April 2021 Reading Wrap Up

Notice something different this month? Yes, you did! We managed to post two things that weren’t reviews/wrap ups!!!!

But not to worry, we are now returning to our regularly scheduled programming. All is well. Also this will be (very possibly) the last wrap up of the scholastic year in which we complain about school since May is the last month of our semester!! Yayyy!

Books Read:

Malka:

This month I actually read a lot more than I expected! Six books isn’t a new record by any means, but it hopefully signals that I’m starting to get out of the slump that I’ve been in for the past few months!

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Y’all, I finally did it! I finally read The House in the Cerulean Sea! I had such a great time reading this book, like I knew I would! I now can’t wait to read Under the Whispering Door! I get the hype now. I truly do. This also was my first book of the year that was not a graphic novel or a romance (although there is a romance in here, of course). Look at me branching out!

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

I find it very interesting looking back how differently I feel about each of my 4 star reads!

I won’t go into detail about my full thoughts on The Intimacy Experiment, since I already have a full review you can read, but I enjoyed that one mostly because of the non-romantic elements.

Second First Impressions, I picked up on a whim and it was filled with so much cuteness and snuggles that I couldn’t help but have a great time!

As for Sips and Strokes, that book actually received a 3.5 star rating, but I decided to round up because of how strong the beginning was, and how much I wanted to love it. The beginning was a solid 5 star for me, but the end was more of a 3 star, so I figured it’s only fair to put it in the 4 star category when deciding whether to round up or down. But once again, drama and miscommunication just do not work for me!

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

Both of these were just okay for me.

Cosmoknights was good, but the art style wasn’t my personal thing. It also took me a while to understand the world that we were in.

What We Don’t Talk About wasn’t what I was expecting, and didn’t really have the impact I thought it would. I appreciate the story it told, but wish it had gone a little further.

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Chana:

I read 7 books in April! April went by suuuper fast for me and I expect May to go by even faster (hopefully). I had mostly 3 star reads this month, but I didn’t especially hate any of them, so I don’t mind!

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

She Who Became the Sun comes out at the end of July and omfg you guys are not ready. The writing, the plot, the characters!! Everything about this book screams next big hit, I can’t wait for everyone to be able to read it!!

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

I had high expectations for The Space Between Worlds and it did not disappoint!! I absolutely loved the premise, I mean going to alternate realities to exploit their natural resources?? Definitely sounds like something that would happen.

I also started The Heaven Official’s Blessing last month! I only managed to finish the first book last month, but I’m currently on the last book and I can’t wait to be done with the series because I have been staying up all night reading these books and I need sleep.

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

Actually I lied, I didn’t particularly like any of these. The cover of Master Artificer links to my full review for anyone who’s interested.

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Books Acquired:

Malka:

Purchased:

These first four books I purchased on a spontaneous trip to Barnes & Noble. I was having a bad day and needed a change of scenery, so obviously I visited a book store. My main goal was to pick up a copy of Hana Khan Carries On, since I enjoyed Ayesha at Last so much last month. Then, once I was there I posted on Instagram stories and had people vote on whether or not I should pick up books I was interested in, which is how The Midnight Library and The Duke Undone were acquired. I also bought Second First Impressions on a whim, since it sounded cute!

I then ordered myself a copy of Written in the Stars after hearing Sam from Thoughts on Tomes talk about how great it was on her Instagram live. It will probably be one of the next books I read, and the next section will explain why that is!

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NetGalley:

I was lucky enough to get two books through NetGalley this month! The first is We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon, that I received as an Own Voices Jewish reviewer. I’m super excited to read it, and the only thing keeping me from starting it now is the fact that I have other e-ARCs I need to prioritize first. But as soon as I have the time (meaning, after the semester is over) this book is top priority!

Hang the Moon is actually the reason why I’ll definitely be reading Written in the Stars in May. This book is the companion story, and ideally I want to read the stories in order of publication. But since they’re both romances, I don’t anticipate that being an issue!

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Chana:

From Publisher:

NetGalley:

I told myself that I was done requesting books from Netgalley, but it turns out I’m a horrible liar. But it’s ok, because I’m super excited to read these two!!

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Things We Did:

Malka:

I said I’d have something exciting to talk about this month and I do! I got my first vaccine on the very last day of April! I also attended a COVID conscious BBQ where I got to see so many friends that I hadn’t seen in a while! I’m hopeful that this will slowly become a more common occurrence during the summer! Everything else I did was school related, but even that’s a bit exciting because the semester is ending in just a few short weeks!

Chana:

I did nothinggggg!! Well actually no, I bought a new plant to replace Frog (may his memory be a blessing) and I was assured that this plant could not be killed! Both the shopkeeper and the interwebs told me it’s near impossible to murder a peace lily.

Behold, on the left, Lily in her prime immediately after I purchased her. White flowers. Just chilling. Loving life. Contrasted by the photo on the right. Lily today. Dead af.

This may become a monthly feature called, “What poor piece of greenery did Chana manage to murder this month?”. But don’t worry we’ll make it fun. Next person to correctly guess which plant I’ll kill next gets a book.

What did you read this month? Do you have any plants? What’s the most exciting book you acquired? Any fun plans, reading or otherwise, for May?

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