- If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio (ARC) ★★★★ + review
- Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski (ARC) ★★★★ + review
- Exit West by Mohsin Hamid ★★★★★ + review
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie ★★★★ + mini review
- Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge (ARC) ★★★★★ + review
- Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka (ARC) ★★ + review
- A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen ★★★★
- Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault ★★★★ + review
Best: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Runner up: Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge
Worst: Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka
With just 7 books (6 novels + 1 play) this wasn’t as productive of a reading month as my last couple have been (11 in February; 10 in March). However, a lot of my reading time this month was spent with Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault, which I’m loving, but it’s incredibly dense and taking quite a long time to read. I was actually hoping to finish it by the end of this weekend, but I’ve got 60 more pages and a headache so that seems like wishful thinking. But maybe. We’ll see. (EDIT at 10:58 pm on April 30: finished it! Review HERE.)
Anyway, in terms of quality, it was a great month! Each one of those 4 stars is actually more like 4.5 but I adhere to Goodreads’ lack of half star limitations, alas. It pains me to not be able to list If We Were Villains and Murder on the Orient Express as my favorite and runner up – that’s just how good those other books were!
I don’t really do monthly TBR lists because the next book I decide to read always changes on a whim, but there are a couple we can definitely look forward to seeing on my blog this May: I’m definitely going to review Fire From Heaven; I have to read Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose for a bookclub by this time next week; I have Roses of May by Dot Hutchinson and White Fur by Jardine Libaire from Netgalley; I won Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen in a Goodreads giveaway (the first I’ve won in a year!! finally!!); I have American War by Omar El Akkad from my April BOTM box; and I’ve promised Chelsea that I’m going to make an effort to read more SFF in the near future, so hopefully at least one from that genre.
Yikes! I’d better get reading!
What was the best book you guys read this month?
pace, amore, libri 
I hear you about Goodreads’ lack of half star ratings. There feels like a big jump from 4 to 5 stars and it’s frustrating having to choose between them sometimes.
Glad you had so many good reads in one month though! 😊
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Oh my god, it is the worst! With Murder on the Orient Express I literally agonized for a solid 10 minutes between 4 and 5 and then ended up going with 4 mostly out of spite. I feel like the lack of 3.5 option is what kills me the most often, though. 3 seems so much significantly harsher than 4.
Feel free to add me on goodreads, btw! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3965659-rachel
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Very true! The struggles of being a bookworm, haha. Thanks, I will do 🙂
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7 books read is still great! I’m glad to hear that Exit West topped your list. I really need to make time for that soon. It sounds like such a great book. I totally hear you on not wanting to commit to TBR lists. My list ends up changing in order and amount too, so it makes it hard to decide what I’m going to read. Looking forward to seeing more of your reviews next month Rachel!
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Hahaha I know, I really need to get some perspective, I’ll find myself thinking ‘oh no, I only read 7 books this month!’ and then I’m like, Rachel, are you hearing yourself?! That’s more books than I read in a year a couple of years back!
And yes, my TBR shortlist pretty much changes on a daily basis. I think it’s particularly difficult when you read across genres like we do – there is so much to choose from!!
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You’re totally right about that! I don’t think I’ll ever totally catch up. There’s just too many great things I want to read and every time I turn around something is releasing that sounds amazing too. xD
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