April 2019 Reading Wrap-Up

Well, well… no, the title of this post is not a typo. This is my April wrap-up… being posted at the end of May. April was a WHIRLWIND of a month, and here’s why:

1. On April 1st my husband started a new job, for which we relocated to a new state. With that came all of the house buying/selling fun and packing/moving/unpacking wonderfulness. The good news is that I LOVE our new house and at this point we’re about 95% unpacked and settled!
2. At the very end of March, my husband and I found out that I’m expecting! So on top of all the moving business, I personally struggled with some extreme exhaustion and a little bit of morning sickness.

All that to say that April was a pretty slow reading month and an even slower blogging month. I did still manage to get through 6 books, which I think warrants its own wrap-up. Continue reading to see the six books I read and my thoughts on them, and come back on Monday for my May wrap-up!

This month’s quick stats: 6 books (1 audiobook) 1,114 pages 6 authors (5 female) 1 nonfiction | 5 fiction

Year-to-date quick stats: 33 books (2 audiobooks) 9,732 pages 30 authors (18 female) 12 nonfiction | 21 fiction

Title: Those People
Author: Louise Candlish
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Pages: 282
My Rating: 3 stars
Release Date: June 11, 2019
Thanks to NetGalley and SFK Press for providing me with this eARC in return for an honest review!

Brief Summary: This thriller is about several neighbors on one street who are forced to deal with a new couple moving in down the road. The new couple is causing serious disturbances throughout the neighborhood with their loud metal music blasting every night, their used car business taking up valuable street parking space, and the eyesores created by their home renovations – which do not appear to be quite up to code. It seemed only a matter of time before someone got hurt, but when an innocent person ends up dead in an accident on the new home owners’ property, everyone in the neighborhood finds themselves looking guilty.

My Thoughts: I was SO intrigued by this story and the beginning of the book had me absolutely hooked. I loved the alternating perspectives between each of the neighbors and the alternating timelines before and after the accident though police interviews and first-person narratives. It really showed the neighborhood dynamics well and exposed the issues outsiders don’t often see between neighbors and family members. I was intrigued by the mystery, but it became a little convoluted because of how many characters were followed and how many of them realistically could have been involved in the accident. (I suppose it makes for a good mystery to have multiple likely subjects, but literally everyone had a motive and an opportunity here, which then had the inverse effect – no one stood out as guilty).

The reveals in this thriller seemed underwhelming to me. This could have been due to the fact that there were multiple, which again is usually a good thing in thrillers, but in this case left me feeling like I needed more closure in the end. Maybe a reread of this one would help some of the details and intricacies of the mystery fall into place, but I probably won’t be picking it back up for a while.

Title: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
Genre: Classic
Pages: 141
My Rating: 4 stars

Brief Summary: This classic may not need much of an introduction, but the synopsis of this story is that a farm full of animals decides to revolt against the farm owner (a human) and try to run the farm themselves. They determine all of these new rules for the farm including no animal shall kill another animal, all animals are equal, and above all else – two legs = bad, four legs = good. Eventually the farm politics get shuffled and some animals feel slighted by other animals’ actions, and the utopia that was their animal farm turns into a political mess.

My Thoughts: It’s exposed right in the introduction of the book that it is an allegory based on Communist Russia, and knowing that going in definitely gives the story some added depth. I do not consider myself a political person, so this story actually did a great job of making the political claims easier to understand and not so convoluted with political figures and parties. It’s a classic that I’m glad to have read because of its deeper meanings and implications.

Title: Girl Code
Author: Cara Alwill Leyba
Genre: Female Nonfiction
Pages: 143
My Rating: 4 stars

Brief Summary: This is a female entrepreneur empowerment book at its finest. Cara is a super inspiring woman and this book draws inspiration not only from her successes, but several other girl bosses’ successes as well. Through interviews, storytelling, and even worksheet pages, this book aims to give you whatever motivation you need to do that thing you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t yet.

My Thoughts: Is anything in this book absolutely profound? No. I’m sure all of these points have been made in other books by other female entrepreneurs. I really liked the interviews with other women, though, because it allows the reader to get multiple perspectives and pull inspiration from whoever you connect with the most. It’s also a quick read, so you can get the information you need and get on with your life!

Title: Bring Me Back
Author: B.A. Paris
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Pages: 291
My Rating: 5 stars

Brief Summary: This thriller is about a man named Finn who is still struggling from the disappearance of his girlfriend, Layla, 12 years ago. Although Layla’s body was never found, the officials and those around him have all considered her dead. He’s not so sure, though, and suddenly signs start appearing all around him to make him think she’s still alive – and she wants to come back to him. Not only does he have to deal with his emotions related to her disappearance, he also has to consider how Layla fits into his life now, 12 years later.

My Thoughts: I was just saying I needed a really great thriller to get into, as all the recent ones I’ve been reading have been disappointing. Well, this one absolutely did it! I loved the premise, I loved the writing style and book format, and I really, really enjoyed the twist(s). I had a few theories about the ending, none of which ended up being true. Some veteran thriller readers MIGHT be able to crack the mystery here, but I thoroughly enjoyed being surprised and not seeing it coming. This is the second 5-star thriller I’ve read from B.A. Paris (I also loved Behind Closed Doors), and now I’m doubly excited to get to The Breakdown, her only other thriller, which I happily already own!

Title: Daisy Jones & The Six
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 0 (audiobook)
My Rating: 4 stars

Brief Summary: This book is a unique historical fiction following Daisy Jones & The Six, a fictitious rock and roll band from the 1970s. Told exclusively in interview format, each member of the band retells the story of the band’s rise to success in their own perspective.

My Thoughts: I have seen all of the hype surrounding this book, just like I had seen the hype before picking up Evelyn Hugo. In Evelyn Hugo’s case, it completely lived up to all of the hype and then some – it was an easy 5 stars. With Daisy Jones, although not a 5-star read for me, I can absolutely see why the hype is there just the same. First of all, the storytelling is so unique – the interview format provides insight to each of the character’s minds, but only as much as they’re willing to put on record. Plus, we have to deal with the inaccuracies of human memories – there are many instances of two characters’ memories conflicting with each other’s, which makes for a humorous but also realistic interview feel. The plotline itself is also intriguing, as everyone wants to know the behind-the-scenes and the making of successful musicians. I found some parts to drag just a little bit, and some of the characters less intriguing than others, which is why this book is ultimately only 4 stars for me. But for anyone with a particular interest in 70s music or feminist characters, I think this book knocks it out of the park. If I wasn’t convinced before, I’m now fully on the TJR train and will be reading every book she writes in the future and hopefully getting to all of her past works someday, too!

Title: Nine Women, One Dress
Author: Jane L. Rosen
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 257
My Rating: 2 stars

Brief Summary: This contemporary is about nine women in and around New York City who all end up, in one way or another, buying/wearing/borrowing the “it” dress of the season. (For clarification, the same dress design, not all the same physical dress).

My Thoughts: I was really excited for this one, as it was giving me major Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants vibes. I was simultaneously disappointed and relieved to find out its not (disappointed because I LOVE the Sisterhood, relieved because nothing can really live up to it).

In short, I did not enjoy this book. My biggest struggle was trying to keep track of all of the characters. There were so many different storylines happening and I didn’t connect with any of them. Think about it – 9 women is a lot to keep track of, let alone all of the side characters they’re each interacting with. The book wasn’t long enough to fully develop or wrap up every story, and they didn’t intertwine as much as I thought they would. Ultimately I felt dissatisfied and disappointed in the book and don’t think I would recommend it to anyone!

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So that was April! Again, my May wrap-up will come on Monday – since the moving process and pregnancy are obviously ongoing, it was another slow reading month – but I can feel myself getting energy back and am excited to get back into the swing of things (reading and blogging included) in June!

Let me know if you read anything great in April or May – I really didn’t get a chance to read many blogs within the last couple of months either, so tell me your highlights 🙂