April Wrap-Up

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Welcome to my April Wrap-Up! This month marked the beginning of my last regular semester at uni! If everything goes to plan I’ll be writing my Bachelor’s thesis in Winter and then I’m done 🙈 It’s also my third online semester and while I’ve gotten pretty good at organising myself, the Zoom-fatigue doesn’t get any less, unfortunately. In terms of reading, April was a good month! I didn’t read as much as I had hoped to, but I found a new favourite book! Without further ado, let’s get into my April Wrap-Up.

The Books I Read in April

The Shadow in the Glass – JJA Harwood

This was the first-ever wish I was granted on NetGalley!  Unfortunately, I DNF’d it at the 50% mark because I just wasn’t vibing with it. I decided to include it in this Warp-Up anyway. The Shadow in the Glass is a dark Cinderella retelling set in Victorian London. Overall, the setting and atmosphere is definitely this book’s strong suit. However, I just did not care about the main character at all. I’d also say it’s more of a Faust retelling than a Cinderella one (at least up until the point that I read). But your mileage may vary so don’t let my DNF put you off of giving this a shot!

 

 

We Could Be Heroes – Mike Chen

May I introduce you to my new favourite book? I have screamed about it plenty on social media and have no plans of stopping anytime soon. For the uninitiated: We Could Be Heroes follows Jamie and Zoe, who woke up with no memories but superpowers.

Jamie can read and manipulate memories and uses his abilities to rob banks as the Mind Robber. Zoe has super speed and strength and mainly delivers fast food and watches bad horror movies. They start out as enemies but join forces to solve a mystery and find out where their powers came from.

Essentially, this book is “two platonic superpowered unlikely buddies going on an adventure”. A very important aspect: there is a cat named Normal! It’s a heartwarming and funny story of friendship and identity and I am in desperate need of more books like it. Just give me all the casual superhero stories, please.

Related: My Review for We Could Be Heroes

Victories Greater Than Death – Charlie Jane Anders

Victories Greater Than Death is the most chaotic book I’ve read in a while. It follows Tina, a teenager who is the clone of an alien commander who’s been waiting all her life for the aliens to come to get her. But when they do, things aren’t quite as Tina has imagined them. She assembles a team of fellow teenagers and they go on a space adventure.

This book moves at a breakneck speed which is definitely something you have to be open to. The world is vibrant and at times confusing, but it’s also very fun. Victories Greater Than Death is queer and has wonderful found-family vibes so if you’re into that, definitely check it out!

Related: My Review for Victories Greater Than Death

The Summer Job – Lizzy Dent

I don’t read a lot of adult fiction or romance. But every once in a while, I give it a shot and generally quite enjoy it! The publisher was kind enough to send me an eARC of The Summer Job and it was the perfect escapism for a rainy day. The main character, Birdie, gets mistaken for her friend Heather who is a professional wine expert. She has to navigate a summer at a Scottish restaurant without revealing her identity. Shenanigans and romance ensue…

 

Related: My Review of The Summer Job

Grit – Angela Duckworth

What, a nonfiction book in my April-Wrap-Up? It’s more likely than you think! Grit is about exactly what the title says. As a psychologist, Angela Duckworth compiles scientific data and personal anecdotes about what grit is and how to cultivate it. Luckily, this book doesn’t suffer from the unnecessary anecdotal waffle that self-help books sometimes do. Overall, I found it very readable and informative. Especially the later chapters outline some steps we can take to become grittier, something I desperately need! 

I listened to this as an audiobook, which the author reads herself, and that turned out to be a great way to read this book! I did take some notes on my phone and might get a physical copy at some point for a reread. 

Posts I Wrote

For your convenience, here is a quick round-up of all the posts I shared this month, in case you missed one of them!

• WWW Wednesday #3 – April 7, 2021
• Review: We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen
• Review: Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
• WWW Wednesday #4 – April 14, 2021
• Review: The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent
• 5 Books On My Sci-Fi TBR #3
• Mini Book Reviews #2 – Run Rebel, City of Ghosts and Warcross
• WWW Wednesday #5 – April 28, 2021

And that’s it for my April Wrap-Up!
How was your month? Did you discover a new favourite book?

I hope you have a lovely day,