Hey there, everyone! I hope everyone had a fruitful May! I did not meet my goal of 13 books this month; I am just one book shy, capping in at 12, which is still pretty good. I’m working on making more me time, which is really important, and listening to more audiobooks (which count!)

Anyway, how did everyone else do this past month? Meet any personal goals?

Where Darkness Blooms

If you want a book about #femininerage, this book is for you. The book follows four girls, sisters by choice if not but blood, who live together and are still reeling over the disappearance of their mothers. It had an eerie atmosphere to it as well as a vital supernatural element. Women are missing in this small town, surrounded by sunflowers. little do they know, the missing women are being sacrificed to the sunflowers. Honestly, this took me by surprise; it was exceptionally well written.

Dead Girls Walking

This book is perfect for anyone who loves slasher films. Temple is the daughter of a serial killer, and her old home has been turned into a campsite for fans of slasher movies. But now she has gone back to the camp to find her mother’s body. But strange things are happening at the camp, and if her father is in prison, who is going around making young women disappear now? It kept me on my toes and hyper-aware. I would have liked more characterization and stronger character development, but otherwise, I liked it.

The Weavers of Alamaxa

This book was excellent. I love how much it reminds me of Avatar, the Last Airbender. The plot and pacing are fantastic, and Giogina and Nehal become much more than they were in the first novel. You can see how they’ve grown and become stronger, which made for such a brilliant novel. The political undertones and feminist approach are so well done and executed brilliantly. I love this series.

A Fate Inked in Blood

Okay, so I liked this book. Trust me, I did. But I didn’t love it. It had a solid beginning and a solid ending. However, Freya’s characterization took a dive in the middle for a while. I did like her personality and the growing tension in the story, but it did annoy me every time Jensen used the word “sex” to describe her throbbing loins. It was comical at times and cringy. But that’s just me. Overall, though, I liked the Norse mythology and overall storytelling.

The London Séance Society

The second book by Sarah Penner that I read this month. This novel took me a bit by surprise. The novel’s dual POV and supernatural aspect make this one stand apart from The Lost Apothecary. There are ghosts and vengeful spirits and a mystery that needs to be solved. I enjoyed it and didn’t quite see some of those plot twists coming. And that ending? Well, that was gratifying.

Furysong

The final book in the Aurelian Cycle! First of all, I’m so glad this series is getting the attention it deserves. This is another one that flew under the radar when it was first published. But oh my god, it was unstoppable. The pacing was terrific, Lee and Annie, their relationship, seeing it come to this point after three books, god it was so good. This novel is very politically heavy but has dragons, dragon warfare, and many brilliant characters. Unputdownable.

Inheritance of Scars

I loved this book so much. Thank you again to Simon and Schuster for this arc. This story is about a girl, Astrid, who has Crohn’s disease and embarks into the dark forest to mind her missing grandmother, waking a drauger – Soren – in the process. This novel was full of monsters from Norse mythology, and the tension between Soren and Astrid is fantastic. I loved this book. It was a little gut-wrenching at times, but ugh, so good.

The Lilies

The Lilies was the YA Book Club for Barnes and Noble this month. I’m a little conflicted about it. I liked it, but at the same time, I wanted a little more about it. It had some tremendous Cruel Intentions vibes, which I loved because I love that movie, but some aspects of the story felt a little random. The interstitial scenes went nowhere, which was a little bit of a disappointment, and it also seemed like some doors were left open and some questions were left unanswered. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.

The Lost Apothecary

This was the book club read for my read with Cyns book club. This novel was short and sweet, taking place in just a couple of days for both timelines. And even though it was short and sweet, so much happened. Penner really did an excellent job of being concise in her storytelling. It did feel too short. Everything happened so fast, which kept me hooked, but I wanted it to last longer. Is that strange? It’s still very well written.

When the Moon Hatched

I GET IT! When the Moon Hatched is fantastic. I loved this book, and about 50 pages in, I had already decided this would be a 5-star read for me. It did not disappoint. AT 690 pages, the story does not drag or let up. Reave is a fierce b*i*t*c*h, and I love her for it. The pacing is amazing; the romance is a true slow-burn romance. But the story is brilliant, and I loved every minute. I need book two in my hands now.

Diamond City

Now, this was a book I went into blind. I knew little about it, but I didn’t know what to expect when I picked it up. I liked it, but I was confused about some character dynamics. Aina has unrequited feelings for her boss, Kohl, which is odd because for most of the novel, until the end, I read him as more of a father figure. It wasn’t until the end that we discovered he was only six years older than her. It read weird. I liked the pacing and the way magic is built into the novel. The plot was developed well, and some shocking (and not-so-shocking) plot twists made it enjoyable overall.

Immortal Reign

I finally finished the Falling Kingdoms series! Honestly, this is a good series that went under the radar. It even had a spin-off series that unfortunately went nowhere with publication. I’m still sore about that, given the ending of “A Book of Spirits and Thieves.” But I digress; this was a solid conclusion. It was action-packed from beginning to end, and considering I read book 5 in 2017, it all came back to me. Rhodes has excellent characterization and great pacing. I loved it.

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