I did a lot of travelling and working in May, which means i assumed my reading month would be pretty poor. Considering how busy i was, my reading month was quite average. It was also my first full reading month of my YALC TBR after our announcements for YALC authors in April. I have my semi-strict YALC TBR set until YALC weekend (YALC YALC YALC) which is slowly going down book by book.
I had a very mixed month for reading. Some books i absolutely adored and some that i really didn’t like. There was very much two ends of the scale this month and not much in between.
A Good Girls Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson
This is a book that i was so incredibly excited for, for an extremely long time. It had a lot of hype at YALC last year and it continued to be a loved book already in the community. I got my hands on a proof copy (gifted from Electric Monkey) and was even more thrilled to read it. I wish i had actually loved it. The story follows a seventeen year old girl who decides to solve a murder case as a part of her A-Level work. Nothing seemed to make sense as to why this was happening or allowed to happen, and there were plenty of plot twists that i just didn’t like. Sadly, this was the worst way to start my reading month, because i really didn’t enjoy it!
Summer of No Regrets by Kate Mallinder
I was also gifted a copy of Summer Of No Regrets from Firefly Press in exchange for an honest review, and luckily i absolutely adored it. You can see my full review on this fun-filled friendship novel HERE if you want to find out all my thoughts. Summer of No Regrets is definitely aimed at the younger end of YA, but i really loved the story and the characters. The writing was lovely and i cannot wait to keep recommending this book to everyone!
Birthday by Meredith Russo
Again, i was set of a copy of Birthday for review by Osborne Publishing for review. I had my eye on Birthday for quite some time after reading Meredith’s first novel If I Was Your Girl for book club a couple of years back. I love own voices stories so obviously i had to pick up Birthday. I felt every single emotion possible with this book. I cried, i laughed hysterically and i loved every single moment. There are some incredibly tough themes in Birthday, that are covered very well and thoughtfully. I felt everything the characters went through and i truly cannot express how much i love this book. Check out my full review HERE.
Meat Market by Juno Dawson
I adore Juno’s previous novels so Meat Market has been one of my most anticipated novels for quite some time. Set in the same ‘world’ as Clean, her last novel, Meat Market follows the fashion industry and what it’s truly like to be a world famous model. The premise isn’t something that i’d usually jump at reading, fashion doesn’t really interest me, especially in novels. However, the way Juno wrote this and the characters she introduced it was nothing short of outstanding. I love the way Meat Market was written, and the themes included were definitely very heavy but incredibly well discussed. Another great novel by a wonderful person. My full review will be coming soon.
Overall, i don’t think it was a particularly bad reading month. I enjoyed most of the books that i read and made a big dint in to my YALC TBR. I also made a lot of progress with No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter, which i am loving so far, so i hope it stays that way until the end of the book! Without a doubt it will be the first book that i finish in June.
Books read: 4
Books read this year: 30
Pages read: 1,370
Pages Per Day: 44.2
Average Rating: 4
Years of Release: 2019
Genres: YA, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Crime
The Little Contemporary Corner 