier’s newest series Dream a Little Dream.  It has the same engaging narrative style as the Gem trilogy and although the first five chapters were not enough to give a real sense of the story, I will probably check it out.

Katytastic. one of my favourite booktubers, recently has started reviewing the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson and this has inspired me to pick up the books in audiobook format – read by the fantastic Michael Kramer – for a reread.  Excellent books, all, and I can’t wait for Kat’s thoughts on Hero of the Ages.

I also borrowed a few books from the library.  One of these was Golden Son by Pierce Brown.  I wasn’t really blown away by Red Rising, but Golden Son has been getting rave reviews so I thought I should check it out.  I’ll be honest and say I just couldn’t get into it.  I did spend an Audible credit to have it in my library, so I may try to go back to it again.

Another book I borrowed was Shopaholic in Hollywood by Sophie Kinsella which I borrowed in audiobook format. It was a lot of fun at first, but I found I got rather bored of the same situations coming up again and again and lack of character development for Becky.  I didn’t bother finishing it.

One borrowed book I did finish was Loki’s Wolves by K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr.  This is a kind of poor man’s Rick Riordan with teens being linked to Norse gods and having to save the world.  It was a lot of fun, but probably not enough for me to continue the series.  I’d rather wait and see Riordan’s take o the Norse mythology.

Upcoming releases in March

There are quite a few books coming out in March about which I am excited:

Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs.  This is the fourth book in her Alpha and Omega series.  I do enjoy these so I have preordered this in Kindle format.  Dead Heat is released on March 3rd.

The Lost Herondale – Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.  This is the second in a series of novellas from Cassandra Clare and Robin Wasserman and follows Simon Lewis as he continues Shadowhunter training.  If it’s like the first one, it’s fun, but not particularly deep.  Still it will pass an enjoyable couple of hours and ease the wait for Lady Midnight.  I’ll pick this up in Kindle format on March 17th.

The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett.  This is the fourth in the Demon Cycle series.  I’m honestly surprised that I’ve not heard more buzz about this one.  I really enjoy Brett’s worldbuilding and the narrative he is developing.  It’s not yet available on Audible but I will be picking this up in both audiobook and Kindle format.  The Skull Throne is released on March 30th.

On March 31st Danielle Paige’s sequel to Dorothy Must Die, The Wicked Will Rise, will be released.  Now, I did have some serious issues with the first book, but the world is intriguing enough for me to want to continue the story.  I’ll pick this up in both Audible and Kindle formats.

One expensive splurge I’m making on March 31st is the updated version of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlandish Companion.  At $21 it’s quite expensive, but I do enjoy the series – both books and TV – and will enjoy learning more about the background.  It will be available in Kindle format.

My work hours have changed now, and I’ll have to go back to nightshifts very shortly about which I am pretty bummed.  The only bright spot is that I will be able to get through a lot of audiobooks.  Any recommendations for me?

Have a good week – until next time.