Monthly Rewind: March

I am so glad March is over, friends! Please, let April and May be sunshine and diasies--both literally outside and figuratively in my life! *fingers crossed*

3 Things About My Life This Month

A March sunset at Wellesley College

1. I've been really frustrated with YA lately. I don't always feel as if YA/NA is an accurate representation of my life, but I do usually find bits and pieces to truly connect with and internalize. But off late, I've been noticing that my life has been a series of events that don't coincide with the experiences of the characters I've been reading about and I just want a fictional someone I can relate to. I don't have a shred of romance in my life and I just want to read about teens who are struggling with life and friendships as I am, not always romantic tension and drama. Where are these books? Does anyone have any recommendations for me?

2. Spring Break! I really, REALLY needed a break this past month. Spring Break is the longest I've been home since the two weeks I spent at home last summer and those two weeks were the longest since Winter Break of the previous year. I've just been going, going, going and I feel so burnt out and tired and stressed but there are still a solid five weeks left of classes and then another two of reading period and exams. I know I'm going to make it but I'm not sure my sanity will be left intact. I loved being home with my family and visiting friends but I miss home like crazy right now! :(

3. I'm stressed. March has been a stressful month. I was waiting to get to Spring Break and now that it's over, I'm waiting to just go back home. I've been dealing with a lot of friendship drama and generally don't feel as if I'm succeeding in balancing my time at college. I just feel as if I'm constantly working and though I do spend time with friends, it never seems like enough for me to feel as if I'm getting a mental break. I'm always on edge, have been rejected from countless internships, and in general life is not looking up for me right now, friends. I hate to be a Debby Downer for this post but I just need some love and life tips.

Best Book I Read This Month

The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne. I really loved this one so look out for my review of it sometime this month! It's about a young girl, shortly after the death of her single-mother, finds out that her father is the man currently running for President of the United States. It's all about family, friendship, and finding your voice, of course with a healthy dose of romance and--my favorite--some truly diverse plot lines and characters.

Most Popular Post This Month

Review: Act Like It by Lucy Parker. I seriously fell in love with this contemporary romance novel so I'm glad this got a wide readership--I want people to pick it up and become as obsessed with it as I am! It features a charming heroine, a hero who seems grouchy on the outside but is utterly sweet once you get to know him, and a fake relationship to true love romance. What more could you want?

Post I Wish Got a Little More Love

Review: Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran. This is a historical romance spin on Beauty and the Beast and is incredible. It doesn't devolve into a mush of drama and the heroine is strong, capable, and exerts her agency in a remarkable manner. I loved it. Read it. Love it. We can form a fan club together.

Post I Starred in my Blog Reader This Month

I just LOVE this post called "The Reductive Seduction of Other People's Problems." It basically discusses the gap that we, often as American but more broadly as first-world citizens, have told ourselves exists between our nation and third-world or developing countries. This is a gap that is as wide as it is because we look at other countries through the same lens we look at our country, despite the fact that those countries operate on entirely different systems of power, respectability, and are culturally dissimilar from our own. It's something I've been thinking about a lot, lately--how can we change our models of the world to account for these differences and study developing nations within the context of their societies in order to actually benefit them versus give them the resources that we think are going to benefit them but actually are making them more like us, which isn't actually a solution. Anyhow, it's fantastic--read it.

Obsession of the Month

SLEEP. I went home for Spring Break and did not binge watch a single show. I slept. Morning. Noon. Night. I crave sleep, dream about more sleep, and am constantly contemplating how comfortable it would be to curl up on the sidewalk leading towards the library and just nap there for awhile before actually subjecting myself to my problem sets. Anyway, the bottom line is: sleep is amazing. If you're not obsessed with it, I don't know what's wrong with you.

3 Things I'm Looking Forward to in April

1. Marathon Monday! We get the day off for Patriot's Day, a.k.a., Marathon Monday and the Wellesley College Scream Tunnel is legendary and by far one of the best experiences at Wellesley. I. Cannot. Wait.

2. Baum Concert! Our Spring Semester Choir concert is called Baum and it's coming up at the end of April. I'm really looking forward to showcasing all of the music we've been practicing throughout the semester and especially performing with our Choir seniors for the last time!

3. Music Library Celebrations! I work at the Music Library on campus and every semester there is an unofficial Music Library party which is pretty much the greatest party of the semester (for me) because it means I get to hang out with the Music Library staff in a relaxed, non-work environment. The theme last semester for Taylor Swift and Outer Space and, as you might imagine, featured glow-in-the-dark stars and Taylor Swift karaoke. Needless to say, I cannot wait for what this semester's party will bring! :)

What are you looking forward to in April? How was your March? Is anyone else in a general life slump like I am right now? What are you doing to combat it? I'd love to know in the comments!

