Books I Read • April 2025

April took off! After March's reading slump, I was hungry for good books and finally found some winners. The month had everything: complex fantasy worlds, witch hunting drama, and a pirate mom who could kick everyone's ass.

I discovered Carissa Broadbent's intricate world-building, fell hard for Shannon Chakraborty's swashbuckling adventure, and learned that sometimes popular books just aren't for you (looking at you, Bridge Kingdom series). Seven books with a solid mix of hits and misses, but the hits were so good they made up for the disappointments.

1. “Daughter of No Worlds” by Carissa Broadbent (War of Lost Hearts #1) ★★★★
   This is a romantasy classic for a reason. World is rich and interesting. Loved the flawed, nuanced characters. Grumpy/sunshine romance trope worked. Tisaanah's language struggles felt real, banter was on point, and oh Max. Hard not to love Max. Knock a star for uneven pacing. A lovely book.

   
   

2. “Heartless Hunter” by Kristen Ciccarelli (The Crimson Moth #1) ★★★★
   If this hadn't been YA, it would have been better. Witch hunter premise felt heavy handed. Rune's deception, not that clever. Not a true enemies-to-lovers, more insta-love. Period blood magic is weird, but I kinda respect the gutsy choice? I complain, but I devoured it in under 24 hours. So there's that.

   
   

3. “Rebel Witch” by Kristen Ciccarelli (The Crimson Moth #2) ★★★
   Uneven. The good parts of this were better than Heartless, but the bad parts were worse. Pet peeve: characters acting out of character to move the plot forward. The ending was solid. Also gobbled this up in hours, not days.

   
   

4. “The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi” by Shannon Chakraborty ★★★★★
   Give me older, retired pirate mom all day long. This was a fun swashbuckling adventure in seas full of old friends and enemies. I'm calling it: I'll read anything Chakraborty writes.

   
   

5. “Heavenly Bodies” by Imani Erriu ★★★★
   Solid trope-forward romantasy. Strong opening with shattered world, murdered parents, kidnapping by enemies. Simple magic system, political intrigue. Standard tropes with earned plot twists. Already preordered the sequel.

   
   

6. “The Bridge Kingdom” (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen ★★★
   People love this but not me. The world felt simple, didn't understand the war stakes. Arranged marriage was creepy, not hot. Do the characters love each other? If so, why? Won't reread.

   
   

7. “The Traitor Queen” (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen ★★★
   Forgot most of this immediately. Sister characters felt plot-driven, not like real people. Uneven pacing with a "running halfway across the world" plot. Will probably DNF the rest of the series.