I don’t know what happened to the girl who had only ever given one book a one-star rating in her entire history of reading and reviewing. Because this month, I added three more books to that total! Luckily there were a few five-star reads to even the odds, making this another pretty succesful reading month.
My March reading wrap up consists of 31 books:
- 13 by a male author
- 18 by a female author
- 9 thriller
- 1 horror
- 6 science fiction
- 4 fantasy
- 4 contemporary
- 1 historical fiction
- 6 non-fiction
- 9 are a pre-2016 release
- 7 are a 2016 release
- 15 are a 2017 release
- 21 are ebooks
- 7 are paperbacks
- 3 are hardbacks
- 3 one star
- 3 two star
- 10 three star
- 8 four star
- 7 five star
The Devil’s Prayer by Luke Gracias
Available in the UK and the US
4/5 stars. Read 1st March
Read my full review here
This thriller, horror and historical fiction hybrid focused on the confessions left by Denise Russo, who abandoned her children and travelled the world to join a nunnery, vowing her silence in the process. The author managed to pull so many elements into one plot that I struggled to see how it would all be compatible. But, surprisingly, it was!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQqkjmBDccQ/?taken-by=dannii.elle.reads
The Bone Season, The Mime Order and The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon
Available in the UK and the US
Overall rating 5/5 stars. Read between 4th and 12th March
Read my full reviews here and here
This dense and intense series deals with a futuristic dystopia where a portion of the population are ‘infected’ with clairvoyancy. These ‘unnatural’ members of society are treated as the lowest order of humanity, enslaved or sentenced to death. They must find a way of uniting if they have any hope of overthrowing the strict governing regime they are forced to live by. I absolutely adored everything about this unique fantasy series, and with a further four books to come there are plenty more thrills to come. I don’t think I can wait over a year for the next instalment, though!
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence 
Available in the UK and the US
5/5 stars. Read 5th March
Read my full review here
I knew I had to read this when I read the synopsis and it reminded me of one of my favourite reads of 2016, Nevernight. The Sisters of Sweet Mercy had been training young, female assassins for centuries. But when little Nona appears, she seems to fulfil an ancient prophecy from time immortal. This was a rich and evocative fantasy with a magic system that pushed the boundaries of what was real and what was expected.
Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson 
Available in the UK and the US
2/5 stars. Read 7th March
Read my full review here
This is a collection of renowned horror author, Shirley Jackson’s lesser-known tales. I ended up DNF’ing this book at 41% because it was just. so. dull. I’m still interesting in reading more of her work so if you have any suggestions on where to start then please leave me a comment, down below.
Non-Heir and First Year by Rachel E. Carter
Available in the UK and the US
Overall rating 4/5 stars. Read between 8th and 10th March
Read my full review here and here
These are the first two instalments in bestselling author, Rachel E. Carter’s, Black Mage series. Magical high fantasy has always been a favourite genre of mine and these provided no exception to that fact. I always find the setting of fantastical academies for magic a thrilling concept, which is what originally drew me in. And I don’t think I have read such an in-depth focus on the topic before, so I am LOVING this series. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next three instalments.
Raising Royalty by Carolyn Harris 
Available in the UK and the US
4/5 stars. Read 10th March
Read my full review here
I originally deigned to read this as research for my own fiction writing, but I found it was voyeuristically interesting and insightful, despite that.
The Creative Spark by Agustín Fuentes
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 13th March
Read my full review here
This focuses less on renowned creative geniuses but on the everyday creativity humans have exhibited, from the earliest hunter gatherer and the creation of knives and fire, to modern day examples of war-making and co-habitation. Whilst I found the overall subject matter fascinating, I also found it dwelling on topics I didn’t find of much particular interest.
The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney
Available in the UK and the US
4/5 stars. Read 14th March
Read my full review here
I originally read a sampler for this at the end of last year (something I never do!) and, after giving it 5 stars, have been meaning to sink my teeth in to this. This dark and complex psychological thriller is unlike any other I have read and the focus on architecture was absolutely fascinating.
Charlotte by David Foenkinos
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 14th March
Read my full review here
This book is a gripping portrait of an exceptional painter and young woman who suffered an early and tragic demise. Charlotte Salomon was gassed along with six million Jews, who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis. She was just twenty-six when her life was tragically ended, and pregnant with her first child. I believe this is my first experience of reading an entire novel written in verse and it wasn’t nearly as daunting as I had anticipated it to be.
Ragdoll by Daniel Cole 
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 15th March
Read my full review here
I went through a phase, a year or two ago, where I read nothing but police procedurals and court room dramas. I thought I was ready to immerse myself back into the world, but I think I may have worn myself out for all eternity. Now, any books on this topic just feels like rehashing of something I have read before. The crime was unique and inventive but the characters and the setting were not.
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 16th March
Read my full review here
Coming-of-age contemporaries don’t get much more perfect than Albertalli’s debut, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, so this book had big boots to fill. Whilst I can safely say I really enjoyed reading this, it didn’t blow me away like its predecessor. I did really appreciate the diversity this delivered, however.
