Read in April 2025
April really was a lackluster reading month. I don’t want to call it a reading slump, because I read a fair bit, but nothing really hit right. I never felt compelled to read and was often disappointed in the stories I read.
Eventually, I did read a total of 10 books in April, good for 3236 pages. The average April book is about 324 pages/book.
As I said, the books I read weren’t really memorable. I only gave one 4-star and that was for a reread. All other books got between 1 and 3 stars, and then I also DNF’ed a book. The average fully read April book comes out at 2.6 stars, probably the lowest monthly average ever!
In terms of target audience, I varied between 2 Young Adults and 9 adult books.
As always, I also varied in reading format, but have read the least amount of audiobooks ever since I started reading in this format. I read 5 ebooks, 1 audiobook, and 5 physically owned books.
For the genres I only switched between 3 genres, namely mystery (1), romance (5) and fantasy (5).
Below is the list of the books I read in April and my star rating.
Click the link to jump to the blurb and my review! As always, be aware that both blurb and review may contain spoilers, especially when it comes to sequels in a series! Sometimes I will also hide spoilers behind a fold-out text!
- Guerre, Heather – Cold Hearted (Tooth & Claw #1) ★★
- Guerre, Heather – What Was Meant To Be (Lake Lenora #2) ★★
- Fawcett, Heather – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) ★★★★
- Bailey, Tessa – Merry Ever After ★
- Hazelwood, Ali – Cruel Winter with You ★★★
- Hannah, Sophie – The Point of Rescue (Spilling CID #3) 🎧 ★★
- Fawcett, Heather – Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2) ★★★
- Fawcett, Heather – Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde #3) ★★★
- Smart, Ciannon – Witches Steeped in Gold (Witches Steeped in Gold #1) (DNF)
- Chen, Amber – Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragon #1) ★★★
- Coldbreath, Alice – His Forsaken Bride (Vawdrey Brothers #2) ★★★
Guerre, Heather – Cold Hearted (Tooth & Claw #1) ★★
Genre: Romantiek
I came to Longtooth, Alaska looking for a safe place to hide. All I wanted was to keep my head down, do my job, and enjoy the peace and quiet. But there’s no peace to be found once I meet Longtooth’s cantankerous bush pilot. Caleb Kinoyit is surly and rude and mean. He’s also, unfortunately, the most attractive man I’ve ever met. And as the long, Alaskan winter nights stretch on, I find myself warming to his rough charm just as much as I’m falling for the beauty of my new home.
A town with a secret…
There’s something different about Longtooth—something the locals won’t talk about with outsiders. And I am definitely an outsider. But when my dangerous past finally tracks me down, Longtooth can’t keep its secrets from me any longer, and the revelation upends the world as I know it. The only truth I can be sure of anymore are my feelings for Caleb. But will love be enough to save me? Or will I have to sacrifice myself to save the ones I love?
I was in the mood for something easy and mindless to unwind with, and this randomly popped up on my Goodreads homepage. And to be honest, it delivered exactly what I was looking for at first. The first half was surprisingly fun and nostalgic. It gave off serious Twilight vibes, but more mature, and with the werewolves as romantic interest. Super familiar, super easy to get into. Even the mystery, as obvious and predictable as it was, worked for me because it reinforced that comfy, nostalgic feeling.
Unfortunately, the second half didn’t hold up. The pacing abruptly shifted from slow burn to whirlwind romance, with basically no chemistry between the leads. The grumpy, rude male lead went from “I hate you with a passion for no reason at all” to “I want you to irrevocably bind yourself to me and my pack forever” in two seconds flat. Meanwhile, the female lead struggles with depression and anxiety, until the moment she decides to fall for the one guy in town who’s been rude to her the entire time, then her depression is miraculously cured and never talked about again. There was absolutely no character development to make these emotional leaps believable.
