Overall Mood: preoccupied. With a lot of house stuff happening this month and a few out of house things too I haven’t had the peaceful space to read. It’s not that tragic though because my reading bug was feeling a little sleepy still and I didn’t want to force myself to get a few more titles down just for the sake of making up numbers – something I do not want to focus on this year so I think taking it slow has actually been a real positive this month. The books I did read I am very happy with and my Currently reading is proving to be interesting and worth the wait.

Books read:

The Girl With The Red Hair by Buzzy Jackson 4/5

I love this gripping, raw historical fiction set in the Netherlands in WWII. Dutch resistance fighters are on another level, it seems and Buzzy Jackson did not disappoint. The Girl With the Red Hair is a high-intensity, quick-paced novel about identity, courage, camaraderie and choosing to be good in the presence of evil. It is beautiful as it is haunting and the real life figures involved in this story, specifically the resistance fighters, deserve the appreciation and respect of millions.

Almond by Sohn Won-Pyung 4/5

A sweet, emotive novel about a boy with a condition which makes it difficult to feel things, Almond is a coming-of-age story as much as it is a exploration of those who fit outside of the norm, especially as children. If you’re a fan of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon then you will like Almond. With heartbreaking plot points and relationships worthing of tears, Almond should be on your tbr list, if not on as many book recs as possible.

Currently reading:

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

I’ve only just started it (I was planning to have finished it by the time this post goes up but things happen sometimes) but I like the narrative style. It feels like Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson with that post-event narration laced with personal flavour and monologue. If that’s something you enjoyed or you’re interested in giving it a go, pick up The Fury or Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and let me know what you think.

I have about a half dozen more library books on my shelf to read in May (which I think I can safely say will be no problem at all) and a few more to pick up on my next visit. With the temperature dropping a little during the day and the autumnal weather kicking in, I believe my reading is about to triple in size and I am very excited to see what my May Reading Summary will look like.