How is it already May?! Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey indeed. Anyway, here’s what I read in April and some of my thoughts about each book.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion volumes 7 and 8

The latest two installments in this series continue to follow Emma’s life in St. Crispian’s neighborhood of London, through new drama and more silliness, new friends and more emotions.

As mentioned in my March wrap-up, I adore this series! It’s SO charming, and the characters are so delightful. At this point in the series, it’s becoming a bit more focused on romance rather than friendship, but I’m finding it to be handled really well! Emma and her suitor (no spoilers here!) are very communicative, and the way their mutual attraction and yearning has developed is actually great. I don’t know if I want them to be endgame, but I have loved seeing Emma grow as a character in this way, and in all the other ways she’s changed over time. Bring on volume nine!

The Age of Scorpius by Milo Winter

This debut YA fantasy novel follows Rieka Spring, a young woman forced to follow a specific code of behavior due to her zodiac sign, Scorpio. However, she’s sure that the origin of this code is false and sets out to prove it, finding new friends along the way, as well as a mysterious woman from her past, who seems to know things Rieka can’t remember.

I heard about the situation surrounding this book on YouTube a few months ago, so when I got the chance to read it and thus form my own opinion, I absolutely had to. Thoughts about the author aside, this book is… well, it’s not very good. The numerous reasons it’s a letdown have been covered by dozens of other book reviewers and content creators, so I feel like anything I say about it has already been said. From the shallow characterization to the confusingly vague worldbuilding, from the nonsensical (or often straight-up incorrect) word choices to the weak plot structure, everything makes me think that any suggested edits were not implemented. In short, it was a slog to read, yet I’m still glad I read it!

(As for the author, I really hope that he’s able to eventually learn to graciously take criticism, to prioritize the craft of writing over running a business, and to not put the cart so far ahead of the horse that it’s a speck in the distance. That said, I hope he’s doing as well as possible given the disastrous circumstances of his book’s release.)

Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus

The first installment in a chapter book series, this follows Basil and Dawson, two mice living under Sherlock Holmes’ flat in London. When two young mice children are kidnapped by a nefarious trio, Basil decides to test his own investigative powers and find them before it’s too late.

All my life, I didn’t know that this was a book series until a few weeks ago, despite having liked the Disney movie adaptation. Luckily, my local library had it! It’s a simple, charming story. The mice main characters are good versions of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and the story would be a decent way to introduce children to those two icons. I wasn’t that invested in the villains, though, and there was a random scene with an owl toward the end that I didn’t think was necessary. It’s such a short book, but why was that in there? And I think I was hoping Ratigan from the movie would appear, so that was a little disappointing for me. But still, it was fun to see the origin (other than the Holmes stories themselves) for that movie!

A Prince Among Pirates by Katie Abdou

This young adult standalone follows Kit Davenport, a young noble who’s about to be married off to a woman he barely knows. The night before the wedding, he flees to the port and gets on the first ship that will take him on. However, he discovers that, beyond being unused to life at sea, this crew is actually a group of pirates. Kit might be in over his head, but he also can’t deny that this life is intriguing… as is the dashing captain, Reggie Sharpe.

I mean… this is YA Our Flag Means Death fanfiction, undeniably. Abdou even references “Jeff the accountant,” which was a character’s alias in a single episode from season one (I caught it, obviously, because I LOVE that show). But it’s still a fun, swashbuckling, coming-of-age adventure story. I liked the characters, but it’s mostly because they are just twentysomething versions of Stede and Ed. The plot was engaging, and there are lots of cool historical seafaring details. I’m definitely the target demographic for this book (despite being too old for it, technically), and I’ll look for more books from Abdou in the future!

Mavericks by Jenny Draper

Historian/tour guide Jenny Draper profiles twenty-four unusual, marginalized people from throughout history, examining their lives and what they contributed to the world around them, whether we’ve remembered them well or not.

