April Reading Plans // ft. a failed March TBR Wrap Up, ContemporApril + more

I’m back with my April TBR + March TBR Wrap-Up that is actually being posted on time?? What??

So if you haven’t read a post talking about my reading plans, yet, my reading plans (aka my preferred name for TBR) is structured in such a way that I can both have organization in terms of my reading but also give me room to mood read so I don’t fall into a reading slump.

Also, I’ve changed up the graphics for some of this post! I’m still experimenting, but I’m sticking with the same blue palette, you know?

Anyways, back on track. Shall we wrap-up my failed March TBR and super exciting April TBR?

 

Emoji Key:
🌞 = POC rep (main/key side characters)
🌈 = LGBT+ representation (main/key side characters)
♿️ = Disability rep (main/key side characters)
🌸 = Neurodiversity/trauma rep (main/key side characters)
✨ = New Release Challenge
💨 = Beat the Backlist
📚 = Back to the Classics
🌷 = #Bookiary2019
📖 = Library Love Challenge
🌍 = #YARC2019
🎧 = Audiobook Challenge 2019
✔️ = read
❌ = did not read

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin: ✔️🌞✨🔑🌟  ★★★☆☆ (3.5) // This was solid, but I was hoping for more than what we got? Still forever in love with that premise though 😍

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte: ✔️🌈✨🔑🌟 So this was a super fun mystery read that I absolutely flew through! This book just gripped me way too well.

The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious, #2) by Maureen Johnson: ❌🌸✨🌟 Oof. At this point I’m torn on whether I should continue?

We Set the Dark On Fire (We Set the Dark On Fire, #1) by Tehlor Kay Mejia: ❌🌞🌈✨🌟 Look, everyone and their mother are talking about hkw good

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, #1) by Roshani Chokshi: 🌞🌈✨🌍🌟❌ CRCR // I’m going to continue reading this in April. Not gonna lie, this isn’t super capturing me right now!

This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston: 💨📖 Tentative DNF @ page 40 // I’m going This is sadly going to be a tentative DNF for now. I tried … and I just don’t care that much, unfortunately. I don’t think I’ll pick this up again, but we never know?

Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus: ✨❌ LOL NO I DIDN’T EVEN TOUCH THIS ONE.

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl: ❌💨📖How can someone be THIS bad at following their TBR, lmao.

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena: 🌞💨📖🌍🌟 I WANT TO READ THIS BUT I JUST HAVEN’T. I’M SORRY.

March New Releases

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid: 🌞✨🎧🌟✔️ This is really different from Reid’s other works, especially in terms of formatting, because I know this is a format that doesn’t click for everyone! This was an interesting story though.

Miscellaneous

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: 📚📖🎧🔑❌ // If ya thought I was bad at following my TBR, turns out I’m even worse at actually reading classics!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) by J.K Rowling:📖🎧🔑🌟✔// I did it! Also these audiobooks (the Stephen Fry version, at least) are phenomenal.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) by J.K Rowling:📖🎧🔑🌟 I have officially caught up on the series! Go me.

Rather than having a set TBR, what I’m going to do is to have a huge stack of titles that I can mood read from, and set a certain number for me to hit! I’ll still be ticking off and seeing which books from the stack I did read, but I’m not going to be taking each and every book into account! Therefore, this number this month will be 5! I’m going to have a lot of revision to do this month, so I want to make room for that, but I do think I may be able to read more than that depending on my mood.

But since I’m so bad at actually reading YARC books consistently (and am in danger at falling behind), I’m going to try and read as many books by Asian Authors as I can. By looking at my current TBR, I think is very possible!

Buddy Reads

I’m so lucky to be doing two buddy reads with some lovely people this month, and I truly cannot wait to read these books!

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman 🏳️‍🌈🌞💨 (buddy read with Aline!!) Yes, I am aware that everyone has read (and absolutely stan) this except the two of us, which is EXACTLY what we want to rectify. I will be genuinely sad if I don’t like this!

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi 🌞💨📖🌍🌟– (buddy read with Dezzy!!) I’ve heard such great things about this novel, and it sounds like it will simultaneously break my heart and put it back together. I cannot wait.

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi 🌞🌈🌸✨🌍🌟 Again, I’m currently buddy reading this with Aline, and the chapters are way too long for my tastes? But I wanna try.

May’s Recommendations

I was DM’ing the lovely May on Twitter about a reading crisis I was having, and she so kindly sent me a list of contemporary recommendations she thought I would love! Since I love and trust May a whole lot, I’m going to be putting all of her recs on this list, and (you guessed it) pick and mood read off this list.

And obviously these all count towards ContempoApril, which I’ll be talking about later!

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oleke 🌸💨📖 – I actually have this borrowed out from the library, and this sounds super fun but something I would like.

Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman 💨 – I’ve heard so many good things about this, and all I know about is Canadian YA + mother-daughter relationship + wilderness + depression rep + mother being a former opera singer?? I’m not too sure, because I’m just a mess, sorry May.

