April... a month of 5 star reads!

22 What the River Keeps by Cheryl Grey Bostrom    4/1    (print/own)★★★★★

This cover has been calling to me for a while, so I selected it for  Alive Book Club this month. I read it twice. It grabbed me, felt different than anything I had read before and I could not put it down.  There's some hard things in this book- but its so worth it. Healing, restoration. Uncovering lies and replacing them with Truth.

"No going back, Luke. Losses like ours kill joy.  Shrink us."
"They don't have to.  Not permanently, anyway.  You ever learn that verse about restoring the years the locusts eat?"
She shook her head.
"It's coming true for me.  I'll send it to you."

"But Creator is watching.  Creator saw and said, 'I'm taking care of it...' A hundred years--- that's a long time to us.  But to Creator... a blink of an eye."
The elder swallowed, considered he crowd, and spoke through tears. "Prayers are answered, even though so many times we weep, we pray, we weep some more, we pray some more.  We think, what's the use? What's the use?  But Creator says, 'Aw, come on.  You're just about there.  You're just about there."

23 Draw Near to Jesus by Heidi Chiavaroli    4/5    (print/own)

   

 52 Bookclub 17. Author's Bio Mentions Their Dog

This book was a delight. I didn't read it as consistently as I planned. But I finished it Easter night. Part devotional and part biblical fiction. The author takes 40 people who encountered Jesus and tells about that encounter through their eyes.  Moving and though provoking. I highly recommend.

24 A Song in the Dark by Kimberly Woodhouse    4/7    (print/own)

   52 Bookclub 32. Publisher Starting With The Letter "B"

I loved this book from start to finish. It was the March pick for Faith&Fables Bookclub. The story of a blind pianist traveling Europe on tour in the year or so before WWII.  Her assigned driver ends up being an undercover spy.  They join forces to help rescue those who Hitler and his regime have deemed less than and unworthy of life.

So she, Mel and her grandmother had started praying for the man three times a day.  Just him.  For several minutes, they would meet in private and pray for God to reach his heart, soften it, and show him that there was still life.  Still joy.

Chaisley suggested they pray together as a team and then sing some uplifting hymns of praise.  It lifted all of their spirits.

25 When Justice Comes by Colleen Coble, Rick Acker    4/15    (audio/hoopla)

This was the third in the series and finale of the Tupelo Grove books. I sort of lost interest in this book before I finished. I grew tired of the characters being in constant peril I think. I started watching author the author zoom and couldn't remember how it ended.   That when I realized I hadn't finished listening to the book. 😅  I will say, I did enjoy the ending.  To be fair, I don't think there was anything wrong with the book. It was just bad timing- too much stress in my regular life. I didn't need more anxiety from a book. 

I did enjoy listening to the authors talk about it too. This was the March book for Christian Fiction Reading Challenge, they host a zoom with the author toward the end of the month.

26 Praying on Offense by Jeff Clark    4/19    (print/own)

A book we studied during the Lenten season in our Wednesday night prayer meeting.  Very interesting and practical- a different way to think about an execute prayer for the space we are in and the people we are around every day.

    -God what do you want me to KNOW?

    -God, what do you want me to DO?

What is fearless humility?  Leveraging whatever God has given us (gifts, power, influence, status, insight, resources) to serve and elevate others without fear of the outcome.

If there in an area of your life where a critical spirit or even bitterness is forming, I believe that maybe God's invitation to do something!

How can you take what God is revealing to you and put it into odediant action to elevate the people and places around you?  That's faith-filled, two-sided prayer.

27 Theo of Golden  by Allen Levi    4/21    (print/own)★★★★★

    52 Bookclub 35. Character With A Secret Identity

Our April Cousin Book Club book, and thank goodness I had people to text and chat with about this one! I can not say enough good about this book. Such a delightful story and such a wonderful message. The importance of seeing people, really seeing people and hearing their stories. Investing in people and relationships. Slowing down and appreciating the world around us.  I believe this one is destined to be a classic.  I will definitely be revisiting Theo and Golden.

And I learned something from Mr. Theo. God gave us faces so we can see each other better. I used to not look at people's faces so much. But I'm learning.

Living with sadness, accepting it, is easier than trying to pretend it isn’t there. It is another of life’s great mysteries that sadness and joy can coexist so compatibly with one another. In fact, I wonder if, on this side of heaven, either one can be complete without the other.

