Books Read in April: 16
Books Read for the Year: 70/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
Lessons at the School by the Sea, by Jenny Colgan (TBR). I thoroughly enjoyed this. So glad to see more of these characters—and I wish the random, unnecessary drama at the school wasn’t quite so accurate.
The Beauty of Spiritual Language, by Jack Hayford (spiritual).
The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis (re-read). Loved this.
The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read). No matter how many times I read these books, they are still magical.
Iron Wolf, by Siri Pettersonh (TBR). This was dark but absolutely riveting.
Water from My Heart, by Charles Martin (audio). Wow. I have no words to even tell you how fantastic this was.
For Review:
Divine Rivals, by Rebecca Ross. I enjoyed this read, and found it quite unique. Interesting culture—but I would have liked to know a bit more about the history. I can’t wait to read the next book!
Fateful Words, by Paige Shelton. This was a solid cozy mystery. No surprises, but a fun adventure.
The Sinister Booksellers of Bath, by Garth Nix. I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as I did the first book in the series, but this was a solid read. It did feel a bit low-stakes to me, though, so I wasn’t totally invested in it.
Silver in the Bone, by Alexandra Bracken. I enjoyed this immensely! I do love a good King Arthur tale, so this caught my attention initially, but the setting and Tamsin’s voice kept me engaged—I actually read all 500 pages of this in one sitting! The only thing I didn’t like about this was the cliffhanger ending—which would have been fine if I had access to the next book immediately.
How to Best A Marquess, by Janna MacGregor. This was a fun read! I really enjoyed the characters and how this tied in with the other two books in the series.
Pieces of Me, by Kate McLaughlin. This was an interesting read, although I thought her family’s acceptance of her diagnosis was sugar coated a lot and that made the rest of the story hard to accept, too.
An American Beauty, by Shana Abe. This was a decent read. I felt pretty distant from the MC—and she was keeping secrets even from the reader, so that felt a bit off—but it was interesting.
The Ferryman, by Justin Cronin (review forthcoming). I didn’t really care for this. The writing was solid enough that I finished it, but I didn’t like the characters. The first 60% or so felt very…familiar to me, like I’d seen that basic premise done so much it just felt worn and stale. The last 40% felt like absolute chaos and nothing made sense. Even the “explanation” didn’t make sense or explain everything. I would not recommend this.
In an Orchard Grown from Ash, by Rory Power (review forthcoming). Yeah, no. I loved the first book in this duology, but three out of the four siblings in this one were either horrible, useless, or pointless—and the fourth one was useless for the first 2/3rds of the book.
Just Because:
From the Grave, by Kresley Cole. I have been waiting for this book for years! This is the only love triangle I’ve ever read where I didn’t have a favorite. I loved the rest of the series so much that I think anything would have been a bit of a letdown, so that was no surprise, but it was a fitting ending for these characters, even if I couldn’t quite see it.
Left Unfinished:
The House Is on Fire, by Rachel Beanland. The first 5% of this just absolutely didn’t catch my interest at all.
The Seaside Library, by Brenda Novak. I read about 15% of this, but the story did not feel fresh or new to me—it felt similar to other things I’d read, so I got bored quickly.
Blind Spots, by Thomas Mullen. Solid writing. This just wasn’t a good fit for me at the time.
This Isn’t Going to End Well, by Daniel Wallace. I made it about 20% of the way through this because I liked the voice, but I absolutely did not care for the narrator/author character at all.
Where Coyotes Howl, by Sandra Dallas. I read 25% of this, and, while I enjoyed it, there was no conflict. None. While that sounds good in theory, it doesn’t make for an engaging story, no matter how solid the writing is.
The Dutch Orphan, by Ellen Keith. I didn’t get very far in this, because the POV just didn’t work for me. It felt very distant, and I didn’t care for that.
Under the Cover of Mercy, by Rebecca Connolly. The MC felt very haughty and distant in the first 10%, and I just didn’t feel a connection.
Tomorrow Is Another Day 
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