April 2021 Wrap-Up
- May 6, 2021
- 5 min read
If you are like me, then the month of April was a complete whirlwind, and you feel like it just passed you by. Between the last bits of assignments, the end of classes, and of course, the nice weather, it feels like I barely had time to sit down and properly read.
If you remember my March wrap-up, I had read about 10 books during the month, all of which were pretty diverse in their genre and writing style. However, the month of April has been a complete opposite. With (only) 5 books read - two of which are re-reads - it feels like I have not spent that much time with a book in hand. Hopefully, I will have more time to read in May!
Nevertheless, here is a (small) wrap-up of the books that I have read in April.
Rule of Wolves, Leigh Bardugo
April for me was definitely a Leigh Bardugo month! Between the release of Rule fo Wolves at the end of March, and of course the TV show coming out in April (more on that later), I was very much obsessed with the Grishaverse this month.
Rule of Wolves is the second book in the King of Scars duology, and also, the last book in the grishaverse (at least for a little while according to Leigh Bardugo). I will try to be as spoiler-free as I can, but if you have not read Rule of Wolves yet and plan on doing so very soon, I would recommend skipping to the next book in my wrap-up.
This novel follows Nikolai, King of Ravka, as he must deal with the return of the Darkling, the tensions between his country and Fjerda as well as Shu Han, and a brewing war. At the same time, Nina, undercover in an upstanding Fjerdan household, tries her best to help her country while surviving in the enemy's country.
The entire novel is, in my opinion, the most political out of the 7 grishaverse novels, which makes it a little slower than Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows. While it is a little bit more fast paced than King of Scars, it still isn't an action-packed novel.
Rule of Wolves truly feels like an ending of some sort. We get to see most of the characters from the Grishaverse once again, and, as Leigh Bardugo said in one of her interviews, it feels like everyone gets some sort of ending. I was very emotional reading this, and for the last 100 pages or so, I kept on crying, because it really felt like saying goodbye to these characters who have been with me for years now. In a way I would say that it felt a bit like when I watched Avengers Endgame, in the sense that it brought all of the characters together in one way or another, and it had this jubilant feeling to it when you see them interacting and mentioning each other.
I ended up giving it 5 stars (of course) and I am now waiting for my friends to read it so that we cna finally discuss it! If you are a fan of the Grishaverse, you probably have already read it (and if you did please let me know, I would love to talk about it with you). And if you haven't, I hope that you will soon; it is truly an experience!
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, Leigh Bardugo
Spoiler alert: 3 of the 5 books I have read are Grishaverse books. In preparation for the show (and because Rule of Wolves really wrecked me) I reread the Six of Crows duology in less than a week. And it will be no surprise that they are still my favourite books. This duology is the one that got me back into reading, after years and years of not picking up books (for the most part thanks to the school system), but after my cousin got me Six of Crows for Christmas, I decided to give it a try and got completely sucked into it - and look at where I ended up!
If you don't know what Six of Crows is, you can think of it as a sort of YA, fantasy version of Ocean 11. The plot follows 6 characters, all different and special in their own way, as they try to perform an impossible heist. I will not say much more about it, mostly because I have realized that these books are really hard to describe, and whatever I say will never do them justice.
Rereading them felt a little bit like coming back full circle, especially since I have not reread them since I got back into reading, and even though I have now discovered so many amazing books, they will both have a special place in my heart. And also, have you seen how pretty these collector's editions are?
Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro
I have a full review of Klara and the Sun up on my blog, which you can find here.
I have very mixed feelings about this novel. I think that a part of me had really high expectations for it. Kazuo Ishiguro is a very hyped author, and a lot of people have said that even though they do not enjoy Science Fiction as a genre, Ishiguro has managed to write some of their favourite books despite the genre. However, I sort of felt like I missed the point of it all, and while it was entertaining and easy to read - unlike a lot of SF novels in my opinion - it was not that great.
A lot of people have said that this was not his best work, and I will not let it deter me; I still want to read some of his other novels.
If you were wondering whether or not you should read this one, my advice would be to maybe read another one of his novels, or, if you really want to read this one, maybe do not go in with too much expectation; it is the best way to be disappointed.
Women & Power: a Manifesto, Mary Beard
Women and Power is made of two essays by Mary Beard on the relationship between women and power, and how the way we perceive women in power is influenced by Ancient Greece and the many different characters in myths and stories from the Antiquity.
This was part of my reading for my dissertation, so a part of me thinks of it as school work, which makes it hard to actually give my full opinion on it, but overall, it was a really easy and quick read. If you are interested in the influence of mythology on society, as well as some feminist theory, I would definitely recommend this book.
In other news, I have a podcast now! I will try to post a new episode every Wednesday, and you can find it on Spotify here. I am so happy to finally be starting this project, as I have been trying to make it come true for a few months now. In each episode, I will be talking book recommendations, reviews and everything in-between!
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on those books, or if you just want to talk about books with me, you can find me on Instagram here.
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