May has been a busy month. It’s usually report card time and that makes me busier than usual. However, when I’m stressed I tend to read more than I usually might, so It’s been a pretty decent reading month too. Let’s cut to the chase and jump into what I’ve read this month below the cut.
Books I’ve hauled in May:
- Crow by A. Zavarelli
- Reaper by A. Zavarelli
- Volume 0 by Various Authors
- The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
- The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
- Sweet Nightmare by Tracy Wolff
- Lore Olympus Volume 6 by Rachel Smythe
- The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
- One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
Books I’ve read in May:
1. Lights by Brenna Thummler
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was a great series conclusion. I enjoyed the focus on Wendell and learning more about where he came from and what happened to him. I liked seeing Eliza and Marjorie grow as characters and learn that it’s okay to have more than one friend and to have different interests from a friend. They have a very interesting dynamic together. Friendship can be really complicated.
2. Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: The premise of this book and its historical setting were pretty interesting. However, it ended up not being my favourite fantasy that I’ve read. I liked the main character and felt for her. I just wanted something a bit more from this story. The resolution was good.
3. Dream to Me by Megan Paasch
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was a really interesting story. It had a powerful depiction of grief, and the way that manifested throughout the story was really interesting. I liked the worldbuilding, and the way the different characters interacted with each other. I really was curious to find out what was going to happen next and why people were spontaneously falling into comas. It was fascinating.
4. Fall From Grace by LR Wright
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: This was an interesting continuation of the series. The author has a really interesting way of building the story to leave you wondering when exactly the mystery is going to come into play and what exactly it will be. I found the interpersonal dynamics in this book interesting. It was also interesting how little time it seemed that we spent with Karl Alberg.
5. Deja Ross Speaks to Freak by Lisa Naffziger
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: **Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very cute graphic novel. I liked the depiction of the various cryptids that were included in the story. The main character, Deja Ross, was really interesting. I liked how she used her family road trip to try and learn more about cryptids across America. It had good pacing and development.
6. Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn: Volume 1 by Trí Vuong
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: **Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a really interesting collection of stories. I liked Oscar as a character, and I liked the super unique world-building. It really kept me guessing about what would happen next and how the story might all come together. I would liked to see more of this world. The art was really great.
7. Heebie Jeebies by Matthew Erman
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: **Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a cute little middle grade graphic novel. I really enjoyed the storyline and the depiction of friendship. The adventrue part was really interesting. I liked the ghosts and how they weren’t the villain in the way you thought they were. The art was cute.
8. Crow by A. Zavarelli
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I really enjoyed my first foray into the world of mafia romance. Mack was a great main character. I liked her dynamic with her love interest, Lachlan, a lot. They both had really compelling motivation, especially Mack. I wanted her to find her friend really badly. I liked getting to see both of their perspectives. The various aspects of the story were great. I will definitely be continuing with the story.
9. Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was an interesting spin on the idea of red riding hood. I liked the main character, Bisou, and her motivations were really compelling. I liked how she was killing wolves who were actually toxic men in disguise and how this was a trait that was passed down from her grandmother. It was a really interesting concept to explore. I also really liked how the story was written in second person. That was fun.
10. Descender Volume 4 by Jeff Lemire
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I really enjoy this world, and the robots and different alien races. The story is well-written, and the art is really beautiful. I just want so much more of this world.
11. Kill For Me, Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was such a cool mystery. I liked all the different mysteries, and how things were all coming together. There were some really good twists and turns in the story that really kept me guessing. I was blown away a little bit by how it all came together. Each of the different perspectives brought something really interesting to the story. It was great. I had an awesome time.
12. Descender Volume 5 by Jeff Lemire
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
13. Descender Volume 6 by Jeff Lemire
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
14. In Utero by Chris Gooch
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was such a weird story, but in a great way. I found it interesting and kind of spooky/creepy, which was definitely the point. The art was very well-done. I also though that the art was really good. The style really suited the storyline. I would read more by this author because it was such an interesting concept.
15. Avatar the Last Airbender: The Promise by Gene Luen Yang
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: I loved this. It was really interesting to read about the growing pains of the Aang Gaang adjusting to life in a world following the war. Their new reality was hard to face, and it would definitely need a lot of adjusting to. It wasn’t an easy world and the decisions weren’t black and white. The art was great, and so was the storyline.
16. The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegmund-Broka
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was a cute romance. I enjoyed the nod to TSwift and how inspiration was drawn from the media coverage of her. I also enjoyed the second chance romance trope. It had a good building of their dynamic, and it was quite interesting to focus on the behind the scenes of a musical tour and the celebrity world. I apparently enjoy celebrity romances a lot.
17. They Went Left by Monica Hesse
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was a really emotional story. It’s not often that you read a book set in the world just after World War Two and dealing with the aftermath of the Holocaust. It was hard to read about Zofia searching for her brother, and to see the devastation that lingered on all the characters wer encountered. It was also beautiful to read about their strength. The twist at the end was devastating.
