Books Read in April:  15

Books Read for the Year:  57/150

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

(I added a couple of categories for my monthly reading).

Cultural Book:  Finding Fraser, by K.C. Dyer. Okay. so this wasn’t strictly a different culture…but it was set in Scotland, so I counted it. A fun, light read that I really enjoyed.

Spiritual Book:  God’s Not Dead, by Rice Broocks. I really enjoyed this evidence-based look at a spiritual subject–the historical Jesus.

Classic Book: A Wind in the Door, by Madeline L’Engle. I LOVE this follow-up to A Wrinkle in Time.

Personal Development:  Write. Publish. Repeat.

From the TBR pile: The Casquette Girls, by Alys Arden. I’m so mad this has been sitting in my TBR pile for months! I enjoyed it so much. The setting—New Orleans right after the Storm—was magnificently done, and I love the interwoven timelines. The characters were fantastic as well.

For Review

In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills, by Jennifer Haupt. Wow. This book is (mainly) set in Rwanda, after the genocide (which I knew basically nothing about), and is about an American woman, Rachel, who is searching for the father who abandoned her years ago. It’s also set in America during the Civil Rights movement, and is about Lillian and Henry, who fall in love in Atlanta. There are several different timelines at play here, and at first  I found the book slow-going, but it ended up being such a good read.

The Fairies of Sadieville, by Alex Bledsoe. I had not read any of this series about the mysterious Tufa, a clan of people in Appalachia who are searching for the way back home.

The Lion of the South, by Jessica James. A clean romance set in the Civil War…but with no mention of the issues behind the war itself. Instead, this story focuses on the characters and their relationships, which was a nice change.

Whispers of the Dead, by Spencer Kope. I thoroughly enjoyed this forensic mystery about Steps, an FBI special investigator who can see “shine,” bright trails of color unique to every person and where they’ve been. The murder mystery itself was well done, but what made the book for me was the characters, especially Steps and Jimmy, his partner.

Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell. This tale of a mother whose daughter disappeared 10 years ago who finds herself involved with a man whose daughter looks eerily similar to her own missing child was just alright. The mystery intrigued me, but the characters weren’t my cup of tea.

Shattered Mirror, by Iris Johansen. The newest Eve Duncan book, this is dependable reading, with everything readers expect from Johansen:  mystery, danger, murder.

Sky in the Deep, by Adrienne Young. Can I just tell you how much I loved this book? Seriously. I read it in one sitting, straight through. Seventeen-year-old Eelyn is a warrior, fighting with her clan against the Riki, their age-old enemies. Fight. Survive. Repeat. That’s what her life consists of, until one day she sees the brother she loved who died 5 years ago fighting with the Riki. Eelyn doesn’t know what to think, but she ends up in the home of the Riki as she struggles to understand. This was a magnificent book!

Suitors and Sabotage, by Cindy Anstey. A light, fun, Regency YA.

Circe, by Madeline Miller. This was a wonderful read that brought mythology to life.

Song of Blood and Stone, by L. Penelope (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this diverse fantasy tale, and was engrossed from the very first page. Nice to see something that handles race and prejudice in this way. Highly recommended! (Also a beautiful cover.)

 

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