April 2021 Reading Wrap Up

 

I'm sorry, how are we already in May?? Christmas felt like it was yesterday! April ended up being a fairly average month, I read 7 books in total. I dipped a little towards the end but I'm blaming that on the fact that I started a new job, I'm now just constantly tired and I also got extremely ill at the end of the month! Also a little disappointed in myself for not managing to finish Crooked Kingdom before the Netflix show aired but in the end it didn't really matter as the show doesn't take anything from that book anyway. I have no idea how May is going to go but hopefully I can get a fair bit of reading done 🤞

 

Stats

Roundabout by Rhiannon Lassiter 

I've had this book for ten years and only just read it but I enjoyed this a lot more then I thought I was going to. Originally I just thought it was a romance between a ‘gypsy’ girl and a rich boy, sort of a Romeo and Juliet story. This ended up being so much more though. Told from five perspectives of teenage girls who come from a traveller background, it’s a coming of age story about their friendship and standing up for what you believe in that I think teens will really enjoy.

 

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 

Disappointed because I adored Station Eleven but The Glass Hotel failed to inpress me as much. I struggled with how much the timelines moved around and also with figuring out who was who because there are a lot of characters woven into this story and I did have moments where I couldn't remember who someone was. There's also a fair bit of business talk in here with part of the plot focusing on a New York businessman so money and that kind of terminology shows up and I had to really focus to understand.

I really love St. John Mandels writing but I struggled to be engaged with the plot. I wasn't bored but I also wasn't that bothered either. 

 

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

I can definitely understand why a lot of people prefer this duology to the Shadow and Bone series as it's a lot more fast paced with a much tighter plot. The whole heist thing meant that you are literally just thrown pretty much straight into the action and then it's just one thing after another. I also just loved the characters, getting to read from each of their perspectives was the right move by Bardugo and by the end I completely adored all of them although I have a significant soft spot for Jesper and Nina. Also, the collectors edition? Stunning!!

 

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec    

This was a really great reimagining of characters from Norse mythology that focuses on Angrboda and her relationship with Loki. Gornichec has a fantastic grasp on the classic myths and kept it pretty faithful but also expanded on these characters and really fleshed them out. The magic is captivating, Angrboda is such a fierce and protective character that I adored and overall, I think this was a great novel even for someone who's entire Norse myths knowledge comes form Marvel films! You can read my full review here.    

 

A History of the World in 21 Women by Jenni Murray

This is a non-fiction audiobook that I started listening to on my commute to and from work that is basically a condensed look at a selection of women that have paved the way throughout history. Women that include Joan of Arc, Marie Curie and Hilary Clinton; Jenni Murray was a fantastic narrator and her biographies of these women were to the point but still interesting and has definitely prompted me to do further research on some of the figures I was less familiar with. Would highly recommend but keep in mind that this is the authors personal list. 

 

Jog On: How Running Saved My Life by Bella Mackie       

Another non-fiction that I read bits of here and there over the whole month. This is a memoir of sorts that focuses on the authors experience with her severe battle with mental health and how running gave her an outlet. I started doing the couch to 5k running programme a few months ago so thought this might be an interesting book to get something out of but I never expected to relate the authors experiences much. I've had social anxiety since I was a teenager and I just connected so much to how Mackie talks about avoiding problems and being scared to take on new challenges. This book really resonated with me and has definitely given me an extra spurt of confidence to keep up with running. 

 

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo         

Ok, I did really enjoy the book, I loved coming back to these characters and the journey they were on. I just don't feel like I can give it higher then four stars because for some reason my intrigue just wasn't there for a lot of this book. It makes no sense considering how fast paced and action packed it is but it's what happened. I could blame it on being tired or being really sick for a good 5 days but I was struggling to motivate myself to pick it up. The plot was great, if a little complicated at times and again, I just adore these ridiculously flawed characters. I was a little disappointed about how quickly a certain event happened (if you've read it you'll know) as I would have liked it to have been focused on more, it was just kind of shoved in at the end. 

 

What did you read in April? Have you read any of these books? What were your opinions? Leave a comment below and happy reading!