Well I felt like I was behind in my reading, but My Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge is declaring me on track. I’ll take it! I do know I am behind in posting about my reading so here is a brief summary of the month of April. Four of 4 were winners in my book!

 

NetGalley Free Book Resource

 

My reading month started with a free download from NetGalley.  If you aren’t familiar with NetGalley, it’s a great resource for finding book review material. I’ve downloaded several books that I have thoroughly enjoyed, all for the whopping price of FREE! Do them the courtesy of leaving a review for the book, so you can continue to receive downloads. (I’m running behind on those reviews too, no surprise there).

 

April Unread Book Challenge Completions

 

 

 

First book up this month was Set Me Free: How Shakespeare Saved a Life, by Salvatore Striano. Written in Italian originally, the English translation is set to be published in September 2018. My full review is here, so click on over to read. I will say this book left me with two goals: learn Italian and read more Shakespeare. The COOLEST thing about publishing this review was that it was seen and liked by the official Salvatore Striano fan club. He’s a popular Italian actor, with an active fan base. I was not aware of that LOL!

 

 

 

Second, was a bit of poetry for a change. April is recognized as poetry month, so I made sure I incorporated some poems into my monthly reading list. The Princess Saves Herself in This One, by Amanda Lovelace was a brief but engaging book of poems, divided into four parts: the princess, damsel, queen, and you. The author reflects on events of her own life, but also directly addresses the reader with words of wisdom and encouragement. Seriously, the title alone grabbed my interest, and I wasn’t disappointed at all.

 

 

 

Next up was Love and Ruin, by Paula McLain, another NetGalley awaiting review. OH. MY. GOODNESS. This one was all the feels for the month. It explores the relationship of Ernest Hemingway and his second wife, Martha Gellhorn. She was a wellknown journalist in her own right, which created just one of the conflicts faced by the couple.  Anyone with working knowledge of Papa Hemingway knows there were three wives total, so it wasn’t going to be a happy ending. Nevertheless, I dove in head first.  The official pub date was May 1, 2018, so it’s available now. If you enjoyed The Paris Wife, you’ll want to read this one too. Will there be a third installment to explore the relationship with wife #3?

 

 

 

Lastly, another good book! (I was not disappointed this month). I finished out the month by reading The Other Woman, by Sandie Jones. This I received as a ARC promotion from Minotaur Books. Thanks so much!! This psychological thriller should be required reading for all brides to be. Truly a microscope view of the potential “monster-in-law.” Ah but wait, there’s a twist! Not saying any more, but this was another satisfying story.

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Four good books this month, one commercial fiction, one historical fiction, one memoir, and one poetry. Not a bad mix of genres. AND I’m on track for my GoodReads challenge.

Here are the links to book mentioned in this post, all with good recommendations from me!

 

 

1. Set Me Free, How Shakespeare Saved a Life, Salvatore Striano
2. The Princess Saves Herself in This One, Amanda Lovelace
3. Love and Ruin, Paula McLain
4. The Other Woman, Sandie Jones

Bonus Mention

5.  The Paris Wife, Paula McLain