I’m very excited to announce that I read 9 books in April. I’m not sure I’m keeping up in May, but I’m glad to be back on track for the most part. I’m 4 books behind on my 100-book-goal for the year. Here are the stats for the month, and keep reading to see the reviews on each book.
Also, I finished 2 sewing projects, so I’ll get those up on the blog soon, too!
April 2025 Book Reviews
I’m surprised I got through 9 books this month because they were all over 300 pages 😅
So many good ones this month, and April feels like a lifetime ago, but I’ll try to remember my thoughts:
Links are to bookshop.org, because I’m doing my best to stay off Amazon. I don’t get any commissions at this time.
Same As It Ever Was
Kindle Copy via Libby
I think I need to re-rate this, because I don’t know about 5 WHOLE STARS, because I loved The Most Fun We Ever Had better. But apparently I cried when she wrote about loving her adult son and picturing him as a toddler, because I have my own toddler boy right now. I cry whenever I see teenage boys around town thinking that one day Henry will be one of them. I’m Fine.
Most of all, I love stories about long marriages, and learning what people have to overcome to stay in a marriage. I have been married for 12 years — and both my parents and my in-laws have been married over 30 years — so this is just interesting to me. She is not a likable character though, and she actively fights her instincts so she can keep her life in tact, which I appreciate. Not enough stories that recognize the struggle people go through trying to be who they WANT to be, more than just who they are. Because that struggle can make them happy: they know that left to themselves they would self-destruct.
Worth the read, but maybe not the 5 stars I rated it on storygraph.
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
Audiobook via Libby
I had a hard time getting into this one, and it wasn’t what I expected. It’s very character driven, you are in the main characters head the whole time really. But I wish there was a little more drama to it. Investigating her parents’ divorce in her 20s doesn’t seem like a big deal, but they story is interesting and surprising.
I guess I’m conflicted about it which is why I gave it 4 stars. There is a big twist that impacts her entire future, but also it’s just a story of someone’s freshman year in college and a little mundane.
It’s interesting if you’re bored I guess. And who doesn’t love stories set in Scotland.
Wild Dark Shore
Kindle via Libby
Wow this one definitely gets five stars. The hype is REAL.
It’s apocalyptic climate literature, which I honestly stay away from typically: I had enough in the 2000s between Hunger Games and Divergent, plus the actual pandemic I lived through that I can’t take anything else about the world ending.
But this is different.
There is the constant discussion about why we continue living in a world that is dying. And somehow she comes out hopeful in the end. That life IS WORTH IT. And love!
Somehow this is a hopeful story about the world ending. I don’t know how she did it (well, I do, but no spoilers).
A Girl Like Us
Audiobook via Libby
Why did I read this one? because it was available and I had a lot of driving to do.
I heard the description of it on a podcast I like, and it sounded interesting but it’s not for me.
This is Gossip Girl meets Downton Abbey, which should be fun. Is this a trope that I had never heard of? Poor girl marries royalty (or super rich guy) and then has to fend off his family? Because I keep reading these and it’s getting old.
First of all, it’s too long. 11 hours for this? No.
Second, the narrator is TERRIBLE. All of her british accents sound like 50 year old women: and some of them are in their 30s 20s, male etc. I couldn’t get behind the character sometimes because her voice didn’t match her actions.
Overall, the storyline was interesting, but it could have happened faster.
Still Life
Audiobook via Libby
I didn’t know about Louise Penny until last year, but she has 20 BOOKS in her Inspector Gamache series, so now that I’m in, there’s always something to read.
These are very thoughtful, character-driven mysteries. You will probably see the ending coming (this one did not have a great twist at the end, although I’m along for the ride, so I was surprised), but I loved the journey.
Excited to read the rest of these and get to know the characters better. But as someone who lives in a small town, I don’t like how many people get killed off in cozy mysteries. Like, how many people are getting murdered in my town that I don’t know about?? (not that many, our crime rate is pretty low).
We Used to Live Here
Kindle via Libby
Turns out, I could not care less about paranormal stories.
I want actual high stakes. Not that your house is haunted. This does not scare me.
A Fatal Grace
Audiobook via Libby
Next Louise Penny book. This one I didn’t enjoy as much, but the story line was a little more interesting and suspenseful. However, she is obsessed with how fat people are in this one. I’m sure there was a reason but I didn’t have time to do literary analysis while I was walking my dogs and listening, so I couldn’t dissect it. And it was really prevalent. Obviously there was a reason because the hated daughter is so fat, the murder victim is was thin and perfect, one of the beloved villagers is enormous and can barely fit in her car.
I don’t know, but it was too much.
The Tell
Audiobook via Libby
If you don’t know, I LOVE an audiobook narrated by the author.
This story is phenomenal. The childhood trauma is devastating because this is not fiction, but I’m glad she got through it and has come out better than before.
I heard Amy Griffin on Martha Stewart’s podcast discussing it, and it was almost hilarious, because Martha definitely wanted to focus on how she was extremely successful by shoving all this inside her. It almost sounded like, why did you bring it up again if you had a good thing going??
Martha would never crack under the pressure of her past.
But very interesting to learn that of course, the body keeps the score.
The Book of Witching
Audiobook via Libby, but I also have the BOTM, I just didn’t have time to read the hard copy.
Good read – I normally keep all my witchy books for October, but fit this one in because the audiobook was available and I’m trying to get through my TBR.
I think the Nyx storyline was wrapped up properly, but maybe I wasn’t listening closely enough?
The witch torture was upsetting. I have a hard time listening/ reading gory scenes like that.
But overall pretty good.
Ok that’s everything! What have you been reading?? Follow along with my progress on StoryGraph (and occasionally I update my Goodreads)