2025 Books - April!

 AKA, that month that I promised to only read books I already own….and may have cheated a tiny bit to buy a few romance novels before the month started because I didn’t actually have any waiting in my TBR.  Also...I may have picked up several that were on my Wish list that went on sale...

Also, before I begin I would like to officially offer my apologies to Romance authors and fans everywhere.  For years and years I looked down on the genre, only dipping into it once in a great while when I needed a break from heavier reading.  I didn't appreciate it, didn't really understand it, and was generally dismissive.  BUT, then came last November, and I found myself turning more and more to romance novels.  And I have seen the light of day.  There's a lot of good to be found in books that are lighthearted and fun.  Books that gently explore serious issues that so many of us face.  Books that provide the fantasy that shows us how things could be.  Books that often feel like a warm hug when we need it.  So yes, I'm now a fan, and I'm grateful for having seen the light!  

1.  Love, Theoretically, Ali Hazelwood - I needed a happily ever after after the last book, so I turned back to Ali.  Hands down, this is my absolute favorite of Hazelwood’s contemporary books.  More so than any other romance I’ve read, I became very emotionally invested while reading.  I adored Elsie, and something about her resonated pretty deeply with some of the issues I’ve dealt with my whole life.  When I realized I wanted a physical copy…yeah, it was a really good read.  (and a week later I was discussing it with my therapist because Elsie resonated so deeply with me.)

2.  Not in Love, Ali Hazelwood - With the exception of the chess YA book, this was the last currently published Ali H. book that I hadn't read...and, well, I was still in the mood for her style of lighthearted fun.  These two books are officially my favorite two Ali Hazelwood books.  Rue and Eli really earned their way to each other.  

3.  Butcher and Blackbird, Brynne Weaver (audio) - I succumbed to the pressure of BookTok, and read this wildly popular rom-com about serial killers.  Ah.  Yeah.  It was a lot, and I don't think I'm really the audience for it as I'm so not a dark romance reader.  Not.  At.  All.  I get why people like it, though, and the audio is pretty darn fantastic.  But also, I cannot handle audio spicey books.  Nope.  

4.  The Martian Contingency, Mary Robinette Kowal - This is the fourth of the Lady Astronaut series, which I discovered after reading Kowal's amazing short story, The Lady Astronaut of Mars.  (That story haunts me.)  It's an alternative timeline of space exploration following a catastrophic meteor strike in the 1950's.  By this installment, It's 1970 and Elma and Nathaniel are helping prepare Mars for the first official settlers.  First of all, I absolutely adore the fact that Elma is 48 and we're still exploring her adventures and her beautiful marriage.  Love that.  More than ever before in the series, Kowal uses this book to explore deep issues surrounding racism, sexism, colonialism, and more.  It's a bit heavy-handed at times, but I get it.  Science Fiction and Fantasy are both ways to explore serious real world situations by putting them in invented environments.  (That is a Madeleine L'Engle idea, not mine...but it's true.)  And boy, does Kowal ever go there with this book.  It takes on a major issue in the US from the last few years, and in fact that was the most gripping part of the book.  My one complaint is that parts of the book were a slog to get through.  However, I’m going to forgive it because this is the book where we finally get a glimpse of the things to come in the short story that started it all.  Yes, I became quite emotional because of that.  At its heart, this whole series is a beautiful love story of a marriage, and I appreciate it so, so much.  My suspicion is that this is the last book in the series, and I would be very comfortable with that.  

5.  Heartless Hunter & 6. Rebel Witch, Kristen Ciccarelli (audio) - I finally gave in to curiosity on this BookTok/Bookstagram favorite...lol, just not enough to buy a copy.  Thank you library audio!  OK, I had fun, but good grief these were kind of ridiculous books.  1.  For books that are supposedly YA, there's an uncomfortable amount of spice.  2.  The whole have sex to look for witch marks things icked me out.  3.  I have no idea why Gideon and Rune fell for each other in the first place.  4.  Gideon and Rune are idiots.  5.  These books could easily be 4 or 5 hours shorter if the author had edited down the number of 'i don't know if I can trust him/her' or similar sentiments.  6.  Possessive men are kind of gross.  7.  The ending was way too neatly tied up.  8.  Have I mentioned that I don't get Gideon and Rune?  Their personalities and relationship was both all over the place and completely flat.  I spent the last 2/3 of the second book praying it would end soon.  

