What did you read in April?

[ufcasey]

What books did you read in the month of April? Ratings/Reviews/Recommendations?

[tacokick]

Between Two Strangers by Kate White (ok)

The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai (the first half was better than the rest)

The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor (interesting idea)

On Flowers: Lessons from an Accidental Florist by Amy Merrick (ok)

A Distant Grave by Sarah Stewart Taylor (doesn’t deal with fallout from the first book!)

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin (more fleshed out than the movie)

He Said He Would Be Late by Justine Sullivan (enjoyable)

The Drowning Sea by Sarah Stewart Taylor (ok)

A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor (ok)

The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela (uneven)

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose (bad)

Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman (good)

You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith (sort of danced around some details)

A Cold and Lonely Place by Sarah J Henry (ok)

Owner of a Lonely Heart: A Memoir by Beth Nguyen (always like her books!)

We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin (ok)

Out of the Ashes by Kara Thomas ( disappointing)

Congratulations, The Best Is Over! By R. Eric Thomas (I find this man mystifying)

Summer of Fall by Laura Lippman (the dirt on her divorce from David Simon)

Good Girls Don’t by Mara Wilson (not good)

Rememberings by Sinéad O’Connor (a wild ride)

Come with Me by Erin Flanagan (not bad)

Everything/Nothing/Someone: A Memoir by Alice Carrière (I don’t know how to feel)

Scenes of the Crime by Jilly Gagnon (waste of a good idea)

Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein (disappointing)

Crafting Change: Handmade Activism, Past and Present by Jessica Vitkus (cute)

The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh (fun concept)

My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin (good)

Happy Place by Emily Henry (blah)

Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding) by Diane Ladd and Laura Dern (fun stories)

[travella]

4*-Good

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (cute, kind of reminded me of Ove)

3* - Ok

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger (I can see potential for the series)

The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi (Didn't live up to my expectations)

Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline (jumps around a lot, difficult to get into)
The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly (felt unrealistic)

2*-Didn't like

Paris Requiem by Chris Lloyd (forgettable)

[Vespasia]

Pretty average month for me in terms of number of books read. 

The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne - 3.5*
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher - 4.5*
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by SA Chakraborty - 4*
Corridors of the Night (Monk series #21) by Anne Perry - 3.5*
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher - 4*

House with Good Bones was definitely my favorite of the month. 

[estrellita]

A Court of Thorns and Roses - I can't remember if I counted this for March because according to Goodreads I finished it April 1, lol. Anyway, 4 stars. Good but I wasn't blown away. I've heard the second book gets much better, so we'll see!

Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez - 5 stars. I loved it! It was the last of the original 3 books that are considered a series. You could read any of them out of order, but you may just miss some references.

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo - 4 stars. I liked it, and hope there's another sequel. I'd love to know what happens next!

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez - 5 stars. I thought Life's Too Short was my favorite, but this one was! It was super cute but still realistic, and she captured anxiety so well.

[charlatti]

Ascension by Nicholas Binge — cool concept but messy and drawn out

A Sleight of Shadows by Kat Howard — this sequel worked for me

Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocum — fine, too long

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge — enjoyable but not great, somewhat fluffy

Icebound by Andrea Pitzer — arctic nonfiction, a little slow

You Could Make This Place by Maggie Smith — I’m biased but the writing is gorgeous

The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland — loved her previous book, found this one very flat

A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas — fun

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling — meh

Exiles by Jane Harper — do not understand the raves for this. Boring

Our Best Intentions by Vibhuti Jain — definitely worth reading, not super memorable

[mrspez07]

I finished the following in April:
Audio:
4* You Can’t be Serious by Kal Penn. had no idea who he was before the book but really enjoyed his humor and perspective.

Visual:
3* One Day in December by Josie Silver
4* The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. This one was a good suspense with some creepiness mixed in. Not my usual type of book, but I liked how the mystery unraveled.

I am struggling to get thru books this spring. I am not making progress on the stuff I started a few weeks ago, although I do like reading them when I have the time.

[CrazyLucky]

I finally finished Ethics in The Real World. I found Peter Singer to be really condescending about some things, and elitist about others. But he did make me think, so 3*.
Tripwire, Jack Reacher #3. I usually like Jack Reacher books, but this one was a little too gory for me. 3*
The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian. This is YA, but I liked it. 4*
I have Some Questions for You. I do not get why people like this book. I hated it. A very rare 1* rating from me.

I appreciate these threads. I always add one or two books to my "want to read" list.

[dearprudence]

Would recommend
* Babel
* Part of Your World
* Geekerella
* If the Shoe Fits

Fine, but nothing special
* Not Your Basic Love Story

Would not recommend
* All My Rage
* Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

[sju]

5* Book Lovers by Emily Henry - the feelings and concerns the main character had to work through in her relationship with her sister reminded me of certain behaviors I notice in my own mother (oldest daughter of 8 children).

4.5* The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros - One of the main female characters annoyed me, and there was too much talk about eye color. Otherwise it would have been a 5* for me.

1.5* Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher - bad

[tcu2003]

4* reads:
You Got Anything Stronger? by Gabrielle Union (I listened to the audiobook, which Union narrates - highly recommend)

3* reads:

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe
The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting
Falling for Your Enemy by Emma St Clair
A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan
The Self-Driven Child by William Stixrud
Better than Fiction by Alexa Martin
Reluctantly Yours by Erin Hawkins
Mr Wrong Number by Lynn Painter
End of Story by Kyle Scott
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee

2* reads:
First Down by Grace Reilly