April 2025 Book Reviews!
- Christine
- May 1
- 9 min read
So.... life is a little crazy right now. As I mentioned last month, we are doing a major lanai expansion project. And while I'm super excited to have a new larger space to sit and relax with a book in the evening, it's been a little chaotic and been a bit harder to focus on reading in the evenings.
We also took a much needed and long overdue vacation at the end of April. That's all resulted on less focus on reading and more focus on other things.
Even though my book count is down a little this month, I still managed to get some reading in. So let's dive right in to some reviews so you can find your next book!
As a reminder, if you don't want to wait for these monthly book reviews, feel free to follow me on Goodreads or The Story Graph and see what I'm reading in real time!
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Septology by Jon Fosse
This is a tough book to read and review. Brilliantly written, but so hard to understand and follow. The author doesn't use punctuation, so it is all one long sentence. It's extremely long and difficult, so this one is a commitment. Lots of five star ratings, so it's tough to feel like I didn't quite "get it", but just not my thing. This book is #78 on the New York Times list of the "Best 100 Books of the 21st Century". Three out of five stars.
Through The Riptide (Colin Preston Book 2) by Bert Murray and Phyllis Fahre
I thought this one started out fairly promising and was going to end up being a standard romance novel. Lindsey is living in NYC and working at a PR firm. In the first chapter, she is followed home and attacked by a man in her apartment. The attack rattles her and she decides to spend some time at the shore working for her ex-boyfriend to get out of the city.
While I thought the writing was a bit choppy, I figured the book was going to be about Lindsey being in a love triangle with her ex and a new "mystery" man. But the book just suddenly went in a whole different direction. The story was not cohesive at all. Characters popped in and out and seemed to have no real place in the story. After reading some reviews because I felt like I just wasn't getting it, I discovered this was book two of a series about Colin (the mystery man). And while admittedly I could be missing something by having not read the first book, Colin didn't even play a main role in this book until towards the end, so it all just didn't make sense.
Not a romance novel and not a thriller. Writing is not great and not good plot development. I have to advise to skip this one.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Two out of five stars.
Now It All Makes Sense: How An ADHD Diagnosis Brought Clarity To My Life by Alex Partridge
I will start out by saying that I do not have ADHD (although I do have anxiety disorder which the author also has and found some common ground in many things he experienced), so I was not the target audience. However, I found this book very interesting and felt like it was well done.
This book is centered around the author's experiences and tips and tricks he finds helpful. It is definitely not a scientific based book if that is what you are looking for. But if you want a quick and straightforward read about ADHD for either yourself or someone close to you, this would be worth your time.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
The American Family by Ray Dacolias
This book describes life through the eyes of a family in the 50s and early 60s living in California. And while the book talks to what the outside world sees as a "typical" family at that time, this family is definitely not modeled after the family on Leave It To Beaver.
The father is a WWII vet who was so affected by what he saw in the war, that he not only can't express love for his children, but he verbally and physically abuses them. The mother deals with the scars of her own abuse as a child, and tries to find her own way to save her family. The children try to experience the idyllic life of kids at that time, while dealing with a household that has emotionally and physically scarred them.
This is not a page turner. It is slow and a long read, but very well written and a diary into that period of time.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
The Friendship Fling by Georgia Stone
This is a really sweet romcom that I really enjoyed. Ava is a barista who won't open herself up to anyone. Finn is temporarily living in London and looking for someone to help him complete his bucket list before he moves to his next location. After Ava reluctantly agrees to help him, both of them find themselves creating a friendship and more.
Very sweet characters that you want to root for, and more substance than a lot of romcoms out there. Definitely enjoyed this one!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
This book will be published June 3, 2025. To pre-order your copy on Amazon, click here: Kindle, audiobook or paperback.
Rumours and Repercussions by Stephanie May
This book is definitely worth reading! the book starts out with adult Kylie (who is the narrator of the story) telling the reader that she is returning to her hometown of Orange in Australia for someone's funeral, but she won't share whose until the end.
