Yesterday we shared the books we added to our shelves in April and today it’s time to talk about what we read. Was April a good reading month for us? Let’s take a look at our April Wrap Up!
Candyce
If you’ve been following our blog, you know March was an amazing reading month for me! April wasn’t as good as March, but I still enjoyed everything I read. I was able to read 29 books (I didn’t even realize it was that many!). That brings my Goodreads challenge to 113/200. I’m very happy about this, so let’s take a look at what I read!
Of Triton is the sequel to Of Poseidon and leaves off where the first book ends. I enjoyed learning more about this world, but it did lack a bit of the elements I loved in this first book. This story is pretty much complete, so I am curious about the third and final book in the trilogy!
A friend was really happy with this book, so I was curious! I basically read it in one sitting, so I think I can say that I really enjoyed it, haha. It’s the first of many books and I can’t wait to dive in the second one. Paranormal romance is a genre that’s starting to interest me a bit more!
A Curse So Dark and Lonely – Brigid Kemmerer
This modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast got a lot of attention around the release and that made me afraid my expectations were going to be too high. That wasn’t the case, because A Curse so Dark and Lonely was amazing!! I need the second book now!! My review will be on the blog soon.
Wicked Saints – Emily A. Duncan
I’m so happy that I got the ARC of this book, because it’s so good!! A very unique fantasy that I highly recommend! Not only that, but the characters are also very interesting. The only bad thing about reading ARCs is waiting longer for the release of the next book. This one is out now though!
Falling for Fallon – S.J. Sylvis
I was kind of afraid to read this one, because Chasing Ivy disappointed me a bit. Falling for Fallon was amazing though, so I’m happy I still gave it a chance. It was fun seeing Fallon figure out what she really wanted and fight for it, even if she ended up with a bit of a bad boy!
Smoke & Key was another interesting and unique read of the month. Our main character wakes up and is dead. She knows a lot, but all of her memories are gone. Add a few murders to the mix and things get interesting. I’m still not completely sure how this all worked, but it was an enjoyable read!
Rebound Boyfriend – Daphne James Huff
This book is the third book in the Varsity Girlfriend series and in all honesty it’s my least favorite so far. In the end I really came to love the characters and stories, but getting there was a bit rough! The main character wasn’t easy to connect to and I didn’t always agree with choices that were made.
A new to me author with a second chance romance that was a lot of fun. Thinking you’re going to die and then realizing there was a medical mistake definitely turns your life upside down. Then it’s time to start thinking about what you really want in life and who. Maybe just the man you left behind all those years ago! A fun read that was maybe a bit too easy, but sometimes a simple happily ever after is what you need.
Supernova – Meg Anne & Jessica Wayne
This is the third and final book in the trilogy and I’m happy where it left all the characters. There some romance, fighting and family history revealed. I love how this trilogy ended, but I think it went a bit too fast at times.
The Haunting of Elmwood Manor – Pamela McCord
This is the first book in a new middle grade series that was pretty cute! I enjoyed the ghost business the main character started and their journey was really interesting to read. At times this story was a bit too intense for a middle grade and the characters were maybe a bit too old in my eyes. Definitely an enjoyable story though.
Crazy for Your Love – Lexi Ryan
Another great installment in the Boys of Jackson Harbor series. Fake relationships are always fun to read about, because you know real feeling eventually get involved. I reall enjoy this author and the series. Definitely a story that made me happy.
Watch Me Unravel is the second book in the Blue is the Color series and it was SO good!! I was so sad when I read the last page. I connected to these characters are really wanted their story to end in an amazing way. This book was everything I was hoping for!
Bad Girls Academy & Bad Girls Rivalry – Bailey Cruz
When I read the description and saw spy academy, I was really curious. Unfortunately these books were totally different than I expected and had many elements that bothered me. It was a great concept, but wasn’t executed that well.
All We Could Have Been – T.E. Carter
I can’t imagine what it’s like when your brother does something unimaginable and really cruel. When people know it happened in your family, they treat you differently. Our main character is constantly moving and trying to hide what happened in her family. Her journey is really interesting and this story is very emotional!
