So that was April then. For some it will have been the longest month they’ve ever experienced, for others it will have seemed pretty much normal, as much as anything can be normal at the moment. Businesses closed or working from home, book shops only able to sell books one at a time.

However fast or slow your April went, I hope it was one spent safe and well.

So which books breached lockdown rules and made the trek to the Emson stronghold? How many managed to evade the jailer and escape? We shall see…

First up, as always are the books that made it into the quarantine zone.

1. How Much of These Hills Are Gold by C Pam Zhang, a prize kindly sent by Virago.
2. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley, kindly sent for review by Clare.
3. Kate and Clara’s Curious Cornish Craft Shop by Ali McNamara, sent for review by Sphere.
4. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan, my first book purchase of the month.
5. A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr, my second book purchase.
6. The Glass House by Eve Chase, sent for review by Michael Joseph.
7. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, sent for review by Picador.
8. Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards, sent for review by Midas PR.
9. The Return by Nicolas Sparks, sent for review by Sphere.
10. Death at Whitewater Church by Andrea Carter, a purchase for my mum (and so me when she gives them me back) who was running low on books.
11. The Sideman by Caro Ramsay, sent for review by Midas PR.
12. Raven Black by Ann Cleeves, another purchase for mum/me.
13. Death in a Desert by Andrew Wilson, a prize kindly sent by Andrew.
14. When the Earth Shook by Lisa Lucas and Laurie Stein, a prize sent by W&N.
15. Afraid of the Light with foreword by Alex North, ebook sent for review by Dom Nolan.
16. The Missing Pieces of Nancy Moon by Sara Steele, ebook sent for review by Headline.
17. Sword by Bogdan Teodorescu, translated by Marina Sofia, ebook sent for review by Corylus Books.
18. Tell Me How It Ends by V.E. Grey, ebook sent for review by Team Bookends.
19. The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina, sent for review by Zaffre.
20. A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth by Daniel Mason, sent for review by Mantle.
21. The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard, sent for review by Love Reading.

Here’s what I read in April.

1. The Best, Most Awful Job edited by Katherine May.
2. Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher.
3. Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi.
4. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.
5. A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr.
6. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley.
7. Afraid of the Light, with foreword by Alex North.

I also dropped off a care package of books to one of the school mums which had 13 books in it. So 21 in 20 out. I don’t think I could get a more balanced month if I tried. As for what May will hold. Well all of us are interested in that at the moment.