April Wrap Up & May TBR // A better month

I know everyone said this, but after the loooooong March, April felt like it was over in a week!

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! The end of April means that I have been staying home for 1.5 months and let’s just say, I found April was a better month for my mental health. In some aspects, there are things that worried me, but it wasn’t as bad as it was in March. Keeping myself busy and having time to unplug also helps!

🔪 = mystery/thriller; 🏰 = fantasy; 🎨 = graphic novel/illustrated books

1. DANGEROUS GIRLS by Abigail Haas 🔪 // ✰✰✰
2. A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG by Lee Hey {webtoon} // ✰✰✰✰✰
3. MERMAID MOON by Susann Cokal {eARC} 🏰 // ✰✰✰
4. THE GOOD SON by You-Jeong Jeong 🔪 // ✰✰✰✰
5. WORLD’S POOREST PRESIDENT SPEAKS UP by Yoshimi Kusaba {eARC} 🎨 // ✰✰✰✰✰
6. RUTHLESS GODS by Emily Duncan {eARC} 🏰 // ✰✰
7. THE ANGEL OF EVIL by Kenneth B. Andersen {eARC} // ✰✰✰
8. MY HEART, EVER HIS: PRAYERS FOR WOMEN by Barbara Rainey {eARC} // ✰✰

All links will lead you to my reviews.

I’m happy to report that I’ve read more this month! I read a total of 8 books this month, including 1 illustrated book and 1 webtoon. Out of all the books I’m reading, I have to say THE GOOD SON is my favorite. It’s more of a WHY done it instead of a who done it type of story and it was super uncomfortable to read, but I guess that’s what makes me like it. I know it sounds weird and counterproductive, but it’s been a while since I read anything that makes me feel so strongly. Oh, and the twists are brilliant!

1. HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW: FIXING HEALTHCARE FROM THE INSIDE OUT
2. EVERNIGHT by Claudia Gray
3. THE FALLEN ANGEL by Kenneth B. Andersen {eARC}
4. SAINTS AND SCOUNDRELS IN THE STORY OF JESUS by Nancy Guthrie {eARC}
5. HAPPILY EVER AFTER & EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN by Debbie Tung {eARC} 🎨

I don’t have a lot of books stacked up for next month, except a couple of eARCS that I need to read, but I’m still not sure which one I’ll read first which is why I don’t write them here. I also still need to finish leftover from April, HEIR TO THE UNDERWORLD. As part of the Asian Pasific Heritage Month, I want to tackle some books by Indonesian authors on my TBR but I’m not sure which ones I’ll read yet.

With a lot of people spending time at home, I noticed there are also more post than usual on my dashboard! Which, makes me really happy as a) I got more post to read and b) I see some of my old favorites making a comeback to the blogosphere 😁 I notice some themes this month:

• Magical readathons TBR
  • Jami’s Shelves TBR
  • Sofii @ A Book A Thought TBR
  • Not a TBR, but Merline @ Merline Reads created Instagram stories template for the readathon
  • Rebecca @ Bookishly Rebecca TBR
• Reading Rush TBR
  • Holly @ Nut Free Nerd TBR
  • Sabrina and Vera @ Wordy and Whimsical TBR
  • Ellyn @ Allonsythornraxx TBR
  • Destiny @ Howling Libraries TBR
  • May @ Forever and Everly TBR
  • Kyra @ Blog of A Bookaholic TBR
• Comforting reads recommendations
  • Sofii @ A Book A Thought recommendations of light & fluffy books to read
  • Caro @ Bookcheshirecat list of perfect comfort books
  • Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane recommendations of cosy and heartwarming contemporary books
  • Elizabeth @ Red Gal Musings comfort reads for hard times
  • Olivia @ Purely Olivia cozy and heartwarming books recommendations
  • May @ Forever and Everly 8 comfort reads
• Book hauls
  • Kal @ Reader Voracious February book haul and March book haul
  • Ellyn @ Allonsythornraxx March book haul
  • Kyra @ Blog of a Bookaholic book haul

Other post I loved this month:

• Divine @ Readivine review of the Tensorate series is just amazing, honestly one of the best review I’ve read ever!
• Nyx @ Drizzle and Hurricane questioned whether you’ll read books based on the  moodboard/aesthetics created for some books – without knowing the titles and summary.
• Looking for diverse books recommendations? May @ Forever and Everly recommended 20 books by author of color for you to read
• Sofii @ A Book A Thought read and review my favorite dystopian series ever, Legend trilogy by Marie Lu!
• Kat @ Novels and Waffles shared 2 reasons why she like and dislike blog tours
• Vicky @ What Vicky Reads recounted her experience meeting 11 (!!!) Harry Potter casts
• Trang @ Booktidote recommends retellings based on mythology that you like
• Hollie @ Hollie blog explains why book recaps need to be a thing

April was definitely a busy month! I admit it was my own making, for signing up on so many free online courses available because of the pandemic. I really enjoyed them all though, and they are all confirms what post-graduate degrees and career path I want to take, so I can’t really complaint, can I? 😅

Please don’t feel pressured with what I’m doing! After all, we’re in a middle of the pandemic and you shouldn’t feel pressured to be “productive”. I did those stuff because I have nothing to do and I am genuinely interested in all the courses offered, especially since I know they will help me to decide my career path in the future. I did mentioned that I started to feel the effect of quarantine and it’s true. I started to feel burned out because I was doing nothing, which was what prompted me to check out the courses.

Not a lot of other things happened. I started Bumble BFF because I miss meeting new people. I watched movies and shows. And I also been playing a lot of games, there is the old faithful Crossy Road, as well as new games: Boo and Brain Out! I love Boo the most as it is so cute and relaxing, but still got you thinking.

Boo. Credit goes to the game developers.

 

As you can see, despite the current pandemic, my blogging schedule is mostly the same- Monday and Friday. This is due to the aforementioned business, but also because I want to prioritize writing reviews and therefore spend my free time reading and writing reviews. I have some discussion posts lined-up for May, but we’ll see!

• Double Review: The Unspoken Name by A.K Larkwood and Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Little White Lies by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• I Want To Read These Books but…
• Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas // When in Aruba…
• Screen Rambles: March 2020 // A lot of feel good movies, but also about social issues
• Ruthless Gods by Emily Duncan // Addictive, but very frustrating to read
• The Goodreads Book Tag
• Double Review: The Wrongful Death & The Angel of Evil by Kenneth B. Andersen

That’s all for my monthly wrap up! Tell me, how did you spend your time last month? Any new hobbies or skills you learned? Any favorite books?