April 2026 Reading Round Up – Book Reviews & Goals

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

I’ve finally completed the series and, well, what can I say? Wow!

I have to confess that I didn’t really get Throne of Glass when I started reading it. It was good, but I didn’t think it was as brain-chemistry-transforming as everyone said it was. I now get it. It was a slow burn – not on the romance side (although there is some of that too), but on the story side. I felt that the first few books didn’t connect to each other all that well, but I now know that it was building to the much, much bigger picture. And when that all came together in this final installment, it was excellent.

I think ACOTAR is still my preferred read, but I’d love to reread the entire Throne of Glass series one day (when I’ll manage to fit that into my reading schedule again, who knows?!) and take more note of parts and characters that were so important later on!

Safe Haven by Lily Parker

A sweet and spicy romance with a gorgeous lakeside setting.

My full review of Safe Haven by Lily Parker is on the blog here.

The Escape by C. L. Taylor

A solid example of a good psychological thriller.

Jo is leaving work one day when a stranger coerces her into letting her into her car, then threatens her daughter by presenting Jo with one of her gloves and telling her to keep an eye on her. This is just the start of a nightmare that quickly turns horrific as the police and social services get involved when, as far as we know, Jo has done nothing wrong, and of all the people, her husband doesn’t believe her.

I’ve read a couple of C. L. Taylor’s books before and really enjoyed them both. They’re always a great psychological thriller with some excellent twists, and this one was no different.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this book – I read it in two quick sittings. The first half had a grip on me in that terrifying, suffocating way of feeling watched and like you need to escape from something. The second half had me on edge waiting for a conclusion, and I didn’t know quite which way it would go.

While I enjoyed reading this book, there were parts that sat uncomfortably with me but that was only due to the subject matter now that I’m a parent. I used to read thrillers with young children in them all the time before I had kids, but they just hit differently nowadays. This is nothing to do with the story or how it’s told – which I thought was well done – and all about me and how I engage with stories nowadays. I just couldn’t bear the thought of this poor little girl being put through such a traumatic experience, and another child in the book who doesn’t survive one such moment.

Nevertheless, I would definitely pick up another book by the author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

Is A River Alive? by Robert McFarlane

Robert Macfarlane is an auto-buy author for me, although admittedly, I still have a few of his books yet to read! I bought this one on a whim when I saw a signed copy in Waterstones, and as someone who grew up on the banks of a river, I knew I had to read it. I have this connection with water and rivers already, and I felt the draw of this book.

I tend to read a non-fiction about nature like this alongside another fiction book, so that’s what I did here. It gives me a chance to savour the writing rather than rushing through it. And that’s very important with Macfarlane’s books especially – he writes about nature poetically and lyrically. I have a notebook filled with phrases from when I read The Wild Places.

This was just as beautifully written – it flowed like the rivers it describes. Rushing over some sentences and stuttering over others when the rivers are dying.

I have to admit that, though I absolutely see the importance of the political sections that are interspersed into the novel, protecting rivers’ rights, these parts weren’t as enjoyable for me. I’m here for the nature and the adventure, but these sections provided a great contextual backdrop to answer the question that the book asks.

The book is told in 3 parts, about three very different rivers. The beginnings of one in a cloud forest and in danger of losing its source; a river under threat of pollution; and another river in danger from dams. Each has a totally different story to tell, and Robert tells each one so beautifully – giving the river a voice that we can’t normally hear. My favourite was the last, when the author connects spiritually with the river.

I highly recommend this for a beautiful blend of nature writing and the threats our world is experiencing – a well-written masterpiece.

The Secret Place by Tana French

A claustrophobic crime thriller, with underlying hints of the paranormal and an excellent setting.

A boy was found murdered on the site of the neighbouring girls’ school to his, but a year later, it’s a not yet solved. Student Holly Mackey brings forward a new piece of evidence, a “secret” saying that someone knows who killed him. Detective Stephen Moran is usually on cold cases but steps up to join Detective Conway to delve deeper into this one as they head into the girls’ boarding school to find out what other secrets lie there.

