Books I Read in March 2020 (short reviews)
The only thing that I seem to be sticking with on my blog and in my writing life is a monthly review of the books that I read.
So, instead of talking about the reasons why I don't seem to stick to blogging or writing or tweeting, I will just get into my March Books and reviews.
As always, you can come over to my goodreads profile (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/95108873-lena-fiala) and check out the real time reading progress that I make with my 100 books for 2020.
Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli 5/5
So wholesome and so lovely. I really enjoyed reading this and I honestly don't know what to say about it, other than that it was amazing and the characters were great. Highly recommend.
Inferno - Dan Brown 4/5
I am a big fan of the Robert Langdon franchise and I love Dan Brown's writing, so this was a good reading experience. It is a very controversial topic and I think there were a lot of moments where I thought I had to put it down and stop reading, but the ending had me very surprised and I am so glad that I finished reading it.
The Testament - John Grisham 4/5
I had previously read a John Grisham novel and hadn't been too sold on it, but I really loved The Testament. I finished it in one reading session and it had me guessing and wondering throughout the whole story (which is exactly what I want from a thriller/political mystery?). I can highly recommend this novel and I will continue to read John Grisham's novels.
Love, Rosie - Cecilia Ahern 3.5/5
The beginning half of this novel was lovely. It is kinda a NA novel and at least for me had a couple of very relatable bits that made me be curious for more. The style is a bit difficult to stick with through the whole novel as it is only letters and emails and every now and then you just want to have some actual real dialogue, especially in the second half of the novel when things get "more interesting". This romance novel is a nice one if you like your typical, we missed our moment stories with the happy ending, but be aware that you will only be reading emails and letters and that the characters can get on your nerves at some point because they just drag the plot along for a tiny bit too long.
American Gods - Neil Gaiman 3/5
I have to admit that I watched the Amazon Prime show before I read the novel and I'm pretty sure that that messed with my reading experience with this novel. The concept of the story is great. I love myself some good mythology in modern times stories and I love how well encorporated the original stories of some of the Gods were. However, it was a little all over the place and not every plot line actually made sense or came to a point where I understood why it made no sense, but if you like some good, slightly weird mystery/fantasy story then I would recommend you check this out and see for yourself if you can make sense of all of it. Also, if you consider watching the show, I'm not sure if I would recommend doing that before reading because there are many differences (even though the show is really good too, I really loved it).
One Christmas in Paris - Mandy Baggot 5/5
Don't ask me why I thought of reading this novel in March. Maybe I was feeling in need for some wholesome christmas romance, maybe it was because it was the only novel in my TBR pile that was less than 500 pages, I don't know, but I do know that I loved this novel and I read it in one sitting on a rainy afternoon.
I'm not sure what to say other than wait until December, get some hot chocolate going and then curl up with this pile of pure joy and actually fairly reasonable romantically involved characters. Compared to other romance novels you actually did see some common sense in this one and some mature handling of issues.
All We Are Saying - David Sheff (no review because it was for uni)
I don't want to give this one a rating because I had to read it for uni and therefore didn't read it for my own enjoyment. It is basically 300 pages of interview material and I guess it depends on whether you are a John Lennon fan if you like this or not. There is not a lot that I can say but it was helpful for my assignment and it was interesting to read.
Grandad, There's A Head On The Beach - Collin Cotterill 4/5
This one was a bit out of my comfort zone as I usually don't read a lot of novels that deal with current issues and problems in the world (hate me if you want, but I do like to escape into different realities when I read, horror, romance or fantasy, as long as it is something that keeps my mind away from worrying about the world, it is good for me). So reading a book that dealt with the pollution of the sea, corruption of the government and the police force and the enslavement of people who are too poor to help themselves, is really different for me. But Cotterill did a great job at tying all these things together in a great crime novel that was both funny and eye opening and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a little bit of crime solving as much as a witty main character.
That concludes the books for this month. For April I have already so many new ones that I can then share with you. Because of the current situation I find myself reading a lot and I am still trying to get myself to start writing again as well. I think I never had this much free time and yet I can't seem to get into my WIP.
If you have any book recommendations, please leave them for me, I'm always looking for some new things that are not your typical YA fantasy novel and I would love to hear your opinions on the books that I have reviewed before.
Also (not that anyone was wondering) I haven't decided if I will take part in CampNanowrimo this time around as I am not really in the head space to write right now and I don't even want to think about editing any of my finished work. Maybe I will change my mind, who knows, it wouldn't be the first time.
