may wrap up – The Bibliophile Chronicles

May was another great reading month and I managed to read seventeen books in total. I’m going to keep things quite short because getting through seventeen books will make this post absolutely massive, but I will link full reviews if you want to find out more – lets dive in!

1. Pine – Francine Toon
This was a leftover read from the OWLS Magical Readathon, which I ended up really enjoying. A beautifully written tale about life in the remote Scottish highlands, it was full of secrets and a brilliant sense of atmosphere (4/5 stars)

2. Dangerous Remedy – Kat Dunn
Set during the French Revolution, this story of daring heists, politics and a hint of magic was everything I wanted it to be and more. I absolutely raced through this fast paced tale and I’m so looking forward to book two. (4.5/5 stars)

3. The Book of Koli – M R Carey
This was my first time reading an M R Carey book and it was such a clever tale. A post-apocalyptic tale where even the trees are out to get you, one young boy dreams of being more than a Woodsmith. But when he manages to wake a piece of old world tech the consequences could be much higher than he anticipated. (4/5 stars)

4. Dispel Illusion – Mark Lawrence
The third and final book in Mark Lawrence’s Impossible Times trilogy, I absolutely loved this one and it was one of my favourite books of the month. I’m so sad to say goodbye to these characters, but Lawrence created a brilliant ending to the story. (5/5 stars)

5. Shade’s Children – Garth Nix
Shade’s Children was one of my favourite books growing up and I read it over and over so I thought it would be fun to revisit as an adult. It was just as dark and creepy as I remember it being and I absolutely loved it. It’s such a cleverly written tale and I can’t wait revisit more of Nix’s books in the future (5/5 stars)

6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J K Rowling
After revisiting Shade’s Children I figured I might revisit the Harry Potter series and reread them as it’s been a few years since I read them physically, the last time was via audiobook. I really enjoyed this and was planning to continue on with the series however in light of J K Rowling’s recent comments, this has been put on hold. (5/5 stars)

7. In Plain Sight – Marion Todd
This fast paced tale set in Fife in Scotland follows DI Clare MacKay as she attempts to solve the case of a young child being kidnapped. A twisty and intriguing police procedural, I ended up really enjoying this one and will definitely be picking up more of the series (3.75/5 stars)

8. The Elite – Kiera Cass
Since the announcement that The Selection series was getting a Netflix adaptation I decided it was finally time to dig my copies out and give them a go. I read the first one and thought it was fun so went ahead with book two. In much the same vein it was light and fluffy, full of drama and the luxury of castle life. (3/5 stars)

9. All Your Twisted Secrets – Diana Urban
I must admit to being a little disappointed in this one. I thought it was going to be like One Of Us Is Lying, but found the story just a little bit too far fetched for my tastes. The story of five teenagers locked in a room with a bomb, and they must decide which one of them to kill so that the rest can live. (2.5/5 stars)

10. Burn – Patrick Ness
This was my third time reading a book by Patrick Ness and I think this is my favourite one so far. The story of an alternate 1950s America in which dragons live alongside humans, it was an intriguing story and one I found difficult to put down. (4/5 stars)

11. Aurora Burning – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
One of my most anticipated releases of the year, this was everything I was hoping for and more. Squad 312 are back, and the stakes are even higher than they were last time. The book ended on the most awful cliffhanger and I’m already desperate to find out what’s going to happen in book three. (5/5 stars)

12. The Deck of Omens – Christine Lynn Herman
The conclusion to The Devouring Gray duology, The Deck of Omens was an interesting sequel. I preferred book one in terms of the story, but it was fascinating to get answers to the questions left in book one and Herman wrapped up the duology nicely. (3.75/5 stars)

13. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
I must confess to be massively disappointed in this one. I loved The Hunger Games growing up and I was so excited by this prequel but I really disliked Snow and I struggled to slog through the second part of the book and the only bit I really enjoyed was the last fifty-eighty pages. (2.5/5 stars)

14. Highfire – Eoin Colfer
This crazy and unique tale is follows Verne the dragon – one of the last of his kind as he ends up taking on a human familiar and becomes tangled up in a drug war and sinister plot from the local police Constable. Action packed and full of humour, this was a really fun read. (3/5 stars)

15. A Conjuring of Assassins – Cate Glass
The sequel to An Illusion of Thieves, this was another most anticipated release for me. The Chimera are back at it again, and this time the heist is on an even bigger scale. I love the world Glass has created in this and I can’t wait for the next instalment. (4/5 stars)

16. Girls of Paper and Fire – Natasha Ngan
Girls of Paper and Fire had a massive amount of buzz surrounding it when it first came out and I have been excited to read it for a long time. While I still really enjoyed this it didn’t quite live up to the hype and I felt the story was a bit slow and that the Demon King was a bit one-dimensional. It was still a fascinating story though, and I’m intrigued to see where the sequel goes (3.5/5 stars)

17. The Turn of the Key – Ruth Ware
This was my first time reading a Ruth Ware and my god it was creepy. I absolutely loved this and I’m definitely planning to pick up some more of her books in the near future. Inspired by The Turn of the Screw, this story features a strange ‘smart home’, creepy children, family secrets and so many twists you’ll never see coming. (4.25/5 stars)

So those are the seventeen books I managed to read in May. I’m not sure how I can top that in June but I’m going to try. If you’ve read any of these I’d love to know what you thought, as well as what your favourite book of June was!

I definitely feel like I’ve got my reading mojo back recently and in May I managed to read 15 books. Some of them are just little novellas rather than full books but I had a really interesting reading month overall, so lets dive in!

