Hello, reader!

Before I dive into my May wrap up, I’m going to take a moment to once again share the link for the #BlackLivesMatter carrd. I know that things on the internet will eventually go back to “normal”, but this is something that we can’t afford to forget about. At least I know I can’t. We’re fighting the long fight, here, and I hope you all stay in the fight with us. That being said, don’t forget to take care of you and your mental health, as well!

Now, surprisingly, I read more last month than I have in the three previous months and I am shocked! I read seven books and I have no idea how I managed that! Well, actually, I have some idea. Mainly audiobooks, those beautiful, time-saving creations 💕 I listened to quite a few audiobooks in May and it definitely bumped up my numbers! And I read two new favorites!

But, before I get ahead of myself, let’s get into the actual wrap up 😉

---

Click on the covers to be taken to the book’s Goodreads page

1. Disenchanted by Brianna Sugalski::★★★::My review
2. Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis::★★★★::My review
3. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo::★★★★★::My review
4. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo::★★★★★::My review
5. Catalyst by Tracy Richardson::★★★::My review
6. Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James::★★★★::My review
7. The Faith Machine by Tone Milazzo::★★★::My review

Popsugar Challenge prompts completed: 4

• A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics (Tilly and the Bookwanderers)
• A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it (Disenchanted)
• A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name (Harrow Lake… “Kat” counts!)
• A book that won an award in 2019 (The Poet X)

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge prompts completed: 1

• Read an audiobook of poetry (Clap When You Land)

There were two highs this month, which I read back to back. Completely related, I also found a new favorite author in May! My highs were…

Y’all, these books were SO. GOOD. I absolutely feel in love with Acevedo’s writing and learned that maybe I don’t dislike poetry as much as I thought I did 😅 I listened to the audiobook for both of these titles and I think I made the right choice. They were just so beautifully performed that it made an already impactful story hit that much harder. They were both so poignant and definitely worth a read. Now I can’t wait to pick up Elizabeth Acevedo’s other novel, With the Fire on High!

As for my low this month, this was a book that I read for a blog tour where the premise sounded so interesting! I did end up enjoying the book, though not as much as I had hoped I would. That book would be…

I was incredibly interested in reading this YA science fiction and I’m so glad I got a chance to participate in the blog tour for it! But it definitely went down a different road than I was expecting, lol. Still, I enjoyed my experience with the book and I even learned some things!

Remember when I said last wrap up that I was going to focus on reading books from my owned TBR?

Ahahahaha, I didn’t read a SINGLE book off my TBR bookshelf, hahahahaha… ugh…

In my defense, I did participate in a lot of blog tours in May! 4 out of the 7 books I read were blog tour books. And the other three were audiobooks! So… yeah. I super failed at #StartOnYourShelfathon in May 😅 But I will say I’m pretty stoked at how many of the Popsugar prompts I already have checked off! Perhaps I’ll actually finish that challenge this year. We’ll not talk about the Read Harder challenge…

Going back to the blog tours, though, I’ve been having such an amazing experience getting to participate in a variety of tours! When I started this blog, tours were always something that I wanted to try and participate in. It seemed like such a fun and expansive way to promote new or under-the-radar books. I’ve been very privileged to be able to become a part of #TheWriteReads gang, where I’ve met some of the nicest bloggers I’ve had the pleasure to talk to since I started writing here! And I joined the mailing list for Storytellers on Tour and have been exposed to some wonderful books and people! So, yeah, I didn’t read any books off my shelves, but I’m okay with what I got in exchange 😊

As for June, I’ve got a few more blog tours I’ll be participating in, but I’m also hoping to read some books off my shelf, as well. But… we also just bought a house and will be moving during the month of June! I’m incredibly excited for our new adventure but also know that it’s probably going to affect my reading. I’m going to try and at least get my typical five books in, but I’m also going to try and not beat myself up if I don’t read as much as I usually do.

I mean… I probably still will but I’m going to try not to!

---

How was your reading in May? Did you read anything that became a new favorite? Have you read any of the books I got to in May? Let me know in the comments!

And, as always, happy reading 💕