What I’m Reading in April 2020

This is the first time I’ll be deciding what I’m reading as the month begins. I usually pick up what I’m feeling on a weekly basis, and the rest is history! However this month, especially with quarantine, I thought I’d try something a little different. Come read along with me!

Reflections on March:

It’s been a strange few weeks since the Covid-19 outbreak, and time has gone by so slowly it feels like March was stretched into three months.

In March, I wrapped up the ACOTAR series and also read the Six of Crows duology. While I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked ACOTAR, I don’t think I’ll be picking up another SJM series anytime soon as they are quite a commitment to get through. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy Six of Crows as much as I hoped I would, and I’m not sure if it’s because the hype made me overly critical or because I’m just not the right audience for this type of fantasy story. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it as much as everyone else seems to, either.

Otherwise, I only read one romance novel this month, Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore. Since I’m a sucker for historical romance I really loved it. I immediately marked the next book in the series as to-read on Goodreads, and it definitely whetted my appetite for more historical romance in April!

My goal is to read five books into April,  as I’m hoping this extended quarantine will allow some additional reading time. I know this may not sound like many, but as someone with a full time job and a writing schedule who usually averages about one book/week, this is a big goal! Here’s to staying sane during shelter-in-place!

TBR in April 2020

 

The Wallflower Wager (Girl Meets Duke #3) by Tessa Dare
Genre: Historical Romance
Year of Publication: 2019
Page Count: 353 pages
Why I’m Reading It: I absolutely adored the first book in this series, The Duchess Deal, and devoured the second book, The Governess Game, in less than 48 hours. Although I haven’t written a review for The Duchess Deal (yet), you can check out my thoughts on The Governess Game here. The fourth book in this series, The Bride Bet, will be published this summer. In my short time reading romance novels, I think it’s safe to say Tessa Dare has become my favorite author in this genre. I can’t wait to read Penny’s story in this book!

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renée Ahdieh
Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance
Year of Publication: 2015
Page Count: 388 pages
Why I’m Reading It: By the end of 2020, I’m hoping to have a solid base of popular YA Fantasy series from the last decade under my belt, and Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn is one of those series. As a duology it isn’t too intimidating, and these books always seem to come up in blog articles and lists on Goodreads. With the buzz last autumn around the first novel in Ahdieh’s newest series, The Beautiful, it’s clear she has a solid fanbase from TWatD and did something right to become so successful. Lastly and most importantly, I’m trying to be more conscious of  making sure I’m including works by authors of color in my lineup.

The Rose & the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renée Ahdieh
Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance
Year of Publication: 2016
Page Count: 420 pages
Why I’m Reading It: I’m hoping I enjoy the first book in this duology enough to finish both in April and finally understand the hype around this series!

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini
Genre: YA Fantasy > Dragons
Year of Publication: 2005
Page Count: 503 pages
Why I’m Reading It: This was one of my favorite books in middle school, and I can’t imagine a better way to soothe my mind during this pandemic than to dive back into a treasured childhood story. While I’m slightly worried that reading this book as an adult will ruin it for me, I’m hoping the magic, dragons, and universe will be just as enchanting as they were 12+ years ago. I never read past the first book in this four-book series (younger me found the second book, Eldest, too boring), but if I’m left wanting more after this re-read I will definitely attempt to read the subsequent books again.

For the fifth book, since I’ve never designated a reading list for myself like this, I’m going to see how April goes and gauge what to read by how I’m feeling. My initial thought is to make myself choose a book I already own that’s sitting on my shelf, which mostly consist of the first books in various YA Fantasy series. I’d like to mix it up and perhaps will go for a sci-fi novel. I’m also considering finally buying a Kindle in April, which would change my options drastically!

So, here are the books I’m considering to wrap up April, in no particular order:

1. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson = YA Fantasy > Fae
2. Frost Blood (Frostblood Saga #1) by Elly Blake = YA Fantasy
3. Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi = YA Sci-Fi > Dystopian
4. Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer = YA Sci-Fi
5. Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber = YA Fantasy

If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments and let me know why I should read them! Happy reading!