It’s already april, HOW?! March was a bit of a rocky road. I started the month of with a one-week work break and whereas that one was sunny and I managed to read a lot, I also got in trouble a bit regarding my eyes. All good now, but still, that’s just a bit of a bummer. However, when I got back to work, I noticed a slight slowing down in my reading once again. Although it still is much better than January and February, but I definitely saw the difference. Overall, March was a pretty good month in terms of reading enjoyment, so let’s take a look!

My read books

1. Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

Okay okay, this month didn’t start off that wel. This book was on my monthly TBR and it’s one I have been wanting to read. It’s kind of controversial: lots of buzz before release, but not so much after. I hardly have seen any reviews around for this title. Personally, this book wasn’t for me. I felt quite uneasy and uncomfortable whilst reading. Whereas this is the author’s aim, I had a bit of a rough time. I love character driven stories, but the characters have to carry the plot and I found both Waldo and her teacher mr. Korgy fairly uninteresting. Although this isn’t the book for me, I’m still curious for what this author will come up with next.

• Set in: USA
• Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (February 2026)
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: Dutch
• Read from: 03/02 to 03/03
• Rating: 2/5

2. The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Another book from my March TBR and I was eagerly anticipating it. I already added this one to my TBR months ago, but never got a copy, until pretty recently. I thoroughly enjoyed Kamali’s previous books and had high hopes for this one as well. Unfortunately all eyes are currently on Iran and not in a positive way. It happened that I indeed enjoyed this book for its characters, themes and storytelling. The audiobook was captivating as well.

• Set in: Tehran, Iran and New York, USA
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: Audiobook
• Language read in: English
• Read from: 03/03 to 03/04
• Rating: 4/5

3. Amber & Emir by Eveline Heijnen

This is a Dutch romance I’ve seen quite a number of times now. It didn’t really pique my interest at first, but my curiosity was still nagging at me. I finally gave it a chance, and you indeed are able to have prejudices about a book addressing having prejudices about different cultures. Although the story unfolds pretty predictably, it’s the characters that make it intriguing. Especially how one provides the other character’s growth.

• Set in: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
• Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: Dutch
• Read from: 03/05 to 03/08
• Rating: 4/5

4. A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

You cannot deny this author’s versatility when it comes to creating fantasy worlds. This book is her adult fantasy debut and I suspect this world is inspired by Scotland. The audiobook narration by Ruth Urquhart somewhat confirms my suspicion, which brought this book to life for me. I usually struggle heaps with books by this author as they do not fully captivate me. However, this time was different.

• Set in: Cadence, an island inspired by Scotland
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: Audiobook
• Language read in: English
• Read from: 03/08 to 03/13
• Rating: 5/5

5. Salaam, With Love by Sara Sharaf Beg

When I compiled my list of young adult titles to diversify your reading, I stumbled upon this book. I knew I had it somewhere, but kind of forgot about it? Anyway, this story is set during Ramadan and it was Ramadan in march, so that was a sign to pick it up right? Although it’s YA, a genre I hardly read anymore, I had a pleasant reading experience. This book teaches the non Muslim reader more about the meaning and importance of Ramadas. It’s so much more than just fasting between sunrise and sunset, something that’s not truly known or acknowledged in (mostly) western society. The characters show a large amount of growth, something I always appreciate.

• Set in: New York, USA
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: English
• Read from: 03/15 to 03/20
• Rating: 4/5

6. The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel

‘Let’s clean up that Kindle’ is what might have crossed my mind when picking my next read for this month. This historical fiction set in WWII Shanghai, has been sitting on my TBR since late 2021. This is a setting we hardly see in novels set in this time period. Most are focused on Europe, so Asia is a bit “forgotten”. Whereas I was interested in this setting, the story itself is a bit predictable, even though the main characters show a lot of resilience. Unfortunately, the elaboration of both is a bit lacking to me, I will discuss this more in my review once I publish it.

• Set in: Shanghai, China
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: English
• Read from: 03/21 to 03/23
• Rating: 3/5

7. James’ geheim by Marijke Vos

Another historical fiction novel and maybe reading two of these bak-to-back was not the best of ideas I had. Compared to the previous books in this Dutch historical fiction series, I had more of a rough time getting into this book. I mean, it’s not bad, but it didn’t captivate me as much either. It contains a dual timeline narration which I typically enjoy, but it wasn’t just working that well for me. I even managed to put it aside and leave it there for several days. I wish it was different however.

• Set in: Mostly London, United Kingdom
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: Dutch
• Read from: 03/24 to 03/30
• Rating: 3/5

My bookhaul

1. Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi
2. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
3. Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde
4. Onze versplinterde zielen by Rima Orie
5. Always You and Me by Dani Atkins
6. Untamed Heart by Gemma Morr
7. A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
8. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
9. Brimstone by Callie Hart
10. Rachels wens by Aline van Wijnen
11. Tot we elkaar weerzien by Aline van Wijnen
12. Amber & Emir by Eveline Heijnen
13. The Goldens by Lauren Wilson
14. Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
15. Part of Your Wolrd by Abby Jimenez
16. The Fisherman’s Gift by Julia Kelly

Overall, March was pretty decent. I had a much better month in terms of reading enjoyment, which is confirmed by an average rating of 3.57 stars. Let’s see what April brings, hopefully a bit of a less eventful month so I can can get some more reading done! Because, let’s face it, my March haul has gotten a bit out of hand. Just a little bit.

How was your reading month?