#April 2024 Wrap-Up

[jolieeason]

April 2024 Wrap-Up

Here is what I read, posted, won, received, and bought in April. As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them. Books I Read: Books Reviewed: The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin—review here The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves—review here Off the Air by Christina Estes—review here Sincerely, The Duke by Amelia…

[dewitty1]

Fic Recs Wrap Up April 2024♡(੭ˊ͈ ꒵ˋ͈)੭*･:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Mirror Mirror by epiphany_dex

Harry’s new year starts with a bang when he encounters Draco Malfoy at the Ministry Ball. Rec Post

(Never) Let Me Go by maraudersaffair @maraudersaffair

Harry and Ginny are married, but she abandoned him for her Quidditch career overseas. He is lonely and desperate for love and very interested in sleeping with a man. Then, one night at a party, Draco Malfoy whispers in his ear: Do you want to leave with me? Harry knows he should say no, especially since a scandal would ruin his chance at becoming Head Auror, but Malfoy is entirely too fit to pass up the opportunity. Rec Post

Another Mind Game by May_May_0_0

Harry’s occlumency reveals his disturbing home life which sets off a chain reaction that cannot be undone. Snape finds himself begrudgingly caring about the bespectacled boy, Harry discovers what it’s like to have adults who care, and Hermione finds herself becoming an accidental crime lord. Draco Malfoy is very much along for the ride, in all senses of the word. Rec Post

Dragons Don’t Know Paradise by teacup_tai @teacup-tai

In 2004, when Remus spends two scary weeks in the ITU due to complications of pneumonia and his HIV condition, Sirius walks around the house like a ghost and Harry finds comfort and strength in Draco through a chat in an online LGBT forum. Harry falls for him, but Draco has a lot of secrets and, before long, will need to come clean—even if he believes that no one is able to understand a dragon. Rec Post

Stalking Harry by orphan_account

Harry Potter is the most eligible bachelor in the Wizarding world. Draco Malfoy is a disgraced ex-Death Eater with emotional baggage and a bit of a crush. Rec Post

Through His Eyes (I Am Set Free) by Shewhxmustnxtbenamed @shewhomustnotbenamed

Harry and Draco have a telepathic connection that remains unexplained in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds. Draco is assigned a mission by Voldemort to locate and capture the Boy Who Lived– the trouble is that they don’t know anything about him. While Draco struggles to gather information on this mysteriously absent hero, he and Harry start communicating again for the first time since they were kids. Harry continues life as normal until he discovers information which compels him to abandon his ordinary Muggle life with the endeavor to rescue and emancipate his only friend– even if that means bartering with his own life. Rec Post

A Private Reason for This by Femme (femmequixotic) @femmequixotic

When the wife of a star politician in the Scottish Ministry turns up dead just outside Hogsmeade, Draco Malfoy and his murder investigation team are called in from the Edinburgh Auror force to find her killer. What DCI Malfoy doesn’t expect, however, is to have an ex from two decades past end up in his murder room, endangering not only his case, but also his heart. Rec Post

Consequences of Redemption by ominousflags @ominousflags

When Draco makes an impromptu decision to rescue Harry Potter from Malfoy Manor, the two find themselves completely alone and facing the looming climax of the war against Voldemort. Harry must start from the beginning with Draco–and starting over has more consequences than either of them anticipated. Rec Post

Double Trouble by multiverse_of_fanfic

Four years after the War, Draco is stuck in a dead-end job, paper-pushing his life away. Until one day, after a security breach in the Ministry, he receives an offer he can’t refuse. Thrown back into a world he thought he’d left behind, Draco must wrestle with his Death Eater past as well as his inconvenient — and forbidden — feelings for an annoyingly level-headed Harry Potter.

Will he manage to come out unscathed like he has most of his life, or will it all come crashing down? Rec Post

Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well!(ノﾟ∀ﾟ)ノ━☆ﾟ･*:.｡. .｡.:*･.*･｡ﾟ*:・ﾟ✧

Weapons of Massive Consumption by SanderVanSunshine @sandervansunshine

Eight years after the war, Harry Potter lives a life of hedonism: raging parties, huge impulse purchases, and seemingly no worries. But it's Draco Malfoy—former Death Eater, lover of blueberry muffins, and bane of coffee shop workers—who starts to wonder if it's all a front, if something's actually terribly wrong with him. Why else would Potter ask Draco, of all fucking people, to write his biography?

