April was a pretty good month. And my books (while rom-com heavy), we’re very much all over the place! But I read 9 books. A total of 2,735 pages. An average of 91 pages per day. Not too shabby. So let’s get into it!
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende (307 pages). The queen of magical realism. Eva Luna is born to a professor’s maid and a gardener. She is orphaned at a young age. But Eva was born with the gift of storytelling. And with that gift, meets amazing people and creates a wonderful life. Along the way, she finds an adopted abuela who is obsessed with her own coffin, a transgendered woman who becomes a famous actress, a Turkish shop owner who is her first lover, a young street urchin who becomes a guerrilla warfare leader, and a refuge who becomes a newsman and her life partner. The stories are amazing in how they intertwine. I finished in 5 days.
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (257 pages). Nora Hamilton is a romance channel screenwriter and has that formula down pat. But she finally writes a script unlike any other when her husband (who loved her money, liked their kids and hated work) left her and she turned her life into a movie. The role of her ex-husband goes to perpetual bachelor and former Sexiest Man Alive Leo Vance. But after a few days of filming at their house, Leo shows back up, begging to stay for the week. At $1000 a day. Nora can’t turn down that offer. And suddenly, her life is every rom-com she’s ever written. But no rom-com is smooth sailing. And for a normal woman dating a super celebrity, the path to love is always rocky. This was a super cute rom-com! As we discussed in my book club, it was a typical rom com with some atypical tropes. I finished in 2 days.
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (292 pages). Before Peter Pan lost his heart to Wendy Darling, Tiger Lily lost her heart to him. Narrated by everyone’s favorite faerie, Tinkerbell, this is the story of a young girl who fell in love with a boy. And lost him to another girl. This Neverland was a little less magic, but still 100% magical. Tiger Lily is a bit of an outcast in her village. And betrothed to a brute of a man. Then she meets Peter and his Lost Boys. She slowly loses her heart to him. But then, as her world in her village is falling apart thanks to the arrival of Englanders, she loses Peter to Wendy. Forever. I loved this version of the Pan story. I finished in 3 days.
Her Sister’s Death by KL Murphy (314 pages). This was my January Once Upon a Book Club box. Yes, I’ve been hoarding them. The gifts were great (and on social, like usual). In 1921, the Franklin Hotel is THE hotel in Baltimore. And Bridget Wallace is set to spend her wedding night there. But the man she married isn’t the man she thought he was. And she quickly learns that darkness exists in people and places. In present day, crime reporter Val Ritter is hot on a story. But this one is personal. Her sister allegedly committed suicide at the Franklin. Val doesn’t believe it and, with the help of retired detective Terry Martin, Val looks into the dark history of the Franklin. I finished in 3 days.
You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M McManus (323 pages). Overachiever Ivy, outsider Cal and heartthrob Mateo became friends when the skipped out on a school field trip in sixth grade and had the Greatest Day Ever. But by eighth grade, their friendship had run its course. And by senior year, they are merely classmates. Until they run into each other on the way into class and decide to skip. They each have a good reason. But when they see another classmate in Boston, they follow him to the scene of his murder. And from there, have to figure out who killed him and why. Before one of them is the next victim. I finished in 3 days.
Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn (331 pages). This was my February Once Upon a Book Club box. Georgie Mulcahy has always been a fly by the seat of your pants, thrives in chaos gal. So being a successful personal assistant in LA was the perfect job for her. Until she suddenly finds herself jobless and back in her hometown, a blank slate of life ahead of her. When she digs up her old “friend fic” diary that she and her best friend wrote, she decides that there’s no time like the present to finish all her dreams. And right by her side is the town hermit, Levi Fanning, a man she never knew until she found him living in her parents’ house! Slowly, they each begin to realize that the blank futures that scared them might just be tied up in each other. I love a good chick lit. And this one was delightful! I finished in 3 days.
Within these Wicked Walls by (324 pages). Andromeda is a debtera, an exorcist for the church in Ethiopia. She is hired by Magnus Rochester to rid his house of the Evil Eye. Magnus needs these manifestations gone and Andi needs this job. Andi was trained by one of the greatest debteras, but none of her training prepared her for the truth of the Evil Eye that has cursed this family. It was a little bit Jane Eyre, a little bit Exorcist, and a little bit magical realism, all rolled into one. I won’t say I loved it, but I was definitely intrigued by it. I finished in 5 days.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (270 pages). Okay, full disclosure. This is one of my favorite Anne Hathaway movies. And the book was even better. A little bit different. Ella of Frell is giving the blessing (or curse) of obedience at birth by the fairy Lucinda. But Ella is rebellious by nature (or maybe because of the curse). So she tries her best to not obey. At least not immediately. But can love of self or love of another give Ella enough strength to finally break the curse and live happily ever after? I finished in 2 days.
Talk Bookish to me by Kate Bromley (317 pages). Kara Sullivan is a best selling romance novelist who hasn’t found herself too lucky in love since her first love, Ryan Thompson. But with a book deadline looming and her best friend’s wedding happening, Kara has no time for romance. When Ryan shows up as one of the groomsmen, Kara is floored. Everything she ever felt for him comes flooding back. And it doesn’t seem like she’s alone in her feelings. But the path to true love is never easy. And sometimes the second time isn’t the charm. Or is it? This book was super cute chick lit! I finished in 5 days.
This month’s favorite was…..Nora Goes Off Script. In this month’s apparent battle of the rom-coms, this one edged out the rest by a hair.