Review: Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

Title: Marked in Flesh (The Others, #4)

Author: Anne Bishop

Rating: 4 Stars

Marked in Flesh is a truly fantastic new installment to Bishop's wonderful Urban Fantasy series. This series has started small, focusing on the interactions between the humans and the Others in Lakeside, but slowly it has started to expand outwards to encompass the entirety of the continent Thaisia and now the globe itself. Bishop's world-building continues to be one of my favorite aspects of this series and it is a testament to her skill that she was able to steadily introduce new elements that all fit together in such a way that readers had no trouble following the nation-wide crises that occur in this novel.

Bishop's latest brings the war that has been brewing between the humans and the Others to a forefront at last. The Humans First and Last movement is growing bolder and bolder and the Others, not to mention the Elders, are becoming increasingly impatient. The conflict between these species is horrific and terrible, but fascinating to watch unfold, and I'm curious to see how the aftermath is dealt with in the sequel. Marked in Flesh continues to place Meg, her friends, and other sweet bloods at the front seat of the series, though. It is clear in this novel that Meg's skill is valuable and life-saving--admittedly at the threat of her own life--but Bishop begins to explore alternatives for Meg. We are thrown back into her realm of insecurities, reminded that despite the fact that she has come incredibly far, she is still capable of believing that her self-worth is related to her skin. It's difficult to come to terms with, especially when Meg is beloved by all at Lakeside, but I've enjoyed her growth immensely throughout the series and this book is no exception.

While I often yearned for Lakeside in this book, only because the chapters bounce all throughout Thaisia and even into other continents such as Cel-Romano, the character interactions were never truly missing. If anything, the bonds between separate packs and lone groups that weren't in close proximity to Lakeside were made palpable and I especially enjoyed watching Simon deal with the responsibility thrust upon him. Simon doesn't want to deal with the humans but he has to and his interactions with them, his evolving relationship to their kind, but also his innate wolfness, all made for a fascinating novel that forced Simon to grow and change, too. (Not to mention, he has a truly kick-ass bromance with Vlad that I couldn't get enough of. I want to get in on that best friendship ASAP!)

It has often been remarked but it bears repeating--the romance takes a backseat with this series. I think Urban Fantasy has a reputation for often veering into erotica only with a concrete paranormal setting and battle scene to accompany the romance but this series is different. It's more Young Adult in its content but the world-building and character development is rich. Moreover, the romance is a slow-burn. Meg and Simon act like an old-married couple; living together, teasing each other over the phone, holding hands while they walk... But they do not share physical intimacies and their relationship remains a solid friendship. Bishop teases their romance in subtle ways throughout this novel and I am fully confident that we will see it bloom in the sequel. I, for one, cannot wait--the sexual tension has been killing me!

Marked in Flesh is obviously a must-read for fans of this series and to newcomers who have yet to pick up Bishop's work, I cannot emphasize enough what a truly wonderful series this is. It's brilliant and unique, from beginning to end, and I will be sad to see it go. As much as I hate the wait for a sequel, I'll savor it, this one last time.

Romance Mini-Reviews: Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas, Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon, and Party Lines by Emma Barry

Title: Brown-Eyed Girl (Travis Family, #4)

Author: Lisa Kleypas

Rating: 4 Stars

Absolutely CUTE! Kleypas never disappoints and though I still haven't read the first two books in this series, I really enjoyed this installment. I particularly liked that it was low on the drama and the "break" that usually emerges in a romance novel wasn't forced on this couple. Instead, they sorted through their issues rationally and it was adorable from beginning to end. (Plus, the secondary characters are just as compelling and their romantic arc also a ton of fun, so props to Kleypas for succeeding on multiple fronts!)

Title: Pairing Off (Red Hot Russians, #1)

Author: Elizabeth Harmon

Rating: 4 Stars

I was so invested in this couple--their tentative interactions, their growing friendship, the sexual tension that laced their every look--and the backdrop of ice skating in Russia only added to the romance of this novel. Admittedly, I will say that though I enjoyed this one a lot it did veer on the slightly dramatic edge towards the end, but it was never over-the-top and I appreciated that the drama did not exist between the leads but rather from outside sources. I would, for sure, recommend this because it's swoony, sweet, and a little something different from the typical hordes of romance reads.

