It’s May already, How?! That’s te question I ask myself every single month, when it’s already time to write my monthly wrap up and set my monthly TBR, and realize I totally forgot about it so I have to rush it. Time is slipping through your fingers before you know it. April was quite a good month, despite work being hectic and myself being tired. My fatigue was of little influence on my reading, but more on my blogging. I find myself struggling more and more with writing reviews. I’m not satisfied with my current long-time review format, as I haven’t been for a while now. I also find myself not knowing what to say about the books I’ve read, and transforming my thoughts into words that are coherent and correct English. I still want to write reviews for the books I’ve read, but I’m not sure. Imposter syndrome is a thing you know… How to format and structure my review? The problem is, that whenever I change the format, I have to redo all my old reviews as I use the Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin and the book info section is after the introductory paragraph. Changing everything takes up a lot of time and effort and makes my reviews less cohesive and structured. Oh well, something to ponder on some more. Let’s get back to business and wrap up April, as I have 7 books to discuss.

My read books

1. Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho

I carried this book with me into April as I started it on the final day of March. Reading and finishing a book in one day when you also have to work at the office is impossible, so there was no choice other than carrying it with me to the new month. This is a YA novel, an age category I hardly read anymore as I’ve pretty much outgrown it. However, I do keep a soft spot for the genre and am always on the lookout for (mainly older) books featuring diversity. This one definitely meets that requirement! Even though I don’t listen to KPop that much, – I’m a casual listener – I find myself enjoying this type of books a lot. This was no different for this one by a new-to-me author. The story unfolds a bit predictably, but I was invested nonetheless. Yes, it contains a lot of teen drama, but that is to be expected in YA. The audiobook really adds up to the reading experience for me as its narrator Jackie Chungspeaks Korean, which comes in handy when the author includes Korean sayings and phrases into the text. Overall, I had a pleasant time with this one.

• Set in: Chicago, USA
• Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (February 2026)
• Read format: Audiobook
• Language read in: English
• Read from: 03/31 to 04/02
• Rating: 3.5/5

2. Torrid Throne by Julie Johnson

Last year, this author was pretty popular following the release of The Wind Weaver. I have to admit I still have to pick up this book, but I had – and still have – unfinished business with another series by this author. In 2021, I picked up Dirty Halo, the first installment of the “The Forbidden Royals” trilogy. Although I enjoyed this one, I never picked up the sequels, until now. I was in search of something reading quick and easy and this book delivered on just that. Yes, the story is intriguing as well, albeit a little predictable. This is romatansy released before that became a thing so if you love that sub genre, you will definitely love this trilogy. Let’s wait and see if I will pick up the final book in this series sooner than in 4.5 years LOL.

• Set in: Constantia
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: Dutch
• Read from: 04/06 to 04/06
• Rating: 4/5

3. Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde

I have been waiting forever to read this book, as it was already on my radar since its release. However, I wanted to wait until the Dutch translation was out as I read the other books in this series in Dutch as well. This story is about Rio, a fan favorite. I already found myself struggling a bit to get into the previous two books due to the characters not being my favorite and I felt a bit of the same for Hallie. However, she redeems herself and Rio actually has a soft spot, something I was not expecting that much. Another few days well-spent!

• Set in: Chicago, USA
• Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (March 2026)
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: Dutch
• Read from: 04/07 to 04/09
• Rating: 4/5

4. Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry

One of my first reads of 2026 was Shield of Sparrows, the first book in this series. Even though I had some issues with the pacing, I was curious for the sequel. Now it was here and I dove into it almost straight away. Unfortunately, this book suffers a lot from second book syndrome. I zoned out a lot as this story didn’t demand my attention enough. Even more so, I fell asleep multiple times. The extra POV and character are interesting, but couldn’t save this book for me. Maybe I was just too tired for this now and I need to reread it at a later time. I tried the audiobook to see if that would make any difference, but it’s duet narration and I happen to totally dislike that. It distracts me too much. Whereas the previous book in the series has multiple audiobook options to choose from, this one only has the duet.

• Set in: Kallandra
• Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: English
• Read from: 04/12 to 04/19
• Rating: 3,5/5

5. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Everyone and their mother was watching the TV adaptation of this m/m ice hockey romance late last year and early this year. I haven’t, nor have I read the book. However, everyone was praising it, which naturally made me curious. I just waited for the Dutch version, which I finally got last month. Unfortunately, I can’t share in the enthusiasm, because this book was… not that great to keep it nice. The characters didn’t leave any lasting impression on me, nor did the plot. There was no plot actually, apart from smut every few pages. This already started in the prologue. One of the characters got a little more depth gradually, but it wasn’t enough for my liking since the rest of the book didn’t leave any impression on me. The most annoying thing was the writing style, especially the mention of the boys’ names in every other sentence. No, this was just not it.

• Set in: Boston, USA and Montreal, Canada
• Backlist or newly acquired: Newly acquired (March 2026)
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: Dutch
• Read from: 04/14 to 04/20
• Rating: 2/5

6. Metal Slinger By Rachel Schneider

Another book that has been pretty popular late 2025 and I of course had to try. It starts of pretty promising and I was invested for most of it, even though the plot and characters are your typical romantasy ones. However, this book fell flat for me after a while, because we’ve already seen it all countless times. That is until the end, which left me confused. Turns out there is an unreliable narrator and maybe that’s just not my trope.

• Set in: Alaha, Roisin, Kenta
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: Audiobook
• Language read in: Enlgish
• Read from: 04/21 to 04/26
• Rating: 3/5

7. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Finally I picked up a book that has been on both my March and April TBR, but on my actual TBR a little longer. I read Amerikanah by this author back in 2020 and although I wasn’t fully convinced by it, I still wanted to try out this novel. The premise sounded up my alley and gave me the impression I would enjoy this reading experience. It’s about four women who are related to one another in a way. Unfortunately, only one of them was interesting, and I wish Adichie would have elaborated more on her story. Now it feels like there are unanswered questions. Furthermore, this book focuses more on these women’s musings rather than on a plot. In fact, there isn’t really a plot which makes this book feel like it’s not really moving forward. I therefore was pretty bored. I just kept reading because I hoped to find closure in the end, as well as something actually interesting. Maybe this author is simply not for me.

• Set in: USA, Nigeria
• Backlist or newly acquired: Backlist
• Read format: ebook
• Language read in: Dutch
• Read from: 04/26 to 04/30
• Rating: 2/5

Bookhaul

1. Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
2. Babel by R.F. Kuang (Dutch edition)
3. Variation by Rebecca Yarros
4. Raven King by Nora Sakavic
5. Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong
6. Matchpoint by Katherine Reilly
7. Elke dag een druppel gif by Wilma Geldof
8. Innamorata by Ava Reid
9. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
10. Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
11. Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
12. Schaduw van de Zon by Stephanie Holm
13. Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui

April was a pretty good reading month once again, with a final rating of 3.29 stars. Let’s hope May will be a good reading month too! As the weather is getting warmer slowly but steadily, and the rush at work not winding down anytime soon, I think I want to focus on lighter books a lot this month. This might mean a lot of romance. To be continued!

How was April for you?