Reads and reviews April 2023

      Comments Off on Reads and reviews April 2023

Heyoo, it’s another month again. Time is going so fast! I am still doing well, and better every day/week, but it also has been VERY BUSY. I feel I am finally getting some breathing time, and have been catching up chores at home and in the garden, even managed to see the bottom of the laundry basket. Well, at least for a short moment… 😉

But you are here for the books, and I’ve read some in April too. I have finished 8 books, and have been clearing a couple of my shelves that won’t return. So that’s a nice tidy up. Because April is my birthday month, I also received a nice stack of new books which I already shared with you in a previous post.

The books I’ve read were a little better than March, my average rating was a 3.7! Eight books weren’t enough to catch up with my theStorygraph challenge, but I am still not caring or stressed out about it. Yay for me! I’ve read quite a few books from series, and my main three moods have shifted from mysterious/emotional/adventurous to mysterious/adventurous/lighthearthed. Funny and dark are still the runner ups!

But let’s dive into the books shall we? So what have I read in April?

#23 The Nowhere Man, by Gregg Hurwitz (Dutch, 3.75 stars)
Well, this was unexpected. Normally books about this certain type of story (Jason Bourne-like) are all about how great these characters are, but this time it was all about their limits. Both physical as mental. Interesting take! This was the second in a series, and although the series is not top of my list, I do enjoy them. As long as I can get the next one from the library, I will continue, even though it might go slower than other series.

#24 The Corfe Castle Murders, by Rachel McLean (English, 3.50 stars)
Interesting fast-paced detective story, but after finishing it doesn’t feel complete. There are plenty of open questions, as this is the start of a series. Not sure if that’s a bit annoyjng or making me want to read on. For now, I am pausing this series. Time will tell if I keep thinking about the characters or just skip on the next ones.

#25 Pyramids, by Terry Pratchett (English, 4 stars)
Again, lot’s of laughs, the moral is pretty clear and interesting, I have very much enjoyed how it’s set up. I read it over Easter, which matched perfectly with the subject “what is faith/believe/religion”. Besides this there is also a lot of math, something about camels, and adventures with mummies. What else could you want?

#26 the Clinic, by Jonathan Kellerman (Dutch, 3.50 stars)
Another interesting detective, but old-skool, where A LOT of work had to be done to find the murderer. Because of that it feels both slow- as fast-paced, and the writing style keeps you going when you still didn’t know a thing. I enjoy these older mystery detectives a lot, once in a while, and even though this one is officially part of a series, books like these can be easily read either out of order or as stand-alones because they are more plot-driven than character-driven.

#27 Mort, by Terry Pratchett (English, 2.75 stars)
Reread. And yes, another one from a series! I hardly remembered anything, except that I didn’t enjoy this during my first read. Now that I am more used to Pratchett’s earlier work, I did enjoy it more. Still not one of my favorites, but a well-written story none the less. Despite the lower rating, I can imagine rereading this again.

#28 Period Power, by Maisy Hill (Dutch, 3.75 stars)
This was recommended to me by someone that knows my energy-gaining journey, and it did help! It is however, a bit heavy on the feminist activist side of things, even though Maisy Hill is right about all the mentioned trouble uterus-owners and other females are up against, I was mainly there for the straight scientific facts and not to be reminded of the political drama of female healthcare. But that’s speaking as someone who already knows about that first hand. There were also other parts I could skip-read through because I do know my own biology, but for those that don’t this is a good and thorough book. Will read the sequal about hormones too, if I can get my hands on it.

#29 The Cat and the City, by Nick Bradly (Dutch, 3.75 stars)
Very interesting! This book contains all kinds of short stories, about people living in Tokio. Despite being too obvious, all of the people in some way cross each others lives and that of a cat, which intertwines them all. It was a slow read, but still… captivating. These people are not perfect, some of them far from it. There is a lot of hurt. But if you can put all of the chapters in the right order, you’ll notice that some of their lives change for the better. Thanks to the cat, and their crossing lives.

#30 On the Street Where You Live, by Mary Higgins Clark (Dutch, 4.25 stars)
When you see a Mary Higgins Clark novel, you know it’s going to be good. And it was. A tense mysterious read, that keeps you interested until the last phrase. I would very much like to read more from her!

So that was it. What about you, have you read something recommendable in April, or in the previous months? It doesn’t have to be anything like my reads above, I’d love to broaden my horizon! And if you have read any or something similar to the ones listed here, how did you feel about those? Tell me all about it in the comments!