Tuesday, May 4, 2021

APRIL READS

 


Hi! In today’s blog post I will be sharing my April Wrap Up. My Goodreads reading goal is 500 books, so this places me 30 books ahead of schedule. 

My April stats are as follows:

Books read for April: 58

Pages read: 19,426
Average pages per day: 648
Average pages per book: 334


Overall stats:

Books read for 2021 so far: 193

Running total # pages: 65,279
Average pages per day: 544
Average pages per book: 338

Week One


April started off with a bang! Twenty-five books in one week. I don't know what hit me but there it is. It was mostly a good week but it did have two disappointments, Whirlaway by Robert Wintner and Hurricane Summers by Asha Bromfield. Both of these books will get one star if I write the reviews.

On a more positive note, I read four Lisa Genova books, Inside the O’Briens, Every Note Played, Love Anthony and Left Neglected. Previously I read Still Alice and Remember (nonfiction). Each book deals with a different neurological disorder and how they affect the patient and their families. Incredible books.

I finished Rick Riordan’s second series, the Heroes of Olympus, with the last four books, as I read the first one in this series last month. I am slowly working my way through Kristin Hannah’s backlist, so I read and loved Night Road. Last year Christina Lauren wrote In a Holidaze, which was my least favorite by the duo writing team. So I was really hopeful with The Soulmate Equation and was quite pleased with it. It is one of my favorites by them.

I got a few historical romances in, and I really loved all five of them, especially the two by Harper St. George, The Heiress Gets a Duke and The Devil and the Heiress. Both of these were set in the Gilded Age and I really loved the strong female protagonists who refused to live by convention.

I read a poetry book, which I rarely find time to read, which was Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. This series of poems were part biographical, soul-inspiring and very uplifting.


Week Two


This week I read 11 books, bringing me to 36 for the month and 171 for 2021. All but one of the books read this week were Kindle books. I am working on blog tour titles for the rest of April but I had to pause my TBR to read two books from a couple of favorite authors, Catherine Coulter and Karin Slaughter. Their two books were actually my favorite this week.

Slaughter’s book, False Witness was another intense read by her. The book was powerful and upsetting as it closely mirrors some of the sick crimes in the real world. Definitely a 5 Star read. Coulter’s book, Vortex, is the 27th book in her FBI series. I love this series and both Dillon and Sherlock are going strong, although working on different cases.

I had An Ignorance of Means as an audiobook for review. This historical fiction showed the plight of a young woman married to a horrible man at a time, 1800s, when all he wanted was a child for his legacy all while treating her horribly. Her goal was to escape him and we see all the dangers she faced. A 3 Star read.

I read several books from Bookouture from Lisa Regan, the fantastic 11th book in her Josie Quinn series. The emotional Her Last Chance by Alison Ragsdale was a page turner and a 4 Star from me. Then I read His First Wife’s Secret from Emma Robinson, which was a touching read that made me grab tissues. Tilly Tennant’s The Little Orchard On the Lane was a really sweet read as all of her books have been. I read two books by J. P. Adler, Dead Woman Crossing and Last Day Alive. This series is the Detective Kimberley King series. I only had the second for review but bought the first one. I am so glad that I did as there was so much history that I might have been lost if I started in on book two.

Two more books. Harlequin Intrigue's Her Child to Protect by Delores Fossen. It is book one in a new series. An excellent read and can’t wait for the next one. I read Kim Nash’s Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove. This was a lovely story with a bit of conflict that ended up with a nice HEA.

Week Three


This third week of April brings me to 49 books so far this month, with 13 read for the week. Overall I am averaging about 700 pages read daily. This still allows me to spend tons of time is audio and video calls with friends and family, blogging, diamond painting and finishing a jigsaw puzzle and starting a new one. Also, I resumed Animal Crossing after nearly seven months away from the game. Not only am I playing again, I am in the process of flattening and redesigning my already 5 star island.

Now, what did I read this week? 9 ebooks, 2 print books and 2 audiobooks. The strongest two were The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter and The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. The Photographer reminded me of You with an obsessed female protagonist. If you read You by Caroline Kepnes no doubt you remember Joe. The Plot was a fabulous psychological thriller, although at some point I was able to guess the twist.

The Drowning Kind was really good, while being equally tragic and eerie. The Summer of No Attachments by Lori Foster proved an easy 5 Star read by Lori Foster. I simply love her work. The Liar’s Daughter by Rona Halsall and My Little Girl by Shalini Boland were excellent psychological thrillers by two authors whose books never miss a beat. 

Courting Trouble by Kerrigan Byrne was the second book in the Goode Girls series. I had planned to binge read books 1 - 3 because I have book 4, Tempting Fate, for review. When I started book 1, Seducing a Stranger, I didn’t make it to the end of the first paragraph to realize I had already read it. This is because it was previously titled A Dark and Stormy Night. Despite having read over 800 books since then (June 2020), I immediately recognized it. I have said more than once that I have an eidetic memory and this is a great example of that.

I loved all the rest of this week’s reads with Someone to Cherish by Mary Balogh being the weakest only because the conflict in this historical fiction wasn’t very impressive compared to some of the previous seven books in the series.

