May Wrap Up

The following books are the books that I read this month, not including those which I read for the Asian Readathon. I will have a separate post about those books so that I can go more in depth in explaining why I chose them for the Readathon.

That being said, I’m proud of the amount of reading I got done this month. I tried harder to stay true to my TBR and I think I found a way to do so… mostly. I ended up bringing The Star-Touched Queen back go the library before reading it as I no longer felt a pull to read it. I know it’s there should I decide to pick it back up in the future.

In regards to following my TBR, from now on I will be placing the books I want to read in a neat stack in my room so I can pull from it when I’m in the mood to read. This way, I’ll be able to have a selection to choose from instead of just one book by my bed that I may or may not want to pick up. By keeping the books separate from the rest of my collection, it’ll make it harder for me to diverge from the list of books as everything I want to read is in one place. As someone who has no problem with reading multiple books at once, this is perfect for me.

The books I finished in May:

Completed Books:

1. Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong (Rockton, Book 4) [5 stars]
2. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld, Book 1) [5 stars]
3. Replica by Jenna Black (Replica, Book 1)[0.5 stars]
4. Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 1)[5 stars]
5. Exile by Shannon Messenger (Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 2)[5 stars]
6. Stolen by Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld, Book 2)[4 stars]
7. Again, But Better by Christine Riccio [3.5 stars]

Dedicated Blog Posts:

1. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
2. Replica by Jenna Black
3. Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
4. Exile by Shannon Messenger
5. Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
6. Again, But Better by Christine Riccio

Dedicated Posts to Come:

1. Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong

Wrap Up:

Watcher in the Woods:

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors of all time. This is the fourth book in a mystery series based around people who need to stay hidden for short periods of time. I highly recommend reading the first book of the series, City of the Lost, if you enjoy mysteries and crime novels. It is beautifully written.

Bitten:

Bitten is Kelley Armstrong’s debut novel but you can’t tell by how wonderfully it’s written. As this is the first book in one of my (if not my top) favourite series of all time, I thoroughly enjoyed this reread. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading about the supernatural world of werewolves and the series as a whole to anyone who enjoys readings about the supernatural world in general. But be warned, there is some mature content throughout this series, beginning in this book. Elena and Clay are two of my favourite characters of all time.

Replica:

I do not recommend reading this book. There was very little I can say about this book that’s a positive so I’ll refrain from saying anything else here. If you enjoy dystopian books, please read something else.

Keeper of the Lost Cities:

This is Shannon Messenger’s debut novel and boy was it well written! The story was filled with action and adventure to the point where I couldn’t put the book down. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy. Even though it’s a Middle Grade book, that’s only because of the age of the characters. I honestly believe that people of all ages should be able to read this story and enjoy the characters and the plot. Sophie is a smart twelve/thirteen year and she goes through so much in this story.

Exile:

I highly recommend continuing on with the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. This is the second book of the series and it was just as good, if not better than, the first. Messenger gave me everything I wanted and then some! I can’t wait to continue on with the series.

Stolen:

This is the second book in the Women of the Otherworld series and though it’s my least favourite out of all 13 of the books, it’s still phenomenal. If you’re interested in the supernatural and don’t mind a little bit of R rated romance and gore, this is a good series to check out.

Again, But Better:

This is Riccio’s debut novel and I thought that it was a really cute read. If you’re interested in a Coming of Age story based around university/college aged students, this might be a good read for you. Riccio did what she set out to do by creating a book that many university/college aged people would be able to relate to as there aren’t nearly enough out there. The characters were interesting and the plot contains a couple of twists that were well written.

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Overall, I think I got a decent amount of reading done this month. Being officially done with my Undergraduate schooling, I was able to replace the time I usually spend doing homework with reading and spending time with friends. I didn’t realize just how much homework I’d been doing until now but I’m glad to see that I was able to fill the time somehow. I definitely got more reading done this month than I expected!

As well, I stayed pretty true to my TBR which was easier than I expected. Separating my TBR from the rest of my books was a good call. I think I’ll continue to create smaller TBRs that allow for some wiggle room like I did this month as while I love planning, I’m also a mood reader at times.

To see the other books I read this month, check out my Asian Readathon Wrap Up and other blog posts. You’ll find some great books there, too!