4/2: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (library, 2020) - This went over well with my book club, but I struggled with the content and writing style. 3/5 stars
4/4: Troubled Blood (Cormoran Strike #5) by Robert Galbraith (library ebook, 2020) - I really like the books in this series, including this one, but I'm troubled (pun intended!) by JK Rowling's ongoing hatred towards others. 4/5 stars
4/5: Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca (library ebook, 2020) - I really liked the first book in this series, but this one was just sort of okay. Easy to read, but the hero does something sort of unforgiveable, the plot was predictable, and I ended up thinking the heroine just let people walk all over her. 3/5 stars
4/6: Hook, Line, and Sinker (It Happened One Summer #2) by Tessa Bailey (library ebook, 2022) - Not as good as the first book in the series, but I enjoyed the hero's emotional growth. 4/5 stars
4/7: A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #1) by Marie Brennan (library, 2013) - A female protagonist! Dragons! I immediately ordered the next book for my Kindle, of course. 4/5 stars
4/10: The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers (library ebook, 2017) - Epistolary mystery novel set in the Civil War era. I enjoyed it quite a bit. 4.5/5 stars
4/15: A Court of Thorn and Roses (A Court of Thorn and Roses #1) by by Sarah J. Maas (library ebook, 2015) - Beloved BookTok novel, but I really didn't care for the main character's seemingly spinelessness and interspecies romances skeeve me out, so it was a no go for me. 2/5 stars
4/17: The Hallowed Hunt (World of Five Gods #3) by Lois McMaster Bujold (library, 2006) - Enjoyable fantasy world. 3.5/5 stars
4/19: The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary (library, 2019) - A really sweet, fun romance. 5/5 stars
4/20: Sad Janet by Lucie Britsch (library ebook, 2020) - Witty book about a character with depression. Unfortunately there was a weird subplot about pharmaceuticals that sort of tainted everything. I did really like the character of Janet, though. 3/5 stars
4/22: The Last Victim (Dr. Charlotte Stone #1) by Karen Robards (library, 2012) - Weird paranormal thriller in which a psychiatrist has an affair with the ghost of a serial thriller. I did not enjoy this at all. 2/5 stars
4/24: Great House by Nicole Krauss (library, 2010) - Perfectly fine, middle-of-the-road novel. 3.5/5 stars
4/27: Abandoned in Death (In Death #54) by JD Robb (library, 2022) - I really enjoyed this addition to the series. 4/5 stars
4/29: American Hippo by Sarah Gailey (library, 2018) - To quote a Goodreads review, "Came for the hippos. Stayed for the queers." I loved this book. 5/5 stars
Average star rating: 3.6/5 stars
Did Not Finish:
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle (library ebook, 2020) - DNF at 40%. It's about a relationship in peril, but each of the two people is just so terrible and selfish and I just hated the constant fighting. I am sure that it gets better, but I was stressed out reading this book and cannot recommend it to anyone.
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt (library ebook, 2017) - Fictional account of the Lizzie Borden case that I just didn't have the mental capacity to handle. DNF at 14%.
The Tropic of Serpents (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #2) by Marie Brennan (library ebook, 2014) - I really enjoyed the first book in this series, A Natural History of Dragons, but I just couldn't get into this one. It seemed like almost an exact copy of the first one and I was a third of the way through the book and we hadn't seen a dragon yet and you know I only want to read about dragons. I'm not the only Goodreads reader who felt this way and I'm quite disappointed. I wanted this series to be amazing. DNF at 33%.
I'm glad this batch of books included 1 5-star read! Good for you for DNF'ing some books. I am trying to do that more since life is too short to read not great books! I've only DNF'd 2 this year, but wish I could have DNF'd Matrix. I suppose I could but I don't like giving up on book club books.
ReplyDeleteI used to not be able to DNF books - good for you for not wasting time on something you're not enjoying!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Troubled Blood right now and loving it! Sounds like you had a bunch of "meh" books this month, but I'm glad to see a couple 5 stars.
ReplyDeleteOur star averages are wildly different - hahaha. 4.3 to 3.6! I have a feeling I'm being way too generous with my ratings lately but I don't know how to change.
ReplyDeleteHamnet does not appeal to me at all. Thinking I won't pick that one up. On the other hand, you're like the 10,000th person to give the Flatshare a high rating. I think it will have to go on my long list. And, so glad to find another JD Robb fan. :) Ah, Eve and Roarke...
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these! I was thinking of trying the ACTAR because everyone raves about it but now I'm second guessing it (especially since it's such a COMMITMENT). Great reviews!
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