Welcome to the My Month is Booked linkup! I only made it through 5 books this month, but some of em’ have been kinda soul-shattering, so I needed some recovery time, haha.
My Month Is Booked: April 2026
(If you want to cry a thousand rivers, read some of the books I read this month. :’)
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Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes – A young woman takes on a job as a caretaker/companion for a formerly very successful, adventurous man who’s been wheelchair-bound after an unfortunate accident. She is happy-go-lucky; he is angry with the world… The contract is for 6 months.
After reading Giver of Stars last year, I had definitely wanted to read more of Jojo Moyes’ books! I couldn’t put this one down. It covers some very uncomfortable subjects that’s past anything I’ve ever had to have a conversation for (e.g. the closest I’ve come to this was holding family meetings regarding goals of care + switching to comfort/palliative care back when I was in residency). Given that this was written back in 2012, I think it wouldn’t be that much of a spoiler to write more of my thoughts, but in case anyone here is like me and hasn’t read this yet, I will just say that I could see where it was going to go, but that didn’t stop me from having a whole lot of thoughts/feelings.
Weyward, by Emilia Hart – A historical fiction(-ish)/magical realism (two of my favorite genres!) mix covering the perspectives of 3 women across 3 different timelines:
1619 – Altha, a girl being tried for witchcraft/murder of a local farmer.
1942 – Violet, a girl forced to live by convention + longing for something more for her life.
2019 – Kate, who escapes an abusive partner for a cottage she inherits from a great-aunt she barely remembers.
This covers a lot of darker/heavier topics and while it was marketed as empowering female resilience, I felt it leaned a little heavy on the “you don’t have a true purpose without pregnancy” (this could very much just be a me problem though because I’m happily child-free). The writing is beautiful and I felt the story, although somewhat slow, came together well. If you’re looking for something witchy with a satisfying ending, this is a good pick!
Next Time Will Be Our Turn, by Jesse Sutanto – Izzy Chen dreads her family’s yearly Chinese New Year celebration where everyone constantly tries to one-up each other on their status/successes, but when her 73-yo grandmother walks in with a beautiful woman and kisses her in front of everyone, she gets the shock of a lifetime. Told in split timelines, her grandmother (Magnolia) regales Izzy about her life after her Indo-Chinese parents send her to Los Angeles for her education and she falls in love with someone forbidden to her both by culture and gender norms.
I love Jesse Sutanto’s books, but have only ever read her cozy mysteries (Vera Wong <3!), so I wasn’t expecting to have my heart torn apart like this. The first love described in here captures that innocence and uncertainty so, so well, it brought me back to my college days. Engaging as always, with characters you’ll love, characters you’ll immensely dislike until you realize why they are the way they are, plot twists that are like multiple knives to the heart even though you know in your core something had to have happened, while also delivering a depiction of the cultural norms + misogyny that affected so many women’s lives…this has something for everyone. :’)
Whispers of Ink & Starlight, by Garrett Curbow – A tale about a girl named Nelle, born from the ink and imagination of a reclusive writer. She is held captive by her creator, never daring to wish for a different future or a different life, until she meets and falls in love with James.
I loved the concept of this + the title/cover more than I liked the actual story, but I tend to not be a fan of the instantly-falling-in-love + “I’d do anything for you” trope. (Feels too co-dependent and needy to me so I tend to steer clear..) Their decisions were super immature and hard to follow at times and I really wish there had been more world-building, because this was a super cool idea.
Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Centered around Joan, a brilliant astronomer who becomes one of the first women to join NASA’s space Shuttle program in the early 80’s, this was really hard to put down.
I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by her thus far + this one’s up there with Daisy Jones & The Six. There are characters you’ll fall in love with, characters you’ll want to absolutely throttle…this was so beautifully written. (It did have me texting the friend I was buddy-reading because I didn’t think my heart could take it, haha. I may still be a little emotionally fragile from reading Me Before You + Next Time Will Be Our Turn though, so don’t mind me. :'( ) One caveat is that it is decidedly more love story in the setting of space travel/astronauts so if you’re expecting mostly sci-fi/something along the lines of Project Hail Mary, I’d look elsewhere.
- Any DNF’s for you this month? I vaguely-DNF’ed a book this month (Untamed, by Glennon Doyle) — I may finish it later this year but for whatever reason, just couldn’t get into it.
- If you have any cozy/happy books to suggest, I really need them. I’m 3/5 this month in having my soul ripped to shreds. :'(
