Kickin’ It is a feature at The Bucket List where I round-up the whole month in one post, bringing you reviews you may have missed, other awesome bookish things, and even what I’m currently obsessed with in other media besides books. March was my worst reading month in a long time. And it may have put me in an indefinite reading slump. There were some amazing 4 stars, but the month was riddled with 3s and 2s for me. Hopefully, April will be much better. Here’s my wrap up:


The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie (4 stars): I was hesitant going into this as I didn’t like Matched. However, I liked The Darkdeep, the middle grade Condie wrote with Brendan Reichs. The Last Voyage turned out to be an amazing exploration of grief and revenge with sprinkles of dystopia thrown in as well.

Nevermore by James Patterson (2 stars): This was meant to be the conclusion to the Maximum Ride series. It was marketed as such—as I have a big “RIP Maximum Ride” sticker on my cover. I would have gladly left the series at that. However, as I own the next book already, I guess I will be continuing. But the series has gotten way too repetitive and messy.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (2 stars): I didn’t know what this was about before going in. Knowing now, I probably would have never picked it up. I haven’t read anything by Nelson before and I don’t think I’ll be reading anything by her again. I understand the examination of grief in this and can appreciate the flowery writing but the book just wasn’t for me.


French Exit by Patrick deWitt (2 stars): I thought I knew what this was about going in: a rich duo escapes a scandal in the States and moves to France. And I wasn’t prepared for how weird it got. It was a parody of the wealthy, if I’ve ever seen it. And it was executed poorly.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (3 stars): I’ve never read anything by Zevin but this premise was so wild not to pass up. When a young teen is killed in a bicycle accident, she goes to Elsewhere, where she must age backwards until she is a baby to return again to Earth. It is an amazing idea. However, I didn’t connect with the characters and the romance turned out to be bittersweet. I’m looking forward to reading more from Zevin in the future but this one was just okay.

Meet Cute by various authors (3 stars): There were some stories I loved and then some that I didn’t love at all. As much as the book is titled Meet Cute, I felt like a lot of stories had zero meet cutes. With my high expectations going in for this to be the cutest anthology ever, it fell short tremendously.


We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett (4 stars): This has such an intriguing premise: two unlikely girls pair up in order to win a war using illegal magic. The comradery was built so well and the worldbuilding was absolutely gorgeous. I hope we are getting a sequel, companion, anything to just stay in the world a little longer.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (3.5 stars): Another book that I thought was one thing and then turned out to be another: going in, I thought this was a thriller. And as much as I don’t usually read thrillers, the synopsis intrigued me. Yet, instead of giving me a thriller, it was a coming of age story about a young girl who lives in a marsh. There were many scenes that lagged for me but the ending was pure gold! It left me with so many questions.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett (3 stars): I went into this thinking it was an Oliver Twist retelling in Dodger’s point of view. It may have been about Dodger but it turned out to be a little ridiculous. Sweeny Todd was present and even Charles Dickens himself. I was a bit confused at the point of it all.


The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue (3.5 stars): It started out so spooky and then it got repetitive and a bit dull. Most of the characters were flat. Though, the ending was a page-turner and completely unpredictable.


Meet Cute by Helena Hunting (4/9/19): Meet cute with best friends who lose touch. Now it’s eight years later and he comes barging into her life again. It sounds like it could be a cute one.

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston (4/2/19): I am so here for the companion novel to Geekerella. I’m hoping for some cameos of the two leads from the last book.

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett (4/16/19): I’ve never read anything by Bennett and I think it’s about time. I’ve read some amazing early reviews for this. And since it’s finally spring, I’m looking for some amazing contemporaries.



I didn’t start any new shows this month. However, with the release of Captain Marvel, it jumpstarted my marathon of watching all the Marvel movies in chronological order for the upcoming release of Avengers: Endgame. Captain Marvel was a lot of fun too and it’ll be exciting to see what Brie Larson brings to the Avengers. The show, 9-1-1, finally came back after the longest break mid-season. That show is as stressful as it is entertaining to watch.