April was such a busy month and it has completely flown in! I can't believe it's nearly summer already! I had a lot going on in April but still managed to read 6 books, which seems to be my number this year since I've read 6 books 3 out of 4 months so far. I'm actually really happy that I'm managing to be quite consistent with the number of books I'm reading each month, hopefully that will continue throughout the rest of the year. Yet again, I read mostly ebooks in April meaning my physical TBR is continuing to grow. However, the one physical book I did read is one I have been wanting to get to for years, so that's pretty exciting. I also bought a few books in April after being good for a couple of months.
Read
Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan -
This was an odd book! I read Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares by these authors in December of last year and enjoyed it so decided to give this, their newest release, a go. It takes place over one night in which twins Sam & Ilsa throw one last dinner party before graduation. It was very pretentious and not a whole lot happened so I got a bit bored. It was a very quick read but I didn't really enjoy it.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer -
I finally read it! I have had Cinder on almost every TBR list I have ever posted on this blog and always put it off, until April. I decided I had put it off long enough and it was time to give it a go. I went into it knowing nothing more than it is a Cinderella retelling with a cyborg main character but it ended up being a lot more than that. I really enjoyed it and found the world and story very interesting, particularly is it didn't completely follow the Cinderella storyline, it had an original story at the forefront. I found it to be very predictable and didn't love it as much as I expected to but I'm still really glad I eventually read it.
I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman -
Gayle Forman is an author whose books I either really, really love or think their just average. For that reason, I didn't know what to expect from this book, particularly as the synopsis didn't completely intrigue me. It follows three people over the course of one day after their lives become randomly intertwined. I didn't expect to completely love it and I definitely didn't expect it to become my favourite book of the year so far! I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved the writing. It caught me by surprise and I will recommend it to everyone.
Bookshop Girl by Chloe Coles -
This book isn't published until June but I decided on a whim that despite being behind on the ARCs for the current month, I should just pick this one up instead. It was a really quick read about a girl trying to stop the local bookshop where she works from being shut down. It was fun and had a really great message but it wasn't the book for me. It featured so many of my bookish pet peeves and I wasn't really a fan of all the boy drama. It's one that I can see other people loving but it wasn't for me.
Rating: 2/5 | Review To Come
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty -
I've been wanting to read this book for a while but after it became a TV show it flew to the top of my TBR. It recently became available through my libraries audiobook service so I grabbed it, and I'm glad I did. This book follows a group of Kindergarten mothers and all of their family drama but also involves a mystery death. This book was unlike anything I have read before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the way it was written and how the mystery begins to slowly unfold as we learn about the lives of these women. It doesn't sound like much from the synopsis but it is such an interesting, entertaining book.
Rating: 4/5 | Review To Come
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman -
Following it's release in the UK at the beginning of April, everyone has been raving about this book. I have seen so many rave reviews that I expected to love it too. However, this is another book that wasn't for me. Starfish is about a Japanese-American girl who has grown up not being exposed to her Japanese heritage, with a mother who treats her pretty terribly. We follow her as she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life after finishing high school. There were so many aspects of this book that I really enjoyed - the discussions regarding race, culture and beauty, the anxiety rep, some insight into the Japanese culture - but also aspects that I didn't enjoy. The plot was kind of dull despite all of the things going on in Kiko's life and I just felt underwhelmed.
Bought:
The Truth And Lies Of Ella Black by Emily Barr - I'm going to YALC (!!!) this year and Emily Barr has been announced as one of the authors attending. I've been wanting to read her books so this seemed like a good excuse to pick one up.
Super Awkward by Beth Garrod - Beth Garrod is another author announced for YALC so when I saw her book on offer I decided to pick it up to add to my YALC TBR. It sounds like a really fun, laugh-out-loud read.
Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli - I read this in February as an ebook but again decided to pick this one up when I saw it on offer. I'm slightly disappointed that it's the movie tie-in but I suppose it's still the same on the inside.
Tales From The Shadowhunter Academy by various authors - This was a completely random purchase as I haven't even finished the Mortal Instruments series yet. I saw it and something just made me add it to my basket, I don't know why.
I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman - I read this initially as an eARC but with it being my favourite book of the year so far I had to pick up a physical copy. Gayle Forman is another author announced for YALC so I also needed a physical copy to get signed.
That was a bit of a lengthy wrap up and haul for April! I would say that was a pretty good reading month, especially with another rare 5 star read thrown in.
Did you read any great books in April?
