I can honestly say that I am actually SO
impressed with myself and how much I managed to read over the course of the
month of April. I am amazed that I managed to find the time to read SEVEN WHOLE
BOOKS. And to be honest with you, there were some blooming good ones.
I started off April finishing up with a book
that I started at the end of March and it got April off to a pretty good start,
as far as I’m concerned. Missing,
Presumed by Susie Steiner. I’ve
already reviewed the book on the blog (you can have a little look at it here,
if you so wish!) I loved this book A LOT and it really did get me out of what
could have turned into a pretty remarkable reading slump. It was a really
interesting, intriguing and thought-provoking book, full of twists and turns. A
fantastic read.
As well as having a VERY well-known love of
psychological thrillers and crime fiction, one of the genres that I’ve been leaning
towards a lot more over the last few years is war fiction. Whilst this one isn’t
actually fiction- in fact it’s a letter directed at a concentration camp
survivor’s father- But You Did Not Come
Back by Marceline Loridan-Ivans was
a beautiful and heartwrenching piece of writing, one that I enjoyed enormously.
It was devastatingly sad, and addressed the feelings that she, Marceline, had
after she returned from Auschwitz concentration camp to discover that her
father had not survived the tragic events. It was a very poignant story and of
course, I had a little sob (surprise, surprise, Hollie…).
When I was in my second year of uni, I was
introduced to The Sense of an Ending by
Julian Barnes. I enjoyed the story
but I don’t think I quite appreciated it the way that I should have done.
Whilst I was at the cinema a few months back, one of the trailers shown was
actually the trailer for this book and I was made up that they were making it
into a film. One of the things that I did remember, having read the book, was
that I enjoyed the plot, even if I didn’t fully acknowledge the importance of
it. I chose to re-read the book this month and I am honestly so glad that I
did. I found the writing style absolutely beautiful and I devoured absolutely
every word. I definitely recommend giving this one a whirl if you haven’t
already.
About a year ago (almost to the day, actually),
I reviewed
Lisa Williamson’s debut novel The Art of Being Normal. I
absolutely LOVED this book, so when I found out that Lisa had written another
YA novel, All About Mia, I couldn’t
help myself. I quickly bought a copy on Amazon and vowed to get stuck straight
in. I went back to Lancashire for a long weekend and chose to take this book
along with me. I read it over the course of a few evenings and it was an
absolute delight. It really approached the teenage years in a relatable way- it’s
been a long while since I was a teenager but it was really nice to read a book
written by someone who really seems to understand all about the complexities of
growing up. I’ll likely review this one in more detail at some point, but I
will say that it was a charming read.
C. L. Taylor is probably one of my most-read authors
over the last few years, so buying her new book was inevitable. As I’d finished
reading All About Mia when I was
visiting my parents, I nipped over to the local Tesco to get another book for
the train ride home and the book I chose was Taylor’s The Escape. My expectations, of course, were very high and I am so
over the moon to reveal that I wasn’t disappointed. I was very keen to review
this one, so I’ve already done my full review here.
It’s probably one of the best psychological thrillers that I’ve read over the
last few years and definitely my favourite of C.L. Taylor’s.
My favourite book of April came courtesy of the
lovely PR team at Penguin books. Around the end of March, I was surprised with
a little parcel from them; a copy of Jane
Corry’s Blood Sisters and a little bottle of the good stuff- white wine! I
was a kind daughter and donated the wine to my mother but the book was mine and
mine to keep. I loved this book. There are no two ways about it. Every single
aspect of the book was exactly what I was looking for in a book- it epitomised
the genre and left me satisfied. Twist after twist after twist – it was
absolutely impossible to guess the ending. I’ll be writing a full review up
this week but I couldn’t resist throwing a little something into my wrap up.
The final book that I read in April, I finished
this morning. It was a book that I bought after hearing nothing but amazing
things about it, for weeks and weeks and weeks. I even bought an additional
copy and included it in a book giveaway that I’m holding. I had a lot of faith
in its quality and once again, I wasn’t disappointed. The Hate U Give by Angie
Thomas is a book unlike anything that I’ve ever read before. I’m sure that
you, like most people, have seen and been affected in some way or another by events
involving gun crime and police targeting people from minorities in the states.
This book approaches issues like these in the only way possible: by telling it
exactly like it is, no censorship, the full reality of the situation. This book
is a must read; so, so, so very important. One of the best books I’ve read this
year, by far.
What have you been reading this month? Let me
know in the comments!
