April Reading Recap

Adventures in bookish buzz

I read fourteen books in April and when I started compiling my list for this newsletter, I realized that I actually liked most of them? It was a nice reminder of some titles I thoroughly enjoyed, especially after a string of titles I was medium on towards the end of the month. Best of all, I read two books that I want to spend the whole year recommending to anyone who’ll stand still long enough to listen.

Favorites of the month

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

This book about two ER doctors falling in love via letters, one incredibly generous act, and a healthy dose of fake dating made me giddy. Sprinting across town to the airport last-minute to profess my love kind of giddy. Yours Truly is a generous, loving book and very likely one of my favorite romances of the year. The ways that Jacob and Briana showed up for and supported each other made me swoon. I 1000% believed in their relationship and its longevity, especially with how skillfully Jimenez builds the emotional connection between them before they even get together. It's the perfect blend of humor and depth and includes a very good dog, a series of excellent letters, a quirky family for the ages, and the most exquisite slow burn. (Open door, moderate steam, albeit on the lower end of moderate.)

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

I loved this warm, beautifully written book about two couples who are brought together when the men are both asked to take up the minister position at a New York City church in the 1960's. Wall's prose is full of wonderful images and each sentence is carefully crafted but there's a flow to it that still keeps the story rushing forward. All four of the central characters are so real and nuanced--I just felt like I knew these people and their world. This book doesn't shy away from hard things but also treats them with such compassion and hope, which makes for my absolute favorite kind of literary fiction. If you like friendship novels and haven’t picked this one up, seek it out immediately.

Really liked

The Fiancee Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

This modern day marriage of convenience romance between a shy bookstore owner and a newspaper heiress is half screwball comedy and half heartfelt love story. It has quirky side characters straight out of a 1930’s farce, juicy rich people drama, and a really adorable romance between Gemma and Tansy. One of the things I enjoy so much about Bellefleur’s writing is her ability to capture both the sheer force of physical attraction and the quieter moments of emotional connection between her main characters and this book is no exception. She also writes the best grand gestures and rom-com worthy happy endings. I finished this book and could practically hear the classic pop song playing over a shot of Gemma and Tansy kissing as the camera pans away over a scenic view of Seattle and I would like that rom-com immediately. (Open door, high steam.)

Snowspelled and Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis

This clever light Regency fantasy romance series is set in an alternate version of England where Boudicca defeated the Romans centuries ago, ruled by canny female politicians and where the emotional and irrational business of magic is left to men. Our heroine Cassandra Harwood was the first female magician in Angland…until a devastating magical accident took away her abilities. Burgis deftly packs in a lot of worldbuilding in a short number of pages without ever resorting to infodumps and paints a nuanced portrait of a society on the brink of change. This series also has great secondary characters, especially Cassandra’s close-knit and loving family, and a moving second-chance romance between Cassandra and her ex-fiance. If you’re interested in giving historical fantasy a try, this would be a great place to start. (Closed door.)

My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin

A sharply rendered coming-of-age story about a young woman at an elite college in the 90’s who embarks on an ill-advised affair with a professor after a nonconsensual encounter with a classmate. The way this book explores consent is thoughtful and fascinating, especially against the backdrop of its 90's setting, and there's a scene early on in the book that so effectively captures the grey areas of consent. Isabel herself is complicated but compelling and some of my favorite parts of the book revolved around her creative coming of age, as she struggles to find her voice and learn to value her own artistic talents.  I also loved her relationship with her father and thought some of the writing was so striking on a sentence level. There's a particularly stunning passage near the end of the book that's still stuck in my head. If you like sad girl lit fic, this might be for you.

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins

Beverly Jenkins’ latest novel features a grifter heroine and an honorable hero who team up to steal back a copy of the Declaration of Independence and have to fake being married in order to do it. I really liked Raven, who's a wonderful mix of tough and vulnerable, the swoony chemistry between her and Braxton, and the way he takes care of her and shows her affection throughout the book. I also enjoyed the amount of historical detail in the book, especially for lesser known pieces of history, and the family that Raven comes from, who combine a knack for cons with unwavering love and support for each other. Everything I’ve read from Jenkins has felt so solid and satisfying and I’m looking forward to exploring more of her backlist this year.

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li

A gripping story of female friendship, obsession, and creativity about two friends in rural France and the elaborate games they play with each other. I really wish I'd read this with a book club, because I feel like there's so much to unpack and discuss. I’m still a little unsure on where I netted out with this one, particularly because I was totally compelled while reading but never quite connected with it emotionally the way that I like to with literary fiction. However, the sheer skill on display in this book ultimately landed it in the “really liked” tier. The writing is undeniably accomplished and I was impressed by how Li evokes post-war France without leaning on tropes, captures the complicated dynamics between Agnes and Fabienne, and reflects on the meaning of genius. Both thematically and stylistically, this reminded me of The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante and would be an excellent read-alike. 