Stay healthy, take care and read on.
Lena
Follow me and stay in touch:
Twitter: @lena_fiala
Instagram: @lena_fiala_
Business inquiries: lena.fiala99@gmail.com
Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli 5/5
So wholesome and so lovely. I really enjoyed reading this and I honestly don't know what to say about it, other than that it was amazing and the characters were great. Highly recommend.
Inferno - Dan Brown 4/5
I am a big fan of the Robert Langdon franchise and I love Dan Brown's writing, so this was a good reading experience. It is a very controversial topic and I think there were a lot of moments where I thought I had to put it down and stop reading, but the ending had me very surprised and I am so glad that I finished reading it.
The Testament - John Grisham 4/5
I had previously read a John Grisham novel and hadn't been too sold on it, but I really loved The Testament. I finished it in one reading session and it had me guessing and wondering throughout the whole story (which is exactly what I want from a thriller/political mystery?). I can highly recommend this novel and I will continue to read John Grisham's novels.
Love, Rosie - Cecilia Ahern 3.5/5
The beginning half of this novel was lovely. It is kinda a NA novel and at least for me had a couple of very relatable bits that made me be curious for more. The style is a bit difficult to stick with through the whole novel as it is only letters and emails and every now and then you just want to have some actual real dialogue, especially in the second half of the novel when things get "more interesting". This romance novel is a nice one if you like your typical, we missed our moment stories with the happy ending, but be aware that you will only be reading emails and letters and that the characters can get on your nerves at some point because they just drag the plot along for a tiny bit too long.
American Gods - Neil Gaiman 3/5
I have to admit that I watched the Amazon Prime show before I read the novel and I'm pretty sure that that messed with my reading experience with this novel. The concept of the story is great. I love myself some good mythology in modern times stories and I love how well encorporated the original stories of some of the Gods were. However, it was a little all over the place and not every plot line actually made sense or came to a point where I understood why it made no sense, but if you like some good, slightly weird mystery/fantasy story then I would recommend you check this out and see for yourself if you can make sense of all of it. Also, if you consider watching the show, I'm not sure if I would recommend doing that before reading because there are many differences (even though the show is really good too, I really loved it).
One Christmas in Paris - Mandy Baggot 5/5
Don't ask me why I thought of reading this novel in March. Maybe I was feeling in need for some wholesome christmas romance, maybe it was because it was the only novel in my TBR pile that was less than 500 pages, I don't know, but I do know that I loved this novel and I read it in one sitting on a rainy afternoon.
I'm not sure what to say other than wait until December, get some hot chocolate going and then curl up with this pile of pure joy and actually fairly reasonable romantically involved characters. Compared to other romance novels you actually did see some common sense in this one and some mature handling of issues.
All We Are Saying - David Sheff (no review because it was for uni)
I don't want to give this one a rating because I had to read it for uni and therefore didn't read it for my own enjoyment. It is basically 300 pages of interview material and I guess it depends on whether you are a John Lennon fan if you like this or not. There is not a lot that I can say but it was helpful for my assignment and it was interesting to read.
Grandad, There's A Head On The Beach - Collin Cotterill 4/5
This one was a bit out of my comfort zone as I usually don't read a lot of novels that deal with current issues and problems in the world (hate me if you want, but I do like to escape into different realities when I read, horror, romance or fantasy, as long as it is something that keeps my mind away from worrying about the world, it is good for me). So reading a book that dealt with the pollution of the sea, corruption of the government and the police force and the enslavement of people who are too poor to help themselves, is really different for me. But Cotterill did a great job at tying all these things together in a great crime novel that was both funny and eye opening and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a little bit of crime solving as much as a witty main character.
That concludes the books for this month. For April I have already so many new ones that I can then share with you. Because of the current situation I find myself reading a lot and I am still trying to get myself to start writing again as well. I think I never had this much free time and yet I can't seem to get into my WIP.
If you have any book recommendations, please leave them for me, I'm always looking for some new things that are not your typical YA fantasy novel and I would love to hear your opinions on the books that I have reviewed before.
Also (not that anyone was wondering) I haven't decided if I will take part in CampNanowrimo this time around as I am not really in the head space to write right now and I don't even want to think about editing any of my finished work. Maybe I will change my mind, who knows, it wouldn't be the first time.
Stay healthy, take care and read on.
Lena
Follow me and stay in touch:
Twitter: @lena_fiala
Instagram: @lena_fiala_
Business inquiries: lena.fiala99@gmail.com
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