April 1-15 Update

April, much like March, has been a great reading month! In the first half of the month, I finished 7 books, and I've discovered some new favorites along the way. So, without any further ado, lets get into it.

Big Little Lies- Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies centers around 3 women whose children are all entering kindergarten at the same school. Madeline is a vivacious, hilarious woman whose youngest daughter is a lot like her, but whose oldest daughter idolizes her ex husband's new wife. Madeline struggles seeing her daughter desire for a life with her father, though her father left her and Madeline when she was only 2 weeks old.

Celeste is Madeline's best friend, and the mother to rowdy twin boys. She and her husband are the picture of perfection, but she hides dark secrets about her family, especially her husband. 

Finally, we have Jane, who is new in town. Her son, Ziggy, was the result of a one-night stand. When one of the girls in their new class accuses Ziggy of choking her, Jane finds herself being shunned by all of the other mothers, except Celeste and Madeline. 

This book was fast paced, and I loved that it was told with some flashbacks thrown in. I loved the characters (particularly Madeline), because they felt so realistic. Plus, this book dealt with the very real issue of abuse, and it didn't make a mockery of it, but was hilarious and engaging. I originally wanted to read this book because I wanted to watch the show on HBO. Now, I'm even more interested in the show. The plot was well planned and thought out, and the characters were enjoyable. The only complaint I have is that of all of the characters, Celeste felt a little 2-dimensional. However, I enjoyed this book so much, I had to go back and reevaluate some of my other 5-star reads.

_________________________

Speak Easy, Speak Love- McKelle George

Speak Easy, Speak Love is a retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing set in the 1920s. Beatrice is kicked out of school because she is unable to pay tuition. Luckily, her uncle offers to take her in until she can pay for school. Beatrice soon discovers that her cousin Hero is running a failing speakeasy out of the basement, and that Hey Nonny Nonny, the estate, is home to some interesting characters: The speakeasy's singer Maggie; Prince, the one who struggles to keep everything running; Prince's mobster brother, John; and the insufferable writer Benedick.

The characters in this, aside from Beatrice and Benedick, didn't seem to have much of a personality, I didn't really feel like I knew any of them. The book was beautifully written, but it was incredibly long for a stand-alone, so it felt like it kind of dragged at times. But I love the fact that McKelle George managed to tell Shakespeare in the Jazz Age, but also managed to tackle racial tensions and organized crime that were so prevalent in the 20's. 

_________________________

The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1)- Lemony Snicket

We all know the story of the Baudelaire orphans who go to live with guardian Count Olaf, an evil man whose only desire is to get his hands on their fortune. 

I wanted to reread this after I got through most of season 2 of Netflix's adaptation (Side note: if you haven't seen it, you should). I love that though this is a middle-grade novel, it deals with grief, and the Baudelaires know a few things about grief. Lemony Snicket is such a quirky writer, and I love the way he tells this story. Finally, I love that the 3 Baudelaires are so talented, intelligent, and self-sufficient, while pretty much all of the adults in this series are completely worthless. 

_________________________

The Kiss of Deception- Mary E. Pearson

The Princess of Morrighan, Lia, is set to be married to a Prince from another kingdom, in order to peacefully quell tensions between the two. But Lia yearns for a life where she has a say in what she is able to do, and seeks the freedom to fall in love on her own. She has never been the obedient daughter, and on the day of her wedding, she flees, taking her handmaiden- Pauline- with her. They flee to a neighboring town, where they find work in an inn, and meet 2 mysterious strangers, Rafe and Kaden. What Lia doesn't know is that one of these men is the Prince she left at the alter, and the other is an assassin, sent to kill her.

This book was another one that was so good, it made me reevaluate the ratings on some of the books I read prior. It's told in the perspective of Lia, Kaden, and Rafe, with a few chapters labeled "The Prince" and "The Assassin," but never hinting at which man in who. I loved Lia, I thought she was a badass and loved that even though she was royalty, she was always looking to prove that she was capable of anything. Furthermore, I am 100% invested in one of the men, but I can see the appeal of the other guy. I'm excited to continue the series, and I can definitely see this becoming a new favorite.

