April was a great reading month for me as far as numbers go. I read 9 books this month. As far as quality goes, it was all over the place. I read some books I really like and I read some that I was disappointed in. So here is My April Wrap Up.
House of Earth and Blood
Synopsis:
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.
With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.
My Rating: 5/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/04/08/house-of-earth-and-blood-by-sarah-j-maas-review/
My Lady Jane
Synopsis:
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.
My Rating: 3/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/04/20/my-lady-jane-by-cynthia-hand-brodi-ashton-and-jodi-meadows-review/
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
Synopsis:
Steel Magnolias meets Dracula in this ’90s-set horror novel about a women’s book club that must do battle with a mysterious newcomer to their small Southern town, perfect for murderinos and fans of Stephen King.
Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families.
One evening after book club, Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing the neighbor’s handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in years. But when children on the other side of town go missing, their deaths written off by local police, Patricia has reason to believe James Harris is more of a Bundy than a Brad Pitt. The real problem? James is a monster of a different kind–and Patricia has already invited him in.
Little by little, James will insinuate himself into Patricia’s life and try to take everything she took for granted–including the book club–but she won’t surrender without a fight in this blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.
My Rating: 3/5
My Full Review: Review Coming Soon! Subscribe if you don’t want to miss it!
Whammy
Synopsis:
The trouble with small towns is that nothing of note ever happens. That has pretty much been the status quo for quite some time in Lily Grove, Texas, where the only two things keeping the town moving are farming and the oil field. But when an accidental death shakes up the oil patch, Klive Anderson tries to balance keeping some form of normalcy in his day-to-day life, while also trying to uncover exactly what the hell happened. You know, just in case the same thing could happen to him. Meanwhile, Stacey Karlisle has her own issues to worry about. Being the neighborhood entrepreneur keeps the day moving, but after a while, going through the motions starts to wear one down.
Whammy follows the two as they both try to navigate the rare ripple in their little pond in their own very different ways. Part mystery, part comic book adventure, take a drive out to the country and find out how to handle yourself when exciting things happen in your normally sleepy little hometown.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: Review Coming Soon! Subscribe if you don’t want to miss it!
Not Available for Purchase Yet
Questions of Perspective
Synopsis:
No one knew it at the time, but April 19, 2011, was the most important day in the history of the world.
After his only friend and colleague, John Manta, disappears without a word, Dave Randall further entrenches himself in the humdrum life of an unenthusiastic lawyer. But once he begins to understand what happened, he embarks on a journey to uncover the deeper meanings and implications of John’s fate.
Accompanied by Peaches the cat, Dave uproots his life and reinvents himself in the midst of his search. Along the way, he is haunted by his piecemeal understanding of John’s fate and what it means for his existence. Little does Dave know, his journey of self-discovery will have ramifications that extend far beyond the borders of his own little life.
My Rating: 5/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/04/27/questions-of-perspective-by-daniel-maunz-review/
Verity
Synopsis:
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin. When Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, asks Lowen to complete the remaining books in a contract his permanently injured wife is unable to fulfill, Lowen has no choice but to accept.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home with the intention of only staying one or two nights-long enough to sort through Verity’s chaotic home office to collect all the notes and outlines she’ll need to start writing the first novel. But the more time Lowen spends with Jeremy Crawford, the less of a hurry she is in to leave. While there, Lowen uncovers a hidden manuscript. An autobiography containing chilling admissions Verity planned to take to her grave, including the truth behind the events that turned their lives upside down.
A truth that, if revealed to Jeremy, would further devastate the already grieving father. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript a secret, allowing Jeremy to continue to believe Verity is merely an innocent, unfortunate victim of circumstance. But as Lowen’s feelings for the devoted father and husband deepen, she wonders if keeping Jeremy in the dark is in her own best interest. After all, if Jeremy were to read his wife’s autobiography, the disturbing truth would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.
My Rating: 5/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/04/24/verity-by-colleen-hoover-review/
The Whole Town is Talking
Synopsis:
Elmwood Springs, Missouri, is a small town like any other, but something strange is happening at the cemetery. Still Meadows, as it’s called, is anything but still. Original, profound, The Whole Town’s Talking, a novel in the tradition of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town and Flagg’s own Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, tells the story of Lordor Nordstrom, his Swedish mail-order bride, Katrina, and their neighbors and descendants as they live, love, die, and carry on in mysterious and surprising ways.
Lordor Nordstrom created, in his wisdom, not only a lively town and a prosperous legacy for himself but also a beautiful final resting place for his family, friends, and neighbors yet to come. “Resting place” turns out to be a bit of a misnomer, however. Odd things begin to happen, and it starts the whole town talking.
With her wild imagination, great storytelling, and deep understanding of folly and the human heart, the beloved Fannie Flagg tells an unforgettable story of life, afterlife, and the remarkable goings-on of ordinary people. In The Whole Town’s Talking, she reminds us that community is vital, life is a gift, and love never dies.
My Rating: 2/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/04/17/the-whole-towns-talking-by-fannie-flagg-review/
Mountain Climbing with Dinosaurs
Synopsis:
Rise up.
Take the next handhold. Stretch your fingers as far as they can go. Hundreds of feet above the ground, don’t look down. Keep climbing. There are dinosaurs nearby, hiding in the cracks and holes of this ugly mountain wall. New Profanity Peak, they call it. These nightmarish creatures may remind you of the mass shooting you survived and your dead friends, but don’t stop moving. Keep pushing upward. Rise up. Memorialize your fallen friends.
When the big wall reduces to smooth glass, dig deep. When it shows you an impossible overhang, find a way around it, but hurry. Dimorphodons are called the Wolves of the Sky for a reason.
Climb faster. Claw your way out of that deep dark pit in your soul, the one that knows the truth about the mass shooting.
Don’t slip or fall. Don’t. Look. Down.
And rise up.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/04/15/mountain-climbing-with-dinosaurs-by-doug-goodman/
Audio Books
![Sin and Zen by [Steven Warren Stribling]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/517rNv0uVKL._SY346_.jpg)
Synopsis:
Seductive soldier and shameless alcoholic, Will Strief was made to be broken and transcendental. After spending his entire adult life in the military, jumping out of planes and living a hero’s life, Strief is left in the gutter of civilian life in Marseille, France after a devastating injury in the French Foreign Legion. Now, at twenty-three, he is reveling in his suddenly liberating rock-star life: hilarious drug experiences, vicious drinking, and a delirious sex life that would put any lesser man in the ground.
With all of Stribling’s real-life experience, the story is as bona fide as it is uncovering. Said to be a must-read for women to understand the mind of man. Stribling writes a psychological fiction that delves into the restless mind of a young adult trying to understand himself and the world. It is dirty realism and dark humor and deep philosophy in this relentless tale of life on the edge.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/04/10/sin-and-zen-by-s-w-stribling/
That’s it for my April Wrap Up. I hope you all had a happy, healthy April. I hope May is even better!
Reading in the Wildwood 