The Hummingbird Dagger – Cindy Anstey
A mix of historical fiction and mystery was something that I thought I needed. This book starts off with a bang, but ends up slowing down a bit. I definitely didn’t expect the ending, but it was missing something for me. It was still a fun read though!
Lord Have Mercy – Lani Lynn Vale
After enjoying Hissy Fit, I was really looking forward to this sequel. Lord Have Mercy started off really fun and had me laughing out loud. A little ways in this story changed though and it was like reading a different book. It felt like the author had a lot of ideas in this story and put them all together. Not everything fit together.
This is a book I’ve been waiting for since finishing the first book! Cruel Fortune wasn’t what I was expecting, but so good!! The drama in this book is a bit over the top, but I just couldn’t get enough. The ending of this story is leaving me so curious. I don’t know who I can trust! I need the third book now!!
I have read a couple of books by Kennedy Fox and loved them! Baby Mine is the first in a new duology and wasn’t what I was expecting. In the beginning it felt like nothing was happening, but before I knew it this book went in a totally different way. And true Kenney Fox style we got left with a major cliffhanger! I need the next book.
To Have and to Hold – Serena Bell
This is the third book in this series and every time I say the one I just read is my favorite. I have to be honest and say that happened again! The characters were ones I connected with immediately and their journey had you hoping all would end well!
Time is the third and final book in the Laws of Physics trilogy and my favorite out of all three of them. I loved seeing Mona’s and Abram’s journey continuing and getting to know them more. Mona becomes a strong person here and really lets her family see the real her. A worthy ending of this amazing trilogy!
A naughty selfie gone wrong was such a funny start to Junk Mail. Once again, Kendall Ryan made me love the characters and left a smile on my face. Add an amazing grandmother to this story and I was sold. I really enjoyed this one!
Off the Record – Taylor Danae Colbert
Taylor is an author that doesn’t stick to one style and it seems she can do everything. I flew through Off the Record and it’s one of my favorites this month! A rock star romance that’s definitely different than ones I’ve read before. I loved these characters and wouldn’t mind more!
We Were Beautiful – Heather Hepler
As a big fan of contemporary, this one caught my attention. When an accident changed the main character’s life, she wasn’t sure how to let go of the blame and live again. Going to stay with her grandmother that she didn’t know ended up being the best thing for her. A group of friends made all the difference and this book was journey of her healing!
Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQusiton
Another favorite of mine this month! The son of the president of the US (who is a woman!) and the Prince of England fall in love. This book was a l better than I expected and I am so sad it’s over. Red, White & Royal Blue gave me all the feels and I loved all of the characters. I will definitely be rereading this one!
Twelfth Knight – Jessica Bucher
This is the first book in the Shelfbrooke Academy series that uses Shakespeare comedies for retellings. I don’t know much about those, so I didn’t see anything familiar, but this was such a fun story! I loved our main character Violet and her story was a lot of fun to read.
Blackwell – Alexandrea Weis
Blackwell is a story that sounded very promising, but then took a turn for the worst. I loved the writing and the setting, but there are time jumps in the same chapters, the character goes up and down when thinking about things. Add some voodoo and revenge and that tells us this story. I’m still not sure what I will be rating it, but my review will be up soon!
Imperfect Match – Melanie Harlow & Corinne Michaels
Friends to lovers romances are one of my favorite tropes to read about! Willow and Reid were a lot of fun and I read this book in one sitting. If you’re looking for a cute romance that has you laughing out loud, definitely pick up this one!
The F Word – Ann Maree Craven & Michelle MacQueen
The F Word was a book that really surprised me, but in a good way. I really enjoyed having a strong female main character who learns to start loving herself and is really smart. An accident changed everything for these characters and it’s them finding their way back to a ‘normal’ life. It also showed us how painful words can be for people and it’s sad that is still how this world works.
Isabelle
I didn’t have a great reading month this April unfortunately. March wasn’t the best either and I feel a bit slumpish to be honest. It’s mostly due to audiobooks and graphic novels/manga that I still have been able to read a decent amount of books.
Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss – Kasie West
This was the first audiobook I listened to this month and I think I finished it in a day! I really enjoy Kasie West’s novels and will definitely be reading more of her work. Whenever I crave a contemporary read, she is a go-to author for me. I don’t expect anything special, just a fun, quick and cute read. And that’s exactly what I got!
