What I Read in April

Not to be dramatic, April felt about 1074 weeks long but hey, I got some reading done!

Blew me out of the water; loved! (5 stars)

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: Space! A one-man show! The world is at stake! What a great, fun, adventurous read. I loved this book and didn't want it to end, even though it would have been like 100 pages shorter.

The Change by Kirsten Miller: A female revenge story - three middle-aged women develop unexpected powers that bring them together. When they discover the body of a young woman and suspect there are more.. they decide to take matters into their own hands. This book felt like it was written for me: witches, feminism, unputdownable, great characters and a great plot.

I liked it! (4 stars)

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas: The third of the Throne of Glass series was a quieter, but really enjoyable read. Celaena spends the majority of the book training and learning more about some of her untapped powers. This is the book that got me hooked!!

Petting Zoos by K.S. Covert: A very unique pandemic novel with very sharp writing. I very much enjoyed it! It's dark, dystopian, and character-driven about a woman who comes out of her 10-year isolation because of a pandemic and gets sucked into the world of human petting zoos.

It was fine (3 stars)

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson: This was one of those books that was super hyped up and I really thought I was going to love it. Two siblings' mother dies and leaves them with a voice recording that shares secrets from her life. What isn't to love? A multi-generational family drama. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me. It felt like I could never get close enough to a character. They got a quick vignette then on to the next chapter.

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin: A young adult book about how in the world there are witches that help maintain the climate, and their powers are stronger in the season they're born. It was fine - I read this one because I was approved for a book that I thought was the sequel but turns out just the same author. What is it with me and sequels!?

Matrix by Lauren Groff: A very challenging read - Groff's vocab is next level! Very slow, but lyrical, and I loved the focus on sisterhood. I think this one just didn't click for me as much as I wanted it to.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas: Book 4 of the Throne of Glass series! And unfortunately, my least fav so far. It felt like a bridge book where there was just so much going on and they had to set characters up for the rest of the series. I just didn't have the brainpower to keep up/care about what was going on.

Unimpressed (2 stars)

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan: So, I wish this book was marketed more as a sequel/companion piece because I was not aware of that until 50% of the book when I had no idea what was going on. Still not quite sure if reading The Good Squad could have helped me understand this book...

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston: I was so excited for this one. Felt very young adult, with insufferable main characters. Felt reminiscent of Christina Lauren's Autoboyography and a YA Colleen Hoover book.

In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet: This non-fiction book explores why women are still on trial. I feel like I didn't learn anything new; maybe I would have found it more interesting if I read it a few years ago?

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin: I saw this one make sooo many 'best of' lists last year that I thought I'd love this book (i saw incorrectly described as) literary fiction and a family saga. I guess it is coming of agey? But the main character was annoying and mean to practically everyone around her - which made her insufferable. For reasons I can't pinpoint, I also do not love books about people pursuing a music career so this one wasn't a winner for me.