My Monthly Anticipations and Goals – March 2021

Hi guys,

How is your day going? Mine has been okay. I finished the first draft of my close reading piece yesterday so I’m in a good mood because I thought I wouldn’t get that done until later in the week.
I used to do these posts last year but I felt that they were becoming a bit bleh at the end of the year and I wanted to mix it up a bit so I thought I would add some monthly goals to the mix as well in the hopes that will spice this up. If you think they were better before or like this please tell me so I know what you guys like best! I’ll stop rambling now and just jump into what I am excited for this month.

Book Releases:

The Devil Wears Black by L.J Shen. I pre-ordered this recently and I am so excited for this to arrive. I haven’t read anything by L.J Shen before but I have heard amazing things.
Release Date: 9th March
Blurb: Maddie Goldbloom stitched up a plan to ensure everything in her life was perfect—from a career in fashion to a chic NYC apartment to a pediatrician boyfriend.
When her ex, Chase Black, storms back into her life with an outrageous request, her immediate reaction is to refuse him. But he only wants to fulfill his father’s last wish. So even though he’s the man who broke her heart, playing his fiancée shouldn’t be hard, especially if it means she gets to watch the arrogant devil squirm a bit.
What ensues is a chain of events that detonates Maddie’s life—and when Chase’s walls come down, they both are forced to face reality. They say keep your enemies close. But what if your enemy is also the man you love?

Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2) by Leigh Bardugo. I loved the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and adored Six of Crows more than I can put into words. I own King of Scars but I decided not to read it yet until the sequel is released so I am excited for this to come out so I can finally finish the Grishaverse. Usually I put the blurb below but since this is a sequel I don’t want to spoil anything so I will put the blurb for King of Scars instead.
Release Date: 30th March
Blurb: Face your demons… or feed them.
The dashing young king, Nikolai Lantsov, has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war–and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, Nikolai must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army. Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha general, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried–and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renee Ahdieh. Technically this book is already out, but the paperback is released at the end of this month so that is what I am excited for because I will finally be able to get to this series. I again, couldn’t bring myself to read it when the release of the sequel was so close, I may as well just wait – which is what I did. I’m putting the blurb for the first book below to again avoid spoilers.
Release Date: 31st March (Paperback edition)
Blurb: In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret. When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

Movies/Tv Releases:

I have been doing mainly reading recently, so I haven’t been watching much TV/Movies and there is nothing I am particularly excited for in March. April is a different story but you’ll see that next month!

Personal Life:

With still being in Lockdown there isn’t much I am doing to be excited about, but I am really enjoying my University classes this term. I am also loving reading so really that is all the escape I need.

Goals:

I want to read 8 books this month. I am currently smashing my yearly goal of 52 books, as I have read 39 books so far and we’re only just starting March. So now I’m really wanting to keep pushing myself – hence why I’m aiming for 8 books. 2 a week.
I still have the goal of trying to write 2x a week because I am in a creative writing class at university so I need to keep it up for that.
I want to try do some more exercise because I let reading take over my life in February and lost the balance I had between working out and fun stuff and I want to get that back.
I also want to keep up with my Bookstagram account. Running both my blog and that is becoming quite hectic but I love both of these platforms so I want to keep it up, but I might do some schedule shuffling until I find a system that works better.

Sorry this is so short. I just could find no new releases that excite me this month. I would love you to tell me if there was anything that I missed. Anyway, I hope you all have a great day and see you all tomorrow! ❤