18. Motorcycle & Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I had a bit of a hard time getting into this story initially, but I ended up really enjoying it. The characters are all really interesting. It was such a fun premise. There were lots of quirky details that I enjoyed. I also liked the elements of tricksters being included. It was very fun.
19. Break Up From Hell by Ann Davila Cardinal
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: The premise of this is really interesting, but it went somewhere I didn’t really expect. I wasn’t personally into the religious turn. I also didn’t love how it was written. However, I definitely think this has an audience. It just wasn’t me in the long run.
20. Rancher’s One Night Stand by Mary Sue Jackson
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: **Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting romance. I had fun, but it wasn’t my favourite. I felt that the politics were iffily vague, and I didn’t like the accidental pregnancy plot all that much. I don’t think that this is a series that I will be continuing in. It seems like they all revolve around something to do with kids and that’s not my favourite. The female main character was compelling though.
21. Priest by Sierra Simone
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: I picked this up because I’ve read other things by Sierra Simone and wanted to explore more of her work. This was pretty good. I found it interesting how religion was handled. It didn’t seem to be handled in the conventional way, so I ended up enjoying that aspect of the book more than I expected. The relationship was pretty insta-lust, but it ended up really working in the world of the book. I found that Tyler and Poppy were both really interesting characters. It was cool that the romance was just from Tyler’s perspective. I don’t often read romance that is just from the male main character’s perspective.
22. Midnight Mass by Sierra Simone
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: This was an interesting continuation of Tyler and Poppy’s story. I really enjoyed it as an epilogue novella. I like Tyler and Poppy a lot as characters so I was glad to be able to read about them more after their happy ending in Priest and outside of their initial conflict that they were dealing with. Them dealing with amrried life was a compelling storyline. The conflict within the novella felt realistic with the potential of their growing pains. I enjoyed this.
23. Prized Possessions by LR Wright
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: The blurb of this book told me nothing and so I had no expectations going into it. It also still sort of told me what happened, so my ‘no expectations’ were met. It was interesting to see how the different perspectives came together. There almost seemed to be more of the other perspectives than there was of Karl’s, which is interesting considering he is the main character.
24. Reaper by A. Zavarelli
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I think I liked Crow better than Reaper, though I do like Ronan and Sasha together as a couple. They seem well-suited to eachother. They had a good pull/draw towards the other. I liked the further development of the Boston Underworld. I didn’t love the accidental pregnancy trope that was included, but I felt that the rest of the story made up for it. There was good stakes.
25. The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was a really interesting book with a really interesting premise. I think it was unique to study a serial killer from the perspective of the women in his life. I liked the way the stories were interwoven. IT was deeply compelling in the structure and in the complex dynamics of the women in this man’s life.
26. Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I had so much fun reading this. I loved the fairy tale-esque world, and the way the main character, Marra, navigated it. The structure of the story was good. I really enjoyed the side characters as well, but I think that Bonedog was probably my favourite of them. It’s a neat twist. I found the storyline compelling.
27. Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was a lovely story. I genuinely felt that the premise was so unique. I also liked the way the author layered science and mythology. Sora was a lovely character. She navigated the world in such an interesting way. I really felt for her as she coped with her grief and heart break. It was a beautiful story.
28. Breath of Shadows by Rich Douek
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: This was a deeply disturbing story, but it was a fascinating read. I found the way it was structured really interesting. The premise of the story was really interesting, and I was intrigued by them journeying into the jungle to find a secret. It was neat. The art was really creepy and kind of gross in a way that did a great job at accenting the story being told. If you like twisty and twisted, this might be the story for you.
29. Lore Olympus Volume 6 by Rachel Smythe
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I love the world of Lore Olympus. It’s always so wonderful to explore in each new installment of this series. I love both Hades and Persephone as characters. I found this addition to the series really interesting in a continuation of the events. The ending is a great moment. The art is so beautiful. I really enjoy the use of colour.
30. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This is a really interesting story. I liked the time displacement aspect. It was a really unique touch to the romance. I think my favourite part was the dynamic between Jane and August and how they grew together. It was definitely a bit of a slow burn, but I really enjoyed that as well. I liked seeing them become friends first and then the way the romance grew out of that. I also loved seeing August come into herself, and grow as a character. All the side characters were great.
31. Someday by Drew Hayden Taylor
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I re-read this with my class. It is a really interesting story, and I think the students enjoyed it.
32. Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This book is really interesting. I liked both of the main characters. They were both really interesting to read about and read from. I definitely felt for them, and was rooting for them both. The romance part of this was pretty slow burn, but I really enjoyed watching it play out. Their texting dynamic was so cute and was a fun little aspect of the story. I am definitely glad that I finally got around to reading this.
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