April Reads {2022}

Today I’m sharing my April reads. It was a pretty good reading month with seven books read, most of which were pretty good reads! Sadly, last month I missed linking up to Steph and Jana’s monthly Show Us Your Books linkup because we were on a Caribbean cruise celebrating my daughter’s 16th birthday. I guess that’s a pretty good reason to not be able to link up! But here’s my March reads, if you are interested in checking them out.

3 stars

Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter – (Contemporary Romance, July 2022) c/o Netgalley – Aja moves to the small South Carolina town of Greenbelt. Walker is back in the town he grew up in, only to take care of his grandmother. The two meet and end up making a bingo-based sex pact. Yes, as in the game that the two play weekly and sometimes biweekly. The main character is a plus-sized woman. While I feel like the author wanted to showcase this aspect, it sometimes felt overdone. Aja suffers from anxiety which I thought was explored well. Warning, the sex scenes are pretty steamy.

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo – (Contemporary Romance, May 2017) The book opens with Lucy having to make a huge decision. The story is the background leading up to this decision. Lucy and Gabe meet on 9/11, whose events shape their lives and the meaning they want them to have. The two eventually start dating but their career choices lead them on different life paths. However, the two remain connected, which ends up effecting Lucy’s life. I listened to this as a book on CD during my work commute. I didn’t like Lucy or Gabe and thought they were both selfish in their own ways. When the two main characters are unlikeable, it’s not a winning book for me.

The Therapist by B. A. Paris – (Suspense/Thriller, July 2021) Alice and Leo move into a gated community. Then Alice learns a secret about the house they are living in which changes everything. I listened to this on CD during my commute to work. I’ve had mixed reviews of the other B.A. Paris books I’ve read. Some I’ve enjoyed, some, like this one, were just okay.

Yolk by March H.K. Choi – (YA, March 2021) Jayne and June are sisters who both live in NYC but have been estranged for years. The two end up rekindling their relationship when June is diagnosed with cancer. I thought this book portrayed the realness and complexity of family relationships as well as the struggle Jayne has with her eating disorder.

4 stars

Home Made by Liz Hauck – (Memoir/Nonfiction, June 2021) After her father passes away, Liz Hauck decides to implement the weekly cooking program at the residential home where he worked. This was a project that the two had discussed and planned but were never able to get started before he died. Each week she shows up to the home to cook with the teen boys. Sometimes, she cooks and they just eat, but other times, they participate. Most of the time Liz used her own money to purchase the ingredients for the cooking program. Hearing some of the boys’ stories are heartbreaking. She really made connections with some of them over the three years that the program ran. I read this book for my local foodie book club. If it hadn’t been chosen, I would have never heard of it. I really enjoyed it, but it does make you think about our social welfare systems.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – (Science Fiction, May 2021) Ryland Grace is on a suicide mission to save planet Earth…no big deal! The book alternates between past and present as we discover how he got to where he is. This was Goodreads 2021 science fiction winner and I can see why. For someone who doesn’t really enjoy sci-fi, Weir writes stories that suck me in! I do gloss over the technical/science-y talk, but this storyline was so intriguing. The movie, starring Ryan Gosling is currently in production and I can’t wait to see it!

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain – (Contemporary Fiction/Mystery, January 2006)

From Goodreads, “In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child. CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make. Tell the truth, and destroy her family. Or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies…”

I found this book in the cruise library, when I discovered that I had failed to download all the digital books I had borrowed from the library, and was looking for something to read. I have not picked up a Chamberlain book that I haven’t enjoyed and this one was no exception.