Happy April! This is one of my favorite months because it contains both spring (goodbye cold weather!) and my birthday (hello excuse to celebrate!).
This year it also contains a deadline I set for myself, which is to finish the first draft of my next book by the end of the month. It’s an ambitious goal, make no mistake. It’s sort of like a more intense version of NaNoWriMo because I had more like 60,000 words to write in order to finish, rather than 50,000. But I’ve successfully finished NaNoWriMo twice in my life, so I am optimistic that I can achieve PerNoWriMo (personal novel writing month) as well.
All of that to say, my list is a little shorter than usual this month because I’ve been using most of my spare time to crank out chapters. A secondary reason is that I kind of got stuck behind a couple of books recently that weren’t bad, but I struggled to get through them. I was interested enough to keep reading, but it was slow going.
But I also have a couple of really fun ones to talk about as well, so let’s get to it!
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Just Finished:
I’ll be honest, I almost passed on this book because I didn’t love the cover, but the recommendation came by way of text from a good friend so I decided to give it a shot. It was absolutely delightful. I loved the witty banter and the sweet enemies-to-lovers story of Genevieve and Jack as they trotted about the English countryside investigating nefarious events on her estate. She’s a smart, spunky character and Jack is charismatic and exasperating in the best way, causing them to butt heads and makeup on the regular. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in this set!
I admit it, this is the book that had me stalling out. It’s hard for me to explain why — I didn’t hate it. But it didn’t draw me in the way I hoped it would. I’ve actually had this book on my shelf for six or seven years and it still had the bookmark in it where I stopped the last time I tried to read it. I did get through this uniquely styled novel about a young girl named Liesel and her experiences in a small German town during WWII as told from the perspective of Death. But I labored long and hard over a star rating and I’m still not completely sure I know what I think about it.
In Progress:
I didn’t even read the description of this book before picking it up because my sister recommended it and she has good taste. It’s supposed to be a dystopian fantasy romance, which is a yes, yes, yes from me. I’m only about 8% in so there’s still a lot to go, but it started out strong!
Manor for Sale, Baron Included
I’m thoroughly enjoying this historical romantic comedy about a young gentlewoman who buys an estate for herself and her sister…without realizing the baron who sold it has decided that she is the perfect wife for him. Will he be able to win her heart or only get on her very last nerve? The baron is so delightfully oblivious to what a nuisance he’s being. It’s so fun!
Up Next:
Night Falls on Predicament Avenue
This one is a birthday present I preordered for myself six months ago and I can’t wait to jump into it! Jaime Jo Wright writes such intricate dual-timeline mysteries that will transport you to a spooky but ultimately hopeful place since she always resolves her stories neatly. I’m such a fan and fully expect to love this story about a house with a sordid history and the women who each lived in it a century apart.
Hockey romance, anyone? Romance readers are collectively sighing over sports-themed books these days, and Leah Brunner has just released the newest book in her D.C Eagles series. This one is billed as a marriage of convenience with a hunky, neurodivergent hero…so basically, sign me up! The thing I like about this hockey series is that they are low spice but have plenty of romance and chemistry. I can’t wait to read this one!
As always, you can get even more book recommendations from Anne Bogel and other book bloggers by heading over to her monthly quick lit post (don’t forget to check the comment section!).