Wednesday 7 June 2017

Wrap Up & Haul | May 2017

This year need to slow down already! I can't believe we're in June and I'm planning all of my mid-year posts already. May was a pretty busy month for me, despite being on holiday from uni, and things seems to just keep getting busier. Although I was very busy, I did manage to read a good amount and slightly made up for my terrible couple of months previous. I read a total of 7 books in May, with one being very short. I don't think I did too badly.


Windfall by Jennifer E Smith -
I received this for review from Netgalley and I was so excited as it was one of my most anticipated book of the year. I have really enjoyed a lot of Jennifer E Smith's books and this one was no different. It's about a girl who buys her best friend, who she is in love with, a lottery ticket for his birthday and he ends up winning. It was a really cute, fun read that dealt with some more serious topics within a not-so-serious storyline.
Rating: 4/5 | Review

Heart Of The Matter by Emily Giffin -
This book sat on my shelf for at least 5 years so the fact that I have finally read it gives me such a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book. I loved Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed and Something Blue, both of which I read a good 5/6 years ago, but this was a disappointment. I found it boring and had an issue with the cheating aspect, which I talked about in my review.
Rating: 2/5 | Review | ATY Challenge: #9 In the middle of your TBR

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus -
This was another book I received from Netgalley. This was a high school murder mystery surrounding a student being murdered in detention with four other students in the room and considered suspects. This was another very enjoyable read. It was more of a fun mystery than I am used to, however it did take a surprising dark turn towards the end that I liked. It didn't blow me away and I wasn't a fan of the romance, but it did make me want to keep turning the page and know what happened.
Rating: 3.5/5 | Review 

I Still Remember by Priya Prithviraj -
I received this very short book from the author for review. This is only around 30 pages and follows a girl who is having to deal with a boy she once loved coming back into her life. I really liked that this was set in Korea but I needed it to be longer. I didn't feel like there was enough development of the characters or the plot within such few pages and I needed more information.
Rating: 2/5 | Review

Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout -
It finally happened! I have had this book in countless monthly/seasonal/yearly TBRs and just never picked it up, until now. I don't know why I hadn't picked it up sooner because I really enjoyed it. It's often described as Twilight with aliens, which I understand now, but I wouldn't let that put you off if you're not a Twilight fan. This was such a fun read, especially as I love hate-to-love romance and arrogant 'bad boys'. I can't wait to continue with this series.
Rating: 4/5 | Review To Come | ATY Challenge: #18 A really long book (600+ pages) (Lux: Beginnings)

With Malice by Eileen Cook -
A lot of people were talking about this book towards the end of last year and it was the hype, and partly the cover, that made me want to read this. I think the hype raised my expectations for this book and it sadly didn't meet them. It isn't a bad book by any means, I really enjoyed the mystery and the unreliability of our narrator given her memory problems, but it wasn't as great as others had claimed. I loved that it was somewhat set in Italy and the lack of romance was very refreshing. The ending through me a bit though, I'm not even sure if I liked it or not.
Rating: 3/5 | Review To Come | ATY Challenge: #22 By an author you haven't read before

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West -
Is it even summer if I don't read a Kasie West book? She is one of my favourite authors so of course I loved this book just as much as everything else I have read from her. This is the typical get someone to pretend to be your boyfriend story that has been pretty common, especially in movies, over the years. I was expecting this to be my least favourite of her books because of this but I think it was done really well. It was a really cute, fun story with great characters and a focus on friendship, specifically realising whether a friendship is good for you or not. 
Rating: 4/5 | Review To Come | ATY Challenge: #31 From a sub-genre of your favourite genre

I didn't do quite as well with my book buying, or lack of, as I did with the books I read. I did stick to the not buying physical books until I had read 5 books, however I did buy an ebook and received two eARCs from Netgalley on top of the two physical books I was allowed to buy.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge - I plan to read this for one of my Around The Year In 52 Books challenges so when I was bored at the airport and decided to browse the books, I picked this one up when I saw it.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi - I have seen a lot of people that have read and loved this recently and as I want to read more non-fiction I thought I would give it a go.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon - I received this from Netgalley. This sounds like such a great summer read and I have heard great things about it.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - I also received this from Netgalley, I'm assuming because of the popularity of the TV show. I want to watch the show but need to read the book first.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson - This is another book I am planning to read for an Around The Year In 52 Books challenge. It was on offer for just 99p on Kindle so I picked it up.

I hope you had a great reading month as well. What was your favourite read of May?

Sophie :)

2 comments:

  1. Aww, too bad that Emily Giffin book didn't work out for you. She's one of my favorite authors!

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    1. I would definitely give her books another go since I have enjoyed 2 of 3 that I've read. I think it was a case of that book just wasn't for me.

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