Hello Readers! Whew. I can’t seem to get caught up with my reviews and posts after the end of March. It was the perfect storm with My March Wrap-Up, the end of My Trope-ical Readathon, and a holiday. So my April TBR is a few days late. This will be a loosely planned TBR, mostly consisting of ARCs I have due in May. I’m determined to stay ahead which will allow me more freedom to mood-read, as well. Maybe…

You might remember I set a goal to only have 2-3 ARCs per month this year… Well, that goal fell to pieces for May and June. It’s still working for the rest of the months, but there were just too many amazing books coming out this summer that I HAD to read. 😉 I currently have 12 ARCs for May and June, but I’ve already read 3, so I’m not worrying yet. This month I’ll be focusing primarily on the ARCs due at the first of May. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m super excited about all of these books. I have stuck to my goal to only read ARCs I’m fairly confident I’ll enjoy. Let’s see what I have “planned”!

Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield

My current read—that I haven’t been able to devote my full attention to since I’m so behind on reviews and posts—but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far!

Synopsis:

Tilla has spent her entire life trying to make her father love her. But every six months, he leaves their family and returns to his true home: the island of Jamaica.

When Tilla’s mother tells her she’ll be spending the summer on the island, Tilla dreads the idea of seeing him again, but longs to discover what life in Jamaica has always held for him.

In an unexpected turn of events, Tilla is forced to face the storm that unravels in her own life as she learns about the dark secrets that lie beyond the veil of paradise—all in the midst of an impending hurricane.

Hurricane Summer is a powerful coming of age story that deals with colorism, classism, young love, the father-daughter dynamic—and what it means to discover your own voice in the center of complete destruction.

5/4/21
Goodreads

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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I’ve read and enjoyed Weir’s two previous books, The Martian and Artemis, and I’m excited to get to this one!

Synopsis:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission–and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.

Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian–while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

5/4/21
Goodreads

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Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life by Julianna Margulies

This memoir wasn’t anywhere on my radar, but I came across it on a list of must-read new releases, and the author of the list had such glowing comments, it persuaded me to request it on Netgalley. I’m a fan of Margulies, having watched her for years on ER and The Good Wife.

Synopsis:

Known for her outstanding performances on the groundbreaking television series The Good Wife and ER, Julianna Margulies deftly chronicles her life and her work in this deeply powerful memoir.

“At once a tender coming-of-age story and a deeply personal look at a young woman making sense of the world against a chaotic and peripatetic childhood.”–Katie Couric

As an apple-cheeked bubbly child, Julianna was bestowed with the family nickname “Sunshine Girl.” Shuttled back and forth between her divorced parents, often on different continents, she quickly learned how to be of value to her eccentric mother and her absent father. Raised in fairly unconventional ways in various homes in Paris, England, New York, and New Hampshire, Julianna found that her role among the surrounding turmoil and uncertainty was to comfort those around her, seeking organization among the disorder, making her way in the world as a young adult and eventually an award-winning actress.

Throughout, there were complicated relationships, difficult choices, and overwhelming rejections. But there were also the moments where fate, faith, and talent aligned, leading to the unforgettable roles of a lifetime, both professionally and personally–moments when chaos had finally turned to calm.

Filled with intimate stories and revelatory moments, Sunshine Girl is at once unflinchingly honest and perceptive. It is a riveting self-portrait of a woman whose resilience in the face of turmoil will leave readers intrigued and inspired.

5/4/11
Goodreads

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A Summer to Remember by Erika Montgomery

I was invited to read this novel a few months ago, but I didn’t immediately accept. After seeing some recent glowing early reviews, I decided to add it to my stack! It does combine some of my favorite things: books, romance, and movies.

Synopsis:

For thirty-year-old Frankie Simon, selling movie memorabilia in the shop she opened with her late mother on Hollywood Boulevard is more than just her livelihood–it’s an enduring connection to the only family she has ever known. But when a mysterious package arrives containing a photograph of her mother and famous movie stars Glory Cartwright and her husband at a coastal film festival the year before Frankie’s birth, her life begins to unravel in ways unimaginable.

What begins is a journey along a path revealing buried family secrets, betrayals between lovers, bonds between friends. And for Frankie, as the past unlocks the present, the chance to learn that memories define who we are, and that they can show us the meaning of home and the magic of true love.

Experience the salty breeze of a Cape Cod summer as it sweeps through this sparkling, romantic, and timeless debut novel tinged with a love of old Hollywood.

“The perfect read for summer. A novel with depth, real emotions, lyrical writing, and flawed characters with whom to fall in love.”–New York Times bestselling author Karen White

5/11/21
Goodreads

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Version Zero by David Yoon

I’ve read and enjoyed Yoon’s previous two YA novels Frankly in Love and Super Fake Love Song, so I was happy to give his adult debut a try!

Synopsis:

A lightning fast and scorchingly observant novel of the moment, Version Zero is a thrilling, humorous adult debut from the brilliant mind of New York Times bestselling author David Yoon.

Reboot the present. Save the future.

Max, a data whiz at the Facebook-like social media company Wren, has gotten a firsthand glimpse of the dark side of big tech. When he starts asking questions about what his company is doing with the data they collect, he finds himself fired…and then blackballed across all of Silicon Valley.

With time on his hands and inside knowledge about the biggest tech companies, Max and his longtime friend—and sometime crush—Akiko, decide to get even by…essentially, rebooting the internet. After all, in order to fix things, sometimes you have to break them. But when Max and Akiko join forces with a reclusive tech baron, they learn that breaking things can have unintended—and disastrous—consequences. And those consequences will ripple across the world, effecting every level of society in ways no one could have imagined.

5/25/21
Goodreads

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Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

I was hoping to read Firefly Lane last month, but I didn’t get to it, so it’s making another appearance on my TBR. 😉

Synopsis:

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.

So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.

From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness. 

Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she’ll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she’ll envy her famous best friend. . . .

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship—jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.

Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone’s Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it’s the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It’s about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you—and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you’ll never forget . . . one you’ll want to pass on to your best friend.

Goodreads

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The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

I’ve been watching The New York Times Magazine virtual book club discussions @ T Book Club, and this month’s read is The Talented Mr. Ripley. I already own this book and it’s on my Popsugar Reading Challenge TBR for the year, so it seems like the perfect time to read it! I’ve really enjoyed the discussions, which have an author giving their thoughts on the books and then time for some questions and discussion with a host at the end. The discussions are free, and when I couldn’t watch the live version last month, I just watched it the following day. This month’s discussion will be on April 22nd with writer Edmund White.

Synopsis:

Since his debut in 1955, Tom Ripley has evolved into the ultimate bad boy sociopath, influencing countless novelists and filmmakers. In this first novel, we are introduced to suave, handsome Tom Ripley: a young striver, newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan in the 1950s. A product of a broken home, branded a “sissy” by his dismissive Aunt Dottie, Ripley becomes enamored of the moneyed world of his new friend, Dickie Greenleaf. This fondness turns obsessive when Ripley is sent to Italy to bring back his libertine pal but grows enraged by Dickie’s ambivalent feelings for Marge, a charming American dilettante. A dark reworking of Henry James’s The Ambassadors, The Talented Mr. Ripley—is up to his tricks in a 90s film and also Rene Clement’s 60s film, “Purple Noon.”

Goodreads

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What are you most excited to read this month? Have you read any of these books yet? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!