There is no virtue in advertising one’s sadness. But there is no wisdom in denying it either. And there is the beautiful possibility that great love can grow out of sadness if it is well-tended. Sadness can make us bitter or wise. We get to choose.

28 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte    4/24    (kindle/kindle unlimited)

52 Bookclub 47. A Diacritical Mark On The Cover

1000 Books to read Before you Die 

This one has been on my list for a while and seemed like it was popping up all over the place. I could have sworn I have a paperback copy somewhere in my collection. But alas I could not find it, I ended up reading the kindle version. I read it with my sister and The Literary Life podcast. I found it delightful. I really knew hardly anything about the story going in. I greatly enjoyed the insights I gleaned listening to the podcast.

I saw Mr. Rochester smile:—his stern features softened; his eye grew both brilliant and gentle, its ray both searching and sweet.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you.”

Reader, I married him.

29 This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page    4/26    (kindle/library)★★★★★

52 Bookclub 39. A Book That Cost You Nothing

I read nearly this whole book in a single afternoon/evening. (in reality I began it on Friday night and finished on Sunday night, but read the bulk of it on Sunday).

A book about books always satisfies me.  This one was a delight!

6 months after the death of her husband Tilly receives a call to pick up an order at a local bookshop, on her birthday. Turns out her late husband had a arranged a year of books. One book to pick up each month for the entire year. Through these books she learns to love again, learns she is brave and courageous. Finds community and adventures.  And also Alfie! I dare you to not adore this man with your whole heart.

I found myself popping over to my library's site to seek out many to read myself. I think this book itself will have to be added to my personal collection.  Tilly and Alfie are characters that are going to live rent free in my head. Even now I wonder what they are up to and what they are reading. 😂

As she reads about a little girl who shares her name and who loves to read, the world beyond the pages of the book disappears. And inside her a door that she thought was locked nudges open, letting in a shaft of light.

Prudence suggested moving the children’s books to a higher shelf, but Alfie thinks that rather defeats the point. His youngest customers might make a mess, but he wants them to grow up thinking of books as things that can be touched and played with and enjoyed.

We all make mistakes. Some friendships just fade away. But maybe some can be resuscitated.

As much as she might want to go back in time, she knows she can’t. So she heaves herself off the wall and begins to jog down the path again, one foot in front of the other. All she can do is go forward.

Maybe this is what books do, she thinks, whether stories real or imagined or poems compiled in one place for people to flick through in search of what they need. They offer something universal but allow you to find your own meaning among the words. They are for everyone and yet they are for you too. —

 “No one would think you aren’t happy for her,” Alfie says softly. “But it’s OK to feel happy and sad at the same time. Very few moments involve just one emotion. That’s life, isn’t it? It’s messy.”

 30 Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Cox    4/30    (kindle/kindle unlimited)

    52 Bookclub 2. Kangaroo Word On The Cover (Alight/Lit)

Faith & Fables book club book for April. I rushed to finish it in time for the author zoom talk. But honestly I loved every second. A duel timeline, one in present day trying to solve a mystery from the opposite timeline of 1811 when a ship The Jubilee vanished without a trace.

And more than that, it had been on the upper shelf, meaning she had an excuse to climb the rolling ladder.

And . . .” He leaned forward, as if about to impart some great treasure. “There’s scones.”

@Dashintospace—There are times, out here in the universe, when you’d give anything to cross it just to be with the people you love. Hold tight the people who are your universe. #lightmatters #matchstickgirl

Her father’s familiar words gave chase in her heart. “Don’t you forget it, Lucy my girl. The God of the stars . . . He is coming, and coming, and coming after you. Always. The heart of a father who will never forget his daughter.”

 “So many times he told me, ‘We keep the stories.’ He said we pass them on—it is our duty . . . and our honor. In a world as dark as this, people forget how to see the light, so we need to remind them by telling the truth. Paying attention . . . setting the stars alight.”

Total: 9    2026: 30

Kindle/Ebook: 3   Print: 5     Audio: 1

Library: 2   Owned: 5    Kindle Unlimited: 2   

Unread shelf: 0     Reread: 0 (although technically I read What the River Keeps twice, I only counted it once)

Favorite: I don't think I could possibly pick a favorite this month! It was a month full of reading delight.

Challenges:

1000 Books: Jane Eyre

52 Bookclub: 6 bringing my total to 21 of 52 (40%) According to Goodreads I am 4 books (7%) ahead of schedule.