April Reading Recap
Time for another roundup. 👀
May is finally here—time to dust off all your summer romance books from your TBR!
I hope you’re enjoying some springtime weather wherever you are in the world—perhaps you’ve already kicked off the warmer season with some outdoor reading and your cold brew of choice.
April was fun and exciting in many respects—I spent some time in North America, visited Niagara Falls for the first time and then headed westward to attend the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. If you missed my festival recap, you can read all about it here! 👇
I closed last month, having read only three books. While it’s probably the lowest monthly count in quite a while, it’s a reality that when times are busier, reading inevitably takes a back seat (at least for me). But I’m grateful I still managed to find time for it despite everything else I had on my plate.
With that said, I’m hoping to ramp up my reading again in May. I have a few exciting books pencilled in for this month, and there are some great new releases coming out, too!
But for now, let’s recap my April reads:
The Right Members Club by Louis Urbanowski
Kicked off April with a little palate cleanser! My friend Louis at UrbWrites sent me the ARC of his debut political satire novel, The Right Members Club—you can check out my full review on Goodreads to find out more, but just know this was my only five-star read last month. Louis’ book jumped to #1 on Amazon's bestseller list in its category over the weekend, so clearly other readers agree. The Right Members Club is witty, sharp, and it’s so fast-paced that you’ll likely read it in a couple of sittings. So what are you waiting for? Go buy it and support an emerging, indie author! Rumour has it, the audiobook may be coming soon, too.
People in Love by Claire Daverley
Another ARC, this time by the wonderful Claire Daverley, whom I’ve talked about a few times in previous posts. If you haven’t yet, check out my review of Talking at Night, her debut novel.
People in Love releases in June, and I was so stoked to get tickets for Daverley’s upcoming book tour—I only discovered this author less than a year ago, so I missed her previous one.
I landed on four stars by the time I finished it. You can expect some similarities to Talking at Night, particularly the distinctive voice and stream-of-consciousness writing style; it puts you right in the characters’ heads and makes you feel as if you’re living through their experiences first-hand.
The story is more layered than in her debut novel, and I was particularly drawn to one of the subplots revolving around secondary characters. The main plot was okay, but it didn’t quite grab my attention like the previous book. I’ll also add that this is not your traditional romance novel, so the ending might not be what you expect. And that’s all I can say without giving away the plot!
Nocticadia by Keri Lake
Closed out the month with a book I had been wanting to read for a long time! Keri Lake is a master of gothic, creepy novels. Last year, I read Anathema and Eldritch, and they were so good.
Nocticadia is eerie, disturbing and sickening at times (in the best possible way). Keri is so good at writing immersive stories; her descriptions are detailed, and she paints such vivid images of the scenery that you can clearly see everything in your mind as if you were watching a movie.
This is a standalone dark academia romance that centres on the forbidden relationship between a student and a professor. I devoured this book; it was so interesting and full of mystery and intrigue. The spice was hot, and I was just swooning the entire time Professor Bramwell was on the page. I ended up rating it four stars as the ending felt just a tad chaotic—there was a lot of buildup, and for me it didn’t quite live up to it. I would still absolutely recommend this book, and I plan to read more dark academia this year—but I am, after all, a mood reader, and these books just demand autumn and winter weather.
That’s a wrap on last month’s roundup! I have a few ideas cooking for my Substack in the background that I’m excited about. One of them went live just this past week—from now on, I will try to post more frequent mini-reviews in this format:
It feels nice to discuss a book while it’s still fresh in my mind, since sometimes with these monthly roundups, I end up forgetting some of my early thoughts and reactions. I hope people will enjoy seeing more of this bite-sized content from me!
Did any of the books mentioned in this post catch your attention? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading,
–G.
I read Talking at Night earlier this year and I am interested in her next one. She has a very distinctive way of writing. I felt it deeply.
I can't believe April is already over! And no springtime weather over here, it's perfectly gloomy and cold!