The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker 
Available in the UK and the US
2/5 stars. Read 16th March
Read my full review here
I was so excited to begin this book. A dystopian fiction without a teenage girl protagonist, you say? Count me in. Unfortunately, what inspired me to read this also became the reason for my dislike. I found it so hard to connect with this story when faced with my own hatred of the protagonist.
The Day Before you Came by Martin Freiner
Available in the UK and the US
1/5 stars. Read 17th March
Read my full review here
It feels horrendous to give such a low rating to a memoir, and I don’t mean for my opinions to reflect the constituents of someone’s life. My issues with this was the nature of the content. This was a very dark anthology of stories, and I felt genuinely uncomfortable whilst the author was reliving his experiences. I found depiction of the treatment of and attitudes towards women far too painful to read about.
Expletives Deleted by Angela Carter 
Available in the UK and the US
5/5 stars. Read 17th March
This is a series of articles penned by one of my favourite authors, Angela Carter. These were originally published in the Guardian and have been reformatted in his anthology. Each is short and focused on one piece of fiction, but all are deep, complex and enigmatic. This is a must read for any book reviewer.
Abomination by Jane Dougherty
Available in the UK and the US
1/5 stars. Read 17th March
Read my full review here
I saw the words ‘wormhole’ and ‘post-Abomination world’ in the synopsis and knew I had to read this book! This felt almost like a futuristic Lord of the Flies, which isn’t my favourite classic text to start with. But my real problem with this dwelt with the lack of basis for the story. Within the first few pages the Earth we know was obliterated, and the duo this focuses on were dragged into the future. I didn’t have time to formulate an understanding about who, what, and why and, without that, I found I couldn’t care much about the events that followed.
The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Available in the UK and the US
5/5 stars. Read 18th March
Read my full review here
Not going to lie, I picked this up purely because of the beautiful cover and the insane amount of hype it received a year or two ago. Never did I imagine the evocative beauty and haunting poignancy it would deliver! I assumed this was going to be a straight-up YA thriller. Which it is. But it can also be described as fantasy, magical realism, paranormal, romance and contemporary. In short, this book is everything and nothing like the genres it can be classified as.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Available in the UK and the US
5/5 stars. Read 18th March
Read my full review here
This intense and unguessable contemporary thriller has become my favourite read of the year, so far. That ending, though…
The Dead Inside by Cyndy Drew Etler
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 19th March
Read my full review here
Cyndy’s tragic experiences were relayed to the reader with such raw emotion, that it was hard not to get sucked into this painful world. It was sickeningly honest and shockingly bleak and penetrating. However, I found this just far too painful to process. It was a read that shed light on a corruptness that lies inside of humanity, but also one that affected me too deeply for me to take away from this what I believe I was supposed to.
Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 20th March
Read my full review here
The realistic responses to emotions is what made this book such a compelling one. Even the side-characters had their own problems that impacted me, as a reader, just as much as the central characters’ plights. Each individual felt concrete, whole, and necessary to the story.
See you in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng 
Available in the UK and the US
2/5 stars. Read 21st March
Read my full review here
This book concerned a lost little boy and his obsession with space. It was also about much more than that. Whilst the story was sweet, I struggled with the style of narrative due to the the young age of the protagonist.
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 21st March
Read my full review here
This is a compelling murder mystery but the three different time periods, this was set over, made me a little confused as to what was going on when, where and why…
Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall 
Available in the UK and the US
4/5 stars. Read 22nd March
Read my full review here
After hearing such rave reviews from EmmaBooks on Youtube, I was so excited when I saw my library had it in stock. This is such a thorough and real depiction of mental illness and whilst not an easy read, I would recommend everyone pick it up.
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
Available in the UK and the US
/5 stars. Read 23rd March
Read my full review here
There are so many truths buried inside the untruths that made this a book impossible to decipher! No understanding was given to the reader until the narrative had decided to. We were left at the mercy of the story’s unfolding. And I loved it for that!
The Old Man and the Princess by Sean-Paul Thomas 
Available in the UK and the US
4/5 stars. Read 26th March
This book follows the journey of what happens when an eccentric old Irish man, who claims to be ‘not of this Earth,’ kidnaps Sersha, a young, headstrong, Irish foster girl, from the streets of Galway and tries to convince her that her life’s destiny is tied to a mystical cave in the Scottish highlands. It was full of profanity and hilarity and such an enjoyable read!
The Transition by Luke Kennard
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 26th March
Read my full review here
This novel follows in a line of dystopian imaginings of how our future world might look, and I found this to be not as bleak and unsettling as many others I have read. There was definitely an eerie atmosphere that haunted the book, but I found, for the most part, to agree with much of what was suggested.
Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel
Available in the UK and the US
3/5 stars. Read 29th March
This was described as ‘Indiana Jones meets Romeo and Juliet’ and that is exactly what it delivered.
A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan 
Available in the UK and the US
4/5 stars. Read 30th March
Read my full review here
This was admittedly a total cover buy and I knew almost nothing about the plot before picking this up. What followed was a twisted, dark and perverse tale, the likes of which I have never read before.
Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land 
Available in the UK and the US
4/5 stars. Read 31st March
If you like Gone Girl type craziness then you will love this!
See any favourites or have any suggestions of what books to get to, next month? Leave your comments, down below.
