What I Read: April 2024

April was a month full of trying to check up on ARCs for the blog as well as giving audiobooks a try for one of the first times. I had a wide variety of books that I read, with a few that will be published in May, or have come out in April. We also had Independent Bookstore Day, with a lot of new additions to the shelves I'm excited to add to my never ending TBR.

What did you read in May that you loved?

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Justin has a curse, and after posting about it on Reddit, is messaged by Emma who has the same curse. The curse? Everyone they date meets their soulmate after they breakup.

Justin and Emma come up with a plan, they will date each other, see to see if it breaks the curse. The issue is Emma is a traveling nurse, who's next stop is Hawaii, and Justin is about to become the guardian of his younger siblings.

When Emma ends up in Minnesota, they decide to give it a chance. What they don't expect is to feel real feelings for each other, even when both of their lives are chaos. As they try to break the curse, they start to realize maybe they were meant for each other.

Only and Forever by Chloe Liese

Viggo has helped all of his siblings find their true loves, without having found his own. He is a hopeless romantic, who dreams of opening a romance-only bookshop.

Tallulah is a cynic, who writes mystery books and currently is unsure about love. When she moves in with Viggo on the agreement of him helping her with romance plotline if she helps with the store, she starts to wonder how someone can love love so much.

When they realize they have feelings for each other they try to fight it, but it turns out to be harder than they imagine. This book also have diabetes rep with Tallulah which is definitely bonus points in its favor.

This is Me Trying by Racquel Marie

This novel is a tense once, exploring grief, guilt and love, in a contemporary YA settings.

As children, Bryce, Beatriz and Santiago were inseparable. When Santiago moves away before the beginning of high school, Bea and Bryce are left to figure it out. That is until Bryce commits suicide, leaving Bea feeling guilty and alone. When Santiago moves back, after ghosting Bea, he is not welcomed back with open arms.

Bea is angry at him, and Santiago trying to get on her good side isn't helping. As Santiago tries to fix what is broken, he realizes he can't without revealing secrets that would change everything Bea has known. This book is definitely powerful one, so make sure to check any trigger warnings.

Cryptids, Creatures & Critters by Rachel Quinney

My non-fiction read of this month! This book is an arc and will be published later this summer. It explores the stories of crytids and other creatures that fall into folklore and mythology.

It shows how some of the stories may be based in the realities of the time, but also how some have stemmed from myths and legends of people before us and how these stories may have been changed over time.

The book also has really lovely art, with drawings of each creature and critter throughout the pages. Some are cuter than others, but all are very well done. I enjoyed this story a lot, with its creatures from around the world.

Merciless Saviors by H.E. Edgmon

Merciless Saviors is the sequel to Godly Heathens, a story that follows a nonbinary teen who learns they are the reincarnation of a God, Gem Echols.

After the events at the end of Godly Heathens, Gem now has the power of the God of Air, and is unsure how to navigate the world as a God and as a teen in the community of Gracie, GA. With their friends, and other Gods, Enzo and Aurora at their side, they have to figure out where the Magician ends and where Gem begins.

As the God's powers become corrupted, there are more and more threats to the mortals around them. Now Gem, Enzo and Rory must figure out how the make everything right, without sacrificing themselves in the process.

Love at First Knight by Megan Clawson

This book is the second in a series of romances that take place in the Tower of London, only this time Daisy does not live within the Tower.

Daisy Hastings suffers from anxiety that seemingly keeps her within her hometown, unless she is LARPing as an elven knight. Those seem to be the only times Daisy feels confident. When her dad submits an application for her to work at a Knight's School within the Tower of London she is shocked when she is hired almost immediately.

Now she is in charge of teaching kids about being a knight, while also babysitting a stubborn viscount who has been sent to work at Tower by his uncle, who is the King. In true, enemies to lovers fashion, Daisy isn't sure if her feelings for the viscount are distaste or admiration.

You Should be so Lucky by Cat Sebastian

Set in mid-century New York City, YSBSL follows Mark Bailey, a writer for the Chronicle who is haunted by the past year of his life and Eddie O'Leary, a fiery baseball player for the Robins.

Eddie isn't playing his best, and his teammates can't seem to stand him. The Chronicle needs a new story to fill a magazine, and asks Mark to write a 'diary' about Eddie's experience in NYC. When it seems like they can't get along, to start to find comfort in each other's loneliness, progressing from strangers to friends to something more. The problem is being queer is not accepted, and if Eddie is found out it has the potential to ruin his career but Mark is worried about being someone's secret again .