How I wish I could say I read a bunch of books in April. Sadly though, I only finished three. They were all different genres. Unfortunately, only one was a favorite. Without further adieu, here are my April 2024 reads.
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3 Stars
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez (Historical Fiction)
1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name has been all but forgotten—certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist. Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.
This story was told in two alternating timelines: artist Anita de Monte in 1985 and college student Raquel in 1998. I found Raquel’s storyline to be more interesting. I learned after reading this book that it’s based on actual artist Ana Mendieta, which I wish I knew prior to reading. Overall, I found this book to be slow and difficult to get into. I didn’t read Gonzalez’s previous book, Olga Dies Dreaming, which people seemed to love.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (Science Fiction)
A powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control. Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard. She’s learning, too. Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?
I don’t remember where I heard about this book – it was either recommended in a podcast or Instagram post. It’s basically about a human and his relationship with a sentient sex robot. It’s scary to think that this can possibly happen in the future. Although I’m not a huge sci-fi reader, I found this to be an interesting, read.
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter (YA/Romance)
Perfect for fans of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, this “sweet and funny” (Kerry Winfrey, author of Waiting for Tom Hanks ) teen rom-com follows a hopelessly romantic teen girl and her cute yet obnoxious neighbor as they scheme to get her noticed by her untouchable crush. Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet. The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.
This was such a cute YA book! It’s the enemies to lovers and fake relationship trope. But it’s done so well! If you enjoy rom-coms, you’ll love all the quotes and references made. There’s even a Spotify playlist of songs. There are mini books with a full sequel expected to be published later this year. I am interested in reading some of Painter’s other books since I enjoyed this one so much!
What was your favorite April 2024 read?
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