My March 2021 reads and reviews

March was a very busy month for me, and I have been stuck in the same book for a couple of weeks now. So I was surprised when looking at my statistics that I still read 6 books with a total pagecount of 1,749 pages. Yes, the books I did get to read last month, were far shorter than my usual reads. Now that I look back on them, most of the were also slow-paced which is normally not my thing and makes me read less too. I should think of this more when I a in a reading rut!
(see, this is why we look at statistics, ha!)

The end of March also means the end of the first quarter of the year, so let’s do an update on some of my reading projects too.

For the IGGPPC Geeky Reading challenge I already completed 80%, I read books for 13 of the 16 prompts. The ones I still have left are: a book that inspired you to do something new, a book about space or time travel, and a book with quirky characters. I want to read one of my adaptations of the Phantom of the Opera for the last one, but I’m not sure yet what to read for the other two. Do you have a recommendation?

My other challenge is to read books I already own, about half of my total reads. From the shortlist I made for 2021, I have only read (or DNF-ed) 9/40 till now. 11 of my other reads were from the library and the remaining 2 were randomly found books. Not a totally bad score, but I could do better, if I would spend some more time reading again…

So let’s get to it! What did I read this March?

19. Dead Inside by Noelle Holten (ebook, English, 2,5 stars)
Let me say this, it’s not a bad story. It’s written ok, and it has many angles that are highlighted by the different point of views. But reading this while hopping from character to character made it a bit too chaotic for me. There are so many conversations and thoughts from the many characters that it is hard to pinpoint the main subject, DC Maggie Jamieson. Every one of them feels like they could be the ones this series is about. This for me is the main reason I am not sure if I will read the rest of it. I probably won’t. Maybe I should try the television series instead?

20. Weird things customers say in bookshops by Jen Campbell (English, 3 stars)
I thought this was going to be a funny lighthearted read, and even though I did get some laughs out of it, most of the time I was gasping. People are so rude! And how they threat there own children… It’s probably a good thing I don’t work in a (book)shop or anywhere else in retail. I wouldn’t know how to act about these things.

21. The apothecary rose by Candace M. Robb (Dutch, 4 stars)
Basic pulp. This is the sort of read I usually bring along on a spa day. But with some busy days scheduled it was also nice to read something easy at night, something you don’t have to become totally invested in and you can easily lay beside you for another day. There’s a man, and a woman, and another man and another man, and a mystery. All pretty straight forward, but still intriguing and the character building is done well. My partner called it: a harlequin bouquet novel, but with less romance and more murder. He was trying to make a joke but he’s actually pretty accurate!

22. Killman Creek by Rachel Caine (Dutch, library, 4.5 stars)
I am really enjoying this series! It wasn’t too long ago that I read the first Stillhouse Lake novel and I couldn’t wait to read what happened next. This second one is again full of suspense, but instead of the first one is more action driven. The way the chapters follow one story but from different perspectives is really great for character development. I already ordered the next one from the library, knowing life won’t ever become “normal” for this family now I am really wondering what happens next.

23. In a lonely place by Dorothy B. Hughes (Dutch, 4 stars)
It’s hard to believe this book was written in the mid 1940’s, because it’s so well-executed. It’s a slow paced story, following a man in Los Angelos. Right from the beginning you KNOW he’s the killer, but it’s all so subtle. His confused identity never really reveals what happened, but you know. You see the signs. The little clues. The gaps in the timeline. The things Dix Steele notices but doesn’t put together. Dorothy Hughes is a good crime writer. Hopefully I’ll find more of her books someday.

24. The Witch Elm by Tana French (Dutch, library, 3.5 stars)
I’m not sure what to think about this one. It’s well-written and certainly something different, which was nice. But it was also very slow-paced and that always gets me a bit bored. The idea of the story is still very interesting. You have a good life, burgles attack you and leave you for dead, you have a brain injury (which was VERY WELL done), you start living with your old uncle who is dying from a brain tumor. A body is discovered. All clues point to you and you try to stitch your memories together to find out if you are indeed the murderer. I think I would have loved it more if it wasn’t so slow, but on the other hand… the slow-ness is also what made the story more believable. Hence, I am confused and not sure what to think about this one. 😉

And that was it! These were my March reads. Have you read any of these too? What did you think about them? Do you have a recommendation for something similar? Or is there anything you would like to know? Ask me in the comments!