Best Books of March

As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.

So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.

These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from March.

Strangers (Belle Burden): I’m not normally a memoir person, but people were raving about this book. I am so glad I read it because at its heart, it is a story about a woman asking to be understood, known, seen. She is asking her experience to be seen through her eyes. She is a beautiful writer. I am so sorry this happened to her family, but I do think there is worth in using words to create bridges between people. And she has built bridges by sharing her story.

One of Us (Elizabeth Day): I waited a long time for this book, and it did not disappoint. You do not have to have read The Party to read this book. Any important plot points from that book are woven into this book. I liked every terrible character and got a sense that the author did, too. They stayed on the correct line of interesting/terrible without straying into the more common territory of pointless/terrible. It was such a good read.

How to Get Away with Murder (Rebecca Philipson): 5 stars for writing. 1 star for plot. I guessed the end by 8% through. I was certain by 12%. I continued reading, hoping I was wrong. I was correct. So. That was the mystery piece, which brings us to 3 stars. But the writing was good, and I was always interested to get back to the book. So an extra half star for holding my interest, and round the whole thing up to 4 stars.

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency (J.D. Brinkworth): On the show Taskmaster, Stevie Martin and Jason Mantzoukas named their team Javie Martzoukas. I think that every time I write J.D. Brinkworth because they are also a zany team of two writers. This book was delightful. In a world where the news seems to be awful 100% of the time, this book was a welcome break from reality. Loved all of the characters. Will definitely be on the lookout for future books from this duo.

Hot Young Royals (Katy Birchall): This one was a bit of a head scratcher. I normally think of Katy Birchall as “new adult” but this was definitely hard-drinking-cocaine-snorting-YA. It was sweet. And bubbly. It was teens behaving badly and then apologizing. It was mind candy — there will be zero surprises. But sometimes you need something safely sweet to read after the news. And this is it.

What did you read last month?