What We Left Behind by peachydreamxx @peachydreamxx

Harry's recovering from an injury. Malfoy's recovering from heartbreak. Beaten down and bruised, Harry takes up Malfoy's offer to stay at his secluded seaside cottage in Dorset. It'll be good to get away from it all. It's only for a few days, and it's only so he can heal. Nothing else. Digging up past feelings will only make matters worse, and besides, Malfoy doesn't feel the same way. Does he?

Take You Home by lq_traintracks (lumosed_quill) @lqtraintracks

Everybody’s a little fucked up after the war, Draco especially. What starts as hate sex after a night out, eventually turns into something else, something more like comfort. And even though his friends all tell Harry he’s just being used, all Harry’s doing is making sure Draco gets home in one piece. He’s not falling helplessly in love.

Vipera Berus by Justlikewriting

Everything was fine. Draco resided at the Manor, made a decent living selling potions and most of his customers actually kept coming back despite his last name. Hence, Draco was fine. He really was. So what, if he was still waiting.

Title & Possession by Kbrick @kbrick

Harry Potter’s life is going well in the aftermath of the war. Sure, his house is dark and run-down and might hate him (while his house elf definitely hates him). But other than that, things are good. Except, yeah, okay, Hermione and Ron are no longer on speaking terms. Worse, they keep trying to get Harry to pick sides. But otherwise, Harry couldn’t be happier. Well. Except for the fact that Ginny is being super weird about their relationship and never wants to have sex or talk about the future. But other than that, Harry is perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch. At least, he is until Draco Malfoy sues him for ownership of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Then Harry really isn’t fine at all.

( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡ I hope you enjoy these fics as much as I have! Happy reading, y’all! xoxo Carey  (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

[tolive1000lives]

We’ve hit the halfway mark of the 2024 reading challenge! These are most of my 2024 reads and I’m excited to add to the stack!

[theinquisitxor]

April 2024 Reading Wrap Up

I read 6 books in April, which is honestly more than I thought I would get to at the beginning of this month. April's are historically slow reading months for me, and while this was another slower month, I'm happy with what I read. Audiobooks really saved me this month! I read 2 fantasy books, 3 nonfiction (who am I?) and 1 literary fiction.

1.The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown (3.5/5 stars) This was an anticipated new release for me, and I was very intrigued by the premise. This was enjoyable, but there were some things I didn't really care for. This was engaging and easy to read, and if you liked The Cartographers or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, I think you'd like this. Adult low fantasy

2.The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann (4/5 stars) I really enjoy survival stories and seafaring stories, so I knew I was going to like this. The audiobook was great, and I liked how this was a shorter nonfiction. I'm not sure how much I like the narrative nonfiction that Grann writes in. Either way, this was a super engaging and entertaining read. Nonfiction audiobook

3.Atomic Habits by James Clear. I was not planning on reading this book in April, but I randomly go interested in it. Overall enjoyable, and interesting to see how we structure our lives around habits.

4.Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World by Rosalind Miles (4/5 stars) I read this 80s feminist nonfiction on audio, and while this could get pessimistic and difficult, I found it to be an engaging read with flashes of humor throughout. I would be interested to see what this book would be like published in the 2020s vs the 1980s. Nonfiction audiobook

5.The Bloody Throne (Hostage of Empire 3) by SC Emmett (5/5 stars) This was the fantastic conclusion to one of my favorite new series. Everything came together in this book and delivered an ending well worth the series. I wasn't sure how the series would end, but it was satisfying and bittersweet. I'm going to be talking about this series for a while. Adult fantasy

6. The Wall by Marlen Haushofer (4.5/5 stars) This is a translated dystopian fiction book about a women who is stuck behind a wall while the rest of the world as ended. She only has a cat, dog, and cow as her companions. She must learn to survive and cope with loneliness. I deeply enjoyed this novel, and found many passages that really stuck with me. Parts of this book got me very emotional.