Also, as someone who can only applaud the promotion of yarn crafts in books, it physically hurt to read how they gradually destroyed beautiful and expensive yarn for the sake of a prank. No, ma’am, no. No one crafting with yarn would ever do that. Never!
So yeah, it’s a passable read if you don’t think too hard about it. Just enjoy the ride for what it is: brief, nostalgic fluff.
Guerre, Heather – What Was Meant To Be (Lake Lenora #2) ★★
Genre: Romantiek
There’s nothing Wes Sorenson cares about more than restoring his family’s lost legacy—a Northwoods cottage resort that’s been handed down from one generation to the next since the late-1800s until it was stolen from them by unscrupulous business partners, dismantled, and sold in pieces. Bit by bit, over the course of years, Wes has managed to restore the family business, except for one piece: the crucial lakefront acreage necessary to the resort’s success. But after years of dead ends, he’s finally figured out how to secure to the last piece of the puzzle: marrying the woman who owns the land.
Rain Kateb has never really belonged anywhere. After losing the only place that ever felt like home, she spent the rest of her life as an unwanted guest in her father’s household. So when a stipulation in her late father’s estate proposes to send her to yet another strange home, accepting seems the sensible choice. Marriage to a stranger might be too odd for some, but Rain already spent most of her life feeling like an intruder in somebody else’s home. This would just be more of the same.
But Wes Sorenson is far from the cold, detached keeper Rain’s father had been. And Rain Kateb is nothing like the spoiled heiress Wes had expected. Pretty soon, their platonic marriage-of-convenience is starting to feel like the real thing—and neither of them wants that.
Or do they?
Even though the first book I read by this author wasn’t exactly a hit, it was an easy, quick read and had the potential to be a perfect comfy read. So when the synopsis of this one called to me, I decided to give the author a second chance. Unfortunately, this second book only confirmed my first impression.
Once again, it was definitely a fast, mostly mindless read, but ultimately it just wasn’t good.
It started off promising. I like to read about the marriage of convenience trope, and while it always feels 100 times more cringe in modern settings, I initially liked it. But somewhere around the halfway point, it felt like the author just gave up on developing the story. Things started feeling lazy, rushed, and undercooked. The characters stopped making sense, which made it hard to stay invested.
I really liked Rain at first and was curious about her backstory—how she ended up where she is. She’s portrayed as socially anxious, autistic, painfully shy, and someone who’s been steamrolled by life. So when we suddenly learn about her preferences and confidence in the bedroom, it just didn’t track. Where did that experience come from? How does it fit with her personality? It felt like a whole chunk of her backstory was missing, and the lack of explanation was jarring.
And then there’s Wes, who holds on to these really dismissive assumptions about Rain way too long. There are multiple moments where it’s obvious she’s not who he thinks she is—but he keeps treating her with this cold superiority. Even when he remembers that her father flat-out told him she’s autistic, he ignores it in favour of his own assumptions and keeps interpreting her behavior as spoiled or arrogant. It made it hard to appreciate him as a love interest.
So yeah, quick read? Sure. Worthwhile? Not really.
Fawcett, Heather – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) ★★★★
Genre: Fantasy
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.
I still stand by the fact that the concept of this book feels tailor-made for me, but even on this reread, I didn’t fall for the story and its characters quite as much as I had hoped.
Don’t get me wrong: this charming and quirky tale about academic fieldwork on faeries is incredibly fun and original. Yet something keeps me from becoming fully enchanted. I suspect the narrative style has something to do with it.
This time around, I was drawn in more quickly than during my first read, and while I’m theoretically a fan of the dry, factual tone—which fits the idea of a field journal and suits our protagonist Emily perfectly—it still kept me at an emotional distance. The interactions between characters often feel cold and detached. It matches Emily’s matter-of-fact personality, of course, but as a reader, I found myself wishing for more warmth and emotional depth. On top of that, the chosen format slightly diminishes the tension, since it’s clear Emily can recount everything in her journal.
