My birthday month (AKA the best month of the year) is over.
Yes, that’s right, I turned 17 this month! OUTRAGEOUS. I’m at, like, the ideal YA age right now, but I haven’t received a letter, met my new mentor, or had to save the world. Oh, well. I have an entire year to catch up!
Other then having a great birthday, March was just an all-around good month!
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad | 2/5 stars
- Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganuchea | 3/5 stars
- Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale | 5/5 stars
- Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell | 5/5 stars
- My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows | 4/5 stars
This month absolutely killed it terms of books (we’ll ignore Heart of Darkness, since it was required reading and absolutely intolerable). I hadn’t had any five star reads before this month, and now I have two! Still, my favorite has got to be Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale. Oh my gosh, guys, I loved that book! The setting, the romance, the story… an absolute winner.
- Books I’m Stripping of Their Five Star Status | I discussed some books I looked back on and changed the ratings of to better reflect how I feel about them today.
- Book Discussion: A Case for Changing Ratings Long After Reading | In this post, I actually talked about why I support changing a book’s rating, even months after you’ve read it.
- ARC Review: Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale | I absolutely adored this little book and it ended up being my first five star book of 2019!
I didn’t post quite as much as I wanted to this month, mostly because the posts I had lined up for the end of the month were reviews for books I didn’t finish on time, so look out for those reviews in April!
- Aurora @ Aurora Librialis listed six reasons she’s likely to hit the follow button on someone’s blog.
- Elise @ The Bookish Actress discussed eighteen things she’s learned in life in celebration of her eighteenth birthday.
- Sofia @ Bookish Wanderess reviewed Small Town Hearts and created this awesome playlist that perfectly captured the spirit of the novel. If you’re reading this book, you should be listening to this playlist!
- Katie @ Never Not Reading talked about how problematic content in historical fiction should be approached and addressed.
- Fadwa @ Word Wonders published a guest post by Kala @ Storybook on Wheels examining the inclusivity of booktube versus book blogging.
- Sarah @ Written Word Worlds took us on an amazing trip around the world in fifteen books, which was honestly so cute and funny!
- Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks evaluated the lack of globalization in YA sci-fi and urban fantasy worldbuilding.
- Svetlana @ The Caffeinated Bookworm Life provided four reasons why you should reorganize your bookshelf often (which made me want to get up and reorganize mine, because as of late, it’s been a mess.)
Honestly, a lot of exciting things happened this month, one of which was my birthday! I turned the ripe-old age of seventeen a couple weeks ago, and I can unequivocally say that it doesn’t feel any different. Still, I love my birthday, and I love using birthday money to buy birthday books.
And speaking of books, I went to The Stand Bookstore in New York City! If you didn’t know, this is one of the most iconic bookstores in the U.S., and I was so wowed by it. I wish I could’ve spent days walking around it.
I participated in a readathon! Specifically the 8 in Two readathon (where the goal is to read for eight hours over the course of a weekend) which was hosted by 25 in Five! I didn’t hit the full eight hours, but I spent an entire weekend with my nose in some books, so it was still great.
Plus, I did some college touring in my state this month, and even though I’ve still got a few months to go before applications, it has made me really excited to see where I’ll end up in the next year and a half.
You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn
I actually have an ARC of this one and have already read it, so I’m not sure if it should go on my anticipated releases list, but I guess I just want to shout about it just a little bit more, since this was probably one of my top five most anticipated releases of the entirety of 2019. This one releases on April 2nd. (And since this wrap-up is just a tad bit late, I actually posted my review on it just yesterday!)
Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
Okay, so I have yet to read any of Bennett’s previous books (Alex, Approximately and Starry Eyes among them), but I’m still super stoked about her newest release, especially since my friend Mia gave it such a glowing recommendation. Bennett also has another book, this one historical fiction, coming out in September, so I figure it’s about time I catch up! Serious Moonlight releases April 16th.
Since We Last Spoke by Brenda Rufener
I have been excited about this book since it first got a cover! There’s something about it I just love, and it has a star-crossed, feuding families energy that has me ridiculously excited for it. Releases April 2nd.
March has been a busy month, but it’s definitely had its quiet, relaxing moments, which I greatly appreciated. School has been stressful this year (especially with SATs coming up next week), but I’m really trying to relax more and just try to enjoy it rather than rushing through it.
Around my birthday every year, I realize how fast time can fly, and how it wouldn’t be so bad if it just slowed down so we could all enjoy the ride a little bit better. So have a great April, and try to make the most of it.
Stay bookish,
Jordyn
Jordz the Bibliophile 
Thanks for the shout out! That’s cool you went to The Strand. My dad just got back from visiting my brother in NYC, and he was very adorably trying to explain that he had been to The Strand thinking that I, like him, would have no concept of what it is. Haha
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Of course! And oh my gosh, that’s so funny! But that’s so cool for him!
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