April was another busy month. Passover took a lot of physical and mental energy, and my sister even came to visit us from out of town for the holiday. It was nice to get to see her and have the help, but it’s also nice to have things go back to normal. The end of Passover is always a great way to remind myself how great it is to be able to eat regular food and not have matzah at every meal. My big accomplishment for the month was to be able to get my bookshelves organized exactly how I wanted them.

Although I wanted to make progress on my ARCs this month, I didn’t get anywhere close to where I was hoping. However, I did manage to maintain some diversity in my reading, and that was definitely intentional. Another thing I did was to quickly DNF books that I wasn’t enjoying, something I struggle with at times, especially when a book is an ARC. I also worked towards making progress on my reading challenges. Here’s some of my April highlights:

• My blog now has 759 followers! I’m so grateful for each and every one of you.
• Physical ARCs remain a struggle, although my NG ARCs are relatively managed as far as release dates.
• Of the 34 books I read in April, only 3 were nonfiction. One was a social science book, one was about tarot cards, and one was about female friendships.
• I actually read one of the books I own this month!
• Regarding diverse voices, I read 4 books by a Black author, 1 by an Indigenous author, 3 by Jewish authors, 5 by LGBTQIA+ authors, and 1 by an Asian author.
• I’m still trying to continue reading outside of my typical genres, so I read 3 horror, 1 paranormal/new age, 1 self-help/inspirational, and 1 social science book.
• I read 2 more of my 12 in 12 challenge books leaving me with 5 more to go, I’ve read 17 out of 18 Jewish authors for a different challenge, and I’m 84% done with my 2023 PopSugar reading challenge.

Here’s my breakdown of monthly/cumulative totals for April:

April Totals:

• Books read: 34
• Books DNF’d: 3
• Pages read: 5,075
• Hours listened: 7 days, 21 hours, 14 minutes
• Average pages: 338.3
• Average hours listened: 14 hours, 7 minutes

Cumulative Averages:

• Days per book: 3.35
• Pages read per day: 172.15
• Books read per month: 34.75
• DNF’d books per month: 2

Genres Read in April:

• Fantasy: 8
• General Fiction: 2
• Historical Fiction: 4
• Horror: 3
• Mystery/Suspense: 9
• Paranormal/New Age: 1
• Romance/Erotica: 5
• Self-Help/Inspirational: 1
• Social Science/Current Affairs/Politics: 1

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 13
• 2023 releases: 21

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 31
• Nonfiction: 3

Format Read:

• Print: 5
• Digital: 10
• Audio: 19

Age Range:

• Adult: 32
• YA: 2

My favorite books of the month were Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo and Kantika by Elizabeth Graver.

Here’s what I read in April:

• The Power of Women: A Doctor’s Journey of Hope and Healing by Denis Mukwege
• Kantika by Elizabeth Graver (NG ARC)
• Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor (ALC)
• The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs by Laura Tremaine (ALC)
• The Will of the Many by James Islington (The Hierarchy #1) (NG ARC)
• Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern #2)
• Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler (NG ARC)
• The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur (ALC)
• Happy Place by Emily Henry (ALC)
• Tarot Magick by Lindsay Squire (NG ARC)

• Emperor of Ruin by Django Wexler (Burningblade & Silvereye #3) (Publisher ARC)
• Out of the Mirror, Darkness by Garth Nix (Into Shadow #7)

• The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson (Hidden Iceland #3)
• The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore (ALC)
• The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch
• River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
• A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn (Veronica Speedwell #1)
• This House is Not a Home by Katłià (ALC)
• When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao (YABC ARC)
• Undercover by Tamsyn Muir (Into Shadow #5)
• We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson (The Reborn Empire #1) (Publisher ARC)
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles #2)
• We Lie with Death by Devin Madson (The Reborn Empire #2) (Publisher ARC)
• The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles #3)

• Gigi, Listening by Chantel Guerin (ALC)
• Burst by Mary Otis (ALC)
• The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles #4)

• The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson (Hidden Iceland #1)
• The Island by Ragnar Jónasson (Hidden Iceland #2)
• A Cruel Light by Cyndi MacMillan (ALC)
• The Candles Are Burning by Veronica G. Henry (Into Shadow #6)
• You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose (ALC)

• The Family Secret by Kiersten Modglin (ALC)

• Ward D by Freida McFadden (NG ARC)

• The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts by Soraya Palmer (ALC)
• Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall (ARC)
• Santa Ana by Addison J. Chapple (ALC)

How did your April reading go? Did we read any of the same books? What did you think of them?