April 2024 Book Reviews

I read six books in April alone and am so excited to review all six books today. My book review needs to be on time, but I will review the books I read that month every month. 

The first book I read in April, The IT Girl by Ruth Ware, is hit or miss for me. I either love her books or don’t like them. But this book was a hit. It had suspense, drama, old money, and working-class elements. It is set in a fictional college within Oxford University. It is about two friends, both from different socio-economic backgrounds. Hannah comes from a working-class family, and her new roommate and eventual best friend, April, comes from old money.  April grows on you throughout the book, and I initially liked Hannah. April all of a sudden is killed, and John Neville, the porter at Oxford, is convicted of killing her, or maybe he is not the killer? 

The second book I read in April was The Last Love Note by Emma Grey. This book was excellent but sad. See a theme here? It seems I like tragic love stories. It is about a young married couple who have a child, and the husband is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. It is unfortunate. It is about the wife’s journey after her husband dies and dealing with raising their child by herself. It does have an element of romance also, but mostly sad, and it sucks type of attitude when you read the book. In life, you never know the hand you are dealt with. You can plan out your whole life, but it rarely goes according to plan. 

 Forever Interrupted and One True Love are the third and fourth books, respectively, I read in April. I am in love with Taylor Jenkins Reid. She is my new favorite author. Last month, I read Maybe in Another Life, and this month, I read two of her books back to back. Both are amazing and hooked me from the first page. 

In Forever Interrupted, Elsie Porter and Ben Ross meet on a Rainy New Year’s Day and instantly fall in love. This book is unique in that it is simultaneously about love and heartbreak. Ben dies nine days after they get married, and she now has to live with the fact that her new marriage is over even before it gets started. Elsie meets her mother-in-law for the first time at the hospital where Ben Ross lies in the bed dead. The mother-in-law is not lovely to Elsie, but they both eventually heal together. This book goes back and forth between Elsie and Ben, from when they first met to his last day on earth, and between the mother-in-law and Elsie, who are healing together. I really loved this book, but it is definitely a tearjerker.

The second book I read from Taylor Jenkins Reid in April was “One True Loves.” From beginning to end, this book is sad and made me cry like a baby. I finished reading this book from cover to cover in about 8 hours. It was before I started law school and had time to read books for fun. It is about a couple that are high school sweethearts, and it shows the life of Emma Blair before she met Jesse and how they ended up together. They eventually get married, and Jesse goes away on a work assignment. He is a travel photojournalist, and his helicopter crashes and he is presumed dead. Some years later, she is engaged to someone else when he is finally found and rescued. Do they end up together, or does she stay with the guy she has fallen in love with since her husband has been missing? I really liked this book. It is easy to read and the perfect quick read for the beach, airplane, or relaxing at home. 

The next book I read was “Out of My Mind” by Sharon Draper. I have never read any book by this author, but this book was excellent and something I can connect with. I am also disabled, like the lead protagonist, Melody. Thankfully, I am not in a wheelchair, but only because I was able to avoid being in one, thanks to modern medicine and lots of physical therapy. She is not able to walk but also is not able to talk. She is the smartest kid in her class, but nobody knows that. They all assume she does not know anything because of her disabilities and the fact that she drools a lot. Until one day, her parents can get her a new talking computer that she can press with a finger. Melody is a fantastic kid, and she just wants to fit in. Every disabled kid wants to fit in and not be teased relentlessly. I enjoyed this book and loved that the protagonist is physically disabled. I recommend this book even though most middle schools are reading this book. I think every adult should also read this book because adults sometimes do not even accept other adults who are disabled. 

The last and final book I read in April is called 10% Happier, How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris. (He was an ABC Broadcaster.) I am right now on a spiritual journey and have been attending therapy and started doing meditation. I also love any type of Self-Help book and get information from books that might help me and my current status in life. This book is excellent because he interviewed many self-help groups, and most of them are full of it. He found some things that helped him, like mediation, but he also talked about the power of positivity, which I believe in. I know it sounds weird and bull-crap, but when I think more positive thoughts, positive stuff happens in my life. This is common sense because it is all about the energy you bring to your life. Things fall apart when I think negatively or am in a negative mood. I recommend reading this book if you like self-help books like I do. 

All the books I read in April were ones I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, I did not have time to read many books in May.  

I did not read any books that I did not like during the whole month of April.

Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these books and, if so, which ones are your favorites.