Hello!  We’re back with my April Reading Round-Up.  I’ve read some great books this month, and read several on audio, so let’s get started!

• Ebony Gate by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle.  I have mixed feelings about this adult urban fantasy.  I haven’t seen John Wick, so I don’t know how this book compares to that movie, but a female retired assassin getting pulled into the world she left behind is absolutely something I’m going to read. I thought the magic system was really cool, especially because it involves dragons.  It was explained pretty well, in my opinion.  I thought that Emiko’s backstory could have been a lot less vague, because her story and how she ended up in San Francisco could have been a lot more direct.  That made this book seem more like the second book in a series, not the first, and I did have to double check to make sure I wasn’t reading the sequel.  It’s also really slow-paced, which is weird, because the book takes place over a couple of days, so it should have moved at a much faster pace.  There was a lot of information at the beginning, and it felt like everything was going to be important, only to not be as important as I thought.  The ending was pretty drawn out as well.  I’m definitely interested in seeing what happens next, but I’m also not rushing out to pick up the sequel.
• Mall Goth by Kate Keth, Diana Sousa (colorist) and Robin Crank (letterist).  I loved this YA contemporary graphic novel!  It’s set in the early 2000’s, and it brought back a lot of memories for this millenial!  It reminded me of the times I’d wander around the mall in high school, which wasn’t a lot, but something I still did.  The mall was such a big thing, and 20 years after graduating high school, the mall is a place I rarely frequent.  There’s family drama, friend drama, and being the new kid.  Plus, creepy English teachers, and I kind of wish we got some resolution on that, but at the very least, Liv did tell her mom, who was going to go to the principal, so at there is that.  If you’re nostalgic for the early 2000’s and mall culture, this is a good one to read!
• The Davenports: More Than This by Krystal Marquis, narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt.  I liked this YA historical fiction, but not as much as the first one.  It looks like this is a duology, but I think there is room for more stories set in this world if Marquis ever wanted to revisit it.  I loved seeing what was going on with Helen, Olivia, Ruby and Amy-Rose, and I was definitely rooting for Helen and Ruby.  I was glad everything worked out for all of them, especially Helen and Amy-Rose.  I think the wait between finishing the first book and starting the second didn’t really help with my ambivalence towards the sequel.  As much as I loved seeing them get their happy endings, especially with how the first book ended, I also thought the first book worked pretty well as a stand-alone.  I mean, I’m glad I got another book set in this world, I just didn’t have the same excitement for the sequel.  I think it’s still worth checking out, because I did like it.  It’s a solid sequel.
• A Queen’s Game by Katherine McGee.  This one is a YA historical fiction, and while I wasn’t sure about it at first, I ended up really liking it.  I loved her American Royals series, and I think McGee is great at writing about powerful young women.  Alix Of Hesse was the only one I had heard of before this book, but Helen and May were interesting to read about, and I definitely want to know more about them.  The story is pretty resolved, and it works well as a standalone, but I think there is a lot of potential as far as sequels go.  None are currently listed, so it’s a standalone for now, but I’d be curious to see where the story goes, should McGee return to this world.  I loved that McGee talked about the secrets these young women have, and how much they stood to lose because of it, especially in comparison to the young men they fall in love with.  There are some things mentioned by all three women that I’m still thinking about.
• Most Likely by Sarah Watson, narrated by Christie Moreau.  I loved this YA contemporary!  I loved seeing who ended up as president, and it really could have been any of the four girls we see in the book.  I wasn’t surprised by who it was, but it was still great seeing who it was.  I really want to read it again, because I think it would be cool to re-read it knowing the big reveal.  I wasn’t trying to figure it out, because I was just along for the ride.  I was sad that they had to take their husbands last name just to get votes, but considering we haven’t elected extremely capable, qualified and competent women in real life, it’s not that surprising.  It was an interesting, fun read.
• Momo Arashima Steals The Sword Of The Wind by Misa Sugiura.  This middle grade fantasy was fun!  There was a lot going on, and I didn’t help that I was reading as fast I could before I had to return the e-book to the library.  I’ll have to check it out again and actually read it way before the due date.  Momo has a lot going on at home, and fitting in seems to be really hard for her.  I think that’s something we can all relate to, and she grew a lot over the course of the book.  It is the first book in a series, so it’ll be fun to see what adventures she has in the rest of the series.

• The Scorpion And The Night Blossom by Amelie Wen Zhao, narrated by Annie Q.  This YA fantasy was my book club’s pick for April, and the group was pretty split in how we saw the book.  I liked it, but I wasn’t surprised by any of the plot twists.  The concept is cool, but I wish we had more of the trials.  The audio book was pretty good, but I was listening to it at work, so there were chunks of time where I wasn’t paying attention.  I definitely missed out on some things because of it, and I’ve forgotten most of it already.  But if you like YA fantasy with elements of Chinese mythology, this is going to be up your alley.
• Break The Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli, narrated by Emily Zoo Weller.  I loved this YA contemporary!  It’s definitely for the gymnastics fans out there, and I loved the detail in Audrey’s routines.  I’ve never done gymnastics, but I’ve watched it enough over the years that I could picture all of her routines.  If gymnastics isn’t really your thing, it might be a little too detailed.  While I didn’t mind the detailed routines, I did find that the scenes where we had the updates to the rankings to be really tedious and repetitive.  It definitely captured the ups and downs of the Olympics, and Iacopelli definitely drew from the Larry Nassar case, so that is something to keep in mind with this book.  I also want to note that the book was published in February 2020, so the fictional 2002 Tokyo Olympics were not affected by COVID.  It is pretty predictable, and while I wasn’t surprised by how some of the events went, or by certain secrets some of the characters had, I still enjoyed the book.
• Accidental Demons by Clare Edge.  This Middle Grade fantasy was great!  It’s about Ber, a pre-teen, Type 1 diabetic blood witch, who summons a demon virtually every time she checks her blood sugar.  She, along with her family, stumbles into a mystery with a nearby coven, and it’s a race against time trying to solve it.  Ber learns a lot about magic, other witches and magical creatures, as well as learning to manage her diabetes.  I was also sad that a continuous blood glucose monitor wasn’t covered by her insurance (because America has an absolutely ridiculous healthcare system), and she had to deal with identifying and banishing demons multiple times a day.  It’s easily one of my favorites from April.
• Wild Tongues Can’t By Tamed, edited by Saraciea J. Fennell.  I really liked this YA essay collection, and there were some really good essays!  I loved Haitian Sensation by Ibi Zoboi, Cuban Imposter Syndrome by Zakiya N. Jamal, and Invisible by Ingrid Rojas Contreras.  It’s hard to pick the stand-outs, because there are some great essays, but those three are the ones that have stuck with me.  I loved reading their experiences, and while they all had very different experiences, we also saw how they struggled with their identity and fitting in.
• Legendborn and Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn.  These two books are actually re-reads for me, but I wanted to read them before starting Oathbound.  This series is so good, and if you haven’t read it, please run to your nearest library or bookstore and get them!  I love Bree so much, and I just want her to be okay, and make it through everything okay.  I’m only a few chapters into Oathbound, but I can’t wait to see where her story goes in Oathbound.  Am I being really vague?  Absolutely, but I don’t want to give anything away.

That’s all for today!  I’m headed up to YALLWEST on Saturday, and I’m super excited since the only time I’ve been in-person was back in 2019.  I did a few of the virtual ones they did during COVID, and it’ll be fun to wander around!  I’ll probably post a recap sometime next week, but until then, happy reading!