April was the month of the OWLs Magical Readathon and I guess it was somewhat successful? I read nine books in total, eight of which I used to fulfil the prompts, and that’s more books than I’ve read for OWLs than before! However, I didn’t manage to get the career I was hoping for – I missed by one one subject, because I don’t really like reading a book at one specific time (the prompt was to read a book when it’s dark). However, I did manage to complete other career requirements and I think the one I’m going to continue to pursue is to become a Potioneer. I can’t wait for NEWTs in August!
I do feel like I still didn’t read as much as I wanted to, but my reading is gradually increasing again, so hopefully I can read even more in May. This month I read a lot of solidly good books, but nothing truly standout, so instead of going through every single book this month, I’ve decided to list them here, and then delve a bit deeper into my thoughts on my favourites and least favourites.
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane – ⭑⭑⭑
Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto – ⭑⭑⭑⭑
Always Human by Ari North – ⭑⭑⭑⭑
Wild Savage Stars by Kristina Perez – ⭑⭑⭑⭑
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham – ⭑⭑⭑
The Familiars by Stacey Halls – ⭑⭑⭑⭑
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff – ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald – ⭑⭑⭑
Plain Jane by Laurie Gardner – ⭑⭑⭑
My favourite book of the month was definitely Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. I was hesitant going into this, as I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews. I understand that the Japanese inspired world was not the most thoroughly researched and that it took advantage of a lot of stereotypes, and I don’t think this book is perfect in anyway. However, I completely forgot just how good Jay Kristoff’s writing is. It’s a mixture of lyrical but also incredibly readable, and I really appreciated how vivid the world became for me. Plus, the concept of the world itself, this sort of steampunk, polluted, dying land, seemed really cool and unique to me. I have a genuine interest in reading the sequel, as I want to read more about these characters and the world they live in.
I liked many other books I read this month (everything I read was sort of solidly good). I really enjoyed Wild Savage Stars by Kristina Perez, the sequel to Sweet Black Waves. I really love this series and I think its very underrated. The Celtic inspired world is super interesting and I think the story really develops in this sequel. To me this reads more like an adult fantasy plot, but written as YA, because there is more of a focus on politics, and also entering a relationship not because you’re wildly in love, but because you want to experiment and experience different things. The ending was really intense – I think the only reason I can’t give this book five stars is because some of the actions of the characters frustrate me so much, and many events could have been avoided if they just spoke to each other.
Another book that stands out to me is Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto. I bought this a while on a complete whim, because the cover was gorgeous, but also because this has phoenix riders! But it sat on my shelf for quite a while and when I finally decided to read it I thought it would just be quite a basic YA fantasy. Actually, I ended up really enjoying this. Of course, I loved the pheonix riding element of this – my younger self who was obsessed with Eragon was happy – but the characters were solid. Most importantly though, the twist at the end is really solid, and I have a great desire to read the sequel and find out how this is going to change everything.
A book I didn’t enjoy so much this month was If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane. This is an adult romance with actually surprisingly little adult content. I don’t really care about that to be honest, but this was just so mediocre. It follows a woman (who’s name I cannot remember), and her long term boyfriend dumps her unexpectedly at the beginning of the book. She discovers that he has in fact been cheating on her, so in order to get revenge, she decides the best thing to do is to fake date the new, young and unlikeable guy at her office. Then ensues a very bland book in which little happens, and the main character gives off lots of ‘I’m not like other girls’ vibes. It wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the best. It was just forgettable.
That sums up some of the highlights of the month. My reading has been very average recently – nothing I’m reading really has that wow factor that I’m looking for. I’m enjoying most things, but I really wish there was a little more variety. Hopefully in May I will find some new absolute favourites.
What were your favourite books of April? Have you read any of these books? If you would like to hear my thoughts on some of the ones I didn’t cover in detail, let me know!
The Bookish Courtier 