March is notorious for being windy, and this year it was extra windy for reasons unknown … but those winds apparently blew in some excellent reading! Not only did I manage to read a lot but everything was good. It’s hard to pick a favorite when they all rate high. I like this kind of problem. Read on to see what I read, as well as general updates regarding March’s entertainments.
🎧 A Trip with Trouble | Diane Kelly | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The second installment of this cozy series set off the Blue Ridge Parkway was action-packed! Misty and her crew knew they’d be in for a wild week when a women’s motorcycle club booked the whole inn, but they got more than bargained for. This one is packed with twists and multiple mysteries, and I continue to enjoy the setting and scenery. Also: the chapters from the POV of Yeti the cat.
🎧 Delphine and the Dark Thread | Alyssa Moon | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The follow-up to Delphine and the Silver Needle brings the perilous adventures of Delphine and Alexander’s quest to a conclusion. But is it the end of the story? There’s a little lingering promise of more to come – and if it materializes someday, I am there for it. I love these characters, and the entire animal world existing “in the background” of Disney’s Cinderella.
📱 You Between the Lines | Katie Naymon | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this one! There was so much I loved about this one: the tiny liberal arts school in the North Carolina mountains, and “being inside” the MFA program; the poetry; the “will they-won’t they” push and pull between Leigh and Will. Leigh read immature at times, but by the end of the book I realized why, which is always appreciated. It’s a slow burn sizzle with a “half open door” (nondescriptive, but on the page), and that works so well with these characters and their story.
📖 The Crime Brulee Bake Off | Rebecca Connolly | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Let me count the ways this book is my catnip: Bake Off. British Estate. Murder mystery. Surprising romance. Did I mention Bake Off? This was such a lovely, cozy read, and I absolutely savored it. Cannot wait to see where the series goes next, after such a delicious beginning.
📱 Murder at the Breakers | Alyssa Maxwell | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
How have I never tried this series before? At least waiting means I can binge my way through instead of waiting for another installment … Loving the Gilded Age/Newport setting, and seeing some of my favorite period figures {the Vanderbilts!} in a more casual approach. The mystery was good, and I’m intrigued by the potential for unexpected romance.
🎧 The Journal of a Thousand Years | CJ Archer | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
I have absolutely loved listening to this series, and was so sad – but also excited – when the last installment hit Libby. It is a series that has gotten better and better with each book, as the overall story arcs build, and this one is hands-down the best. Loved the way threads were woven together, and the story is now “complete” while also hinting at a potential future expansion. The characters are so good, the found family so real, and I loved it.
📖 The Snow Child | Eowyn Ivey | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
After being intrigued by the BOTM pick of Ivey’s newest, one of my Instagram buddies highly recommended starting with this one. It is beautifully written, a portrait of the Alaskan frontier that enchants – even as it addresses the harsh realities. It’s a bittersweet, even poignant, story.
📖 Sense & Sensibility | Jane Austen | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was the March prompt for the Canterbury Classics challenge, and I’ve posted my thoughts here already. I’ll just reiterate that Marianne got majorly on my nerves and I continue to be impressed by Jane’s character-drawing abilities.
🎧 Snow Place for Murder | Diane Kelly | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This series is so much fun, but I totally do not want to stay at the Lodge, ha! It’s giving major Cabot Cove-vibes, and as charming as everything sounds, I don’t want to be the star of the next episode.
Watching:
The days are getting longer, and the nights are not as cold, but since Mr. is still in a busy work season, I am getting a lot of reading + watching time in the evenings.
- 📺 Big Bang Theory (Seasons 8, 9 & 10) | Library DVDs
I clearly decided to binge, ha. I’m honestly not sure how I managed to knock out this many seasons in a month, especially since I only watch at night – and don’t stay up crazy late.
Listening:
As apparent above, audiobook listening is increasing as the days get longer. Mr. pointed out that my total audiobook hours this month almost equaled a work week, which is hilarious. Although, fun fact, not all of that audiobook time is clocked outside – a good bit occurs while I’m working on crochet projects {or doing the dishes}. When not listening to a book …
- I continue to love the A Jane Austen Year podcast, listening to March’s episode while making bread {and feeling so cozy and domestic}.
- There was more Spotify music listening as well, including one glorious afternoon of garden watering to the backdrop of my worship playlist.
On the Blog:
Even though it was a very busy month, somehow March was a little less active on the posting-front. But we did see seeds started, not once but twice as the garden grows. Spring officially arrived, and there have been some gorgeous blooms. The sky also showed off quite a bit, including the chance to watch astronauts launched into space.
After adding so many new books to my collection in February, I did not plan to add many books in March, but … things happened? BOTM announced their Book of the Year winner, which I was able to get free as a BFF. Then Aardvark selected the book I put back during our February bookstore stroll, and I was able to use a promo code since it was my first box. And then my LitJoy TBR quarterly subscription arrived. The two Jane Austen books were not purchases – one was an Instagram giveaway win and the other from one of my Library Girls. While it looks like a massive haul, it wasn’t that damaging to the financials, ha.
The seasonal shifts mean changes to the daily routine – watering is being worked into my schedule, as I’m coaxing tiny baby plants to grow {and are they ever!}. We have several new projects we want to start, and are working on getting things ready to go for those endeavors. It is an exciting, and busy, time in our little corner of the world. Now if we can only keep getting enough rain to help control the pollen …
How was your March? What’s the best thing you read? Going into April and full Spring-mode, what are you planning?
