Welcome to my April reading wrap-up! I made a video on my YouTube channel where I talk about each of these books, plus my May TBR if you’d like to check it out! My video and this post are both spoiler free. 🤫
Let’s get into the books! 📚
Secrets of a Charmed Life, Susan Meissner
From Goodreads:
Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades…beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden—one that will test her convictions and her heart.
1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed…
I had never read a book by Susan Meissner before, but I will definitely be picking up more of her work in the future! I loved her writing style. The story was well-crafted, beautifully written, and very touching. I teared up multiple times. I usually don’t pick up books that are set in WWII, but my mother gifted me this book, so I read it and was pleasantly surprised!
I was also surprised that this wasn’t based on a real story. It just felt so real! But I guess that’s a testament to how good a writer she is.
Two quotes I really loved:
“What made you return?”
Isabel raises her head but turns to gaze out the window. “Oh, I suppose the mighty hand of God. That’s what it usually takes to move someone who is holding on to what doesn’t belong to her.”
“I am choosing to tell my story, Kendra. Who listens to it is not my burden. Telling it is.”
4.5 stars! 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
What My Bones Know, Stephanie Foo
From Goodreads:
By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD–a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years.
Both of Foo’s parents abandoned her when she was a teenager, after years of physical and verbal abuse and neglect. She thought she’d moved on, but her new diagnosis illuminated the way her past continued to threaten her health, relationships, and career. She found limited resources to help her, so Foo set out to heal herself, and to map her experiences onto the scarce literature about C-PTSD.
In this deeply personal and thoroughly researched account, Foo interviews scientists and psychologists and tries a variety of innovative therapies. She returns to her hometown of San Jose, California, to investigate the effects of immigrant trauma on the community, and she uncovers family secrets in the country of her birth, Malaysia, to learn how trauma can be inherited through generations. Ultimately, she discovers that you don’t move on from trauma–but you can learn to move with it.
Powerful, enlightening, and hopeful, What My Bones Know is a brave narrative that reckons with the hold of the past over the present, the mind over the body–and examines one woman’s ability to reclaim agency from her trauma.
This altered my brain chemistry. I had been meaning to read this for a while, and let’s just say that before I’d even finished the book I ordered my own copy. (I listened to this on my Libby app). There were parts of this that helped me reframe my own trauma, and she answered so many ‘what ifs’ I had about my life, and if I could have lived it differently.
I think the people this book will impact the most are people who are interested in healing, different approaches to therapy like EMDR, if they deal with anxiety, or have PTSD/CPTSD themselves.
I am already planning a reread of this, and I have my pen ready to journal about it.
5 stars! 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher
From Goodreads:
After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra’s family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.
Ready very much like a bizarre dream (of which I have a lot of), and/or a game of improbable mission from Whose Line is it Anyway?
Every T. Kingfisher book is unique, and I enjoy her spin on fairy tales as well as her own stories. I just couldn’t get into this one. I was skimming by the end, and just wanted to be done. This had the trappings of everything I like in a story, (ex: a strong woman who is wiling to kill her sister’s abusive husband? A+) but I just couldn’t get into it for whatever reason.
My favorite part about this was Fenris, and his relationship with Marra. I was happy with their ending, and I really enjoyed their dynamic.
2.5 stars 🌕🌕🌗
Gothikana, RuNyx
From Goodreads:
An outcast her entire life, Corvina Clemm is left adrift after losing her mother. When she receives the admission letter from the mysterious University of Verenmore, she accepts it as a sign from the universe. The last thing she expects though is an old, secluded castle on top of a mountain riddled with secrets, deceit, and death.
An enigma his entire life, Vad Deverell likes being a closed book but knowing exactly everything that happens in the university. A part-time professor working on his thesis, Vad has been around long enough to know the dangers the castle possesses. And he knows the moment his path crosses with Corvina, she’s dangerous to everything that he is.
They shouldn’t have caught each other’s eye. They cannot be. But a chill-inducing century-old mystery forces them to collide. People have disappeared every five years over the past century, Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.
And so begins a tale of the mysterious, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.
