I read eleven books in April. A number of them were historical fiction and I was mostly disappointed in the genre that used to sustain my soul. Luckily, I have four book reviews below that I do recommend and offer variety.

This post contains links. Please see affiliate disclaimer here.

When Women Were Dragons

I can’t stop thinking about When Women Were Dragons. This book is unique, feminist, and would be a perfect book club pick.

It takes place in Wisconsin (fun!) in the 1950s when a mass dragoning event happens. Many women turn into dragons leaving behind husbands (if they weren’t eaten) and children. This isn’t the first time women have turned into dragons though. Throughout history, this has been happening but people don’t know about it.

The government doesn’t understand dragoning so it wants all the information about it kept under lock and key. Scientists and medical professionals get in trouble if caught studying the phenomenon. But a secret society continues its research with the help of an amazing librarian.

The main character, Alex, is a young girl affected by the mass dragoning when her aunt turns into a dragon. Now Alex’s baby cousin moves in and becomes her “sister”. Alex is not allowed to mention that her aunt ever existed or ask any questions.

When Alex’s mother dies, her cousin-turned-sister becomes Alex’s complete responsibility. Not only does Alex have to raise herself, but she now has to worry about her beloved cousin/sister/daughter turning into a dragon and leaving her like everyone else has in her life.

My summary does not do this book justice in the slightest. Please read!

The Women

The Women is a very depressing book. I did predict most of the “twists” easily which was unfortunate but I still think the story is an interesting and important one to read. One of the main points of the book is that no one remembers the women who were over in Vietnam and what they suffered during and after the war.

The story is solely told through the viewpoint of Frankie, a young woman who leaves her affluent California home to volunteer as a nurse in the Vietnam War.

In Vietnam, Frankie becomes best friends with two other nurses and their friendship lasts for decades. Frankie falls in love with men who aren’t totally available. She sees the atrocities of war daily. As a surgical nurse, Frankie quickly learns many skills and has to make triage decisions quickly.

When Frankie returns home from the war the political atmosphere is intense and she is spit on for being a veteran. But when she tries to receive veteran’s services she is repeatedly told that women didn’t serve in Vietnam.

Frankie has PTSD. She struggles with alcohol and pills. Please read the trigger warnings before reading this book! You need to be in a good mindset yourself before reading.

The Idea of You

I think this will be a rare case in which I will like the movie more than the book. I can’t wait to see the movie this week, especially because Nicholas Galitzine stars in The Idea of You. We know that man can sing.

Solène is a divorced mother who ends up taking her daughter to see her favorite boy band at a meet and greet. Solene makes a connection with one of the band’s members who is only twenty. She is old enough to be his mom.

The unlikely pair eventually end up connecting for sexy meetups when his concert tour and Solene’s work trips for her art gallery can overlap. During the summer when Solene’s daughter is away at camp she is able to join him in Europe for a relaxing getaway. They both start to really fall for one another.

Eventually, the couple gets caught by photographers and everything blows up. Solene gets hate mail from fans, people make comments to her daughter at school, paparazzi stalk them, tabloids tear her apart for being older, etc.

How could this relationship possibly have a future?

While I liked an older woman claiming her sexuality and bucking our society’s ageism issues, much of the story still seemed unrealistic to me. As a woman in my upper 30s, I can’t imagine hanging around a bunch of 20-year-olds all the time (especially band groupies) and not being crazy annoyed by them – I don’t care how good the sex is.

First Lie Wins

First Lie Wins is a SMART story. It did take me a while to get into it. The book didn’t start as a page-turner for me but the end – wow genius! I didn’t guess any of the twists. It’s not scary. I thought the author used the timeline brilliantly to slowly unfold the plot. All of your questions eventually get answered. I recommend it.

Evie has the perfect boyfriend and is starting to settle into his life. Which is a good thing because he is a major part of her current job. She messed up last time and if this one doesn’t go perfectly there won’t be a next time.

I can’t give more than that away but just know that Evie is a con artist who has had many identities. The story is told through flashbacks intertwined with the current (and possibly her last) con.

For more book reviews check out my March book reviews!