April 2022 Wrap Up

Hi everyone! Today I’m taking a break from Medievalathon (check out my May TBR for more on that) to talk about the books that I read in April! It was a good reading month for me, so I’m excited to talk about all of these books!

Before we talk about each book, here are some of my monthly stats:

I read 8 books for a total of 3,261 pages (my highest page count yet!) and my average rating was 4.5. I had three 5 stars, two 4.5 stars, and three 4 star reads. Maybe I rate things too highly, but I mainly rate based off enjoyment so oh well.

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The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish – ★★★★★
I enjoyed this book a lot, there was never a dull moment and the characters were all very fun to follow and get to know. I also highly enjoyed the fight scenes and just the way it was written was really refreshing. I liked that the characters at times were very clear on their expectations and what was going to happen, like with them being honest about how Cyrus’s training would go. That doesn’t mean though that the characters didn’t hold back secrets, because the secrets and reveals throughout this (and especially at the end) were amazing. I do have a full review for this book since I read it as an ARC (it’s actually the only one from this list I actually did a review on, because I’m slacking off).

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The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James – ★★★★☆.5
I hadn’t read anything from this author before, although I do have two of her other books on my TBR that I want to read soon. This one follows a woman who is obsessed with true crime and ends up interviewing the only suspect of two murders that happened in her town. While there weren’t really any twists that I didn’t see coming, I loved the paranormal aspects and the atmosphere was super creepy. I loved how this also explored how society can view people who are different from them, and how quickly they condemned Beth for the murders. Great blend of a ghost story and a cold case murder mystery!

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A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn – ★★★★★
This is the fourth book in the Veronica Speedwell series, so I can’t say too much about the plot of this book specifically. This is a historical mystery series set in Victorian England and follows Veronica and Stoker, who aren’t in the business of solving mysteries but somehow always manage to get pulled into cover ups, murders, and more. This series is so much fun, each book has it’s own mystery that the two have to solve. While they are pretty formulaic, it’s still enjoyable and there’s always something different about each mystery that makes them stand out. I especially love Veronica and Stoker and their relationship with each other, and the slow burn romance between them is fantastic! This is easily a new favorite series, and one of my favorites to listen to on audio.

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It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey – ★★★★☆.5
About halfway through the month, I just really wanted to read a cute romance that I could just read through super quickly, so I chose It Happened One Summer! This was such a cute story about a Hollywood ‘It Girl’ who gets cut off by her family and has to prove herself in a small Pacific Northwest town, only to fall in love with a grumpy king crab fisherman. I loved Piper and Brendan and their banter with each other! There were actually parts where I got teary eyed because I just felt so bad for Piper and Brendan with the thoughts and feelings they needed to overcome, especially Piper feeling like she wasn’t worth much. I also loved the fact that her sister went into exile with her voluntarily because she wouldn’t abandon her, and I’m glad that we got more of Hannah in the second book!

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Hook, Line & Sinker by Tessa Bailey – ★★★★☆
Of course after loving the first book, I immediately started reading the next book, which follows Piper’s sister Hannah, and her love interest Fox who is Brendan’s right hand man. I didn’t love this one as much as the first one just because they didn’t seem to have as much chemistry as Piper and Brendan, but it was still fantastic and this time around, it was Fox’s storyline that made me tear up! I also loved that we got an epilogue with this one and got to see both couples and where they are at. After loving these two books, I think I’ll definitely be picking up more of Tessa Bailey’s books, because this is the first time I’ve read anything by her!

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A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn – ★★★★☆
Keeping up my pace of two books in this series a month, I read the fifth book in the Veronica Speedwell series! I still stand by my love of Veronica and Stoker, and the developments in their relationship are so satisfying! This installment brought back the plotline from the first book, and surprisingly I wasn’t as interested in the scheme to…improve Veronica’s standing, to keep things vague. I did however like that Veronica got to meet and form a relationship with her brother Eddie. I was a little disappointed that although Jack the Ripper was mentioned in the synopsis, it actually had no impact on the mystery itself so I think this has been my least favorite in this series so far. Still definitely worth the read though!

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Unmasked by Paul Holes – ★★★★☆
This is the only non-fiction that I read in April, and it’s also one of the only non-fictions that I actually had on my April anticipated releases list, which normally only includes fiction. This is the memoir of the detective who helped crack the case of the Golden State Killer, and talks about his life solving cold cases that helped lead him to tracking the killer down. This wasn’t really what I thought it would be going into it, which I thought would be fully focused on that particular case. However, it also touched on other cases the author worked on, including Laci Peterson and Jaycee Dugard, and how solving cold cases affected his relationship with his first and second wives and his children. Definitely worth the read for anyone interested in true crime like I am!

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The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne – ★★★★★
I think this was hands down my favorite book that I read in April, and it was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022! This is the sequel to The Shadow of the Gods, and it’s a Norse-inspired fantasy that started with three perspectives, but now has (if I remember correctly) two additional perspectives who were side characters in the first book. I loved this one just as much, if not more than the first book, for which I have a full review. Everything I said in that review still stands, I love the characters and the world building. I also very much appreciated that not only is there a list of characters in the beginning of the book, but also a summary of what’s happened so far in the series which is such a nice refresher! The scope of this world and the plot just keeps getting bigger and better, and I’m both excited and terrified to find out what happens next. And the ending? It’s just a much of a wtf ending as the first book! I sat there with my mouth open, rereading what happened because I couldn’t believe it, and honestly, I still can’t!

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What books did you read in April? I’d love to chat about them!