Well, April was a bit of a bust when it came to reading. I hit a major reading slump this month and was also super busy and stressed due to work and planning my sister’s bridal shower, which led to very few books being read. 

In April, I read only read 3 books. I’m currently super behind on my reading goals for the year, but trying not to focus on that as there is still plenty of time to catch up!

Here’s what I read this month:

April 2023 Reads

The Duchess Hunt (Once Upon a Dukedom #2) by Lorraine Heath 

I was feeling reading slumpy at the beginning of the month, so I picked up my favorite historical romance, The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath. This usually can get me out of a slump, but this time it made it worse because this book is so good. 

I reread this book at least once or twice per year, as it’s truly perfect. I highly recommend you pick it up if you haven’t read it yet.

Check out my review of The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath to see why.

A Matter of Temptation by Stacy Reid 

This book has been on my TBR for ages, and when I saw it on KU, I had to grab it! I hoped this would give me some The Duchess Hunt vibes as it also deals with a Duke and his secretary falling for each other, but it couldn’t live up to that level (though few books can!)

I started out really liking this in the beginning, but I found the pacing a bit off in the second half, which caused a few issues for me as things felt rushed in Mina and Simon’s relationship, and the ending was tied up way neater than I expected. 

Check out my review of A Matter of Temptation by Stacy Reid.

A Notorious Countess Confesses (Pennyroyal Green #7) by Julie Anne Long

I had the opposite issue with this book as I did with A Matter of Temptation. This one started out really slow, and I struggled to connect with it at first, but then around midway, something shifted, and I ended up falling in love with this. 

This is definitely a slow-burn romance – and probably the slowest burn so far in the Pennyroyal Green series – but the payoff was worth it in the end.

Some of the editing – particularly the constant switching between Evie and Eve for the main female character with no real explanation as to why – took me a tad out of the story. But Long does a fantastic job writing the romance and crafting her characters, so I can forgive that.

I’ve also added this book to my review queue, so we shall see when I get to it, as May will be a busy month!

April 2023 Reviews

As you can expect, April being a hectic month meant fewer reviews. I’m still trying to stick to one review a week while things are crazy, which is precisely what happened in April.

Here are the reviews I published in April in case you missed it:

• The League of Gentlewomen Witches (Dangerous Damsels #2) by India Holton
• In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint (Halifax Hellions) by Alexandra Vasti
• Beauty and the Baller (Strangers in Love #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills
• The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright by Tessa Dare

I hope you had a fantastic reading month! Any new favorites?