What I Read In March 2020.
Wow. This was such a weird month. When everything first started happening, I had a hard time focusing on reading. I couldn’t concentrate or really get into my book. And then I had a hard time choosing new books after I finished one, so I ended up forcing myself to read each night which really helped. Now I feel like I’m back in the groove – and I’m even happy to tell you I read a LOT of great books this past month. I enjoyed so many of them!
While I’m keeping my reviews here on the blog, remember that you can follow my goodreads account with what I’m reading, so you can see what I read in real time.
You can find my reading lists here and previous What I Read posts here. I’d love to hear below what you read this month!
What I Read in March 2020
Oona Out of Order – 5 Stars
I can’t believe how much I absolutely LOVED this book. I didn’t expect to love it like I did – the premise didn’t really interest me. The story follows a girl who bounces into different years every New Year’s Eve, which is her birthday. She goes from age 18 to age 51, and then all over the place – but never in order. It’s so interesting to see how stories unfold. I ended up blowing through this one. I loved the characters so much. I liked the ending even though it left a little unknown. It’s so good and I 100% recommend!
The Honey Don’t List – 3.5 Stars
I liked this one and ended up liking the second half a lot more than the first. The storyline did not appeal to me at all though. It seemed to be TOO close to the whole Chip and Joanna Gaines life – while I enjoy stories that play into current lifestyles and popculture, this almost seemed like they took their exact life and made it dramatic and crazy and insane, which I just don’t love. But I’m also not an HGTV watcher soooo…. haha! It was still super cute and I loved the characters.
The Scent Keeper – 4.5 Stars
Shocked that I ended up really loving this book too! The storyline did not seem like my cup of tea at all. The story follows a girl who grows up on an island with her father who keeps her away from everything, but in their cabin he has bottles upon bottles of scents. I ended up liking this book SO MUCH. I thought it was beautifully written and just a really great story, albeit heartbreaking at times.
You Are Not Alone – 3 Stars
I really wanted to love this more and just… didn’t. I don’t know if it’s because of the timing – I had a hard time getting into it because it was dark and well, right now the world is just dark. But I absolutely loathed the main character, Shea. I felt like she was just so weak and frankly… not that wise? I don’t know what it was. There are some good twists and turns and it did keep me interested, but it took me almost an entire week to get through it because I kept putting it down. Could just be me – I know a lot of people loved this one!
In Five Years – 4.5 Stars
I was so, so excited to read this one – I started it the day it came out. I absolutely loved it and only gave it less than five stars because you know I’m a wimp and hate sad parts in a book. The book is about a girl who has a flash forward dream of what her life is in five years, and it’s NOTHING like how her current life is. The twists and turns from there are good. It always kept me guessing though towards the end I kind of figured out the storyline a bit. I really liked the ending, but didn’t love it. I did enjoy that it was unexpected! This is a great one.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird – 4.5 Stars
I was also insanely excited about this one since I loved One Day in December! It’s a story of a girl who’s fiancé dies in a car accident (not a spoiler, it’s on the cover!) and when she sleeps, she is back in real life with him. It is SO good and the writing is fantastic. Not a five star for me because it’s just so deep and there is so much grief. I don’t like to read that normally, but especially right now when the world feels like it’s collapsing – this is a tough read. Very good though.
The Bromance Book Club – 3 Stars
This was a random read recommended to me by amazon and I went for it one night, not sure of what to start next. Um, I thought this was SO CUTE. I loved that a lot of it was told from the guy’s perspective. It’s definitely light and fluffy and a feel-good quick read that is funny at times. There is a second book and I may read that next.
(This is not sponsored but a few of theses links are amazon affiliate links! Thank you for reading!)
20 Comments on “What I Read In March 2020.”
I just read Little Fires Everywhere. I love to read but rarely have time. I work in a hospital and it’s pretty intense. So, this book was a little intense for me right now. It might just be my mindset, but it definitely wasn’t relaxing! I will not be watching the show.
