Long time, no see! Once again, my mental health has had me having to take a bit of a break from blogging over the past month or so. Life is just a lot right now, as it is for everyone given the current circumstances of the world, and blogging seems to be the first thing to go when it's all getting to be a bit much for me. Despite not being around on this blog in the month of April, I did still managed to read a decent amount. I have also been trying to be a bit more active on Instagram, so definitely check that out and give me a follow over there.
In terms of April's reading; I read another 8 books, which seems to be consistent for me this year, including 2 five star reads. I discovered some new authors, read new releases by favourite authors, and started a couple of new series.
The Simple Wild by KA Tucker -
This was on my Spring TBR after seeing it recommended over and over in the book community. It follows Calla who, learning of her estranged father's cancer diagnosis, returns to her childhood home in Alaska in order to reconnect with him. While attempting to adjust to the very different lifestyle, she starts to get closer to the annoying and obnoxious neighbour who works with her father. This completely took me by surprise. I was initially drawn in by the Alaska setting and following Calla as she tried to change her city girl ways and adapt to Alaska life, both of which were aspects of the story I really enjoyed, but I didn't expect this book to impact me so much. I really loved Calla as our main character. She is a witty, takes no nonsense kind of gal, but we get to see her vulnerable side open up as the book goes on. I just loved following her journey. I found the relationship between Calla and her father very touching to read, and seeing them put aside their differences and the issues Calla has had with her father over the years in order to get to know each other in the time they had left together was so heart-warming. Their story completely broke me! Obviously, this is also an enemies-to-lovers romance between Calla and Jonah, who unexpectedly became one of my favourite couples. I loved their relationship from their first meeting, they had the best banter and knew exactly how to get a reaction out of each other, which was a lot of fun to read. I fell in love with their relationship, as well as every other aspect of this book. I can't wait to continue with their story.
Rating: 5/5
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey -
This is another one that I picked up based on recommendations from the book community. It has been on my radar for a while but the mixed reviews made me a little uncertain to pick it up at first. This follows Georgie, the youngest sibling in the Castle family who, partly due to her job as a children's party clown, is never taken seriously be the rest of her family. When ex-baseball star and her older brother's best friend, Travis, comes back to town after an injury ruins his career, the two decide to help each other out. They decide to fake date in order to help Georgie be taken more seriously, and to help Travis land a new job. The only catch is Georgie has been in love with Travis since she was a kid. This was a fun fake-dating story, with a whole lot of steam. I enjoyed a lot about this book, but it just didn't do it for me overall. I liked the characters, I enjoyed the family dynamic and how Georgie was trying to change it. I really loved the group Georgie formed with Bethany and Rosie, and I am so glad the other two are getting their own books in this series. It was great to see three women trying to build each other up and support each other to reach their goals. However, I did find some things annoying. I found Georgie to be quite juvenile at times, and could kind of understand why her family treated her like a child at times. I felt as though this was kind of emphasised by having her be a virgin. It is insinuated that she is a virgin due to her crush on Travis, which made the fake dating him feel a bit off to me. I also didn't really understand the need for Georgie and Travis to fake date, at least on her part, though I did enjoy them as a couple. I just have some mixed feeling about this book, although I will definitely be continuing in this series.
Rating: 3/5
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice Of A Thirteen-Year-Old Boy With Autism by Naoki Higashida -
I picked this one up as my non-fiction read of the month. It has been on my radar for a few years, so when I saw the audiobook available from my library I decided to give it a go. This is a book written by a thirteen-year-old Japanese boy with autism, who answers various questions throughout the book about living with autism. It needs to be said that I am not the audience this book is targeted towards. It is mentioned in the introduction to the translated edition that this book is great for parents of children on the autism spectrum looking to understand more about what their child may be thinking when they are unable to explain themselves. It was an interesting read, however I had some issues I couldn't look past. My biggest issue with this book was the generalisation and stereotyping. It is mentioned on various occasions throughout the book that not all children with autism are the same or think the same, yet is is often stated that 'us autistic kids' do certain things. I definitely think this is an important read and could be so helpful for so many, but it just wasn't for me, and it wasn't meant to be.
No Rating.
An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn -
This is the third book in the Bridgertons series, which I have been making my way through slowly this year. This book follows Benedict, the second eldest son of the Bridgerton family, in a Cinderella retelling in which he is abandoned at a ball at midnight by a mysterious woman. That mysterious woman is Sophie Beckett, made a servant by her stepmother after the death of her father. This was another fun instalment in the series, but didn't quite beat the second book from my top spot. I had really enjoyed Benedict's character in the previous books, and was excited to read his story, but ended up starting to dislike him as this book progressed. I found him to be quite controlling at times and was pretty unimpressed by some of his actions. However, he did redeem himself and I liked him again by the end of the book. I'm not a huge fan of Cinderella retellings, so this was never going to be a new favourite for me, but I didn't hate that aspect of the story. My biggest issue with this book was, sadly, the romance. I liked Sophie, she was fun and feisty heroine, but I struggled to see the connection between her and Benedict. They had a great first meeting, and I could understand the interest they each had in each other, but the obsession they both had for years and the instant connection when they were reunited, despite Benedict having no idea who she was, I couldn't get on board with. It was a fun read, and I am loving this series, but this wasn't my new favourite.
Rating: 3.5/5
We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman -
Gayle Forman is an author I have had some real hits and misses with. Her previous release, I Have Lost My Way, I completely fell in love with, so I was highly anticipating her newest book. We Are Inevitable follows Aaron who feels he has been left behind in his small town in order to help his father run the family's failing bookstore. He basically hates everything and everyone, but throughout the book finds some unlikely friends and maybe even love. It pains me to say that this book was not for me. I can see it's appeal and definitely think it will be a hit for a lot of people, but it was not my book. I hated Aaron as a main character! He was horrible to everyone around him, so inconsiderate towards his father, and I just didn't care about him at all. That wouldn't have been too much of an issue if this book had more to the plot, but it was very character driven. The failing bookstore plot wasn't anything exciting and the romance was a bit of a fail for me. The side characters and the ending were about the only redeeming qualities for me. However, as I said, I do feel this was very much a case of the book not being for me rather than being a bad book. I would be aware, though, that this book deals with topics such as addiction and substance misuse, and discusses addiction in some not so great ways that made me uncomfortable.
Rating: 2/5
Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard -
After a disappointing new release from an author I love, I was a little wary going into this one. Sara Barnard is one of my favourite authors, I have loved everything I have read from her, and her 2021 release sounded perfect for me. Destination Anywhere follows Peyton, who has spent her whole life just trying to fit in and find friends. When she starts sixth form college and finds a friendship group of her own, she thinks all of her problems are finally over. However, after an incident with her friends group, she finds herself booking a one-way ticket to Canada for an adventure of a lifetime. I am of the firm belief that Sara Barnard can do no wrong and I will never not love her books. I was uncertain at the beginning, Peyton took a bit of getting used to as a character and I did have to suspend my disbelief for some of the plot points at the beginning, but as soon as the story got going I was hooked. It is told in alternating present day and flashback chapters, which I think worked really well for this story. Both timelines kept my attention and I was never skimming through one to get to the other. The flashback chapters, detailing Peyton's horrendous bullying during her school life and introducing her sixth form friends, were heartbreaking and very difficult to read. The present day chapters following her adventures around Canada were my favourite, I absolutely loved going on this journey with Peyton and all the incredible people she meets along the way. I had a great time exploring Canada through this book, especially as we can't travel at the moment, but also enjoyed seeing Peyton grow as a person during her trip. I just really loved this story, and I'm not planning my own trip to Canada for when we're finally able to travel again.
Rating: 5/5
The Wreckage Of Us by Brittainy C Cherry -
This was another of the books on my Spring TBR, maybe I'm getting better at sticking to them. I have slowly been working my way through Brittainy C Cherry's backlist since first discovering, and falling in love with, her books in February. This month, I decided to pick up this small town, enemies-to-lovers, rockstar romance. This book follows Hazel, who finds herself working and living on a ranch after her stepdad kicks her out. There she ends up living with Ian, the town's up-and-coming singer/songwriter, who happens to hold a huge grudge against Hazel. Of course, this is their romance. This had a lot of things I love in it; small town, forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, and even a baby after Hazel has to look after her newborn stepsister. I really enjoyed all of those aspects, especially the perfectly developed enemies to friends to lovers relationship that forms between Hazel and Ian. I also really loved the found family element, as Ian's grandparents and bandmates bring Hazel into their lives. The rockstar and fame aspect, though not something I typically dislike, was something I could have done without in this book. I liked that songwriting really brought the characters together, but I just didn't care for the rest of it. I also found the drama that lead to the conflict to be a bit too much for me. While I did enjoy so much of this book, it is my least favourite of Brittainy C Cherry's books I have read so far.
Rating: 4/5
Twice In A Blue Moon by Christina Lauren -
I ended the month by giving another hit-or-miss author another shot. I read four books by this author duo in 2020, my first time reading anything from them, two of which I loved, one I thought was just okay, and one I disliked. It seemed like time to give them another shot, so I picked up Twice In A Blue Moon. This follows Tate and Sam, who first meet while both on trips to London as teenagers and enjoy a summer romance. When Tate reveals her biggest secret to Sam, only for that secret to get out, her life is changed forever. Fourteen years later, the two are reunited. Sadly, this was a bit of a miss for me. I wanted to like it, but there was a lot I couldn't get on board with. The biggest issue, one that really isn't great in a romance, was that I could not see the connection between these characters. They fell in love within what felt like minutes of knowing each other and I couldn't understand why. Of course, crazy in love Tate then reveals her big life secret to the boy she barely knows and is shocked when that secret gets out. The big thing for me, though, was the grudge that she held for fourteen years, which I would say was pretty understandable, that she just dropped without much effort from Sam. I just couldn't get behind the romance at all. I also found the father/daughter aspect of the story to be pointless. This could have taken the father/daughter reconciliation plot and made it something touching and meaningful, but it was just a completely underdeveloped side plot that's only purpose was to cause conflict between the couple. Despite those two pretty major things that I didn't like about this book, I enjoyed pretty much everything else. I still had fun reading this book, particularly the present day when they were on the movie set. I found that part interesting and especially loved Tate's friends. Overall, I expected more so this was disappointing.
Rating: 3/5
That wraps up April. I had some hits and some misses, surprises and disappointments, but a pretty good reading month overall.
What was your favourite read of April?
Sophie :)
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