#if you liked a darker shade of magic go read the dreamer and the marked i guess???

[airic-fenn]

So I finally read A Darker Shade of Magic for the first time and. Why the hell did it take me so long???

I spent all of last year trying to figure out a good comp for The Dreamer and the Marked and ADSoM was just casually sitting on my shelf unread the whole time???

The travelling between worlds

The blood as magic

The unwanted travelling companion

The tormented guy forced to do the bidding of the bad guy —

All my favorite tropes and things I put into TDATM and I missed it all until now.

I read Addie LaRue but I didnt think I’d like ADSoM I see now I was so wrong.

Thank you thank you VE Schwab I’m so sorry I doubted this book before now

[ishouldreadthat]

It’s my favorite time of the moth!  Here’s a look back on my bookish activity this month.  Let’s see if I stuck with my April TBR strategy:

  Books I read:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

1666: Plague, War and Hellfire by Rebecca Rideal

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millgrave Hardwood

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

The Futures by Anna Pitoniak

The Jungle by Pooja Puri

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The Lady and the Highlander by Lecia Cornwall

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

A fair few not pictured here including ARCs and books I’ve borrowed/lent to others

I read twelve books this month!  I kicked off the month with The Handmaid’s Tale, which I freaking loved.  It was my first time reading it because I was scared of potential scenes of sexual violence.  This wasn’t the case at all.  You may have noticed that I haven’t done a review of this book.  I can’t quite sort out what I want to say just yet — it hit me pretty hard!  I’ll think of something that will do it justice.

After a slowdown with 1666 and Red Sister, I wanted a few books that I could power through and use to bring my numbers up.  Geekerella, The Girl of Ink and Stars, and Caraval were all read in a single day.  The Futures was my first physical ARC and I really enjoyed it!  I’ve got a review coming up tomorrow for that book.  The Jungle was a little outside my comfort zone, but still a good and important read; you can check out my review here.  I had a massive change of heart while reading Northern Lights.  I’ve stated a few times on this blog that I felt it was going really slowly and wasn’t compelling, but that all changed around the midway point.  I ended up absolutely loving it and plan to read the rest of the books.  I finished my first Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses (‘finally!’, some of you might say).  I have a lot of thoughts about this one.  It was fun, but really problematic in a lot of ways. I plan to post a review soon, watch this space!

Finally, I blasted through A Darker Shade of Magic and The Lady and the Highlander.  The former was absolutely amazing, the latter was definitely not.  A Darker Shade of Magic has been on my shelf for over a year and I’m so happy I finally got around to reading it.  A glowing review is forthcoming.

Books I’m currently reading:

  I’m currently reading a long  overdue ARC of Sea by Sarah Driver.  So far it’s a fun fantasy adventure at sea, featuring a stubborn but brave young girl.  I’ve pulled The Wrath and the Dawn out of the ol’ TBR stack.  I’ve been looking forward to this one for ages, I’m glad I finally found it at my local bookshop.  I’ve also just borrowed my parent’s copy of The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee, which looks amazing and is all about crazy opera performers.

Books bought:

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII’s Fifth Queen by  Josephine Wilkinson

The Power by Naomi Alderman

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

Runemarks by Joanna Harris

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

The Circle by David Eggers

Collected Ghost Stories by M. R. James

I won my copy of False Hearts and An Instance of the Fingerpost was from my book subscription.  They don’t count!

So I didn’t really stick to my two-out-one-in April TBR strategy, but I did actually read more books than I bought this month.  I think I earned a cookie for that.

I’ve had my eye on most of these for awhile.  I think I’m going to tackle The Power, Ninefox Gambit, Sleeping Giants, and Strange the Dreamer first.

So there we have it!  This is what my TBR pile looked like at the beginning of April:

Help!

This is what it looks like now.  I’ve done a little spring cleaning:

The fairy lights help dull the shame.

It’s still out of control, but I’ve shifted some stuff around and I think this is going to be a good month!  I’ll continue on with my two-out-one-in system.

How did the rest of you do this month?  What’s the best book you’ve read in April?  Got any books you’re looking forward to in May?  Leave a comment!

April is over and it was a great month for reading! It’s my favorite time of the moth!  Here’s a look back on my bookish activity this month.