May 2020 Wrap-Up

What a month May has been. I’ve spent the entirity of it indoors, as i imagine most people have, and i’ve gotten a lot of reading done! Also, so much has happened blog-wise and book-wise! We started our Shelf Help readathon, teaming up with Jaz and Sharn to bring you two weeks of reading and self care. We hope you joined in! Also May brought Blog Every Day May, which honestly, we had nothing better to do whilst in the house so have been smashing out some blog posts.

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith
I have a full review on the blog of Stay Gold, i just wish i’d ended up loving it far more than i had. The story focuses on transgender teens and having to hide who you are when you move schools. I enjoyed half of this book, and the other half i really didn’t care for at all.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
I’ve been sitting on this book since it came out, and myself and Lois have been meaning to co-read it for some time. What better time than when we’re both stuck at home with loads of books to read? Fantasy isn’t my thing usually, and i can’t say i’ve ever read a retelling that i’ve absolutely adored. However, this was a five star read for me, i adored the characters and the way it was told, and i had to pick up the next straight away.

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
As i said, i picked up the second book in this series asap. Luckily, i had it to hand. I enjoyed this follow up as much as i did the first, but i found some of the character POV’s lacking slightly. I can’t say i didn’t miss Rhen and Harper, but getting so much more content from small characters made me incredibly happy. This might be one of my new faovurite series.

Normal People by Sally Rooney
Naturally, as everyone else has been doing, i wanted to watch Normal People by Sally Rooney. When i heard it was becoming a TV show i grabbed a copy of the book at work. When i read the book, i wasn’t overly attached to it. I fell in love with the characters, and the story was okay. But i never had a need to keep reading the book. However the TV show turned that all around for me. They’re so close to each other it’s as if the book should be sold with the TV show. It was magical, and these are definitely two of my new faovurite characters.

Taproot by Keezy Young
I picked up Taproot right at the beginning of the year, and when a friend recommended it to me a few weeks ago i figured i should probably pick it up. It’s incredibly short, and wonderful story about a gay gardener who sees ghosts. It’s wholesome and delightful, and the art work is stunning. It was just a joy to read.

I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
The first book in my Shelf Help readathon TBR was I’ll Give You The Sun, i’ve been putting off reading this since the release, and now i’ve read it i’m questioning why i did that. I really loved this book and the aspects it took on of grief. It’s very heavy, and sometimes a little hard to read, but the plot twists were completely uexpected. Honestly, i don’t think i expected much of this book, and i was very pleasently surprised.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book didn’t hit me like i expected it to. I wanted to love it, and i know so many people love this book. But it just didn’t sit right. It was okay, it was a bit meh. The characters were interesting, and i enjoyed the concept of a child being raised by ghosts in a graveyard, however something about Neil Gaiman’s writing in this didn’t sit with me well.

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
This was my second book for the Shelf Help readathon, and what i used for the prompt of the book that i keep almost donating. I collected all of Nick Hornby’s books when i first started reading, because they are incredibly easy to grab in a charity shop. I read two, decided he wasn’t for me and donated them all. Apart from this one. I liked this story more than anything else i’ve read by him, and the trope of an unlikely friendship i adore. The characters were well written and filled out excellently, but there were a few homophobic and ableist comments that just didn’t sit well.

My Twentieth Century Evening & Other Small Breakthroughs by Kazuo Ishiguro
My shortest book of the month was this and it comes in at a nice 36 pages. Since i read Never Let Me Go a few years ago, i’ve been interested in Kazuo Ishiguro and his writing processes and stories. This was a little look in to his life, and in to his writing that was perfect to gather an idea of who he is.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The oldest book on my TBR… I’ve owned this for many, many years now, and i’ve finally read Cinder. I don’t know how i feel about Cinder, because it’s incredibly tropey, but i loved it. I was incredibly entertained throughout the whole thing, was never bored and always wanted to read more. I thought once i put it down i’d forget the entire story, but it’s been at least a few days and some other books and she’s still in my brain. I want to carry on with the series, but also that seems like a huge undertaking.

Super Late Bloomer by Julia Kaye
I borrowed Super Late Bloomer from my boyfriend recently, as it’s something i’ve not heard of and i love a graphic novel memoir. I think it’s such an interesting way to tell a story, and i really love how detailed someone can be with drawings about their life. I really enjoyed this, which focused on Julia’s early days of transitioning and her thoughts and feelings.

One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton
Keris Stainton in my opinion is one of the most underrated YA novelists. Her books are funny, raw, real and generally have some pretty great representation. I picked up On Italian Summer whilst i needed something light and easy to read. It most definitely wasn’t light, but i fell completely for the characters and the story. I will have a full review up soon on this book.

 

Books read: 12

Books read this year: 43

Pages read: 3,526

Pages Per Day: 118

Average Rating: 4