March Book Wrap-Up!

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Juvie/Middle grade fantasy
• This is the fourth book in the Percy Jackson series and it was the perfect way to start the month. When I was younger, I never got this far into the series but I am so glad I finally am getting around to it. The idea of a labyrinth always stresses me out because I don’t like enclosed spaces but this book handled it in such a way that I could definitely handle it. Yet again, I am impressed by Riordan’s world building. 

The Merciless IV: Last Rites by Danielle Vega

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Young adult fantasy
• I finally finished the Merciless series! When the description of a book is literally “Mean Girls meets the Exorcist”, I just knew I was going to love this series. It had the right amount of horror and bitchy teenage behavior.  

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Young adult fiction/Thriller
• For some reason, I have been loving mystery type books so the synopsis for this book just sounded perfect. Mystery girl moves to the middle of nowhere, Nebraska and she starts dating the strange, loner boy. Then a bunch of murders start happening to the students at the high school. Who is doing this and why. It was a quick and fun mystery story.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Juvie/Middle grade fantasy
• Okay guys! I did it, I made it to the last Percy Jackson book and wow, did it not disappoint me at all. Everything was wrapped up beautifully and we see a great redemption arc, which I always enjoy reading. I highly recommend reading this series and I can’t wait to get more Rick Riordian books in the future. 

As Old As Time by Liz Braswell

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Young adult fantasy
• Now, this is my FAVORITE book that I read in the month of March. I absolutely love Beauty and the Beast and this book is literally a retelling where Belle’s mom was actually the enchantress that cursed the young prince. You get to learn so much about Belle’s parents before Belle was born and the world surrounding Belle’s little village and the Beast’s kingdom. Absolutely incredible book and if you love the original Beauty and the Beast, I think you will fall in love with this story. 

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Young adult fantasy
• This is the final book in the Red Queen series and just like every other book in the series, it was good but not incredible. I gave the whole series a 4 star because it was a good concept, interesting world, but the main character was just not my favorite. A Lot of her chances, even at the end, just made me frustrated with her. Would still recommend it but it is just not one of my favorite young adult series. 

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Thriller/Mystery
• I ended up really enjoying Eight Perfect Murders and before I started it, I knew I would either really hate it or really love it. The reason I knew that is because when I read mysteries, there have been several times when I guessed the twist and the stories start to bore me. But when I read a mystery like this one, where I didn’t guess the twist and there are multiple surprises throughout the whole thing, that is when I am truly happy with a mystery book. 

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Fantasy
• A Memory of Light was tied with my favorite book of the month. This book was the conclusion to the Wheel of Time series and it was everything I wanted it to. I was completely satisfied with this ending and I don’t always say that about other series I have read. The last 400 pages were insane and full of action. Everyone that likes fantasy at all should read this series. 

Music to My Years: A Mixtape-Memoir of Growing Up and Standing Up by Cristela Alonzo 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Autobiography 
• I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and I was not disappointed. I have been a fan of Cristela Alonzo since I watched her show, Cristela. It was the first time I had watched a show and felt connected and represented as a Hispanic woman who loves nerd stuff. Cristela is a brilliant woman whose story is just inspiring and super encouraging.  

The Haunting of Ashburn by Darcy Coates 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Horror/Thriller 
• This was an enjoyable horror book but it was not as scary as I wanted it to be. After all the other horror stories I have read and movies I have watched, this book was a little predictable. I would still recommend this book, especially to those that get easily scared. 

Reflection by Elizabeth Lim 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
• Reflection is a retelling of Disney’s Mulan and unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. I had high hopes after reading the retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the same series and that book was SO good. It made my expectations grow very high. Luckily for this story the last 50 pages were pretty good, otherwise it would have received only two stars instead of the three I gave it. 

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales 

• Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary/Romance/LGBT
• Now this book was a perfect way to end the month of March! I picked it up on a whim while working through Barnes and Noble and wow, am I happy I grabbed it! The main tagline for this book compares it to Grease, Clueless, and Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda so I just knew I was going to love it. All the characters but especially Ollie (main character) were so lovable and real that you could not help but wish them the best! I highly recommend it!