7.  A Shore Thing, Joanna Lowell - This was an NPR Books We Love of 2024.  You know I LOVE a book where people are able to fully become themselves.  You also know I have a soft spot for LGBTQ romances, and another soft spot for historical romance.  This was exactly the sweet palate cleanser I needed after that disastrous duology.  Kit was unique enough amongst romance MMC's to make me love him.  Murial, well she wasn't exactly an original, but I loved her nonetheless.  

8.  The Seven Year Slip, Ashley Poston - This book was a super big deal all over booktok/bookstagram when I first stumbled into that world, so I bought it when I found it on sale a while back.  It was a very sweet book, but there were no surprises.  You could see any of the “twists” coming from a mile away.  What I connected with the most was Clementine’s journey to find what she really wanted in the world while dealing with grief.  I wanted more of that, and wish that Poston did more in-depth epilogues.  

9.  The Dead Romantics, Ashley Poston - It’s a magical realism novel that’s also a novel about grief and family and place.  For me, the romance was the least interesting portion of the book (and our MMC was a bit bland), but I was so entranced with everything else that I ended up loving the experience.  Plus, I love a good ghost story. 

10.  Cowboy Feng’s Space Bar and Grill, Steven Brust (reread) - I brought a passage from this book up during a lovely conversation with a friend, and then realizing how very, very long it had been since I read this I decided to pull it from my shelf and do a reread.  

I was an extraordinarily advanced reader growing up, in an age where there really weren’t that many choices for readers like me.  By the time I had started high school, I was reading mostly classics and closed-door historical romance novels.  I loved, loved books, but it was so hard to find things I was interested in.  (And God knows I had NO interest at all in the things that my peers were reading.)  I dabbled a little bit in genres, but not much.  Then I went to college, and joined the fencing team.  A friend on the team introduced me to Brust, and totally cracked the world of fantasy open for me.  Brust led me to De Lint who led me to Dean and Bull on and on and on.  And I’ve never looked back! 

It’s been at least 15 years since I read Cowboy Feng’s…long enough that I’d forgotten just how beautiful of a book it is.  Brust - and many of my other formative fantasy writers - is a musician, and so much of this book is about other musicians creating with love and passion.  It’s no wonder that a part of my heart has always yearned to be a part of that world.  There were little things that jumped out at me - favorite phrases, the little girl who shows up in every Brust book, one of the characters quoting a writer who was a part of Brust’s circle, how very much of the book was devoted to what the characters were eating, how often Brust described exactly where everyone was sitting or standing.  Then there were the big things - all of the reflections on life and art and music and found family….a passage about love that is supposed to be deeply sad and yet taught me so much about what true and lasting love should be.  The grief about what is lost, the importance of selflessly trying to set things right, the hope at the end.  

I love this book oh so very much.  Both for how beautiful it is, and for the world it gave me.  

11.  The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, Steven Brust (reread) - So then, of course, I had to reread another Brust book.  I don’t remember which I read first - this or Cowboy Feng’s - but of the two this is definitely my favorite. 

This book introduced me to a group of writers who were doing modern retellings of folk stories, which at the time was a new to me concept that I fell head over heels in love with.  I just may have to pull more of those books off the shelves to revisit.  (I already revisited De Lint’s Jack and the Giant Killer last year.)  

As a special bonus, the trade paperback that I treasure so, so much was a gift from a dear friend.

The thing is, I’ve read Brust’s other works, and while I enjoyed them at the time none of them are books I have any desire to revisit.  But these two…they are different, while being wholly his own.  I think sometimes genius strikes, and great art is made.  I think Feng’s got close, and The Sun, the Moon and the Stars made it.  It’s absolutely brilliant.

Short on plot, The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars is really a book about art.  Each chapter is divided into six sections, which I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated truly before, that go though the origins of the studio the book is based in, events that are happening, reflections on various styles of art, our narrator’s act of creation with a painting he’s working on, A Hungarian folk story, and philosophy on art and life. Each time I read it I find so much truth and beauty.  Each time I read it, I’m left with so much to think about.   

12.  To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis (audio, reread) - It's been a really long time since I read this book, and so was eager for the reread.  The audio is amazing, the detail and humor are amazing, the characters are amazing.  I do love Willis and her time travel books.  My only complaint is that it was a tad tedious.  Took much longer to read than it should have.  This is one of those cases where even though the audio is really good I think it's better to read in print!  

