Royally Matched

Emma Chase

After reading A Princess in Theory last month, this was a disappointing return to typical romance novels. Based on the modern royal family, the book was utterly predictable and I didn't love either of the protagonists. Can't say I'd recommend it, but I didn't have anything better to read and it was a quick.

Dietland

Sarai Walker

I have really mixed feelings about this book. Having struggled with anxiety about my body since I was a teenager I thought that a body-positive read would be good for me. In some ways it was - it's a fantastically feminist read about learning to love yourself and accept yourself, including the gross, teary-eyed, hard struggle it takes to get there. But when the feminism turns violent, and the self-acceptance gets extreme, the books kind of lost me. I found it emotional, and confusing, and wasn't sure whether I loved the message or whether the message was that things can only change through rejecting society and violence. It was definitely interesting food for thought, and worth reading.

Laura and Emma

Kate Greathead

I powered through this after a drought of good books, and liked it more by the end than I did in the beginning. It's about a single mother raising her daughter in blue-blood New York City through the 80's and 90's, and was charming but not a must read. I thought I would identify with Laura and her progressive values more than I did, and while she was empowering and self-reliant and imperfect, I didn't feel compelled to know what happened to her. I liked Emma as a character a lot more, and enjoyed how her personality changed as she aged. Overall, I think this was a great book that just didn't resonate with me as much as I wanted it to, but I think it may resonate with others.

The Immortalists

Chloe Benjamin

FINALLY, in the last days of the month, I found a book to remind me why I love to read. This novel opens in 1969 when 4 siblings visit a fortune teller in their neighborhood, who is rumored to be able to tell you the day you'll die. The rest of the book follows each of the siblings, and how the prediction affects them and their lives. I loved how different each of the siblings is, and their various takes on the prediction. Each character is slightly romantic and very vivid - they felt more like people you knew than characters in a book. It's not quite 5 stars, but I chewed through this thick book in 3 days and can't recommend it enough.

I know March is typically "In like a lion and out like a lamb", but spring came early for me and February's books were in like a lion and out like a lamb. Hopefully this literary sunshine continues!