March Recap (incl. pics from my trip to Arizona!)

April 2, 2016 Challenges, Monthly Recap 39

 March-Wrap-Up

My Goings On in March:

  • It was a bit of a slow month around the blog since I was feeling a little slumpy and then headed out on vacation. I’ll be back full-steam ahead in April, though!
  • I edited Allie Juliette Mousseau’s newest Adult/NA standalone, Stripped and started an edit of a book for a new client.
  • We went to Tucson, Arizona for spring break and had a fabulous time! Not only did we get to visit my husband’s parents (who live in Tucson for half the year), we also got in some hiking in the beautiful desert terrain. We did a few hikes – one that was almost 9 miles and another that was a bit shorter, but got us up to a ridge with fantastic views (see the picture below). This is the first time I’ve ever been there when the cacti were in bloom and it was amazing to see all the desert flowers!

Tucson---Creek Tucson

Tucson---Crazy-Cactus Tucson---Flowers Tucson---Cactus

Most Popular Posts:

The March Discussion Challenge Link-Up and Giveaway – Still so many amazing discussions going on! I SO love this challenge!

The Fine Line Between “Inspired By” and “Copycat” – Let’s Discuss

How Much Do You Read? – Let’s Discuss

Other Features & Discussions:

Sometimes You Just Need to Disappear for a Little While

March Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up – Still time to link up your March recap posts! Watch for the giveaway, which will be posted on Kissin’ Blue Karen on April 8th!

  My 2016 Reading Progress:

I’ve had a really good reading year so far! I did have one self-pubbed book that I DNF’d over vacation (I can’t believe I managed to DNF!), but it’s been great otherwise!

March-Stats

March 2016 Reviews

I didn’t manage to post all that many reviews this month because of my hiatus. I have kept up with reading, though – If you look on my sidebar, you’ll see that there are lots of books that I’ve read that have reviews coming soon!

Here’s what I did manage to review in March:

Titans_SmallerPainting-RainWritten-in-Red-SmallerMurder-of-CrowsVision-in-SilverMarked-in-FleshThreats-of-Sky-and-Sea

  • Titans by Victoria Scott | Review | Rating: 5/5
  • Painting Rain by Annette K. Larsen | Review | Rating: 4/5
  • Written In Red by Anne Bishop | Review | Rating: 5/5
  • Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop | Review | Rating: 5/5
  • Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop | Review | Rating: 4/5
  • Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop | Review | Rating: 4.5/5
  • Threats of Sky and Sea by Jennifer Ellision | Review | Rating: 4/5
Riot-of-Storm-and-SmokeSiren's-Song_SmallerWalk-the-Edge
  • Riot of Storm and Smoke by Jennifer Ellision | Review | Rating: 4/5
  • Siren’s Song by Mary Weber | Review | Rating: 3.5/5
  • Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry | Review | Rating: 4.5/5

My Favorite March Read:

This month was easy! The Others Series as a whole is a definite new all-time favorite. I LOVED every minute of reading it and now I’m so sad that I have to wait for the next book. I’m using the first book as my favorite, though I loved the second one just as much.

Written in Red

Reading Challenges:

2016-Discussion-Challenge

Status: 11/49 Discussions posted

Sometimes You Just Need to Disappear for a Little While
How Much Do You Read?
The Fine Line Between “Inspired By” and “Copycat”
Can Book Blogging Lead to a Job
Some Books Just Aren’t All That Memorable
Books that Intimidate Us
2015 End of Year Book Survey
Replying to Comments on Older Posts
What Blogging Has Done to My Bookshelves
What Type of YA MC Would You Be?
Culling the TBR

HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Feed Your Fiction Addiction & It Starts at Midnight

Unique Format Challenge

Status: 1/5 Books Read

None of the books I read this month had unique formatting!

 
HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Shooting Stars Mag

diverse challenge1

Status: 3/12 Books Read

I haven’t been as intentional about this challenge as I’d like to be, but I am counting one book toward my goal because, unlike many fantasy books that have sort of raceless main characters (or white), Eogan from Siren’s Song is most definitely black!

 HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Chasing Faerytales & Read Sleep Repeat

ShelfLove-Challenge-2016

Status: 4/21-30 Books Read
I completely failed at this challenge in March. While The Others Series has been on my TBR for a very long time, it wasn’t actually on my shelf – I had to buy the books to catch up! I did start a book from off my shelf the day before yesterday, though, so there will definitely be progress made in April!

HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Chapter Break, Second Run Reviews & Bookworm Brandee

seriesmonth

Status: 2/12 Series Finished

I finished The Others series by Anne Bishop in March! I’m still one series behind, so I’ll have to make up ground somewhere. I think in April I’ll tackle the last two books in the Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead.

HOST/SIGN-UP LINK – Love at First Page

 

Wrap-Up Round-Up!

Don’t forget to link your March wrap-up posts up to the Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up! And watch for the giveaway, which will be posted on Kissin’ Blue Karen on April 8th!

2016-Monthly-Wrap-Up-Round-Up320

 

 

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39 Responses to “March Recap (incl. pics from my trip to Arizona!)”

  3. Joy // Joyousreads

    It’s been slow going for me as well. Life has been crazy and not in a good way. This week, I didn’t even get to finish a single book. Sigh.

    Anyway, looking forward to reading your reviews for the books you’ve read while you were away.

    Reply

  6. Julie S.

    Your vacation pictures are lovely! Hey sometimes you just need to enjoy your time off structured reading. I didn’t do well on my own challenge this month either.

    Reply

  7. Greg

    Great pics, looks like a fun vacation! Haven’t ever hiked in the desert but it looks awesome. Glad you’re feeling back in the swing of things, hope April’s a great month. 🙂

    Reply

  9. Terri M.

    Wonderful pictures. I’m glad you enjoyed your time away!

    I felt like I didn’t make much progress on the #ShelfLove Challenge in March either, but I think I ended up reading 3 books had owned before the 1st of the year! Not bad.

    Reply

  11. Freda

    Some fantastic photos! You have a lovely family!
    I wanna read Titans, but think my hubby might wanna too!
    Happy April!

    Reply

  12. ShootingStarsMag

    Looks like you had a nice time in Arizona. I could use some time away right about now. hah Aw well…

    Good job on all of your challenges! I’m keeping track of mine mostly on Goodreads. I’m doing well with some, and not so great with others, but hey, it’s only been three months so far! We have time. 😉

    -Lauren

    Reply

  14. Laura@125Pages

    Well if I had know you were coming to my hood, I would have invited you for coffee. I’m glad you had a good time here, the weather has been particularly nice lately. Even with vacation and a bit of a slump you still had a good month. 🙂 I have heard great things about Anne Bishop, so I will need to check out The Others.

    Reply

  15. Tanya Patrice

    Arizona looks amazing! I’ve only been once very briefly, and it’s one of those places I want to spend more time in. And woo, 39 books so far is awesome,

    Reply

  17. Kaja

    Wow, it seems like you’re really doing well with your challenges! I’m afraid of even looking at mine because I’m fairly certain I’m failing at most. Eh.

    I have heard that the desert gets absolutely beautiful in the spring when there’s a bit of rain – it’s one of those things I’d love to experience in person. I saw some documentaries (mostly on the Sahara but also on Death Valley and the surrounding area) that make me want to brave extreme temperatures and venture into the desert. Thanks for sharing the pics! 🙂

    Reply

    • Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

      The last time we were in Arizona for Easter it had been cooler, so nothing was blooming yet, but this year they had a really hot spring and the flowers were out in full force. It seems so odd to see all those pretty flowers amongst the prickly cacti!

      Reply

  18. Rebekah @ Wordsmithing and Worldbuilding

    HUZZAH! The Others Series has been one of my favorites for a bit now, and I’m so glad to see someone else giving them some love!! It’s such a lush, fascinating, haunting world, and the level of worldbuilding is my author-goal. And don’t even get me started on the characters.

    I’ve never been to the desert, but your pictures are pretty awesome 🙂

    Also, you’re doing a lot better than me on the reading challenge. (I’m 10 books behind or something). Now if I could just finish the 10 books I’m currently reading, lol . . .

    Have a lovely April!

    Reply

  20. Jen

    I’m so happy you and your family had such a fabulous vacation! I’ve only been to Tuscon once, and that was in October years ago, but the desert and hiking trails were so pretty! Your pictures make me want to go there again, but now my best friend lives back in California near me so I don’t have an easy excuse anymore to visit! Maybe someday. ❤

    Reply

  21. Karen Blue

    Those pictures are awesome! It looks like y’all had a great time! I have started that Anne Bishop series yet, but EVERYONE loves it. I guess I had better get on it! Looks like you had a really productive month. Have a great April!

    Reply

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