March 2022 Monthly Reading Wrap Up

[Jessica]

Hello and welcome to another reading wrap up! As a reminder, this year I’ve decided to partake in the PopSugar Reading Challenge, which is a set of 50 prompts which you read a book to match, so I’ll be including those prompts and my progress in these wrap ups. For more info check this website: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen....
I’m currently at 10/50 for the PopSugar Challenge.
Now onto the Wrap Up!

This month I read…

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn- I listened to this on Audiobook. This was pretty enjoyable. It was definitely a more stereotypical romance novel than the romance I normally lean toward. There were even some points I giggled out loud at because of how silly they seemed. I wanted to read it because of the Bridgerton Netflix series and I wasn’t completely disappointed in it. The show may have been more enjoyable than the book though, and that is rare for me to say.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See- I enjoyed this book a lot. It was very well written and I loved the characters and learning about the haenyeo. I knew nothing about haenyeo or this part of Korean culture or history before reading this book and it was fascinating. As I said, I loved the characters too, so I was very invested in the story of their lives and friendship. There were many parts that were very heartbreaking as well since I was so invested in the characters, especially the ending.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book about or set in a non-patriarchal society.

A Little Closer to Home: How I Found the Calm After the Storm by Ginger Zee- I may be a little bias as I am a big fan of Ginger's and think she's an all around kind human, but this book was excellent. If you're passionate about mental health you need to read this book. Ginger explains her own mental health issues and the realizations and healing she has come to (while still recognizing the work she still needs to do) wonderfully. Even if you have no idea who Ginger Zee is, I feel that anyone with Mental Health issues will be able to relate and learn something from this book.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book about or by a woman in STEM.

Arcadia by Lauren Groff- I picked this up at a local independent bookstore while on vacation in Asheville, NC (hence why I used it for the prompt I did). It was described as a utopian community, revelatory, gorgeous language, magical, and ambitious. I would say it was all of the above, however it was just a so so read for me. I did enjoy the plot and world that Groff created and there were some very interesting and thought provoking parts that painted a thin line between utopia and dystopia. I think the writing style just got in the way for me a bit. It does take some effort to read and I think I just wasn’t in the mood to put that much effort into reading at the time I read it.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book you know nothing about

What did you read this month? Be sure to share down below!

Happy Reading!

[Erin]

I'm at 55 of 60 for my Goodreads reading goal, but my Need-To-Read is finally slowing down. I'm likely to hit over 120 like normal, but not break the all-time record of 186. I finished 17 this month.

For April's Book Club, I read Ring Shout by P. Djeili Clark. It's both a simple read (historical monster hunting fantasy goodness) and complex (examining the difference between righteous anger and fearful hate).

I also dived into the book they chose for May The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid. The use of Hungarian history and Jewish mythology takes this out of the "normal" fantasy category. While not a Romance, it contains a enemy-to-friends romance that is at times naked, ugly, sweet, heartbreaking, fated, and impossible. The fantasy world captures why the "woods" are dangerous beyond imagination, and the tyranny has shades where "it could be worse" allows acceptance of the unsustainable.

I finally finished the Dragons of Boston medical-thriller series with Dragon Legacy: A Scientific Thriller by Chris A. Jackson. The start of the book was weak, but the final half rocked.

Another series I capped this month was The Coldstone Files with Wolfheart by Jason Gilbert. As suited to the final novella of a urban fantasy series arc, the concentration is action. The book delivers on everything building since the first book. (And reading the entire series, you see the author improve over time.) He says he will be doing more, but he has two other series going and just moved to Ashville NC for a new job so Real Life might unmoor this series from continuing. This novella is a good stopping place, so I won't be too disappointed if it stops here as much I as I would like to see more of The Coldstone Files.

Other than that, I mostly been chewing my way through the Quincy Harker series written by local Charlotte author John G. Hartness. Nine of the books I read were related to that universe. The best was Angel of Harlem, but the emotional impact worked because of the entire universe. I wouldn't recommend it as a stand-alone.

[Jessica]

Erin wrote: "I'm at 55 of 60 for my Goodreads reading goal, but my Need-To-Read is finally slowing down. I'm likely to hit over 120 like normal, but not break the all-time record of 186. I finished 17 this mont..."

I'm very interested in your book clubs latest picks, they both look good! I'm actually looking for a book to fit the prompt 'A book with an onomatopoeia in the title' for the Popsugar Challenge and Ring Shout seems like it would fit that, so I might just have to pick it ups soon. Thanks for sharing!