What I Read In April 2021

SHOP THE OUTFIT: Cotton Blend Puff Sleeve Dress | Monogram Necklace | Twist Knot Headband

So I meant to share what I read in April right at the beginning of May. And here we are at the last week of May and I finally got to it. One day I’ll be back on track.

I also can’t believe that I was able to read three books in April. I thought maybe I can get through one book. Carter is going through a nap strike. Whenever I get a moment to myself, I do pick up a book instead of watching TV or scrolling through Instagram. Reading has been my self-care.

It also helps that all the books I read in April are page turners. They’re the kind of books that you just have to know what happens.

What I Read In April 2021

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

It’s Nantucket’s wedding season, and the wedding of the year is the Otis-Winbury wedding. The groom, Benji, comes from an extremely wealthy family and spared no expense to make everything lavish. The bride, Celeste, comes from a modest upbringing and can’t wait to show her parents Nantucket.

A body was found floating near the harbor on the morning of the wedding. Now the scene has turned into a murder investigation. As the Chief of Police interviews the wedding party and wedding guests, he discovers that no one is perfect. It leads to so many secrets unfolding that there are several potential reasons why someone would be murdered.

Aside from the Paradise series, this is now one of my favorite Elin Hilderbrand books. I could not put this book down. As more and more details about the wedding and wedding guests unfolded, I was so engrossed by all the characters’ lives. And even my head was spinning because there seemed to be several suspects who might have committed a murder. I don’t want to give away any more details, but for sure recommend this book!

SHOP THE OUTFIT: Cotton Blend Puff Sleeve Dress | Monogram Necklace | Twist Knot Headband

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Jane just moved to Birmingham and is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates – an affluent gated community. Everyone in Thornfield Estates is wealthy enough that they don’t notice Jane has stolen random knickknacks and jewelries from them. One day, she runs into Eddie Rochester. His wife Bea and her best friend drowned in a boat accident. Jane is immediately attracted to Eddie, and Eddie falls for her. Jane is constantly haunted by her even though Bea is no longer around. No matter where she goes and looks, there seems to be a Bea touch to it. Jane doesn’t think she can measure up to the beautiful and extremely successful Bea. Eddie doesn’t know anything about Jane’s past, but it seems that her past is catching up to her.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a suspenseful book like this one and I loved that it was a quick read too. It kept me guessing what really happened and what Jane’s past was like. This book has everything I love in a suspense book – wealthy people with secrets and unexpected endings. The entire time I kept wondering ‘who is lying?’ and ‘will anyone get a happy ending?’.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

In 18th century London, there was a hidden and secret apothecary that only catered to women and to sell poison to use against oppressive men. The apothecary is only known to women by word of mouth. Nella is the hidden figure behind the apothecary and creates an unexpected friendship with a 12 year old which ends up changing the course for Nella and her shop. Present day, Caroline is an aspiring historian and takes a solo trip to London after finding out about her husband’s infidelity. She randomly finds a vial that leads her to the apothecary murders. Caroline takes interest in the vial and researches the history. She finds out that her life collides with the unsolved apothecary murders and discovers a twist that happened two hundred years ago. Unfortunately, not everyone survives.

At first I didn’t understand why I picked this book. But for some reason I did in my Book Of The Month selection. So I decided to give this book a shot this month. I was a little weirded out because it just seems like a book about black magic. But as I kept reading, I enjoyed it more and more. It’s more than what I expected and I couldn’t put it down. I also wanted to find out and solve the apothecary murder too. The ending for one of the characters was to be expected but the fate of the other characters really made me think about what actually happened and who actually survives. I love that this book was different and glad I gave it a shot.

So what do you think? Do any of these books spark your interest?

xo RD