I just can’t believe it’s May already! The time is flying by so fast… It’s been a while since I was able to read this much during a month, because I was able to read a whopping 27! books during April. I guess it shows that I’ve been racing to catch up with ARCs? I did have two new DNF and a couple other lower ratings… But I was able to read plenty of fantastic books as well, so I’m still calling it a win.

The bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in April: 27
  • Total number of books read in 2024: 97
  • Total number of pages read in April: 9.631
  • Total number of pages read in 2024: 33.947

APRIL 2024 READS

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now. 

The Fountains Of Silence (BUDDY REREAD) – by Ruta Sepetys

4.75 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic!

Nightwatching – by Tracy Sierra // Yule Island – by Johana Gustawsson

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic!

The Alliance – by Matt Brolly // Final Call – by Alex Lake // Pop Idle – by Dave Dawson // The Last Hunt – by Audrey J. Cole // Life, Loss, And Puffins – by Catherine Ryan Hyde // Guilty Mothers – by Angela Marsons

4.25 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

The Library Of Borrowed Hearts – by Lucy Gilmore // The Door-To-Door Bookstore – by Carsten Henn // The Family Experiment – by John Marrs // Her Dying Secret – by Lisa Regan // The Offing – by Roz Nay

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!

The Darkest Water – by Mark Edwards

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!

A Game Of Lies – by Clare Mackintosh // Behind A Closed Door – by J.D. Barker

3.25 STARS. It was a nice read, but not fantastic.

Loyally, Luke – by Pepper Basham // Nachtzwemmen – by Lucy Clarke // The Next Girl – by Carla Kovach

3 STARS. It was a nice read, but not fantastic.

Mercy – by David Baldacci

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting.

A Leap Of Faith For The Cornish Midwife – by Jo Bartlett // The Summer Swap – by Sarah Morgan // Into The Flames – by James Delargy

2.25 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’. 

Prickly Company – by Kitty Johnson

0 STARS (DNF): I didn’t even bother to finish this one. Either horrible or definitely not for me!

The Paradox Hotel – by Rob Hart // Anatomy Of A Killer – by Romy Hausmann

I ended up signing up for more challenges than planned, but I’ve made more progress than expected already. I actually already completed my Netgalley challenge only four months in! And since I have 25+ pending ARCs still, I’ve decided to increase that goal to 100.

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals: things are looking up with my international author goal as well as my journey through the US… And I also finished both my reread goal and Dutch book goal during April! My ARC ratio is pretty much a disaster though, and with the amount of pending ARCs I have I don’t see this improving much in the rest of 2024 haha.

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 3 (modern) classics (rereads don’t count) 1/3 (Winnie-The-Pooh)
  • Complete at least 6 series (rereads don’t count) 2/6 (Juniper Meadows // Atlee Pine)
  • Reread at least 2 books 2/2 DONE!!  (Rivers Of London // The Fountains Of Silence)
  • Read at least one book over 600 pages 0/1 (513 pages; A Minute To Midnight)
  • Keep ARC/backlist title ratio below 40% 61.9%
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2  (..)
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 1/1 DONE!! (Nachtzwemmen)
  • Read at least 15 international authors and/or translations 12/15  (Don’t Let Her Go (Denmark) // When She Left (Panama) // Cold As Hell (Iceland) // You Can’t See Me (Iceland) // All That We Never Were (Spain) // The Waves Take You Home (Colombia) // Forgotten Sisters (Puerto Rico) // Good Half Gone (South Africa) // The Door-To-Door Bookstore (Germany) // Yule Island (France) // Anatomy Of A Killer (Germany) // Nachtzwemmen (Dutch tr.))
  • Read at least 10 TBR jar picks 3/10 (Long Road To Mercy // Baby Grand // The Paradox Hotel)
  • Read at least 10 kindle freebies 2/10 (Baby Grand // The Next Girl)
  • Travel through the 50 US states 34/50 (Alabama // Alaska // Arizona // California // Colorado // Connecticut // Delaware //  Florida // Georgia // Hawaii // Idaho // Illinois // Iowa // Kentucky // Maine // Maryland // Massachusetts // Minnesota // Montana // Nebraska // Nevada // New Jersey // New Mexico // New York // North Carolina // Ohio // Oregon // Pennsylvania // Texas // Utah // Virginia // Washington // West Virginia // Wisconsin)
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% 97%

Have a wonderful May and happy reading!

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