2026 Popsugar Reading Challenge - March Update

 

Happy Thursday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my my third update for my progress for the year long reading challenge called the 2026 Popsugar Reading Challenge.  In March, I completed 7 books for a total of 15 read so far out of 50 total books on my tbr.  I think I'm making pretty great progress.  You can see my original tbr here.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read in March for this challenge:

21. A book about a bachelorette trip

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

I've only read Ashley Herring Blake's MG before and romance isn't usually my go-to genre, but I ended up enjoying Delilah Green Doesn't Care (Bright Falls #1) by Ashley Herring Blake quite a bit more than I was expecting.  I most appreciated that it was told from both the perspectives of Delilah and Claire rather than just one of them.  I felt like I really got to know the both of them.  I don't think the book needed to be nearly 400 pages long though.

My review is also on Goodreads, The StoryGraph and my Spring Into Reading Athon 2026 - Wrap Up & Mini Reviews post.

2. A book that features a platonic friendship between a man and woman

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

I'm really glad I finally had the chance to read The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman because it was a lot of fun. It was a bit tricky keeping track of all of the names but I guess at least I'd already seen the Netflix movie adaptation (which I also liked quite a bit) so I had faces to put to the names.  Leslie Manville does a great job bringing the world of the novel to life.  I'll definitely be back to read the next book in the series.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

22. A book about a book club

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The Secret, Book & Scone Society (Secret, Book & Scone Society #1) by Ellery Adams is  a cozy mystery I thought I would like more than I did. I liked the idea of it more than the final product. I liked the book and literary references, but the rest didn't quite work. To me, it reads like it's trying too hard and comes across as somewhat forced and stilted.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

48. A book with a shadow daddy - A shadow daddy is a particular type of enemies-to-lovers male love interest: a morally gray bad boy with a heart of gold, deadly to his enemies but sweet to his lover.

❋ ❋ ❋

I liked the dragon stuff the most about Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros. The romance in this one was more irritating than anything. I just don't quite get the appeal of Violet and Xaden, especially in this installment. I also don't think it needed to be a few minutes short of 24 hours long. I also wish the pacing was more consistent across the board.  Rebecca Soler still does a pretty great job as the narrator of the audiobook production.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

31. A book that makes you feel FOMO

❋ ❋

I really wanted to love Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, but I was so irritated by the characters and the tone that it put me right off. I made it about 200 pages before I started skimming to see if anything would catch my eye to make me slow down to savor it but that never really happened again. Finally, I just wanted to mention that I couldn't help but think that Alice should talk to the Winchester brothers from Supernatural or even Charles and Edwin from Dead Boy Detectives.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

37. A book about a pop star

❋ ❋ ❋

I liked Stars and Smoke (Stars and Smoke #1) by Marie Lu more than I was expecting to.  Honestly, it can be a lot of fun, but then again, there were several times it just made me feel really old.  I'm glad I decided to listen to the audiobook because the production is good.  I just wish we would have had some actually singing though.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

39. A book with a character who runs a marathon

❋ ❋ ❋

Marathon Man by William Goldman wasn't quite for me, but it was still a solid espionage thriller. One of my favorite smaller moments was finding out the main character did his undergrad at Denison University. I suppose that William Goldman, an Oberlin graduate, would have been pretty familiar with that school.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Are you participating in this challenge?  Have you read any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!