Fortunately, the story itself is intriguing enough for me to look past my issues with the style. The rich folklore, filled with eerie and wondrous creatures, is utterly fascinating. And I’m still completely in love with the reversed grumpy-sunshine dynamic between Emily, the gruff scholar, and Bambleby, the flamboyant charmer.
Despite my reservations, this remains an original and atmospheric read that continues to hold my interest—even if from a slight distance. And I’m definitely curious to see what the sequel has in store.
Bailey, Tessa – Merry Ever After ★
Genre: Romantiek
Evie Crowe is starting over in a strange town with her newborn, and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. Evie wants to stay single all the way—she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in it for the long haul. He’s fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance.
Tessa Bailey’s Merry Ever After is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.
I’ll admit it felt a bit odd to read a Christmas novella in April, but I was in the mood for something short and easy—something I could finish in an hour without using too much brain power. Merry Ever After definitely fit the “quick read” part, but not much else.
Despite the festive title, it wasn’t particularly Christmassy, so I guess the timing didn’t matter after all. I went in expecting a cute, heartwarming holiday romance, but what I got was… well, mostly smut. And not even the good kind—more the unintentionally funny, eye-roll-inducing kind.
At least it was over quickly. Let’s just say I won’t be revisiting this one—and maybe I’ll pretend I never read it at all.
Hazelwood, Ali – Cruel Winter with You ★★★
Genre: Romantiek
All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.
Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.
Another day, another need for a quick, one-sitting read—something cute and heartwarming to hit the reset button. Luckily, Cruel Winter with You was exactly that.
This novella was genuinely sweet, and Ali Hazelwood once again proves she can craft characters and stories I care about almost instantly—even within such a short format. It was charming, filled with her signature witty dialogue, and just the right kind of cozy. A perfect little palate cleanser.
🎧 Hannah, Sophie – The Point of Rescue (Spilling CID #3) ★★
Genre: Mysterie
Last year, a work trip Sally had planned was cancelled at the last minute. Desperate for a break from her busy life juggling her career and a young family, Sally didn’t tell her husband that the trip had fallen through. Instead, she booked a week off and treated herself to a secret holiday. All she wanted was a bit of peace – some time to herself – but it didn’t work out that way. Because Sally met a man – Mark Bretherick.
All the details are the same: where he lives, his job, his wife Geraldine and daughter Lucy. Except that the man on the news is someone Sally has never seen before. And Geraldine and Lucy Bretherick are both dead…
It took me a while to get into The Point of Rescue—the writing felt a bit off and awkward at first. I also hadn’t realized it was part of a series. While that didn’t affect the main mystery much, it did make things confusing when the story shifted focus to the backstories of recurring characters I had no connection to.
The mystery itself was decent in the moment, with an unpredictable reveal and a unique narrative structure, but it never fully drew me in. I wasn’t invested, and the story faded from memory pretty quickly after finishing.
There were simply too many characters, and with the series regulars being new to me, it became hard to keep track. On top of that, there wasn’t a single character I found myself rooting for—they all felt unlikeable in one way or another, which made it hard to care about the outcome.
In the end, nothing about the characters or the overarching story make me curious to pick up other volumes in this series. It had its interesting moments, but ultimately, it was forgettable.
Fawcett, Heather – Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2) ★★★
Genre: Fantasy
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby.
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers.
She also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.
★★★½☆
This sequel picks up immediately where the first book left off, making it feel like the two were meant to be read back-to-back. The lore deepens, the fae grow darker and more dangerous, and Wendell is an even greater delight this time around. Emily remains the same wonderfully prickly academic, though it’s rewarding to see her slowly crack her own emotional armor.
That said, the journal format feels increasingly strained—less like a believable academic record and more like traditional first-person narration. It made immersion difficult at times, especially as the pacing grew sluggish through the middle. The romance still leans heavily on “tell” over “show,” with little chemistry despite all the banter.
