Monthly Post - April!

Hey! I thought I should start doing monthly blog posts in addition to my monthly reels. Lets see how it goes!

Books I read in the month of April  

• Babel * -  R. F Kuang

• The Berry Pickers - Amanda Peters 

• Notes from the Underground * - Fyodor Dostoevsky

• The Poppy War - R. F. Kuang 

• The Pact * - John McCrae (Wildbow) - I dont necessarily have a full review planned, but I feel it deserves recognition and opens a discussion Id like to touch on. 

• Murtagh - Christopher Paolini 

* review coming soon! 

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I apologize for the backlog, however life has been a bit crazy for me lately, so my reading and ability to sit down and organize my thoughts on what I’ve read has suffered a bit. I will eventually get back on top of things, or I won’t and things will continue to be a bit delayed. Who knows, not me. 

Anyway here are some notable books coming out in the month of May that I'm personally looking forward too! If you have any books you're waiting for with bated breath, let me know at either my insta (@kateskillerbooks) or submit a book rec on my website! I have included pricing, but its Canadian pricing off the Indigo website, so you may not find it applicable. The majority is also hardcover pricing, so I'm sure paperback and ebook options will be available cheaper if budget is a concern (with book prices in Canada, it almost always is).

1. Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland 

Comes out on May 7th. Based on the description, its about five people who have been wronged by the tyrant king coming together to kill him. They don't trust each other, but it appears they have to work together due to circumstances while also working against each other to be the one to kill the king. I anticipate lots of interpreted betrayal and mistrust. It's categorized as fantasy, which indicates there is magic afoot, and sounds to me like a cross between Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. The hardcover version comes in at $43.99, but it comes with sprayed edges! That is labeled as the deluxe limited edition as well, so perhaps a cheaper hardcover without the sprayed edges will pop up. However, I have to say, as a lover of great book art, these sprayed edges are beautiful. 

1. Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

Comes out on May 21st. This is the same author as “Crazy Rich Asians”, They do have other works, but I believe that's their most popular. As a fan of that book and consequential movie, I'm intrigued. I think the cover art is fun and the description makes it sound very twisty, almost more tele novella style. The hardcover price is 36.95, which is about average for 448 pages. All in all, it mostly just seems like a fun read, but I might wait until the reviews come out on this one before I buy it. 

1. The Briar Club by Kate Quin

Technically, this one doesn't come out until July, but it was just released for pre-order, and I got excited. It comes out on July 9th, which feels entirely too far away. I love this author, she's on my “Automatic Buy” list. I've read multiple of her works, notably “The Huntress'' and “The Diamond Eye” which I loved. She has an interesting style, which involves the past and present moving along until they come together in a fantastic, “can't take your eyes away”, third act. This book appears to be on an area of history I'm unfamiliar with, but typically the story is intriguing enough that a background history knowledge is not required. She also typically has a section in the back of these books that explains the history she drew from for the book. 

1. Heavenbreaker By Sara Wolf

This is another one with standard and deluxe versions. The standard version of this one does appear to be also available on the Indigo site for roughly 40$ hardcover. The deluxe version is only $4 more at $43.99 and it comes with very cool sprayed edges, so if the aesthetic vibe of your bookshelf is worth $4, Id recommend the deluxe version. It comes out May 21st. I really struggled to find a solid description of this book, other than one in a Goodreads comment. The descriptions I did find left a lot to the imagination and frankly, seemed confusing. However, from what I can tell this book gives very strong “Iron Widow” vibes. A female protagonist absolutely seething with rage on a revenge quest. Seems interesting, and the cover art is cool as heck, although I will most likely wait for the reviews and possibly even Booktok to give it a shot before I drop 50$ on it. 

1. Collide By Bal Khabra 

This book comes out on May 14th and is 24.95 for a paperback copy which is fairly solid pricing. This book just seems fun. A good hockey romance to pick up and burn through. It seems very cute. The line “20-year-old with a 25 year plan” stuck out me in the description and made me laugh, so I'm hoping the book will be a lighthearted romance to follow suit. 

1. When the Moon Hatched By Sarah Parker 

This book also appears to be only available in paperback, which may be a blessing because at 730 pages it's going to be a bit hefty regardless. It comes out on May 7th and is priced at $25.99. The cover art is appealing, theres definitely dragons in this story. Frankly this book gives me very intense “The Priory of the Orange Tree” vibes, which I had mixed feelings about. I may invest in this book just to see if its better? It promises a sassy protagonist, and who can say no to that?