April ended with ten books read and another two in progress, which was surprising as I had a terrible month of migraines and pain flares, and lost count of how many times I fell asleep reading after just a page or two. It took me ten days to read a three hundred and fifty page book, which was super frustrating, and I only finished four print books all month, but luckily audiobooks were tolerable, and that helped me make up the numbers. I read some fantastic books, though; enjoyed lots of cosy fantasies; started a Throne of Glass reread; and rated nine out of ten four stars or above! Not such a bad month, after all!
Here's how I got on:
April Reading Stats:
📖10 books completed, 2 started.
📖 4 hardbacks.
🎧 6 audiobooks
📖 1392 pages (4341 pages including audiobooks).
🎧 90.32 hours listened at 1.1x or 1.2x speed.
📖 7 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 Average rating: 4.68 stars.
📖 Average book length: 429 pages.
📖 Average time to finish: 6 days.
I did so much better than I thought I did, and there wasn't a bad book in the bunch.
I Read:
📖Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. 3.75⭐
📖Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales. 4⭐
📖The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst. 4⭐
📖A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping. 5⭐
🎧House of Flame and Shadow (Graphic Audio Part Two) by Sarah J. Maas. 5⭐ (Reread).
🎧Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. 5⭐ (Reread).
🎧Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. 5⭐ (Reread).
🎧The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas. 5⭐ (Reread).
🎧Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. 5 ⭐ (Reread).
🎧Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas. 5 ⭐ (Reread).
And I Started:
🎧Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas. (Reread).
📖Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen.
Favourite Reads:
My favourite new read of the month had to be A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping. It was a charming cosy fantasy bursting with wonder and whimsy, loveable characters, marvellous magic, slow-burn romance, and delightfully daft humour. The story captured my heart from the start with quirky little details, like the resurrection of a dead aunt and her pet rooster; a witch cursed to live as a fox; and, for some reason, there being a sweet but melodramatic knight living in Sera's delightfully magical inn. My interest only grew as the world-building and characters' stories developed, opening up a world with a witch trying to reclaim her lost magic from a prejudiced witches guild in order to defeat her powerful ex-mentor, all while living in a ramshackle inn in Lancashire with a diverse bunch of previously-unloved and slightly-deranged misfits. I fell in love with the magic, the found family vibes, the romance between the main characters, and how wonderfully diverse the characters were. In a genre over-saturated with straight, white teenagers, it was so refreshing to read a book with a non-stereotypical thirty-something British-Indian main character; to have side characters from various walks of life (POC, British Indian, Icelandic, Scottish, and more); and see disabled, autistic, introverted, gay and lesbian, and young and old characters celebrated for exactly who they were. While it does touch on some difficult subjects at times, like depression and suicidal thoughts, overall, it was such a lovely, relaxing read, and if you're looking for a book that will make you smile and laugh throughout, I couldn't recommend it to you more.
I also really enjoyed The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst. The author's adult fantasy novels, The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse are two of my all-time favourites, so I was curious about how her YA writing compared, and preordered this one as soon as I heard about it. It's about a teenaged girl called Calisa who goes to stay at her great aunt's flailing inn in Vermont for the summer to help her get it back on its feet, and escape a bad break-up. Only, when she gets there, she learns that her aunt doesn't want her there at all, and is only permitted to stay for three days. Calisa sets out to prove herself by setting the inn to rights and helping meet the strange requests of the unusual guests, and soon discovers that the inn is a retreat for people from across the realms. When her aunt then disappears, she has to travel across worlds to find her with the cute groundskeeper's son, while keeping the inn afloat, and the guests happy before it all falls apart. It was so cute, cosy, and chaotic! I got lost in the magic and whimsicalness of the story, and particularly loved exploring the different worlds; Steve, the adorable miniature dragon; and the over-dramatic- and somewhat sarcastic- sentient mirror. It reminded me of the kind of fantasy adventure stories that I loved when I was a kid, like The Magic Faraway Tree books. I don't think it was as good as her Spellshop books, though- but only because I had little interest in the modern world outside of the inn, or Calisa's teenaged angst. If the main characters had been adults and it was entirely set in a fantasy world, I would've likely given it five stars because I otherwise loved it.
Favourite Listens: I had a wonderful month continuing my Maasverse reread, finishing Crescent City and moving on to Throne of Glass, and loved all the audiobooks I listened to- especially Queen of Shadows, Heir of Fire, and House of Flame and Shadow (part two). This was my third read- second in audiobook form- and the books just keep on getting better and better the more I read them. If you want fantasy with epic world-building, a three-universe cross-over, and fantastic characters, the three Sarah J. Maas series are well worth reading. You can find my original Throne of Glass reviews here and here.
Least Favourites: If I had to choose one, I would pick Shatter Me, but only because something has to be last. I loved everything I read in April, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I'd put off reading it for years, expecting it to just be over-hyped Tik-Tok drivel, but for a YA dystopian, the writing was actually beautiful, and even poetic at times. I was hooked from the start, but I did begin to lose interest in the middle once the parameters changed, and what I thought was going to be a five star read, ended up a 3.75. The cliff-hanger ending was intriguing, though, so I'm hopeful the series will pick up again for me in book two.
Well, that's what I read in April...
Have you read any good books lately?
I'll be back with my May reads really soon!
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