april wrap-up!! // eleven books (WHO AM I)

April is over and while I haven’t officially graduated yet…let’s just say I’m not in high school anymore. Yes, it is insane and soon I will join all of you uni students and I’m very scared but ANYWAYS. We’re here to talk about the surprising amount of books I read this month because WHO AM I???

books

A Magic Steeped In Poison by Judy I. Lin | I’ve been anticipating this book for just about…forever. The idea of tea magic being the focus of a competition in a Chinese-inspired world complete with court politics…how can anyone not be intrigued? And for the most part I enjoyed this story! It was entertaining and easy to read. However, after I finished it, I thought that my love for YA fantasy had dwindled because honestly? This was a little bit predictable and repetitive compared to other YA fantasies. I’ll probably give it a 3.5 or 4 star rating.

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson | OH GOSH THIS WAS SO GOOD. I enjoy a good, quirky, old-fashioned mystery with twists and turns galore and this book delivered on all fronts. Even if I predicted something, it was just too much fun to be on the journey with our two lead “detectives”. And of course, all the Agatha Christie references were amazing! This story follows two girls who are trying to prove a friend’s innocence in his girlfriend’s murder. 5/5 stars.

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede | THIS BOOK WAS SO CLOSE TO BEING MY FIRST FANTASY 5 STAR READ OF THE YEAR. It just had a couple of slight hiccups that I honestly think stem from being a debut, such as a bit of info-dumping and some choppy worldbuilding. BUT. I truly did love this story so very much. It’s an Italian-inspired fantasy story about a girl who can’t harness her powers to save the world because she can’t touch anyone…and it also contains a bodyguard romance. This book made me realize that I do actually love YA fantasy (yeah, April was a rollercoaster of emotions) and I’M NOT DONE WITH IT YET. 4.5/5 stars!

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis | April was the month of finishing several school books, and this was the first. I genuinely loved this book, because regardless of what you believe, Lewis was one of the most brilliant writers to exist. He presents arguments in such a factual and logical way. Even for someone like me who’s grown up in the church, I found myself considering new ideas because of the depth of his metaphors and the complexity of his statements. An easy 5/5 stars!

Go Hunt Me by Kelly Devos | This book could have been good. It had all the right ingredients: a group of teenage filmmakers who go to a remote location to film a horror movie, a vaguely Dracula-esque atmosphere, and plenty of tension. But I don’t think that the actual ending was executed well enough to make the entire book feel like anything more than a basic, run-of-the-mill horror-thriller hybrid (so many dashes I’m sorry). Overall, this is probably a 2.5/5 star read.

Dawn of the Arcana Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by Rei Toma | LOVE TRIANGLES ARE BACK BABY. And when I say that they’re back, I mean that currently I love them. That will only last so long as my preferred couple stays together so…this manga better end the way I want it to end. Anyways, this follows a girl who has secret powers that she doesn’t quite know about but get unlocked after she marries the prince of an enemy kingdom. 4.5 stars for the first volume and 5 for the second!

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake | THIS BOOK IS A LIVING CONUNDRUM. I need to write my review on it ASAP because WHAT IS THIS??? I loved this book (don’t get me wrong) but objectively, the more I think about it, the worse this book is. The vibes? Perfection. It’s like a Monet painting: if you gaze at it from a distance, you see a work of art. Up close? It’s a bit of a blotchy mess. I’m just very befuddled at how a book can be so good but also so bad. This could be 3 stars or it could be 5 stars or it could be 2 stars. Who even knows at this point. I should probably write my review before i confuse you any further.

These last three(!) books I’m grouping together because two were for school, and one I just don’t have much to say about. Guess what the odd one out is? Anyways, Oedipus Rex was actually an incredible classical Greek play that made my Hamlet-loving heart very happy. It’s a tale of unwilling incest, of fate, and tragic consequences. Please ignore the cover. A Secret Princess I’m sure is technically rather good. I ended up skimming quite a bit of it because I came to the realization that my love for the classic tale of A Little Princess simply could not compete with my dislike for the character of Mary Lennox. All’s fair in love and war. And The Discoverers…was a book. It was certainly a history book that I will admit presented unique points. And it inspired some great conversations! So yes, that was The Discoverers. Have I fulfilled the word quota?

some blog posts i liked! (unfortunately i didn’t include every one i read bc SOMEONE aka me forgot to save most posts and now they’re lost like diamonds in the rough in the blogosphere. just know that if i commented on your post, i really enjoyed it).

I really loved Dinipanda’s post for Let’s Talk Bookish about books that make her hungry! I related to a couple of them (and added the rest to my TBR).

Lia wrote an absolutely amazing review of This Vicious Grace, which also happens to be one of the books I read this month and absolutely adored!

Nikitha @ Nikszine made a post (with incredible graphics might I add) recommending books for fans of certain TV shows!

Sophie discusses completed series that she either needs to finish, or needs to forget!

So that’s it! This post took me like an hour to write. I was going to rank them from least favorite to favorite but then I got tired before I even tried that idea so maybe next month? Anyways, tell me your favorite (or least favorite) read in the month of April!

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