Reader Rayna

Hello, and welcome to another TBR post! Can you believe we’re already in April? This year feels like it’s flying by!

Last month I did a really good job at reading my prompt picks for my TBR, as well as at least one extra. I hope to keep up the momentum this month because I have two non-negotiable reads that I have to get to this month, two read-a-long books, as well as my prompt picks.

This is usually the time of year where I get burnt out and just stop reading altogether for months on end, and I just don’t want that to happen again. I want to keep the momentum going and continue reading every week (not every day necessarily!), and hit my goals as much as I can.

Also, welcome to the second blog post of the day! I didn’t realize that Top Ten Tuesday was also on the last day of the month, but you can check out that TTT post here if you’re interested!

Click on a book cover to go to its Goodreads page!

The Must Reads

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and Jade City are my two must reads for the month as I’ll be going to a book signing in May for both Shannon Chakraborty’s and Fonda Lee’s newest book releases: The Tapestry of Fate and The Last Contract of Isako, respectfully.

Chakraborty became an all time favorite author last year after I (finally) read the Daevabad trilogy, and I’ve heard so many good things about the Green Bone Saga that I want to get to it before I go to the signing so I have at least some idea of how Fonda Lee writes and her worlds and all of that.

If you plan on going and see a woman with pink hair and oil slick colored glasses, that’s most likely me lol Feel free to say hi!

The Read-a-long Picks

I kind of got sucked into Pokemon Pokopia in the last few days of the month, and I decided to read Crooked Kingdom instead of Throne of Glass first, so I’m finishing off Throne of Glass before jumping into my rereads of Crown of Midnight and The Assassin’s Blade this month as I follow along with this reading schedule to read all of the books before ACOTAR 6 and 7 come out later this year and early next year. I was beyond excited when I heard the news, and found this reading schedule by Twinreads_ on instagram, so I’ll be doing this throughout the year, which will be nice considering I never finished the Throne of Glass series and haven’t read the Crescent City books yet.

The Prompt Picks

Now onto the prompt picks for the month! I have four, as per usual:

Prompt One: A sci-fi book

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – I got the audiobook for this one, don’t worry lol I hear that the audiobook is the best way to experience this novel. I hope that I can get to it in time while the movie’s still out in theaters, but if not I’ll rent it or something when it comes out. This sci-fi sounds thrilling, entertaining, and right up my alley, so I can’t wait to read it.

Prompt Two: A book with a LGBTQIA+ character

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone – This book has been on my shelves since release, I think, which was 2019. It’s time I read it, don’t you think? It’s not even 200 pages long! I do know that this story features a sapphic romance, and is told in letters across time and space, so I’m interested to see how I enjoy it.

Prompt Three: Pick a book off of your spouse’s shelves

Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce – When I was perusing my wife’s shelves, I was thinking to myself that I was in the mood for a romance. I looked at a bunch of options, but this one stuck out to me. It sounds cute and fun and like it’d be a quick read, so I think this is a perfect fit for what I was looking for.

Prompt Four: A book by a BIPOC author

The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna – I hadn’t realized I had read the first book in 2024, whoops. I thought I had read it last year. It’s fine, though, as I read the second book back in February, and so, as to not delay finishing this series, this prompt came at the perfect moment.

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Now, if I am to finish all of these books, that’s EIGHT books I have to read this month. Oh boy. I mean. I can do it. I know I can. I’ve done it before, and I can do it again, plus many of these books aren’t more than 500 pages, so I know that I’ll be able to finish many of them rather quickly.

What I’ve been doing is reading my prompt picks first before anything else, but I think I’m going to focus on the readalong books first, then my priority reads, and then my prompt picks after that. I think this plan of action will be much more attainable than anything. I’ll also be giving myself time for video games and other hobbies as well so I don’t get burnt out!

What are you reading this month? Anything in particular that stands out to you? Do you use a prompt jar or any fun game for picking what you read in a given month? Let me know in the comments!