What I Read: My April 2023 Reading List
Let’s have a little chat about my April 2023 reads. This year, as I have said on repeat, I made a goal to read 52 books. The first few months of the year, I made great progress, was ahead of schedule … blah, blah … you know what comes next. In April, I kinda hit a wall. It didn’t have anything to do with reading, necessarily. I just became overwhelmed with other things going on in my life and didn’t accomplish reading as many books as I would have liked. These types of months are a normal and healthy part of life. I like sharing that this was one of them for me so that next time you have one, you can remember you aren’t alone. We all have things going on.
My 2023 Reading List and Goals: a Background
As I mentioned above, my goal for 2023 is to read 52 books. This was inspired by a group I found on Reddit called the 52 Book Challenge. I love seeing what others around the world are reading. Essentially, you are reading one book a week throughout the year. I LOVE this challenge and how it allows me to see what others are reading all over the world!
To see last month’s post, click here.
To see other book roundups and reading reports from this year, click here!
This Month: A Quick Recap
This month, I read a total of 3 books this month, bringing my total for 2023 to 21. One of these books was a reread (I am making my way back through the Harry Potter series) so I will not be doing a review on that.
These books were read in all different forms: one on my Kindle, one was a hardcover, and the final one was a paperback.
The hardback was available as an early release with Book of the Month, so I wanted to go ahead and drop a link here in case getting books published early and at a discounted price is something you’re interested in! Using my link (here) gets you your first book at a discount, and you can cancel any time. I didn’t personally get this one early (duh), but I LOVE a lot of the ones I do!
My April 2023 Reads and Reviews
Want to see my entire list of reads for 2023 this far? Click here!
1 - Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
It’s LA in the 60s, and Daisy is a young woman in love with it all. The music. Drugs. Sex. Every bit of it completely sucked her in. It wasn’t until she signed at a record label that she met The Six – a band started by two brothers in a Philadelphia garage – and experienced the highs and lows that fame has to offer.
This book absolutely destroyed me. I could not stop sobbing at the end (in good ways and bad). Others I’ve talked to have experienced this as well. It is a deeply moving read. The characters were robust and open, and I had such a plethora of emotions going through me throughout the entire book that it was greatly enjoyable. I do think that the book could be quite a bit shorter (there were some heavily repetitive parts), but otherwise it was an amazing read.
Trigger warnings: drug and alcohol abuse
Order the book from Amazon.
2 - How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
Grey’s career has been in a dry spell ever since her hit TV show got pulled off the air.
Ethan’s career has been in a dry spell ever since his best friend died and his equally famous wife filed for divorce.
Audrey, their publicist, needs them both to get back making headlines, and therefore proposes a solution to get them both back on the map. What is more juicy than a new Hollywood fling?
Suddenly, Grey and Ethan are “dating” – contractually, of course – and things get a little … complicated? Will this arrangement end up helping their careers or bottom them out for good?
I liked this book! It got three stars because I read it as a fun and sexy palate cleanser after Daisy Jones. This was NOT that. It was way too heavy for that. Ethan had some hard hitting issues and their relationship was not all champagne toasts and sexy sheet scenes … Things got real in this book. Right when you’d feel like things were going to go up hill, something else would hit and you’d feel sad again. It was a cute (and spicy!) read! I just wouldn’t go into it expecting all happy feels.
Trigger warning: Alcohol abuse
Order it on Amazon.
