Whoops – slightly delayed… but 20 books read or listened to in April.

April was a busy month for reading and here’s my summary:

‘The Wolves of Winter’ by Tyrell Johnson – an atmospheric story in a dystopian environment where survival is a daily battle. 3.5 stars.

‘Warrior of the Wild’ by Tricia Levenseller – A YA Viking inspired novel about a monster-ridden world and how a girl defies exile to seek justice. Took me a while to get into it, but I enjoyed the story as a nice escape from reality. 4 stars.

‘To Ride a White Horse’ by Pamela Ford – I really enjoyed this, set during the terrible Irish famines of 1846 and centres around a girl whose adventure to save her family forces her to make a choice of family loyalty or a challenging love. 4 stars.

‘The Reckoning’, ‘The Stranger You Know’ and ‘The Last Girl’ by Jane Casey – I love all the DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent novels and this month I’ve been listening to the audio-books after being inspired to have a full re-read after the recent release of ‘Cruel Acts’ the 8th book in the series. Overall 5 stars for the series. Love them!

‘Uprooted’ by Naomi Novik – I loved this! Beautiful writing steeped in the style of traditional folklore. Fab! 4.5 stars.

‘The Darkness Around Her’ by Neil White – a really solid and engaging legal mystery in the Dan Grant series. Great read. 4 stars.

‘A Curse So Dark and Lonely’ by Brigid Kemmerer – It took a while to get into the story and then I had a great time reading this – a decent fantasy YA read re-working the timeless and always endearing ‘Beauty and the Beast’ story. I’ll look out for the sequel. 4 stars.

‘Thirteen’ by Steve Cavanagh – the fourth book in the Eddie Flynn series and I loved it – all beautifully twisty and bloodthirsty! 4.5 stars.

‘Here’s Looking At You’ by Mhairi McFarlane – I chuckled away several times at this, got bored and skimmed when the pace dragged and then chuckled again and went ‘awwww’ at the cute ending. Yep, it was okay. 3.5 stars from me though, wanted it to be more, but something just didn’t click for me personally.

‘Where the Dead Fall’ by M.J.Lee – the second book in the D.I Ridpath series and a solid crime read, happy with this one! 4 stars.

‘Sweet Little Lies’ and ‘Stone Cold Heart’ by Caz Frear – a crime series featuring DC Cat Kinsella, really enjoyed both of these and I am eagerly awaiting book 3! 4 stars.

‘Come Back for Me’ by Heidi Perks – had great time reading this mystery set on a remote island… until the end. I did not like how it ended, which ultimately spoilt it for me. 3.5 stars – should of been a solid 4.

‘Little Darlings’ by Melanie Golding – a dark creepy, Grimm’s tale influenced psychological thriller about a mother’s fear that her babies are in terrible danger. 4 stars overall.

‘One Night for Seduction’ by Erika Ridley – the first book in the Wicked Dukes series and it didn’t really work for me, the principal female was so annoying. 3 stars for the ‘hero’ – lol!

‘Ayesha at Last’ by Uzma Jalaluddin – I’m usually wary of re-workings, particularly with beloved author’s such as Jane Austen…however I enjoyed this ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Muslim version. Felt the end was rushed and was a little anti-climatic but enjoyed the overall journey. 4 stars.

‘#taken’ by Tony Parsons – the sixth book in the Detective Max Wolfe series, a page-turning thriller read, very happy with it. Easy 4 stars.