April Reading Wrap-Up + May TBR

 

Hey, everyone! I hope that you are doing well through this quarantine if you are in one. I've spent a lot of time inside since COVID-19 struck, but I have taken walks consistently in the park (social distancing is key, y'all!) and I play a lot of Just Dance with my roommate. I am about to leave my university campus and I will never live here again. I have lived here for the last four years and it is hard to let it all go, but I am also ready for the next steps in my life. I'm graduating soon and I just submitted my last pieces of work for my major on April 30, so it's all coming to a close. I had a much better reading month than I did in March, so here are the books I read!

THE BOOKS:

The Most Important Women of the Bible: Remarkable Stories of God's Love and Redemption by Aaron & Elaina Sharp- 5 stars One of the most incorrect statements that people often make is that the Bible is sexist and paints women in a negative light. There are a couple of horrible women, but there are even more horrible men in the Bible, so I would say that is an incorrect assumption and statement to make (but I myself once believed it because so many other people told me to). However, since falling in love with Jesus I have been fascinated by women in Biblical stories and their role in redemption. This novel  breaks down 31 important Biblical characters who played an important role in the redemption of paving the way to Christ and building the church after Him. I loved this one and I read it, so quickly. A fantastic resource that I highly recommend!

Blue Flag Volume 1 by Kaito- 4 stars This manga follows a boy in high school who helps the most awkward girl in school get the attention of his best friend, but they are, of course, the perfect couple for each other. I loved this! This is a fun manga and I ate it up. So much fun and loved the scenes. It was a great read and I'm definitely invested in checking out volume 2 and the rest of the series. Check out my review here. 

Beauty and the Beast by Jessica Gunderson- 3 stars I love Beauty and the Beast retellings, but this wasn't the best. However, it's for kids and I think kids will love it. Check out my review here.

Hell's Paradise Volume 1: Jigokuraku by Yuji Kaku- 1 star This was my worst read of April. I was expecting to love this horror manga, but it did not work for me. This manga was underwhelming. I didn't care about the plot and I was uninterested the whole time. Check out my review here.

Authority by Jeff VanderMeer- 4 stars This is the sequel to Annihilation (which was one of my highlights in March). It does not follow the biologist (or Ghostbird). She is an important aspect of this novel, but we do not follow her POV. Instead we follow the perspective of the newest director of the Southern Reach agency. There were some great reveals in here to tie in the plot of the first novel, but I didn't always care for the story and Control wasn't my favorite character to follow. However, I was so invested in this book and I did enjoy it.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power- 5 stars This book was everything I hoped it would be. I flew through it. It was a fast-paced and wild ride for me. I wasn't put off by the body horror and I loved the plot of girls being quarantined on an island because their bodies are evolving and killing them. The characters were interesting to follow and I was invested in where the plot took the reader. I, also contrary to most, loved the ending.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel- 4.25 stars This follows Rose Gold getting revenge on her mother, Patty Watts, after Patty is released from prison after serving for poisoning and lying about her daughter being sick. It's based off of Gypsy Rose's story, but it definitely follows the vein of what Gypsy would have been like if she hadn't taken the murderous route instead of the revenge route. I did like this book and it was a fun and messed up read, but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be and I was a little disappointed by it. It was still good though! 

Journey to the Cross: Forty Days to Prepare Your Heart for Easter by (in)courage- 3 stars I liked this devotional book, but there was so many writing prompts. I think there were more than I was expecting and that sometimes made me not want to pick it up for the day. I did find the devotionals to be for the newer believer, so I didn't always click with every devotional, but there were some that I really enjoyed.

Twenty-Two: Letters to a Young Woman Searching for Meaning by Allison Trowbridge- 1.5 stars There were times I really liked this book, but there were times when the blatant privilege made me uncomfortable. This is more for upper-class and higher-middle class white women of the college-age. Nothing wrong with that, but I am definitely towards the lower end of middle class and throughout my two years of college my dad lost his job twice. I have survived off of meal swipes in my cafeteria and declining balance on campus. There were times when I couldn't afford to eat and there have mean times when I made money and had to buy groceries for my family. So, this book just didn't seem real or honest enough. Also, the ending was horrible and I am confused because I thought this was a nonfiction novel. If it wanted to be a fiction novel, I think it would've for me been a better experience, and I wish it had went there.

The Beauty of the Cross: Reflections for Lent from Isaiah 52 & 53 by Tim Chester- 5 stars I loved this devotional book so much. It was such a beautiful experience. Chester brings a lot of historical context into the Servant's Song and it was a beautiful experience. The book of Isaiah is my favorite in the Bible and these chapters are some of my favorite. This was a beautiful experience and I can't recommend it enough.

Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor- 4.25 stars This is the final novel in the Binti trilogy and it did not feel like the end. I'm excited for the Binti TV show and I really enjoyed parts where this novel went, but I wasn't a fan of certain tropes that were prevalent in this novel. However, this is a solid conclusion to the trilogy and it fits and matches the tone and endings of all of the other novels. I am so happy that I read this trilogy!

Selected Poems of Edith Wharton- 1.25 stars I am not the biggest fan of Romantic poets and Wharton is definitely a writer whose poetry fits into that category. I am glad that I finally finished this collection and that I gave her collection a shot. I probably only liked about five poems. It just wasn't for me.

