We have officially made it to Spring. The blossom is on the trees, the birds are up extra early because of the clocks going forward and there’s a sense of peace and quiet now the kids are back at school. For six hours a day at least.

My reading slump has decided to stick around a bit longer, unlike my Easter egg which disappeared in about a day. It’s fair to say that more books have found a home on the book shelves (and boxes, piles, heaps…) than have left them.

Here’s what arrived this month:

1. Not Exactly What I Had in Mind by Kate Brook, sent for review from Corvus.
2. Faro’s Daughter by Georgette Heyer.
3. Royal Escape by Georgette Heyrer. Both of these were sent for review by Arrow.
4. Welsh Food Stories by Carwyn Graves, sent for review by Calon Books.
5. Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare, sent for review by HQ.
6. Poirot’s Early Cases by Agatha Christie.
7. Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie.
8. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie. These and Murder on the Orient Express were kindly sent by fellow blogger Paul who knew I collected old editions of Christie’s novels.
9. The People on Platform 5 by Claire Pooley, sent for review by Bantam.
10. Three by Valerie Perrin, sent for review by Europa Editions.
11. The Maid by Nita Prose.
12. You Will Get Through This by Daniel Howell.
13. Pretending by Holly Bourne. These three were sent for review by Tandem Collective.
14. The No-Show by Beth O’Leary.
15. How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie.
16. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez. These three were purchased from Waterstones during their double points weekend.
17. Ledge by Stacey McEwan, sent for review by Angry Robot.
18. Deadly Cure by Mahi Cheshire, sent for review by Vintage.
19. The Swimmer by Graham Norton.
20. Would I Lie to You? by Aliya Ali-Afzal.
21. Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh.
22. Laidlaw by William McIlvanney.
23. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam. These five were sent for review by Four Comms.
24. The Bloater by Rosemary Tonks, sent for review by Vintage.
25. To the Grave by John Barlow, sent for review by HQ.
26. Dead Rich by G W Shaw, sent for review by Riverrun.
27. Other People’s Husbands by Elizabeth Noble, sent for review by Michael Joseph.

As for reading I managed to finish these:

1. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
2. Death and Croissants by Ian Moore.
3. A Little Hope by Ethan Joella.
4. Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare.

I also gave two duplicate books away, always an easy win when it comes to culling books. So that’s 27 in and 6 out. Completely unbalanced but then it rarely is.

I hope you enjoyed whatever you read this month and here’s to an enjoyable May.