What I read in April

I read 5 books in April. Here's an overview that respects your time:

A trio of sisters lose both of their parents at a young age. We follow the youngest sister as she navigates life, gender, and life’s challenges. This is the sad, queer Muslim story that I didn’t realize I needed.

Grief is a central part of this novel’s appeal. It’s sad but it’s also deadpan in a way that I found very interesting. Some beautiful prose about loss, freedom and faith. The form shifts effortlessly from poems to narrative to dreamscapes.

A woman moves back in with her family after a dramatic breakup only to discover that she’s sharing an office with a man she can’t stand in this workplace romance. Eventually, she discovers her father set her up on a Desi dating site. The two decide to vet the 10 finalists her father selected for her in hopes of finding a husband, but her real match was closer than she thought.

This was a great time. The banter between Layla and Sam is top notch. The way they tease and push each other’s buttons makes the payoff all the more worth it. The ending was a bit predictable, but I was smiling from beginning to end.

A young girl is accepted to a prestigious, remote academy with a shadowy past. The story alternates between past and present murders with plenty of room for twists along the way. This young adult mystery includes an interesting batch of characters that move its plot along.

This was a very fun page-turner. I left wishing the ending was more conclusive, but that’s one way to get me interested in a sequel. I found juxtaposing a detective character, Stevie, as someone with anxiety to be very interesting and well done.

A queer NFL reporter is assigned to the WNBA beat for All-Star weekend. During her time there, she gets to know a WNBA player recovering from an injury. The two realize that they have feelings for each other even if they can’t articulate that to their peers or even each other. A lesbian journalist x WNBA romance that the streets (me) have been demanding for ages.

Seeing how the characters recognize their own shortcomings was very refreshing. I felt the pacing was good and there were just enough characters. Perhaps selfishly of me, I would've given full 5 stars if either of the love interests were Black, given the WNBA's history and how much Black queer women have done for the sport. That said, I understand the author isn't Black and wanted to be authentic to their own experience. More of a wishlist thing than an actual knock.

A woman whose whole world revolved around her mother’s condition finds herself wondering just who she really is after she dies. Things take several turns for the worse as bodies turn up and she’s implicated in for a murder. Her marriage is on the rocks, her daughter doesn’t respect her, and she wonders if she inherited her mother’s neuroticism. There’s a lot going on.

This got off to a very strong start, but did not stick the landing. The mother-daughter dynamics and OCD representation were interesting, but I was left feeling like I was promised one boook and ended up reading another.

Thank you for reading! This is the first one of these “What I read this month” wrap-ups that I’ve posted here. If this resonates with people, I’ll try to consistently make them.

If you’d like to talk books, critique my critiques or share recommendations, feel free to send me a message on any of the social media in my Linktree below.