New characters like Ariadne and Professor Rose held promise but lacked the development to leave a lasting impact. The worldbuilding, too, remained a bit hazy, and the many episodic detours felt cluttered and undercooked. Still, the final third recaptures the charm and wonder of book one, promising an intriguing setup for what’s to come.
A whimsical, darkly magical journey that’s enjoyable—but not quite enchanting.
Fawcett, Heather – Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde #3) ★★★
Genre: Fantasy
Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
This final instalment picks up literally on the same day the last book ended, but sadly, it didn’t deliver the satisfying conclusion I hoped for. While the world of dark faeries remains intriguing and Wendell continues to shine—his love letters to Emily were a true highlight—the rest felt tepid.
Emily’s dry, academic tone remains, but her character lost much of the charm and sympathy she had in the earlier books. I struggled to connect with her, especially as she made choices that felt inconsistent and unwise. The romance, while conceptually strong, continued to lack chemistry. Wendell’s devotion was touching, but Emily’s affection never felt equally convincing.
Plot-wise, the story felt fragmented, rushing through a string of smaller problems with convenient solutions. Even the more emotional or high-stakes moments left me oddly unmoved. The focus remained too heavily on scholarly details over drama or tension, making for a rather cozy—yet unexciting—read. I wanted a grand finale, but got something lukewarm instead. Still, I enjoyed being in this world. Just not as much as I’d hoped.
As a whole, the Emily Wilde series is something I look back on with mixed feelings—fond more for its concept than its execution. I loved the idea: a cozy, academic dive into faerie lore with two delightfully atypical leads. But while the setting and premise seemed tailor-made for me, the actual reading experience often left me feeling emotionally detached. The stories blurred quickly in memory, the romance never quite sparked, and despite enjoying the overall journey, I can’t say any of the books left a lasting impression. I’m glad to have seen it through, but I’m also content to leave it behind.
Smart, Ciannon – Witches Steeped in Gold (Witches Steeped in Gold #1) (DNF)
Genre: Fantasy
Divided by their order. United by their vengeance.
Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom—and vengeance.
Jazmyne is the Queen’s daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power.
Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But power is intoxicating, revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain—except the lengths they will go to win this game.
DNF at 140 pages
I was hopeful I would enjoy Witches Steeped in Gold — the story seemed to promise a rich, unique world and an engaging plot. Unfortunately, the execution was disappointing and confusing. The writing style is overly convoluted, with unusual sentence structures and punctuation that disrupted my reading flow. The world-building remained too vague, and I struggled to understand the magic system, the factions, and their motivations.
The story itself also felt unclear: the two narrative perspectives sounded too similar, and I often had to flip back to check whose point of view I was reading. Some plot choices felt completely nonsensical and unrealistic — like the heir, who had stayed hidden for years, suddenly choosing the most reckless moment to reveal her identity — which killed any remaining interest and tension for me.
All in all, it felt like a promising story unfortunately buried beneath overly complex prose, unnecessary rambling, and a lack of clarity. In the end, it became more frustrating than enjoyable to read, so I figured I’d better stop.
Chen, Amber – Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragon #1) ★★★
Genre: Fantasy
Disguised as her brother, Ying manages to infiltrate the male-only apprenticeship trial with the help of an unlikely ally – Aogiya Ye-yang, the nation’s taciturn eighth prince. With her father’s renown placing a target firmly on her back, Ying must stay one step ahead of her fellow competitors, the jealous guild masters, and the killer still hunting for her father’s journal. Complicating everything is her increasingly tangled relationship with the prince, who has mysterious plans of his own.
The secrets hidden within the guild can be as deadly as the weapons they build – and with her life and the country’s future at stake, Ying doesn’t know who to trust. And can she avenge her father if it means going against everything he stood for?
After recently DNF’ing another bookbox book, I started to wonder if I was just being overly critical – or if my wish to clear my TBR faster was sabotaging my enjoyment. I picked up Of Jade and Dragons mainly because Illumicrate announced a sequel, and I wanted to see if it’s worth collecting in the same edition.
