Recent Reads: March 2022

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Find out what I’ve been reading and loving lately before you reach for your next book!

Unfortunately, my reading slump continued in March. I finished five books in March and only rated two of them higher than 3 stars.

I truly don’t know what the deal is right now. Nothing sounds interesting to me, and two of my most anticipated books of 2022 were a bit of a letdown. I’m honestly considering a re-read of Crescent City right now just to see if that will spark something for me again.

I ended February with 86 books on my unread shelves. All five books I read in March were from my shelves, which is awesome. Then I unhauled quite a few books in March. My TBR just felt too overwhelming and I had some books that I knew would not be a priority any time soon or that I could get from the library later. I haven’t filled in my March spread, but I think I have around 84 unread books on my shelves, which I’m honestly still trying to figure out because I only hauled four books in March and read two of them.

I had three Book of the Month picks and read two of them this month, so I call that a success! I am trying to read my BOTM picks each month so I don’t let those pile up quite as much. If I don’t read at least one of my picks, then I can’t get a box the next month.

Related: Is a Book of the Month Subscription Worth It?

Now let’s talk about all of the books I read in March.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

This is a BOTM book that has been on my shelves probably three years. I finally decided to try it when my audiobook hold came through, but this book just wasn’t for me.

I can’t even remember a single thing about this book at this point. The atmosphere was decent but the book itself was too long because there wasn’t much depth to the story.

Rating:★★☆☆☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: Owned for more than one year

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

The Paris Apartment was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 but it was a huge disappointment.

I would describe this as a watered down version of Lock Every Door as far as the setting. I was intrigued at first but eventually stopped caring. One hundred pages of this novel should have been cut because it goes nowhere until the last 75 pages.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: Genre: Mystery

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

This was another one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. I did enjoy The Book of Cold Cases, but I expected more twists and turns.

The Book of Cold Cases is a slow burn mystery with a touch of supernatural that I wish had been more prominent in the story. The facts are laid out for you chapter by chapter, and that’s pretty much it.

But I was completely captivated by the story and it’s the first book I’ve read in a month that wasn’t a one or two star review.

This didn’t live up to The Sun Down Motel, but it’s definitely worth reading.

Rating: ★★★★☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: A five star prediction

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

If you follow me on Instagram or TikTok, you know I had a lot of feelings while reading Throne of Glass. You can tell this was a debut book, so I generously gave this three stars but I did not enjoy most of it.

I’m intrigued enough to continue the series at some point, but I don’t know when that will be.

Rating:★★★☆☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: A booktube/bookstagram darling

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

Razorblade Tears is a 2021 Book of the Year finalist from Book of the Month, so I picked it as my extra add-on in December because it was the only thriller.

Two dads go on a revenge tour to find the person responsible for murdering their sons, who were married with a young daughter.

After finishing Razorblade Tears, I noticed Goodreads has this labeled as fiction, which is more accurate than BOTM’s thriller label.

I feel like nothing happened for 75% of this book and I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. I was interested in the actual story, but it was hard to care about anything happening for some reason. I ended up listening to the audiobook from my library, and the narrator was really good so I do recommend that format.

Rating:★★★☆☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: a library book

Related: Best Audiobook Services 2021

Carry Over TBR

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

I was sent an eARC of this title by the publisher, and I accepted because the concept for this sounded so good. A woman wakes up in the back of a cab and doesn’t remember how she got there. She arrives are her apartment, which is not her apartment anymore, and discovers she has bloody hands and a message written in black ink: STAY AWAKE.

I’m definitely enjoying this and have no idea where it is going, I just haven’t much time to sit down and read lately.

What books did you read in March? Did you read any books for the 2022 Reading Challenge? Let me know in the comments!