April 2024 Wrap-Up
Happy May!
How’s the spring weather wherever you are? It’s definitely felt more like Christmas this past month as we’ve gotten so much snow. It was cozy reading weather, but was a disaster time for walking my dog because he kept getting covered in mud from all the melting snow. Anyhoo, I am super excited to participate in the 48-Hour Readathon hosted by @_thelitlibrarian! It’s happening from May 3 to May 5. I hope to get more reading done to get a good head start for May, but we’ll see. I managed to read 13 books this month. Many of them were graphic novels or manga, so I got through those pretty quickly.
For the editing side of my life, I had a super busy first half of April and got to unwind for the last week of the month. I had lots of fun attending an editing conference for the past week, and I learned a lot. I’m currently booked until the end of May, but I have some slots available for the summer. If you’re looking for an editor, check out my Editing Services page for more info.
My Books
Flawless by Elsie Silver
Review:
Thank you @justafellowreader for the book rec! I have never read a small-town romance before, so I was curious if I’d like it. Well, I definitely didn’t like it . . . I LOVED it! I loved Summer’s sass and Rhett’s boyish charm. The scenes where he’s bull-riding were so intense, and I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat while reading them. Summer and Rhett were such a perfect couple, and I’m so glad their story ended the way it did. The romantic grand gestures were so touching. I was definitely tearing up at the Vegas finals. It was nice to see a man think about others when it comes to his safety, because there’s so many times when men do reckless things and don’t bother thinking about how it would affect their family or the people who care about them, so it was nice to see Rhett reflect on that. I was a little annoyed with their conflict in the story after the secret-outing scene, because I felt like they were being a tad bit overdramatic. I love how they came back together though. The side characters were all super great, and I really want to see more of the Eaton boys and Willa. I’m definitely going to be reading more books in this series! I also love how it features Calgary!
4.5/5⭐
The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught
Review:
This was such a cute children’s story. The artwork was lovely. The story mainly focuses on staying true to yourself, living in harmony with nature, and how gender can be fluid. Personally, I felt a bit meh about the story, but I think children would really enjoy it, so I’d still highly recommend it. Especially since they would be the intended audience lol. The mushroom galette recipe looks amazing though, so I will definitely be trying that out in the future.
4/5⭐
The Lost World by Michael Crichton
Review:
The children were smarter in this book and definitely annoyed me less. The adults were the ones acting like dimwits this time LOL. I loved all the dinosaurs, and I thought the plot was interesting. It wasn’t as dramatic as the first book, but I really enjoyed the thought processes of the characters, especially with Malcolm and Levine explaining all their theories and scientific research. I guess I was more hooked on the ideas in the book rather than the story itself 😂 The ending was great. I totally called what happened to Dodgson when the T-rex put him in his mouth. The dinosaurs were fun to read about. But omg, poor Malcolm keeps getting the crap end of the stick with his dinosaur adventures. Sarah Harding is a badass, and I’m glad there’s always an epic female character in the books. I really liked the first book better, but this one was good too. Now, I’m excited to watch the movie and have another dinosaur party!
4/5⭐
Goodnight Punpun Vols. 5, 6 , and 7 by Inio Asano
Review:
*TW: Murder, suicide, and overall dark content.*
Still disturbing. I did not expect what happened to Aiko. I was shocked. There were also characters who were somehow related to each other in the story, but I found it a little hard to keep track of who’s who, so I may have missed some things. I would definitely recommend this as a series to study in an English class because of how complex the story is. I don’t think I’d ever reread this, but it was definitely an experience. I’m rating this a 3/5 for personal enjoyment, but if I understood all the literary stuff, my rating would probably be higher.
3/5⭐
Creepy Cat Vols. 2, 3, and 4 by Cotton Valent
Review:
This was such an adorable series. I really enjoyed it, but I think the final volume was my absolute favorite. This series is full of adorable kitties, and the gothic creepy aesthetic is fabulous. Oscar’s numerous attempts to get with Flora were so entertaining to read about because he kept getting c*ckblocked by her cat. I’d highly recommend this to all cat lovers, especially since this series is so short.
4/5⭐
Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang
Review:
I need to buy a copy of this graphic novel so it can be a coffee table read that everyone who visits my house must flip through. I LOVED this graphic novel so much. I did not expect it to have such an emotional impact on me, but I ended up tearing up at the end. The main plot is really well executed, but the side characters definitely helped in giving this story more heartwarming scenes. I was totally here for Valentina’s grandma and how she took no shit from anybody. And Anita with all her “none of your business.” I died 😂 She totally always knew what was up. Anyhoo, everyone should read this.
5/5⭐
How the Hitman Stole Christmas by Sam Mariano
Review:
I decided to read this Christmas romance since it was essentially Christmas weather where I live, and it did not disappoint. Autumn was such a sweetheart and I thought she had amazing chemistry with Jasper. I loved Jasper’s family dynamics with everyone, aside from his mother, and his sister was a great side character. Amira was the cutest part of the entire story, with the exception of the addition at the epilogue. The spicy scenes in this story were hella spicy. The conflict felt very realistic, but I felt like the ending could’ve been a bit different because of how much stress the MCs had about combining their family life and Jasper’s job. It was still a cute ending though. I really wanted to binge this, but I couldn’t read it at work since the cover isn’t exactly customer-service-appropriate reading material 😂
4/5⭐
The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill
Review:
Ok, out of all the K. O’Neill graphic novels I have read so far, I think this is one of my favorites, along with The Tea Dragons Society. I just really loved the artwork, setting, and aesthetic of this story. As usual, it gives off very cozy vibes, so it’s very calming to read. I would definitely recommend reading this if you need a book that’ll help you relax while reading it. I think now I just need to check out the author’s Aquicorn Cove series.
5/5⭐
Ex-Yakuza & Stray Kitten Vol. 1 by Riddle Kamikura
Review:
This volume was ADORABLE. I definitely need to read more because I need more of this cuteness. This is an interesting manga because it’s from the POV of the kitten. I’ve never really seen any manga from the POV of the animal before. It was funny to see how the kitten thought the yakuza was terrifying and was going to harm it, but then he does the total opposite and is super caring. I enjoyed the plot twist with the rescue center, so I’m curious to see if the kitten ends up getting adopted by someone else.
5/5⭐
Netgalley eARCs
I just started The Supernatural Files of CJ Delaney. Literally just downloaded it onto my Kobo, so I haven’t started flipping through just yet, but I’m looking forward to reading this because I love MG mysteries and spooky stories!
Other (e)ARCs
I started reading my Powerless eARC from Simon & Schuster, and I really like it so far! It reminds me of The Hunger Games but a more fantasy version. I’m excited to see what happens to Paedyn during the trials. Apparently, there’s a love triangle, so I’m curious to see how that will play out. I’m not a huge fan of love triangles because I’m more like “why choose” 😂 Either way, I can’t wait to see what happens!
Audiobooks
I’m currently listening to The Last Unicorn and The Poppy War. I took a break from The Poppy War to listen to The Last Unicorn because a family member had recently read it and recommended it. However, I was getting a bit bored with the story, so I ended up going back to The Poppy War. I’ve been really enjoying that one, and I’m excited to listen to the rest of the series. I’ll probably finish this audiobook by the end of this month.
If you’ve read any of these books, let me know what you thought of them in the comments!
Happy reading 😄
