Hi Page Turners,
This month I am actually really happy because I feel like on average my rating for books was like 3.5/4 stars and even through this month felt sluggish for me I still really enjoyed the books I read so lets go through them.
The first thing I picked up in March was Beth O’Leary’s The No-Show, coming of reading The Road Trip which I didn’t really like I didn’t have high expectations but I was actually surprised at how much I did enjoy it. My review can be found here- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5382629374
My review for The Flatshare and the Roadtrip can be found here- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4802469548
I then re-read The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard (not going to give to much away because I want to do a separate post) being a mood reader I wanted a fantasy read so thought I would go for this series. Didn’t love it as much as I did on my first read but my weird shipping between Maven and Mare developed on my re-read also King’s cage is probably my fave book out of the four books and then I guess War Storm.
I picked up Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait it has been on my tbr since last year so was very excited to pick this up. And I am still excited after finishing it because it is stunning. Longlisted for The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023 (it needs to win) it takes you to Italian renaissance where a man is going to kill his wife and his wife knows this. Yeah just a normal day in Florence. My full review can be found here- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4763167220
Snap by Belinda Bauer- anyone a crime fan because I certainly am and this was a great read. I am going to be honest her writing is simply amazing I mean that imagery of my legs are like Sellotape on the leather (obvs she wrote it better I just wrote that from memory) such a good domestic crime book that was longlisted for the Booker Prize- another excuse to read it as if you need one but my full review can be found here- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5403710472
My meh reads of the month go to Miss Aldridge regrets-Black Cake and Femlandia these books had the potential but I just could not get into it. Like an old version of me would have devoured these books but it didn’t happen for me. I guess why I couldn’t get into Femlandia is because I kept comparing it to The Handmaid’s Tale and you would think that is a good thing but not in this case because I just kept rolling my eyes. Like her husband’s name was Nick (which obvs different in The Handmaid’s Tale) but first comparison then she has a daughter when June looses her job etc. same thing happens to her and her best friend who is like Moira in every sense and the biggest thing for me is when the women (you can tell I didn’t like the book because I cant remember the characters name) who invites her to the women only society and she remembers her from tv- isn’t that how June remembers Serena Joy oh and how her Mom was an activist echoes June’s mom. Like I haven’t googled this but someone please tell me this is not a Handmaid’s Tale fan-fiction book…you can’t because the similarities were just too much. Anyway enough of my rant.
The Echo Chamber by John Boyne another one I unexpectedly actually enjoyed a satire and very scary look at the time we are in my full review here-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5416263657
Someone Else’s Shoes- Jojo Moyes loved this book my idea of escapism and a really fun heart-warming read- my review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5421284767
I then listened to Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid- an audiobook that is done to such an excellent standard a separate post is to come but you can read my review I wrote for the book here- and my Pinterest board I made for it because obviously. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4755948016
I read the collection edited by Nikesh Shukla called The Good Immigrant. A really poignant, timely and quite frankly a book everyone should read about the experience of being an Immigrant and what it is like migrating highly recommend. My review here- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3929653108
The Island Home by Libby Page- another chick-lit/women’s fiction book I really enjoyed. I gave it a 3.5 because it did keep me reading to the end however it wasn’t my favourite book but still a really good read.
I Know What I Saw- my first book I have read of Imran Mahmood’s. A part of me wanted to give it a higher rating of 3.85 but then a part of me goes I really hated that ending. It is a great insight into homelessness and maybe a bit too much information about London but what happens when you saw a murder but no one believes you because nothing actually happened…or did it? For me this was a really gritty read and I did really love some parts but I don’t know I felt like it let me down more than I loved it. It did leave me hooked and some of the plot twists did take me by surprise but then towards the ending it wasn’t like oh my gosh I cant believe that happened it was just like oh so that happened. But would I recommend…yeah I think I would. It was an okay read for me.
The last three books I read wad the novellas from The Red Queen series. These are the short books that accompany each book I loved The Broken Throne in particular Evangeline’s and Mare/Cal’s story because it was an amazing ending to the story albeit a little fairy tale esque which you kind of don’t want (well you hope there is but there doesn’t ever be) for a fantasy I also loved The Queen Song that gave an insight into how Coriane became queen and I really liked that story and would have preferred to be a longer stand alone because that has so much potential I mean I would even say that it has potential to be better than The Red Queen itself.
My last book that I want to to include but I haven’t finished reading and well complete next month-Insha'Allah is the Qur'an. I am currently reading it in Arabic but with my Qur'an journaliling which I am going to create a separate post about I am hoping to re-read it with the English translation to further better my understanding and to help me connect with it more.
I would love to know what you have all read this month. If you have read any of the above how did you find it or if they are on your tbr why is it you have chosen that book? Let me know in the comments section and I hope you enjoyed reading my March wrap up. You can follow me on Goodreads to get daily/weekly updates of what I read I will leave the link below. You can also subscribe to my newsletter which I will also link below where I highlight the best books I have read during that week. I hope you have had a good reading month and have good books to take you into April. I hope you are looking forward to the April wrap up but until then I will wrap up my what I read in March 2023 post.
Thank you for reading.
With Love and Dua’s
Fiz @Every Page She Turns
Link to my socials- https://linktr.ee/EPST
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