Somehow we’re already into the fifth month of 2017… Time is seriously flying by way too fast; it seems like only yesterday we adopted little Delilah Bard (Lila) and she is HUGE now. Unfortunately what hasn’t changed is my other cat Jasmine’s attitude towards her; they still don’t get along and Jasmine is also still mad at me for bringing another cat into HER home. xD Fingers crossed things will go better with a little more time… Especially since she is a very grumpy cat in the first place. Pet photo spam ahead:

Bookish wise it was a great month and the ARCish Readathon was a big success. I managed to read 18 titles in April and no less than 14 of them were ARCs. I’ve also been able to keep up with my pending reviews for the second month in a row, which I’m very VERY happy about. Yay for no more stressing about the huge backlog of reviews! I’ve been having lots of fun with my bookstagram account as well in April… Bookstagram is just so addicting with all those gorgeous bookish photos out there! Find the favorite photos of my own bookstagram account below.

As for the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in April: 18 (1 reread)
  • Total number of books read this year: 68
  • Total number of pages read in April: 5.673
  • Total number of pages read this year: 22.725

April was a great month in general and I even managed to have another TWO new 5 star ratings (The Perfect Stranger technically doesn’t count since it was a reread)! And only five books were three stars or below, so I’m not complaining.

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now. 
The Perfect Stranger – by Megan Miranda REREAD // Castle Of Water – by Dane Huckelbridge // Small Great Things – by Jodi Picoult

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 
Sleep Tight – by Caroline Mitchell // The Millionaire’s Wife – by Shalini Boland

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!
Blood Moon – by John David Bethel // The Red Hunter – by Lisa Unger // This Is Really Happening – by Erin Chack

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!
The Start Of Me And You – by Emery Lord // Life Sentence – by Lily Luchesi // Among Friends – by Heather Murray // Ginny Moon – by Benjamin Ludwig // Riven by Belinda Crawford

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 
The Color Purple – by Alice Walker // Miranda’s Rights – by Lily Luchesi // Never Fade – by Alexandra Bracken // What Doesn’t Kill You – by Ed James

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.
The Car Bomb – by T.V. LoCicero

Somehow I have joined way more challenges than usual this year, but at least I’ve already made a lot of progress with most of them so far. I should really start working on both my Reading Through The Centuries and Beat The Backlist challenge again; although it will probably have to wait until next month.

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals…I managed to maintain my Netgalley ratio above 80%, read a classic and reread a book, which I’m pretty happy about. I haven’t done much about the other goals though, but I’m hoping to read at least one classic and hopefully a Dutch/Spanish book in May…

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 5 classics (rereads don’t count) 1/5 (The Color Purple)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 2/5 (Shades Of Magic, The Dominion Trilogy)
  • Reread at least 3 books 1/3 (The Perfect Stranger)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 250 books 303/250
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages (maximum at 624 pages)
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 0/1
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 82%
  • Start a Twitter account and use it regularly
  • Reach 5km running! 2000m/5000m

Happy May and Happy Reading! 

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