What I read in April
You might notice a theme...
April is really where the year begins.
We’ve finally shaken off the hermitude of winter, gone are long cold nights, and slivers of daylight. Replaced with rain and a few hints of spring.
For me, this April also had me shaking off (out?) my gallbladder! I started the month in excruciating pain, and ended it one organ down.
This cycle of pain and recovery can also be seen in my reading for this month. When in doubt I always reach for the comforting embrace of a romance novel.
But first- the book I took with me to the Emergency Room instead of a phone charger:
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
This book is a favorite of a dear friend and talented writer, Taylor. I’ve always had a mind that I’d discover an old copy in a used bookstore, since it was published in 1958 I was sure there are probably many editions floating around out there.
However, while in Skylight Books in Los Angeles last October I went on my little pilgrimage to the Eve Babitz section only to find a woman sitting in the aisle in the middle of a mental health crises, who hissed at me and told me to “go away”. While I always do love meeting other Babitz fans, I understand this isn’t a sentiment shared by all.
So I found myself instead in front of this book, and it felt like kismet. A few months later I have finally cracked it’s spine.
It’s always hard to read a friend’s favorite book. I loved the first few pages, and immediately wanted to see it adapted as a Technicolor Film. However, as it went on I had a hard time sinking in to the book. I couldn’t ever really track what was happening. As I said to the woman on the train who asked me how I liked the book “Right now it’s mostly a girl just chatting.” which is what the novel always is.
I liked it a bit more when it changes to a vacation gone wrong told through pages in her diary. The admonishment she gets from her uncle/benefactor is also worth the price of admission.
The part of the book that will stay with me is the afterword written by Dundy herself. She talks about why she named it The Dud Avocado (someone at a dinner party said she probably had a Dud Avocado on her hands and then mentioned it’d be a great book title. Which is proof that most things said at dinner parties is utter nonsense.) More interestingly was her husband encouraging her to write the book and then getting immediately pissed when she is more successful than him. She (thankfully) ditched the husband and kept writing, so a woman to be admired for sure.
The book now will live on my shelf until I meet someone who is perhaps going to Paris or considering renting a vacation home with a handsome Canadian.
Lord of Darkness (Maiden Lane #5) by Elizabeth Hoyt
Thus starts my sojourn back into St Giles for my return to the Maiden Lane series. The series is loosely based on a Georgian Batman, except he’s called the Ghost of St. Giles and there are a ton of them.
I don’t ever love to start a series at the beginning, first books always have so much work to do. I prefer to jump in with both feet in the middle and go whichever way it takes me.
The titular Lord of Darkness is Godric St. John the prototypical lonely sad boy. He’s sad because his wife is dead and is blackmailed into marrying the sunshine, Megs. They live apart until Megs decides she wants a baby, and no better person to impregnate her than her husband.
Hoyt is a master of the craft, and these books are just so enjoyable. I started this on my kindle while I was spending 21 hours living on a gurney while at Tisch Hospital, and it did make the time go faster!
Duke of Midnight (Maiden Lane #6) by Elizabeth Hoyt
The thing about Ol’Hoyt is she weaves the start of her next book so seamlessly into the book you’re reading that sliding over to the next installment feels so natural and almost like you’re not even starting a new book but just continuing the story.
It is what would make this series so incredibly ripe for a phenomenal adaptation, however it is 2025 and we are no longer allowed to have nice things.
Artemis is a ladies companion (the only job I’ve ever felt truely suited for if only I wasn’t born 150 years too late) Maximus is secretly a Ghost of St. Giles. Maximus is attempting to track down his parents’ murderer, and therefore the most Batman of all the ghosts. Artemis has a twin brother in Bedlam (don’t worry, he’s next!) so she blackmails Maximus to get her brother out of the Mental Hospital that’s really more like a prison.
Of course Maximus and Artemis fall in love, he tells her he can’t marry her because she has lunacy in her bloodline. DUKES! Ammiright?? Despite this Artemis agrees to be his mistress, and is kinda into being a sidepiece, but ultimately when she almost dies in order for Maximus to get a clear shot at the Murderer of his parents he realizes who isn’t a little crazy? And they live happily ever after. Phenomenal.
Darling Beast (Maiden Lane #7) by Elizabeth Hoyt
Something I also admire about Elizabeth Hoyt is she isn’t afraid to have her characters be called ugly. Apollo, our hero is constantly being called hideous and difficult to look at, but you know what? I still would!
In Summation!
Romance is the tits.
I didn’t buy or DNF any books this month, but I did get a new bookcase and spent a significant amount of time going through my extensive TBR. So the possibilities are endless.
See you next month!