March was a month of some real ups and downs. For about a week, I felt dejected, but as the month progressed I celebrated my Dad’s birthday, spent Easter with my family, and by the end of the March I’d bounced back.
One of the biggest things I did last month was organise my very first readathon over Easter weekend. I honestly thought about six people would join in, but there ended up being so many people tweeting about their progress and adding photos of their TBRs to Instagram. Quite honestly, I was thrilled. It was wonderful to chat to people about their reading progress, and I ended up reading nine books in March as a result of the readathon.
These were the books I said I’d read in my March TBR:
And these were the books I actually read:
So I diverged from my TBR quite a lot this monthĀ (oops), but I’m actually really pleased with what I managed to read; I aimed for nine books and I read nine, despite them not being the books I’d initially planned.
After saying I’d pick it up for two and a half months, IĀ finally read The Belles! *rapturous applause is heard in the distance* I received an ARC before it was released, but I was so busy with other novels that it’s taken me until now to get to it. It was worth the wait though, as the plot was dark, twisted, and pretty thrilling. I was also lucky enough to receive an ARC of Starfish this month and I loved it. For a full review, check out my blog tour post that went up yesterday. The book that surprised me the most in March was To Kill A Kingdom;Ā I thought the story would be reasonably good, but I ended up enjoying it approximately 738 times more than I expected. The action and intensity were excellent and I rated it 4.5/5 stars.
For my Easter readathon, I read Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, Lumberjanes, Kenko, and The Suffragettes.Ā OK, real talk,Ā Simon Vs is EVERYTHING. I don’t know how I’ve gone for so long without it in my life, it was raw, honest, and beautifully gay. I absolutely adored it and I can’t wait to go and see the film.
Ratings
No.6 volume 5Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 
No.6 volume 6Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
StarfishĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
The BellesĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
To Kill A KingdomĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 
Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens AgendaĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā
Lumberjanes volume 2Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 
A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry TreesĀ Ā 
The SuffragettesĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
I FINALLY POSTED MY FIRST BOOK REVIEW OF THE YEAR (An Enchantment of Ravens) and you should totally go check it out because I need love and validation.
I rounded up myĀ My Most Anticipated Spring ReleasesĀ for 2018 and posted aĀ Bank Holiday Book TagĀ which was really fun to write.
My discussion feature about International Day of Happiness and how we shouldn’t shame others for what they enjoyĀ went up during March, and I also announced the Easter readathon I hosted over Easter weekend.
March started off on a low, but finished on a high for me, with some exciting events and new experiences.
- I celebrated my Dad’s birthday in the middle of the month and it was a really fun day/weekend. We went for a meal and I got him some presents that he ended up loving.
- I had four blissful days off over Easter and got not one, but three vegan Easter eggs. Somehow, I still have one left.
- My boyfriend and I celebrated our three year anniversary together. It seems amazing that we’ve been together for so long, but I think it shows in how well we know each other. We went for a day trip to Birmingham, but we’re celebrating properly in April with a weekend in London.
- If you follow me on Twitter you’ll know that I’ve done quite a lot of baking over the last month and have really enjoyed it. I find it incredibly relaxing, but often don’t make the time to do it, so I’m going to endeavour to keep baking new things in April and May.
- Over Easter weekend I hostedĀ my very firstĀ readathon over on Twitter and IG. So many people joined in and I’m thankful to every single person who did, as you all made it a brilliant experience. I should have a full wrap up post up soon.
What did you read in March? Did you get up to anything exciting? If you took part in my readathon, I’d love to hear if you enjoyed it.
coffeeinonehandbookintheother.wordpress.com 
I’m glad the month ended better than it started for you ā¤
Also, you had I Was Born For This on your TBR and DID NOT READ IT, KATE. I'm sorry I need to scream at you, I just can't believe I got lucky enough to read it and it was brilliant, I loved it so, so, SO MUCH, I can't wait for you to read it, I'd love to know what you think of it! Also, agree about To Kill a Kingdom, that book was amazing, I really, really enjoyed it š
Congratulations on hosting such a successful readathon, that's amazing š
I hope you're having a lovely April š x
Omg Marie I love this comment, it made me laugh so much! You’re 100% correct to shout at me for not reading IWBFT, I’M TRASH AND NEED TO BE THROWN IN THE BIN. However, you’ve definitely spurred me on to try and read as much of it as possible this weekend! (The only reason I haven’t finished it is because I only have a copy on my laptop and I don’t have that much time to read on it through the week!) Yeah, To Kill A Kingdom was a real surprise for me, but I’m definitely pleased I liked it more than I expected. Aww thanks so much, I loved organising the readathon, and I think I’d definitely like to do another in the future. Hope you’re having a super month too, thanks for always leaving fab comments on my blog ā¤
YAY I am SO IMPATIENT to hear what you think, I just loved it WAY too much and I need to scream about it with everyone š
You’re so welcome, Kate, I always love reading your posts! š
I’m going to try my best to read more of it this week especially for you š It’s just hard with it being on my laptop and not my phone! Thanks so much Marie, you’re the BEST<3
Oh I get it, I hate having to read on my laptop … or my phone, actually, it’s the e-reader or nothing hahaha.
You’re welcome!! ā¤
Congrats with all that happened last month š It sounds like a pretty good month š Looks like you did some good reading too š
Thanks my lovely! It *was* a pretty great month in the end š Yeah, I still can’t quite believe I read nine books! :O
It sounds like you had such an exciting month Kate! I was gutted I wasn’t able to participate in your readathon as much as I would have liked. Unfortunately too much university work! I read Simon Vs. as well I loved it, although I enjoyed the film a little bit more.
It really was! Aww, never mind, hopefully next time, if I do another in the future, you’ll be free š I finally saw the film last weekend and it was such a good adaptation! The ferris wheel scene killed me (in the best possible way) ā¤
Yay, nice blogpost! You’ve read a lot of great books, I still can’t wait to Starfish ā¤ I am very curious about To Kill a Kingdom as well. Unfortunately, I did not participate in your readathon, since I had to study a lot and write essays. If you host another readathon I will hopefully participate. March was such a great reading month for me, my favorite reads were: 'The Exact Opposite of Okay', 'Children of Blood and Bone' and the Shatter Me series.
Thank you! ā¤ Aww never mind, essays are always more important! Perhaps if I do another in the future you'll be around to take part š Ooh I'm pleased to hear you liked Children of Blood and Bone, I'm reading that at the moment and the plot and pacing are so good. I have an ARC of The Exact Opposite of Okay from last year but I still haven't read it yet because I'm the worst š
I LOVED participating in your Easter Readathon, it was great and I hope you hoster another Readathon soon, as I would be totally down for it š I also read Starfish this month and I had a good time reading it as well!
Aww thanks so much Caro, I’m really glad you had a good time! I’d definitely be up for hosting another on in the future š It’s so good isn’t it, I loved the discussions of identity and art.
YEES I cannot wait for another Readathon š I related SO much to the main character and I loved that art was such a big theme!
Yay! That’s so nice that you could identify with them, I love it when I can relate really strongly to a character š