Welcome to my Monthly Book Round Up! Here’s what I read this month.
This month has been dire! I have only read 5 books! Despite having very strong moments of literary connection and being hyper-focused on what I was reading, it just didn’t last! I guess I would call this a bit of a slump. I set myself a goal to simply finish the books on my ‘current reading’ and I couldn’t even do that. Onyx Storm is still sitting on my shelf and every time I try to listen to it I can’t last more than a chapter or so. I totally blame Rebecca because this book has not gripped me at all, but there is a part of me that just isn’t in the mood.
However, not to dwell us what went wrong, here are the books I did manage to read!
I mentioned in February’s round-up that my holiday read was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I have to confess—I actually started it before my trip and didn’t finish it until I got back. But my word, what a wonderful book. Based purely on enjoyment, it’s easily my 5-star read of the month. If I analyzed it more critically, that might change, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
I loved the premise and how it unfolded. The story took a bit of a strange turn towards the end, but a few unexpected twists pulled me right back in. I’m still unsure how I feel about the ending, but if V.E. Schwab ever releases a sequel, I’d be first in line to read it.
My second noteworthy book was Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez. I loved the first book in this series Part of Your World and had heard that Yours Truly would surpass it completely. I blew through this in a few hours. As a romance novel, Abby Jimenez knocks it out of the park – her writing is phenomenal, and she masterfully captures the aching, yearning, and raw emotions of loving deeply.
HOWEVER, this story leans heavily on my number one most-hated trope, which completely soured the experience for me. I was so frustrated I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. While it’s still a great book, that aspect cost it some points.
My last good book was my second foray into Thrillers. All Her Little Secrets by Wanda Morris (featured in 10 books by black women you should read) was engaging, insightful and most definitely thrilling. As I am not yet a proper thriller fan, I can’t tell you whether it’s a good one or not. However, I love a morally dubious main character and our protagonist was definitely that. There was a good twist at the end and one I actually didn’t see coming! I highly recommend it!
There were some other half finished books not worth mentioning. I’m currently reading another thriller for my book club and if it’s noteworthy, i’ll report back.
I still haven’t cleared out my current reading list, which initially meant I couldn’t start anything new (a rule I imposed on myself, mind you). But I broke that rule the moment I stepped into Foyles and stumbled upon Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. The premise intrigued me so much that I started reading it right there in the store. I got about a quarter of the way through before I had to leave, so I immediately found it (FREE) on the Libby Library app and finished it that night – at 2 a.m. Omg, what a rush.
It’s been a while since a story gripped me so intensely that I refused to put it down. Annie Bot is weird—not in an overtly bad way, but in that I feel uncomfortable, yet I’m sort of enjoying myself kind of way. The book serves as an allegory for a not-so-distant yet eerily present future where women are viewed solely as cleaners, sex objects, or mothers and can therefore be substituted for robots. There’s so much to unpack- like the sharp social commentary that took me on a ride and then unceremoniously dropped me off with no warning. I got what it was trying to say, but on that front, I think it could have been done better.
I plan to release a review soon since this was such an unexpected, alternative read for me. I’m aiming for Friday—but don’t quote me on that.
As for the blog, you’ve probably noticed it looks very different from a month ago. One morning, I woke up and thought, Yeah, this could be better. So, I took a week to renovate, not just because the blog needed it, but because life was so chaotic, and I wanted to make sure everything was where it needed to be.
After lots of exploring, parting with money, and realizing I wasn’t even using all the tools at my disposal, I’ve learned so much. Now, I can’t wait to keep expanding and improving!
There shouldn’t be any more major breaks and I’m hoping for smooth sailing from now on.
Thank you so much for sticking with me on this journey so far! Two months in, and I’m loving every moment. Plus, you can now find me on Google 🥹- which is so exciting and a reassuring sign that I’m doing something right!
See you all again on Friday with my next post!
Signed,
