on the bookshelf :: March

March, I think I’ve spoken about previously, was The Month Of The Rut. Projects dropped off and are waiting for catch up marathons. My injured ankle led to a whole lot of languishing. It’s been a big month of travel and house jobs and meetings and weekends disappearing in a haze of adulting and outside commitments. Along with my projects, my reading goal also found itself rudely ignored for the first half of the month. Then I managed to pull myself out of my own head, and finished two books this past weekend alone. Technically, the weekend was April, I know, but I’m going to claim them as March because it means I’m on track! 

Format wise, I had a bit of a mix for March. Like in February, I only had one audiobook this month, from audible, no hard copies at all, and five ebooks, one indyreads, one borrow box, three kindle.

Genre wise, I had a bit of a mix again – crime, literary, historical, romance and contemporary. Two of the six were Aussie based, one was Aussie via Brazil & France, and three were American. All were new to me, with zero re-reads this month. 

The links below are mostly affiliate links – I have included Amazon, Book Depository, and for the Aussies, QBD options. Where I have listened to an audio book, it is through my Audible subscription and I have linked to the version I listened too. If you haven’t signed up for audible previously, you can get a free 30 day trial here. Books marked with a ^ mark are also available with a kindleunlimited subscription that also has the option of a free trial here, and † denotes a kindle book available through Prime Reading – you can get a free trial of prime here. The kindle links will also show hard copy options from Amazon. Sadly, Book Depository is closing in a couple of weeks, so this links will only work up until April 26. 

She’s Up To No Good {kindle† // book depository} – a light fluffy contemporary novel, what we would once have called “chick lit” – is that still a thing? A bit of romance, a bit of family fun, this was an easy read with a few giggles along the way.

The River Mouth {kindle // book depository // QBD} – As if losing a child to murder isn’t hard enough, ten years later, the DNA under his fingernails is discovered to belong to his mothers best friend. Through a series of flashbacks, we watch a small town’s secrets slowly come to light and the killer revealed. It kept me hooked from the first chapter.

The Tour {kindle} – My one audiobook for the month, read by one of my fave Aussie actors, Lisa McCune, The Tour follows twin sisters as they serve as maids to one of The Queen’s ladies in waiting during the 1954 tour of Australia. The bonds of sisterly loyalty are tested through the trials of break ups and social climbing and meeting estranged family. I really enjoyed this story, and thought the audio was well done.

The Natural History of Love {kindle // book depository // QBD} – based on the true story of Count de Castelnau, this novel takes us from Brazil to France and then to Melbourne. Told through flash backs as a solicitor tries to protect the younger son of the count and his mistress, from his older brother, we see the complex family relationships that have led to the point where Eddie is terrified of Charles. Social intrigue, scorned first wives, and natural sciences layer together to create a rich picture of life in the latter half of the 19th century. It took me a bit to get into but overall it was a good read.

Our Overtime {kindle*} – not going to lie, this was nothing more than a fluffy romance to zone out with on a Saturday evening. A second chance romance (one of my fave tropes!) starring a figure skater and an ice hockey player. I borrowed one of the kids kindles to read it via kindle unlimited and it was literally like a 2hr read. It was predictable and rather fun. What can I say? I’m a sucker for easy romance. 

The Love Hypothesis {kindle // book depository // QBD} I bought this one on a whim, and to be honest, I was ready to return it by the end of the first chapter. I wasn’t enjoying it, so I put it aside in favour of “Our Overtime”, then revisited it the next day. Once I got used to the stylistic choices that I struggled with at the beginning, it turned into a cute little romcom filled with pining and fake dating. Only ended up taking me a few hours to read once I got into it. 

Another 6 book month has me sitting at 25 books read at the end of the first quarter, meaning I am on track for a PB of 100 books read in 2023! I’ve got a few books on reserve, one on the go in borrow box, and a new book picked up at my “local” indie shop when we went to the big smoke earlier in the week for an appointment. As always, I would love to know what you are reading at the minute that I should put on my to-read list!

**I am an Amazon, book depository and QBD affiliate, which means if you click this link and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only ever affiliate link to products and places I genuinely use and love. Thank you for supporting my blog!