May 2022 | Wrap-Up

 Hello! And welcome to my May 2022 wrap-up featuring The Final Book Support Group. I actually had the worst reading month I've had in years in May. I only read 8 books, with a total of 3149 pages. Like I said, not great for me. The main reason for this was that I've been extremely stressed with work and, when I get stressed, it really affects my anxiety, and when I'm anxious, the one thing I can't do is read. I'm really sad that I've barely read this month but I'm trying not to beat myself up too much and just focus on next month's TBR and (even more excitingly) Whateverathon! So keep an eye out for that TBR!

 So without further ado here is my May Wrap-Up.

May Wrap-Up and Reviews!

 1. Who Killed Ruby? by Camilla Way ★★★.5

I've had this book on my kobo account for years now so I thought it was about time I got around to reading this. This book follows Vivienne, a woman whose sister, Ruby, was killed when she was only a child. Vivienne gave crucial evidence that helped convict the murderer. But, was the killer she accused actually the person who murdered Ruby? Around 30 years later, she is now a single mother working in London, but the anniversary of Ruby's death is coming up and Vivienne starts receiving sinister messages from someone telling her to expose the real killer. Vivienne is terrified for herself and her daughter, and becomes desperate to discover the secrets of her past. This book did surprise me in a good way. The writing was very good and this was one of the most compelling thrillers I've read in a while. I ended up reading it in two sittings because I couldn't put it down. Unfortunately, the twist didn't surprise me and the ending felt a little bit lacklustre because of that. I also felt like the book suffered from too many perspectives at times. However, I think if you're someone who hasn't read a lot of thrillers, you'll really enjoy this and you might not guess the twist at the end. I also think Camilla Way is a very good writer and I will 100% be reading more from her in the future.

2. The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

I absolutely adored this book. I can't say too much about it because it's the third book in a series but it was fantastic. This is a western/steampunk about Wax and Wayne who attempt to right wrongs in their society through a mixture of allomancy and police work. I genuinely thought this was the final book in this 'trilogy' but I've now found out that Sanderson intends to write more in this series. It also makes sense because although the ending was very satisfying, there were a few loose threads that would be good to be explored. I loved the character development in these books, especially Steris - she is amazing! Wayne's quips were so well-timed that this book had be laughing out loud. This book fully interweaves the Mistborn Trilogy as well and it's so good to still see plot twists from that world coming to play in this one. I highly recommend this series for anyone who enjoyed the Mistborn Trilogy. However, now I have to just sit and eagerly await the next book.

3. The Chosen by Taran Matharu ★★★.5

I decided to pick this trilogy up this month because I adored Taran Matharu's previous Summoner series. That book had literally everything I love in a fantasy and I was hoping I would enjoy this series just as much. Sadly, I didn't but that definitely doesn't make it a bad series. This book follows Cade Carter, convicted of a crime he didn't commit, he is facing a year in reform school when he finds himself suddenly transported to another realm. But this new world is no escape. Populated by bloodthirsty prehistoric creatures and fierce warriors, Cade's surroundings are full of danger. Along with his fellow students, Cade is forces to become a contender in a deadly game of the highest stakes, controlled by invisible overlords. I really did like the premise and world of this series. I loved the historical objects taken out of time and some of the characters were really interesting. Unfortunately, the overarching story just didn't do it for me, and some of the characters felt very flat (especially since there were so many to keep track of to begin with). I think younger teenagers could really enjoy this series, but it just okay for me.

4. The Challenger by Taran Matharu ★★★

This is the sequel to The Chosen, which I talked about above. I don't have much more to say, although I did enjoy the setting of this book even more than the previous one, the climax of the book overall felt ridiculously short. I think it only lasted around 10 pages and it felt out of place from the rest of the story. Again, some of the characters were good, especially their trainer, but others just remained so two-dimensional that I couldn't tell them apart. I will say that all of these books also had great diversity, which was good to see, but it's just a shame that the pacing of the plot felt so off in this one.

5. The Champion by Taran Matharu ★★★

And this was the final book in the Contendor trilogy. Unfortunately, I think this was my least favourite, although, again, I still don't think these are bad books. The setting of this book totally changed and the remaining characters weren't all my favourites. I also felt like the overarching plot (which I don't want to spoil) just felt odd and, similar to the previous book, the pacing of the action felt off. I do think this could end up being a new favourite for some and I just wish I'd liked the tropes more. The ending felt strange to me too because I was hoping for less of an open-ending with a YA action book like this. I would  definitely recommend giving the first book a shot, but if you don't like it then I wouldn't suggest continuing as the tone of the books never change.

