what i read in april: a monthly wrap up

Hi friends.

Look at me being semi-consistent.

Buckle in folks, it’s going to be a semi long one. I read 13 books (IT’S ACTUALLY 15 I DON’T KNOW HOW TO COUNT WHOOPS) this month which I am quite proud of, not going to lie. I won’t have super long ‘reviews’ of these books, just a brief sentence or two of my feelings and if you want me to extend my review for any of the books here, just let me know in the comments!

Here we go!

---

The first three books I read in April was the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab. To say that I loved this series would be a freaking huge understatement. I adored each book in this series. I loved the characters, the writing, the action, the magic – everything. I sobbed, I laughed, I squeeled. This was just such a fantastic series that I recommend everyone to read – it is a fantastic fantasy series that I think is now one of my favourite series of all time. That is how much I loved it. I could very easily re-read the entire series again. I rated the first book 4 stars, only because the last two books of the series were exceptional in comparison and were 5 star worthy.

---

I then read two books that I needed to review. The first book was called Salvation Station by Kathryn Schleich which I rated a 3 out of 5 stars. I posted a full length review here so go check that out if you want to. It was a solid read, not great nor terrible – just mediocre. I cannot for the life of me tell you what it was about, because it wasn’t memorable at all. It was just an average thriller.

The second book I read for review was Girls Like Us by Elizabeth Hazen. I read this a month before its blog tour because I wanted to read it for bookclub. Again, it was good. It was a poetry collection and though it was quite well written, I just didn’t connect very well to its themes. But definitely check it out if you want to – I ended up rating it a solid 3 out of 5 stars. I then read Nothing is Strange by Mike Russell, a short story collection, which I also wrote another full length review for, and I did enjoy it but it wasn’t my type of book so I just found it average with a 3 out of 5 stars.

---

---

---

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was my first audiobook for the year (I think). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend the audiobook because Jeremy Irons narrates it and his voice is fucking fantastic. It was a very quick audiobook and all I want to say is that the writing is absolutely stunning.

The are so many lines in this book which hit me right in the heart. I think it is the sort of book that will remain a sort of modern classic. Though there is a few problematic portrayals of characters (stereotypes, etc.) which was mainly the reason why I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.

---

---

---

The last three books I read for the month of April were Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Lady Susan by Jane Austen and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Okay, so I had so much fun reading all of these three books. Though I didn’t enjoy Cat’s Cradle as much as the other two, I still found it to be an engaging and witty read. Cat’s Cradle was my first time trying a Vonnegut book and I did enjoy the way he wrote. I would describe the book as an exploration of human stupidity and though there were a few problematic aspects (i.e. racism), overall, I think it was an importance book with quite a powerful message. I do have to say though, there were a few times where I wasn’t too sure if I was supposed to laugh, because though it is humourous – it is a sort of terribly ridiculous humour where you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But let me just gush about Lady Susan. READ IT. I think it is the perfect Jane Austen books for beginners as it is a novella, so it is only 100 or so pages but it is quality Jane Austen content. It is a subversive type of story where Lady Susan is this villainous, manipulative devil of a character whom I loved reading about so much. She is this hated figure in the story because, yes okay she is terrible, but she acts like a man in society and everyone cannot handle it. I loved it.

Then the last book (or play) that I read in the month of April was The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. What else can I say other than I adore Wilde’s writing? This play was fantastic. It was intelligent, funny, witty and ridiculous. I read it as an audiobook (which was great) and hoenstly, I would love to see this at an actual theatre because it is so engaging and hilarious. I low key want to try and read an Oscar Wilde play every month because I really want to try and get through his bibliography.

---

As I am writing this, it is the 30th of April. As of right now, I am still reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky as an audiobook. I am hoping to finish it sometime this week. I have also just started reading The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks as part of the blog tour that is happening in may. I don’t think I will be finishing any of these books today, but if I do, I will immediatley update this post!

UPDATE: I just finished Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (30th of April) and it marks the actual last book I read in the month of April. Wow. I really enjoyed it. I found it to be incredibly written; the depth to which the main character is developed and explored – it was quite intense and emotional. I do recommend it for those who want to try! I rated it a 4 out of 5 stars.

If I had to choose my top three books of this month it would have to be:

• Lady Susan by Jane Austen
• A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab (although the entire series was superior)
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

In terms of statistics, I read 15 books with a total of 4544 pages.

Fuck me.

Well, that’s it for today! Until next time, happy reading and take care.

All the love,

allie

xx

---

follow me on all my socials!

twitter

instagram

goodreads