Hi there! I am excited to share with you a reading update for the month of April.
Some of these books felt like they were taking a long time to read, so I was surprised to see that I actually completed five books in April and no audiobooks. I am in the process of reading/listening to an audiobook, but it’s a long one and it’s taking a while to get through.
For each of these, I’m going to give just a quick review along with how many stars I gave the book. I have plans to do more in depth reviews of some of these.
For my star reviews, a 5 star means that I LOVED the book!! This would be a book that I would highly recommend to any and everyone! 4-stars mean that I really, really liked it and would recommend it to most people. 3-stars typically means that I liked it and would probably describe it as just okay. A 2-star book is probably one that I did not enjoy and would not recommend. I don’t have many 1-star rated book, because it would have been a book I disliked enough to set aside before finishing.
Now let’s get to the books I read in April…
Goodbye, Paris
by Anstey Harris
Summary: This is the story of Grace, a cellist who once had the beginnings of a promising musical career until a traumatic event in music college left her unable to play publicly. Since leaving college she has built a quiet life for herself in an English village repairing instruments and nourishing her long distance affair with David, a married man. When David saves the life of a woman on a Paris metro, his resulting fame shines a light on the real state of the relationships in his life, including his affair with Grace. Grace eventually hits rock bottom and abandons everything that was important to her. Her closest friends, a teenage girl and an elderly gentleman, step in to help her rebuild her life.
I received this from Book of the Month sometime last year and kept putting off reading it. Unfortunately, this book fell very flat for me. I didn’t like any of the characters and could not relate to them or their struggles.
This book was compared to books by Jojo Moyes and the beloved book Eleanor Oliphant, but I didn’t get that comparison at all.
Goodreads rating: 2/5 stars
The Island of Sea Women
by Lisa See
Summary: Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook’s differences are impossible to ignore. Little do the two friends know that after surviving hundreds of dives and developing the closest of bonds, forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.
The Island of the Sea Women takes place over several decades beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism and ending in the present day. It includes struggles faced during World War II, the Korean War and its aftermath.
I absolutely loved this book!!! It will be listed among my favorites of the year, I am sure. After this third book by Lisa See, I now want to read everything she has written!
Goodreads rating: 5/5 stars
Beyond the Point
by Claire Gibson
Summary: On the eve of 9/11, as Dani, Hannah and Avery (three female students at the US Military Academy at West Point) face four grueling years ahead, they realize they’ll only survive if they do it together. The world—of business, of love, and of war—awaits Dani, Hannah, and Avery beyond the gates of West Point. These three women know that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but soon that adage doesn’t ring true as they are pulled in different directions.
I was hesitant about reading a book about the military. As a military spouse, it often either hits too close to home or is too far off base and comes off as hokey. I am so glad that I didn’t let my hesitation keep me from reading this book. I loved it, especially it’s handling of the different personalities and friendships.
I was reading the end of this book as I was in the waiting room of the dermatologist’s office with one of my children and I had to fight to keep myself from crying in front of a room full of strangers. So, you may want to keep your tissues close while reading this one.
Goodreads rating: 4/5 stars
Normal People
by Sally Rooney
Summary: A strange and indelible connection grows between two teenagers Connell and Marianne—one they are determined to conceal.
Connell is popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while Marianne is lonely, proud, and intensely private. A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin and the tables have turned. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.
I liked this book, okay. There were definite parts that I were uncomfortable with, but I saw a purpose in them. I heard this recommended in several of the reading podcasts I listen to and that’s what made me decide to add this on to my Book of the Month box in April, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me.
Goodreads rating: 3/5 stars
Miracle Creek
by Angie Kim
Summary: In the small town of Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine—a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives” with the hopes of curing issues like autism or infertility. But when the Miracle Submarine mysteriously explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial upends the Yoos’ small community.
I enjoy a good legal drama and that’s what I liked about this book. I also loved the themes of parenting and the immigrant struggle that this book addresses.
Goodreads rating: 3/5 stars
Quote from The Island of Sea Women…
If eighty-five years have taught her anything, it’s that governments come and go and that whoever and whatever comes next will eventually become rotten.
p. 171