MARCH READS

I managed to knock a couple more books off of my backlog of physical books this month while also making room for some of indie books via Kindle and Audible. 

1. The Winter of the Witch



This was a near-perfect 4.5/5 for me

This was a darkly brilliant conclusion to the atmospheric and enchanting WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY. I am so glad to have wrapped this series up and found myself quite satisfied with Vasya's final adventure. This cast of iconic characters will definitely stick with me for quite some time. 


2. Son


4/5 for a surprising conclusion to this quartet

I had a lot of hopes and expectations going into this conclusion to THE GIVER QUARTET. Not all of these were necessarily met, but I still really enjoyed this endearing and deeply personal journey of yet another young protagonist. In the end, I am very happy to have read the rest of this series and I think it's one that will hold a special place in my heart.

3. Phased


An endearing, yet intense 4/5 read 

Even though I am not normally into paranormal fantasy, I really enjoyed this dystopian werewolf drama for it's loveable cast, distinct setting, fascinating lore, and exciting werewolf battles. I am definitely looking forward to when Tecken releases a sequel for this. 

4. Sins and Sorrows


This was a solid 4/5 for me 

This collection of three short stories and two novellas was a fantastic follow up to BECOMING A DRUID, which I read last month.


5. Daniel X: Genesis


This was a silly 3/5 romp

This one is less a book, and more of a two and a half hour audio drama that was formatted similarly to IMPACT WINTER (another Audible Original audio drama that I listened to a couple months ago). DANIEL X: GENESIS didn't impress me quite as much as Audible's apocalyptic vampire story, but this super hero romp was delightful in it's own ways. It was just impossible to rate it any higher given the mixed quality in some of the voice acting as well as the hilariously bad teenage dialogue and characterization. 


6. The Written



A 3/5 for me 

I think this might finally be a case where the Audio edition hindered a story for me (as I've always been worried about after my initial experiences went badly). I appreciated the vivid descriptions and detailed magic battles, but had a really hard time feeling invested in most of the characters. There are some interesting twists as well as a couple of side characters that I found to be quite compelling, I just really needed to jive more with the main character, Farden, in order to have enjoyed this more. After giving it some thought, I will actually continue on with the second book in the series, but try it in a different format and see if that results in a better reading experience.

BONUS: THE CULTURE MAP (Chapter 4 - Chapter 6)


This is still a 5/5 so far

I continued my group read of this professional development title with my coworkers. We've been doing a chapter each week and then discussing it in separate Slack threads for each. I feel like the deeper we get into this, the more useful it becomes, especially when it comes to key business interactions like giving feedback, employee to manager interactions, and decision making. I look forward to wrapping up the remaining chapters in April!


Going into April, I will be participating in a Readathon which will hopefully help me blast through my physicals backlog of books. I'll also be continuing the group read of  THE CULTURE MAP with my coworkers. 

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