April Reading Wrap Up

 April Reading Wrap Up

April came and went with lots of great reads for me. I participated in several buddy and group reads which were awesome. I think this is the most audiobooks I’ve read in a single month. 

Tough to pick a favorite for the month because the five star reads were all great. But I’d have to say my favorite for the month was We Begin at the End because I loved the main character Duchess Day Radley. She’s a character that stays in your heart long after you’ve read the book. 

The Mountains Sing is a beautiful story of family, love, and survival set against the backdrop of the Viet Nam war. 

I’m a sucker for police procedurals and Rachel Howzell Hall’s City of Saviors did not disappoint. Two other high octane thrillers were Stephen Mack Jones’s Dead of Winter (publishing on Tuesday) and S.A. Lelchuk’s One Got Away (badass female main character). 

Stephen King’s Joyland was creepy, atmospheric, and fun. And Jenny Lawson’s Furiously Happy is so honest, hysterical, heartfelt, and full of grace. Plus- I love that cover! 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Huntress 🎧

The Mountains Sing

We Begin at the End

City of Saviors 🎧

Joyland 🎧

Furiously Happy 🎧

Dead of Winter

One Got Away 🎧

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While Paris Slept

Give Us a Kiss 🎧

I, the Jury 🎧 

The Last Place You Look

Station Eleven 🎧

The Other Side of the Door

The Lost Apothecary 

Daniel Woodrell give us a kiss is just a funny short rural noir novel that’s really kind of quirky. If you haven’t read his book Winter’s Bone I suggest that one because that’s just amazing or at least watch the movie starring Jennifer Lawrence. 

Mickey Spillane’s I, the Jury is the first appearance of his detective Mike Hammer. Hammer seeks revenge to find the killer of his best friend. This is on Amazon’s list of 100 mysteries in thrillers to read in a lifetime. It’s good and it’s a classic. The racism and sexism throughout the book is cringe worthy and  doesn’t stand up in today’s day and age. But is is classic post WWII noir where the men were tough and didn’t talk about their feelings and the women were femme fatales. 

I’ve seen lots of reviews and how creepy and scary Station Eleven is. It’s about a worldwide pandemic,  but I didn’t think it was all that scary. It’s a good solid read, but I didn’t find it that particular scary or frightening and I didn’t need my handheld while I read it. I’d call it more pandemic light then something really hard core and truly terrifying.

So bring on May! Hoping for warm weather and sunshine. My May reads will be a mixed bag. My IRK book club is reading Water for Chocolate. I read it ages ago when it was first published. I don’t remember too many details of the story, but I do recall not loving it. I’m interested to see if my attitude changes upon rereading it.