April 2018 Bookish Wrap-Up + Book Haul

Happy May bookworms!

Even though we are only 3 days into the month of May, things are already looking up from April.  After 6 LONG months of a hard winter, warmer weather seems to have arrive in Ohio.  Time to break out the shorts & t-shirts and put away the coats & sweaters.

April was an off month for me.  I definitely didn’t get as much accomplished as I had hoped, both in regards to reading & blogging.  Actually, April was my smallest reading month thus far this year.  I read a total of 7 books, which is a tad under my average of 10 books per month.  Despite not having a big quantity reading month, I did have a good quality reading month.  I even handed out four 5-star ratings!  If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I am not one to hand out 5-star ratings lightly.

Which books received the coveted 5-star rating? Read on to find out…

» Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• RPO is a celebration of all things geek in the 1980s – Now, I must admit that I was not familiar with many of the 80s pop culture references (I was born in the late 80s, therefore grew up more in the 90s) BUT this did not hinder my enjoyment of the book at all.  If you were a fan of movies, music, and videogames and grew up more in the 80s, this book is going to be very nostalgic for you.
• Themes: technology, poverty, friendship, good vs. evil, virtual world vs. reality,  etc.
• There was a tremendous amount of “info dumping” going on, but somehow Cline does it in a way that had me hanging on the edge of every word.
• You do NOT have to be a “gamer” to enjoy this book.  This is more like a virtual reality adventure story.
• I was surprised that parts of this book are set in Ohio!  BUT not too surprising when I found out that the author grew up here.
• I’d recommend this book to YA fans of Warcross by Marie Lu and vice versa.
• I’ve heard the audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton and have heard amazing things about it.  I may re-read this one via audiobook in the future.
• In regards to the movie, yes I did go see it.  I think the book is better of course, HOWEVER I think the movie was well done as well.  The movie is fairly different than the book, but I understand why this was done.

» Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Feelings in a few thoughts: 

• Slow start, but worth it!  If you find you are struggling in the beginning, I urge you to stick with it.  LFE is more of a slow burn character-driven type of plot.
• I’ve read both of Ng’s books now and I really enjoy how thought provoking her stories are.
• Excellent book club selection.  LFE covers themes like the complexities of motherhood, different parenting styles, family dynamics, interracial adoption, classism, etc.
• Set in my home state of OHIO!  I also like that Shaker Heights is in fact a real place, and the author herself grew up there.
• I actually attended Celeste Ng’s book tour for this book, which you can read all about here →Book Event: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Book Tour
• If you enjoyed Little Fires Everywhere, I’d recommend Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran.  You can read my review for Lucky Boy here → Book Review: Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran.  I’d also recommend The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.

» I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• I absolutely loved this book.  The more I thought about it, the more I appreciate it
• This book deals heavily with loss & grief, so the overall tone of the book is somber, HOWEVER the author throws in just the right amount of whit and lighter hearted moments to balance out the heaviness of the book
• I was a little skeptical of the fact the author includes Maddy’s (deceased) POV, but the author nailed it
• I kept thinking this book was going to be predictable, but the author took it in other directions that I wasn’t anticipating
• Trigger/Content warning: suicide

» The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

*4.5 Stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• I really enjoyed the world building & magic system in The Demon King – I found in fascinating that those that wield magic in this world are looked upon with distrust, and in some cases distain… I was also very interested in how the wizards & the clan communities have to interact as a sort of “checks and balances” system.
• Despite the fact this is a 500+ page book, I flew through it.
• TDK is full of political intrigue, family drama, gang wars, corruption, betrayal, secrets, and surprises.
• The reason I took off a half star was *highlight between arrows to see spoilers ⇒I didn’t like how everyone seemed in love with EVERYONE else?  Why does Raisa & Han feel attracted to every character of the opposite sex they come into contact with?  It was a tad annoying.  I also was not a fan of the relationship between Raisa & Micah – there was also a weird scene where Raisa is under a sort of spell and Micah is trying to whisk her away for some “alone time” and it all felt really off… it felt almost like a date rape scenario.⇐
• I will definitely be continuing on with the series!