6. White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson ★★★★

I decided to pick this up because I read Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson not too long ago and it became one of my favourite thrillers of all time. This is marketed as a horror/psychological thriller and I've been so excited to pick it up. White Smoke follows Marigold, whose family move to give both her and the family a fresh start. They arrive at the renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street... but it sits between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbours who may or may not have secrets of their own. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper, her kid sister, keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.

Overall, this book was fantastic. The atmosphere was on point, the characters were so well-developed, believable, and flawed without being unlikable. I read this in one sitting and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The twist was fantastic and I loved the way everything tied together in the end. It also explored so many systemic issues, particularly around racism. The only reason this book didn't get 5 stars was the ending for me. While the twist was great, the ending itself didn't feel like it gave me enough closure. I wanted to see what happened next, not just with Mari and her family, but also the entire neighbourhood and surrounding area. In particular though, I wanted to see some people apologise to the main characters for ignoring their worries for so long. That lack of closure just brought it down for me, but it was a brilliant book overall and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good psychological thriller.

7. Night Shift by Stephen King ★★★.5

This book has been on my TBR for years. If you've read my blog posts over the past few years, you'll know I try to read a few Stephen King books a year to try and make my way through his backlog. I've read a few short story collections by King before, but usually each book only contains 4-6. This collection of short stories contained 20 and they were all a lot shorter. I rated all the short stories and averaged those ratings to give the overall book 3.5 stars. I really loved some of the stories, while others I was bored or now struggle to remember. They all felt very reminiscent of Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected which I felt similar about as well. I'll give a star rating for each story below but I won't go into too much detail as I think we'd be here forever!

1. Jerusalem's Lot - 4 stars. A great prequel to Salem's Lot that I previously read. Very gothic.

2. Graveyard Shift - 3 stars. Relatively interesting.

3. Night Surf - 2 stars. I found this quite boring.

4. I am the Doorway - 2 stars. I found this quite boring.

5. The Mangler - 4 stars. Very dark but I liked the premise of this one.

6. The Boogeyman  - 4 stars. Loved the ending of this one.

7. Gray Matter - 3 stars.

8. Battleground - 2 stars

9. Trucks - 3 stars

10. Sometimes They Come Back - 5 stars. A terrifying idea.

11. Strawberry Spring - 4 stars

12. The Ledge - 5 stars. This felt very Dahl-esque

13. The Lawnmower Man - 3 stars. Mostly very weird.

14. Quitters, Inc. - 5 stars. So very twisted.

15. I Know What You Need - 4 stars.

16. Children of the Corn - 3 stars. (I can't be the only one who could just see the South Park episode in my head, right?).

17. The Last Rung on the Ladder - 4 stars.

18. The Man Who Loved Flowers - 4 stars.

19. One for the Road - 4 stars.

20. The Woman in the Room - 2 stars.

8. You Had me at Hola by Alexis Daria ★★★

I decided to pick up a lighter romance book towards the end of the month, since I was feeling slumpy and anxious. I had an an ebook copy so it felt easier to pick up on my phone while I was feeling like that. This book follows two actors, Jasmine and Ashton. After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to her hometown of New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy for the number one streaming service in the country, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy enough to follow—until a casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez. After his last telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career is dead as well. Joining this new cast as a last-minute addition will give him the chance to show off his acting chops to American audiences and ping the radar of Hollywood casting agents. To make it work, he’ll need to generate smoking-hot on-screen chemistry with Jasmine.

But of course, the characters get off on the wrong foot and, as with all romances, there's a bit of miscommunication to keep them apart. Overall, this was a light, enjoyable read. The diversity was refreshing and interesting to read about, especially about casting diverse leading roles. Unfortunately, the third act break-up was a bit frustrating in this one and I feel like we didn't get to see enough of Jasmine and Ashton's families. Their relationships were so interesting and I just wanted more of them. Overall, I really liked this romance and I think if you're a fan of TV shows/celebrities, you'll probably enjoy this book.

So those are the 8 books I ended up reading in May! Let me know if you've read any of them and what you thought about them. How much did you read in May? Let me know below. I hope everyone had a good reading month!

