What I read in April...

April was a great month of reading for me! I'm sharing the titles I read this month, plus a little review, if you're interested in adding a new title to your lineup. 😊

#1 The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing and Healing

I started the month reading this book and it was a heavy one. It's a memoir written by a woman who was addicted to a variety of drugs. It details her journey through recovery, including time spent in jail. I feel as if I live a fairly sheltered life, and am unaware of the ins and outs of jail, so I was truly shocked to learn about the amount of drugs done in jail. This book had a happy ending, which I needed. Overall it was a good read, and one I was happy I picked up. 

#2 The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matter, Ditch What Doesn't and Get Stuff Done

My recommendation: read this book ahead of a large to-do list or house project. Haha. It's a fun little read that will inspire you to live life like a genius. It gives ideas of how to simplify things, and make life easier. My favorite takeaway was this: buy the same birthday gift for all of the birthday parties your child goes to. Determine ahead of the year how much you plan to spend per birthday party, and buy that gift each time a birthday party arises. Alternatively, you could buy several of those gifts to keep on hand for parties. I loved this genius hack!

 

#3 The Castaways: A Novel

I felt like I needed a little Elin Hilderbrand towards the end of my month. 😉 This author has written countless books, all set on Nantucket, and I only discovered her a few years ago. I'm gradually chipping away at them and typically read one when I need something happy. In this book, it tells the story of a group of friends who call themselves the "Castaways." One of the couples tragically dies, and lots of questions come out about hidden alliances and relationships. This book was certainly deeper than most of Elin's books, but I loved all of the Nantucket references. 

And Lastly...

#4 Darling Girls: A Novel

I think I'm still recovering from this one. Haha. Sally Hepworth released this book in April and I love her writing. Generally her writing is very suspenseful, and it typically takes me less than 24 hours to finish her books. Needless to say, I try to read them when I know I don't have much going on in the evenings. This book contains lots of references to child abuse, which can be alarming to read. In fact, I felt like there should have been a warning about it (and maybe I missed it) prior to the first chapter. I loved reading about the strong bond of the three "sisters," I loathed their foster care mother, and this book had me guessing until the very final page. It was a good one, but it was a lot. 

That's it for April! I need some happy, light books for May. If you have any, let me know! XX