13.  Great Big Beautiful Life, Emily Henry - I love grumpy sunshine books, and I'm a complete sucker for the story within a story sort of book.  I really liked the structure of the book, and I loved Alice and Haydon.  It was exactly what I needed in the moment.  Also, please note...this is how romance novel epilogues should be.  

14.  Beach Read, Emily Henry - And I'm just in the mood for Romance Novels this month, so another Emily Henry!  I kind of giggled a little bit because in many ways the plot mirrored that of the Dead Romantics.  (Two books about writer's block following heartbreak in a month!)  Overall, though, this was a far better story with a romance that actually made sense and a MMC with a personality.  January and Gus...swoon.  And a comment about Henry books in general - I so appreciate the complicated family dynamics behind her main characters.  Good stuff.  

15. Twenty-one Truths About Love, Mathew Dicks - I stumbled on this in Libby while looking at new library books, and was intrigued by the concept of a book written via lists. I am a sucker for epistolary novels of any sort, and thought it was very cleverly done.  Amazing how much of a story you can convey through lists!  Having said that, one of the major plot points at the end really threw me.  I thought that the rest of the book was just anxious musings, and when the main character actually followed through on something I didn't at all think he was serious about....well, I didn't enjoy it after that.  I intellectually appreciate this book.  I wish that it had a very different ending.  

16.  Once Upon a Broken Heart, Stephanie Garber (audio) - Truth time, I only got 70% of the way in when I tried to listen to it last.  Had no intention of going back.....but....well.  Yeah, the fanart got to me.  There is a ton of it, and it's lovely.  Sadly, the book was just as crappy as before.  I have NO idea why this series is so popular.  Many of my complaints about the Cicarelli books earlier this month apply here as well.  

17.  Ironskin, Tina Connolly - I was reminded of this book when importing all of the books from Goodreads and my blog earlier this month, and decided to reread it.  I remember it as a fantasy/steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre, which made me love it the first time around.  I still think it's an interesting concept, but am not surprised these books have faded and are never mentioned anywhere.  I first read Jane Eyre when I was very young, and studied it and related books in college.  I thought I had a very clear-eyed view of it.  To my surprise, rereading this book, though, made me realize how much I actually hate Jane Eyre because of how problematic it is.  Additionally, there is a healthy dose of body horror in this book that bothered me deeply...and I don't remember that reaction the first time around.  I strongly suspect that all of the therapy I've been through over the last seven years has influenced my feelings in that direction.  I'm glad I reread it, but I have no intention of rereading the two other books in the trilogy.  

18.  A Letter to the Luminous Deep, Sylvie Cathrall - Again, complete sucker for epistolary novels!  I picked up a copy of this book on sale a month or so ago, in part because I'd seen it on Bookstagram, in part because of the beautiful cover, and in part because of who blurbed it.  To my utter delight, it was a wonderful read.  Two people work together to go through their younger siblings' papers after the younger siblings disappear.  You get to watch two relationships grow, follow a mystery, and explore a watery world.  The author has OCD, and she gave that condition to E., the woman who disappeared.  I strongly suspect the man who disappeared has autism. I so loved how this book let us into their worlds, and their love story was something special.  The second book in this duology is out the first week of May, and I cannot wait.  

19.  The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamad - This was a NPR Books We Love 2024 selection, and goodness...I loved it so, so much!  A 40 year old FMC, yes, PLEASE!  A fairy tale in the style of Grimm Fairy Tales before they were sanitized and turned into children's stories - also yes, PLEASE!  A massively emotional end that's not a happily ever after....yes, yes, yes.  The whole thing was just beautiful  

20.  The Cemetary of Untold Stories, Julia Alvarez - Also a NPR Books We Love 2024 pic, I enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite.  It's absolutely beautifully written, and I loved the way the stories intertwined.  I also loved the characters, and appreciated the richness of their lives and relationships. It had many thoughtful things to say, and in the right frame of mind gives the reader much to think about. Even with all of that, though, at the end of the day it's a book I appreciate more intellectually than emotionally.  Years and years ago I read Alvarez's book In the Time of the Butterflies, and I remember feeling much the same.  It also was an important book, but maybe not one that was fully for me.  

Unfinished: 

1.  The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo - I wanted to love this so much.  Last year's The Fox Wife was one of my most memorable reads of the year, and so I had really high hopes.  It very much is a beautifully written book, and I think Choo is an amazing writer.  It just wasn't for me.  I set it aside after reading about 1/3 of it.  When I picked it up a week or so later to continue on I found myself losing interest rapidly.  I made it almost 60% through and then admitted defeat.