I’ve followed Draper on YouTube for some time, and it was wonderful to see her first published work! She has such an engaging manner of writing, which is to be expected considering her profession, but also she’s clearly done extensive research to make this book full of detail. The different people profiled here are fascinating, and I hadn’t heard of most of them before, despite several of them accomplishing amazing feats. The chapters aren’t long, and honestly I would have wished for them to be longer, but these are still excellent and engaging mini-biographies of some amazing people.

And Side By Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer

After first contact a few centuries ago, most of human art has been taken to the Museum of the Seed-Born for safekeeping. The extraterrestrial curators insist that this is the best place for them, and that surely Earth is fine with the immaculate reproductions instead. But a ragtag group aren’t convinced, and are determined to get at least some of these priceless pieces back into the hands of the people who made them, whatever the cost to themselves.

This is a thought-provoking novella! I loved the themes about the nature of art, what personhood looks like in a universe of human and non-human sentient beings, and the references to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. There are so many cool concepts introduced in this story, and the character dynamics were great, but I really wanted this to be longer so that everything could be more fleshed out. Things felt way too rushed, which is unfortunate, because I think I could have loved this story if there were more to it. That said, I’ll keep an eye out for more of Tanzer’s works going forward!

The Bookbinder’s Secret by A. D. Bell

It’s 1901, and Lillian Delaney is an apprentice to a bookbinder, hoping to make it her career despite being a woman. One day, she discovers a letter hidden within the binding of an old book, and starts investigating who might have put it there. But someone is also after this information, and Lillian soon realizes that the mystery she’s stumbled upon might be incredibly dangerous.

I’ve never thought more about the process of binding a book than while reading this. It’s such a cool craft, especially as it was done before the Industrial Revolution made mass production of books so much easier. And beyond that, this was an interesting mystery, with a plucky protagonist. And the letters hidden in the book had echoes of a story like Alix E. Harrow’s The Everlasting, so obviously I was all over that. In general, this was a well-written story with some decent intrigue. Nothing absolutely mind-blowing, but still a good read overall.

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar

Tiwa and Said were best friends for years, until their falling out a couple years ago, around the time that Said began attending a boarding school in another town. Now, though, they’re both shaken by the loss of their favorite high school librarian, and so are thrown back into each other’s lives. They’re not sure how to reconnect, but grief makes them begrudgingly reevaluate some things. And then, their town’s beloved Islamic center has a devastating fire, and the two teens decide to team up to get it rebuilt. But neither is sure if they can stand to be around the other… or if they can stand to be apart after all.

I intended to read this sooner, around Eid, but better late than never! And it’s such a sweet coming-of-age romance story! I loved all the characters and the themes about second chances, community, and standing up for yourself and what you believe in. I learned a lot about Muslim culture and traditions, which was delightful. But really, this is a book anyone could enjoy: a story about kindness and forgiveness and teamwork. The romance is also well done, and I especially loved the Beatrice-and-Benedick nature of it!

The Feywild Job by C. L. Polk

Set in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, this follows Saeldian and Kell, two estranged partners in crime who haven’t seen each other in nearly ten years. Now, they’re both hired to execute an incredibly difficult heist with an incredibly big payout—if they succeed. Back in each other’s orbit, they have to navigate the myriad feelings they have for each other, as well as deal with completing this heist, which is proving more complicated and more treacherous than they expected.

The general premise of the last two books in this wrap-up are remarkably similar, now that I think about it, but the vibes and details are vastly different. And I did enjoy this, but I wasn’t entirely invested. I wonder if it’s because I’m only slightly familiar with the D&D universe, so some of the magic and general worldbuilding was a bit lost on me. However, I also found myself not that invested in the relationship between the protagonists, and I’m not sure why. Just some spark was missing, I guess. This isn’t a bad book by any means, but it wasn’t amazing either.

So overall, it was a decent, but not an incredible month of reading. Nothing really blew me away, and some were rather disappointing. However, I still read some good stories and learned some new things! Nothing wrong with that! My favorites from April were definitely Emma M. Lion and Four Eids. Onward to my May TBR! Also, I started my first N. K. Jemisin novel this month, and I’m really enjoying it (and kicking myself for not having read her work before)!