Hello, everyone!

Heh, well, if I thought that March went by fast, look out here comes June! I’m not sure how it’s going so fast, but the Bible did warn that time would be sped up. Either way, it’s been a couple of wonderfully full months, and God has definitely kept us moving lately. It’s been so good, but also very busy, and it’s nice to be able to take a moment and just.. breathe for a bit. I’m suspecting that the resting period won’t last long, but that makes it all the more precious when they do arrive.

I did manage to finish both my Beta and Alpha reads at the start of May, but decided to stick to doing my April and May wrap-ups separately, since I really enjoy seeing the progress monthly, even if the posts end up coming closer together this time. (Hopefully, the May wrap-up will be ready soon, that is. XD)

April was a month of testing and trials, but God saw us through them all, and we’re starting to see some of the progress we’ve been praying for. It’s been a few years now, and it’s a beautiful thing to have a glimpse of the promise after all this time. There’s still a long way to go, but God is good, and I know He will continue to work it all out according to His plan.

May the LORD go before me, and direct my path!

What I Read in April:

April Reads:

I finished reading three books in April. Two of which were much more intense than some of my other reads, and one in particular was a very difficult read, in part because it’s a nonfiction memoir about some horrible child abuse… Yikes. Another was over 600 pages (It actually came in at nearly 700 pages, I think the actual count was 684, or so?) It was a delightful read, if a bit challenging at times.

I also nearly finished up the Alpha and Beta reads this month, but ended up officially finishing them both a few days into May. March was the start of me slowly starting to feel like myself again, and April saw some of that same hope and optimism as I began seeing some real progress and improvement, in both my health and habits (reading and otherwise). While I have still been pretty busy, I’ve tried to prioritize health, rest, and spending more time in prayer and scripture in these last few months. It’s still difficult at times, but I have seen a positive change as well.

My ReadMore app says I read 1.61k pages, so not quite as many, but I also finished half as many books this month, so…that I was able to hit nearly the same amount of pages, coming in at just 0.02k (basically 20 pages) fewer pages is shocking, haha. Proof that I’ve definitely been reading, even if not in a way that ‘shows’ as clearly this month.

Clearly, posting hasn’t really gotten back to being a regular thing yet, but I did get a few posts in. I’m also happy to be getting used to how WP.org works, since I was a little unsure about that switch at the start of the year, but so far it’s been good, and I’m so glad I went ahead and gave it a try.

Anonymous by Brandon Lee Proctor –

This one is honestly a horrifying read, and I can’t really recommend it. It tells the story of a boy raised in a demonic and wicked family where anything goes… And yet, for those who have been forced to face similar circumstances, it offers a voice of encouragement and a ray of hope. I truly hope this man finds Jesus and Salvation in Him, but this is not a Christian book, and it is a very difficult read. (I really struggled with it, and I don’t often have that much trouble with darker themes, but this one…It was an incredibly hard read.)

Tell Me Twice by Nuria Munzo (eARC) –

Yes, I know it’s taken me nine months to read this delightful tale, but… Yeah. I’m so glad that I read it when I did. I definitely needed a sweet and humorous story after that last one, and this one had some emotional twists I hadn’t seen coming, but ended up loving! I can’t read Munoz’s books as ‘Christian’ fiction, since while I know she’s catholic, there are many catholic teachings and beliefs that aren’t compatible with God’s Word and teachings in the Bible, but reading it as a ‘clean romance’ seemed to go much smoother. I still don’t know that I’d continue reading her books, even though I love her characters and writing style, simply because I don’t enjoy reading things that I know aren’t honoring to God, but I’m glad I did finally get this one read and reviewed after being on her launch team all those months ago… Eek, it’s been a crazy year.

Codename Lionel by Doyle Glass –

This was another review copy, and is a chonk! At nearly 700 pages, it will probably be my longest read this year…Apart from the Bible. It’s also not Christian, although I think the MC is catholic. It’s not super obvious in the life he leads. He did live an interesting life, though, but my favorite part was finally getting a glimpse at WWII from the French perspective, as I’ve wondered about that for years, and this book gives a detailed view of what that might have been like from a few different perspectives. The MC was also an F! racer, which I found amusing, that I would happen to read ANOTHER F! racing story so soon after reading my first last month… Widely different kinds of stories, but it was an interesting parallel nonetheless.

(Each title listed is directly linked to the corresponding review post for that book)

  • Anonymous by Brandon Lee Proctor
    • 3/5
  • Tell Me Twice by Nuria Munoz
    • 4/5
  • Codename Lionel by Doyle Glass
    • 4.5/5

I was on the launch team for Tell Me Twice (yeah, I know…). The other two were review requests. I didn’t actually manage to read any more of my past-due eARCs apart from Tell Me Twice. I still have a couple from February, but with the Alpha and Beta reads this month, I wasn’t able to get to them yet.

April Alpha/Beta Reads:

  • I had one of each, but since I didn’t finish them in April, I’ll include them on next month’s post.

April Book Mail:

April Book Mail:

I didn’t plan on getting any this month, but I did get one nonfiction review copy.

  • Unshrinkable by Darby Bonomi (review copy)

Audiobooks:

  • None

Have you read any of the books listed this month?
Are any of them on your TBR?
Or, tell me what your favorite book was in April?

Feel free to comment about them below!

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