March reading has started off a little slower than the first two months of 2025. But the quality has been exceptional. In fact, it's been so good that I fear a reading slump may soon set in. The bar is high right now, and not every book is going to be five star worthy.
However, this past week THREE books in a row were all so, so good.
I started with Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. I've had this one for a bit, and generally enjoy what she writes. Goodreads rates it at 3.68, which I feel is low overall. But for me, the love story between Shiloh and Carey was just so perfect. This book moves between Shiloh and Carey's high school years when they were best friends to the present. The two fell out of touch with each other, so Shiloh's young children and recent divorce are new to Carey who has spent his life in the navy and has remained single. They both struggle with communication and sometimes that was just so painful to read, but it also seemed so realistic. I loved this one so much, and let myself take my time reading and not just rush through.
After I finished Slow Dance, I next picked up Broken Country a debut novel by Clare Leslie Hall. This one has been all over social media, and the praise it has been getting is well deserved. I loved this one. The story begins when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a neighbor's dog after it attacks their sheep. Gabe Wolf was the dog's owner - and also Beth's first love. Despite the fact that she is happily married to Frank, this encounter with Gabe brings him back into her life. Beth and Frank are already grieving the loss of their son, who is close in age to Gabe's boy, Leo. Beth is drawn to Leo and when Gabe asks her to spend time with him, she happily agrees. But this is putting Beth in a precarious position, unable to let the past go. And when someone is shot during a drunken argument, a murder trial follows. It isn't until the very end that things are revealed and the wait is well worth it.
I tried a few books after Broken Country, but it's hard to pick up something after two great reads in a row. After starting and stopping some books, I settled into Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. This has also been everywhere lately and deservedly so. A remote island close to Antarctica is the home to a father and his three children who are closing things down at a seed vault, a place where they are storing seeds of millions of species of plants in the event of a devastating event on earth ever occurs. When a woman washes ashore the family take her in and cares for her until she recovers. She is looking for her husband who had been stationed on the island as the director of the seed vault, but he isn't there and although the family tell her he left on a boat, she feels as though they are hiding things from her. There's suspense with this story as the island is flooding and the group of five people must wait for a boat to come and rescue them. All their communication tools have been sabotaged, and it's hard to know who to trust. In addition to my interest about seed vaults being piqued, this story is so well written, I'd love to read this with a book club and discuss it.
Next week at this time I'll be in Key West, Florida, for spring break. I'm excited for the warm weather, but also am hoping I have a lot of good books on my kindle to entertain me.
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