Red Blossom in Snow by Jeannie Lin

An engrossing historical romance/mystery set in Tang Dynasty China with two main characters who have been pining for each other on an epic level for eons. I picked this up without having read the previous installments in the series and although I didn’t feel like I needed that background knowledge, I did find myself wishing that I’d read in order, especially with the glimpses we get of other couples in the series. Lin's prose is really lovely and conveys such depths of emotion without ever feeling overwrought. I also loved the way that she captures the world of Tang Dynasty China. There's so many wonderful historical details but the research never overwhelms. The longing between the two main characters is top-notch and I'd recommend this to anyone looking for historical romance set outside 19th century England. 

Liked, with an occasional quibble

A Certain Appeal by Vanessa King

This Pride and Prejudice retelling takes the story to a New York City burlesque club, where sparks fly almost immediately between stage kitten Liz Bennet and buttoned-up wealth manager Will Darcy. I enjoyed the lovingly rendered burlesque setting, the found family elements, the palpable attraction between the two main characters, the banter, and that this felt like a fresh take on Pride and Prejudice, including making Jane and Bingley a queer couple. But this also made me realize that, while I don’t want a beat for beat recreation, I do want the key Pride and Prejudice moments in a retelling. This one is a bit of an odd mix, because there are moments where the characters quote directly from Austen but we're also missing some major plot points and characters entirely. In particular, I wanted the fateful letter Darcy sends Lizzie to be more of a turning point in their relationship.  Liz and Darcy had fantastic physical chemistry but I also would have liked to see a few more moments of emotional connection between them as well. 

Anatomy by Dana Schwartz

As a Gothic story and as a portrait of a headstrong heroine, I loved this but I don't know if the romance worked 100% or even was necessary? Hazel, who’s determined to be a surgeon despite the expectations placed upon her by high society, is an appealing, easy to root for heroine and Schwartz’s writing especially shines when she’s showcasing Hazel’s love of medicine. The descriptions of 1817 Edinburgh are wonderfully done and there's a sense of Gothic atmosphere that pervades the book, from Hazel's blood red dresses to the smoke and fog filling the streets of the city. It's a fast and compelling read that’s easy to get lost in. The one thing that didn't quite work for me is the romance, which is a very minor plot element through most of the book and then becomes quite important at the very end, when I don't know if it's earned that importance? But I enjoyed this and will absolutely be picking up the sequel. 

When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky by Margaret Verble

An impeccably researched historical novel set in 1920's Nashville with a cornucopia of plots and characters, a wonderful sense of time and place, and some supernatural elements I really enjoyed. For me, this was a little overstuffed--it felt like Verble had done so much research and stumbled upon so many fascinating pieces of history that she wanted to get them all in there--but I really felt immersed in the world of the novel and appreciated a different perspective on the 1920's. This is a book you have to take your time with and that rewards discussion. After talking about it with the Fiction Matters book club, I certainly liked it more than I did upon initially finishing it. Recommended if you’re looking for well-written historical fiction that feels like something different in the genre.

I continue to have a lot of feelings about it and it resists categorization

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

I was looking forward to the latest Curtis Sittenfeld so much. I think her writing is lively, smart, and engaging and was hoping for both an excellent love story and some clever commentary on modern dating and relationships. However, this romance between a cynical comedy writer and dreamy pop star feels a little bit like a romance novel for people who don't like romance novels. Sittenfeld has a very jokey way of writing the romance here, holding the genre at arms’ length, that didn't quite land for me. The first two parts worked better for me, as I found the inside baseball of the obvious SNL analogue much of the book is set at fascinating and thought the epistolary elements were zippy and charming. But the third part really fell flat. Once again, as the novel sped towards its conclusion, I was hopefully looking for a character arc for the male protagonist and once again, there was nothing to be found. While Sally gets to be complicated and flawed, in classic Sittenfeld style, Noah is just...perfect? I think a hero who grows and changes over the course of the story is much more interesting than one who stands around being his flawless self and waiting for the heroine to figure herself out.

Fine, if overhyped

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

An extremely buzzy but ultimately underwhelming family drama set among an old money Brooklyn Heights family. I was hoping for rich people behaving badly and instead I got rich people behaving mediocrely? I liked the sense of getting a peek into another side of New York and chuckled at some of the family's eccentricities but the characters felt flat. I found myself longing for both a sharper social satire and a more complex interrogation of the family’s privilege. I could see this being a very popular beach read this summer but there's a lot of juicier family dramas out there. 

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Currently reading: The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews. I’m diving into Matthews’ backlist, starting with the Parish Orphans of Devon series, and savoring her elegant writing and subtle character development.

What’s bringing me joy this week:

• I’m in the home stretch of editing this draft of my novel! I often find endings tricky but I know exactly what needs to happen with this one and it feels so good.

• Catching up with Below Deck Sailing Yacht, number one trash TV show of my heart. This season has already given us boat engine troubles, nightmare guests, and the beginnings of a love hexagon of epic proportions.

• My incredibly soft new leggings from Quince. I’ve had these sitting in my shopping cart for ages and have no regrets about finally taking the plunge. They’re super comfortable and the perfect yoga leggings.