We’ve made it to another Monday! We’ve now reached April 28 and this month is drawing near to its close. This week, I was very busy with my daughter’s school vacation and then the North of Boston Book Trail, but I still got two books read! The first was an advance reader copy (ARC) that I felt very lucky to get. The second I both found out about and got my hands on thanks to my local library. I had a great time with both. Here’s the full recap.

1. The Enchanted Isles – Alycia E. Anderson

CW: Graphic Depictions of Violence & Injuries, Death of Parent, Body Shaming, Vomit, Sexual Content, Child Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Torture, Parentification, Colonization, Genocide

I was very excited to get an ARC of the eBook directly from the author on this one. I wanted the moment I knew the synopsis. The official release is coming up very soon on the 6th of May. It’s currently available for pre-order in either paperback or hardcover.

Summary:

Vivienne has spent her entire life in training to one inherit her parents’ roles at the head of the royal Library of Metis. While they sail off on grand research adventures, she’s stuck studying dusty maps of lands she’ll probably never see. That is, until her parents go missing on one of their trips. Finding out what happened to them means picking up where they left off, and its falls to Vivienne to do it.

She boards the Zephyrus and with the help of its crew and her lifelong best friend, they set sail for the Isle of Verdance. She finds that her life of learning may have left her woefully unprepared for the dangers of the island, including plants, creatures, and other forces she would have thought impossible. Not to mention, there’s a rival crew stalking them with cutthroat intentions. Possibly worst of all are the secrets hidden the island that Vivienne and the crew of the Zephyrus may not want to uncover.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoy fantasy with a maritime setting. A large portion of my childhood was spent on sailboats, and my partner has worked on tall ships for years. Boats have a magic all their own, and I’m fond of seeing them combined with literal magic. It makes me extremely happy when it’s done right. I loved how much attention the author paid to the details of life aboard a ship in a world without electricity or engines. The accuracy was really impressive. Once the crew reached the island, I was also enraptured by the creatures and plant life they discover. There’s whole thriving ecosystem, and every piece of it is fascinating. The hidden history there that Vivienne begins to decipher is a compelling story that I kept needing to know more on… and still do. (I’m already hoping to get an ARC for the next book once they’re available.)

There is romance in this one, but no serious spice. I’m not sure if there will be later in the series. Vivienne finds herself drawn to not just one other person aboard the ship, but three. Some fellow ARC readers have very strong feelings about their favorites, but all three are realistic and intriguing relationships. It’s a testament to the realism of the characters on the crew. I will say that the rival crew did at times feel almost cartoonishly evil, but those sailing with Vivienne are all three dimensional, unique, and very loveable.

The only other annoyance that I found was occasional heavy-handedness in the narration. It was slightly more prevalent toward the beginning of the book, and it served to slow the pacing at that point. The effect was increased by the amount of names there are to learn at once, for both people and places. Any readers who aren’t convinced by the end of the first couple of chapters that the book is for them can be assured that the story does pick up drastically.

2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi

CW: Dementia, Grief, Death in Family, Parental Estrangement, Vehicular Accident, High-Risk Pregnancy, Chronic Illness, Medical Trauma

Summary:

In Tokyo, there’s an old café. Most believe it’s only an urban legend, but they say if you sit in the right spot at the right time of day and follow the right steps, you can slip back in time. That way, you can visit with anyone who has ever been inside the café before. There are a number of unbreakable rules to follow, however. For instance, you cannot leave your seat (you’ll return to the present), and nothing you do can possibly change what happens in the intervening time. Most importantly, you must return before your coffee gets cold.

My Thoughts:

On the day that I returned Water Moon to the library, I saw the fifth book in this series sitting on the display. The premise made it sound like a great follow-up. I ordered this first installment through an inter-library loan. While this doesn’t have the same surreal Studio Ghibli feel to it, I enjoyed it just as thoroughly. There is still magic, but much more realism.

This book is incredibly moving. At the end of the second chapter, I had tears streaming down my face. It took several minutes to compose myself enough to continue reading. While we get only small snippets of the characters’ lives, it is hard not to fall in love with each of them. At first, the names could be a little confusing because there are many and several start with the same letter. However, they quickly become easy to distinguish as each has a thoroughly distinct voice and mannerisms. Each one has a story that will make you want to protect them with everything you have.

Their stories are beautiful and sweet, but in some it’s a bitter sweetness. Still, each is so lovely and engaging that you need to see each through to the end. I know there are now five books in this series, so I’ll certainly be back for the next one. My local librarians will be happy to help me get them!

April 28 is Now in the Books

Since we’ve already reached April 28, that means this will be the last weekly recap this month. Next week we’ll already be in May! It’s hard to believe the year is going by so quickly, but I’ve already had so many great reads too. I’ve already passed my reading goal for the year of 50 books! I’ve got no plans to slow down.

This past weekend, I added another 40 books to my collection while stopping at every bookstore on the North of Boston Book Trail. It was a great way to celebrate the weekend of Indie Bookstore Day and make great progress on my mission to visit all the independent bookstores in Massachusetts! You can join in along with my partner and I in our explorations – we have a whole playlist of bookstore videos for you to check out!

Keep an eye out on my YouTube channel or the main updates page here to follow along on all our bookish adventures. My reading recaps go out on Mondays and our bookstore adventures go out on Thursdays. As always, I want to hear from you! What have you been reading lately? Are you having fun with it? Have you read any of these titles, and if so, what did you think of them? Tell me everything, and follow along for more!