Title: Party Lines (The Easy Part, #3)

Author: Emma Barry

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I really did enjoy this one. It was wildly entertaining with intelligent banter and sparks that definitely flew off the page. Yet, I felt as if this was dragged on just a little too long. It followed the very typical romance novel set-up with a "big break" towards the end and for this couple, it just felt a little too forced and inorganic, sadly. But, I'd still recommend this, especially for fans of the show Scandal because this is a lite, fun edition of the television drama. ;)

Mini-Review: Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran

Title: Fool Me Twice

Author: Meredith Duran

Rating: 4 Stars

Oh, this was good. I didn't expect too much from it, despite the high ratings, likely because the set-up seemed doomed from the start but, this book. It's a difficult one to explain, only because it doesn't sound good--Olivia, an intelligent young girl, is on the run from a powerful duke who, for a reason unknown, wants Olivia dead. A poor orphan, completely alone in the world, Olivia is tired of running every time she begins to settle down. When she uncovers a secret that the Duke of Marwick harbors blackmail material against all the powerful lords of England, she makes it her mission to infiltrate his household and escape with the papers that will grant her freedom. But the Duke of Marwick has been locked in his room for months. Ever since the death of his first wife, he has not been himself and, as Olivia enters his household as a housekeeper, she realizes that before she can get her hands on the documents she needs, she will first have to lure the beast out of his lair.

Olivia is no physical beauty and Alastair is far from a beast, in appearance, but Fool Me Twice reads much like a classic tale of Beauty and the Beast with a historical twist. Olivia is snarky, witty, and brave, taunting Alastair and forcing him, slowly, to resume living. Meanwhile, she never ceases to search his house, whipping it into shape from her position as housekeeper and struggling to earn the respect, both of the lazy servants in the home and of Alastair who is both amused and enraged by her disregard of his authority. Their sexual chemistry isn't evident from the start but it grows, slowly but surely, and as Alastair grows into himself we begin to see that he is a true match for Olivia's strength and courage.

Another aspect I simply love about this book is that it doesn't venture down the path we expect it to. It doesn't follow a typical romantic set-up in the least and the unpredictability of what is about to happen--the sheer thrill and adventure of it--make it exceptional. I've read a lot of romance novels this month where the set-up has been stellar and the sexual tension simply leaping off the page but the ultimate pay-off seems too hollow for the struggle it took these characters to be together. With Fool Me Twice, though, that pay-off is well worth the wait and every page is perfectly crafted. I enjoyed this immensely, from the secondary characters to the revenge/blackmail schemes and, of course, the actual love story at the heart of this novel. I only wish I could re-read it as it if were the first time because that experience was ever so lovely. Nevertheless, I know this is one I'll be picking up in a few weeks, months, or years and sinking into; just like coming home.

Review: Act Like It by Lucy Parker

Title: Act Like It

Author: Lucy Parker

Rating: 4 Stars

Lucy Parker's debut is phenomenal. Her writing reminded me, quite often, of Sara Manning's work. She has the same style of British romance, complete with a brooding hero and a heroine who doesn't seem to be quite right but, nevertheless, is perfect. Act Like It is a classic fake boyfriend/girlfriend trope and I ate it up completely.

Lainie, a theater actress, finds herself kissing her ex-boyfriend every night on stage--a painful process, to say the least. Will, the lead in the drama she is starring in, is every bit as handsome as his role boasts but when he cheats on Lainie, she is left feeling more embarrassed than bitter. The media has cast their pity with her and, as such, she seems to be the perfect candidate to help change the reputation of Richard, the talented actor who plays the villain in Lainie and Will's show. Richard is known for his skill on stage, but not so much for his ability to keep his temper off stage. When Richard and Lainie are thrown together by their stage director and PR managers, they are both reluctant and highly skeptical of their ability to even act as if they like one another. But with time, the act seems less and less like a burden and more and more like...reality?

Parker paces this romance perfectly, which is absolutely key. Lainie and Richard don't hate one another, but they also don't have feelings for one another and, in some ways, that indifference is almost worse. It's a tougher hurdle to cross, but also a much more interesting one. As Lainie and Richard are forced to spend time together at various events, they grow to surprise one another. Lainie isn't quite as silly as Richard believes and Richard isn't nearly the grouch he's portrayed by the media. Their banter, their snark, and their tender moments shine in the midst of seamless prose, all surrounded by a cast of secondary characters which brings the theater world to life. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page and simply had to know how these two would find their way to one another.

Moreover, I adore that Richard instills a confidence in Lainie she didn't have before, just as she adds a much-needed dose of balance to his life. They're both actors but their lives don't have the glamorous, too-fake-to-be-real quality that often bothers me in these types of set-ups. Yet, I especially appreciate that their qualms are never dealt with through drama; instead, these two talk through their issues like the reasonable adults that they are. It's refreshing and, believe it or not, still utterly romantic. Act Like It is an absolute pick-me-up read, sure to brighten your day and have you flipping through its pages for days, unwilling to let go of the characters or the words that paint their life. I still find myself re-reading my favorite passages and though a surprise, this is sure to be a favorite of the year for many--myself included.