This is not to say it isn’t good or well written; it IS. I guess I’m too stressed or something.
Along the same lines, I watch the Walking Dead but I just can’t right now. It’s too dark. Animal Planet is about my speed, it makes me silly smile.
i totally get this!! i’m only able to watch and read really happy things right now. it’s crazy.
Just finished in five years too and was totally confused at the end to be honest…..
right?! so much of a storyline dedicated to something that didn’t pan out?!
Adding The Scent Keeper and Oona Out of Order to my list!! I loooved You Are Not Alone but read it at the beginning of February before the craziness began – not sure if I could do a thriller right now in the midst of everything. And I think I’m the only person who couldn’t stand In Five Years! It was such a huge disappointment for me, I was so so excited about it but ended up really not enjoying it. I thought the main character was really insufferable, all of the characters were overwritten, the storyline was way sadder than I was expecting, and the ending was so frustrating! Ugh. It was one of the first books I read after quarantine began so maybe that was a timing thing too? Regardless, I’m glad everyone else is enjoying it, and personally I need a really good palette cleanser now!
i totally understand what you mean about in five years. i was SO annoyed with the sad storyline as it’s not depicted at ALL in the summary of the book – ha!
Wow so impressive how many you read! And these story lines look amazing. I am interested in a bunch!
XX Angelica
https://eraenvogue.com
I loved The Two Lives of Lydia Bird and In Five Years too. I’m adding Oona Out of Order to my list for sure!
If you liked The Scent Keeper, Erica Bauermeister’s other books are just as wonderful. I highly recommend them!
Jessica I’m so curious what your daily routine is like! How do you find the time to stay current on TV shows AND read all these books AND cook like crazy AND be an awesome mom!! Do you not sleep???
Literally, like, what is your hour-by-hour schedule? LOL
haha this came up last month on my post, so i’m just copying and pasting my answer! :)
first, it probably helps that i am a pretty fast reader. especially with light reads! i read every night though, and i hate sleep, so i will ALWAYS sacrifice sleep to read. i have done this my entire life – since i was reading at 11 or 12 years old! i will literally read until the moment i cannot keep my eyes open anymore. it’s not unusual for me to read an entire book in one night if i have 5-6 hours. i love when i find a book that good and will easily survive on 3-4 hours sleep to enjoy that read! i also read in the school pick up line for max (30ish mins) and maybe a little in the afternoon if i have a break before dinner and they kids are playing.
second, when it comes to TV, i never just watch TV. i am *always* working when i watch a show, but it’s mindless work like editing photos/cleaning the kitchen/etc. so for instance, if i watch grey’s and a million little things tonight, i’ll edit a few hundred photos during that time and do some other busy but required work that doesn’t take brain power (like i can’t write when i watch TV, you know?). but i never just sit and watch TV without working, so that helps! then i’ll read for 1-2 hours before bed.
Curious if the Bromance Book Club is pretty clean? It keeps showing up as a recommendation on Good Reads.
I read Lydia Bird and Honey Don’t too. I am 18 weeks pregnant and had Covid-19 (PGH Ex-pat in NYC) and Lydia Bird was too dark while I was so sick, but so we written. I 100% agree with your review of Honey Don’t List but it was just what the doctor ordered in terms of fluff!
oh my gosh Jess!!!! I cannot even believe it – so glad you are doing better. How are you feeling now?
I’m on Day 14 and finally 100% back to normal, thanks! They say you are not contagious 3 days after your fever goes away, but I’m quarantining just as seriously as everyone else! Stay healthy in the ‘burgh! :)
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Aw, man, my turn came up for The Bromance Club and it had actually started on its way out to me a few days before everything shut down, so it is now languishing in a crate at my library where I can’t get my hands on it. So close! I’m treating it as something to look forward to.
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i binged the scent keeper in one day this week. it was so wonderful! i can’t get over how the author was able to describe so many different scents in such a detailed way. def going to check out more of her books. thanks for the recommendation!