April was a pretty good book month for me. We settled in from our travels and were mostly home. Throw in a couple late season snow storms with a few days of crummy weather and you’ve got yourself a recipe for some serious book reading. I finished 11 books and there were definitely some good ones, in fact I can say that one is my favorite book so far of 2019 and another rounds out my top 5. Here’s what I read:
The Silent Patient – Andrew Michaelides
I loved this book. As of right now it is my Number #1 favorite of 2019. I did write up an individual review on it but it a nutshell: this book is chock full of crazy. You have a woman who is also a famous artist that murders her beloved husband and then stops speaking. To everyone. For 6 years. You have a psychotherapist in a failing mental health facility that is obsessed with her case and believes he can help her. If you love psychological thrillers as much as I do, pick this one up.
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The Island of the Sea Women – Lisa See
Prior to reading The Island of Sea Women, I knew nothing about the Korean island of Je-ju and of haenyeo, a collective of all female divers that provide for their families. I found the book fascinating, devastating, heart warming – all of the above. And I always love a book even more when I learn a thing or two, especially about history.
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Before She Knew Him – Peter Swanson
It is no secret I love a good psychologically thriller and this one is just that – but add in a lot of dark – very dark and graphically descriptive scenes and it was ALMOST too much for me. Even so, it is well written and I did enjoy it. So much so that I am planing on reading another of Swanson’s soon, The Kind Worth Killing. From the title alone, I am guessing it is another dark one but it is getting very good reviews. When I put Before She Knew Him down, I did need to pick up some palette cleansers and read some much lighter and fun books for a bit. But of course I will always go back to creepy. 🍷🍷🍷🍷
I Found You – Lisa Jewell
I have been a Lisa Jewell fan for a bit now and have been reading all of her past books that I missed previously. I Found You was another goodie, maybe not quite as high on the list for me as some of the others but another solid read from Jewell. Three storylines are occurring at the same time – two in the present and one in the past – and you know they are bound to intersect at some point. Jewell has become a reliable creepy page turning author for me.
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My Sister, The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite
Is it possible to find a book about a serial killer witty and funny? Apparently yes, as that is the case with the quick little book about Korede and her beautiful sister Ayoola who has a thing for killing her boyfriends. Ayoola relies on Korede to clean up her messes but what is to happen when Ayoola starts dating the man the Korede has long had a secret crush on? Quirky and a fast read.
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Circe – Madeline Miller
I enjoyed Circe on Audible and it was a constant companion for most of the month as it is quite long. I did enjoy the story of Circe of Greek mythology, but I did feel it fell a bit short in the retelling of many of her stories with others of Greek mythology such as the Minotaur, Daedalus Icarus, Medea, and Odysseus. But that is where it did not get me to the “loving it” stage, some of the recounts with these figures were just that – too “re-count” and not enough happening. I did enjoy it but due to that and the length, it was not all I thought it was going to be.
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How to Walk Away – Katherine Center
This may have not been the best book to begin on a plane about to take off. And that is because in the first few chapters there is a horrific plane crash where Margaret’s whole life changed. While I enjoyed the book and learning of her perseverance I didn’t connect as much with the second half of the story. A solid read full of character development, but certainly wasn’t a top book of the year for me.
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The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose – Oprah Winfrey
I must have missed the memo but I truly thought this was a book written by Oprah. She does write the first pages, but what follows is a book of quotes. While inspirational, it wasn’t what I was expecting nor wished to read from her. I guess I better go back to reading the book jackets from time to time.
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Less – Andrew Sean Greer
Less was a Pulitzer Prize winner in 2018 and widely acclaimed. And yet it fell short for me. I am not sure why, and I did like it to an extent but I cannot say it was as great as I thought it would be. I think sometimes books with so much hype can disappoint at times and this was one of those times. Andrew Less feels like a mess to me and embarking on his journey didn’t bring the page-turning wow-ness that I expected. I can’t say I didn’t like it but it was just okay. I just never found the meat of the story to dive into.
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The Au Pair – Emma Rous
I have been on a bit of a kick to pick up new releases as the come out. Many of these I find based on reviews of advance reader copies. A book like The Au Pair makes me rethink this habit. I hate to give a book just a 1 🍷 or even none, but this one came close. There were too many characters to keep it all straight and the entire story line was a big stretch for me. Some reviews are calling this a psychological thriller but I would call it more family dark drama.
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No Exit – Taylor Adam
There was No Exit for me from this hot mess. I was tempted to put it down several times, but did finish it. From the beginning there was potential there, decent character development. But it just never fully got there. It was a bit too violent at times and weird holes in the plot. I may try a future book from Taylor Adam but this one fell short for me. I do predict that this will be a movie in the near future as it had enough action to try and collect at the box office.
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April Book of the Month: The Silent Patient
What did you read this month?
If you like my April book list, you may like some of my others if you are looking for something to read!
What Should I Read Next – Favorite 4 & 5 🍷 Selections
My Books to Read List for 2019: Books Published Before the New Year
My Books to Read List for 2019: New Releases
2018 in Reading & My Favorite Books of the Year
