I apparently forgot that I still blog, so this is a little overdue. Maybe it was just because I had a bit of a crappy reading month. Anyway, here are the books I read in April.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman – This was a Freking Book Club pick and I felt really bad about trashing it. I really, really didn’t like this book. So, basically, a murder happens and it’s up to these quirky old people in a retirement home to save the day! Woohoo! Barf. It’s fine, it’s an okay book, but I am really tired of the quirky old people trope. I’m also tired of the quirky young people trope. Didn’t the Manic Pixie Dream Girl die in the early 2010s? Okay, fine, I’ll talk about what I liked. It was a book that I could read with my eyes. It was written in English. I like the script on the cover. It was also pretty well written, but just not for me. I can’t really recommend it, but I know my patrons at the Cherokee Public Library would have loved it. 1/5, 2/10.

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole – This was another Freking book. This more than made up for the last one. Sydney has lived in the same Brooklyn neighborhood her whole life and it has mostly stayed the same. Until recently. A mysterious organization is buying out all of the houses and selling them to affluent white people (This is called gentrification, folks). Her new neighbor, Theo, is going to be kicked out of his house by his evil girlfriend. Sydney and Theo work together to figure out what is going on in the neighborhood. I really liked this book. Alyssa Cole is normally a romance writer and I believe this is her first foray into thrillers. She hits it out of the park. There are a few nitpicks I have concerning a certain person in a wall and the ending raid, but otherwise, it’s a really solid book. 4/5, 7/10.

Stranger Things: Runaway Max by Brenna Yovanoff – You know me, I love my IP based books. I love Stranger Things, I love YA lit, so this seemed like it would be up my alley. Man, this book wasn’t good. I thought it was going to be exploring more about Max before the events of Stranger Things 2, but, honestly, there’s about five chapters of that, then it’s just the events of the show. Very disappointing. It explores Max and Billy’s siblinghood (relationship sounded weird so I’m going with that word) in more detail, but it’s kind of irrelevant after what happens in Stranger Things 3. This did come out before the third season, so you get some cool foreshadowing about the mall and all that. Overall, I kind of felt like I wasted my time with this book. 2/5, 3/10.

Horns by Joe Hill – I have been wanting to read this book for years and I finally had time to do the audio. And, honestly, the audio is the way to go with this book. Anyway, I hate Joe Hill. I think he is a great plot writer,a great idea man, but an awful writer. It genuinely felt like I was just reading one of Stephen King’s books. He has no voice of his own and is kind of just riding off the coattails of his dad. The plot is great. Ig wakes up after peeing on a grave and Virgin Mary statue with horns on his head. The horns make people say their innermost secrets. Ig was arrested, but never convicted for the murder of his wife that he loved so much. He didn’t do it, but the court of public opinion has made their decision. Luckily, with the horns, he can try and find out who is keeping the secret of her murder from him. The best (worst) part about this book is that horns has a double meaning. Ig’s brother plays the trombone or something so there is also that shoehorned in connection. Don’t bother with this, just read a plot summary. 2/5, 3/10

Earthbound by Ken Baumann – I love these Boss Fight books. I don’t really have a lot to say about them, but they are great reads. This one was about Baumann diving back into Earthbound after not playing it since childhood. Through the experience, he reconnects with his brother who he played it with when he was young. It’s sweet and heartfelt, but VERY pretentious. Like, damn dude, put down the thesaurus. It also recounts the development and translation process of the game and even gives some backstory to creator Shigesati Itoi. Overall, I definitely think it is worth picking up. 4/5, 8/10.

I also read No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull and Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung, both great books that I highly recommend.