April 2022 Monthly Reading Wrap Up

[Jessica]

Hello and welcome to another reading wrap up! As a reminder, this year I’ve decided to partake in the PopSugar Reading Challenge, which is a set of 50 prompts which you read a book to match, so I’ll be including those prompts and my progress in these wrap ups. For more info check this website: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen....
I’m currently at 14/50 for the PopSugar Challenge.
Now onto the Wrap Up!

This month I read…

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn- I listened to this on Audio. So, I enjoyed most of this book but just like with the Duke and I there were some things that made me giggle at the absurdity of it and roll my eyes. I’ve decided for now to put a hold on reading this series and maybe come back to it later. Maybe I can only take regency romances in small doses?

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur- I really enjoyed this one. Adorable little Rom-Com with Fake Dating and Enemies to Lovers troupes and a super easy read. I got pretty invested in the characters and their stories, even the side characters so I'm glad the author has written two other books in this series.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A sapphic book.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson- I loved this one too. I was glued to it trying to figure out what was going to happen next and where the story was going. I will say I was way more interested in Pippa's project logs and info about the murder than I was about what she was doing, but by the end it's all tied together nicely.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book with a misleading title.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah- I listened to this on Audio. I’ve only read two Kristin Hannah books, but it might be time to add her to my liked authors list and start working my way through her books. She writes wonderful and heartbreaking historical fiction, and the two I’ve read have strong women at the center. She did a great job of putting you in the world of 1970’s middle of nowhere Alaska in this book. I enjoyed the setting, characters, and plot. I would have loved to see a little gray area with the character of Tom Walker, because that could have added an interesting sub-plot. It was still great regardless and I definitely recommend it.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt- This was is hard. On one hand, it was very well written with an interesting premise and fascinating historical peeks into Savannah, Georgia; on the other hand, it was still flat out boring for about 60%-70% of the book. Most of the little bits didn't seem like they had much to do with what the story was supposed to be about, so don't read it expecting a true crime book like I did. The people in the book, while they are supposed to be, seemed like extreme characterizations of themselves that took away from realism for me. The parts that were good were great, but the rest was just blah.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book set in the 1980’s.

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark- This is a fascinating historically based fantasy novella. I almost read it one sitting it was that captivating. The author does an incredible amount of world and character building in a short 180 pages. Definitely worth a read.
This was for the Popsugar Prompt: A book with an onomatopoeia in the title.

What did you read this month? Be sure to share down below!

Happy Reading!

[Erin]

Oh, there are definitely genres I love, but have to take in small doses, and regency romances is one of them. I feel for you there. Glad you enjoyed Ring Shout.

As for me, tax season chewed up half of April and editing books the second half so only five books got finished.

I finished catching up on the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series with Inflection Point, Conspiracy Theory, and Comes A Reckoning. John G. Hartness is a local writer and Conspiracy Theory is written in 2020. I think it was his therapy for the racial riots. He changed the monsters and military for urban fantasy material - but so much of it matched up to real life, it made it a very hard read. Still, it works as a fictional story and fits in with his series.

To round out the month I read a non-fiction book on how to make a Deck (thinking about building a ramp to the house) and a rather pitiful science-fiction romance with insta-pregnancy and the women stay home and the men are the action heroes.

[Jessica]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! haha. When I first finished The Viscount Who Love Me I was set against continuing with the series, but as time as gone by I'm definitely open to continuing on. Maybe in a few months, haha.

I've read a few books recently that hit a little to close to real life. It can be hard when those tough memories and feeling around them are still fresh.