It’s time for my first half of April book review! I am sharing what I read in April so far, although I am skipping a few 5 star reads to share later in the month. I have been somewhat disappointed by my reads so far this month, but hope to hit some great ones over the next week or so! The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: This Rebel Heart
Author: Katherine Locke
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers, 4/5/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I have read multiple books set in Communist Europe recently! This Rebel Heart takes place in Hungary in 1956 and centers Jewish and Queer characters taking part in the revolution against the government at the time. Csilla is the main character here. She and her parents survived the Holocaust, but then her parents were killed by the Hungarian secret police. Csilla plans to leave the country but when her parents are exonerated, protests begin and Csilla must decide whether to stay and fight for her country.
“In the middle of Budapest, there is a river. Csilla knows the river is magic. During WWII, the river kept her family safe when they needed it most–safe from the Holocaust. But that was before the Communists seized power. Before her parents were murdered by the Soviet police. Before Csilla knew things about her father’s legacy that she wishes she could forget. Now Csilla keeps her head down, planning her escape from this country that has never loved her the way she loves it. But her carefully laid plans fall to pieces when her parents are unexpectedly, publicly exonerated. As the protests in other countries spur talk of a larger revolution in Hungary, Csilla must decide if she believes in the promise and magic of her deeply flawed country enough to risk her life to help save it, or if she should let it burn to the ground.”
This book contains magical elements – the city has lost all of its color, the river carries magic power, and Jewish folklore comes to life. I found it long in parts, but very creative. The representation in this book includes a polyamorous relationship between Csilla, Tamas, and Azriel. This book is about taking action and standing up for what you believe. The young people took part in uprisings in Europe and having also read I Must Betray You, This Rebel Heart could be read by those who enjoyed that one and also appreciate a magical touch.
Title: Four Aunties and a Wedding
Author: Jesse Q Sutanto
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Berkley, 3/29/22
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I was expecting to receive a print copy, but when I couldn’t wait any longer, I made use of my kindle and caught up with Meddy and her family! It’s Meddy and Nathan’s wedding day and something is up with the wedding vendor they hired. Meddy is convinced that Staphanie and her family are going to assassinate one of their guests and she has to stop it! Poor Nathan had no idea what was going on.
“Meddy Chan has been to countless weddings, but she never imagined how her own would turn out. Now the day has arrived, and she can’t wait to marry her college sweetheart, Nathan. Instead of having Ma and the aunts cater to her wedding, Meddy wants them to enjoy the day as guests. As a compromise, they find the perfect wedding vendors: a Chinese-Indonesian family-run company just like theirs. Meddy is hesitant at first, but she hits it off right away with the wedding photographer, Staphanie, who reminds Meddy of herself, down to the unfortunately misspelled name. Meddy realizes that is where their similarities end, however, when she overhears Staphanie talking about taking out a target. Horrified, Meddy can’t believe Staphanie and her family aren’t just like her own, they are The Family—actual mafia, and they’re using Meddy’s wedding as a chance to conduct shady business. Her aunties and mother won’t let Meddy’s wedding ceremony become a murder scene—over their dead bodies—and will do whatever it takes to save her special day, even if it means taking on the mafia.”
With the aunties involved, things are guaranteed to go wrong! While I didn’t laugh at this one as much as I did with Dial A For Aunties, I still thought the misunderstandings and actions of the aunties were hilarious. I did experience some second hand embarrassment though! I thought this book did a good job of tying up loose ends from the previous.
Title: In A New York Minute
Author: Kate Spencer
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Hachette Audio, 3/15/22
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Influenced
My Rating: 4 Stars
This super cute rom com takes place in New York City and is full of lovely NYC scenes!
“Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough. Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs. Only Franny and Hayes couldn’t be a more disastrous match. She’s fanciful, talkative, and creative. He’s serious, shy, and all about numbers. Luckily, in a city of eight million people, they never have to meet again. Yet somehow, Hayes and Franny keep running into each other—and much to their surprise, they enjoy each other’s company. A lot. But when Franny’s whole world is turned upside down (again!), can she find the courage to trust in herself and finally have the life—and love—she’s always wanted?”
Franny meets Hayes when her dress is caught in the subway door and rips in half. He helps her out by giving her his suit jacket. When they are caught on camera they are reunited on a morning TV show, but things are awkward. Then Hayes hires Franny to design his new office space and they begin to get to know each other better. This is a slow burn romance with other plot lines including Franny finding out more about her background and a side sapphic couple. Hayes is also dating an influencer, which I found interesting, because while he was awkward with Franny, he didn’t seem to be in this other relationship. Maybe because he wasn’t actually into her?
Title: Just The Two of Us
Author: Jo Wilde
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Forever, 4/12/22
Source: PR for Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
While I read YA and books meant for younger people, I sometimes feel annoyed at romances revolving around 20-30 year olds that act like teenagers. So it was exciting to find out about Just The Two of Us by Jo Wilde, a book about a couple who has been married for 35 years. This book was originally published in July 2020, written in 6 weeks about the Covid lockdown.
“Julie and Michael Marshall have stayed together through thick and thin, through better and worse — and, for the last few years, it has mostly been worse. As their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary approaches, Julie realizes something: she doesn’t want to pretend anymore. Divorce papers at the ready, she’s just about to have The Talk with Michael when everything changes. Lockdown begins and Julie and Michael face the greatest terror they can imagine: uninterrupted time with each other. But, when stripped of all distraction and forced to meet eyes across the dinner table, could it be that Julie and Michael might find a way back to where they first began?”
Julie and Michael are struggling in their marriage. They have three grown children and are left on their own when the lockdown starts, which leads to bonding and much needed communication about their relationship. It was a sweet story with flashbacks to previous points in their story. The strange thing for me was that the parts in the past were written in the present tense! While most of these flashbacks were labeled by date, some occurred mid chapter and I could see that being confusing. Overall, I liked this book and liked reading about an older and already established couple.
Title: The Matchbreaker Summer
Author: Annie Rains
Genre: YA Rom Com
Publisher: Underlined, 4/5/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (Rounded down to 3)
Paisley is 16 but seemed younger to me. Her mom owns a summer camp which she loves, but now her mom wants to sell the camp and move to Wyoming. Paisley’s dad passed away when she was 12 and the reason her mom plans to move is because of her current boyfriend. Paisley teams up with Hayden to try to break them up and thwart the move and sale of the camp.
“Sixteen-year-old Paisley Manning has been attending Camp Starling since she was a little girl, when her parents ran it together. For the last few years, since her father’s death, she’s been the one helping her mom run the camp behind the scenes. This year, however, will be Camp Starling’s last hurrah because Paisley’s mom has met a guy online and they’re getting married. Enter Hayden Bennett, who is working alongside Paisley. Paisley and Hayden are like oil and water. She follows the rules, and he seems to live to break them all. But when Hayden catches wind of Paisley’s predicament, he has an idea. If a matchmaker in some computer algorithm caused the issue, a couple of real-life matchbreakers can fix it. As they work to break up the happy couple, Paisley discovers that maybe Hayden’s not so bad after all. Has she met her own perfect match in her fellow matchbreaker?”
This was a quick and cute read with some issues – Paisley was a counselor but she seemed to leave the campers a lot! The “camp crush” was a summer tradition and it seemed expected that the girl counselors would pair up with the boy counselors. And they even have a girls vs guys camp competition – everything was very heteronormative. I’d recommend this for the younger YA readers and those who miss their days at summer camp.
Title: To Sir With Love
Author: Lauren Layne
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio, 6/29/21
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Buddy Read
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book made me question whether you can write a retelling of an older story and receive credit for it being unique. This is a retelling of You’ve Got Mail and it seemed quite similar to the movie!