I was super excited for this graphic novel with its gorgeous cover. Unfortunately this fell a bit flat for me. The idea behind this was super interesting and I think it could’ve been a wonderful story. I would’ve loved for it to be a series instead of a standalone.
Shadow Me – Tahereh Mafi
I wanted to listen to Defy Me after Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss but after a couple of minutes I realized I had forgotten a lot of the plot of the previous book. So one of my friends recommended reading Shadow Me first. This is a novella from Kenji’s perspective and takes place during the last events of Restore Me. I’m very happy I listened to her! A lot of details came rushing back to me and since I really like Kenji I loved reading from his perspective.
The Princess and the Fangirl – Ashley Poston
I loved Geekerella so I was very excited to listen to The Princess and the Fangirl! This takes place at the same Con as Geekerella and there are quite some familiar characters. Once again a cute and fun contemporary story and exactly what I needed at the moment.
Last Girl Lied To – Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
I was part of the blogtour for the YA mystery/thriller and I was so excited to read it. Mystery/thriller is probably my second favorite genre and I’m always on the look out for new YA ones. There are a lot of disappointing ones, but this was one I really enjoyed!
Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston
I can talk about this book for hours! After hearing a couple of people gush about this book I went ahead and requested it on Netgalley. Luckily I got approved and I fell in love with this story hard. The characters are some of the very best ones I ever read in a contemporary story. I didn’t think I would love a NA romance story this much!! But I did <3
Defy Me – Tahereh Mafi
This was a let down for me unfortunately. I’m still debating if I should lower my rating as I try to be a bit more critical. But I did enjoy the ending so that counts for something. There were a ton of flashbacks in this story and while they were somewhat enjoyable, they also felt like fillers. I couldn’t really find an actual plot in this installment and think there just wasn’t enough story in Defy Me. Hopefully Imagine Me will be as good as Restore Me!
Space Boy 1 – Stephen McCranie
This one was a Christmas present and I didn’t think it would take me this long to pick it up! I’m happy I did finally pick it up as it was a very enjoyable first volume. This is a pretty slow paced story and I had to adjust my expectations a little bit. I don’t think I knew precisely what this story was about but it turns out to be more slice of life than I was expecting. If that’s something you enjoy, I think you will very much like this one!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride vol. 1 – Kore Yamazaki
After hearing SuperSpaceChick talk about this Anime, I have been wanting to read the manga! And last Christmas I finally got my hands on the first volume. It took me awhile to actually start reading it but once I started I couldn’t put it down! I plan on getting the rest of the volumes asap and will definitely be watching the anime! What an interesting manga so far.
The Red Scrolls of Magic – Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu
My last audiobook of the month! This had been a pretty highly anticipated release for me this month and I heard a lot of good things about it. Finally a Malec book! This book is a lot thinner than most of Cassandra’s books but I think it worked really well. It was wonderful reading about some familiar names and while this takes place in the middle of the original Shadowhunters series I do think you should read it after reading all the other series. You will get spoiled for some things if you read this before any of the other books!
This was our wrap up for April! If you’ve read any of these let us know what you think! And if you read anything in April we need to check out definitely put the titles in the comments.
Wait, these are all of the books you read in just one month? that is amazing. You’ve read so many books that are still on my TBR list. Funny how you are still not happy with it. Does it make you feel better when I tell you I just read 1 or 2 books? 🙂
But I am planning to read more this month.
x
Bettie
http://www.thewildflowerhippie.com
Bettie recently posted…How to boost your self-esteem
We sometimes forget how amazing it is! But there are so many amazing books and there just isn’t enough time to read all of them haha. Every book you read is great so no shame in reading 1 or 2 at all 🙂 Hope you have a lovely reading month!
Wow that’s a lot of books. Some great sounding ones too. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!!
Yay! The Princess and the Fangirl was awesome! I think I liked it more than Geekerella 😀 Happy May!
Brittany recently posted…The Contest of Covers!
Yay, happy you loved The Princess and the Fangirl so much! I really need to read more books set at cons <3 I own Queens of Geek and should read it SOON!
Y’all have given me a lot to think about adding to my TBR! Hope you both have a great reading month in May!
We aim to please 😉 Thank you, happy reading to you too!