Truly an Aardvark April of reading

Awhile ago, I talked about getting an e-gift card for Aardvark, a book subscription service that‘a been getting some good buzz, and using it to get some birthday presents for myself.

Well, since that gift card arrived in time for me to pick up some March selections, it was hard to resist splurging on an April box as well and reader, I did not resist!

My first pick was Any Trope But You by Victoria Levine, a romcom story set in an Alaskan small town. Romance writer Margot Bradley feels burned out by the genre that made her famous and when her true feelings are publicly revealed, she takes this unintentional opportunity to switch literary styles.

Staying at a remote resort for six weeks to get a start on writing a murder mystery, Margot finds herself distracted by Forrest Wakefield, the owner of the resort who was able to rescue her from a potentially angry moose.

While neither of them is looking for love(especially in the short term), romance is definitely in the air with every trope laden trick in the book popping up all around them. Can they resist or should they give in?

I do like the concept of this debut, plus the setting reminds me of  the 90’s TV show Northern Exposure (yes, I am very old enough to remember that series!) in the best sense:

I paired that with Lev Grossman’s  The Bright Sword, a new take on the King Arthur legend.

When young Collum travels to Camelot with stolen armor and a horse “borrowed “, his goal is to become one of the famed knights of the Round Table.

Instead, he finds a kingdom in chaos as King Arthur and company have perished in a great battle, leaving no heir to the realm . Joining the enchantress Nimue , Collum and a ragtag crew of court folk search both the mortal and magical countries to discover the worthy successor to the throne before someone like  villainess Morgan Le Fay takes over.

Reimagining classic legends is harder than it looks and from what I’ve heard about this book, Grossman truly pulls the creative sword out of the story stone perfectly. Plus, I do plan to read The Magicians’ Trilogy sometime soon and this fresh take on Arthurian magic feels like a welcome addition to the canon there:

To make this book box complete, I chose Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.

This novel within a novel tells the tale of  Zelu, a frustrated writer whose physical disability is one of the many reasons that her family treats her like an outsider.

Upon losing her university teaching position and having her latest literary novel rejected, she decides to pen an elaborate science fiction story called Rusted Robots, creating a future world controlled by androids and artificial intelligence that turns into a bestseller.

While Zelu is thrilled to have made such an impact, her fictional creation may have a life of its own in more ways than one. The legacy of Rusted Robots proves to be a game changer but at what cost?

I have heard so many wonderful things about Okorafor’s writing that this felt like a golden opportunity to discover her talents for myself here. I will be saving this book for a summer read(a certain readathon in June) and I have no doubt that this meta mental journey will be worth the wait:

I am not sure how long I will be able to subscribe to Aardvark (given the state of things) but even in the short term, this has been a fun experience that I would recommend to anyone looking for something completely different to liven up their TBR.

My birthday is tomorrow and I am very grateful for my family and loved ones to share it with as well as this set of great new books to enjoy. If I was doing the whole birthday candle wish deal, my request would be for the world to start getting better rather than what we’re seeing right now. Maybe that will happen sooner than expected yet my hope has to be a cautious one at best.

In the meanwhile, my big birthday plans not only include books-my sister and I plan to see Sinners, a movie that’s been the talk of the town indeed. A double dose of Michael B. Jordan battling vampires-yes, please! They say April is the cruelest month but when it comes to entertainment, the blessings have been bountiful and with any luck, a sign of better days ahead for us all: