monthly wrap up: march, ’22

Hello, friends!

This past month has certainly been a struggle, as I am aclimating back to going to university classes in person + my internship + reading and blogging. I definitely have not been as active as I would’ve liked, but I am trying to come up with a new routine that will still allow me to write posts and interact with you guys. I apologize for the absence, but I’ll try my best!

HIGHLIGHTS

1. I watched The Batman! I know! The best movie of 2022 and we’re still in March! This release was fantastic, and definitely went above and beyond. The soundtrack is fantastic, the story was a bit confusing but held all of Batman’s charm, the chemistry between Rob Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz is INSANE and the recently-released deleted scene featuring their upcoming version of The Joker left me shaking for three minutes straight. ICONIC!!!!!
2. And I watched a group of classical musicians play Taylor Swift songs. To be fair, they only played ONE (1) Taylor Swift song which was annoying. The marketing was quite misleading, but the event was still fun. I had never had the chance to listen to classical music live before, so I was very impressed and really liked their take on modern songs.

BOOKS I READ

★★★☆☆

First book I finished was my re-read of Love Her or Lose Her. I think I liked this book better the first time around, so maybe it wasn’t the best idea to re-read it. I really appreciate the approach to couples’ therapy and Rose’s development as a protagonist, but Dominic’s alpha male presence was not my favorite and the smut scenes really did nothing for me.

★★★★☆

I then finished Boys of the Beast – I have a full review up on my blog about it! I got to read this one as an ARC, but it’s out already and you should definitely read it if you enjoy road trip stories and family dynamics. I also loved the way this book approached the topic of mental health, and the discussions on religion. However, the writing could’ve been better and the road trip element didn’t make that much sense to begin with.

★★★☆☆

Then I read The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. I had read from this author before, and while I didn’t find this one to be atmospheric or spooky at all, I was invested in the mystery and I liked the protagonist, Jess. I also highly recommend the audiobook – it’s a full cast one, they have a great French accent and I flew through it!

★★☆☆☆

I also finally finished A Sky Beyond the Storm and concluded the Ember in the Ashes series. However, I really did not like this one. The pacing was terrible, Elias felt like a side character in his own story, the fact the books turned completely to fantasy, ignoring the political landscape which had been the most interesting layer thus far was very disappointing and if I was Helene and had ended the book like this, while my best friends ended like Laia and Elias, that would’ve absolutely been my villain origin story.

★★★★☆

Follow Your Arrow was another really interesting YA contemporary I read this month. While I would’ve appreciated if more time had been given to the protagonist grieve her previous relationship and I found the use of hashtags to be unrealistic and a bit annoying, I was surprised by how well this book discussed biphobia, especially in online spaces, and the nuances of social media and internet culture.

★★★☆☆

Next, I finished The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert, which is a good angsty friends to lovers romance. I do have a problem with Talia Hibbert’s humor and I think I would’ve enjoyed the smut scenes better if they didn’t have lowkey a dom/sub dynamic where the hero would call the girl “brat” while they were at it. Nonetheless, the angst surprised me and I really liked the characters’ individual developments.

★★★★☆

As for One of the Good Ones, this book was definitely an unique experience. As much as I loved the different perspectives and timelines, the writing, the fact all characters had distinct voices and the discussions on why some people believe certain lives have more “worth” than others, this book was a lot more triggering than I anticipated. It is definitely a thriller and be aware that there are graphic descriptions of kidnapping.

★★★☆☆

It took me a while but l finally picked up the sequel to Lobizona: Cazadora! I unfortunately didn’t like this one as much as the first. I really enjoy the topics that this series discusses, in terms of disrupting binary ideas in society with the backdrop of this fantastical world of the Septimus. However, I felt very distant of my favorite character – Manu – even though she is the protagonist, the side characters all feel interchangeable at this point and I was left a bit frustrated that this is not a duology like it had been marketed initially.

MONTHLY PLAYLIST

I finally got around to listening to some of my K-POP faves, so that was a part of my March. I also had a sleepover with one of my friends and we jammed to some old Miley Cyrus’ stuff, reminding me of how amazing her earlier Hannah Montana days were. Also, Wonder by Shawn Mendes continues to be his best album yet and I will take no criticism on that. Thanks.

LOOKING FORWARD

The thing I am most excited about happening in April is the release of Heartstopper. Obviously. But Harry Styles is also coming out with new music which is pretty awesome and I am veryyyy hyped for Harry’s House.

What is the best book you read in the month of March? Do you have anything you’re excited about coming out in April? Let’s chat in the comments!