Week Four


For this last week of April I read nine books. My health definitely affects my reading ability, as each week I’ve read less and less books. Nonetheless, I am pleased to say that it was a good reading week.

I read books three and four of Kerrigan Byrne's Goode Girls series, Flirting with Danger and Tempting Fate. Last year I read the first two books in the series in loved each and every one of them. I read two books for review by Effie Kammenou, Love is What You Bake of It and Love By Design. She is a new author to me and I enjoyed both stories, as well as the multiple recipes included in each book.

I then read books four through six of Donna Grant’s Heart of Texas series. A Cowboy Like You, Looking for a Cowboy and A Cowboy Kind of Love. These were all really good romantic suspense stories with fabulous settings and were very easy reads. I then read The third book in the First Comes Love series. I read the first two books last year and this one, How To Train Your Earl, was a great addition to the series. Lastly I enjoyed the cozy mystery by Emma Jameson, A Death at Seascape House. This was the delightful first book in the Jemima Jago series. I am eager to read more books in this promising series.

Here are the ratings for each book I read this month, and these are linked to directly to Goodreads:
A Death at Seascape House: A totally unputdownable British cozy mystery novel 4/30 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How to Train Your Earl 4/29 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
A Cowboy Kind of Love 4/29 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Cowboy Like You 4/28 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Looking for a Cowboy 4/28 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love by Design 4/27 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love is What You Bake of it 4/27 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tempting Fate 4/26 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Courting Trouble 4/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dancing With Danger 4/25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Plot 4/24 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Rocky Mountain Revenge 4/23 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Summer of No Attachments: A Novel 4/23 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Photographer 4/23 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Drowning Kind 4/22 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Liar's Daughter: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist 4/21 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Someone to Cherish 4/21 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lost Girls of Ireland 4/20 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
No Going Back: A gritty and gripping page-turning crime thriller 4/20 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Third Kill 4/20 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Beneath Blackwater River 4/19 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
My Little Girl 4/18 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Her Child to Protect 4/18 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Last Day Alive 4/17 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dead Woman Crossing 4/17 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Little Orchard on the Lane 4/16 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Her Last Chance: Utterly heartbreaking, gripping and emotional fiction 4/13 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
His First Wife's Secret 4/14 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove 4/12 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hush Little Girl 4/12 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
An Ignorance of Means 4/12 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Vortex 4/11 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
False Witness 4/12 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Hurricane Summer 4/10 ⭐️
Brown Girl Dreaming 4/10 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Devil and the Heiress 4/9 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Heiress Gets a Duke 4/9 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Blood of Olympus 4/8 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Whirlaway 4/8 ⭐️
What the Devil Knows 4/7 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The House of Hades 4/8 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Mark of Athena 4/6 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Just Get Home 4/6 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Son of Neptune 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Silent Girl 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wrong Marquess 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Kind of Earl 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lord Holt Takes a Bride 4/4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Soulmate Equation 4/4 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Marriage He Demands 4/3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love Anthony 4/3 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Left Neglected 4/3 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Every Note Played 4/2 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Inside the O'Briens 4/2 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
A Firehouse Christmas Baby 4/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Night Road 4/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Baby Lessons 4/1 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Talk Bookish to Me: A Novel 4/1 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My TBR is as follows. I am sure it will change at least a dozen times, but it is a start!




Here are some progress pictures of my hobbies:

Three diamond paintings are in progress and I have framed and hung a few since last month.







I collected all of the Cobble Hill Rainbow and Element series Jigsaw puzzles.


I have completed BLUE


And just sorted RED:



I have already jumped into May.

May
Monthly # pages: 2,287
Books read this month: 5
Running total # pages: 67,566
Running total # books read: 196

Currently Reading


Read
    


So, that is my wrap up for April, what I have read in May thus far, and what I hope to read for the rest of this month as well as the hobbies I am enjoying.



5 comments:

  1. You never fail to amaze me. What an impressive reading month! I don't think I've read any of the books you mention in this post.

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  2. I have read at leas three of the books mentioned in your post. I love your diamond paint, they look beautiful.

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  3. You have read some amazing books in April. Love you artwork too. You have a busy life. X

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  4. I do not know how you do it Robin. You had a great reading month.

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  5. How do you have time to read all these books?! I bow to you "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy." Lol.. I always think my TBR pile is overwhelming. I love your rating system and I have definitely added a few of these books to my summer reading list. Thank you! I am happy I found your blog. Now, it definitely doesn't seem like you need any new book recommendations but that won't stop me! I've got a fantastic summer read for you that is a psychological thriller with suspense and a truly haunting spiritual twist. It's called "Deciduous" by Michael Devendorf (https://www.michaeldevendorf.com/). This book was really incredible and you could tell the depth of feeling that went into it. The main character, Sienna, suffers an enormous loss in the beginning. What follows is a thrilling and sometimes terrifying journey through the characters psyche. Was she responsible for the deaths? Is there something more sinister at play? Every chapter is a new dark turn and I loved every minute of it. Definitely check this one out! Happy Summer and Happy Reading

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