June 2022 | TBR FEAT. Whateverathon

This is just a short post to show my TBR for June 2022. My May Wrap-up will be coming in the next few days so keep an eye out for that! This month I'll be participating in the Whateverathon Readathon (created by Maddie from BookBrowsingBlog) and I'm hoping to read as many books as possible for my team (the Shelf Slayers!).

My general plan is to read around 15 books in June (or more if I manage!) so there are more smaller books on the TBR this month. Without further ado, here are the books I plan on reading:

1. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

2. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

3. 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

4. Jade City by Fonda Lee

5. Jade War by Fonda Lee

6. Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

7. The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal

8. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

9. The Fever King by Victoria Lee

10. The Electric Heir by Victoria Lee

11. Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

12. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

13. Wranglestone by Darren Charlton

14. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

So that's my TBR for June! Not too intimidating, but I'm hoping to read more than I did last month so long as work and my mental health allows. Please shout at me if I haven't finished the Green Bone Saga by the end of this month because it's been on three TBR's now and it's getting ridiculous.

Let me know what you're reading and if you've read any of these books. Also, are you participating in any readathons this month? Let me know if you are! (pssstt... join Team Shelf Slayers for Whateverathon).

May TBR 2022 | Feat. Final Book Support Group & Mood Read May

This is just a short post to show my TBR for May 2022. My April Wrap-up will be coming in the next few days so keep an eye out for that! This month I'll be participating in the Final Book Support Group (created by Steph from StephLoves), but I've deliberately chosen a very light TBR so I can mood read for some of May. I also have slightly less time to read this month because I'll be on holiday for 4-5 days with little time for reading.

My general plan is to read between 10-15 books in May (or more if I manage!). So, without further ado, here are the books I plan on reading:

1. Who Killed Ruby? by Camilla Way

2. The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

3. Jade City by Fonda Lee

4. Jade War by Fonda Lee

5. Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

6. The Chosen by Taran Matharu

7. The Challenger by Taran Matharu

8. The Champion by Taran Matharu

9. Night Shift by Stephen King

So that's my TBR for May! Quite short, but I'm hoping to read more than this as the month goes on. Let me know what you're reading and if you've read any of these books. Also, are you participating in any readathons this month? Let me know if you are!

April 2022 | Wrap-Up

Hello! And welcome to my April 2022 wrap-up featuring The Orilium Magical Readathon. Below are some small, spoiler-free reviews of the books I read this month along with star ratings. I ended up reading 16 books this month, with a total of 5735 pages, which means I completed every prompt for the Magical Readathon! A couple of the books I read were different to my original TBR and I also read a couple of extra books.

 So without further ado here is my April Wrap-Up.

April Wrap-Up and Reviews!

 1. The Comfort Book by Matt Haig ★★★★.5

This is one of Matt Haig's non-fiction books about depression and anxiety. I've already read his other two non-fiction books and loved them so I was looking forward to this one as well, and I was not disappointed. The book itself is split into very small chapters/bitesize chunks that can be read in or out of order. It's mostly a lot of feel-good affirmations and lists, but overall it's just a lovely comforting book (as the title promises), and it's so useful for people who are suffering with a mental illness. I highly recommend this if you've ever had anxiety or depression and just need a pick-me-up.

2. The River of Silver by S.A. Chakraborty ★★★★

I didn't expect to pick this up this month as I hadn't even realised it had been released, but since I read The City of Brass trilogy last month, I thought I may as well finish it up with this book. This is a collection of short stories set in the Daevabad World from The City of Brass. I can't say too much without spoilers, but it follows a few characters previous to the first book, and it also shows some perspectives of characters we haven't seen from before. It didn't add too move to the story overall but it was enjoyable being back with these characters so I'd still give it a 4 star and I recommend it to anyone who's read the original trilogy.

3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (re-read) ★★★★

I read this book for the first time in 2015 but never read the sequel, so I decided to give this a re-read to see if I still enjoyed it and to refresh my memory. This is a fanfiction from a story in Rainbow Rowell's other book Fangirl (which I also really loved), and it's basically a parody of the magic school/chosen one trope. We follow Simon Snow (the Chosen One) and his best friend, Penelope, and their adventures saving the world of magic. But Simon is apparently the worst Chosen One that's ever been Chosen, and he has to share a room with his worst enemy and vampire roommate, Baz. But are Baz's and Simon's feelings for one another purely hatred? Or is it something else? This is primarily a fantasy romance and, to be honest, I found it as enjoyable on re-read as I did the first time around. Once you embrace the obvious clichés and absurdity, you can see that the story and characters themselves are really well done. Overall, an enjoyable read, but, as you'll soon see, I don't recommend picking up the sequel and it should probably be read as a stand-alone.

4. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell ★★

After enjoying Carry On so much, I thought it was time to finally pick up the sequel after owning it for years. Unfortunately, this was a huge miss for me. I understand the importance of showing the trauma of the characters from the previous book, but it felt like all of the development from the first book had just vanished. The characters were also more unlikeable in general. The road trip aspect was interesting in theory, but again, it ended up falling flat. It felt like nothing happened in this book: driving, they get captured, they escape, driving, they get captured, they escape, etc. etc. It was just that on repeat and it got so boring I was tempted to DNF it. The only reason I didn't was because it was such a short book. Agatha's plotline also felt weirdly tagged on and I really disliked the new character that was added midway through the book (who was an obviously inserted love interest for one character). I definitely won't be finishing this series and I'm just going to pretend that Carry On was a standalone because it really didn't feel like it needed a sequel.

5. The Hope of Elantris by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★

I picked up this short story since I'd already read Elantris a few years ago and just never got around to this before. This is a story set in the world of Elantris and it's only 25 pages long so I can't say much about it. I will say that if you've read Elantris then I recommend picking this up as it's an enjoyable and fun little read.

6. Book Lovers by Emily Henry ★★★★.5

I received an arc of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley and I have a full review of the book here.  I loved this book. Nora is a wonderful character - she's incredibly witty and I loved her dry humour. I also really liked that we got to see this badass, powerful woman and how good she is at her job, but we also saw her insecurities, especially about how others perceive her. Sadly, the book didn't quite get 5 stars like her previous ones but that's because I felt like we didn't see quite enough of the love interest to get as fully invested in him as we did with her previous books. That might just be a me thing though! The romance overall was still well done and I did really like the way Nora and Charlie interacted with one another when they were together, I just wish we'd seen a bit more of it.

7. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North ★★★★.5

This book shocked me so much. Before reading it, I really though this would end up being a DNF or a 2/3 star read but I ended up loving it. This is a sci-fi novel that follows Harry August, a person who is reborn and lives the same life again and again and remembers everything from his previous lives. This happens 11 times until something finally changes. As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. This is the story of what Harry does next. Honestly, this was very reminiscent of Blake Crouch's writing and the repercussions of how you could change the world if you already knew what would happen. Don't let the historical fiction aspect of this put you off at the start, the plot is so thrilling and has so many twists that it keeps you turning the page to find out what happens next!

8. Circe by Madeline Miller ★★★★★

Again, this is another book I wasn't sure if I'd actually enjoy, but for different reasons. Mostly because I only have a basic understanding of Greek mythology so I wasn't sure if I'd have enough context to enjoy the book. Thankfully, Madeline Miller does a fantastic job of telling Circe's story and I was so invested the entire time I was reading this book. The book itself is a retelling of Circe's story from The Odyssey. In the original tale, Circe is portrayed as a terrifying witch and is only seen for a few pages. However, in this book we see so much more of her character and the things she went through. Circe is a strange child - not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power - the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. Miller's writing is so beautiful and this story is so well told; I highly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in Greek mythology.

9. Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson ★★★.5

This is my second Leah Johnson book and she is a great YA contemporary writer. The book follows Olivia, an expert at falling in love... and being dumped, and Toni, who is one week away from starting a college she doesn't want to to and reeling from the loss of her father. When the two meet at a music festival, they team up to win two competitions, but it becomes so much more complicated than they bargained for, and Olivia and Toni will find that they need each other, and music, more than they ever could have imagined. I did really enjoy this book and the way it was told, but I just wasn't the right audience for this book sadly. I'm not hugely into music so the festival aspect didn't really appeal to me very much. However, the character diversity of queer black girls was incredible to see, and I loved the friendships between all the characters. Olivia could be quite selfish and unlikeable at times and, while it's refreshing to see realistic characters, it can be frustrating to read from their point-of-view when you see them make huge mistakes. Overall, this book has a lot to offer and it's a fantastic addition to the YA world.

