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April 25, 2022

Favorite Books of April 2022 | Reviews

This post may include Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

April has been a month of SO MANY great books. I could have easily shared 10 April releases in this post, but decided to keep it to my three favorite books. They are all ones that will be in the running for my Best Books of 2022 and the books I’d most like to press in everyone’s hands right now! If you’re interested in the rest of the April books I loved, you can follow me on Instagram at NovelVisits. You’ll also get my reviews in a much more timely manner there.

I hope this spring has been good to you and your family and that you have much to look forward to this summer. I’ll be sharing Beach Bag Books 2022 in the middle of next month and my Summer Preview 2022 at the end of May. In the meantime, April books have got you covered!

Favorite Books of April 2022

In order of publication and nothing more because these are ALL books I loved!

Cover Story by Susan RigettiCover Story by Susan Rigetti (debut)
Publisher: William Morrow Books
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Length: 368 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย ๐‘ญ๐’–๐’! ๐‘ญ๐’–๐’! ๐‘ญ๐’–๐’! ๐‚๐Ž๐•๐„๐‘ ๐’๐“๐Ž๐‘๐˜ by debut author Susan Rigetti should be in everyoneโ€™s beach bag this spring and summer. Itโ€™s one of those books that is pure, unadulterated fun! The story centers around a world class grifter, Cat Wolff, and Lora Ricci, a 24-year old intern working for Elle magazine. Cat quickly has Lora under her spell and eager to do almost anything asked of her. Now, if youโ€™re thinking this sounds a little like ๐˜”๐˜บ ๐˜๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข by Rachel DeLoache Williams or the hit Netflix show ๐˜๐˜ฏ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข, youโ€™re absolutely right. There is that premise, but trust me when I say ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ends up going in entirely different directions.โฃ
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Thatโ€™s all I can tell you about the story because itโ€™s best to go in knowing as little as possible. I just want to leave you with two things. First, the entire book is written in diary entries, emails, text messages, etc., making it a very fast read and adding to the fun of the book. Second, I ๐๐„๐•๐„๐‘ saw the ending coming. I should have, but I didnโ€™t. When you read it (and you need to read it), message me and let me know if you saw it. Grade: A

Thanks toย William Morrow Booksย for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Memphis by Tara StringfellowMemphis by Tara M. Stringfellow (debut)
Publisher: The Dial Press
Release Date: April 5, 2022
Length: 252 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย Donโ€™t you just love an incredible story? One that gives you a hangover for days and days? Well, thatโ€™s what I got when I read Tara M. Stringfellowโ€™s wonderful debut, ๐Œ๐„๐Œ๐๐‡๐ˆ๐’. From beginning to end I was captivated by this story of three generations of a Memphis Black family, a family dominated by its women, and scarred by its men. It follows the lives of two sets of sisters, and the exemplary matriarch of their family. Nothing is easy for these women, who after lynchings, crimes, and abuse, must learn to survive and thrive on their own. โฃ
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โ€œ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ. ๐˜“๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด, ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง, ๐˜‰๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ. ๐˜“๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ด. ๐˜“๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ต ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜บ. ๐˜ˆ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜‰๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ.โ€โฃ
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Itโ€™s impossible to read this book and not talk about Stringfellowโ€™s writing. From the opening paragraphs, describing in resplendent detail a true Southern front porch, I knew I was in for a treat. Told from alternating perspectives, I highlighted so many passages, almost swooning over how well she portrayed the sister relationships, and the power she gave to her female cast. Her book was a love letter to Memphis and the women who call it home. I canโ€™t wait to read whatever Tara Stringfellow writes next.โฃ Grade: A
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โ€œ๐˜”๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ต ๐˜ˆ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต. ๐˜“๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฒ๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฐ. ๐˜–๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ.โ€โฃ

Thanks toย The Dial Press for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Unlikely Animals by Annie HartnettUnlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: April 12, 2022
Length: 368 pages
Amazon

My Thoughts:ย  I find it hard to know where to begin when talking about ๐”๐๐‹๐ˆ๐Š๐„๐‹๐˜ ๐€๐๐ˆ๐Œ๐€๐‹๐’ by Annie Hartnett, so Iโ€™ll start with the easiest part, I LOVED it! Itโ€™s a book that left me hungover and already wanting more from its author. (As did her 2017 debut, Rabbit Cake.) This is a story like nothing Iโ€™ve ever read before and a book that will stay with me for a very long time. At its heart, ๐˜œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ด is a grown up fairy tale, and donโ€™t we all need one of those now and again?โฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃ
The story revolves around a family in trouble. Emma is a medical school dropout. Auggie has just finished his second stint in rehab. Their mother is angry at their father for an affair, and their father is slowly dying of a brain disease which causes him to see things, especially animals. Thereโ€™s a big white dog๐Ÿถ, a fox๐ŸฆŠ, rabbits๐Ÿฐ, deer๐ŸฆŒ, rats๐Ÿ€ and a long dead naturalist. Some are real. Others? Not so much. The whole story is narrated by the collective voice of ghosts watching over their small town from its cemetery. Sounds a little crazy, right? Well yes, but in the best possible way. Remember, fairy tale!โฃโฃโฃ
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I wouldnโ€™t normally lead with this, but my favorite part was how funny this book was. At times, I was laughing so hard I was crying. I was worried the neighbors would hear and think Iโ€™d lost it. With humor, serious topics were woven into the story in the most imaginative ways. Nothing ever felt quite real. Hartnett always kept me a little off balance, never truly knowing where we were headed, and I ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ that. Everything and everyone in the story felt fresh and slightly remarkable. It all made me happy. Remember, fairy tale and remember to add ๐˜œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ด to the very top of your TBR list. Better yet? Order a copy…right now!โฃโฃโฃ Grade: A

Thanks toย Ballantine Books for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Which have been your favorite books this month?

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Favorite Books of April 2022

Filed Under: By Title, Contemporary Fiction, Debuts, Literary Fiction, Multi-Book Posts Tagged With: 2022 Books, April 2022 Books, Book Review, Family Story, Favorite Books, Female Friendship, Grade A, Sisters




Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie says

    April 25, 2022 at 1:57 pm

    Wow, Susie! I have all three of these on my library holds list. Look forward to spending some time outside reading soon. Happy Spring to you.

    Reply
  2. Diane says

    April 25, 2022 at 4:52 pm

    I recently finished Unlikely Animals and enjoyed it as well. (No review yet for me)

    Reply
  3. Lesley says

    April 26, 2022 at 10:38 am

    I have Unlikely Animals on my Audible wishlist. I love a good book that makes me laugh outloud.

    My favorite book of the month is a tie between The Absolutist by John Boyne and Monogamy by Sue Miller. Both are outstanding.

    Reply
  4. susan says

    May 18, 2022 at 4:15 pm

    Okay you have me really wanting to get to Unlikely Animals. I also like novels that can make me laugh. I hope to get to it on audio. thanks!

    Reply

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Welcome to Novel Visits! Iโ€™m Susie and reading is my passion. Join me for new novel reviews, musing on all things books, and much more.

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