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St George’s Day is April 23, a date that’s also tied to the birth & death of Shakespeare, so April for me is dedicated to all things England. I’ve been taking advantage of the warming weather and increase of light to spend time before and after work outside reading, which is part of how I was zipping through those CJ BOx books so fast! It will soon be time to see if the lawnmower is still running…
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Oh that’s right! You have mentioned all England for April – definitely looking forward to hearing about that. And yeah… the lawnmower will be tested out soon… very soon…
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I really enjoyed that Mountain Lodge Mystery series too, but – yeah – would not want to visit! XD
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Part of me hates that it’s set in one of my favorite locations ever for that reason 🤣
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Wow this looks like such a fantastic reading month. What you’ve said about the Delphine one has left me curious (mention a fairytale and I’m bound to check it out 😂) and I’m glad you enjoyed the Bake Off one so much. It always sounds intriguing when they throw a murder mystery into that kind of environment. I’ve meant to read something by CJ Archer for years and also really want to check out Snow Child sometime.
I think maybe part of the reason you got through so many episodes of TBBT is the general sitcom length as I’ve noticed how I always seem to zoom through Friends rewatches when I stick it on as a background watch where episodes are less than 25 minutes long.
Also that looks like such an incredible haul 😍 The Rose Bargain is one of my unread purchases so far this year, I’m 100% ordering that Kell Woods one into the library and majorly want to read some of the others too. I hope you enjoy them all 🥰 and also that you have a fantastic April.
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It was totally a great month of reading! I’m off to a great start for the year, actually, in that regard. And I love it! The Delphine books are so cute – I love the whole “story inside the fairy tale story” aspect, and the animals are so good. It’s a children’s story that is very much enjoyable by (fantasy reading) adults 🙂 The Glass Library was my first CJ Archer, but I have loved this series so much I’ll be willing to try others – including the related series that’s apparently about Gabe’s mother.
True, sitcoms are so much shorter than other shows we watch, sometimes I’m like “oh, wait, I’ve just watched how many? And it’s still a reasonable time of night?” lol … It’s nice though, because I can balance watching AND reading in the evenings 😀
Oh such a wonderful haul. I’m not sure how I’ll work all of these books into the rotation, but I’m gonna try! 😀 I hope you’re able to get your hands on some of them, and that we both enjoy when we read 🙂 And a fabulous April to you! ❤
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Yay that’s wonderful to hear 🥰 hopefully it will continue throughout the year and you’ll find lots of new favourites. It sounds like an interesting approach and stories within stories are something I always appreciate. I honestly can’t remember if I got one of her ebooks for free years ago 🤔 I’ll have to check 😂 I hope you enjoy that linked series though. It’s always nice when you get more to explore of a world you’ve enjoyed. Following a mother from a precious series is kind of rare too.
Yes so true. When I’ve had them on and been doing a puzzle I’ve been stunned by how many episodes I’ve gotten through 😂 but yes always nice being able to get a good balance of both.
I’m sure you’ll manage to fit them in somehow 🥰 yes hopefully we’ll both love them and thank you ❤️
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Ok. I want to read so many of those books now. I have been feeling like it is time to pick up cozy mysteries again so I think they are next up before I start my whole seaside reading plan for the summer. We won’t be going anywhere this year so I will live vicariously through books! Thank goodness for them. 🙂
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I love when I can make other people want to read the books I do 😀 And truly, this feels like such a time for cozy mysteries – I loved slipping back into that world a little more, and plan to do more. I love the idea of a seaside reading plan for the summer – I feel for y’all and the summer to come, but yes, thank goodness we can travel and live through books! ❤
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Hey, I’ll take a wind that brings a great book over a wind that messes up my hair any day 😂 I’m glad to hear that so many of your March reads were good ones! Aw, my husband and I watched the 90’s sense and sensibility movie last weekend and it’s one I really love but I have not read the book yet! I love the cover for Murder at the Breakers! And Dealphine and the Dark Thread looks so cute 🙂 The idea of fleshing out the animal world from Cinderella is appealing since I love those little Mice.
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Well it messed with my hair too 🤣 There’s a reason I live in braids, ha. The whole series has covers like that, and I am 😍 how have I not read these, let me dive innnnnnn…. Love me some Gilded Age mansions 🙃
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ahha ah well good thing you’re prepared then lol! Oh that’s so nice 😍 I hope you love the whole series and yes they are gorgeous! 🙂
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Looks like you had busy but an amazing month in reading. The Rose Bargain sounds interesting. Will you share pictures of dishes from Jane Austen Table? I would love to see how they look.
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Oh yes, I will be sharing glimpses of the Jane Austen’s Table book as well as anything I make from it. The June challenge prompt is a summer picnic, and this is going to be so perfect for that.
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[…] confession: after an extraordinarily good March, April felt more like a reading slump. I had a hard time focusing, even when it was a book I really […]
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[…] Mysteries television movie of Alyssa Maxwell’s Murder at the Breakers. Since I read the book earlier this year {and am only 2 novels into the series at the time of viewing}, I was able to go into the movie with […]
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