10. Middlegame by Seanan McGuire ★★★★★ (re-read)

This was a solid 5 star re-read. Seanan McGuire is one of my favourite authors and I decided to re-read this book because I received an arc of Seasonal Fears - the sequel to Middlegame - and wanted to make sure I didn't miss/forget anything. Middlegame is a pretty complex book so it's hard to explain it easily so I think I'll use the Goodreads summary for this one: 

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

As with all McGuire's books, this is beautifully written and the characters are so rich. She delves into so many important topics through her fantasy and interweaves them flawlessly. Roger, Dodger, and Erin are so interesting to read from and I loved the math/language divide and how it all comes together in the end. 10/10 recommend this to everyone.

11. The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

I've genuinely been putting off reading this series for years, and I now have no idea why. After I finished the Mistborn trilogy in 2015, I bought this book, which is the first in a trilogy that follows Mistborn. But I'd heard this was set 300 years in the future and was more of a Western and, while that's true, it's also so much more than that. Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks... 

This book has a brilliant mystery to it and I was immediately hooked by Sanderson's writing from the moment I started. I loved being back in this world with this magic system. Wax and Wayne are both hilarious and the Steampunk vibe was on point. If you've been hesitant to pick this book up after reading Mistborn, I recommend just starting it. You'll soon see that Sanderson has outdone himself with yet another epic plot and brilliant characters.

12. Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff ★★★

This is a YA sci-fi written by the same authors who wrote the Illuminae Files, so I decided to give it a go. It's not mixed media like the Illuminae books, but their sci-fi plots are usually very good. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. While the worldbuilding wasn't great, the characters and representation were very well done. I love sci-fi's with found families and this covered that so well. The only downside was that a lot of characters were introduced very quickly and I don't feel like we were given enough time to get to know them as well as I would've liked. In this book, it's 2380 and the graduating students of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Tyler Jones has been a star pupil who hopes to recruit the squad of his dreams but ends up with a mixed and volatile crew. And Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem – that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from inter-dimensional space. Trapped in cryosleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler's squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy. Overall, it's a fun sci-fi, if that's what you're looking for, but it just lacked some depth for me. I probably won't continue with the series but it was a fun read.

13. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo ★★★ 

I hadn't actually planned on picking this up this month, but I saw it on Scribd and decided to give it a go. This novella was beautifully written and it really read like a fairytale. The biggest downside for me was just how short it was; I would've loved a longer story to get to know the characters and world even better. This is a fantasy novella set in an empire reminiscent of Imperial China. A feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece. Overall I thought this was so well written and I do recommend it for fans of novellas.

14. Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire ★★★.5 

I received an arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. You can see my full spoiler-free review for this book here so I'll keep this mini review very short. I adored Middlegame so I had really high hopes for this sequel. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to the first book. I think it was a combination of the different characters, their relationship, the over-explanations, and the ending to this one that brought it down for me. I do still love this world and McGuire's writing but this sadly wasn't a favourite of mine. Again, more thoughts can be seen in my review. 

15. Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★ 

This is the sequel to The Alloy of Law which I read earlier in the month and I absolutely loved both of them. I can't say much about the plot of this one without spoilers, but I will say that I really liked the mystery aspect of this book and, although I saw the twist coming at the end, it was still spectacularly well done. Wax and Wayne are just brilliant characters and I adored seeing the tie in to the previous books. I highly recommend this series to fans of Mistborn. 

16. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman ★★★.5

This was another book I hadn't actually planned on picking this up this month, but my friend lent it to me so I thought I'd pick it up sooner rather than later. This book took me completely by surprise. I was under the assumption that this was a stereotypical contemporary novel about a woman in her thirties. While this is partly true, it also explores much deeper and darker topics (I recommend looking up a full list of trigger warnings but off the top of my head they include: mental health - PTSD/Anxiety/Depression, death, fire, scarring, abusive parents, fatphobia, physical abuse, animal abuse, attempted murder, attempted suicide, alcoholism, etc.). At first I didn't think I would like the book at all because Eleanor seems to be deeply unlikeable in the first few chapters. However, the more we see of her and learn about her past, the more we realise how she became who she currently is. I loved that this didn't really feature any romance and instead focused on the loneliness people can suffer in their thirties, and the friendships that can still be made. Overall, this book ended up being heart-warming and the exploration of mental health was very well done. 

So those are the 16 books I ended up reading in April! Let me know if you've read any of them and what you thought about them. How much did you read in April? Let me know below. I hope everyone had a good reading month!