That's it for April! I'm hoping for a strong reading month this May and summer!

May TBR:

The Familiar by Lehigh Bardugo

The Winners (Beartown 3) by Fredrik Backman

The Language of Trees: A rewilding of literature and landscape

Desert Solitare by Edward Abby

Brave the Wild River (nonfiction audiobook)

The Hedgewitch of Fox Hall by Ana Bright

Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland

The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks (my Random TBR Pick for May)

[ofliterarynature]

FEBRUARY 2024 WRAP UP

[loved liked ok nope dnf (reread) book club*]

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years • The Memory Librarian • Pixels of You* • Arch-Enemies • Moby Dyke • Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures • A Sinister Revenge • Lud in the Mist • Crying in H Mart • Something Close to Magic • Hula • (Renegades) • The Divorce Colony • Foundryside • Earthlings • A Far Wilder Magic

total: 13 books (12 audiobook, 1 print)

Not as many books this month! And not just because February has fewer days, I was really in a funk this month and struggling to pay attention to my audiobooks (and enjoy them). You wouldn't think there's such a thing as too many books, but I think the overtime hours at work are hitting their peak mental health destruction. Here's to hoping things improve in March!

The Divorce Colony (4.5 stars) - genuinely can't believe this was my 3rd nonfic of the year already! I picked a print copy of this up at a library sale in December after hearing about divorce colonies in the early 20th century on a recent episode of the 99% Invisible podcast. Turns out this book was actually about the beginning of the moment that took place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in the 1800's. Western states had shorter residency periods and less strict divorce laws, so women (and the occasional man) would travel west and live there for several months in order to obtain a divorce. This book tracks the movement through the stories of 4 of the more infamous cases to make the papers, and does an incredible job of weaving in the surrounding political and religious discussions. Would recommend, and has a great cover to boot!

Renegades (3 stars) - a reread, and for some reason it was torture. I originally read this back in 2018 and loved it, and wanted to tackle it again and actually finish the rest of the series. But I kept getting worked up and frustrated this time around! It kept trying to take itself seriously while also being very YA and kind of superhero-camp, and I was absolutely overthinking it lol. I found the strength to press on into book two, Archenemies (3.5 stars). I liked it a bit more! Something about it being new, the story being a bit more settled and maybe getting a better grasp on its message/politics, the characters growing more, me figuring out that I shouldn't listen to the audiobook for more than an hour or so at a time, lmao. Not great, but fun, and possibly worth reading? I'll keep y'all updated when I finish book 3.

Hula (5 stars) - incredible. Part generational family story, part history, part discussion of what it means to be Hawaiian, culturally and legally. Not always the easiest of reads, but it was so so worth it. It was also doing something very interesting with parts of the narration voiced by a collective "we" (culture/community?) that I would love to get a look at in print. Highly recommend, I'll definitely be getting myself a copy.

Something Close to Magic (4.5 stars) - an absolute delight! The Gail Carson Levine comp on this one is not entirely unearned, anyone who's a fan of fairy tale type fantasies will enjoy this, I had a great time! Very interestingly, it has characters who are in their mid to late teens, but is written in a way where they're still allowed to be young, to the point I'm surprised it didn't get shoehorned into MG instead of YA. If the author writes any more of these I'd be happy to read them.

Crying in H Mart (3.5 stars) - nonfic number 4! I'm sure everyone's heard of this one by now, which is why I finally picked it up. It's fine (which is why it got an extra .5 star), but on the scale of take it or leave it, I'd leave it. It just wasn't for me and I kind of wish I'd dnf'd it. A great cover though.

Lud-in-the-Mist (3.5 stars) - this one seems to be considered a sort of early precursor to fantasy and fairy tale type stories from the early 20th century, and I was eager to try it! While I definitely don't think it would feel out of place amongst it's more recent fellows (think the Last Unicorn, Robin McKinley, DWJ, etc), I absolutely could not get into it. Probably the chief recipient of "my brain doesn't want to cooperate, sorry," so maybe I'll give it another shot someday.

A Sinister Revenge (4 stars) - enjoyable as always! Not to hide this deep in my reviews or anything, but have the Emily Wilde people tried Veronica Speedwell yet?

