This was a really good reading month for me as far as ratings go. I didn’t have any DNFs and a majority of my reads were in the 4-5 star range.

I knocked off two more book from my “25 in 2025 TBR Challenge” list, and I read three that satisfied some of my 2025 reading prompts, and two that satisfied my March reading prompts. Here are my favorite books of the month and how I rated everything that I read:

5 Star:

• Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
• Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
• Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

4 – 4.75 Star:

• Woodworking by Emily St. James
• Dream State by Eric Puchner
• Things Left Unsaid by Sara Jafari
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
• The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich
• The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith
• Dissolution by Nicholas Binge
• Every Sweet Thing is Bitter by Samantha Crewson
• Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

3 – 3.75 Star:

• Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley
• The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
• The Night Birds by Christopher Golden
• Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp

I have a few ARCs that I need to read this month and plan to get through more of my 2025 lists. I also want to start the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series. I have heard nothing but great things. I’m also planning to read “The Mask Falling” which is book 4 in “The Bone Season” series. (I’m really loving this series, but trying to pace myself since only 5 of the planned 7 books are out.) Lastly, I’ll try and throw in whatever Aardvark and BOTM picks that I can.

In addition to the books pictured above, I also hope to read the following:

• Real Americans by Rachel Khong (This book is on my “Read 25 books from your TBR” challenge)
• Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett (This will satisfy one of my May reading prompts)
• So Happy Together by Olivia Worley (ARC)
• Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski (This book is on my “Read 25 books from your TBR” challenge)
• Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith (ARC)