Book Lovers Chat - April 2025
"I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book." – Benedict Cumberbatch
This voiceover is an audio version of my Book Lovers Chat below. It is unedited, so may have some stutters, imperfections, and background noise. I hope you enjoy listening to it anyway!
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Welcome back to another Slow Sunday Letter! I hope you have had a slow and gentle week.
In this month’s Book Lover’s Chat, I share my Spring reading list, review some more books and pick another book from my bookshelf to enjoy in the coming weeks. I am so excited for Spring, the sunshine and flowers in particular have lifted my spirits so much already.
What have you been reading and enjoying this month?
Please do drop a comment at the bottom of this post to share what you are currently reading, I know myself and others get so many brilliant recommendations here from you!
I hope you are sitting comfortably, grab a cuppa, get cosy and let’s settle down for a read together…
Please note - this post may be too long to read in your email so click through to read on your browser or read on the Substack app.
Restrained Book - Buying …
I have been trying not to buy so many new books this year, and so far - despite many many temptations, I think I am doing okay! It has certainly given me more pause for thought, and instead of impulsively buying books, I am being far more considered. I have bought a couple of new books - Homeseeking by Karissa Chen (reviewed below) and some 99p kindle bargains. I have also pre-ordered a couple of must reads -
Table for One and Great Big Beautiful Life. But, in general I have been far more restrained and it feels good. Less abundance, and more focus on what I already have, library visits, and zeroing in on books I really really want, rather than just frivolous book buying!Having said this, I have been massively tempted by Rural Hours by Harriet Baker.
My Spring Reading List
This spring reading list is full of magical, cosy stories that hopefully will maximise the feelings of the season. I absolutely love creating a seasonal reading list. I seldom stick to it completely, but I enjoy compiling the list. It helps me be more present in the season, and it helps me keep track of my books, and encourages me to actually read the books I have! There is usually a mixture of genres, as well as non fiction and fiction books. Some of the books I own, some I have borrowed or some I will get from the library. The most important thing about my list is that it is not rigid, the order, as well as the books are all changeable. I just like having it there as a framework to spring board from.
Spring-time Reading list
Our Wives Under The Sea - Julia Armfield
Emily Wilde’s Map Of The Otherlands - Heather Fawcett
Little Stories of your Life -
The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods
The House in the Cerulean Sea - T J Klune
Chocolat - Joanne Harris
Bookshops & Bonedust - Travis Baldree
Kokoro -
Blue Sisters - Coco Mellor
Water Moon - Samantha Sotto Yambao
My March Reads
(all my summaries and reviews will be spoiler free)
Weyward - Emilia Hart
3 STARS
Three women, five centuries, one spellbinding story
In the present day, Kate flees a traumatic relationship to the Cumbrian cottage she inherited from her great-aunt; but the cottage hides secrets of its own.
In 1942, Violet rebels against her father’s ideas of a ‘proper young lady’ . . . until he takes matters into his own hands.
In 1619, Altha is on trial for witchcraft, implicated in the gruesome death of a local man.
Three women they tried to cage – but Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…
My Thoughts:
This story follows three women through time, all of them related by blood, and by magic. Kate in modern times, desperate to escape her abusive partner. Violet lives in the forties, with a cold and strict father, and mother whose life and death is shrouded in mystery. Altha, a local healer in the 1600s, who is standing trial for witchcraft, after a man was found dead.
At the beginning of the book, I was enjoying unraveling the mysteries, and I enjoyed the connection between the three women, the magical elements and the different timelines portrayed in each story. I loved the connection with nature too, and the ‘wild’. I whizzed through the book, and for the most part I really enjoyed it.
I would say by the end, I was a little worn down by the continuous bad treatment of women in the book, and while I don’t normally add trigger warnings to my reviews (let me know if you would like that moving forward…) the domestic abuse, violence against women, sexual assault and pregnancy loss were all extremely hard to read.
If you have read this, I’d love to know what you thought?
The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford
3 STARS
'He was the great love of her life you know.'
'Oh, darling,' said my mother, sadly, 'One always thinks that. Every, every time.'
Longing for love, obsessed with weddings and let's not even mention the mysteries of sex, Linda and her sisters and cousin Fanny are on the hunt for the ideal lover. But finding the perfect match is much harder than any of the sisters had ever dreamed. Linda is first courted by a Tory MP and then becomes embroiled with a handsome but humourless communist, before she risks everything on a chance at real, head-over-heels love in war-torn Paris . . .
