April Wrap Up

I have talked about The Storygraph in the past, but the website keeps getting better and better! They have now included more monthly stats, so I thought it would be fun to start sharing those in my wrap ups. Let me know what you think!

I am so surprised that I managed to read 14 books in April and almost 5,000 pages! A lot of what I read was emotional and reflective and it was an interesting mix.

This graph feels pretty accurate! I feel like a lot of what I read was medium-paced.

I am happy that I read one book that was over 500 pages, as that is one of my goals. I read quite a few books under 300 pages, which makes sense since a picked up a couple graphic novels.

I read two nonfiction titles in April, both of which I really enjoyed!

I read from a wide variety of genres in April, which is always fun to see! I have been wanting to read more SciFi, so I am happy that I got to three of them in April.

I rated nothing under 3 stars in April! That is always exciting. As usual, 4 stars was my most common rating and I found a couple of five star reads.

It took me a little while to get into Jade City, but once I did I was completely enamored with it. I don’t think I have ever read anything quite like it. Jade City is incredibly atmospheric with flawed characters that are easy to love. It was the familial relationships that drew me into this world and the magic, politics, and atmosphere were just nice bonuses. I completely understand why it has been compared to The Godfather- it definitely has that vibe but with magic.

In my opinion, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is a lot like Daisy Jones and the Six but with more to say. While I loved both books, I have to give an edge to The Final Revival. It is one that will stay with me. I highly recommend this on audio!

I have realized that I adore SciFi graphic novels, and Descender is my new favourite. The main character, a robot named TIM-21, is adorable and I am so invested in their story. I find these volumes to be quite pricy, so I am going to collect them slowly.

Last Call is a true crime that focuses on the victims, which is refreshing. I am loving the shift in true crime towards giving the victims a voice. I really liked Elon Green’s writing and it was evident that he did a lot of research and spoke to people who knew each of the victims. It was very thoughtfully done and I liked learning more about New York and the gay community at that time. Some great discussions in here!

Luster will be a book you either love or hate, and I happened to love it. It is actually one I have come to appreciate more as I have had a little distance from it. It is hard to believe that this is Raven Leilani’s debut. Her writing is so raw and beautiful and she really knows how to write flawed and messy characters. This is one I would like to reread some day!

I read Fat Chance, Charlie Vega for a buddy read on bookstagram and I thought it was sweet! I liked the romance, but it was the female friendship that stood out to me. I think a lot of people of all ages will relate to Charlie, as was evident in the conversations we had on Instagram.

The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. was a very atmospheric and interesting story about a young girl who is abandoned and has no memories of where she came from. Things are slowly revealed through her dreams, and it is very moving and sometimes difficult to read. I love books about carnivals, so of course I was going to enjoy this one!

I love Greek mythology, so I am pleased to have the graphic novel version of The Iliad on my shelves. I loved the simplicity of the art style and I think that this is the perfect thing to pick up if you want to become familiar with the story of Achilles and Troy, especially if you want to read some retellings. As someone who knows the story pretty well, the writing felt a little stilted.

I really thought I was going to love The Henna Artist, but it ended up just being an okay read for me. I loved the setting and learning more about India during the 1950s, but I think I just wanted more. I do have an ARC of the sequel that I am excited to get to because it follows one of my favourite characters twelve years after the events on the first book.

Pride and Premeditation was exactly the book that I needed in the moment. This is a Pride and Prejudice retelling, and it is so fun to me reunite with some of my favourite characters but being able to see them in a new way. I thought that Tirzah Price did the characters justice and there was something so refreshing about this. It read like a cozy mystery starring Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, and I loved every second of it!

Klara and the Sun has solidified Kazuo Ishiguro as one of my favourite authors. I cannot stop thinking about this book! I cannot explain it, but it is almost like Klara is haunting me in this very bittersweet way. I need to read all the books that focus on AI and the ethics behind them.

Second First Impressions was a great palette cleanser after the heaviness of Klara and the Sun. I loved the setting and the side characters in here, but the romance was sort of forgettable. Still happy I read it though!

Wow. Life’s Too Short is now in my top three romances and Abby Jimenez is an auto-buy author for me. Don’t let the sweet cover fool you- this book covers some very heavy topics from terminal illness and drug addiction. There is a lot of focus on complicated family relationships. That said, there is also a lot of chemistry between Vanessa and Adrian and the conflict in here felt so authentic.

I have fallen in love with food memoirs and I think Save Me the Plums is my favourite so far! I am such a sucker for anything that pulls back the curtains and gives us some behind the scenes information into a world I know nothing about. This was definitely the case in this book. I learned so much about what it is like to run a magazine and everything that goes into that. Ruth Reichl is also just an incredible author and I was fully immersed in her story.

There we have it! April has been one of my best reading months in a long, long time. I would love to know the best book you read this month!

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