I went a little out of my comfort zone for some of my March Reads - and I am glad I did!

Historical fiction, especially one with zombies and slaves, is not something I thought I would have enjoyed.  Even read a little fantasy fiction. After trying to figure out why I only read 7 books while being "quarantined", I realized most of the books I read this month were close to 400 pages or more. There was also a book I "abandoned" this month. after about 100 pages in. Abandoned books or DNF (did not finish) will be a topic for a future post.

Below are my March reads. If one of these end up on your reading list or you have already read one, I would love to hear your thoughts - Julia R. Davis, Author

1.  Dread Nation by Justina Ireland 5 Stars  I was drawn to the cover of the sequel to this book. Of course you can't read the sequel first. Historical fiction, especially one with slaves and zombies is not something that ever interested me, but I enjoyed the book from the beginning. Even if this is not a genre or topic you enjoy, I would suggest giving it a shot.

2.  Deathless Divide by Justine Ireland 5 Stars  The sequel to Dread Nation. Don't be nervous about the page count (550), it is just as good as the first one. I am hoping to see this series continue.

3.  Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh 5 Stars  Great legal thriller. Caught my attention from the beginning and there were quite a few twists that I wasn't expecting.  This is book number 4 in a series, but can be read as a stand alone.  I have added the other books in the series to my "to be read" list.  Looking forward to finding out more of the back story of the con artist turned attorney.

4.  Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita 5 Stars  My first Twisted Tale book.  Twisted Tales is a serious of books that have a "twisted" version of some Disney stories.  Mirror Mirror is a great twist to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I have been trying to get into fantasy fiction and this was a great start.

5.  Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris 4 Stars  Easy read. Kept me interested from the beginning. Found myself not wanting to put it down trying to find out what happened to Layla.

6.  Color Me In by Natasha Diaz 3 Stars  I was torn between rating a 3 or 3.5 stars.  This book was slow to start. It is a good story line of the struggles of finding "You", especially when who you are is a combination of two separate cultures. Feeling like you don't fit in with your own family.

7.  No Exit by Taylor Adams 2.5 Stars  This book is really a two, but the ending had me bump it up a little. The concept of the book was great, but not happy with the style of writing. It was like the book dragged on unnecessarily and the plot was easy to figure out. I definitely felt some type of way that the "N" word was used in a joke and the joke itself was extremely racist. It almost caused me to put the book down. I decided to continue through, but I did stop to read more about the author after reading the page with the joke. Not a book I would recommend.