Well, I had a bit of a rough start to April! In fact, I didn't finish a single book until the tenth! I so wanted to be writing this post and tell you all that I read ten books and I loved them all but that just really wasn't the case this month. I think it's so important to not only share our wins, but also when things don't quite go according to plan too! One good thing that happened this month though, is a new coffee shop opened up right at the end of my street so that has significantly improved my life as documented in these images! I actually only ended up reading five books this month due to many different factors but I still thought I'd share a little overview with you, especially since there are a few arcs here that released this month!
Long Way Down
Jason Reynolds
After Will's brother is shot he is out to get revenge. As he steps into the elevator, gun in hand, fifteen-year-old Will is determined that he's going to kill the guy who killed his brother because that's the rule, that's just what he has to do. But as the lift descends different people from Will's past enter and he starts to question that maybe the rules are wrong.
This is a poignant story told in verse that takes place over the course of sixty seconds this was a little different for me. I've actually grown to really love stories told in verse because I think they have such a special way of getting a story across without using too many words. This is especially great when it's a story like this one told in such a short period of time. Poetry just seems like the right medium for that.
The Betrayals
Bridget Collins
At the Montverre Academy, students are trained in the ancient arcane practice of the grand jeu. Leo Martin was a master of the Grand Jeu during his time at Montverre but has fallen out of love with it. After his political career lies in ruins, Leo returns to Montverre where he meets the new Magister Ludi, Claire Dryden, the first woman ever to have held the role and feels a strange connection with her and it may have something to do with his ill-fated relationship with schoolmate Aime Carfax de Courcy.
Every part of my personality should scream dark academia, House of Anubis was my favourite show when I was younger and I was obsessed with uncovering secrets about my school - I even dreamt about a secret staircase in my primary school multiple times. But for some reason, Dark Academia novels and I don't really click. There were elements of this that I really liked, my favourite part was definitely the flashback scenes between Leo and Aime, but it took me an entire month to get through the audiobook and I think I just really didn't vibe with the narration (the decision to make a character called Leo Martin sound like he was from the north of England is just a decision I can't get behind). I think this is one of those books that maybe I would have enjoyed more had I read it myself.
The Summer Job
Lizzy Dent
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher
Having nowhere to live this summer, Birdy Finch ends up taking a job at a hotel in Scotland in place of her friend Heather who has just run off to Italy. However, this is not the simple hospitality job that she first thought. Heather is a trained sommelier and this restaurant is a lot fancier than Birdy bargained for and suddenly the future of the hotel is in her hands. There's also James, the handsome chef who she finds herself falling for but he thinks that she's Heather. Can she keep up the charade and protect herself and Heather's reputation for the whole summer?
I've had this book on my NetGalley shelf for months and put off reading it until closer to the summer and then suddenly we were coming up on publication day and I was in a mahoosive reading slump. I did struggle to get through this book a bit, but that was definitely a reflection on where I was at during that time rather than the book itself. I found a lot of the characters blended together a little at the beginning and it took me a while to really get into but I actually ended up really enjoying it and the conclusion actually took me by surprise which was a nice change. Generally, just a lovely read which had I been in a better reading mood at the time might have had a bigger impact on me.
Milk and Honey
Rupi Kaur
In this critically acclaimed poetry collection, Rupi Kaur writes about survival and each of the four chapters focuses on different experiences in the author's life talking about abuse, relationships, heartbreak and self-love showing that even in the bitterest of moments you can still find sweetness
Everyone has heard of this book right, and I'll be honest here I never had any intention of ever picking it up but I was just scrolling through Libby trying to find something quick to read and noticed it so I just figured, it's now or never. Spoiler alert - I absolutely adored this. I mentioned with Long Way Down that sometimes poetry just feels like the right medium to tell your story in and this is one of those times. This is a short but poignant read and I found myself highlighting so many sections. I just love how open and honest Rupi Kaur was with this narrative and it's definitely something I can see myself coming back to. I know this is a bit of a cliche book at this point but I do genuinely think it's worth the read and this is coming from someone who had no real interest in it prior to picking it up.
The Road Trip
Beth O'Leary
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher
Addie and Dylan met while on a holiday in France and entered a relationship, cut to three years later and they've broken up but somehow now find themselves sharing a car on their way to a friend's wedding along with Addie's sister Deb, Dylan's best friend Marcus, and the elusive Rodney who nobody really knows. This book follows the eventful car journey shared by these five passengers as well as flashback scenes detailing Addie and Dylan's relationship from how it began to how it ended.
After loving both The Flatshare and The Switch last year I was very excited to get stuck into Beth O'Leary's latest offering. This one definitely had a bit of a different feel than the other two and while the romance was the main element it focused a lot more on much heavier themes throughout and generally felt much less like a rom-com. Just like Beth O'Leary's previous books though, I devoured this in one sitting, there's just something about her writing that just makes you unable to put it down! I also really enjoyed that the characters in this book were around my age which is something I don't actually find a lot of in books (if you know of any early twenties romances let me know) but I don't really feel like I related to any of these characters, they all seemed a bit too stylised. I definitely enjoyed my time reading this one.
So yes all in all not my greatest reading month but also not a COMPLETE disaster! I definitely think I've gotten my reading mojo back and I'm excited about all the books that May has to offer me! How was your reading this month? I hope it was better than mine anyway! Have you read any of these books? Let me know down below!
