Another month, another book review! After last month’s lackluster reads, I’m happy to say that I had MUCH better success with April’s books – let’s jump right in!

So this first book, I technically finished on the last day of March but my March book review post went live before I could blog about it so I’m sticking it into this post.

Educated by Tara Westover was such a good read. It’s different from the type of book I usually read in that it’s a memoir and memoirs aren’t usually my speed but this one came so highly recommended that I couldn’t resist. Tara Westover was raised by parents who are survivalists, super suspicious of the government, and also highly religious. She wasn’t sent to school for formal education for most of her life but somehow overcame her background to create the life she always wanted for herself. I loved it!

Wahhh, after being SO disappointed with Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty last month I’m SO HAPPY to say that Nine Perfect Strangers totally redeemed this author for me. Dare I say, it’s in my top 3 favorite books by her? I LOVED this book .. it’s a story about nine strangers who end up at the same “health & wellness” resort together and … I don’t want to spoil it but just read it 🙂 It’s got fun twists and a great plot/storyline like most of Liane Moriarty’s books do.

Wow. WOWOWOW. Okay, so THIS author was completely new to me – I’d heard of a few of her books here and there but I kept seeing this one title (along with another that I’ll get back to later) pop up in my IG feed. This book was a thriller and again, after the disappointing thriller (The Reckoning) that I read last month, I was pleased with this one. I’ll be 100% honest that it wasn’t the best thriller I’ve ever read, especially because the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I personally wanted it to be but it was definitely a compelling book and I blew through it in one day. I just HAD to find out what happened next. A bit of a warning, there’s a lot of sex in this book which I learned is kind of a theme with this author so … you know, you’ve been forewarned. I speed-read through those pages as I felt like it was more graphic than necessary.

LOL this next book .. hmm .. I mean, what could I really expect from a book marketed for teenagers? I have a soft spot for YA literature but this one was just so bleh. The characters were bleh and I felt like the writing was bleh. It was a light & fluffy, easy read, so maybe it would be good for a beach trip or a quick airplane ride or something but deeeefinitely just check this one out from the library, don’t waste your money on it!

Swoon. I think Kristan Higgins is my favorite author right now. Her books remind me a lot of Korean dramas. They’re always a rom-com with a female protagonist and an unlikely male lead. The books are easy to read but don’t make you feel dumber for having read them. This one is about two sisters – one gets dumped on the day she thought she’d get engaged and the other unexpectedly becomes a widow. It’s not a sad book, though it sounds like it could be. You get to read about how they find love again and Kristan Higgins’ writing is always witty and heart-warming. I’d highly recommend just about any book of hers, not just this one, but this is a good one to start with if you’ve never read anything by her.

The next book I read this month was The Rumor by Elin Hilerbrand (yes, I read a lot of books this month – I’m a fast reader). Elin Hilderbrand has a really whimsical way about her writing that I love and this book was no exception. As far as I know, most of her books (including this one) are set in Nantucket (or the surrounding areas) and there’s something so romantic about island stories. This book is about two couples, the Kings and the Panciks, and how one little rumor affects both their families. It was another easy read, perfect for any upcoming summer vacations if you need a good book to take along with you!

Okay, All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover is the other title by this author that I saw swimming around on social media so many times. So many other bloggers that I follow read this book and raved about it but I’ll be honest .. it wasn’t my favorite. I thought it was overly cheesy and it was also really difficult for me to connect to the story. It toggles back and forth between the present time and the past for a husband & wife. In present time, their marriage is struggling and they’ve lost their connection to one another; in the past, they’re meeting/falling in love for the first time. The main “issue” in their marriage is honestly one that I just couldn’t relate to, though, so the book was hard for me to get through. This doesn’t happen very often to me but I actually stopped reading for a moment and had to pep-talk my way to finish it hahaha.

The last book for this month was Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins. I know I raved so much about her earlier in this post but this was the first book by her that I didn’t 100000% love. It was still good, it was just different from what she normally writes and I wasn’t expecting that. This one is about three friends who meet at fat camp as teenagers and continue to struggle with their weight into adulthood. One of the friends is morbidly obese and dies pretty much at the beginning of the book and the rest of the book is about the remaining two friends learning how to love themselves and live life regardless of their happiness with their size. Again, it wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t my favorite.

That’s it for this month! I already have a stack of books next to my bed from the library waiting to be read so be sure to check back at the end of next month for May’s book review~ 🙂