The Book Bit: April 2020 Ed.

Hello, everyone! I hope that all of you have remained safe and are doing well. This month has been trying in our household to say the least. Let's just say, some of us are not adjusting to homeschooling very well. It's me. I'm not adjusting. My kid is holding up way better than me. I've been finding it hard to find time for myself and to get motivated to read this month. I managed to read my three books, but I really had to force myself to crack open the first pages. And getting reacquainted with my e-reader was... interesting. I bought my Kindle when I was in college (so many moons ago) because it was light, took up zero room in my backpack, and I never got late fees! But I struggled this month figuring out how to get my library loan to come through. Luckily my husband is a bit more patient with technology than I am.

Anyway. Enough about my silly struggles with old tech. Let's talk about books.

"High Five"- Janet Evanovich

For those of you that haven't read any of the Stephanie Plum series, seriously, get on board! They're super funny, relatable, and quick reads. I have a stash of them that I've picked up from various places over the years and when I find myself burnt out on my thrillers and gore I pick one up for a light read. You can find these books pretty much anywhere. I've gotten them at library overstock sales, garage sales, and sometimes even in giveaway piles. If you want to see the review of book four, you can find that here.

Stephanie is at a standstill in her bounty hunter career. There's been no skips, no money, and no boyfriends. Desperate for work, she takes on a missing persons case that hits a little close to home. An extended family member has disappeared, and no one really seems in too much of a hurry to locate her old uncle. As Stephanie navigates through a mystery surrounding the garbage company she relies on her mentor, Ranger, to get her some side jobs. They're all very... interesting... to say the least. Of course, we have appearances from our favorite characters including Grandma Mazur, Lula, Joe Morelli and some new friends that are just as easily cherished.

This is an easy series to love and come back to without any lag time.

"Artemis"- Andy Weir

The first time I read Andy Weir, also many moons ago, I knew right away that his writing was unique. If you like science fiction novels, but find them to be sometimes tedious, Weir is for you. He mixes science with sarcasm and writes unforgettable leading characters. There's also nice little moments after an info dump where the main character will explain things in layman's terms. You know, for those of us that aren't so scientifically inclined. And I love that.

Artemis is the first and only city on the Moon. Jazz has lived on Artemis since she was a child and she's had a bumpy road along the way. Life on the moon isn't as exciting as one might think. Sure, the gravity is different, there's cool artefactual stuff to look at and the history is pretty awesome, but there's quite a few down sides. For one, the food. Two, if you live on Artemis you are either poor or rich and there's not much room in between. But Jazz has figured out a way to get herself from the bottom to the top quickly. One of her main customers suddenly has an interesting job offer. And the money would change her life significantly.

But that kind of job puts her morals into question. Can Jazz pull it off? Or will this job prove to be too much for the local moon smuggler?

This book was a little hard to get into, but Weir makes it easy to commit. Check this book out, you'll remember this quirky, rude entrepreneur for a while.

"Club Dead"- Charlaine Harris

Ok, let me explain why I don't like vampire novels. They've been done. A lot. And badly. For me, the Queen of the Vampires is Anne Rice. And I've been hard pressed to find a vampire novel I've liked written within the last fifteen years. And there's a lot of them. People are obsessed with vampire novels. I. Don't. Get. It.

Now. I have a few close friends who love to read and I value their opinions about books. One of those friends had this entire series and loaned them to me, insisting I give it a go. The first two books? *sigh* I was left unimpressed. You can find the reviews for those books here and here. I decided to give it one last shot before calling it quits on this series. I'm glad I did. Finally, book three had me intrigued.

You want to know why? Because we moved away from the vampire angle. Oh sure, there were still vampires in there (a lot of them) but we got an injection of new supernatural entities as well, and they became the main focus. Namely: Werewolves. Throwback to childish voting on vampire vs werewolf, I am team werewolf 100%. So, this book had way more appeal to me.

Sookie is tired of Bill. He's been distant, focused on his work, and lacking as a boyfriend. When he suddenly says he's going out of town, Sookie is frustrated and angry. When Eric comes to tell her Bill is now missing, presumed kidnapped, well. It only changes things a little. When Eric asks Sookie to help find Bill, she only agrees because she can't shake her love for him. But upon learning a secret, Sookie really only wants to find him so she can dump him for good. With the help of some new supernatural friends will she be able to find Bill before he's tortured to death? Final death, that is.

The reason these books have been more miss than hit for me is because Sookie has been so reliant on the vampires to save her. Every book, Sookie nearly dies and needs the vampires to save her. Unfortunately, that happens in this book too, but there's a lot more moments when Sookie is kicking ass all on her own, which is awesome. We finally get to see this strong woman the writer keeps boasting Sookie is, plus we move away from the vampires a bit. This book has given me a little more incentive to read book four. Hopefully it holds up.


So, that's what I've been reading this month! The lockdown continues here in the Midwest, and we aren't rushing for the reopen so that means more books for us! I hope everyone is staying safe and finding moments for themselves in this stressful time. Want to tell me what you've been reading? Have any suggestions? Drop a comment and let me know. Happy reading, book nerds!