» The November Girl by Lydia King

DNF @30%

• While I found the concept of this book really intriguing, I just couldn’t continue on with it.
• The reason I decided to DNF *highlight between arrows to see spoiler  ⇒this book felt like it had a weird self-harm thing going on… the romance felt weird too.  My breaking point was after Hector asks Anda if she’d hurt him if he asked her too, then later Anda licks blood off Hectors neck after she cut him shaving… I’m out⇐

» The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook version of The Poet X.  The author narrates her work herself, and really makes this story come alive.
• This story is told in verse.  The writing is absolutely stunning.
• If you are a fan of Jacqueline Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming & Another Brooklyn) and/or Thanhha Lai (Inside Out & Back Again), I would recommend this book to you.
• Themes: parental pressures, dysfunctional families, sexual harassment, forcing of religious beliefs, first love, coming of age, etc.
• Xiomara is a wonderful YA MC!  She’s fierce, loyal, and true to herself, but she is also head strong and impulsive… Basically she is flawed & felt very real.
• Religion is a big part of this book BUT it is about the main character struggling with having beliefs forced upon her.  This book is not “preachy” in the slightest.

» The Battle of Junk Mountain by Lauren Abbey Greenberg

*4.5 stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• With a setting off the coast of Maine, this is a wonderful summer/beach read for middle graders
• Themes: evolving friendship, mental illness (hoarding), loss & grief, childhood & growing up, etc
• I am impressed with how Greenberg was able to tackle the topic of hoarding in a middle grade book.  It felt very realistic & appropriate for this age level without being too “watered down.”
• One of my favorite aspects of this book was that it deals with a changing friendship between Shayne & Poppy.  I really enjoy how the author left things with these two.
• I really appreciated how the author didn’t wrap up everything nicely like is done far too often in the middle grade genre.   Some things are left a little messy, kind of like real life.

» Cinder (The Lunar Chonicals #1) by Marissa Meyer

Feelings in a few thoughts:

• I hope no one starts throwing rocks at me, but I did not love this book.  It was just “meh” for me.
• It took me until about the 60% mark to really get into the story.  I kept wondering if anything was actually going to happen in this book…
• I did enjoy the concept of a Sci-Fi Cinderella retelling – felt the retelling was well done.  Meyer had the right mix of Cinderella elements.
• The fact that Cinder was a mechanic cyborg is badass!  HOWEVER Cinder wasn’t a badass leading lady… in fact she was fairly angsty & insecure throughout the entirety of the book.  I needed to see some type of evolution in her character.
• The world building was weak for me.  There were a lot of missing pieces… I almost felt like I was thrown into this world with almost zero backstory.
• Cliché and predictable… I saw the plot twist a mile away
• I wasn’t buying the romance.  At all.  It was pretty insta-loveish and I found Kai’s character very pompous and annoying.

March 2018 Bookish Wrap-Up + Book Haul

April 2018 TBR

Books I Read for #WomensHistoryMonth 2018

Book Review: The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner

Author Event: Mackenzi Lee’s Book Tour for Bygone Badass Broads

Kids’ Corner: STEM Picture Books Featuring Female Main Characters

 

*I would just like to note that April is my birth month AND I attended a book festival… Do I really need to say more?

eBooks:

» The V Girl by Mya Robarts

» A Tyranny of Petticoats by various artists

Physical Books:

» Neverland by Margot McGovern

» Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

» The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

» This Darkness Mine by Mindy McGinnins

» They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Willis-Abdurraquib

» And I Darken by Kiersten White

» The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

» Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

» 11/22/63 by Stephen King

» The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

» Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

» The Pigman (The Pigman #1) by Paul Zindel

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