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures (3 stars) - This one's been sitting unread on my shelf for a while, and since I was on a bit of a Maggie Stiefvater run, I figured it was perfect! Well. Unless you are like 7, this was so bad. Not good. Having previously read and not liked a book by Maggie's co-author Jackson Pearce, I think it would not be unreasonable for me to assume she did most of the writing while Maggie did the illustrations - if the audiobook had been any longer than 4 hours I'd have absolutely DNF'd it, and I have no intention of continuing the series.

Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in the Country (4.5 stars) - part of me was wondering what I was doing trying this lol, not being someone who drinks or goes to bars, OR, as previously mentioned, is not the biggest fan of memoirs. It was not, as I hoped, also part research project, but it is a travelogue, and as a consequence has a strong narrative thread. It also has a lot of discussions about issues in the LGBTQ+ community, and overall I really liked it once I figured out what it was doing!

Pixels of You (3.5 stars) - a very short sapphic rivals-to friends-to lovers graphic novel about a human-form AI and a human with an android eye competing for a photography internship at an art gallery. The creators clearly put SO much thought into their characters and worldbuilding, but sadly there is nowhere near enough length here to do it all justice, and a number of elements felt very odd or under explored. The relationship parts are great! I just think this needed to be twice as long to really given everything its due, or maybe explored in prose instead.

The Memory Librarian (3.5 stars) - to start, I know nothing about the musical album this is related to, so I don't know how much that might have affected my reading. Overall I wasn't super impressed - when I discovered that the first story was cowritten by Alaya Dawn Johnson - no shade to her - I almost dropped it then, I just really didn't like her writing style in the one book I've read. But I stuck through it. Of the five stories, only one really stuck in my mind - Nevermind, cowritten by Danny Lore, which I could have read an entire novel about. I wish I could recommend it on its own, but overall I just don't quite understand the world Monae has created.

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years (3.5 stars) - I probably should say more about the book, it was fine, I was surprised to find that it's set in relatively current day, I found myself a lot more interested in the second narrative about the house's history, which did make me cry a bit. Mostly though, I really just want to let you know how MUCH of a non-entity the djinn was in this story, I have no idea why it was there and why it was included in the title of the book. All the author had to do was make the house a little more sentient and haunted and it would be fine, idk. Read it if you want, but it's not one I would rec.

DNF'S

Foundryside - I was so ready. I had the first two audiobooks checked out, I had the third one on hold. I started this but oh, the writing. bleh. I was looking thought reviews and someone referred to it as something like "21st century internet speak." In a high fantasy novel. I noped out at just 10%.

Earthlings - I've considered the author's other book before but haven't read it, but thought maybe a sci-fic book would work better for me? The beginning was odd but not uninteresting, and I might have continued if it had stayed that way. But then the main character was in school(?) and her teacher started getting handsy after class and I wasn't invested enough to stick it out.

A Far Wilder Magic - the success of Something Close to Magic made me a little too hopeful I think, bc while I'm still a little leery around YA, I know people have liked this. And it sounded interesting, truly, and I love the cover. But first it was the religion stuff. And I didn't really like the characters. Then it's like, oh, this is the same plot as The Scorpio Races, but nowhere near it's quality in any shape or form. I decided to stop while I was ahead, before I started to actually dislike it. (anyway here's your PSA to go read The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, I recommend doing it in October if you can).

[slaughter-books]

Day 30: JOMPBPC: Read In April

My incredible April, 2024 reading wrap-up! 💚

[jasper-book-stash]

April 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

Continuing my 2024 Pain Tango, April was unkind to me.

I only read two books this month.

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable.

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

None applicable.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

None applicable.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Outside the Charmed Circle: Exploring Gender & Sexuality in Magical Practice | Misha Magdalene

This one is a reread, and...tbh, it's still good, but it's not one I could bring myself to read over and over again. The constant disclaimers wore me down after a while. But definitely worth at least one read, particularly if you're new to the intersection of magic/religion/your personal craft and your queerness.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Ancient Egyptian Literature, volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms | Miriam Lichtheim

This is volume one of the trilogy I'm reading for May's book club meeting. I'm keeping extensive notes as I go through this, particularly when new forms of literature pop up. I'm looking forward to analyzing the tropes that have their roots here :)

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

None applicable.

