Monthly Wrap-Up: March 2018

Monthly Wrap-Up Meme

And that’s a wrap on March!

I can’t believe it’s been another whole month of 2018 – and my first full month of blogging! I’m loving this community so much. It’s been great to discuss my opinions and find so many wonderful new books through all of you.

What I Read

March was another great reading month for me, including four 5-star reads and plenty of others that I thoroughly enjoyed. Lots of mysteries and thrillers, but I did squeeze in a YA fantasy, which I’m dying to get more of in my life.

This month, I tackled 11 books and 3,922 pages. 8 books were ones that I committed to as part of my March TBR, and the only one on my TBR I haven’t checked off yet is This Fallen Prey. I’m in the middle of it now, though, and fingers crossed that I’ll be wrapping up tonight, so I’m still in the clear for March!



My Reviews

Average Rating: 4.18
Force of Nature – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As Bright As Heaven – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
They All Fall Down – ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
All the Beautiful Lies – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Killman Creek – ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Bonfire – ⭐⭐⭐🌟
The One – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wife Between Us – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Into the Black Nowhere – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Cruel Prince – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
People Like Us – ⭐️⭐️✨

Have any of these books been on your radar? I’d love to know what you think of them!

Highlight Reads

My absolute favorite reads this month were Into the Black NowhereThe Cruel Prince, and The One.

Into the Black Nowhere

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

In southern Texas, on Saturday nights, women are disappearing. One vanishes from a movie theater. Another is ripped from her car at a stoplight. Another vanishes from her home while checking on her baby. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin.

Caitlin and the FBI’s serial crime unit discover the first victim’s body in the woods. She’s laid out in a bloodstained, white baby-doll nightgown. A second victim in a white nightie lies deeper in the forest’s darkness. Both bodies are surrounded by Polaroid photos, stuck in the earth like headstones. Each photo pictures a woman in a white negligee, wrists slashed, suicide-style–posed like Snow White awaiting her prince’s kiss. 

To track the UNSUB, Caitlin must get inside his mind. How is he selecting these women? Working with a legendary FBI profiler, Caitlin searches for a homology–that elusive point where character and action come together. She profiles a confident, meticulous killer who convinces his victims to lower their guard until he can overpower and take them in plain sight. He then reduces them to objects in a twisted fantasy–dolls for him to possess, control, and ultimately destroy. Caitlin’s profile leads the FBI to focus on one man: a charismatic, successful professional who easily gains people’s trust. But with only circumstantial evidence linking him to the murders, the police allow him to escape. As Saturday night approaches, Caitlin and the FBI enter a desperate game of cat and mouse, racing to capture the cunning predator before he claims more victims.

The Cruel Prince

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

The One

Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction

How far would you go to find The One?

A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner—the one you’re genetically made for.

That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.

Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…

Challenge Check-Ins

Annual Reading Challenge

2018 Reading Goal: 50 books
Read So Far: 28 books

I’m … probably going to have to revisit this goal sooner than later, hah. I made 50 books my goal last year, too, and I just barely hit it at about 10pm on December 31st (what a way to ring in the new year!), but starting this blog and getting involved in the bookish community has made me more motivated to fill my free time with reading than ever! I’m thinking I should bump this to 100 and see how it goes!

Popsugar Reading Challenge

This year, I’m participating in the Popsugar Reading Challenge. I was able to tackle 5 books that fit reading prompts. Check out my full list in the original challenge post.

✅ A book set in a country that fascinates you: Force of Nature
✅ A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym: Killman Creek
✅ A book that involves a bookstore or library: All the Beautiful Lies
✅ A book by a local author: The Cruel Prince
✅ A book with an ugly cover: Into the Black Nowhere

Total Progress: 16/40

Coming Up Next …

Tune in later this week for my reading plans and goals for April!

Let’s connect!
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Author: Kaila

My name is Kaila, and I'm a bibliophile with a love of traveling and adventure. When I'm not buried in a book - preferably mysteries, thrillers, and fantasies - you'll find me at work as a software engineer or training as an amateur Muay Thai fighter ... no dull moments here!

17 thoughts on “Monthly Wrap-Up: March 2018”

    1. Hahahaha, for real?? You gotta make some time to just fully dive in 😂 I wasn’t fully feeling it till the second half, to be honest, and then it made me appreciate the first half a lot more.

      Liked by 1 person

  1. Seems you had a pretty good reading month indeed!

    I absolutely LOVE The Cruel Prince. I want to reread it, but simply can’t find the time.. People Like Us is on my TBR so I’m going to check out your review for that one since you didn’t gave it a high rating, haha.

    Happy reading!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Re-reading The Cruel Prince would be a blast, especially knowing everything that’s to come! I hope you get a chance soon 🙂 People Like Us wasn’t a favorite read, but at least it’s a quick one if you end up giving it a shot! Happy reading to you, too 🤗

      Liked by 1 person

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