Monthly Wrap-Up: April Reading 2023

May the 4th be with you!

Sooo… this is later than I hoped it’d be, but here it finally is – the April 2023 Monthly Reading Wrap-Up!

The first of May falling on a Monday really messed with my posting, and I never post a reading wrap up until the month is done, so I had to wait till today to post this. Better (slightly) late than never, I suppose. Then again, I don’t think I got February 2023’s out until the fourth of the month either…

Anyway, talking about April – I’m very happy with how much I read last month. My statistics were great on The StoryGraph. It was the most reading that I’ve done yet this year! I also finished my reading goal for this year! Yay!

But I’ve prattled on enough. On with the stats!

April 2023 Reading Stats

I read 6 books and 1750 pages

😐 MOODS: Adventurous and Emotional were once again the biggest slices in the Moods pie chart. Mysterious, Tense, and Dark were much smaller slices than they’ve been in the past.

👢 PACE: Medium-paced books were once again king this month, but I did read a decent slice’s worth of a fast-paced novel.

🔢 PAGE NUMBER: I read a lot of shorter books in April than I did in March. 300 to 499 was still the biggest part of the pie here, though.

📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: Once again, all fiction. I have a nonfiction book I’m reading right now though, so May’s F/N pie graph will finally look different.

🎭 GENRES: Science Fiction and Fantasy were the two biggest parts of the graph this time, but that’s cuz I was in a sci-fi mood this month. Dystopian and Romance also made their way onto the Genres bar graph, as well.

📄 FORMAT: The little StoryGraph pie chart for this is wrong once again. (At this rate, I don’t think I’ll ever fix this, haha.) 50% were printed copies, and 50% were digital. (And this is even counting the manga I read, which I didn’t add to my StoryGraph reading stats.)

⭐ RATING: My median star rating for the month of April was 3.54. I was even more all over the place with my enjoyment of the books that I read last month than I’ve been all year so far.

📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read quite a bit during the first week and a half, but dipped down in the middle. During the last third of April though, I read a ton.

The Books I Read in April

★★★✯☆

My Review

★★★✯☆

My Review

Heavenly Delusion: Tengoku Daimakyo by Masakazu Ishiguro

★★★★✯

(rating is for entire manga)

★★★★✯

(rating is for entire manga)

★★✬☆☆

My Review

Wrapping Up the Wrap-Up

April was my most successful month for reading so far, and I’m so happy about that. I hope to read even more in May if I can, however. That’s every bookworm’s dream, though, isn’t it? Haha.

The goal for May 2023 is to read more (as I just mentioned), and to blog more. Cuz the latter could’ve gone better. However, I’m having a very good start to the month, so far. Here’s hoping I can keep it up! And the April 2023 Reading Wrap-Up comes to a close.

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Birthstone Book Covers: April 2023

It’s later in the month than I usually do this, but April. Is. HARD. So, I had to take some time and consider the covers I was gonna pick for this month.

Leslie @ Books Are the New Black created a fun monthly post called Birthstone Book Covers. Each month, she features book covers that are either the same color of that month’s birthstone or include the color in the title.

April has one birthstone – Diamond.

Rules:

📚 Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black) and link back to her so she can check out your post.
📚 Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
📚 HAVE FUN!
📚 Nominate people if you want!

This was a difficult birthstone for me, hence why this post is later than usual, as I mentioned above. I finally decided to choose primarily white or silver/gray covers. These are the book covers that I chose.

City of Souls and Sinners by Kayla Edwards — *City of Souls and Sinners* (House of Devils #2) by Kayla Edwards

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones — **My Heart is a Chainsaw** **(The Indian Lake Trilogy #1) by Stephen Graham Jones**

Starters by Lissa Price — **Starters** **(Starters #1) by Lissa Price**

White Night by Jim Butcher — **White Night** **(Dresden Files #9) by Jim Butcher**

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton — *Jurassic Park* (Jurassic Park #1) by Michael Crichton

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab — **City of Ghosts** **(Cassidy Blake #1) by Victoria Schwab**

Thank you so much for reading, and have a fabulous day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday #10

I’m back on the weekly posts that I participate in, so here’s another First Line Friday.

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
📙 Finally… reveal the book!

Here are the first lines:

Ask me to spin the finest yarn or thread, and I can do it faster than any man-even with my eyes closed. Yet ask me to tell a lie, and I will stumble and falter to think of one.

I have never had a talent for spinning tales.

Any guesses? Ruminate on that while looking at these books…

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim!

(Did you get it right?!?)

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

SERIES: The Blood of Stars (Book #1)

LENGTH: 392 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf

RELEASE DATE: 9 July 2019

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

When Maia Tamarin is presented with an opportunity to change her fortunes, she doesn’t think twice about dressing as a boy and traveling to the Summer Palace to attain it. She knows she could lose her life if she is discovered, but the risk is worth it to save her family from ruin and achieve her own dream of becoming tailor to the emperor.

There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job. Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in a series of challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise. But nothing could prepare her for the final challenge: Maia must sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars.

With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined…

Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Rene Ahdieh.

Thank you so much for reading, and have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Shelf Control #13

It’s been, gosh, another three weeks since I’ve participated in this feature. Again. (Ugh.)

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books languishing on our bookshelves created and hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a whole lotta fun, so if you’re interested in participating yourself, click the backlink above.

This week I’m gonna highlight a book I’ve had for a couple of months, but (obviously) haven’t read yet. It’s Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, the first in The Locked Tomb series.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

SERIES: The Locked Tomb (Book #1)

LENGTH: 448 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Science Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Tor/Forge

RELEASE DATE: 10 September 2019

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

Why It Languishes on My Bookshelf

WHEN I GOT IT: February 2023

WHY I WANTED TO READ IT: It was a book – and a series – that I’d heard nothing but praise for. Then, when I decided to look into it more, I realized that I liked a lot about the story and world building.

WHY I HAVEN’T READ IT YET: I’ve been distracted by all kinds of books lately (which is par for the course for me, honestly), and then I decided to wait until closer to Nona the Ninth’s paperback release later this year. (I’m a simple person. I already have the first two in paperback, and I want my books to match, okay?) (I’ll make the digital sacrifice for Alecto, though, and buy its paperback next year.)

WILL I EVER READ IT?: I think that I already answered this question, but I’ll reiterate: Yes, absolutely I still intend to read this.

Thank you for reading and have a fantastic day/night!

See ya ~Mar

April 2023 Reading Stats

I read 6 books and 1750 pages

The Books I Read in April

★★★✯☆

★★★✯☆

★★★★✯

★★★★☆

★★★☆☆

★★★★★

★★★★✯

★★✬☆☆

Wrapping Up the Wrap-Up

Rules:

Here are the first lines:

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim!

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Why It Languishes on My Bookshelf