April was a very successful reading month since I not only managed to finish ten books but also only got three new ones which means that I reduced my TBR pile by seven books – wooohooo! I’m really proud of resisting to buy any books at all in April – besides my two monthly audiobook credits by Audible but those don’t really count 😛

In addition to that I’m also quite happy with the quality of the books I’ve read meaning there wasn’t really a grave disappointment in April but quite a bunch of good or very good books and I even found my favorite book of the year so far. That makes up for neglecting my blog a little bit and posting way too many posts last month – I really hope I won’t keep forgetting to schedule all my prepared posts in May 😀

Books & Audiobooks

• Demon: Sumpf der Toten („Crimson Shore“) – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
  I wasn’t really disappointed by the 15th novel in the Agent Pendergast series because I know that the series has its highs and lows but I still had hoped for more thrill. I don’t mind cozy mysteries like this but the book could have at least featured more returning characters and not just Pendergast and Constance. BUT the cliffhanger in the end was quite exciting and I’m already looking forward to the next book.
• Ragdoll – Daniel Cole
  I’m a bit reluctant to join the general hype about this book because it did have a few minor flaws but „Ragdoll“ definitely deserves to be among the best thrillers of the year so far. Thrilling case, really interesting characters and a surprisingly good sense of humor!
• The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
  I absolutely get why everyone loves this book and I agree that it’s great and important and that everyone should read it but I would have expected to be a bit more emotionally involved in this – meaning that I didn’t hit me in the feels the way I had expected.
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
  So I finally managed to read this play and I have to admit that it was really entertaining and fun to visit all the familiar places and characters again but I can’t really take this story seriously. The book actually does feel like fan fiction but that’s okay since I didn’t have any high expectations.
• The Hellsblood Bride – Chuck Wendig
  This might actually be my positive surprise of the month. Mookie Pearl was never my favorite Chuck Wendig character but somehow I ended up really enjoying this sequel to „The Blue Blazes“. The story was fast-paced and action-packed, the atmosphere was dark and the characters really grew on me. Now I even hope there will be more some day.
• Final Girls – Riley Sager
  Important announcement: If you like thrillers then make sure you don’t miss out on this one! It’s a story about three women who were all the single survivors of different massacres and while the book was not exactly what I had expected I was absolutely glued to the pages. So go pre-order this book right now, it’s definitely my favorite book of the year so far!
• Der Knochensammler: Die Ernte („Rattle“) – Fiona Cummins
  I mostly read the book because the blurb promised me a „psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter“ and when it comes to this the story was a complete disappointment. But if you like rather slow mysteries and crime novel characters with detailed background stories then this one might be worth reading – it’s definitely not a bad crime novel but just not as thrilling as I had hoped it would be.
• Killer Instinct – Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  I can’t believe I’m saying this about a YA thriller but Jennifer Lynn Barnes‘ „The Naturals“ series might become one of my favorite thriller series if the books keep being as thrilling and exciting as the first two. Yes, there’s some teenage drama but what I really like is that you get a full adult crime story (and really good ones!) just with young characters and not the typical YA „thrill“ with rather mediocre suspense.
• AchtNacht – Sebastian Fitzek
  To be honest I had expected a way more absurd story after reading the blurb but the book turned out to be really entertaining though it wasn’t very realistic (who could have thought^^) and I can’t help feeling like there was more potential in the idea than the author actually made use of.
• Company Town – Madeline Ashby
  After reading the first 25% of the book I was sure this novel would end up being a complete disaster but fortunately the story turned out to be quite interesting once the murder case started. What really annoyed me though was the crappy worldbuilding and the fact that the author didn’t explain ANYTHING and just expected her readers to know how her world works which was just super confusing THE. WHOLE. TIME.

Movies

 

• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: Watched this movie for the third or fourth time now to prepare myself for Vol. 2 and it was just as entertaining as the first time. And of course I’ve got the soundtrack stuck in my head again 😀
• JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: Since it was Easter last month Maraia and I just had to do the traditional sing-along to „Jesus Christ Superstar“ and this is absolutely the best way to celebrate the holidays. If you still haven’t heard of or listened to this awesome musical then you better catch up soon so that you can join us next year 😛

TV Shows

    

• THE OA: I have SO many questions after watching the season finale and I’m glad there will be another season so that I hopefully get some answers. Really liked the show though.
• PASTEWKA: Maraia and I have already reached season 5 of this German comedy show and I’m still a little bit surprised the episodes don’t get boring even though I’m watching most of them for the third time already.
• LIFE IN PIECES: Almost done with season 2 which sucks because now I have to wait for Amazon Prime to add new episodes every week.
• DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: President Kirkman is finally back after the mid-season break and I still really don’t envy him because his job looks like it really sucks which doesn’t mean it’s not fun to watch 😀
• 13 REASONS WHY: After absolutely loving the book when I read it back a few years ago I just had to watch the show as soon as Netflix had added it and I really really really liked it even though it was absolutely painful to watch. Not sure what I think about the fact that apparently a second season is in the works at the moment though because I can’t imagine how that will work.

   

• BROOKLYN NINE-NINE: Another show that’s finally back from its mid-season break so that I finally got to know what happened to X. In other news it’s hilarious as ever.
• SUITS: Netflix finally added season 5 and WOAH that was such an intense season. Such a mess and so much shit going on but I think it was my favorite season yet.
• ONE DAY AT A TIME:  In search of a new comedy show with short episodes we started this one and while I don’t find it super funny I still enjoy it. I like the characters (except for that snobby son) and the stories so let’s see where this goes…
• PRISON BREAK: Woohooo the new season finally started and I’m really surprised about how good it is. I was a bit afraid they would ruin the show but I really like where they are going with it and I was hooked from the first minute again.

Reviews:

As I already mentioned above I was a bit lazy when it came to blogging last month so that I only posted two book reviews which I’m pretty sure is an all-time low for me 😀

 

Other blog posts:

• [Vorschau] Krimi- & Thriller-Highlights im April 2017
• [Roundup] March 2017
• [Top 10 Tuesday] Top Ten Things That Will Make Us Instantly Want To Read A Book

How was your April?
Did you read any good books?