I actually really enjoyed this! This is one of those books that BookTubers like to make essay style videos to rip it to shreds…but that’s okay. I know it’s not the best written, the romance is toxic at best, and the character names are…different, but just as I couldn’t understand why Nettle & Bone wasn’t for me, I can say I don’t entirely understand why this did do it for me.
I think the reason I enjoyed this as much as I did was because of the ambience. It reminded me of the nostalgia I feel for the Twilight series. And I could suspend my morals and red flags with the romance. People obviously like reading taboo things. That’s why dark romance exists. Do I think people should read the romance between Corvina and Vad and use it as a template? Well…no, but it’s okay to enjoy it.
While reading this it was clear to me that this story was personal to the author, and the love Corvina has for her mother seemed to me that the author also really loved her mother. When I read the acknowledgements I found that I was right. That part also elevated the story for me. Anytime a writer goes for it, and their parents are supportive, I’m happy.
Read at your own discretion.
4.3 stars! 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘
One Dark Window, Rachel Gillig
From Goodreads:
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.
Together they must gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
Lush, dark fantasy, with great world building and romance. Interesting, original concept, that kept my attention for hours. I’m pretty sure I read this in a day and a half. Such a page turner. What else is there to say? (And I have a new book boyfriend to add to my list. Looking at you Ravyn 😘)
4.5 stars! 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
Human Design, Jenna Zoë
From Goodreads:
Find guidance, alignment, and purpose with this insightful, practical guide to understanding and interpreting your Human Design chart.World-leading expert Jenna Zoe reveals the power and potential of Human Design in simple steps and shows you how to utilize your results to create an incredible life. Drawing inspiration from many different schools of wisdom, including the chakras, I Ching, astrology, and the Tree of Life, Human Design is a system based on our time and date of birth, illustrated as a unique chart that reveals our opportunities, challenges, personality, strengths, relationships, and much more.Once you have your chart, you can tap into a detailed and unique toolkit to help you unlock your true purpose in this world. You’ll discover how your own chart with an easy-to-follow process find out what your Energy Type is and how you can harness itstop striving to be someone you’re not and feel comfortable in your own skinunderstand your intuition, personality, habits, relationships, and moreWhen your chart reveals how to be the real you – the most individual you can be – you’ll find that you’re able to confidently walk your unique path and live according to your soul’s purpose.
I love Human Design. It’s so specific to you, and I wish more people knew about it. It’s an incredibly in depth system that shows you what is special about you, and shows you the best way for you to align with who you really are.
All you need to generate your HD chart is the same you would need for an astrological chart: your birth time, location, and date. It has to be accurate though, so always check your birth certificate.
Jenna gives you enough information in this book to get started, so definitely recommend!
5 stars! 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
It Starts With Us (It Ends With Us #2), Colleen Hoover
From Goodreads:
Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.
But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.
Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the “gripping, pulse-pounding” (Sarah Pekkanen, author of Perfect Neighbors) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off. Revealing more about Atlas’s past and following Lily as she embraces a second chance at true love while navigating a jealous ex-husband, it proves that “no one delivers an emotional read like Colleen Hoover” (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author).
So…I bought a kindle recently, and this was the first book I saw that was available immediately to read from my Libby app, so I read it. I say this because I am not really a Colleen Hoover fan. I think her writing is a bit simplistic, there’s a lot of telling instead of showing, and at times her books can be problematic.
However, I did enjoy this! I thought it was a nice reprieve from the drama of the first book. In this one we just get to read about Lily finally getting to be happy. I know most books need some drama to keep the book interesting, books probably wouldn’t be interesting without at least some conflict, but this was nice specifically because there wasn’t a lot of conflict. It was enjoyable to read about a character getting to find real love.
And I did actually find a quote that I highlighted for journaling:
“I used to think the things I did somehow warranted his reactions. Like maybe if I wouldn’t have laughed he wouldn’t have hit me.”
I was under the impression that Colleen Hoover was a traditionalist, but I was wrong. That was a pleasant surprise.
4 stars! 🌕🌕🌕🌕
So what now?
I am currently reading A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, and Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson, and I have a few more books I plan on reading in the month of May, which you can hear more about in my video.
I had a great month of reading in April. I hope I could give you some recommendations you’ll enjoy!
Happy reading. 📚
For more book reviews, here is my Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/40762461?ref=nav_profile_l
