March 2025
- Katie Peterson
- Mar 2, 2025
- 7 min read
Something old, something new, something steamy, something true-ish
(Hint: If you click on the image of a book below, it will take you directly to the section about that book!)
Something old: March by Geraldine Brooks
Something new: The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian
Something steamy: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
Something true-ish: The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee
Book club pick: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Ratings:
Like plain, black coffee. Strong dislike.
A little cream, a little sugar. Not bad. Not great.
Add some flavor or syrup, it's getting good.
I liked this a latte!
Love! Refill please!
The Steam:
No peppers: Love/romance not a major part of this story
One pepper: Mild! Some love scenes; nothing risque on the page; fade to black
Two peppers: Moderate! Slightly descriptive romantic scenes may occur on page; some implied innuendos
Three peppers: Hot! Blushing while reading may occur; lots of spice
March
Geraldine Brooks
In my very first blog post, January 2024, I reviewed Marmee, which told my most favorite book ever, Little Women, from the perspective of the mother. This month, I read March, which is the father's story. In Little Women, the dad is little more than a passing thought...someone they all miss dearly and worry for as they go about their lives as young ladies growing up. When he returns on that joyous Christmas, the family is whole once more and the world is righted.
What I'd honestly never considered until reading March, is that of course not all was right in the world. The father had just returned from a bloody, horrid war in a time of little to no medicine or wound care. And for every battle won, there were far heavier and deeper losses. Of life, of friendships, of innocence. Once a firm believer that right will prevail, spending time on the battlefield among his comrades tried his faith in humanity, God, and himself. And although he returned in body...his spirit and mind were often far away, in a battlefield or on a plantation, guilt ridden that he wasn't still there fighting when many others were.
Decisions must be made all the time. Decisions to act...or not to act...have consequences far reaching beyond what he can understand. A lifelong vegetarian and believer that all animals and humans should be treated kindly and with respect, March struggles greatly with the thought of killing another...even if that individual is in the process of attempting to hurt someone he cares for. He is appalled at the behaviors and beliefs of many soldiers surrounding him, including those on the side of the Union. At the end of the day, does anyone truly win when at war?
My rating:
This book was never a "I just can't put this book down" read for me. But it was such a tender account of a man struggling to do what he believes is right, even though he gets it wrong many times. If you don't love the story of Little Women (whether you've read or watched), I don't think you'd appreciate this version.
The Flight Attendant
Chris Bohjalian
From the outside, the life of a flight attendant looks glamorous: constant travel to exotic and foreign locations, hotel stays in beautiful cities, and the confident and put together appearance through the airport. But, for Cassie, a seasoned and veteran attendant with years of experience, it's all just part of the job. Dealing with unruly passengers, cleaning up bodily excretions during flight, and an internal clock that is regularly ticking through multiple time zones a day are also aspects of the profession.
What starts as a seemingly routine flight turns into Cassie's worst nightmare. A flirty first class passenger provides a fun distraction for the evening in Dubai. But the next morning, that man is dead and Cassie is the one covered in his blood. An alcoholic whose prone to black outs, Cassie doesn't know what happened...but she does know that she needs to get back to American soil before the body is discovered.
What ensues is a race...against time, against the investigators, against the invisible enemy who's trying to tie up loose ends. Because if Cassie didn't kill him, someone else did...and that person will do anything to keep the truth from being discovered.
My rating:
Con: Cassie is an incredibly unlikable character, self-sabotaging herself the entire story.
Pro: You won't care because the book is entertaining, fast paced, and twisty.
The Paradise Problem
Christina Lauren
Anna and Liam get married during college. For love? No. For lust? Also, no. In fact, they hardly know each other. Jake, Anna's friend and Liam's brother, sets them up with the perfect solution to both of their immediate housing needs. Needing to live close to campus and the only available housing is family, hence the marriage. It works out perfectly for the two years they're "together" and they part amicably. Until Liam shows up on Anna's doorstep one day, asking for a huge favor.
