It’s May 1st, so that means it’s time for my FIRST EVER monthly wrap up. I can’t wait to share all of my April reads with y’all. There are definitely a few old loves, and possibly a new love? Before I get into how I felt about each read, I want to preface this by saying that these are NOT full reviews (don’t worry, those are coming eventually)! What you can expect to learn about is: how much I read this month, what I rated each book that I read, my feelings on each one, and which was my favorite book I read during April.
I made it through five books for April. I read literally zero books in March so I’m SUPER proud of myself for making it through so many this month! You can check out my last post for tips I used to help myself enjoy reading more this month!
Since this is my first wrap-up I’m going to start with an overview of how my rating system works:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟: Five stars is God tier. A book that gets five stars is perfect in every possible way, and I’m obsessed enough that I would literally lay down my life for an inanimate object. These are the books that you try to pester your friends into reading so much that they get annoyed with you.
🌟🌟🌟🌟: Four stars is a really great book. I enjoyed it a ton, and may potentially re-read it later. If it’s in a series, I’ll definitely be reading the remaining books ASAP and would recommend them to anyone!
🌟🌟🌟: Three stars is the sign of a pretty good book. I enjoyed reading it, but was it super profound? Probably not. I’d still recommend this book to other people.
🌟🌟: Two stars means that this book was just “meh”. It didn’t wow me, but it didn’t completely suck. I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to a friend unless I knew that it fit their reading preferences.
🌟: One star means that I really didn’t enjoy this book, but I didn’t hate it enough to stop reading. I wouldn’t recommend this book to a friend.
DNF: I did not finish this book, and have decided that I never want to finish this book. This could be from lack of interest or because I found it to be really problematic and didn’t want to feel the misery of continuing. I rarely choose to not finish a book, so I’ll always give a reason why. Also, just because I didn’t enjoy a book enough to finish it doesn’t mean that it can’t be your next favorite read!
Total Pages Read: 1845
Average Rating: 3.4 stars
April Favorite: 🌟Caraval by Stephanie Garber 🌟
The Lightning Thief/The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan: 🌟 🌟🌟 (5 stars for nostalgia though)
If you haven’t heard of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, you should definitely pick up the first book (The Lightning Thief) as soon as you possibly can. They’re great middle-grade reads and definitely one of the foundational series of my childhood. The books focus on the titular character, Percy Jackson. Percy has had a rough childhood. He’s dyslexic, has ADHD, and gets expelled from every school he attends. It turns out that all of these things are because he’s a demi-god (half-human half-god). He learns there’s a summer camp for demi-gods (Camp Half-Blood). Here he makes new friends and enemies. Hi-jinks and dangerous quests ensue. I don’t often re-read books, but I’ve been feeling really nostalgic during quarantine so I decided to make my way through this series again.
I want to address three main things about these books:
- I grouped these together because they’re brief books and I don’t have a ton to say about either of them individually. Plus, they’re in the same series and it felt the most natural to talk about them together!
- My rating. Let’s chat about it. I’ve rated both of them three stars. I honestly shocked myself with this decision. Percy Jackson and the Olympians books is one of my favorite books series OF ALL TIME. Based purely on nostalgia and knowing how obsessed I was the first time I read the book series in middle school, they’re five stars. But reading them again as a 23-yr old, it’s gotta be three stars. Reading the books you can definitely tell that the characters are 12 years old. Also, the pace of the books is VERY quick. They aren’t super long reads, but there are so many events packed into it that each scene doesn’t get as much development as I like now that I’m older. But, again, very suitable for a younger audience. Regardless. I love the characters. I love mythology. I love these books, and I will be re-reading the rest of the series (and probably the Heroes of Olympus series) ASAP.
- If you don’t follow Rick Riordan on twitter, do so immediately. The man is super funny and loves engaging with his readers ESPECIALLY about half-blood related topics. (@rickriordan)
Circe by Madeline Miller: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Circe kept coming across my Goodreads suggested books for at least a year before I decided to pick it up. I am so glad that I did. If my love for Percy Jackson didn’t make it apparent enough that I love all things mythology, I love all things mythology.
