April’s been a weird month hasn’t it? Most of us are inside, it seems to have gone really quickly, but really slowly all in one, and also i’ve done more reading than i ever expected to.
I started off April still working partly from the office, so i hadn’t had much chance to get reading done, but when i had any spare time i made sure i was sat reading and keeping my mind occupied. Once i left work i had all the time in the world to read my backlog, and i’m really happy with what i got read and what new books i’ve experienced this month. Strangely, i seem to have had a really successful month reading, when i thought i’d be reading nothing and finding everything hard to concentrate on. For now, i’m going with it and i hope this continues!
The Gravity Of Us by Phil Stamper
I spent the first part of April co-reading The Gravity Of Us by Phil Stamper with Lois from Lois Reads Books. Her mum kindly picked me up a copy when she was in New York a few months ago, and it was one of the books i couldn’t wait to get to. I knew i was excited about it, but honestly i couldn’t completely remember the synopsis when i got the book, so i sort of went in blind. It’s full of space, drama and gays and i absolutely adored it. It was fun, full of anticipation and had the most wonderful set of characters.
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
This is a book that i’ve been meaning to pick up for a while, and honestly i had no idea what it was about except for the fact it was EVERYWHERE. I feel like for the last year every book shop i’ve been in to has highlighted My Sister, The Serial Killer – and until i read it, i had no idea why. It’s full of suspense, family and drama, on top of some really good murders if that’s your kind of thing. I loved the setting, the characters and the tone of this book, and i sped through it incredibly quickly.
We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia
I was sent this book for review by the publisher, honestly because it’s gay. If anything, we love LGBTQIA+ books here, and this one looked absolutely adorable and something of a coming of age story. The main topics of this book are discovering sexuality and trying to understand who you are, there are also huge friendship vibes which i adored a lot. I’ve heard very mixed things about We Are Totally Normal so far, and if you look at the reviews, they’re not great. However, i genuinely really enjoyed this book and yeah the characters were a little questionable and the actions they take weren’t of the best nature, but not everyone comes out in the same way, and some are more messy than others.
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
Long Way was one of my favourite books of 2019, and i honestly have no idea why it took me so long to read the follow up to the series. I adore Becky’s writing and her space worlds, and her characters are incredibly thought out. I would never have disliked this book. It focuses on a character i wasn’t hugely fond of in the first book, Pepper, and it completely turned my opinion of her around. Admittedly, i probably judged her a little too soon, but Becky made me completely adore her. I don’t think i’ll ever dislike one of Becky’s books.
Field Notes On Love by Jennifer E Smith
I pulled this out of my backlog as lets not lie, i have the time to catch up on some stuff now. I haven’t thought about Field Notes On Love since i bought it to be honest, and it was a little bit of fresh air that i needed right now. It was fun and cute and so cheesy. There were some writting issues for me, but nothing that i couldn’t over look. It was just complete unrealistic fun, and i loved it.
Seed by Lisa Heathfield
This is another book that i pulled from the backlog this month, and as usual with Lisa’s books, i completely adored it. Seed follows a small nature based cult in the UK where some outsiders turn up to join. Naturally, these people don’t fit in too well, and chaos continues from there. I really love books based on cults, and as usual, Lisa’s story wasn’t completely perfect at the end, or throughout to be honest. I think this has taken over as my favourite book by Lisa.
Camp by L. C. Rosen
I was gifted Camp by penguin in exchange for a review. I have previously met and interviewed Lev, and i loved his previous novel Jack Of Hearts (and Other Parts), so i couldn’t wait to get in to Camp. This book is about Randy, and his fifth summer at an LGBTQ+ camp. The writing again was incredible, the story was fun and the characters were extremely well put together. I had so much fun reading Camp, i cannot wait to share my review with you soon. Camp is released on the 28th of May.
The Test by Sylvain Neuvel
I picked up The Test as a quick read that sounded interesting at the time. It’s a short 100 pages and the premise is a British Citizenship Test dystopian. I wasn’t sure honestly where this book was going, or what to make of it, but in the end, i think this is one of my new favourite short stories. It’s incredibly well thought out and thought provoking. I read it in one sitting and couldn’t think about putting it down.
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
Me and some friends picked this up as a co-read recently, and i don’t know what to say about Radio Silence because i just adored it. There’s no Alice book that i’ve not given five stars, and i’ve enjoyed reading every single one. Her books are incredibly easy to just pick up and fly though, this absolutely being no exception. I’m annoyed i didn’t read Radio Silence earlier, because i completely fell in love with all of the characters more than i thought i ever would. I have nothing bad to say about Alice and i don’t think i ever will. Radio Silence is a YA masterpiece.
Girls On The Verge by Sharon Biggs Waller
I’ve been trying to make a dent in my backlog for the last few months, and this is a book which i honestly forgot i owned until i dug through them all. I’d heard incredible things about Girls On The Verge recently, and wanted to pick it up. This story follows Camille and her two best friends on a roadtrip so she can have the abortion that she’s desperate for. It’s heavy, and hard and has a lot of different view points on abortion and life, but it makes you understand a little more about how different people process important information. It definitely is bias towards one side of the argument, but i loved this book, and it felt like the perfect YA read.
Books read: 10
Books read this year: 31
Pages read: 2,841
Pages Per Day: 95
Average Rating: 4.5
The Little Contemporary Corner 