March Reads

16. Gone Too Far by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars)

The Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann is, far and away, my favorite series by any author. Sometimes, I get sad that these characters are not real people! They feel so real and alive and I love reading their stories. This story was mainly focused on one of my favorite characters, Sam. His ex-wife and daughter go missing after an assassination attempt that she is linked to. There are so many twists and turns, so much action and drama, and yes, some very steamy scenes. Brockmann just knows how to write a fantastic romantic thriller. She creates characters you feel like you can touch and I finish her 400+ page books within days. I’m such a fan and I highly recommend these books.

17. Abby Road by Ophelia London (4 stars)

I received a digital copy of this book for free from Netgalley and I loved it so much. It was an adorable chick-lit novel, with a main character I was immediately drawn to and an easy plot to follow. It is the story of Abby, who is the biggest thing to hit the music scene since Britney Spears. She has a breakdown after her brother is killed and is forced to take a three-month vacation and escapes to her sister’s home in Florida. It is there she meets Todd and rediscovers herself. Abby the person, not Abby the rock star. It was a really cute novel and I would totally recommend this book. My only issue was the formatting on Kindle was awful. It was really, really hard to follow at times so that’s hopefully an issue the publisher can work out soon.

18. That Summer by Sarah Dessen (2 stars)

I am a huge fan of Sarah Dessen and her coming-of-age YA lit novels. This is her first book and it’s easy to see how much her writing has improved over the years. This book just fell flat for me. The plot was uninventive, the characters bland. The story reads quickly and I found myself just skimming through it to finish.

19. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close (3 stars)

This book had been on my “must-read soon” list for a long time and when I found out I could download it for free from my library, I quickly did so. I’d heard great reviews of the book so I had a lot of expectations going into it. The thing about Girls in White Dresses is not that it was bad, but it just didn’t grip me like I wanted it to. There were so many characters and it was hard keeping their stories straight. I did enjoy the humor and wit and I actually laughed out loud a few times. (Something I never do!) And the stories felt very real and honest. So, in the end, I enjoyed the novel but didn’t feel any differently when I finished it.

20. Makeover Miracle by Charmaine Ross (2 stars)

(This was a Netgalley book, so I received a Kindle edition for free, in exchange for an honest review.) This was a really quick read (I read it in less than a day) and a cute story. It was the kind of story that you KNOW isn’t very good, yet it still entices you to keep reading.

The story was about Abbey, who has been bullied and teased all her life for her looks. She is taller than average, a flaming redhead, and overweight. She has dealt with so many disparaging remarks and the crux of it all: a man who took a bet that he could get her to sleep with him in less than 5 dates. (Which he won.) Abbey and her friend, Jennifer, are selected to be contestants on Australia-based Makeover Miracle. (Very similar to The Biggest Loser, except not so weight-loss and workout focused.) The producer of the show, Quinn, and her have an instant connection with each other that only grows stronger during the course of the show as they get to know one another.

I could connect with Abbey at first. I understood her pain of being overweight and bullied and feeling self-conscious. But then she just got annoying. I just wanted to slap her upside the head and tell her she is worthy, no matter if she’s beautiful or ugly, fat or skinny.

I feel like this book had the potential to address some very important issues on looks and worthiness and self-confidence but it did not. It focused more on the fact that this woman begins to find her self-worth because a guy tells her she is, not because she knows it inherently herself. She discovers she IS beautiful so now she is worthy. This is a slippery slope and I found the message of this book to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

21. A Mile in My Flip-Flops by Melody Carlson (2 stars)

I’ve read books by Melanie Carlson before that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed so when I saw this Christian chick-lit novel on Amazon, I decided to pick it up and check it out. I regret this decision. This book was not very good. It was cheesy, filled with cliches, and lacked the emotional and spiritual depth I like to see in Christian novels. The characters were one-dimensional and the ending was too cutesy for my taste.

22. Flashpoint by Suzanne Brockmann (5 stars)

This book is close to 500 pages… and I read it within 1 day. I just can’t put her books down for anything! They grip me from beginning to end. This one introduced new characters but James Nash is one of my favorite characters Brockmann has written because he’s so complex. There’s just so much to him, and I wish there were more books devoted to James and Tess. If you love suspenseful mysteries (and romance!), I highly suggest starting this series. It is so good.

23. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5 stars)

Okay, so I’m always a bit late to the game when it comes to reading super popular books. I never want to jump on the bandwagon too fast, you know? I’ve had this book on my Kindle for months and I finally got around to reading it in March. And guys? WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ THIS BOOK?! I’m really not a huge fan of the dystopian genre, mainly because it is so saturated and it feels like that’s all anyone is writing about in YA fiction lately. But I decided to take the plunge and decide for myself. This book is good – it is really, really good. Katniss is totally kick ass and I need to get my hands on the next two books SOON!

24. Cowboy’s Texas Rescue by Beth Cornelison (3 stars)

Cheesy, predictable, and heartwarming… just how I like my Harlequin novels. While I found myself rolling my eyes at the stupidity of the main character in certain instances, it was an overall decent read.

Books read in March: 9
Books read in 2013: 24