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April 2017 in Reflection - Best and Worst Reads
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I had several books I really enjoyed in April, but the only 5 star was a reread in audio this time! I love Harry Potter so I am making my way through the series in audio this time, April was time for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! Of course that was 5 stars!The other standouts were:
The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen - Loving this series!
Stuck-Up Suit by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward - Fun and sweet!
All You Need by Lorelei James - Love this one and this series!
Red Dirt Heart 2 by N.R. Walker - So good, want more audios!!
Twist by Kylie Scott - Her writing works for me!
When the Duke Returns by Eloisa James - Enjoyable series and I liked this one a lot!
No real clinkers for me in April - yay!
April was a great month for some very good reads...my 5 star reads were
books I was really looking forward to but were a disappointment
and the book I hated
Seven 5 star books - great month indeed! Even if there were some disappointments in the mix. =)
I read a new author Grace Livingston Hill and loved her book April Gold. The worst I read was Return To Earth and left negative review on Goodreads and Amazon.
My favorite read of April was Fast Connection. I have my eye on the other books in this series now :)The only clunker I had for April was Organic Chemistry. It didn't work for me. The MCs just didn't click, and I couldn't get into their relationship the way I would have liked to. Brendon and Josh just moved too fast, and didn't feel authentic to me.
I had a bunch of other titles in April that I liked, with these being the best of them-
The Stocking was Hung
Stripped Down
How to Howl at the Moon
I haven't read your favorite, but I have all the other ones you liked and I loved those too!
Here are some that stand out (either good or bad!)5-stars
- what a great hero (title is a total misnomer!)my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4-stars
- very good and super hot! (supposedly 10 in a series but I read it without reading anything else and didn't get lost.)my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2-stars
- didn't like much about the book - even though the plot was very depressing, the hero had this very inappropriate humor. It didn't fit the book at all.my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The rest were a bunch of 3-stars, some better than others...
D.G. wrote: "Here are some that stand out (either good or bad!)5-stars
- what a great hero (title is a total misnomer!)my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
I read Stuck-Up Suit by the same author last month and really enjoyed it! The hero lived up to the title on the outside, but when you got to know him, he was great!
April was a great reading month for me!My standouts were:
and
Only one disappointing read this month!
I haven't started that series by J.R. Ward yet, but I love the BDB! I just started The Chosen this week! =)
I'm on an Alice Clayton kick. Loved, loved, loved these:
and
Both 5 stars from me.
My 5 star read this month was 
~ heartwarming with such sweet MCs.And the 4 stars that just missed out on the 5 star but not by much (the first one may get bumped on a reread :)
My least enjoyable reads were
~ messy writing without a lot of direction.
Fran wrote: "My favorite read of April was Fast Connection. I have my eye on the other books in this series now :)..."I've read the first book and loved it. Just haven't got around to buying Fast Connection yet :D
My favorites for April:5 stars -
4.5 stars -
None of these surprised me since they are all authors (and/or series) that I already love.
My least favorite of the month was a book I read for a F2F book club. Although I didn't care for the negativity of the book, we did have a lively discussion:
Stina wrote: "I'm on an Alice Clayton kick. Loved, loved, loved these:and
Both 5 stars from me."
I just finished Wallbanger as well! Such a good read! :D
MountainKat wrote: "I haven't started that series by J.R. Ward yet, but I love the BDB! I just started The Chosen this week! =)"Lovin' the BDB series. I cannot wait to read more of them this month! :)
I have so stalled on the BDB series ~ I wasn't too happy with Lover Enshrined, and Lover Mine and Lover Avenged just couldn't pull me back on course ;)Fortunately there are so many good books out there, that I've happily moved on to other series, although I'd love to read Lover at Last just cos its MM and I'd like to see how Ward handles it.
I had some great reads for April too :D5 stars
Jane (PS) wrote: "I have so stalled on the BDB series ~ I wasn't too happy with Lover Enshrined, and Lover Mine and Lover Avenged just couldn't pull me back on course ;)Oh, no! I've only read the first three and I wondered if they could really keep my interest as well. Most series seem to lose their spark over time.
I did not know that about Lover at Last! Even if the series starts to drag maybe I can keep pulling through until that book. That intrigues me! :)
April was a good month for me. I didn't have any really bad reads.My star reads for April were:
The Grumpface - this was a brilliant book. It used rhyming poetry to tell the story and this combined with the absolutely brilliant pictures made it an awesome book.
my review: The Grumpface review
Still Waiting: Hope for When God Doesn't Give You What You Want - another really good book. It takes a little bit of time to get into but persevering is so worth the effort.
my review: Still Waiting review
Both these authors are new to me and will be added to some of my favourites.
