The tennis season started for me this month, so I was pretty busy! But, I did have a week off from school for spring break so I was able to get lots of reading done during that time. This month was pretty interesting for me because I ended up reading my least favorite book of the year (so far) and my favorite book of the year all in the span of 3 days! Read below to find out which they were!
Stats
- Read: 6 books
- Three 5 stars, zero 4 stars, two 3 stars, and one 1 star
- Favorite book of April: Second First Impressions
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
This was OK. The romance was fine, and the characters were fine as well but I didn’t get too attached to them because there wasn’t much relationship building. This book just reminded me way too much of Clockwork Angel and Stalking Jack the Ripper, and those were much better than Sorcery of Thorns. Ultimately, the lack of creativity and lackluster relationship development made this book very mediocre. Rating: 3 stars
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
This is definitely my favorite SJM book! I think she did such a great job writing the 3rd-person POV. (I’m probably biased because I love Nesta and Cassian much more than Feyre and Rhys). Nesta’s character growth was written beautifully and realistically. Her relationship with Cassian was also developed at the perfect pace. I fell in love with Nesta as a character and adored watching her find her place and new family during her journey throughout ACOSF. Rating: 5 stars
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Anddddd I have found my worst book of the year so far! This book is infamous for being extremely heartbreaking, and it definitely delivered. It started off strong, but the story just went downhill. I don’t want to spoil anything, but after the first 100 pages, the book settles into a bleak, depressing, and redundant plot which seldom had any growth or development for the main character. I didn’t appreciate the message conveyed on mental health/therapy either, and I just really despised the ending. Maybe you would like this if you were into existentialism, philosophy, and overall pessimism. Rating: 1 star
Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
Sarah Hogle is definitely one of my new favorite authors. I enjoyed her second novel almost as much as her debut, You Deserve Each Other! I adored the dynamics between Maybell and Wesley, they have that grumpy-sunshine opposites attract trope going on. Wesley also had anxiety, so I appreciated the representation we got for male mental health. If I could describe this book in one word it would be “adorable”. No toxicity, only sweet and healthy interactions between the couple. I can’t wait to see what else Hogle writes! Rating: 5 stars
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
This is my new favorite book of the year! Sally Thorne has already gained the adoration of the romance reading community with The Hating Game, and in my opinion she didn’t let us down with this one! I loved it almost as much as THG. Thorne wowed me again with her quirky, hilarious, relatable writing style and VERY relatable main character. All the side characters were so charming and lovable, and of course the love interest was amazingly written (although very different from Josh from THG!). The premise of the book was also so unique and creative, and so was the retirement community setting. This book hasn’t gotten so much buzz for whatever reason, but I highly recommend picking it up if you loved The Hating Game! Rating: 5 stars
You Have a Match by Emma Lord
This book could have been marketed better. I was under the impression that it would deal with a lot of romance and friendship building, but in reality it had more to do with family drama influenced by The Parent Trap movie. I wasn’t expecting so much of the plot to be focused on the MC’s parents, which took away from my enjoyment of the story. Overall, the romance and relationship development that we did get was dull and just OK. Rating: 3 stars