L I F E
All I’ve done this month is play Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Send help.
B O O K S
In April, I read 7 books!
For transparency, every book marked with * are titles I received for free as I currently work at PRH UK.
A cute slice of life one shot following Haru and Yuki, two childhood friends turned lovers, as live their lives together. I feel like I rarely read manga where the main couple is already established. This one is short but sweet. I found it randomly while scrolling through TikTok!
We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat*
We return to the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul with new patients in dire need of some feline assistance. A lovely sequel! I was worried it would feel rather repetitive considering the format of the plot. But instead it continues its heart-warming streak from the first book!
A novel in verse following a non-binary teen falling in love for the first time. I loved the illustrations that were all around this book! A punchy and intimate look of first love and loss. I’m not big on novel in verse but this was so, so lovely.
Running away from an arranged marriage, Kit Davenport finds himself embarking a ship he should ever be seen on. The Deliverance is manned by a crew of misfits led by a charismatic Reggie Sharpe. Life at sea is not for all but Kit has no choice if wants to keep running from his past.
I refuse to acknowledge the existence of the U.K cover. The U.S. cover above is so stunning and is what caught my eye when I first saw the book on Instagram. HarperCollins UK, please see me in the backrooms, we have some things to discuss..
I don’t know why but for some reason, I thought this was a fantasy at first glance but it’s actually historical fiction! A light-hearted fun read but still manages to tackle serious topics of its time such as colonialism and piracy. Also, I found it funny that Reggie’s name is in the book description but for most of the book, it’s actually hidden from the reader. Kit is even shocked to learn his name and I just sat there thinking, “was I supposed to be shocked too?😅”
The romance is so sweet! I actually preferred the growing friendship of Kit and his fellow crewmates on the ship but it was fun seeing Kit and Reggie grow as the story developed.
I have to admit there is only one thing that I hated about this book but it’s not the fault of the book at all. Reggie refers to Kit as Kitten constantly. And if you watch my streams where I play the game Love and Deepspace, then you will already know how I feel about pet names. (Spoiler: I don’t like them at all!) It’s the ONE thing I couldn’t get over this entire book. I loved this book and it made me feel so bad that this one little thing was so close to ruining my reading experience. My rating for this book is 5/5 because it deserves it but just know in my soul that a little part of me died every time Reggie said Kitten.
A collection of weird fiction stories linked to The King in Yellow. This book is very odd and can be divided into two sections. The first part that deals with stories through the theme of The King in Yellow which is a title to a play that causes people to go mad when they read it. The second half of the book turns more light hearted. I kind of love how confused this book made me feel.
A fun reason as to why I was reading this book: Minecraft.
Yes, Minecraft.
This month, I had watched a video called “Searching for a World That Doesn’t Exist” – a Minecraft Alternate Reality Game (ARG). A Minecraft ARG is a horror-theme narrative where fiction blends with reality to create this unfolding story. The story follows a player named Avery exploring a corrupted Minecraft world on a used laptop. This two part series draws heavily on the King in Yellow mythos, focusing on the psychological impact of forbidden knowledge and how it breaks down Avery.
The video is pure psychological horror and was such a phenomenal watch that it made me want to read The King in Yellow to understand the mythos a bit more.
Tal has spent the last nine years on the run, but he’s not a criminal. Instead, he is being chased by a Wraith, a spirit which manifested after twenty-four townspeople of Shearwater, including Tal and his father, walked into the river and drowned – except only Tal returned unscathed. When he returns home to attend his grandfather’s funeral, Tal doesn’t plan on staying until his sibling convinces him to see the town’s newest healer who so happens to be the very person he had a one-night stand with the night prior. But Tal is determined to end the curse once and for all but the wraith is unforgiving and they might just drown under the pressure of Shearwater Spring.
NEW ALISTAIR REEVES BOOK MEANS I GET TO BE EVEN MORE ANNOYING ON THE INTERNET.
10/10. No notes. I might have cried a little when we had the cameo from Briar/Rowan and Ambrose/Emery. (the previous couples from the series) I’m sorry if you’re a Twitch viewer because you must be SICK of me constantly talking about this series.
A modern manga retelling of The Little Mermaid where the mermaid is reincarnated into Aito who has his memories from his past life returned to him when he meets the current reincarnation of his prince.
Once again, I am cursed to read beautiful one-shot mangas where I yearn for more. I do think this story would’ve benefitted from being a bit longer to let the reincarnation part settle in but it was beautiful nonetheless. I’m so glad I found this while randomly scrolling through Netgalley.
That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?
as told by zaheerah 