April reading summary and May TBR

April started off great and then went downhill fast at the end of the month. I got really sick last week, and I haven’t had energy for reading or writing or pretty much anything. I’m still recovering and that means my birthday month is not off to a great start. More on that in a bit. First, let’s recap what I did manage to read before everything went sideways.

Here is what I read in April with my very brief assessment of each (links go to Goodreads):

• A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi (Kindle, pre-order) — I liked this even more than her first book. I think that is because I liked the hero and the heroine more (their banter is great) and because I’m a sucker for a good quest/adventure story. As always, Roshani’s world-building is magical and her writing full of lush descriptions.
• Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (Kindle, pre-order) — I love, love, loved this book. Laini Taylor is #WritingGoals for me when it comes to world-building and telling stories that play with that grey area between “gods” and “monsters” (aka: what you think is good vs. what you think is evil).
• Gemina by by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Hardcover) — I finally got around to reading (devouring, more like) this sequel to Illuminae. I liked it at least as much as the first book, if not more. I really enjoyed the characters in this one, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!
• George by Alex Gino (Kindle) — Middle grade books are not my jam, but I really wanted to read this one to learn more about the experience of transgender kids (I’m pretty sure it’s written by #OwnVoices). I’m also using this one to count for my Read Harder challenge for the “read a frequently banned or challenged” book task.

I have several more in-progress books that I’d planned to finish last week. Now that I’m starting to feel better, I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to finish them. But, other than finishing in-progress (and library loan) books, I’ve decided that I’m not making a TBR for May. Instead, I’m planning on reading exactly what I feel like reading this month, when I feel like reading it.

So far, these are the books I’m interested in reading/finishing in May (links go to Goodreads):

• Kraken by China Miéville (Kindle) — I started this one during Tome Topple, thought I’d finish it in April, but then I got sick. Now I’m planning on finishing this one in May. It’s different than what I usually read, which is good, and I’m enjoying it so far.
• The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (Kindle, library) — I meant to start this one last week (after I finished Kraken), but that didn’t happen. Since it’s on loan from the library, I’d really like to finish this before I have to return it.
• Act Like It by Lucy Parker (Kindle, library) — I requested that my library purchase this on Kindle, and they just notified me that they did and my loan is ready to read. I wasn’t really expecting that, but I think this will be a light, fun, fast read, just the sort of thing to read when you’re not feeling well.
• A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (Kindle, pre-order) — I’ve been looking forward to this book, even though SJM has been squarely in my “problematic faves” category of authors since at least ACoTaR, if not before. I could write an entire essay on my issues with her books (and it’s why I’ve been putting off reading Empire of Storms), but I really want to know what happens in this series. So, I’m reading this, but I’m definitely not pre-ordering any more of her books.

Here’s hoping that May starts to get better soon. I think the universe may be telling me that I need to just chill a bit more. I’m planning on taking the hint and taking it easy this month.