Whitney wrote: "Jane (PS) wrote: "I have so stalled on the BDB series ~ I wasn't too happy with Lover Enshrined, and Lover Mine and Lover Avenged just couldn't pull me ..."Most ppl love this series, so don't worry too much about what's ahead. You may well continue to love them :D
The BDB really went off the rails for a bit, but I kept reading and think they have gotten better. This last book was interesting, I was never a fan of the pairing, but it did bring about a lot of changes. Getting to see the original couples go through some bumps is interesting too - just like real life. There was one thing in this book that I was unhappy with, you will know it if you read it but I'm not going to spoil it. I'm sure it has a purpose, but it wasn't revealed in this one...
Jane (PS) wrote: "Whitney wrote: "Jane (PS) wrote: "I have so stalled on the BDB series ~ I wasn't too happy with Lover Enshrined, and Lover Mine and Lover Avenged just c..."I hope so. :)
MountainKat wrote: "The BDB really went off the rails for a bit, but I kept reading and think they have gotten better. This last book was interesting, I was never a fan of the pairing, but it did bring about a lot of ..."See - that's what I was afraid of. Some times series get dragged out when they should have ended like 5 books ago. I am sure that I will stick with them because I hate not finishing anything I start.
Hmmm, I can't wait to read about what you are referring too. I guess I will have to keep my book reflection post updated so we can discuss. :D
Whitney wrote: "See - that's what I was afraid of. Some times series get dragged out when they should have ended like 5 books ago. I am sure that I will stick with them because I hate not finishing anything I start."That isn't what I was saying, I actually thought Lover Enshrined was the worst and things gradually got better from there. As usual, a few ups and down but I think that is as much personal preferences.
MountainKat wrote: "Whitney wrote: "See - that's what I was afraid of. Some times series get dragged out when they should have ended like 5 books ago. I am sure that I will stick with them because I hate not finishing..."Thanks for clarifying. Yes, I agree; it all boils down to personal preferences.
It did get better after LoverEnshrined (and it was great up to that point) ~ I just lost interest ;)
MountainKat wrote: "I haven't started that series by J.R. Ward yet, but I love the BDB! I just started The Chosen this week! =)"It is very different from the BDB, but it is so good, and the heroine is from Caldwell NY, and her name is Lizzy King. ;)
That's funny Amber! But it would suck in her fans. =)
Glad your computer is working again! That is quite a list, both good and not so good - definitely more good though!
Looks like you had a pretty good month overall Amber :D
I gave up on BDB after book 8 and decided to stop there. From the comments I've read for the rest of the books, I'm very happy I did!It seems to me that nobody is writing new PNR these days...am I wrong? All the new books that come out are just continuations of old series and most of them are books 10+...
I'm sure there are new series out there, but most of the ones I'm reading are continuations of older ones.
D.G. wrote: "I gave up on BDB after book 8 and decided to stop there. From the comments I've read for the rest of the books, I'm very happy I did!It seems to me that nobody is writing new PNR these days...am ..."
Huh - I hadn't noticed that, but I think you are on to something!
my 5 star read for May is Lauren Blakely's Joy Ride. It was a definite joy to read. Their chemistry sizzling! Max may be a man's man, but he also showed enough humility to ask for help when he became clueless about how to handle his relationship with Henley. I loved Henley and how she stood out in a field dominated by men. She was feisty and independent, but still a romantic girly girl after work. Lauren Blakely will be part of my automatic read list.
My worst read was Alexa Riley's Devotion. It was my first time to read a book by this author and I don't think I'll be reading anything from her again. I love alpha billionaires but this book's MC was just creepy. Sorry.
D.G. wrote: "I gave up on BDB after book 8 and decided to stop there. From the comments I've read for the rest of the books, I'm very happy I did!It seems to me that nobody is writing new PNR these days...am ..."
Ilona Andrews wrote on her blog about the hidden legacy trilogy:
Will there be more than three books?
It depends on sales. There was a significant break between the releases and paranormal/UF is in decline, so the deck is stacked against it. We’ll know next week, when the first sales numbers come in, if this series is alive or dead."
Romance Readers Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Joy Ride (other topics)The Chosen (other topics)
Lover Enshrined (other topics)
Lover Avenged (other topics)
Lover Mine (other topics)
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I know I can get so focused on what is next that I forget about all the wonderful books I read for the previous month's challenges! Holy Carp - how did May get here already?! School is entering the final stretch for the young and not so young too. And people are starting to get summer on their minds. Mother's Day is right around the corner, how do you celebrate? What are your favorite summer books to help get everyone's TBR full for the months ahead?
Did you find some gems last month? DNF a few? Find your new book boyfriend or a heroine who personifies TSTL? Come on, we all want to know! What were your standouts for April? Are you looking forward to anything special in May?