Nineteen by Makenzie Campbell- 3.25 stars I enjoyed this poetry collection. There were some fantastic poems in this collection, but it wasn't a groundbreaking collection for me. I am glad that I picked this one up because it was something I enjoyed reading.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James- 5 stars This book was not on my radar until Book of the Month picked it as a book and everyone lost their minds over how good it was. It was good. I loved it! It follows two POVS- one from Viv Delaney in 1982 when she went missing at her night shift at the motel and her niece from the present day hunting her down. If you like mysteries following tracking down serial killers, then this is 100% the novel for you. It was the perfect follow-up read after my Mindhunter TV weekend binge. Highly recommend!

They Shall Expel Demons: What You Need to Know About Demons- Your Invisible Enemies by Derek Prince- 4.5 stars One of the commands Jesus gave us was to go forth and make disciples of all nations, but another command that the church and Christians today love to ignore is to bring healing and cast demons out of people in the name of Jesus. This book is all about demons- Scriptural. It was a great read and I loved the experience, but I definitely don't recommend this novel to people who are not already firm in their understanding of Scripture and who Jesus is. There are a lot of great things that I took away from this novel and I'm glad I took a leap of faith and requested it from the publishers.

Needful Things by Stephen King- 5 stars Hi, this is the Stephen King book that I've been reading since I went on a mission trip in July. I read the rest of the 400-pages  I had left in three days and it was awesome. Needful Things is one of my favorite King novels and I love being in Castle Rock. I can't recommend this novel enough to people who like small towns, drama turned into bloody revenge stories, tricks that have a price, and an evil character who turns a town upside down in a week.

Overall Thoughts:I read 16 books in the month of April and I didn't DNF any even though I thought about it (LOL). This was a much better reading month compared to March. I wish that I would've read more, but I watched a lot of TV and movies instead. Here are my 5-star reads:

 1. Needful Things

2. The Most Important Women of the Bible

3. The Sun Down Motel

4. Wilder Girls

5. The Beauty of the Cross

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 Challenge Tracker:

*2020 52 Owned Books TBR:

5/5 A Lineage of Grace books
Binti: Home

2/52

 None this month:(

*Audiobook TBR: 

We Are All Good People Here
1/20

 None this month:(

*5-star Predictions Tracking Progress:

Stop Calling Me Beautiful: 5 stars (reread)

The Wives: 1.5 stars

2/20

*Series I Want to Read:
Binti: Home
Beneath the Sugar Sky

Binti: The Night Masquerade
3/10

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Currently Reading / Hoping to Finish in May:
 
Already Finished: Elevation

Netgalley ARCS: You Are Not Alone, The Return, Sex, Purity, and the Longings of Girl's Heart, DEV1AT3, A Darker Shade of Magic, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, Colossians, God Sees Her, Kingdom Come

Sent by Publisher: The Art of Friendship, For All Who Wander, For All Who Wander Journey Guide,
Audiobooks: Hidden Bodies, Fire Road, A Darker Shade of Magic,

Books I Bought / Gifted: You Are Not Alone, Uglies, The Stranger Beside Me, Hidden Bodies, The Insanity of Sacrifice,

On Hold: The Harp of Kings, Imaginary Friend, The Celebration of Discipline, The Spiritual Gifts Handbook, The Good Nurse, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, The Purple Book, East of Eden, Moments of Grace


ARCs That Come Out in May:

Shepherd: Horror (One of my most anticipated of the year)
Last Girls: YA doomdsay novel (SO EXCITED)
Unveiled: Christian Nonfiction
Stronger Together, Weaker Apart: Christian Living
Goldilocks: Scifi
Prayer Revolution: Christian
The Down Days: Scifi
Firewalkers: Scifi
Love to Eat, Hate to Eat: Christian Health
Dream, Plan, & Go: Christian Living
 A Talent to Deceive: True Crime
My Mother's House: Mystery/Thriller
Big Summer: Literary Fiction
Shakespeare for Squirrels: Satire
The Fiery Crown: Fantasy



Audiobooks:

Such a Fun Age: everyone and their mama is talking about this and I want to know if I love it

My Dark Vanessa: I'm a teacher, so this makes me want to throw up, but I recognize it's importance and after reading a powerful author interview I can't wait to read it

Eight Perfect Murders: this sounds like my cup of tea

The Last Book on the Left: I don't listen to podcasts, but if I like this enough I may check it out!
Mistborn: the book that has been on my TBR for the last four years

The Other People: heard mixed things about it, but I'm curious

Cilka's Journey: I liked The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's story was one of my favorites

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World: I can't wait to read this one! It's highly recommend!


Books I Own:

Bonhoeffer Abridged- Nonfiction about famous Christian prophet, spy, and martyr
Four Past Midnight- four horror novellas! I read this when I was younger and I can't wait to return!
 Parable of the Talents- sci-fi sequel to Parable of the Sower 
  The Problem of Pain- Christian theology on pain and suffering from my dude Lewis
   Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot- Christian living about sexuality


What did you read in April? Have you read any of these books? What's your favorite book that you read this month? Let me know down below in the comments!