Queen of Books: MARCH '20 WRAP-UP

Tuesday, 7 April 2020

MARCH '20 WRAP-UP

Time for another wrap up!

This last month was interesting and a struggle for a lot of people. I am currently not working because our store closed until the coronavirus situation improves in our area so I am solely reading, blogging, writing and worrying about college next year.

This month I ended up reading a lot of books that I rated five stars and I am hoping that I find some more amazing books next month.

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco. This was such a good book and I am very glad that I decided to read it. This is about a planet that has long been ruled by generations of twin goddesses however, was split in two seventeen years ago because of one sister's betrayal. Now, the planet doesn't spin and there's two realms divided by a great abyss. One sister rules Aranth (a frozen city surrounded by a stormy sea) and one rules the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter and each keeps her own secrets about the other. However, this all changes when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee to the great Abyss in order to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice. This book has a whole cast of diverse characters as well as intense feminist undertones. I loved the characters, the thrilling plot and everything in between. I highly recommend this book and I rated it 5 Crowns.

The second book I read was The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. The Night Circus by the same author is one of my favorite books, so naturally, I was very excited for Erin Morgenstern's future books. This was very different from The Night Circus and a little hard to explain. Basically the main character, Zachary, is a graduate student in Vermont who finds a mysterious book without a title hidden in the stacks at the library. He is entranced by the tales until he reads a story from his own childhood. When he tries to figure out how his life was recorded, he uncovers a series of clues that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club and eventually through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden deep underground. Once there, he finds a lot more than just a buried home for books and here he discovers his purpose in this new world. This book started out really slow and was a little bit confusing at times but I still really enjoyed it and ended up rating it 4 Crowns.

The third book I read was Immunity by Erin Bowman. The first book in this series, Contagion, is one of my favorite books and got me into reading sci-fi/horror books. I won't say much about this book considering it will spoil the first book. This series is about a ragtag crew who are set to an outer rim planet, in response to a distress call and they are not at all qualified for this type of mission. They have no idea what to expect and when they arrive they find it abandoned and littered with dead bodies. They all have to figure out what could have happened and what they should do next. This duology is such a good mix of horror and science fiction and it draws you into the action from the very beginning. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

The fourth book I read was Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri. This is about Mehr who is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother who she can barely remember, but whose magic she has inherited. When her power comes to the attention of the Emperor's most feared mystics, she has to use everything she has to resist their cruel agenda. This book was something that I decided to pick up because of a recommendation on Goodreads and I am very glad that I decided to give it a try. I loved the two main characters and I thought their relationship was very well written, however, the plot was a little slow. I ended up rating it 4 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund. This is a Young Adult mystery novel based on the game CLUE. It's set at Blackbrook Academy which is an elite prep school in the woods of Maine. When a storm strikes, several students are stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, his body is found in the conservatory and it's clear his death was no accident. And with this group of students who are all hiding something, they all could have a motive for murder. It was a really cool and interesting modern reimagining of CLUE and murder mysteries. I ended up rating it 3.5 Crowns.

The sixth book I read was The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan. This was a reread for me and since saying much about this book will spoil the beginning of the series, all I am going to say is I loved this as much as the first time I read it. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The seventh book I read was Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim. I ended up writing a full review of this which I posted at the beginning of April. This is about Amaya who works on a debtor ship where she has been held captive for years. When she is days from being free she rescues a man from drowning and he offers her unimaginable riches, a new identity and promises of revenge against the man who ruined her and her family's lives. However, as her path intertwines with the son of the man she's plotting against, she discovers more about her past and realizes that she shouldn't trust anyone. This book ended up being a new favorite of mine and I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. You can find my full review here. I rated it 5 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN DECEMBER:

NONE

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

2/24 - 3/8

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

February '20 Wrap-Up

Spring 2020 Releases I'm Anticipating

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S:

Arjun from The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Coen from Immunity by Erin Bowman

Amun from Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Cayo from Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Lan from from The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Haidee from from The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Mirabel from The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Thea from Immunity by Erin Bowman

Nova from Immunity by Erin Bowman

Mehr from Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Amaya from Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS:

Arjun and Haidee from The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Lan and Odessa from The Never-Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Zachary and Dorian from The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Coen and Thea from Immunity by Erin Bowman

Amun and Mehr from Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Amaya and Cayo from Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH: