IT’S MAY! I can’t believe we’re five months into the year already. I mean, where are the months flying to?! April has been a pretty decent month in terms of work, life and reading; actually it has been more than a decent reading month for me! I think I even shocked myself when I counted how many books I got through. In no particular order, here’s what I read:
ARC ★★★½☆☆
★★★☆☆
ARC ★★★☆☆
ARC ★★★★☆
ARC ★★★☆☆
ARC ★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★★
ARC ★★★☆☆
★★★★½☆
★★★★★
★★★½☆☆
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
★★★½☆☆
So in total I read 17 books in April. I thought I was having a bit of a slow reading month but that definitely wasn’t the case! I read the majority of these as e-books and I realize that I often read much faster on my Kindle compared to when I’m reading a physical book. I’m also glad that I was able to get through 6 ARCs this month because my NetGalley TBR was getting a little ridiculous! My Goodreads Reading Challenge is currently at 60/75 books, so I think it’s about time I change my goal and bump it up to…90 books. If my year continues this way, I think 2019 will be a record making book year. Exciting times!
Out of all these books, my favorite(s) have to be The Dry and The Lost Man by Jane Harper. These were both such fantastic reads and I couldn’t possibly choose between them. I’m so glad that I finally picked up Jane Harper this month because she has made a place for herself on my favorite authors list and also my auto-buy authors list. I’d highly recommend picking her up up if you haven’t yet!
There are so many books I’m looking forward to reading in May and I’ve already posted about the books I’m most excited for. I just got an email today telling me that my Special Edition Owlcrate Finale box has just shipped today. AAAH 😃
How was your reading month? What was your favorite read?
It’s that time of the month again! Can you believe we’ve come to the end of yet another month? Three months of 2019 are officially over. Where does the time go?!
If you’ve read my (belatedly posted) February wrap up, you’ll know that it was a pretty mediocre reading month for me. I was hitting struggletown hard! I don’t think I’ve ever had a month-long reading slump before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything? 🤷🏻♀️ In comparison, March was a pretty great book month!
Reading Recap: 15 Books
✓ 13 Fiction (2 ARCs) ✓ 1 Non-Fiction ✓ 1 Comic/Graphic Novel ✓ Goodreads Reading Challenge: 45/75 books ✓ Favorite Read: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo(this book was so crazily hyped, especially on #bookstagram, so it took me a while to pick it up coz I was a little apprehensive; but I have to say that it’s definitely worth all the hype. If I could give it all the stars, I absolutely would!)
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★★
★★★★★
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★☆☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
★★★★★
Of these 15, four were paperbacks and the rest were e-books and an online comic strip. The two ARCs were Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine (23 April 2019) and Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center (13 August 2019) and I enjoyed both immensely! Can’t wait for these to be released so everyone can read them. I read a lot on my Kindle this month. It’s been a while since I’ve gone on an e-book spree, so it felt really good to get into it, especially after the epic slump. I’m super pleased with the new 10th Generation Kindle Paperwhite (2018), which I got in early March when my Kindle Paperwhite of 5 years died an unfortunate and untimely death (RIP 😭). I love that I can pair this one with bluetooth headphones and listen to Audible books directly from there, although the first/last time I tried it, the connection was pretty wonky and the audio kept cutting out and “stuttering”. Also, it drains the battery super fast.
Overall, I’m really pleased with all the books I read. It was definitely a month for Contemporary Fiction and Romance, sprinkled with hint if Fantasy and Thrillers. I was also quite pleased with all the books that I got in March, and I’m wondering if I should do a wrap up haul post for them. I kinda went a little bit wild (heh, what’s new), but I think I’m going to take a break from buying physical books for now. Let’s see how long that lasts! 😂 Leaving March behind, I’m definitely excited to see how I’ll fare in April as work gets a little bit busier.
How did your March reads go? Are you pleased with the books you read? Which was your favorite? Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!
I know, I’m a little late to the party, but I thought I’d share my February wrap-up anyway. February was a pretty tough month for me and my mental health state was the worst it has been in a while. I know when it’s really bad because not only does it affect my daily life more than usual, but I also struggled to read anything. I was trying out 3-4 different books each week, trying to find a story that would pull me in but towards the end of the month, that rarely happened. Anyway, without further ado, these are the books that I got through last month (with mini-reviews for each)!
In total, I read 4 books: 3 Physical books & 1 Audiobook
My February Wrap-Up!
*I just realized that the book reviews that I’ve posted on my blog so far cover the books that I’ve read in February! I’ll link the mini-reviews to the full-length reviews, in case any of you are interested to know more.
This was my first ever audiobook and I was not disappointed. This was a seriously charming book! The characters are endearingly quirky and the situations they find themselves in are emotional and heartfelt, but not without comedy injected here and there to lighten the mood up a little bit. It’s also endlessly quotable! It was a little corny at times, what with all the feel-good love stuff, but I finished this one feeling happy and comforted, and sometimes there’s honestly nothing more you need from a book 😉 I thought the narrators did a wonderful job in reading the story and capturing all the heartbreak and hilarity in it.
This book had my breaking out in crying jags until the very end! This was such a heartbreaking and touching story that explores friendship, love, heartbreak, loss, and grief between four boys. Silvera has written a book that’s filled with such deep sadness and longing, but with enough humorous and lighthearted moments between the characters that it doesn’t bog you down. What I enjoyed most about it was that it’s relatable AF; everyone has had a first love and a heartbreak that completely shatters you. First love is definitely a fragile thing 💔
Honestly, this one was a bit of a let down. When I heard it was similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, I knew I had to read it because that’s one of my all-time favorite novels and I’m always looking to read more science fiction/dystopia! However, while I thought this really had the potential to be great, I felt that the characters were underdeveloped, there was a lot of ‘info dumping’ from the 50% mark onwards, and the final showdown was not only incredibly rushed but unsatisfying too. All the problems were resolved too smoothly and the conflict between the characters were also wiped away so easily. I wanted more, but this didn’t deliver for me. I’d recommend it for those who are curious about sci-fi. IMHO, this is more commercial than it is serious science fiction.
I was a little bit torn with this read. It was a little hyped on bookstagram so I was really excited to dive in — I mean, if we’re just looking at covers and book titles, this one is a tick on both fronts! While the concept of the story was intriguing and Braithwaite did an amazing job exploring a very messed up relationship between sisters, the characters were so incredibly unlikeable (imo) that it made it difficult for me to really enjoy this book… I was surprised with the ending because Braithwaite chose the seemingly predictable conclusion that I wasn’t hoping for, but there was a question left hanging in the last sentence, which I guess left part of the conclusion open to interpretation? Best things about this one was the realness of the sisterly relationship/bond and the satire.
Ongoing February Reads…
I also started reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt in February and it’s such a tome of a book, that I haven’t finished it yet… I’m not disliking the character driven plot, but the reason I’m still reading it as I write this is because once I put it down, I don’t feel particularly compelled to pick it up again. I don’t know what it is — Is it the size? Is it my mood? I’m not sure. This is my first Tartt book and while I was warned that it moves at a fairly slow pace, I wasn’t expecting it to be this slow… But since February was such a tough one for me, I’m hoping with my fresh-kick in March, I’ll be able to finish it by the end of the month! 🤞🏽
Another book I started at the end of the month wasBeartown by Fredrik Backman. This one is so well-loved and incredibly hyped on bookstagram, so I was ready for it to hit me with all the feels at the start. But while I found it interesting and I was curious to find out what happened, I also ended up putting it down at some point and not picking it back up again. I’m definitely blaming my fickle February mood for not continuing with it right now and it’s another read that I hope to finish in March — I am not giving up on it! 🤓
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend! How are your March reads coming along? Let’s talk books 🙂
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