Kylie then proceeds to tell the story of the events that happened in 1979 when she was 14. Kylie and her three best friends - Thalia, Helen and Sharon - are known as The Sunsets. When they meet a group of boys, including Trix who captures Kylie's heart, their lives are changed forever.
This is a story of friendship and young love, with a dark side to it. Amazing characters and amazing storytelling. I could not put this one down and finished it in one evening. A little over the top at times, which is the only thing stopping me from giving it five stars. And the ending is not what I expected at all.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Celestial and Roy have recently married. While spending the night in a hotel while visiting his parents, Roy is mistaken for someone else and wrongly arrested of raping and attacking another guest in the hotel. After being convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison, Roy and Celestial's marriage is tested.
When Roy finally wins his appeal and is released from prison early, Celestial has moved on with her life and wants a divorce. Will they come back together or move on from each other?
This is a well written story full of emotions. You go on a journey with all of the characters. Well worth the read! This book is number 77 on the New York Times list of the "Best 100 Books of the 21st Century".
Where Love Lies by Raz Tal Schenirer
I'll start this review by saying if you were not a fan of "It Ends With Us", you won't like this one either, as it's just another version of that book.
The book starts with Ella's getting ready to graduate from high school and go to college, when her family informs her that they are moving back to Israel for her father's job. In addition, because Ella was born in Israel, she is required to serve 2 years in the Israeli army. That's when she meets Liam, who is her commanding officer.
From there, the story bounces around quite a bit as Ella and Liam's relationship goes from her falling in love, to him becoming abusive.
Ella's character is really unlikeable, so it's hard to have empathy or sympathy for her. The whole part of the book about her time in the Israeli army seems unrealistic.
Overall, it could be a tough book for people to read. I didn't hate it, but didn't love it either.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
Boat Baby: A Memoir by Vicky Nguyen
Vicky Nguyen is a journalist who currently works for NBC News. The book is her story starting with her family coming to America as Vietnamese refugees, through her growing up in America, to becoming a journalist and establishing a successful career which ultimately ended at NBC News.
The book is well written and does a good job of describing Nguyen's life and what it was like growing up in America as part of a Vietnamese family.
While not super compelling or a page turner, it's a solid autobiography is Nguyen's story is something you would like to learn more about.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Curepedia: An A-Z Of The Cure by Simon Price
The Cure has been my favorite band since the mid 1980s, so when I saw this book at a bookstore a few months ago, I didn't hesitate to buy it.
The book is an extremely comprehensive history of not only the band, but of the people and other artists that have surrounded the band over the years. It covers everything from individual songs, to albums, to band members. It is literally written like an encyclopedia, with entries for each letter of the alphabet. It's not really meant to be a book you just sit down and read from cover to cover. I expect most people will do what I did, which is to read a few entries at a time over an extended period of time.
As a fan of the band, I found this informative and a book that gave me some new insight into the band. The author pulls his content from other sources, so this is not a first hand account based on any direct experience with the band. But still something every Cure fan should read and would enjoy. Four out of five stars!
The Good Teacher by P.J. Kelly
Jess Bell is a teacher in Perth, Australia. Two of her students - siblings Jacob and Lisa - are growing up with two abusive parents who only care about the government funds they receive because they have kids. When the system won't do anything to help the kids, Jess decides to take matters in her own hands.
I loved the premise of this book and thought it had a lot of potential. However, the writing was very clumsy and not tight. The story skipped around and seemed to have some missing pieces. Not a bad book, just could have used some editing and tightening of the story.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
Party Of Liars by Kelsey Cox
It's Sophie's 16th birthday, and her father is throwing her a Sweet Sixteen party at his mansion in Texas. But when someone falls from the balcony to their death, a story of lies and deception are revealed.
The author did a great job of weaving the characters and this story together. You can tell it was well planned out. The story is told from the perspective of various characters and through various times, but it is so well done that it doesn't get confusing. This one will keep you guessing until the end.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
This book will be published on July 1, 2025. To pre-order your copy on Amazon, click here: Kindle, audiobook or hardcover.
I hope you enjoyed this month's book reviews and were able to find a book or two that you like. Keep reading and see you next month!
What books do you recommend I read next? Let me know! Did you check out any of these books? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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