What I Read In April 2024 + My May TBR
When I thought back to the books I read in April, I really thought it wasn’t a lot of books—like my March roundup. But as I checked out my Goodreads reading goal, I discovered that I read seven (!!!!) books in the month of April. (That does not include The Manuscript from The Tortured Poets Department.)
This month was filled with some highly anticipated new releases, including Funny Story by Emily Henry! I also devoured The Rule Book by Sarah Adams, the stand alone sequel to The Cheat Sheet. I also finished the second book in the Crescent City series, which I’m pleasantly surprised by. It took me foreverrrrrrr to finish House of Earth and Blood, so it came to my surprise that I finished House of Sky and Breath (book 2) in less than a month. I could not put it down!
The Rule Book by Sarah Adams
Another cute, enjoyable, heartwarming romance by the brilliant Sarah Adams! Anything she writes is a comfort read. I loooooved Derek and Nora together. Their second chance, marriage of convenience romance was truly delightful. They had great chemistry and banter. Not only was their chemistry and relationship palpable and believable, but their friendship was also refreshing to read. I think that the author tried to invoke the enemies-to-lovers trope here, and enact some sort of hatred or resentment between the two exes (Derek and Nora dated in college), but that was quickly squashed. I was rooting for them from the very first page…especially Derek. I will protect that man at all costs. Derek talked about his anxiety around his career and his fears of being a “washed up athlete.” He was also still pining for the one who he never stopped loving since college. Enter: Nora. Nora has been chasing her career dreams of being a sports agent and fighting the patriarchy and male-dominated industry to prove herself. But it was through her hard work and determination that finally got her to her first official client. Her first client? Her college ex-boyfriend, Derek. They encountered a few roadblocks, like accidentally getting married in Vegas, but they navigated it with ease (somewhat). It took Nora to trust Derek with her heart, but eventually, she did.
I loved this book and would highly recommend The Cheat Sheet to go with it!
Rating: 4/5
Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, 1) by Rebecca Ross
This was SO worth the hype! This was also a You’ve Got Mail retelling, which is only one of my favorite (if not my favorite) comfort movie. This is a magical realism fantasy romance with mythology, which again, was the only thing that slightly confused me only because I listened to this on audio and sometimes I get distracted on my audiobook walks. Even then, the storytelling was impeccable and so good. I highly recommend this hyped book and excited to finish the second book, Ruthless Vows!
Rating: 4.5/5
Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, 2) by Sarah J. Maas
AHHHHHH! I loved this one so much. This book was so, so, so much better than the first one, in that it was easier to follow along with. For me, I was more drawn to the romance (naturally), which was more prevalent in this one than in the first one. Still, the worldbuilding and everything that was going on in Crescent City was explained better and fleshed out. The characters, plot, and story were all so compelling that I could easily understand what was happening. I did not want to put this down. AND WHAT WAS THAT ENDING??
Rating: 4.5/5
How to End A Love Story by Yulin Kuang
This was another bookstagram favorite, and it was not a disappointment! I loved this book so, so much. My favorite part about this book was the author’s writing style and that it was very detailed, to how she drew out the characters and what they were feeling, but the chapters were also relatively short and to the point. I loved the characters and their romance, banter, and chemistry. It was so palpable! This was just so beautifully written and the story was so good. Overall, I highly recommend!
Rating: 4/5
Funny Story by Emily Henry
I wrote a longer review for the blog, but here are my initial thoughts: I loved it. I loved this book so much. Fans of Emily Henry have been eating this one up, and for good reason! I think fans of Beach Read specifically will love this one the most. So, it’s kind of a funny story… that I’m in love with Miles? But seriously though? Emily Henry knows how to write a good MMC (male main character) without even sharing from his POV. Even with that aside, the characters were all 10/10, even the supporting characters. I loved them and all of their intricacies and flaws and traits and how they flowed together. I think that at sometimes, the plot moved slow. Or I was expecting to hear more about Miles’s family background, and that’s what it slowed down. (This is where I sort of wished we got Miles’s POV, but I think it would’ve disrupted Daphne’s story, which was the main plot of the book.) Still, I thought it was incredibly written and thought out well. The romance and banter was so incredibly believable. Daphne and Miles have my heart!
Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey
Only Tessa Bailey could make me enjoy a golf romance. I thought this was going to be a quick, easy, low stakes read—and to be honest, it is! But the characters have this depth that I only see in about half of her romance books. Wells Whitaker, y’all. He needs a hug and I am the first in line (behind Josephine, of course). Tessa wrote Wells to be this tough guy but as we got to know him more, those tough walls are just a mask to cover up feelings of not being good enough or not worthy to be loved. I also loved Josephine; Tessa, in the author’s note/acknowledgements, noted that she wanted to write a character with diabetes after her own child. I liked how she wrote that into the story and more specifically, Josephine’s story. Overall, the ploy was a little lacking in some areas, but this book was good!
Rating: 3.5/5 (I initially ranked it four stars)
Right on Cue by Falon Ballard
This book was alright. It didn’t start getting good until about halfway through. I didn’t really like Emmy, the main character. She often went back and forth from hating her love interest, Grayson, to liking him. And Grayson was not that bad!! But about halfway through the book, the story picked up and I couldn’t put it down. Back to Grayson—I really liked Grayson. I wish we had his POV. I think diving into what motivated him to do the movie in the first place would’ve been helpful to know. Overall, this was a solid three stars for me. I liked the ending. I liked the author’s other books the same amount so I think her books aren’t for me (although they’re really popular so I do get the hype). I’d recommend this book to anyone wanting a fun, quick read!
Rating: 3/5