What I’ve Been Reading: April 2025

Hello and happy Tuesday!

Well, this post is a bit late as it’s already May 6th, but I can’t let a month pass by without sharing the books I read. I always get so many great book recommendations from other blogs I read, so I hope it’s the same for you when I write this monthly post.

I had another great month of reading:

A Happier Life:

Summary:

Present Day: Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on the market—the home that Keaton didn’t know existed until now—she jumps at the chance to head south. But the moment she steps foot inside the abandoned house, she’s confronted with secrets about grandparents who died before she was born. And as she gets to know her charming next-door neighbor, his precocious ten-year-old son, and a flock of endearingly feisty town busybodies, she soon finds she has more questions than answers.

1976: Rebecca “Becks” Saint James has made a name for herself as the best hostess North Carolina has ever seen. Her annual summer suppers have become the stuff of legend, and locals and out-of-towners alike clamor for an invitation to her stunning historic home. But she’s struggling behind the façade. Becks strives to make the lives of those around her as easy as possible, but this summer she is facing a dilemma that even she can’t solve. And as the end of the season looms, she is brought to a decision she never wanted to make.

As both Keaton and Becks face new challenges and chapters, they are connected through time by the house on Sunset Lane, which has protected the secrets, hopes, and dreams of the women in their family for generations.

Quick Thoughts:

I read this one while sitting at the beach! Of course, that makes it even better.

This was a perfect fictional romance read. I loved the mix of characters in this one from Keaton’s family to the ladies in town to her love interest and more. The flashbacks with Becks provide another wonderful perspective. There are definitely some heavy moments and topics as the story progresses, but I truly enjoyed this book.

Woodson Harvey is one of my favorite authors. This is the 8th book of hers that I’ve read. The Summer of Songbirds is my favorite book of hers, and this one is a close second. I’m excited for the new book she has coming out soon! Just in time for summer.

I had a favorite quote that I highlighted in my Kindle:

• Being the person who cares for others is an undervalued role in our society. But it is, I’ve found, perhaps the very most important role one can play.

No wonder us moms (and dads!) are so tired.

Rating:

The Sicilian Inheritance:

Summary:

Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage. On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief. But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret. Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.

Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and prove her birthright. Flashing back to the past, we meet Serafina, a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly it isn’t long before a woman challenging the status quo finds herself in danger.

As Sara discovers more about Serafina she also realizes she is coming head-to-head with the same menacing forces that took down her great-grandmother.

Quick Thoughts:

I think Amy recommended this one, and it was a page turner for me. This was a great mystery fiction book set in Italy. From page one of the book, you know that Sara gets in some kind of predicament while learning more about Serafina. The chapters from Serafina’s point of view were really interesting. This book had drama, love, suspense, and more!

Rating:

Audio books have continued to be a way that I get at least one more book read a month, and this month I listened to two books.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder:

Summary:

Everyone in Fairview knows the story.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can’t shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn’t want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.

Quick Thoughts:

I’ve seen this book in my school’s library as it’s a young adult book. As I’m still learning, the narrator makes a world of difference, and this book had a great one.

It’s a longer book that I started in March and finished in April, so I did speed up the listening speed from time to time.

This thriller/crime book did hook me from the first page. I like the premise of a high school student doing a project and of course I knew Pip would solve the case!

Now, I want to watch the Netflix series. I’ve added it to my summer viewing list.

Rating:

Let’s Call Her Barbie:

Summary:

When Ruth Handler walks into the boardroom of the toy company she co-founded and pitches her idea for a doll unlike any other, she knows what she’s setting in motion. It might just take the world a moment to catch up.

In 1956, the only dolls on the market for little girls let them pretend to be mothers. Ruth’s vision for a doll shaped like a grown woman and outfitted in an enviable wardrobe will let them dream they can be anything.

As Ruth assembles her team of creative rebels—head engineer Jack Ryan who hides his deepest secrets behind his genius and designers Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein, whose hopes and dreams rest on the success of Barbie’s fashion—she knows they’re working against a ticking clock to get this wild idea off the ground.

In the decades to come—through soaring heights and devastating personal lows, public scandals and private tensions— each of them will have to decide how tightly to hold on to their creation. Because Barbie has never been just a doll—she’s a legacy.

Quick Thoughts:

Well, I listened to most of this book while in South Carolina, and one day, I was out for my walk and listening to it, and saw this house…

I feel like Barbie would live there!

I truly enjoyed this book. The narrator was great, and I just thought it was so interesting. The mix of historical fiction, romance, the ups and downs of owning such a powerful company and in Ruth’s life kept me wanting to read more.

This was a book that wasn’t on my radar until Sarah shared it, and now it’s probably one of my favorite reads of the year.

Also, the editor notes at the end was very interesting to hear how all the characters ended up once the story was complete.

Rating:

Next month, I will share some of the books I hope to read this summer!