Liam's youngest sibling is getting married and his parents insist on finally meeting the 'secret wife' they've only heard about. In return for helping him through wedding week, Anna will be reimbursed a larger sum than she's ever dreamed about...one that can actually pay the bills that continue to pile up while caring for her father. Who cares if she has to pretend to be someone she's not and fake her way through some conversations? No problem! Except...
There's trouble brewing in paradise...
While spending time together, Liam and Anna start to develop real feelings. When their whole story is based on a lie, is there any way that they can have a future together without completely disappointing everyone? And what happens when all of the secrets they've kept from each other thus far are revealed?
My rating:
Steam rating:
Slow build romance in an exotic location.
The Paradise Problem is my second Christina Lauren book (both 5 cups!) and I'll definitely be checking out more!
The Long March Home
Marcus Brotherton & Tosca Lee
Jimmy, Hank, and Billy are as good as brothers. Growing up together they supported each other through first loves, heartbreaks, loss, and fistfights. At one time, they were making post high school plans, but as the war in Europe intensifies, they all feel inclined to enlist. Hank to honor a loved one, already gone and lost at war...Jimmy to escape the heartbreak of watching his first love give her heart to another...and Billy because his life at home is nothing without his two best friends. Stationed in idyllic Manila Bay in the Philippines, the boys find themselves enjoying their time in paradise.
Everything changes forever on December 7th, 1941 when Pearl Harbor is attacked and the battle in the Pacific is commenced. After a hard fought, months long stance, the peninsula is captured by the Japanese and the troops left are taken on the 60 mile trek to their captivity...now known as The Bataan Death March. While the three friends survive the initial battle and transport, everyday of their internment is a struggle to survive. Infected wounds, untreated injuries, unsanitary living conditions, lack of food and water, and barbaric treatment at the hands of cruel captors make their lives as prisoners of war unbearable. Somehow, they continue to make it with their unwavering support of one another. Until, the commander of their camp notices their unusual bond and uses it against them.
Many featured occurrences are based on true events, although they are tied together through fictional characters and timelines. Reading POW stories hits different for me, as it does for anyone who knows someone who lived it. If you need your war stories to feel 100% authentic, this one might not be for you, as the authors definitely took liberties with some unlikely happenings. But, if you like historical fiction and the WWII time period, you'll enjoy.
My rating:
Homegoing
Yaa Gyasi
For me, Homegoing was a novel that I could pick up and put down, reading when I had the chance. But every chapter, every character represents very real people and traumatic events. For this reason, I'm not sure that I can even begin to understand the depths of despair this book truly envelops. This book is a looking glass into Black history...from the coast of Africa to America, spanning across 7 generations and almost 300 years. It's heartbreaking and heavy and heritage and history. It's a journey home, centuries after having been ripped away from it.
The novel begins with Effia and Esi, half sisters, unaware of one another, with two very different destinies. Effia marries an Englishman who runs the slave trade on the coast of Ghana. Esi is stolen during a village raid and kept in the dungeons of the Coast Castle until she's shipped to America by boat. Through the book we follow the threads of both lineages, Effia's through the tribal warfare and unrest in Africa, and Esi's through slavery in America. Each chapter represents a new generation in the familial cord, attached to the past and yet paving their own way through the historical milestones they're living through.
As we read each new character's story, we glimpse the continued impacts of slavery and racial unrest, as well as the struggle of searching for lost identity. From plantation slavery to convict leasing, from trade disputes and ethnic conflicts, the generational trauma that is passed from parent to child is evident throughout. In a powerful closing, the author brings it full circle with both strands of ancestry meeting up in their place of origin.
My rating:
Good to know before reading: This book contains horrific accounts of the treatment of Black people throughout history, including: rape, kidnapping, beating, lynching, burning, and other barbaric treatments.
Read along with me in April
Something old | A Death of No Importance by Mariah Fredericks |
Something new | The Spectacular by Fiona Davis |
Something steamy | First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison |
Something true-ish | The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict |
Book club pick | Book Lovers by Emily Henry |
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