Well, well, what have we here? Seems like it’s time for my April 2024 book blog wrap-up! I surprised myself by posting so many reviews of full-length books. Especially since most of my reading this year so far has been novellas because of the SFINCS. But I’m back! (Back again!) So let’s get crackin’ with April 2024 book blog wrap-up.
Book Reviews
I posted five book reviews in April. From earliest to latest they are:
- The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg
- The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten
- King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair
- Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro
- Evocation by S.T. Gibson
Blog Statistics
Every month I share some statistics from Google Analytics because I think it helps put expectations into perspective for other micro-bloggers like me who are out there. These statistics are from Google Analytics 4.
As of the evening of April 29, my top five posts for total page views are:
- Book Review: Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer Armentrout: 587 views
- Arthurian Retellings Reading List: 456 views
- Book Review: Assistant to the Villain by Heather Maehrer: 368 views
- Book Review: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake: 335 views
- ARC Review: Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig: 312 views
By the time this post goes live, I’ll probably have hit 6,000+ views. The last time I hit that was in January followed by sharp drop in February. So maybe the Google SEO algorithm has stabilized again.
Anyway, I’m now up to 182 followers. Thanks again to everyone who follows my blog! I think I put my 2024 goal at 200, so each new person helps me achieve that.
#BeattheBacklog
I read two books that I’ve had on my TBR prior to 2024. Both are books I own, so that made it extra awesome. Those two books are THIS CLOSE TO OKAY by Leesa Cross-Smith and THE FAKE MATE by Lana Ferguson.
Other Bookish Items
I finished eight books in April:
- THE HEMLOCK QUEEN by Hannah Whitten (ARC)
- DREAMS OF FIRE by Shauna Lawless
- THIS CLOSE TO OKAY by Leesa Cross-Smith
- IMMORTAL PLEASURES by V. Castro (ARC)
- THE FAKE MATE by Lana Ferguson
- EVOCATION by S.T. Gibson (ARC)
- THE FIREBORNE BLADE by Charlotte Bond (ARC)
- OPEN THROAT by Henry Hoke (audiobook)
I have quite a few books started that are wide ranging in terms of topics. Those books are: LESLIE F*CKING JONES by Leslie Jones, THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo, RESISTANCE WOMEN by Jennifer Chiaverini, SOUNDINGS: JOURNEYS IN THE COMPANY OF WHALES by Doreen Cunningham, and ANGER BANG by Avery Flynn. I could’ve finished Leslie Jones’s book this month, but I had to return the audiobook to the library. My main focus in April was to read ARCs. But the rest of my reading was a bit chaotic!
I took advantage of the Barnes & Noble pre-order sale. Since I’m supposed to be reading what I own and offloading what I won’t reread, I really reeled myself in and only pre-ordered four books. Those books are THE GAMES GODS PLAY by Abigail Owen, WHEN THE MOON HATCHED by Sarah A. Parker, THRONE OF SECRETS by Kerri Maniscalco, and THE BRIGHT SWORD by Lev Grossman.
I also completely forgot I’d ordered Fairyloot copies of FOURTH WING and IRON FLAME. Current me doesn’t really understand why past me did that. I chalk it up to the fear of missing out. Honestly, I think the US cover of IRON FLAME is cooler, but I like the edges on the FL edition.
Non-Bookish Items
My husband and I traveled to New Hampshire to watch the total solar eclipse. Our original plan was to go to Dallas, but we canceled it when cloud cover kept threatening to obscure it. In a nutshell, it was definitely a success. We were in Newport and saw about 3.5 minutes of totality. We drove from Boston (where we have family) to NH, which was fine; but the drive back was awful. I’m glad that part is over. I can’t complain too much about it because we saw what we came to see. But phew, those smaller New England highways couldn’t handle the sheer amount of humanity that descended that day.
April felt extra busy because I had some deadlines at work. And rather than use leave for the eclipse trip I made up the time over the following week. Otherwise I won’t have enough leave for my upcoming trip to the Pacific. I also had a really bad cold, which made everything feel extra tiring.
Gardening is slowly coming into swing. I transplanted so many seedlings last Sunday. We’re in the middle of a heat wave and so far the seedlings are holding on. I also pulled up so many weeds from our pollinator garden. Honestly, some were probably baby pollinator plants, but regardless, there were just way too many and I didn’t know for sure. I had to leave one area alone because a turtle was sleeping in the weeds (so cute!).
How was your April? Did you read any of the same books as me?
It looks like you had a great month! You did such an awesome job of restraining yourself for the pre-order sale. As you know, I did not. lol. I hope May is great for you, too!
Thanks! Although I’m realizing now I also should’ve ordered the next Carissa Broadbent book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series. That’s ok–I’m sure there’ll be another sale. At least when you buy books you read them! I need more free time, lol!
How cool that you were so close to the eclipse totality zone! It looks like you had a very good month. I’m very curious to hear what you think of Open Throat. It wasn’t my favorite, but I haven’t seen any other bloggers review it.
It was so cool to be in the totality zone! We’re lucky that this is the second one we’ve seen. We saw the 2017 one out in Wyoming. It’s amazing how little of the sun is needed to “blind” the viewer unless they’re wearing glasses; it was something special to be able to take those off and just look at totality.
I don’t plan on reviewing Open Throat because I listed to it as an audiobook and my attention span for that medium isn’t as great, haha. I just needed something short to listen to while I was gardening and found that on Libby. I thought it was interesting as an audiobook, though I think in print format there’s little punctuation? It was entertaining enough, but it didn’t “wow” me.
Looks like you had a great reading month! I totally understand the FOMO feel because I just ordered a set from Broken Binding for that reason. ???? I’m sure future me will look back and think “but why” but I’m also hoping that future me will enjoy the books enough for it to not matter, lol! What’d you think of This Close to Okay? I’ve had that on my radar since I first heard about it but I totally forgot it was on my TBR wish list until now. I hope you have an amazing trip to the Pacific and have a great May!
Thanks, Dini! I think I had a slightly lower month of ratings, but that’s ok. I’m just happy with my ARC progress. As for THIS CLOSE TO OKAY, I liked it more than I thought I would given I don’t tend to read general fiction/contemporary fiction that much. I enjoyed the writing and I felt oddly connected to the characters. I recommend it!
You had a great reading month!! We just got our veggie & herb plants and planted them! I’m so excited! haha
Ooo yay, I hope everything grows and gives you a nice bounty of herbs and veggies! I decided to focus more on different types of eggplants after finally having success last year with a couple of varieties. But I’ve also got a lot of tomatoes and peppers planted, and later will plant cucumbers.
Fall of Wrath and Ruin is one of my Top Performing posts too! Most of my top performing posts are fantasy romance reviews actually…wild. That’s so fun that you got to go see the eclipse!
Well done knocking out a couple of TBR books on top of all those ARCs. Too bad about the Leslie Jones title! I hate when I have to return an audiobook to the library before finishing it… but I’d hate having to pay $$$ for everything I listen to even more, so can’t really complain LOL. Best of luck with your seedlings and new turtle neighbor 🙂
I’ve come to realize with these April round ups how many book bloggers I follow who were able to experience eclipse totality! That is so cool, what a rad experience 🙂