March 2022 Wrap Up: I Failed to Read 50 Books (But I Read 25!)

Hello Everyone,

March sucked. My mother got a broken arm, and I am basically the only person who isn’t seriously injured and able to do things and that seriously cut down on my reading time towards the last end of the month. Amazing what happens when I’m the only one at home not with a serious injury and I gotta suddenly take care of a lot of responsibilities. I don’t mind doing so, of course. It’s family, but wow did March suck. Glad April is here (and no, none of that was an April Fool’s joke. I’m trying to ignore April Fool’s there’s enough drama going on here lol.)

While I failed my goal of 50 books I decided to push that to April instead, as the last half of March really left me with little reading time. However I still have managed a good chunk of what I wanted to read-my library holds being in transit still. Here’s what I read in March!

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I couldn’t find pictures for all the books that I’ve read. I think almost every author was a woman author, at least ten books were translated, and a couple are lgbt. Not bad at all. I’m hoping to get more organized and more reading done next month but I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

How was your reading month? Good, bad? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

-Pass Me That Book

Book Review (sort of): My Brother’s Husband

Hello friends,

My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame is wholesome, diverse, adorable. Despite the slow pace at the start, it built up into a well written plot, that I spent most of two hours devouring. The art was cute, and I liked the real life implications within the story. Canada + Japan culture were both intriguing, and the family within the book were fun as well as amusing at times to read.

Reviewing manga is hard. This is my first official manga that I’ve read, and I’m not even sure how to pronounce it correctly. It took a while to get the hang of reading a book backwards (which is just wrong, in my opinion) and while I enjoyed the art, I felt frustrated and stifled at not having a real book. Perhaps I’m just used to real books, as opposed to manga/graphic novels/comics. I rarely read those, and only when trusted friends (beg) ask me too.

I’m definitely intrigued by this story, and liked the slow relationship build up, however, I will say that the main character is a bit off putting within the first segment. It took a bit to grow to liking him, but now he’s my favorite out of the three in the family, but all of them are equally likeable.

I shall add volume two to my tbr pile, because I’d like to see how the rest of this plays out. A slow building plot, but still fun to read, I’m giving this a 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Until next time,

Pass Me That Book.

Book Review: Hitting Black Ice

Title: Hitting Black Ice
Author: Heloise West
Series: Book 1
Genre: Adult Fiction, Romance, LGBT
Page Count: 200
Publisher: NineStar Press
Type of Book: Arc, Kindle Ebook
Received: Netgalley, Publisher
Review Word Count: 500
Rated: 4/5 stars
Notes: High action, lots of romance, and plenty of thrills.

This is one of those rare Netgalley arcs that I requested because it sounded like exactly what I wanted to read, got it within two hours, and then finished it three hours later. It left the book hanging wide open for a sequel, but I fell hard for Shawn and Hunter. Both young men were involved in a high stakes hostage situation, an mysterious FBI guy chasing after Shawn, guns, shootings, and more dangerous scenarios taking place in the snowy mountains during blizzard like conditions. Exactly what I wanted to read.

The only reason it’s four stars was because it left it hanging on a cliffhanger. Sigh. I very much need book two, and I am now invested in this series. The author immediately soared to my top ten favorite LGBT authors.

This made me think very strongly of the survival stories of Stargate Atlantis fanfiction that I used to read in a way, with lots of plot, romance, and characters. I very much enjoyed this and eagerly look forward to book two. Overall, I’m giving this 4/5 stars, and I’m hopeful book two will be out as quickly as possible. I especially liked the dogs that were thrown into the plot for good measure and the heroic rescue at the end. Highly recommended for those who enjoy fast paced action with lots of twists and turns!

Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book

Book Review: Artic Wild

 

Title: Artic Wild
Author: Annabeth Albert
Series: Book 2
Genre: M/M Adult Romance
Publisher: Carina Press
Page Count:
Type of Book: ARC, Kindle Ebook
Received: Netgalley
Rated: 3/5 stars
Notes: I was hoping for more outdoorsy survival scenario, not sickeningly sweet romance. Sigh.

This was a book that where it said ‘plane crash’ + ‘m/m developing romance’ = unexpected good times, I was all for ‘yes please’. But the two main male characters, while charming and adorable, were rescued far too quickly and most of the rest of the book was all just smutty smutness.

And while that’s not a bad thing, it wasn’t what I was in the mood for, or hoping for based on the plot that I read on the blurb. I was hoping for two men trapped in the wild for more than just a couple of chapters, and that is most definitely NOT what I received.

Ah well.

Still, it wasn’t a bad read, and I liked all the characters. Every character felt realistic, and the storyline was interesting if rather smutty, I wish it had been more about survival in the wild with just one strange man at your side.

3.5/5 stars for a overall decent job, but nothing super fancy or memorable (at least for me).

Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book