To my surprise, this one pulled me in fast – a rare feat for YA fantasy these days. It’s definitely tropey and occasionally slow, but it kept me engaged and, more importantly, didn’t trigger the usual irritations. Which is surprising, because thinking back on it now, there were plenty of things that should have bothered me.
The engineering guild and trial setup felt undercooked, more like a convenient backdrop to bring characters together than the exciting, competitive focus it was marketed as. The romance came off forced, built on shallow interactions and repeated k-drama-style stumbles into the prince’s arms. Worldbuilding was light – I wanted more from this steampunk-inspired setting – but it was enough to paint a general picture, even if much of it was told rather than shown.
Characters were mostly flat, more like roles than real people: the plucky heroine, the charming prince, the comic sidekick, the bully, the mean teacher. Ying herself read younger than her stated 18 years, and some of her choices didn’t fully align with the values and lessons emphasized in her backstory—especially when it came to honoring her father’s wishes. There’s a disconnect between what we’re told shaped her and how she ultimately acts, which felt a bit jarring. The ending also felt rushed and landed in an odd place.
And yet, despite all that, I flew through it. I had fun. I was able to tap into my younger self’s love for these kinds of stories, which isn’t something every YA manages to pull off. Of Jade and Dragons is undeniably flawed, but it’s also entertaining. While I’m not sure it needed a sequel, I’ll probably still read it.
Coldbreath, Alice – His Forsaken Bride (Vawdrey Brothers #2) ★★★
Genre: Romantiek
There is just one slim chance to avoid this fate, one person of prominence at court who she knows has the ear of the King. Oswald Vawdrey, the man who cruelly jilted her when she was a starry-eyed fifteen year old with a head full of romantic dreams.
Fen swallows her pride and rides to the King’s court at Aphrany to beg for Lord Vawdrey’s intercession. But Lord Vawdrey is not the charming boy she remembers, and he has no interest in halting her divorce. Instead, he has quite different plans for his former intended bride.
Fenella is about to discover there is more to Oswald Vawdrey than meets the eye. And she may not be quite so forsaken as she once thought…
In hindsight, His Forsaken Bride is a book that should have frustrated me far more than it did. There were several aspects that missed the mark—an overly passive heroine, a hero who behaved like a toxic brat, emotional payoffs that never quite materialized, and a plot brimming with untapped potential. And yet… I was hooked.
Alice Coldbreath has an undeniable gift for storytelling. Her premise here—of a jilted betrothal, amnesia, and a second-chance romance steeped in court intrigue—was full of promise. I was eager to dive into the emotional complexities of a hero who doesn’t remember the woman he once loved, and a heroine who doubts whether their connection ever truly existed. Sadly, that thread was treated more like a sidenote, and key elements, like the mysterious locket, were glossed over.
Fenella starts strong—a wronged heroine determined to claim her due—but loses her spark too quickly, becoming passive and painfully forgiving of Oswald’s selfish tantrums and cold behavior. Oswald’s sudden shift into love interest felt unearned, especially when his initial motivations were rooted in deception. The lack of confrontation or growth between them made their romance feel flat, especially when paired with an ending that came far too abruptly.
Structurally, the book meanders in a slice-of-life fashion, following the characters through many small, often inconsequential moments. It’s oddly hypnotic. Despite the lack of chapter breaks and narrative momentum, I found myself thoroughly engrossed. Coldbreath’s prose has a strangely addictive quality, drawing me in even when very little was happening.
One of the highlights was revisiting familiar faces from the Brides of Karadok series. Seeing characters I already knew added a comforting layer and helped flesh out the setting in a satisfying way.
Ultimately, this is a book that frustrates in retrospect but beguiles in the moment. It’s not the story it could have been—but it’s also not one I regret reading.
