April 2023 Wrap Up

Hello reader! Welcome back to my blog. Today I am sharing with you the books I read in April. May has been a very busy month so I apologise for only just getting this post up now at the end of the month, however, having said that all of my wrap up posts have been late this year, so maybe that’s just my thing now!

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Rating: 4 stars

Review: Olive, a Ph.D. student lands herself in a tricky situation after trying to convince her best friend Anh that she has moved on and is happily dating to prove she is completely fine with Anh dating her ex-boyfriend. Without any evidence to back up her story, Olive kisses the first guy she sees which happens to be none other that Dr. Adam Carlsen, a professor in her building who is rather disliked. Yet, this little experiment seems to surprise them both…

I really enjoyed this book, it was fun, nerdy, a little silly, and rather sweet. The cast of strong female scientists dominating in their career’s was wonderful to witness. There were a lot of tropes in this book, perhaps too many, nonetheless I still liked it a lot overall. If you’re looking for an easy going read with the occasional, slightly weighty topic thrown in, and are okay with a bit of cringey smut, then give this one a go, although I’m sure most people have read this book already.

“You can fall in love: someone will catch you.”
The Love Hypothesis

Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce

Review: In London, during World War II, Emmy Lake dreams of becoming a War Correspondent. Her volunteering in the local fire department answering phone calls is encouraging but not quite the amount of effort she desires to be contributing. When a secretarial job opportunity opens up at the London Evening Chronical, she jumps at the chance, but somewhere along the line some wires were crossed and it turns out she is working for an advice columnist. Embarrassed, she debates quitting, but upon discovering many letters disregarded, Emmy takes matters into her own hands.

This was an enjoyable read, with a handful of easily likeable characters set against the back drop of WWII, with an uplifting and friendship focused storyline. The book gives a voice to all the women who stayed behind and contributed to the war effort. With a healthy dose of British humour at its finest, I am confident every reader will find something to like about this book. However, I did feel like the novel was lacking something, I didn’t feel a strong connection to the characters or one hundred percent invested in their stories.

Rating: 3 stars

“Find out what you’re good at, and then get even better.”
Dear Mrs Bird

A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

Rating: 1 star

Review: This book depicts the story of a girl whose brother is living with a cancer diagnosis. As a result, her life is difficult and messy, with much of the focus and energy spent on her brother, she lives in the shadows. The novel contains some very heavy themes including sexual abuse.

It is written as a stream of consciousness, which is rather convoluted and challenging to read, often at times difficult to follow any story as it is all so disjointed. Critically speaking, this is a highly powerful novel, in terms of themes illustrated and the interesting, fractured writing style. As far as enjoyment goes, I’m afraid I didn’t like this book at all. I struggled my way through it, often skipping over most of the text. I think I would have liked it more if it were say 50 pages long, or even 100 at a push. It would have made more of an impact on me rather than having one continuous thought: to keep pushing through and make it to the end. As you may know, I have never not finished a book and I was determined to not let this one defeat me. Otherwise, I would have stopped reading very early on. This book would make for an interesting study session, although students may despise their professor for setting such a task.

“For all of that I wanted to be out of it. All of that. You wanted to be in.”
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing

Alice Falls Again by D.J. Stoneham

Review: Alice returns to Wonderland, this time she is older, preparing herself to leave for college. Everything is different from her previous visits, in this trip she meets a cast of nursery rhyme characters who are all trapped in a wicked cycle of corruption and poverty under the rule of a tyrant. Along her journey, Alice meets and befriends these new inhabitants, including one Jack Door, a feathered boy she has taken a liking to. Alice must discover who or what is the cause of all these new problems and figure out how to fix it in order to leave.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a joy to revisit Wonderland with a new and refreshing voice, yet with all the whimsy and imagination expected when tasked with taking on this tale. The darker twists on the classic nursery rhymes contrasted Alice’s cheerful, peculiar disposition wonderfully. It was a thrill exploring a dystopic Wonderland and through the eyes of an older Alice. The plot is quick paced and fun, wickedly creative and enchanting to devour.

Rating: 4 and a half stars

“Everyone has to take a leap of faith at some point in their life.”
Alice Falls Again

Once Upon a Wonderland by D.J. Stoneham

Rating: 4 stars

Review: I received a copy of this book (and Alice Falls Again) from Reedsy Discovery to read and review.

In the sequel to Alice Falls Again, Alice finds herself once again transported back to Wonderland, this time as a college graduate. In this visit, her main quest is to reunite with Jack Door, her love interest, but, a new host of characters from fairy tales also require her help with their own messy problems. With each fairy tale character’s story different and much darker to the ones she knows and loves, they make Alice’s mission to retrieve Jack and escape Wonderland all the more difficult. Not to mention Time not working quite as it should. Still she resolves to try and help them all and to restore Wonderland to all its glory.

Like with its prequel, this book is gloriously witty and charming, presenting the chance to explore a dark and gritty Wonderland once again. The tale captivates the reader from page one with a new adventure to be explored. As with all fairy tales, this book is overflowing with morals, giving Alice and the reader a new insight into a tricky situation. Ultimately, this book is a journey of self-discovery, as well as a story of love, friendship and sacrifice. I wholeheartedly recommend both books!

You can read my full review of this book here.