_________________________

Cleopatra's Daughter- Michelle Moran

Cleopatra's daughter follows the daughter of the famous Egyptian queen, and her brothers after their kingdom is invaded by the Romans. Kleopatra Selene, Alexander Helios, and Ptolemy are just children when their parents are killed and they are taken from their homeland to Rome to be raised by Octavian, the man responsible for their parents death. The children are living with Octavia, Octavian's sister and their father's ex wife, and are used as leverage to increase Octavian's political power in Rome. 

This is one of my favorite books. I love reading Michelle Moran's books because everything is painstakingly researched and beautifully told. Though she took a few artistic liberties with this book in particular, I read it feeling like I learned something about Roman/Egyptian history, but was also entertained with each part. Furthermore, this is one of the only books that has EVER made me sob, and still gets me all teary-eyed when I read it. 

_________________________

To Kill A Kingdom- Alexandra Christo

This is supposed to be a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid, and I can see some similarities. But not between this book and the Disney version, but with the Hans Christian Anderson original. Lira is a siren, and the princess of the sea, primed to be a murderous queen by her ruthless mother. She is known to the humans as "The Princes' Bane" because she hunts and kills only princes, one for each year of her life. Elian is the crown prince of Midas, but his heart belongs at sea. As the captain of the Saad, Elian is more pirate than prince, and feels most like himself when he is hunting sirens. When Lira disobeys her mother, she's stripped of her power and her tail, and has to live as a human. In order to return to the sea, she is instructed to capture Elian's heart and present it to her mother.

There was SO MUCH character development in this novel. I had assumed that both Lira and Elian would be anti-heroes, with the way they were presented in the beginning, but they developed so much throughout the story, and I found myself rooting for them because they had become real heroes. The secondary characters were lovable, and I liked that Christo made the book feel like an epic pirate tale, rather than just characters who happened to be pirates. Overall, I absolutely adored this.

_________________________

Nobody's Princess- Esther Friesner

Helen of Troy, the face that sailed a thousand ships and led to the fall of Troy, was originally Helen of Sparta, a beautiful princess who was rumored to be the daughter of Zeus. All Helen has ever wanted was to have the freedom to choose her future. She desires to become the kind of princess, and eventually queen, that can take care of herself.

I had a really tough time writing a synopsis for this book, because the plot was a MESS. So much happened, and it felt really disorganized and like there was no structure. However, I liked Helen because she was scrappy and fun, and her mother was portrayed in a way that I preferred to a lot of other stories about her. I also liked the relationship that Helen had with her brothers (The Gemini Twins). This book was probably aimed for much younger readers, and had I read this as a teenager, I probably would have enjoyed it more. However, it just wasn't for me.

_________________________

The Diviners- Libba Bray

Evie is able to tell someone's secrets by touching their personal items. But when her gift gets her in trouble with a prominent family, her parents send her to live with her uncle in Manhattan. When Evie discovers that her uncle is obsessed with the occult, she knows she can't tell him about her abilities. However, when the police find a body with strange markings on it, Evie realizes that her gift may help the city catch a serial killer.

I was so excited to read this book, and when I started it, it captured my attention right away. However, I got to page 80-ish when some books I ordered came in, and I put The Diviners aside so I could read those. When I tried to pick The Diviners back up, I just didn't have the same interest as before. 

I fully intend on reading this book in its entirety sometime soon. However, it just doesn't feel like now is the right time. So this is just a DNF for now.

DNF

_________________________

Well, there ya have it, folks! I've read so many great books so far, and I'm excited to see if I'll enjoy the second half of the month as much as I enjoyed the first part. If you have any recommendations, want to discuss any of my reviews, anything, feel free to get in touch! Happy reading!