May 2018 Wrap-Up

I was aiming to have a great reading month in May. The pressure of my YALC TBR staring at me every day is getting quite intense and i’m ready to get a lot of that knocked off my list. Admittedly, i started the month a little rocky in a bit of a reading slump, but i managed to pull it back and actually started to read pretty quickly towards the end of the month thanks to some of my new favourite books. Here’s what i managed to read in May.

Eve Of Man by Giovanna & Tom Fletcher
I really wanted to absolutely adore this book, but that didn’t happen. It’s such a shame because i love these two authors separately, and i think they’re great at what they do. However something about the start of this series didn’t gel with me at all. The story follows Eve, the first female to be born in the world in fifty years. She’s somewhat of a marvel and it’s pinned that the entire existence of the human race depends on her. It’s a lot of pressure. There’s also Bram, the person who controls Eve’s best friend, Holly (getting more complicated, right?). I have a lot more to say about this book in my review, but for now i’ll leave you with the fact i didn’t really love it, found it a little problematic and now am questioning my entire existence.

I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman
I Was Born For This is the first novel i’ve read from Alice Oseman, and it’s made me completely fall in love with her writing. Her third novel follows Angel and Jimmy. Angel is a huge fan of The Ark, a London based internationally famous boyband, and Jimmy is in The Ark. This novel covers mental health, BME, LGBTQ+, friendship, relationships and above all, Fandom. I absolutely adored it. I don’t think i’ve stopped talking about it in a few weeks. I found it so interesting, mixed with a whole lot of great representation. I cannot praise this book enough and definitely dragged me out of my Eve Of Man reading slump.

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
This is another book that i feel like i’ve not stopped talking about in the last few weeks. I picked this up in order to interview Akemi a few weeks ago, and i’m so glad i did. Starfish is an incredibly powerful novel that deals with family relationships, abuse, longing for something and so many more important things. I loved the way it was written, i adored Kiko as a main character and the relationship that she had with her brothers. I loved everything about this book. It also has some great mental health representation that clearly describes some of my more complex mental health issues that i never have found a way to describe. I cannot praise Akemi’s debut novel enough.

I Am Thunder by Muhammed Khan
I have been on a role with five star books this month, and i figured this may dip my ratings a little. But no, I Am Thunder was my third five star book in a row and i adored it just as much as the previous two. There was very little mention of mental health in this, which is what i loved about the previous books, but I Am Thunder is a very raw and realistic way of telling a wider audience about the life of a Muslim in 2018. I appreciated the realistic natures of it and the many many lessons it taught me about culture and religion. Definitely pick up this book if you get chance.

The Taste Of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles
I managed to just squeeze in a last minute book and finish The Taste Of Blue Light today. I didn’t really know what to expect going in to this, except that i’d heard good things. But i absolutely adored it. I defintely think it’s less ‘We Were Liars‘ like than i was told, however it still had a great plot twist and very interesting characters. The story follows Lux as she tries to figure out why her memory has suddenly gone and the last thing she remembers is a party. In addition to that, the story is very character based and each and every character has something different and interesting to them. There wasn’t too much romance either, which was a very pleasant surprise. It didn’t quite continue my five star streak, but very close with a 4.5.

Books read: 5

Books read this year: 24

Pages read: 1,783

Pages Per Day: 58

Average Rating: 4.5

Male/Female Authors: Two Male/Three Female

Years of Release: 2018

Genres: YA, Contemporary, Sci-Fi, Mystery