Reading Wrap Up: April

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Another month has come and gone and I’ve kept up with my reading quite well! The second half of the month took a slow turn for me and then I got stuck on rereading A Court of Thorns and Roses. But I’ll finish it today and continue on with the second book while I’m dreaming of the moment A Court of Wings and Ruin finds its way to my hands. Anyway, slow second half of the month aside, I managed to be super good with reading at the beginning of April, so I still I have seven books to mention.

Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2)

Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3)

When I picked up Anna and the French Kiss in March I was fairly certain I would read the entire series quite quickly and I was so right. This is the kind of series that you breeze through, and Stephanie Perkins writes very effortlessly which makes you enjoy the process of reading. But that aside, the stories and relationships in the books fall a little flat. Yes, they are enjoyable and the second book actually managed to surprise me a little, but at the end of the day, the plots to these types of books don’t really stay with me for long. It’s only been like a month and I’m already slowly starting to forget what happened in these books. Which is I guess great for rereads, in case I ever find myself in a situation where I want something light and breezy.

Themes: YA, Romance, Friendship, Art

My Lady Jane (My Lady Janies #1)

This was probably my most quirkiest read of the month and definitely more of a 4,5 coffee cup read. Written by a trio, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows, My Lady Jane is weird as hell and it’s hilarious! The story itself is taken out of the history books and tweaked a bit, and when I say a bit, I mean it’s taken far away from history and twisted into something much more fantastic. There were elements to this story that made me gasp for air because I was laughing so hard, and there were elements I saw coming from far away. Somebody in the Goodreads reviews mentioned My Lady Jane reminds them of The Princess Bride and I can see the resemblance. It’s witty, out of the box and charming, and definitely worth a read, even if it does feel a bit too different.

Themes: Historic, Romance, Parody, Fantasy

Caraval (Caraval #1)

Not going to lie, part of the appeal for Caraval was its gorgeous cover, featured on the image above – it’s stunning! And so when I had seen it around Instagram for like forever, and stumbled onto it in the bookstore, I was picking it up without a second thought. Do I regret it? No, part of me enjoyed the story of Caraval a lot. Am I super excited for the second book? Not so much. I see the appeal and the plot and it does sound intriguing but Stephanie Garber’s writing just isn’t for me. We didn’t click, and it’s okay! Some books you pick up and your instantly connected with, and some books you just read through and your glad you did, but you aren’t excited about it. Caraval is one of those mediocre fantasy books for me.

Themes: Fantasy, Family, Carneval

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

This was the third time I read this book and I bumped up my rating from 3 cups to 4 because I’m clearly a fan of this book. The story itself is simple –  a girl is called a duff and she starts to struggle with shallow questions of beauty and looses a little of her self-confidence by finding a way to deal with stress. Jodi Keplinger’s book is completely different from its screen adaptation and I’m frankly a bit appalled how off they were with the movie. The book itself is not as shallow and stupid as the movie, it’s actually a lot more grown up. And sure, the main conflict the book features is a little stupid, but then again, we’re dealing with teenagers, and they make naive decisions all the time.

Themes: YA, Friendship, Sex, Body Confidence

Dark Matter

What a book! I picked up Dark Matter after I had it on my radar for so long and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a sci-fi novel, and those who know me, have probably heard me mention the fact that I love sci-fi movies, and now apparently the novels as well! It wasn’t half as complicated as The Martian, but it did have a little less scientific things to explain and the focus was more on the human nature. Blake Crouch’s writing is fabulous, and even though the story gets into some serious mind-fuckery in the end, I was actually able to follow the plot. And I also managed to think ahead with the story, wonder over the existential questions, and I thought about the book days after I finished it. Dark Matter is fabulous, it’s the kind of sci-fi that I love – it explores a scientific idea but through the perspective of a person, now forced to view his life from a different point of view.

Themes: Sci-fi, Thriller, Mystery

Alex, Approximately

Before the month ended, while I was in the middle of A Court of Thorns and Roses, I wanted something quick and simple. So I picked up Jenn Bennett’s YA novel and ended up liking it. The thing that captured my attention with it was the fact that it was compared to You’ve Got Mail and I love that movie! And true to its word, Alex, Approximately was pretty much like the movie with younger characters and a few changes. Did I love it as much? No, because part of the charm You’ve Got Mail had was the characters, Tom Hanks’s character in particular, and I didn’t felt that charmed by any of the characters in this book. Though I did love the fact that the characters were movie lovers, that’s something that instantly makes me like a book more, even if I’m not a classic movie buff myself.

Themes: YA, Online Friendship, Surfing, Movies

Have you read any of these books I read in April? If not, did any of them catch your attention?