Simply Loved: April 2019 Reading List

It’s time for my April 2019 reading list! I have some incredible books to review for you guys this month. When I sat down to do this post, I wasn’t sure exactly how many books I read last month. It didn’t feel like that many, but I was shocked to see that I had finished five books! Four books were a great read and one was just not something I could get into.

April 2019 Reading List

All of the books that I’m going to mention in this review, I would consider being great beach reads. They’re great storylines, but super easy to get into and an easy finish. This is my preferred style of book to read this time of year. For some reason, I enjoy the more difficult, harder to read books in the Winter and Fall. Just me?!?

Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering

You ever have that person in your life that you just can’t shake even though you know you should? This is exactly what this book is about. This was a very hyped up book in the book world and I can totally see why. It’s so good.

Tell Me Lies

Have you ever been in a realtionship and thought to yourself that "I'm never going to be able to get this person out of my life" because you thougth they were the best thing ever, no matter how horribly they treated you. Yep, this is the entire story behind Tell Me Lies. I feel like every single human being should read this book. It should come with as a handbook for "Dating 1o1: What Not To Do" Lucy Albright is head over heels in love with Stephen DeMarco. They have a very up and down relationship. At first, she isn't interested in him, but it's like a game to Stephen and he knows how to "get" her. Their relationship is so, so bad and they both have secrets they don't share with each other. This is a story of love, heartbreak, douche guys who you shouldn't date or give a second chance to and women who know they deserve better but can't quite seem to quit the men that treat them the worst. Several times, I'd sigh out loud or tell myself "COME ON" but I had to remind myself that I've done the same thing and at that point, I couldn't wait to see how the book ended.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

I read a different book by Christina Lauren and I have to say that I enjoyed this one so much more than that book. The Unhoneymooners is a great read! This book was sent to me as an advanced read. The release date for this book is May 14th!

The Unhoneymooners

What happens when you're offered a trip to Hawaii with a person you despise? Would you turn down ten days in a tropical paradise or would you suck it up and go? This is exactly what Olive and Ethan must decide. Two people, who aren't exactly best friends and have a lot of issues between them. This book was full of humor and I found it really funny and caught myself laughing A LOT! I also found scenes that really caught me off guard emotionally and I shed a few tears. The ONE THING I had issues with this book was the way they talked about Olive and her body. I wasn't sure if she was supposed to be a plus-sized woman? They talked a lot about her body, yet later in the story, they only talked about her "large" boobs? I was confused as to how they compared her and her twin sister at the beginning of the book and it sort of changed later?!?! Not a huge deal, but if they wanted to feature a plus-size woman in the storyline, I wish the actual portrayal of her body made more sense. I considered giving this book five stars because it was so funny and I really loved the story. The thing with Olive's body just confused me and I felt like they could have done more with that part of the story (plus size women need representation in stories also)

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Apparently, I read two Christina Lauren books this past month and didn’t even realize it, LOL! This book was funny and very easy to read! This author is quickly becoming a favorite! I just love her style of writing and I love the storylines she writes about.I

Josh and Hazel's Guide To Not Dating

I enjoy this author's style of writing as her books tend to be very easy reads and make me laugh. This book was a good book, but I didn't love the ending. It felt somewhat rushed a bit, BUT it was a good book. I kept going back and forth about giving this three stars or four stars, but in the end, I went with four. Hazel knows Josh from college. He's the guy she's been obsessed with for years, but never thought she would ever stand a chance with him. She's a little crazy (in a good way) and he's kinda the opposite. Years after college they run into each other and it's a fun story from there. They set each other up, only to realize that there might be more to their friendship than they expected!

The Idea of You: A Novel by Robinne Lee

This was my favorite read of the month. It stressed me out so much, but what a lovely story. It’s a perfect combination of being sweet, but also a little dirty. When I first heard people talking about this book, I didn’t think I’d have any interest in it. I had it in my head it was a sort of One Direction boy band that involved a love affair?!? Well, it kind of was, but it was actually great and I just want a sequel honestly.

This made me think a lot about age and how society views certain things. Great read! I for sure want to read more from this author. I might actually be reading this book for the second time….LOL!

The Idea of You

"What if your teenager's fantasy was your reality?!?" Solène Marchand, who is thirty-nine, is an owner of an art gallery in Los Angeles. She is divorced and has a daughter, Isabelle. One weekend, she takes her daughter and her friends to meet their favorite boy-band, August Moon. Hayes Campbell is a twenty-year-old who happens to be a member of the band, August Moon. What starts off as a friendly conversation between him and Solène, ends up with so much more. This book was a five-star read for me. It was funny, it was exciting and I had no idea what was going to happen. I stressed me out a little bit, it made me think back to the time of me being obsessed with New Kids on the Block. This gives you a behind-the-scenes look at a member of a boy band. This book had me so anxious the entire read. It had me uncomfortable at times. It devastated me as well. However, I loved it so much. DO NOT READ about this book prior to reading this book because there are spoilers everywhere. I was lucky enough that I didn't have the story nor the ending spoiled an I think I loved the book that much more because of it. Just order the book and read it so we can talk about it! LOL!

The Parrot’s Perch by Karen Keilt

This was a book that was sent for me to review as a part of the BookSparks Spring reading group that I’m a part of. I could not get into this book and it took everything I had to finish it. Sometimes that happens with books.

I think this book has an incredible story behind it and what the woman had to experience is horrible, but it just focused on things that I felt dragged on, rather than exploring more about political corruption, etc.

The Parrot's Perch

This book was gifted to me as I'm a part of Bookspark and in a Spring Reading program they are doing. I wanted to love this book, I just couldn't get into the author's writing style. It just didn't draw me in as I wanted it to.

Parrot's Perch is a novel based on actual true-life events of Catlin and her brutal rape and torture in a Brazilian Prison. Her story is heartbreaking, but I felt at times it focused on her families lavish lifestyle, rather than the political corruption I was more interested in.

Not a horrible read, but I just couldn't get into this book at all.

So those were the books that I read during April. I am getting ready to start a new book, The Sun Is Also A Star as it’s been highly recommended to me. What books did you read or are you going to be reading soon? Let me know what I need to add to my list.