Hello!

I decided last month that I wanted to make my monthly tbr for March slightly differently, but I’ve still ended up with a 9 book tbr… things will be different in April I swear!

The whole point of making a monthly tbr for me was to ensure I was reading my book club picks and making the most of my subscriptions, which at the time were Audible, Kindle Unlimited, Illumicrate and every other month, Afterlight. Now I have all of those, Afterlight is monthly and I want to read 2 of my 24 in 2024 list every month.

And for someone who reads 4-6 books a month, these tbr’s were getting out of hand!

So going forward, I’m not including Audible and KU on my tbr list, because I’m not worried about how much I’m using Audible and reading on KU felt forced so I might cancel it for the moment so I can prioritise my physical tbr. I’m still in two minds about whether I cancel Illumicrate and I still have a bunch of pre-orders that I will also be putting on my tbr, but I think all round it feels a little more balanced!

But, for this month, there’s two KU books I want to read in preparation for a new release that comes out in a few days so next month is when I’ll see the real impact of these changes!

With that said, let’s jump into the 9 books that are on my tbr for March!

A Game of Retribution / A Game of Gods – Scarlett St Clair

In preparation for the final book coming out this month, I need to finish the last two books of the Hades trilogy. I’ve just looked it up and A Game of Retribution has 465 pages and A Game of Gods has 587 pages so I’m definitely not going to be able to finish them before the next book comes out on the 12th, but I’m going to try my best! Honestly, I haven’t been enjoying this side of the trilogy compared to the Persephone side as much, but I wanted to be fully prepared for…

A Touch of Chaos – Scarlett St Clair

The new release that I’ve preordered that I’ve got over 1000 pages to read to be ready for! This one is going to be a dual perspective conclusion to the saga and I’m really looking forward to it! This series is probably going to take up most of my March reading and I’m not gutted about it. Gimme gimme gimme some Greek romance!

The Hobbit – J. R. R. Tolkein

My husband’s choice for our book club this month is this absolute classic that is also on my 24 in 2024 list, so it’s a double win! I’m genuinely a bit nervous about this because I’ve watched all the films, I’ve seen the film ‘Tolkein’ and I’m a big fan, but I’m not sure how I’m going to like the narrative style – I think it’s going to be a bit literary fantasy and I’m not sure I’m going to vibe with it, I don’t know if I have that much brain power! But I’m going to give it my best go and it is shorter than I thought it was so that’s always a win.

Famous Five: Five Run Away Together – Enid Blyton

The next instalment in attempting to read the 10-book-box set we got as a wedding gift, the third book in the Famous Five series – Fine Run Away Together! So far, they’ve been nice palette cleanser books between the other books on my tbr and I’m actually finding myself looking forward to them! I don’t know if I’m going to be able to differentiate my reviews for them, that’s going to start getting repetitive, but I’m still enjoying them so that’s the main thing!

The Fine Print – Lauren Asher

This is one of the ones from my 24 in 2024 list and honestly, I picked it because the one and only book from that list that I’ve read so far this year was The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams, which is the first in my list (alphabetically by authors surname) so I’m just following that pattern. The Hobbit somewhat negates that pattern, but I’m pretty sure it’s the last one alphabetically so maybe I’ll just keep picking titles from each end of the alphabet till I meet in the middle.

I’ve heard a lot about the Dreamland Billionaires series and I’m looking forward to a contemporary romance and hope I like it more than I liked The Cheat Sheet 🤞

Legends and Lattes – Travis Baldree

And the next alphabetically on my 24 in 2024 list is another fantasy book, but a low stakes one and one of my first cosy fantasies I believe! I’m trying to manage my expectations because I think I could really love this one, but I don’t want to be disappointed by it! Honestly, as long as I don’t hate it I’ll be happy.

This is one where I’ve very deliberately not bought the sequel because I want to make sure I actually l like it before committing to the series and for that, I’m really proud of myself.

Fangirl Down – Tessa Bailey

I read my first Tessa Bailey book before Christmas and I found it oddly refreshing to read a silly romance book from an author that didn’t take herself or the genre too seriously – I knew this was going to be the Afterlight February book when they announced the theme as ‘Who’s Your Caddy’, so I was really excited to receive this book in my subscription box and I can’t wait to read it!

To Cage A God – Elizabeth May

This book from Illumicrate however, I am less excited about. This book was announced as February’s book several months ago and for me that spoils the surprise of the Illumicrate box, on top of the fact it’s not a book I would have picked up of my own accord and as it’s a title from Illumicrate’s own publishing house, Daphne Press, it feels a little bit like they’re shoving their own title down our throats. I’m pretty sure this is another sign that perhaps I need to cancel my Illumicrate subscription cos it’s not for me, but I do own this book so I will endeavour to read it!

And that’s all 9! Considering the most pages I’ve read in one sitting this week is 43 (and the least is 3), March has definitely got off to a slower start, but I’m hoping once I finish the Hades x Persephone series I’ll feel a bit more motivated!

Thank you for taking time out of your book to read my blog, it’s much appreciated ❤️

Sophie xx