[poppletonink]

April Reading Wrap Up

The Spirit Bares It's Teeth by Andrew Joseph White - ★★★★★ - 5 stars

Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King - ★★★☆☆ - 3 stars

Animal Farm by George Orwell - ★★★★★ - 5 stars

[godzilla-reads]

April Showers ☔️ Bring May Flowers 🌸

In April I read a total of 12 books, bringing my yearly count to 54 books! My Top 3 for this past month were “Rifqa”; “Old Herbaceous”; and “A Midsummer Night’s Faery Tale”.

Anyway, here’s the list:

🐱 A Cat at the Wall by Deborah Ellis

🧚‍♀️ Brian Froud’s World of Faerie

🍄 A Midsummer Night’s Faery Tale by Wendy Froud and Terri Windling

🐜 Ant Story by Jay Hosler

❤️ Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd

🪽 Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin and S.D. Schindler

🐍 The Wyrm King by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

🌞 East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North by Kay Nielsen and Noel Daniel

🍀 Old Herbaceous by Reginald Arkell

🔥 Introducing the Medieval Dragon by Thomas Honegger

🐺 The Werewolf at Dusk and Other Stories by David Small

🌸 Backyard Fairies by Phoebe Wahl

What did you read?

[manuscripts-dontburn]

The Faceless Woman

Author: Emma Hamm

First published: 2018

Rating:  ★★☆☆☆

Two perpetually horny people with the attitude of whiny teenagers endlessly banter annoyingly while hiking the Otherworld (or was it Otherlands?). They are totally into each other just because. Everything they need is immediately gotten. Every question they ask is immediately answered. There is a cat.

Lady Audley's Secret

Author: Mary Elizabeth Braddon

First published: 1862

Rating: ★★★★☆

A good example of a book that seems to be good, but not THAT good, but then it really turns out there is more to it than it first seemed. I enjoyed myself! Also, I would recommend it to anyone who would like to get into classics but is not ready for the likes of Dostoyevsky (Is anyone truly ready for Dostoyevsky?)

My Sister, the Serial Killer

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

First published: 2018

Rating: ★★★★☆

A dark, intriguing exploration of how far family loyalties can lie, peppered with uncomfortable truths and secrets. Not really a thriller, if that is what you are looking for. Thanks to very short chapters it read extremely quickly.

Death on the Lusitania

Author: R.L. Graham

First published: 2024

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Like... I wasn´t mad at this, you can certainly tell a huge amount of historical research went into constructing this story, but all in all it read very dry. Furthermore, I chose to read this book because the tragedy of Lusitania is something I have been fascinated with for a long time now yet in the book its tragic demise comes about with little urgency and takes a surprisingly small space in the overall length of the book. The famous ship is a background setting rather than the main event and you never get to explore her.

Peach Blossom Spring

Author: Melissa Fu

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★★★★

Somebody messed up and so in my edition of Peach Blossom Spring every single instance of the word QUIET was replaced by QUIETEN, which jarred the eye and flow of the afflicted sentences. But not even that could take away the sensitive, melancholy beauty of this book. A historical fiction with just the right amount of background information without over-explanation, it follows a family trauma and how characters with that trauma make their decisions and change over time. By the end, I felt very deeply for all the characters and, even though my own culture and heritage are completely unrelated, trace the certain human traits we all seem to share, portrayed with great care.

Weird Medieval Guys: How to Live, Laugh, Love (and Die) in Dark Times

Author: Olivia Swarthout

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★★★☆

Perhaps not laugh-out-loud funny, but amusing and clearly written with much love for history. I only wish the physical book was larger, so the pictures could be viewed in more detail and my weak-ass-eyes not struggle to read the small text.

The Imaginary Lives of James Poneke

Author: Tina Makereti

First published: 2018

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Though quite short, there is a lot going on in this book. The story is that of a native boy from New Zealand who, after losing his family and people, gets an English education and makes his way to London is set in the 19th century and focuses on issues of predatory colonialism, insensitive treatment of people who look different and eventually also sexuality. There is a profound sadness etched into all of it. I was not sure whether the sexual angle was necessary and the one explicit scene felt jarring, as if I suddenly was reading a different book altogether.

Crypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond

Author: Alice Roberts

First published: 2024

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Unfortunately, this wanted to be a lot and ended up being a not uninteresting but rather confused, unanchored and disjointed collection of papers. Not recommended if you are primarily interested in history and not biology.

I, Coriander

Author: Sally Gardner

First published: 2005

Rating: ★★★★☆

I would have eaten this up as a kid! As an adult, I still enjoyed it a lot, but I must say the historical parts of this story worked much better than the fantasy-infused ones. Could Sally Gardner possibly rewrite this story as an adult horror? Because that would be blood-chilling.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Author: Christy Lefteri

First published: 2020

Rating: ★★★★★

This book started as a weary, melancholy journey and ended up being an explosion of pain. The story is told from the point of view of Nuri, a Syrian refugee trying to make his way to the UK while trying to stay strong for his blind wife and hopes for some normalcy in the future. Because you only get his interpretation of events Nuri is sometimes an unreliable narrator, which, I personally think, explains some of the points other readers have criticised. Nuri does not give a comprehensive and complex portrayal of his journey, he is simply engulfed in his own thoughts and existence, noticing select things and reacting to select situations. It is an exploration of trauma anyone can relate to, while at the same time, it absolutely does call one's attention to the very real plight of refugees, happening right now. It is beautifully written too.

Kaikeyi

Author: Vaishnavi Patel

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★★★☆

It is always dangerous to choose an actual religious story rather than a mere myth to retell and spin in a way that would be innovative, respectful and not feel redundant. Vaishnavi Patel has managed to win this uneasy battle by choosing the possibly most interesting character of the mix and creating a complex woman who is fantastically human in her errors and yet you cannot really feel for her, especially in the last part of the book, because she reasons, she fights, she repents, she questions herself. I especially liked the focus on the conflict between the male sense of pride and honour and what was presented as a much more feminine trait of letting things go to avoid war and pain. The middle part of the book did feel rather sluggish and the equality of the sexes, at times, bit too on the modern nose, but the heart of the story prevailed. No doubt there will be Hindus taking offence at liberties and changes made, but since the author herself is a Hindu, I believe it is not my place to argue for or against this case.

A Manual for How to Love Us

Author: Erin Slaughter

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Let´s just say this was not for me. The stories were certainly weird but with not much impact (bar one). I bought this book because it has a gorgeous cover and somebody said the stories are connected (which is one of my favourite things in books), but if the connection is there, I could not find it. Just because it is all weird, sad and weirdly sad women does not "connected" mean.

A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson

Author: Frances Welch

First published: 2007

Rating: ★★★☆☆

In comparison to The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery this book is definitely not offering as much information on the whole question of why so many people believed in Anna Anderson and where the discrepancies were in many of her claims. I was also irritated at mislabeled pictures of the Romanov sisters as Anastasia on more than one count (I suspect the editor´s mistake here). But this is still a readable and fascinating portrait of a very abnormal life and some very unhinged people. Even more than Anna I was taken by Gleb Botkin and his delusions and reasoning. Interesting, though it does not have the latest information due to the year of the publication.

[thewordworrier]

April 2024 Writing Wrap Up

Words Written: 25,551 words. A Camp month means a slightly higher total - I was aiming for 700 words a day, which was 21,000 words in total - which I managed, because of course I did. But, a lot of the days were like pulling teeth, which is why a lot of the days were only just over 700 words. And that's okay too. Things I’ve worked on: ~ notes for a Popstar!Shelly AU ~ NormalAU stuff. A lot of this. ~ a little bit of the February Fic ~ a fun, slightly smuttier offshoot AU - just a scene (I wrote this one on my phone while at dinner with the in laws - parents and grandparents. Writing smut in the walk in center is out, writing smut in a restuarant with the family is in.) ~ NormalAU stuff surrounding wedding/engagement stuff <3 ~ some untitled WIPs. ~ and finally, the published thing. Things Published: Hurrah, I posted something! My first thing since January! ~ Gazing At Me Starry Eyed