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer 💨 – I barely know anything about this, so I’m blindly going in and trusting May on this one.

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett 💨 – I’ve never seen You’ve Got Mail, but this sounds super cute! I may save this for summer depending on how I feel, but I do want to pick this up.

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley 💨 – You got me at second-hand bookstore romance, aka my pipe dream.

The Lying Wood by Ashley Elston 💨 – I just DNFed This Is Our Story, but apparently this has a great plot twist so now I’m super interested?

Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway 💨 – I ADORE Benway’s novel Far From The Tree, and if it’s anything like that, I’m sure it’ll break my heart and take all my uwus, but there’s a good chance I will love it!

New Releases:

As Kismet Would Have It by Sandhya Menon (Dimple and Rishi, #3) – 🌞✨🌍 (1st) I did like When Dinple Met Rishi when it came out, and even though I don’t remember much, I could use a quick cute novella that counts for YARC!

The Princess and the Fangirl (Once Upon A Con, #2) by Ashley Poston –  🌈✨ (2nd) Geekerella was so cute, and this just sounds super cute too!

The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses, #1) by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu – 🌞🌈✨🌍 (9th) I heard Malec and fun travels and I was interested! This has pretty glowing early reviews so far!

If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka – ✨ (23rd) Hands down in my top three most anticipated releases of the year!! I absolutely ADORED Always Never Yours last year, and that synopsis sounds so cute! Also, the main character sounds so much like me, and I just cannot flipping wait!! (I watched 10 Things I Hate About You to prepare for this if that prepares you for how hyped I am about this one)

Miscellaneous

Stronger than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan 🌞✨🌍 – Raphael from Royal Polar Bear Reads so kindly gave an e-ARC of this because ya girl got selected for the blog tour! (My first blog tour!) Thank you so much to Raphael, the publisher and the author for this lovely opportunity ❤️

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore 🌞🌈📚 – This is the Dragons and Tea Book Club Pick for April, run by the wonderful Melanie and Amy! I’ve wanted to read a McLemore book for a while, and this might prove to be a pretty great start to her works!

At least 3 Classics 💨📚 –  I haven’t read a single classic that counts for the Back to the Classics Challenge in 2019, and we’re already in April. *covers face with hands*

Because I’m dumb, I did not really fully realize that the Devour Your TBR group’s monthly challenges (which is run by the lovely Kathy and Destiny)!

This month’s monthly reading challenge over on the Devour Your TBR Goodreads Group created by the lovely Destiny and Kathy is ContemporApril! Contemporaries are my favourite genre, and I’m just so excited to have a whole month having an excuse dedicated to reading as many contemporaries as I can!

ContemporApril

The number for this section will be 5! I’m going to have a lot of revision to do this month, so I want to make room for that, but I do think I may be able to read more than that depending on my mood.

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena 🌞💨📖🌍🌟 – I love Asian contemporaries with unlikeable main female characters. Also, this is set in Saudi Arabia!

Imagine Us Happy by Jennifer Yu 🌞🌸💨🌍 – I’m mainly interested in this because of Elise’s wonderful review, but this sounds really good and something that I would love. Cannot wait!

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson 🌞💨 – I did enjoy Watson’s Watch Us Rise in March, and this one is on my physical TBR! I’ve heard nothing but glowing phrase for this book, and it’s also a pretty quick read!

A Heart In The Body Of The World by Deb Caletti 🌸💨📖 – The average Goodreads rating within my Goodreads Friends’ Reviews is a whooping 4.62 stars, and this sounds like a fantastic novel about trauma and running which will (most likely) make me cry. Melanie, in particular, loved it so much, and has an amazing review of this!

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram 🌞🌈🌸💨📖🌍 – A novel about a biracial Iranian-American teen with clinical depression heading to Iran to visit his dying grandfather and to learn about his Persian side?? Wow, this sounds amazing and like such a heartbreaker.

The Beauty Of The Moment by Tanaz Bhathena 🌞💨📖🌍✨  – A cute contemporary centering around the new girl meets bad boy trope with a Saudi Arabian teen set in Canada?? Sign me up.

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens 🌈💨 – I have to read this already, this has been sitting on my TBR since JULY. Also, Lala loves this so much that I want to give it a shot!

First and Then by Emma Mills 💨📖 – This is literally the only Emma Mills book I haven’t read yet, and based off how much I enjoyed her other novels and her as an author, this has a pretty good chance of getting a high rating.

Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro 🌞🌈♿️🌸💨 – Angry teens stand up an oppressive system of justice + there is so much different types of diversity apparently? Yes, please.

Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale 🌈✨ – This sounds so cute, and something light and easy that will be great when I’m in the middle of exam seasons! I love the coffee shop aesthetics (like they make me so happy for some reason) and summer romances, so this sounds like a combination I’ll enjoy for sure!

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What are your March Reading Plans looking like? What are your thoughts on my reading plans? Is there anything you have read here, and do you think I should read them or not? Which ones should I prioritize, if any at all? I would love to know.