March TBR

February has come and gone, and March has arrived! You know what that means?

A new TBR list!

If you read my February Non-Reading Wrap-Up, you’ll know that my February reading month was a massive failure. If you haven’t read my post, you can find it here. I figured my TBR stack was a little too ambitious, and boy was I unapologetically right. What’s interesting is for about half the month I was overcome with this massive sense of guilt. Of course, it was a false guilt. What did I have to be guilty for? I didn’t do anything wrong to myself or others. I was simple too busy to read. But, my absurdly busy schedule didn’t absolve me from the guilt I felt. I felt like I was an imposter because I continued to post to bookstagram but wasn’t actually doing any reading. I felt like I was failing others, letting them down. Luckily, I snapped out of it and realized that my false guilt was utterly unnecessary and ridiculous. Life happens and our hobbies get put to the side from time to time.

And that is ok! I repeat…that is ok!

Don’t ever let something you enjoy doing start to be a burden or make you feel bad or less than because you can’t get to doing said hobby. False guilt will suck the enjoyment of doing what you love right out it. This month I made sure to pump the brakes on my reading ambitions and set the bar low, like real low! The only books I will absolutely make sure I read are the books I committed to buddy reading!

Outside of that, I have one ARC I would like to get to that publishes later this month (03/27/20, I believe?), and I will continue to push forward with my #MarchGalleyMadness hashtag challenge on Instagram. I’m actually thinking of attaching a giveaway to my hashtag challenge. What ya’ll think?

Now on to my TBR

1. I’ll be buddy reading Simone St. James’s The Sun Down Motel with bookstagrammer Jami (@mysharedstacks).
2. I’m in a group buddy read with fellow Once Upon a Book Club VIP members for Isabel Ibanez’s Woven in Moonlight.
   1. P.S. If you want an awesome monthly book subscription, check out Once Upon A Book Club and use my rep code BOOKISHRHETOR10 to receive 10% off your purchase!
3. Another massive group buddy read will be for #DeepDarkReads hosted by Laura (@crofteereader) and Indre (@hooked.by.books). They’ve selected Revenger by Alastair Reynolds.
4. My last physical book of the month will be Rebecca James’s The Woman in the Mirror. @minotaur_books sent me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Minotaur!

If you’d ever be interested in doing a buddy read, please feel free to reach out! I love reading with others and having discussion.

But, I will also continue to work on my Netgalley feedback percentage, so I’ll be reading ebooks anytime I have the chance! I was actually able to finish one today: Rachel Harrison’s The Return. Unfortunately, can’t recommend it. Be on the look out for my review. It publishes March 24th so my review will definitely be up before then. Neil deGrasse Tyson is me right now when I think about The Return.

What am I currently reading, you might ask?

Well, Random House Children’s was kind enough to approve me for Emily Arsenault’s All the Pretty Things. I initially fell in LOVE with the cover of this book. I’m a proud #coverlove whore. If a book has a pretty cover, I will almost definitely buy it no matter the storyline. What can I say? But, back to what I was originally talking about…my current read…I haven’t been able to read a single word in this book yet, so keep an eye out for a review! It should take me two-three days to finish. Check out the synopsis below.

For fans of Sadie and The Cheerleaders comes an all new thriller about a boy who turns up dead under suspicious circumstances and the one girl who may be the key to solving the mystery of his untimely death.

For Ivy, summer means roller-coaster season, spinning cotton candy at the Fabuland amusement park, and hanging out with her best friend, Morgan. But this summer is different.

One morning, Morgan finds a dead body. It’s their former classmate and coworker Ethan. To make matters worse, Morgan is taken to a hospital psych ward only days later, and she’s not saying much–not even to Ivy.

The police claim that Ethan simply took a bad fall, but Ivy isn’t convinced and realizes it’s up to her to get answers. What she finds is unsettling–it’s clear that some people aren’t being honest about Ethan’s last night at Fabuland. Including Morgan. And the more secrets Ivy uncovers, the closer she gets to unraveling dark truths that will change her life forever.

I’m super excited about this book, just like I was excited about The Return. Hopefully, All the Pretty Things doesn’t disappoint!

What’s on your March TBR? Let’s talk in the comments.