Madeline Miller does a terrific job weaving the tales of the witch/goddess Circe. Circe is often depicted as a self-serving, vengeful villain, but Miller does a great job of showcasing her life in a new light. In this book, Miller gives new complexity to Circe’s story, the lives of the Gods, and the idea of immortality. Circe struggles with finding comfort in her own identity as she has spent her entire life as a disappointment/after-thought to her family. Her story is a heart-warming portrayal of self-acceptance and shows that value is not only found in those that are deemed “great”.
So… I’m giving this book four stars. I thought that the story was great, and the ending provides the right amount of satisfaction for a stand-alone book. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, it didn’t hit me in a profound enough way to give five stars.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of greek mythology and seeking a more in-depth look into the tale of a traditionally minor character!
Caraval by Stephanie Garber: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
First of all, if you love a good plot twist, you are going to LOVE this book. This book is filled with magic and mystery centered around Scarlett and her sister Tella. Scarlett is your classic overprotective sister, while Tella often gets into mischief from her carefree personality. Scarlett dreams of attending the magical game/competition, Caraval, that is run by the mysterious Legend. When Tella is kidnapped and becomes the central figure in this year’s Caraval competition, Scarlett will do whatever it takes to rescue her.
The main focus of this book is Scarlett’s transformation from passive bystander to active participant/decision-maker in her own life, propelled by the trials she faces to rescue her sister.
Towards the beginning of the book, I found Scarlett a tad bit insufferable. She has a really strong selfless streak that felt a little “woe-is-me”, but I was very satisfied with how her character developed throughout the story. Plus, there was definitely some juicy romance to spice things up a bit. The main love interest was really complex and I was very much invested in him as a person rather than as an accessory. Also, for being out of the picture for most of the book, Tella was a shockingly interesting character. I think that Garber did a really great job from a character development/worldbuilding perspective
As far as how I felt while reading, my heart was racing for the entire last third of this book in anticipation of what would happen next. I was definitely in a post-book depression for a little bit after finishing it, so I would absolutely recommend this book. The best news is that it’s a trilogy! So if you enjoy this, check out Legendary(#2) and Finale(#3) to round out the series. I know I will be.
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates: 🌟🌟🌟
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a beautiful writer, and I was originally very excited about reading his debut novel. The book focuses on the story of Hiram Walker. A slave fathered by the owner of Lockless plantation where he lives. His mother was sold when he was only nine, and despite his perfect memory for everything else, he has no remaining memories of her, not even her name. Faced with a near-death experience, Hiram discovers this bizarre ability that he cannot name or control. We later learn this is Conduction. His time at Lockless is tumultuous and confusing; his identity pulled between the world of the Tasked and the Quality which they serve. Eventually, Hiram is swept up into the world of the Underground. He wrestles with his own feelings about his conflicting identities, those he left behind, and the realities of freedom compared with what he previously thought.
I think the ideas this story is based on are beautiful. Coates dives into the nuances of freedom, identity, and the collective memory of a tortured people. Unfortunately, the characters themselves weren’t quite as strong as those messages. The first half of the book breezed by. I was sucked in by the high stakes of the plot and the weavings of magical realism into the darkest moments of American history. Eventually, I found myself struggling to continue with the book. I found it difficult to root for the main character. I didn’t love his personality and often felt frustrated by his heightened sense of self even though I recognize that his behavior was an important part of his character’s journey. This was compounded by the flatness in some of the side characters. Hiram completely objectified Sophia with his feelings for her for 90% of the book, and I found myself quickly annoyed. While Hiram’s journey felt resolved enough at the end, I wasn’t nearly as satisfied with the endings for the other characters in the novel.
I had hoped for more, but I can’t give this book more than three stars.
If you want to follow along with all of the different books I’m reading, or hoping to read, check out my Goodreads page!
Let me know what you read this month, and which was your favorite in the comments below!
Much love,
Taylor
Jillian
Caraval😍😍😍 I’ve officially decided to go buy Circe now, I was on the fence with the back of the book description, but you’ve convinced me!