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book - it is wonderfully written, warm, witty and quirky. Fanny is our narrator, as we follow the Radlett family, though the story focuses mostly on Linda, and her pursuit of love. Being a romantic at heart and desperate for love, she falls in love immediately, only to live in regret. The story is loosely autobiographically as it is based on Nancy Mitford’s own family. A story as much about friendship as family, along with the trials and tribulations of love and affairs of the heart.
Twelve Months of Reading Hamper
This was the ‘March’ book from my Twelve Months of Reading Hamper.
One of the reasons I wanted to try the hamper was to stretch my reading and try books I wouldn't ordinarily pick up. I have set myself the challenge of reading each book from my Twelve Months of Reading Hamper - during the month I receive it. Each book is wrapped up and assigned to a month of the year, so is full of surprises. I hope to find some new favourites and really stretch my reading this year through the hamper. Check back here next month to see what book I receive for April!
Homeseeking - Karissa Chen
4.5 STARS
There are moments when a single choice can define an entire life. Haiwen and Suchi are teenage sweethearts in 1940s Shanghai; their childhood friendship has blossomed into young love, and they believe that they are soulmates. But when Haiwen secretly decides to enlist in the army to keep his brother from the draft, their shared future is shattered. Their paths take them far afield from each other, with the exception of one pivotal chance encounter on the Hong Kong ferry in 1966.
Sixty years later, Haiwen, now in his late seventies, is bagging bananas at a 99 Ranch in Los Angeles when he lifts his head to once more see Suchi. As they begin to rekindle their friendship, it feels like they might have a second chance to live the life they were supposed to have together. But the weight of the past lives with them at every moment, and only time will tell if they are able to forge something new.
Told in alternating narratives, Homeseeking spans seven decades, through the most tumultuous period of modern Chinese history up to contemporary times, tracing the separated lovers as they migrate from Shanghai to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and America.
My Thoughts
A sweeping love story, spanning decades and continents. I was so ready to get lost in this story. I absolutely loved Haiwen and Suchi. The author really took her time with each of her main characters, which truly allowed the reader in to their worlds, their emotions, memories and experiences. Suchi and Haiwen are best friends growing up together in Shanghai, and soon fall in love. War separates them in their youth, and takes their lives on completely different paths, across the world.
Throughout the book, the author portrays how a single decision can alter the course of the characters’ lives - whilst always returning to this idea of home. It was fascinating look at what life is like as an immigrant, with special attention paid to the importance of language, names, and the idea of home and belonging. The book spans seven decades and is written in alternating viewpoints; Suchi’s story is told linearly from childhood to adulthood while Haiwen’s story is told backwards from adulthood to childhood.
It was heartbreaking and compelling, the only reason it isn’t a five star read for me was the slightly underwhelming ending but a wonderful story and a must read.
From My Book Shelf
Book shopping at home!
In line with my mindful spending year, and attempt to not buy so many books this year. My old feature ‘new on my bookshelf’ is now ‘from my bookshelf’. Each month I will go book shopping at home, searching through my own bookshelves and boxes of books - and I invite you to do the same!
This month, I chose Things No One Taught Us About Love by Vex King.
What book did you find to read?
Next Up on my TBR List:
Our Wives Under The Sea - Julia Armfield
Emily Wilde’s Map Of The Otherlands - Heather Fawcett
Bookish Substacks I’ve enjoyed this month…
I hope you have enjoyed this month’s Book Lovers Chat! This is my favourite post to write - I just love putting it together and thinking and talking about books and reading!
As always, I’d love to know if you have read any of the books we have discussed here, what you are reading now, or if you have enjoyed any books recently you want to shout about! I’ll see you in the comments!
Thank you for being here,
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Rural Hours is great - highly recommended, if you need further justification to treat yourself!
Hello Emily! I read Weyward from that list and unfortunately I didn't like it 😬
I'm currently reading the 3rd book of Hamish Macbeth series from M.C. Beaton! It is my latest discovery 😅 even if she has written tons of books. I'm reading also Agatha raisin series from the same author. Next will be Louise Penny's Armande Gamache series. I'm all in for murder mysteries!
Have a lovely Sunday evening 💫