#now i am going to read tpotot again while working bc that's what we do sometimes

[piratekane]

april reading wrap-up

another month, another reading wrap-up. i said in my last one that april would be stronger and for once, i was right. i'm basically a genius now. anyway, i read books. i'm going to tell you about them.

some facts: - i read 13 books this month - i've branched out in the reading world and got to read a couple of ARCs for upcoming books - i went to four independent bookstores this month - i bought 2485309 books in 30 days - i did 3 buddy reads

anyway, here's the top books:

a) Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang - if you haven't read this book, you need to read this book. it's my favorite of the month. a magic system based on computation that sounds hella cool, a morally gray main character with the kind of growth you love to see, complex comments on the morality of right versus wrong and what those things really mean--this book was so well-written, the characters were fantastic, and i had to slow myself down reading it so i didn't get too far ahead of my reading buddy 5/5

b) The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon - full disclosure, i started this book in December and just finished it a few days ago. idk why i was stuck--maybe because i read The Bone Season in a day and dove right into TMO and just burnt out? either way, i decided April is when i would finish it and daaaamn, am i glad i did. someone told me that Shannon really blows things up at the end of book 2 and, well, she did. i put the book down. i stared at the wall. i asked, out loud, did that really just happen? totally worth the wait. 4.5/5

c) The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood - i went into this book blind and came out the other side with a tab open on my computer saying "thank you for your purchase" [of the sequel]. this book could have probably been two, because there were two distinct arcs, but also they wove together so well, i didn't mind. sacrifice-turned-sword-hand meets girl-destined-to-be-sacrifice and they decide to just fuck things up. we love to see it. 4/5

ARCs i read: - The Worst Perfect Moment by Shivaun Plozzo, a YA sapphic contemporary story about a girl who wakes up as a ghost and has to figure out why she's reliving what she believes to be the worst weekend of her life--but what the angel assigned to her is positive is her best. i thought this was cute and def had YA vibes, but a good story overall. out May 14, 2024 - Director's Cut by Carlyn Greenwald, an adult sapphic contemporary romance about a woman who is looking to get out of Hollywood and into teaching and maybe into her co-teacher's, uh, bed (felt weird just typing that), while figuring out what she really wants from life. this suffered a few tropes that i am not a huge fan of and wasn't the book for me, but could be the book for you! out June 11, 2024

queer rating: 10 out of 13 books this month. thank you, lesbian visibility week!