March was a good month for reading, and I credit all the time I spent on airplanes and with travel delays during our vacation for letting me get through a lot of books. April was more of a mixed bag. I started a lot of books that I didn't end up finishing, and I think only finished four. 

I'm getting a bit better at stopping books when I don't love them, but I often times still spend more time with them than I should in hopes that they'll get better. I need to be more ruthless and quit earlier so I can focus on the books I actually enjoy!

Anyway, here are the books I did finish (and largely liked) over the last two months.

March Books

Five Stars

Fly Girl: A Memoir by Ann Hood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book because I felt like I was getting a behind the scenes look at what goes on before, during and after a flight. I actually read this on the plane to Europe in March, and I appreciated being in the air, reading about all the training the author had to go through to be a flight attendants, some of the antics she experienced and in general just learning more about her jet-setting life. It was cool insight and an enjoyable read.

Four Stars

Spare by Prince Harry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There was nothing quite like Prince Harry narrating this book through my headphones. I listened to this while working on some home improvement projects, and while some of the parts of the book that focused on Harry's military service were a little slow, I really enjoyed learning about his travels to Africa and what drew him to working in various countries there. I also of course loved the behind-the-scenes Royal Family insights, and man, the press and the relationship between the Palace and the press and the way they all turn on each other to feed stories, that was tough. Highly recommend this as an audiobook.

An Ambush of Widows by Jeff Abbott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a good twisty, turny thriller that I read extremely quickly. Kristen North receives a phone call that her husband is dead in Austin. But he was supposed to be in New York on business. Kristen heads to Austin right away and discovers her husband's body was found with that of another man, who was also killed. There seems to be no immediate connection between the men, but as Kristen and the other man's wife, Flora start digging into what happened, they uncover things they never expected.

You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm usually not much of a short story person, but I love Curtis Sittenfeld's writing, and I enjoyed reading this collection of short stories on the plane home from Europe.

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a book club re-read. This book was a super fast read -- I tore through it in about three hours. I enjoyed the story of how many generations of one family are changed when a young intern has an affair with a congressman. I thought there were parts of the story that could have been explored in more depth, but overall, I liked the way each main character got a look at separation section of the book dedicated to them.

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Three Stars

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the first few books in the Truly Devious series, but this one fell a bit flat for me. I liked the mystery solving parts, but Stevie became largely insufferable for much of the book because of her angst over her relationship, and I just didn't really have the patience for that. It seemed to take away from the actual interesting parts of the story. Still giving it three stars because I liked the case she was trying to solve.

April Books

Four Stars

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Millie is released from prison, she doesn't have many job prospects, so she finds herself working as a maid for a wealthy family. Soon she feels Nina is playing with her head, leaving messes everywhere for Millie to clean up and complaining to her husband that Millie is the one that created the messes. It's clear that not everything is as it seems, but Millie can't seem to put her finger on the issue. This is a fast, twisty thriller that I really enjoyed.

The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the second book of the Housemaid series, word has spread about the work Millie will do to protect some of the clients she works for. When she's hired by another wealthy family to do their cleaning, Millie suspects the wife is being abused. She never comes out of her room and the few times Millie has broken the rules and stepped inside, she's seen blood or bruises. Millie is determined to help. But when she's trying to hatch a plan to help, things take a turn. Another fun and fast thriller that I really enjoyed.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was cute, but the main character was a little bit tough to handle at times with her severe lack of self esteem. But I loved that this book was set around a show like SNL, where Sally is a writer and she gets to work closely with one of the hosts to help him polish his own skit. The research the author did about how things run at SNL was evident in the book, and that helped make this a really fun and fast read. There were also some really touching parts at the end that sort of redeemed the main character a bit for me.

Three Stars

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I largely enjoyed this book and would probably have given it 3.5 stars if I could do halves. This book tells the story of a family of 1 percenters and the spouses that married into it. It was fun and a little wacky, but at some points I really struggled with some of the decisions the characters made. There was one relationship in particular that did not seem incredibly healthy, and I had a hard time with how things turned out for them in this book.

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