This was one of my “past Netgalley” books that I’m catching up on, and I’ll be honest, I picked it when I was more into crime thrillers than I am now, so I wasn’t particularly enthused about reading it now. And that’s exactly why I need to remind myself to take chances on books that I don’t think are my style – because I truly loved this one.

I felt very connected with the setting of this book. I went to a boarding school, albeit as a day girl and in North Yorkshire rather than Ireland, but this book captured the raw, almost cult-like experience of being part of a group of teenage girls in a boarding house. The cliques were so perfectly written, and the darkness that’s all too easy to fall into as a teenage girl. I remember sitting in a darkened dorm with scarves hung across the windows, attempting to summon ghosts – only to be caught by our house priest. Sneaking out of the house when you’re supposed to be locked in, or out of parties to meet boys in the bushes. (Honestly, it was a little frightening to be reminded of this so vividly now as a parent!) This book captured exactly those vibes so perfectly. It felt like I’d been thrown back into my past – aside from, you know, the murder and the police investigation!

On that side of things, despite saying I’m not so into crime thrillers at the moment, the relationship between the investigating officers was so brilliantly written that I really enjoyed it. It didn’t take the usual police procedural route, instead flip-flopping between the investigation and the girls’ perspectives in a single, long drawn out day. There was insecurity and a testing nature in their relationship, with Moran trying to grasp a new potential tenuous working relationship by his fingertips.

The book was well told in the alternating perspectives of the past through the girls’ eyes leading up to Chris’ death (and a fun little countdown phrased basically as “he doesn’t know he’ll be dead in 5 months, 3 days and 12 minutes!”) and the detectives working through the case in a single day inside the school – trying to untangle lies and deceit. I thought it was interesting that the past is told in the present tense, and the present day in the past tense – it was somewhat jarring but in a good way, if that makes sense! It was claustrophobic and tense and a bit frightening.

I also loved how true it was in the way the girls spoke and their body language- phrases ending in question marks, “like” and “hello” thrown in everywhere. The side eyes and the smirks – thinking that grown ups don’t see it, or if they do, they don’t understand. It was so realistic, and their lack of respect for authority and not grasping how the real world, outside being a teenager in a boarding school, really worked shone through. There was a distinct difference in them between the then and now too. Subtle at first – they’re just shallow teenagers, right? – but then all too obvious – something has changed.

The ending was nicely done. It all wrapped up well and had a kind of melancholy feel – you wish it hadn’t ended that way, but were glad you got an answer. There was this kind of nostalgia for that time before everything changed, but the girls were already coming to the realisation that it was always going to be that way anyway.

I unexpectedly loved this book, it was so much more than the sum of its parts. I’m just sorry it took me so long to get to it! I am absolutely going to read more by the author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

I’m really struggling to rate this one – I was ready to give it 2 stars throughout most of the book, but around 60% through, it started to pick up and I enjoyed it a lot more. Maybe it’s because I listened to this as an audiobook. It still had the beautiful writing that I loved in the first book but the story and pacing just didn’t hold strong enough for me to be able to love it. In fact, I struggled to remember who everyone was in the second book at the beginning and had to look up characters and motives!

I still think there were lots of beautiful moments, vividly imagined descriptions and an overall brilliant plot that’s different to most romantasies out there. I loved the dark, gothic world it’s set in and how complex it was. But I just struggled to connect unfortunately!

I still plan to read more by the author, but I’ll make sure to read them as a physical book rather than an audiobook as I think that helps me connect better.

Actress Unscripted by Amber Eve

Another cute romance with a brilliant setting!

Lexie has returned home to Scotland after her relationship with a movie star in the US has fallen apart…only to find that he’s turned up in her hometown to film a new movie with his ex as his costar. Lexie can’t help but bump into them at every turn and every encounter ends in some sort of disaster, including claiming she’s in a fake relationship with our old friend from the rest of the series, McTavish, and throwing chips at a famous actress.

I’ve read all of Amber Eve’s books, but somehow managed to miss out on the release of this one! It’s the second part of the Actress duo from the Heather Bay Romance series; you could technically read the duo as a standalone, but the rest of the series gives more context for the little Easter eggs that are thrown in for other characters and storylines.