“Perpetually cheerful and eager to please, Gracie Cooper strives to make the best out of every situation. So when her father dies just months after a lung cancer diagnosis, she sets aside her dreams of pursuing her passion for art to take over his Midtown Manhattan champagne shop. She soon finds out that the store’s profit margins are being squeezed perilously tight, and complicating matters further, a giant corporation headed by the impossibly handsome, but irritatingly arrogant Sebastian Andrews is proposing a buyout. But Gracie can’t bear the thought of throwing away her father’s dream like she did her own. Overwhelmed and not wanting to admit to her friends or family that she’s having second thoughts about the shop, Gracie seeks advice and solace from someone she’s never met—the faceless ‘Sir’, with whom she connected on a blind dating app where matches get to know each other through messages and common interests before exchanging real names or photos. But although Gracie finds herself slowly falling for Sir online, she has no idea she’s already met him in real life…and they can’t stand each other.”
I enjoyed listening to this book and it kept me interested. It was a sweet story with a cute ending.
Title: When Sparks Fly
Author: Helena Hunting
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin, 9/21/21
Source: BookSparks
Why I Read It: Sequel Out Soon
My Rating: 4 Stars
Having loved Helena Hunting’s book Kiss My Cupcake, I was excited to receive this one last fall. However, I heard mixed reviews and put off reading it until now. I started out liking it, but felt something happened in the middle that made it harder to like.
“Avery Spark is living her best life. Between her friends, her sisters, and Spark House, the event hotel her family owns, she doesn’t have much time for anything else, especially relationships. She’d rather hang out with her best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, than deal with the dating scene. But everything changes when she is in a car accident and needs someone to care for her as she heals. Declan avoids relationships, giving him a playboy reputation that he lives up to when he puts a one-night stand ahead of a promise he made to Avery. While he may not have been the one driving the car, he feels responsible for Avery’s injuries and is determined to make it up to her by stepping into the role of caretaker. Little did they know that the more time they spend in compromising positions, the attraction they’ve been refusing to acknowledge becomes impossible to ignore. When they finally give in to the spark between them, neither is prepared for the consequences. Their love is fragile and all it will take is a blow from the past to shatter it all.”
When Avery is in a car crash, Declan feels guilty and offers to be her caretaker. But then he starts taking care of her in other ways too. After Avery recovers and goes back to work, Declan freaks out about a business contact and that’s where things fell apart a bit, as I felt the book lingered too long on the conflict without really getting into Declan’s mind – we are told his parents’ relationship caused his reactions but not really shown. There was just something missing for me in that part of the book.
Title: When The World Runs Dry
Author: Nancy F. Castaldo
Genre: YA Non Fiction
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers, 1/18/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book is an eye opening read about the dangers of running out of water, chemicals seeping into water, and too much water (flooding) in an area.
“What would you do if you turned on the faucet one day and nothing happened? What if you learned the water in your home was harmful to drink? Water is essential for life on this planet, but not every community has the safe, clean water it needs. In When the World Runs Dry, award-winning science writer Nancy Castaldo takes readers from Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey, to Iran and Cape Town, South Africa, to explore the various ways in which water around the world is in danger, why we must act now, and why you’re never too young to make a difference. Topics include: Lead and water infrastructure problems, pollution, fracking contamination, harmful algal blooms, water supply issues, rising sea levels, and potential solutions.”
I found this book interesting, but a bit dry and not as engaging as a YA book should be to hold a younger person’s interest. I did learn a lot about water issues that could effect us all!
Title: Starry-Eyed Love
Author: Helena Hunting
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin, 5/10/22
Source: Get Red PR
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
I went ahead and read the next book in the Spark House series and liked it less than I liked the first one. This one features London, the middle sister, who falls for Jackson, but he doesn’t want to date her while they are working together.