1. Exit Strategy – Martha Wells
I’ve steadily been working my way through The Murderbot Diaries on audio because they’re fun and interesting reads. This is the fourth instalment in the series and while I enjoyed it, I felt it was getting a bit repetitive. The narrator does a really brilliant job of bringing Murderbot to life and the whole series make for really quick reads. I’m caught up on the series now and looking forward to the next instalment which is due for release in 2020. (3/5 stars)

2. Sea Witch – Sara Henning
Sea Witch is a dark retelling which focuses on the Ursula character in The Little Mermaid. This was another audio book read for me and I fell in love with the characters. It was a fast paced read and the narrator was fabulous. I thought the book came to a really interesting conclusion and I assumed it was a standalone but there is a second instalment coming out which I’m really intrigued to read because I’m not sure where the author can go next. Full review is here if you want to know more! (4/5 stars)

3. Aurora Rising – Ami Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
I LOVED this book. The story of a bunch of misfits tasked with saving the galaxy was everything I needed and I’m crediting this book with pulling me out of my reading slump. I adored everything about this book from the characters to the fun, action packed plot. I’m already desperate for more and I’m absolutely going to reread this one soon. My full review for this is here if you want to know more! (5/5 stars)

4. Joker – Brian Azzello
This is a graphic novel I’ve had on my shelf for quite a while so I decided to pick it up one afternoon. I read it in one sitting and I did enjoy it, but it felt kind of forgettable? I only remember the very basics of the story. It felt very much like a crime story that happened to have Batman and Joker in it rather than a superhero tale. I wasn’t all that keen on the art style either, so overall it felt very average. (2.5/5 stars)

5. Wicked Saints – Emily A. Duncan
This was another book that I really really enjoyed. The magic system in this book really intrigued me and I really fell in love with the story. It could have done with a bit more character development and I’m hoping this is something that is addressed in the next book in the series. Full review for Wicked Saints is here! (4.5/5 stars)

6. As Far As the Stars – Virginia Macgregor
This book was so cute! The story of two characters with family members on a plane that has crashed, it’s a sweet and fascinating story as they attempt to deal with what has happened to the plane and explore their feeling for each other. It’s the perfect summer road trip novel and there are lots of really beautiful moments in the story. I took part in the blog tour for this so you can see my stop here if you want to know more. (4/5 stars)

7. Locked In – Mark Lawrence
I recently discovered some Mark Lawrence short stories that I hadn’t read so I quickly snapped up the opportunity to read them (they’ve available on his website). This one was my favourite, a quick and dark little story that kept me hooked the whole way through. A perfect read if you’ve got some time to kill and easily read in one sitting. (4/5 stars)

8. Quick – Mark Lawrence
This was another of the short stories. This one felt a bit shorter so I didn’t feel like I got the chance to get to know the character as much, but it was still a fun little story featuring a young man with strange powers – again this would be perfect if you were waiting for something and had a bit of time to kill – a fun and light read! (3/5 stars)

9. The Princess and the Fangirl – Ashley Poston
I love love loved Geekarella so I was super excited to read The Princess and the Fangirl and it was everything I wanted and more. The story is a retelling of The Princess and the pauper and features two adorable romances, one is also female/female and they were just the cutest! I really enjoyed reading this and it was so fun to see characters from Geekarella pop up. Kind of hoping Ashley Poston continues with this and does more of these geeky retellings because I’m obsessed. (4.25/5 stars)

10. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this up. There was lots of buzz around this at YALC last year and I was interested to give it a go. It ended up being quite an intense, twisty thriller and every theory I came up with ended up being shot down. There were plenty of twists that I absolutely did not see coming. (4/5 stars)

11. The Selection – Kiera Cass
I finally got around to reading the first book in The Selection series and I totally get what everyone was telling me. It wasn’t exactly a ground breaking read but it was fast paced and I couldn’t seem to put the book down. It was an addictive story and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. (3.5/5 stars)

12. Limited Wish – Mark Lawrence
This was probably my favourite book of the month and I’m pretty obsessed with this series. The second instalment of the Impossible Times trilogy was just as brilliant as book one and I raced through this book because I was just so desperate to know what was going to happen to Nick and the gang. Full review for this one can be found over here. (5/5 stars)

13. My Secret Lies With You – Faye Bird
This was a strange little thriller about a young girl who makes friends with a group of people on holiday. Someone they met last year has gone missing and the group attempt to unravel that secrets around her disappearance. This was another one that I finished very quickly, it’s an exciting readable tale that I think thriller fans will really enjoy. (4/5 stars)

14. Green Arrow: Midas Touch – Dan Jurgens
This was just not for me. I really like Green Arrow and picked up a copy of this New 52 graphic novel but I didn’t get on with it at all. I thought the story was quite slow, it was all action with very little plot. I didn’t feel like I got to know any of the characters and I didn’t really care for the art style. (2/5 stars)

15. Evidence of the Affair – Taylor Jenkins Reid
I saw a few booktubers talking about this novella written by the author of Daisy Jones and the Six. The story follows a woman who discovers her husband is having an affair and so tells the lovers husband all about it. The two strike up a friendship as they attempt to deal with their partners lies and secrets. It’s all told through letters and it was a really fascinating read. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this author because this is the second time I’ve read something from her that wasn’t my kind of thing and loved it. (4/5 stars)

So those are all the books I read in May! I definitely found some new favourites and I’m hoping I can read just as many in June. Definitely let me know what you’ve been reading recently and if you’ve read any of these I’d loved to know what you thought!

The Bibliophile Chronicles

Tag: may wrap up

May Wrap Up!

May Wrap Up!