May Plans! Okay, first - last month, I said I wanted to work on the February Fic some more this month. I had intentions. And then I was like "maybe after the new Taylor music comes out," and then... That didn't happen. But that's okay, you go where the Muse wants when the Muse wants. Back to our 500 words a day next month. No other main goals really. It's clear I don't really stick to them! XD

[princessofbookaholics]

April was a productive reading month. And I liked everything that I read so that was great. Also got a 5 star read FINALLY! The Reappearance of Rachel Price was amazing and I'm happy that I got a perfect read after so long! I read the full Defy the Night series which put a good dent in my TBR. Here's the wrap up:

Mexican Gothic ⭐⭐⭐

Four Aunties and a Wedding ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Expiration Dates ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Reappearance of Rachel Price ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Loveless (reread) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Rule Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Party ⭐⭐⭐

Everything I Know About Love ⭐⭐⭐

Defy the Night ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Teach Me ⭐⭐⭐

Long Time Gone (ARC) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Defend the Dawn ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bethrotal or Breakaway ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tomb Sweeping ⭐⭐⭐

Only and Forever ⭐⭐⭐

Destroy the Day ⭐⭐⭐

[bigdreamsandwildthings]

April Wrap-Up

Heartless (Elsie Silver) ★★★★1/2

Artificial Condition (Martha Wells) (audio) ★★★★★

All Good People Here (Ashley Flowers) (audio) ★★★★

Lore of the Wilds (Analeigh Sbrana) ★★

The Warm Hands of Ghosts (Katherine Arden) ★★★★★

Icarus (K. Ancrum) ★★★★

The Trap (Catherine Ryan Howard) (audio) ★★★1/2

What Lies in the Woods (Kate Alice Marshall) (audio) ★★★★1/2

A Day of Fallen Night (Samantha Shannon) ★★★★1/2

Swift and Saddled (Lyla Sage) ★★★★

Listen for the Lie (Amy Tintera) ★★★★

Remarkably Bright Creatures (Shelby Van Pelt) (audio) ★★★★

The Familiar (Leigh Bardugo) ★★★

Add me as a friend over on Goodreads (linked) for more detailed reviews!

[lovebooksforeversblog]

April Wrap Up.. I loved this books

[thisapplepielife]

Monthly Word Count Wrap-Up

April 2024

April was a busy month of writing, and here's the breakdown of where I spent my time:

I worked on 8 different projects this month, for a total of 38,328 words. Still over my 500 words per day personal goal.

It was close, but pre-writing for Corroded Coffin Fest (I'm counting that as all one project for my fic stats) edged out All Across the Universe as the biggest chunk for the month. AATU is on the wind down, and I do look forward to finishing it up and digging into other projects that have tickled my fancy, haha.

If you haven't checked it out yet, the upcoming event Corroded Coffin Fest is getting closer! There's another warm-up round on May 15th, this time with the theme Get a Job, and you are all more than welcome to come join in the fun! @corrodedcoffinfest

Anyway, I averaged 1,277.60 words a day this month. The highest so far of the year!

And for the yearly average, I'm now at 1089.12 words per day.

What I Posted This Month:

All Alone (For Steddie Micro, T, 454 Words)

Who Will Buy My Memories? (For Corroded Coffin Fest Warm-Up #1, T, 1000 Words)

Sub Eddie Week: (Total Words: 12,711)

Day 1: I'm Only One Man (E, 2214 Words) Day 2: A Firm Touch (E, 1912 Words) Day 3: A Menace to Society (E, 2556 Words) Day 4: Teetering on the Brink (E, 554 Words) Day 5: Today Is Not Tomorrow (E, 2043 Words) Day 6: No Slack (E, 1904 Words) Day 7: Where Would I Go? (E, 1528 Words)

All Across the Universe (Chapters 7-9, E, 40,506 Words)

[lindsglenne]

Spring Movie/TV Wrap Up

It’s been a while! With packing, moving, and unpacking I haven’t been watching as much scripted content. It’s pretty much been all podcasts or other Youtube videos—how boring, I know. I also just haven’t Beene in the mood of watching quality content? If that makes any sense. I can already tell June is going to be much better. Continue reading Spring Movie/TV Wrap Up