This was a really fun read. I mentioned in my review of the first book that Amber writes characters like a hilarious Scottish version of Bridget Jones, and this is no different. I loved the wild rollercoaster that this book takes you on, the romance was cute – even though it took some time to come back around – and the Scottish setting was gorgeously realistic. It’s clear that someone who knows Scotland inside wrote this!

I’m sad to have reached the end of this series now but looking forward to reading Amber’s next book!

Realm of Shadows by Rektok Ross

This was such a fun and modern twist on an ancient story that I already love.

My full review of Realm of Shadows by Rektok Ross is on the blog here.

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune

This was a gorgeous, addictive love story – possibly my first 6 star romance read of the year!

My full review will be on the blog in a few days when this book publishes!

Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood

Cute, quick read (/listen) with enemies to lovers set in a fun, forced proximity setting.

Viola is a video game designer with the chance of a lifetime, to adapt her favourite books in a game. The only problem is that her company is up against their rivals – the only option is for them to put their heads together at a retreat to see how they can make it work together. Unfortunately, she keeps being thrown into situation after situation with the brooding Jesse, who seems to hate her for no reason at all. And of course, on a winter retreat, the snow falls and they’re stuck there together.

This was such a classic contemporary romance, filled with all the tropes we know and love. So of course, I loved it. There was definite heat between the characters, a lot of it anger for much of the book. And most of it due to miscommunication.

This is a trope that a lot don’t like, but I think it worked well here. It led to plenty of pining and yearning on both sides as they didn’t understand that the other felt the same way for such a long time, which made it all the better when they came together. The chemistry works so well.

Despite being short, this story packs a punch as the main romance was blazing, and the side characters also got their fair share of a storyline too. I’d love to see more set in this world!

Warrior Fae by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

This was a strong finish for an intense series!

Elise and her kings are finally closing in on the mystery of what happened to her brother, and they’re finally settling into their roles as to where they stand with each other. I can’t say much more for fear of giving spoilers!

It was a little strange that this book kind of had two climax points (okay, settle down!) – one for the original mystery of Gareth missing, and another between the two gangs. Both were kind of equal in their intensity.

I don’t think this story needed to be drawn out across 5 books, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy reading it as 5 books – it’s a weird sort of conundrum as I wouldn’t have wanted it any shorter, but when you look at the events that happened, it doesn’t seem like it would fill quite so many pages.

I loved the character development in this book – everyone has said it already, but Ryder comes a LONG way in this one. It’s heartbreaking at times and heartwarming at others. Gabriel too – it’s amazing to see him go from something of a “flatter” character (not sure if everyone agrees, but I think he keeps his personality a lot more closed than the rest) to being a true part of the group – although through struggles. Leon, as always, provides the comedic breaks, and even more so in this book. Sometimes his character verges on ridiculous, but what can I say, I kind of love that.

I’m sad to have finished up with these characters, but excited to dive back in to the main series – Zodiac Academy – and find their cameos and how one part of the storyline is going to pan out there. I’ve also got Darkmore Penitentiary on the list too, so I’m hardly going to be leaving this world entirely!

Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni

A richly imagined dark academia world, with a unique magic system and unforgettable characters.

My full review of Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni will be on the blog in a week when the book publishes.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

A captivating short read.

Orbital explores the world and space as seen through the eyes of a group of six astronauts on a station orbiting the earth across sixteen sunsets and sunrises in a single “day” of their continuous orbits.

This read more as a collection of human experience, big and small. There is no big overarching storyline and no plot. Instead, we zoom in and out of their worlds. Sometimes it’s an exploration of grief from an unreachable place; other times, it’s talking about the feeling of a space walk; then it zooms right out into a description of the section of the world the space station is hurtling across, a fleeting glimpse before it’s gone; and then we’re back to the astronauts tethered in their sleeping bags and grabbing their floating tears from the air before they mess up their ventilation systems.

The book highlights, in a juxtapositional way, the inconsequential nature of a human life, while also making it feel like a human life is everything. We’re both a small dot in the universe, and the centre of the universe at the same time.

It was a fascinating read. I’m glad it was short as any longer and it would have felt drawn out and contrived. Instead, I enjoyed the ebb and flow of it.