BOOK REVIEW | Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire

Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Publication Date: 3rd May 2022

My Rating: ★★★.5

Goodreads Page

Blurb:

Melanie has a destiny, though it isn't the one everyone assumes it to be. She's delicate; she's fragile; she's dying. Now, truly, is the winter of her soul.

Harry doesn't want to believe in destiny, because that means accepting the loss of the one person who gives his life meaning, who brings summer to his world.

So, when a new road is laid out in front of them - a road that will lead through untold dangers toward a possible lifetime together - walking down it seems to be the only option.

But others are following behind, with violence in their hearts.

It looks like Destiny has a plan for them, after all...

"One must maintain a little bit of summer even in the middle of winter." - Thoreau

**Spoiler-Free Review**

I received this book from Macmillan/Tor via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book because Middlegame was easily one of my favourite books of last year. Roger and Dodger's story has stayed with me since I read it. Seanan McGuire is also one of my favourite writers; her books are so lyrically written and incredibly diverse.

I did enjoy this book a lot, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Middlegame, sadly. Let's start with what I liked. The embodiment of the seasons was such a cool concept and McGuire wrote it beautifully. The battle for the crown was a clever idea and the way different people fought for the crown was so interesting. I adored the brief cameos that we got of the characters from the first book. I like that we got to see more of the Alchemists and some more backstory on Reed too.

I loved Jack and Jenny and their role in the whole Coronation. They were probably the most interesting characters even though we didn't get to see a whole lot of Jenny. As with all of McGuire's books, this was beautifully written and was a joy to read even when not a whole lot was happening. I'm so interested to see how this series is going to tie together overall.

A big part of what I didn't enjoy that was down to the over-explanation of the Seasons and the Coronation. I understand that McGuire wanted the reader to learn about the world, and there that there was a plot reason for the amount of explanation, but it just got so boring and tiring in the first 40% of this book when the same explanation happened over and over again. Very little else happened at the start of the book other than this.

Mel and Harry were also a lot less interesting as characters as Roger and Dodger too, which pulled this down a little. I think part of it was that Roger and Dodger were so powerful and you didn't see what was happening to them until much later in the book, while this book was very straightforward and the character's didn't seem to have much power. Their romantic relationship also felt a little odd to me, mostly because it was pre-established so we never got to see them growing into their relationship together.

The ending was also slightly lacklustre. I think this is probably my bad though because I assumed it would be as twisty and mind-blowing as Middlegame but it was overall a much slower paced book instead. I think if I hadn't had those expectations already, I would've enjoyed it more.

Overall, this was a good installment in the series and if you like Seanan McGuire then you'll probably enjoy this book. I'm really looking forward to seeing where she takes this series next and I'll definitely still be picking up the next book.

BOOK REVIEW | Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Publication Date: 3rd May 2022

My Rating: ★★★★.5

Goodreads Page

Blurb:

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

**Spoiler-Free Review**

I received this book from Penguin Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested this book because I have absolutely adored Emily Henry's previous two books and I've been looking forward to this one since I heard about it.

First thing's first, I loved this book. Nora is a wonderful character - she's incredibly witty and I loved her dry humour. I also really liked that we got to see this badass, powerful woman and how good she is at her job, but we also saw her insecurities, especially about how others perceive her. It's so important that we see more of the double-standard that's expected of women in the working world to be strong but not too strong, or else you're a threat. Emily Henry captured this feeling perfectly and it was brilliant seeing that Nora never gave up anything to be herself, both in her personal life and home life.

The banter between her and her sister was also on point throughout. I really enjoyed the intrigue throughout the book about Libby and her life as well; it really kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. The list was a great addition and I always love when contemporaries add challenges like this with their characters. I liked the small town setting romance mixed with hints of why the main character loves the city - it really felt like a breath of fresh air to see the two sides to it.

Sadly, the book didn't quite get 5 stars like her previous ones but that's because I felt like we didn't see quite enough of the love interest to get as fully invested in him as we did with her previous books. That might just be a me thing though! The romance overall was still well done and I did really like the way Nora and Charlie interacted with one another when they were together, I just wish we'd seen a bit more of it.

Overall, this was a fantastic adult contemporary for anyone who needs a good laugh and wants to see the small-town romance flipped on its head. I will 100% be picking up any future books from Emily Henry and I highly recommend you try this one out.