![Do you have any decor-related holiday traditions? 🎄
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A Christmas village has been part of my annual decorations for as long as I can recall! My mom put them on top of my piano when I was a little girl, and when I got older and moved out, I received some pieces of my own (with a few from my childhood mixed in). 🤎
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When I chose to renovate my living room this year, I knew I’d need to find the perfect new space to display my village, come Christmas-time. This gorgeous @sauderusa cubby shelf felt like it was *made* to show off all my favorite pieces! 😍 It has been so much fun to find new ways to #SauderStyle these shelves over the last few months! 🙌🏼
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Each evening, I turn the lights on and feel a little bit of Christmas spirit come to life inside my heart. ✨ Which pieces would you want in your holiday village? 🏘️
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#cozyaesthetic #cozyhomedecor #thepursuitofcosiness #cozytime #holidaydecor #holidayhome #homedecor #hyggestyle #quietshadesofbrown #cottagecore #ofcosymoments #christmasdecor #ltkhome #modernorganic #farmhousedecor #cottagedecor #gifted #christmashome #christmasvillage [ad]](https://theespressoedition.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Despite picking up everything on my March 2023 reading list, this month’s bookish vibe was so incredibly average. In this post, you’ll find out how I felt about the 25 books I read.
Have you ever been in a slump, but not the kind where you don’t read at all? The kind where you just feel like everything you pick up is “meh“? That’s definitely how my March 2023 reading seemed to go. Not that there weren’t a few winners in there, but considering the fact that I read 25 books, I was a bit disappointed by the number of 3-star, super-so-so-reads throughout the month.
I think that the start of spring has me feeling off, since unlike most people, I tend to experience seasonal affective disorder during the warm months of the year. From now til October, I expect everything to just be a little lackluster – including the way I read. Here’s hoping April proves me wrong!
I did finish every book on my March 2023 reading list except for one (The Fifth Season – just not for me), which was an excellent feeling. I also completed my rereads for three series (Shadow and Bone, Shades of Magic, and The Hunger Games) and began a few more! The stand-outs this month were Concrete Rose, Funny Feelings, and The Neighbor Favor. Keep on scrolling to find out my ratings for the rest of the books I read during the month of March.
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The 25 Books I Read in March 2023
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March 2023 Reading Stats
Books That Got a 5-Star Rating (*rereads)
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3)*
by Suzanne Collins
Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble
Ruin and Rising (Shadow and Bone #3)*
by Leigh Bardugo
Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give #0.5)
by Angie Thomas
A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3)*
by V.E. Schwab
Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1)
by travis baldree
Books That Got a 4 or 4.5-Star Rating
One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1)
by Rachel Gillig
Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Sorcery of Thorns #1.5)
by Margaret Rogerson
Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1)
by Maureen Johnson
The Liar’s Crown (Dominions #1)
by Abigail Owen
The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway
by Ashley Schumacher
Books That Got a 3 or 3.5-Star Rating
Mixed Signals (Lovelight Farms #3)
by B.K. Borison
How to Love Your Neighbor (Jansen Brothers #2)
by Sophie Sullivan
100 Cupboards (100 Cupboards #1)
by N.D. Wilson
A Brush With Love (A Brush With Love #1)
by Mazey Eddings
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1)
by Heather Fawcett
A Guide to Being Just Friends (Jansen Brothers #3)
by Sophie Sullivan
The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1)
by Marie Lu
Books That Got No Rating
Books I DNF’d
The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1)
by N.K. Jemisin
Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert #1)
by Olivia Dade
April 2023 TBR
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games #0) by Suzanne Collins
All the Tides of Fate (All the Stars and Teeth #2) by Adalyn Grace [reread]
Bleeding Heart (The Cardplay Duology #2) by Brittany M. Willows
The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious #2) by Maureen Johnson
Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer [reread]
Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo [reread]
These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows #1) by Lexi Ryan
A River Enchanted (Elements of Cadence #1) by Rebecca Ross
Stealing Infinity (Stolen Beauty #1) by Alyson Noël
Story Thieves (Story Thieves #1) by James Riley
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt
Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
Shop the post
coconut wax bookish candle (ESPRESSO10) | single-serve French press | cappuccino mugs & saucers | cotton sprigs | cinnamon sticks | similar birdcage | blue light blocking glasses | plaid scarf | wooden cake tray | faux pine cones | sweater | pillow
What a great reading month for you. Lots of 5-star books! My favorite this month was Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane.
It’s funny, because I felt like it was a super bleh month with hardly any five star reads haha. In comparison to most months, this was a letdown for me. But it’s all good. April will be better, I feel it in my bones.
I really enjoyed Just Last Night! It made me sob my eyes out, but I loved it haha.
Looks like you did read a lot during March. I still need to read Spoiler Alert.
I hope you enjoy it more than I did! Since I DNF’d it haha.
Oh no, I thought for sure you’d love H.G. Parry’s THE MAGICIAN’S DAUGHTER! I know it’s in your 3-3.5 star list, but it was so cozy.
As for Funny Feelings, I saw someone mention it on IG and share a quote and I was like, ok, I need to read this. I saw it’s on KU, so I’d like to try to squeeze it into my April reading. I’ve been meaning to finally cancel my KU sub because I hadn’t been using it…until March, go figure!
I think I might have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t coming down from my reread of the Shadow and Bone trilogy high. I was desperate for something fast-paced and it was just a little too slow and informational for me at the time. Oh, and I was craving romance, of which it had… basically none haha. I’ll probably reread it at a later date and wind up enjoying it a lot more!
I hope you love Funny Feelings as much as I did! It really blew me away. I wasn’t expecting to love it so much but it was such a perfect combination of friends-to-lovers, fake dating, and all the other things I love in a romance.
I hope April is going better for you! I read the city we became by Jemisin recently & quite liked it, was planning to pick up fifth season soon. Maybe I will like it more. I am not in a slump but my March wasn’t a good reading month as well.