My 8 recent reads | April 2023

I've left it waaaay too long in between 'recent reads' posts, so bear with me because this is going to be long. But I've read a good few books recently, so here's my quickfire reviews! 

How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

My mum actually bought me this for Christmas off my Amazon wishlist, and it took me a while to get round to reading it - but it's SO good, I wish I'd read it earlier. It follows a woman who's in prison, telling the story of how she literally killed many of her family members; some of whom didn't know she existed. Raised as a badass by a single mum, she's a really likeable character despite being a murderer, and the book has so many twists and turns with a VERY clever ending. I would so highly recommend this as your next read.

XOXO series by Ginger Li

I'll lump these ones in together - a series of three short books on Kindle Unlimited, they're really cute YA romance books each following one girl in a friendship trio. Each book follows a pretty similar formula, mostly "enemies" to lovers, but they're just very sweet and fun stories if you're looking for a quick and easy read featuring donuts, plants, the piano, and a proper American high school.

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

This is creepy - a tale of two women who live in a house together. One lives a normal life, and the other is chained up in the attic. There are all sorts of arguments and dramas, family secrets, flashbacks and more throughout the book. It's well written and the characters are very complex, and like I said it has a definite creepy side to it. If you like a psychological thriller then this is definitely for you! It's not got the best twists in it, but they're still pretty good.

The Doctor's Wife by Daniel Hurst

If you've read any of my recent reads posts before you'll know I love a Daniel Hurst book, and this one was pretty good. It follows a couple who move to a remote area to start a new life - but only because he's having an affair, and he's (weirdly) following the other woman. As secrets come tumbling out, and many awkward encounters are had, everything really heats up. This is another great psychological thriller with some decent twists!

The Perfect Girl by Kelly Golden

I read this a while back and coincidentally my mum has just read it too and recommended it - it's a psychological thriller (are you sensing a theme?) about a couple who live in a beach town with their young daughter. The husband's best friend is perfect - beautiful, with a huge online following and plenty of success. Of course the wife can't help being jealous, and when she comes to stay some pretty weird things start happening... especially when her other half turns up. I really enjoyed this one and definitely didn't see the ending coming.

Sleepless Nights by Iona Kane

Okay we're back to romance - this time in the form of a sapphic romance about two female rockstars. One's selling out stadiums and the other one has been there before and witnessed the fallout that success can bring; they end up touring together and ultimately falling in love. It's not without its difficulties, though, and this is a really beautiful depiction of how a relationship isn't always easy but can SO be worth fighting for. I'd highly recommend!

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score

The first in the Knockemout series, it took me a while to get into this small town enemies-to-lovers romance... but boy when I did, I fell in love! It's such a cute story, interspersed with some really steamy bits, about a woman who turns up in a small US town following a message from her deadbeat sister. She ends up with a niece to take care of while still reeling from fleeing her own wedding, and she has to get a job/make friends/start a new life. She meets moody millionaire Knox, and the rest is history. Definitely read this if you like romance novels because it is gorgeous and so beautifully done.

Things We Hide From the Light by Lucy Score

This is the second book in the Knockemout series, featuring Knox's brother Nash (the town's police chief) who is recovering from getting injured in the first book. When an old acquaintance pitches up next door, it's the last thing Nash needs but sometimes that makes for the most beautiful story. Again, it has a similar formula to the first book in the series (deny feelings, fall in love, get scared, break up, get back togther) but it's still utterly gorgeous and I cannot WAIT for the third book to come out!

I'm going to leave it there so as not to overwhelm you, but April's part two will be out soon. March and April have been such good reading months for me and I'm definitely ahead of my target for the year...