I’m so happy; I ACTUALLY READ THIS MONTH, and a fair amount of books at that! And not one, but TWO of them are books I’ve been regularly putting on TBRs for over a year now?!? Who am I? I managed to read 9 books this month, which is not quite the 10 I was aiming for, but I’m still super proud of myself considering I only read 2 books last month.
Though stressful at times, May has been a well need month. My semester wrapped up at the end of April, so May began my summer. With a lot of free time, I got in a lot of needed reading time. I also had my birthday this month (I still can’t believe I’m 21!). I also returned to my summer job from the previous year.
Alas tho, between participating in Camp NaNo in April and my eagerness to read, I barely got around to writing this month. I have so many books that I want to read in June, but I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to achieve a better balance between writing & reading in the coming month (AKA bribe myself with wine, coffee, or honeycomb cereal to write).
BOOKS READ:
1. Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir & Steenz
Rating: 3.25 stars
I won a copy of this graphic novel over a year ago in a Goodreads giveaway and I finally read it! I was completed invested in the mystery of this book and I appreciated it’s focus on mental health, but I really wish the ending had been fleshed out more. You can read my complete review here!
2. Myths & Mortals by Charlie N. Holmberg
Rating: 2.5 stars
This is the sequel to Smoke & Summons, which I participated in the blog tour for back in February. The sequel was interesting, but continued with a lot of the problems I saw in the first book. You can see more of my thoughts here!
3. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Rating: 3.75 stars
So I may or may not have binge read this entire book in a day (I did). It was super cute and OMG I LOVE STELLA SO MUCH. I really enjoyed the romance, though I will say that I found Michael annoying at times. There were so many instances where he said/thought/did something possessive and it disappointed me.
I can’t wait to pick up the companion though!
4. Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 stars
I FINALLY READ KOA AND OMGGGGG. Even though I took a week to read this book (it’s already kind of blur), but I couldn’t stop screeching/crying/laughing as I read it. It still hasn’t hit me that the series is actually over. I loved seeing everyone reunite and despite it’s length, the book never failed to captivate my attention.
I can’t wait until I can get my hands on another SJM book!
5. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
Rating: 3.5 stars
One of my unofficial goals for the summer is to try to read more MG! I read this book for the Dragons & Tea Book Club and it was so much fun! I adored the magic and Min & her pals were freaking hilarious!
6. An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass
Rating: 2.5 stars
Argh, this book was disappointment. It was decently crafted and the magic was cool, but I struggled with the writing style, characters, and pacing. You can read my full review here.
7. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Rating: 4 stars
After putting this book on way too many TBR lists, I finally read it and adored it! I’m a total sucker for superheros, especially origin stories, and of course, Leigh Bardugo did not disappoint! I fricking loved seeing Diana’s development and grow into her own strength over the book. I will say tho that I found the antagonist at the end to be a stretch and the ending to be rushed. I wanna know more about what happened to Diana & her friends (I adored them so much)!
8. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman and Illustrated by Chris Riddell
Rating: 4 stars
Is it sad that this was technically my first Neil Gaiman book? This illustrated retelling of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White was so beautiful and refreshing. I adored how Gaiman managed to interweave their stories while infusing them with new twists. I wish I could have gotten more of this world!
9. The Living God by Kaytalin Platt
Rating: 2 stars
I just finished this book today, and yep, it was another disappointment. I had such high hopes for it with its pretty cover and opening scene, but I quickly found the ensuing pages lacking the depth and epic-ness that I wanted. Full review to come early June!
JUNE TBR:
In support of Pride month, I’m of course going to try to read lots of books with queer rep, so The Song of Achilles, The Princess and the Fangirl, and Final Draft are my top priorities! (Fingers crossed The Song of Achilles comes in on time for me at the library). Enchantress Uncover is an eARC I was suppose to read, oh, by the middle of March, whoops. And The Last Time I Lied in a book one of my best friends just read and she wants me to read it so we can compare thoughts.
Other Potential Reads:
BUT WAIT, I could also read The Girls of Paper and Fire! And They Both Die at the End! And I have an eARC of Shatter the Sky, which has an f/f romance! Hmmm, yeah, might switch this out for that other ARC…
Ahhh, why are there so many books I want to read in June??
RANDOM UPDATES:
- I turned 21 this month and can now legally drink! Cheers!
- I returned to the same summer job as last year (grounds crew AKA mowing and weed-whacking). Kinda sad tho because I was the only one of the summer crew to return.
- Regardless of the new workers, the guys are still very redneck-esque and slightly sexist, but ya know, that’s to be expected. I mostly tune them out and keep my nose stuck in a book. 😂
- I met up with some friends from high school and we went out and saw the new live-action Aladdin movie!
- I really enjoyed the remake and adored how empowering they made Jasmine’s character (though it was rather blunt and forced, but shhh). The movie was really fun and nostalgic and definitely a must see for Disney lovers!
- I barely wrote this month. I think my grand total for the month was a measly 1,200 words AKA virtually nothing (and pathetically the same length as this post). My writing buddy and I are planning on doing a writing challenge in June, so hopefully I’ll write a lot more then!
- I got more free books sent to me! My professor sent me books to read for the summer as part of an internship I’m doing with her. I haven’t actually started the work for this internship, but I can’t wait to do so!
Are You My Book? 