“Having just broken up with her boyfriend, London Spark is not in the mood to be hit on. Especially not when she’s out celebrating her single status with her sisters. So when a very attractive man pays for their drinks and then slips her his number, she passes it right back to him with a ‘thanks, but no thanks’. As the business administrator for their family’s event hotel, the Spark House, London has more important things to worry about, like bringing in new clientele. As luck would have it, a multi-million-dollar company calls a few months later asking for a meeting to discuss a potential partnership, and London is eager to prove to her sisters, and herself, that she can land this deal. Just when she thinks she has nailed her presentation, the company’s CEO, Jackson Holt, walks in and inserts himself into the meeting. Not only that, but he also happens to be the same guy she turned down at the bar a few months ago. As they begin to spend more time together, their working relationship blossoms into something more. It isn’t until their professional entanglements are finally over, that London and Jackson are finally ready to take the next step in their relationship. But between Jackson’s secretive past and London’s struggle with her sisters, London must question where she really stands – not just with Jackson, but with the Spark House, too.”
I found that the conflict in this one made no sense. London got very upset over something that she already knew about. Like the first one in the series, the conflict part of the book became boring. So, I will probably not read book 3 when it comes out!
Title: The Neighbor’s Secret
Author: L. Alison Heller
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Flatiron Books, 10/5/21
Source: Book of the Month
Why I Read It: Catching up on BOTM books
My Rating: 4 Stars
This neighborhood drama centers around a book club. At first it seems like there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but there are mainly 3 women given viewpoints and that are interconnected both in the past and the present through their children.
“With its sprawling yards and excellent schools, Cottonwood Estates is the perfect place to raise children. The Cottonwood Book Club serves as the subdivision’s eyes and ears, meeting once a month for discussion, gossip, and cocktails. If their selections trend toward twisty thrillers and salacious murder mysteries, it’s only because the members feel secure that such evil has no place in their own cul-de-sacs. Or does it? What happened to Lena’s family fifteen years ago was a tragic accident, and she will never admit otherwise. Devoted wife and mother Annie refuses to acknowledge―even to herself―the weight of a past shame. And new resident Jen wants friends, but as always, worry about her troubled son gets in the way. When late-night acts of vandalism target the women of the book club in increasingly violent and personal ways, they will be forced to decide how far to go to keep their secrets. At least they all agree on what’s most important: protecting their children at any cost―even if it means someone has to die.”
Many books focus on what a mother will do to protect their child. I did find that it held my attention and there were enough twists to call this a thriller.
Title: Year On Fire
Author: Julie Buxbaum
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte, 4/12/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
This book was boring to me. I’m not sure why, as the characters taken individually were probably interesting. I just didn’t enjoy the read overall.
“The Spark: Just days before the start of junior year for twins Arch and Immie and their best friend, Paige, a spontaneous kiss shakes the very foundation of their friendship. But some loyalties run too deep to be broken by accidental betrayal. The Fuel: Enter Rohan, new to Wood Valley High by way of London, who walks into school on the first day completely overwhelmed by his sudden move halfway around the world. When Paige calls dibs on him—he’s too cute to ignore—Immie is in no position to argue, certainly not after taking the fall for the disloyal kiss. Too bad for Immie that Ro feels like the best kind of familiar. The Kindling: Former lab partners Arch and Jackson, Paige’s ex-boyfriend, have never considered themselves more than friends. But sometimes feelings can grow like wildfire. The Flames: When the girls’ bathroom at Wood Valley is set ablaze, no one doubts it’s arson. But in this bastion of privilege, who’d be angry enough to want to burn down the school? Answer: pretty much everyone.”
This book contains references to abuse, forced closeting, and toxic friendships. I wish I liked it more!
There you have it – 11 of the books I read this month. Of these books, 8 were print, 2 were audio, and 1 was an e-book. 7 were adult and 4 were YA. Genres included historical fiction, non-fiction, contemporary, thriller, and rom com.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?