April Reading Wrap Up!

April wasn’t a huge reading month for me, I did manage to read 5 books which is quite good especially since I wasn’t relying on audiobooks which I tend to do when I’m busy. I’ve been listening to more podcasts at work so that’s part of the reason!

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

I enjoyed this book and felt that it was better than the first book since that took a lot of time focusing on world building and there wasn’t much focus on the evil stepmother character that I hated so much in The Bear and the Nightingale. I did find it quite difficult to keep track of who was who and connected to him or her and what’s going on. That’s a problem I have with fantasy novels and series like this but my friend had a similar problem (but she was able to pin it down in the end and keep track of them). I don’t know if I’ll be continuing with the series though, my friend really enjoyed the third and final book in the series and said it was worth it so I might give it a go at some point soon!

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli

This was an audiobook read while I was at work. As soon as it started with Ada Lovelace, I knew this was a book after my own heart! I think this is a very cute book with little snippets of history for young readers, it would make a nice gift as well for people with young children. Little bite sized pieces of feminist history and culture for the young uns!

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara

I originally started this in February but to be honest…it’s depressing! The Golden State Killer’s crime spree is depressing to read about because it was horrible and when the edition of the book that I read was published, he still hadn’t been caught. The knowledge that he had been arrested made the book slightly easier to read but he has gone unpunished for so long, many of those families destroyed by what he did and he won’t face half the justice that he deserves.

I will say that it is very obvious in this book how much Michelle McNamara cared about providing the victims and their families with the justice that they had been denied for years. Her writing and her dedication is very admirable and the final part of the book is a sort of memorial to her work from her family.

A Manual For Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink

What’s the best thing to read about a nonfiction book about murder? A nonfiction book about bereavement after the death of a loved one.

This was a beautiful book about carrying on with life after the passing of a loved one. Though the writer is speaking about the sudden accidental death of her brother as a teenager, I found it easy to relate her experiences to my own when I’ve grieved the loss of my grandparents. They died 3 and 6 years ago respectively and every October I am a complete mess who considers it a win if I even go outside. Sometimes it is good to be sad and sometimes it is good to be happy, they have gone but they still existed and you don’t have to pretend that you don’t miss them in order to be ok.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Holy mother of god please go read this book. Stop what you’re doing and read it. Wait. Follow my blog then go read it because I just gave you an A+ recommendation right there!

Here is my full review of the book, I loved it so much!

Have you read any of these? I know that Daisy Jones has been a big busy book lately and has been all over the blogs lately so I’m not surprised I loved it 🙂

You can find my social media @beccaggray on Twitter and Instagram, I also have my bookstagram @bookstagrambecca if you want to see any of my bookish posts. Thank you for reading!!