Hello Bookish Friends :)
After taking the much needed break I required after my boss' passing, I'm back today to get my blog back on its regular uploading schedule.
It's officially June, and it's almost summertime. I've mentioned before that June is one of my least favorite months of the year, just because its the busiest month of the entire year at work, and I often barely have time to get anything else done.
Hopefully I'll still find some time to read some great books this month though, and in the meantime, today I'd like to share with you all about the books I finished last month in May 2018.
May was actually a better reading month for me than April was, as I had very few books that I rated less than three stars, and I honestly love those reading months.
Here's the books I completed in the order in which I finished them:
The Forgotten Recipe by Amy Clipston:
I've had this one sitting on my TBR shelf at home for awhile, and I'd had so many people recommend it to me. Now that I've gone ahead and finished it, I've become a little obsessed with Amy Clipston's writing as the way she was able to pen this beautiful tale about forgiveness, healing, and learning to let yourself love again was amazing, and I gave this one five out of five stars. It was the perfect book to start the month off with.
Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken:
I'd enjoyed The Darkest Minds, and I was looking forward to continuing on with the rest of the series. Unfortunately, I didn't end up enjoying this one as much as I did the previous one. For some odd reason, I don't really care for Ruby's character, and it was actually the side characters in the first novel, Chubs, Liam and Zu, who'd interested me more. Since they don't really have a big part in this one, that might be why I didn't enjoy it as much, but I honestly just found it a little lackluster when compared to the first book. I rated it three out of five stars.
The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts:
Lisa Brown Roberts is definitely becoming a new favorite for me. I love her quirky, heartfelt contemporary romances, and The Replacement Crush was everything I was hoping for and more. Vivian and Dallas definitely gave me all the feels, and I gave this one a perfect five out of five stars. You can read my full review here.
Life Support by Candace Calvert:
I'd really loved the previous two books in this trilogy, but I couldn't seem to feel the same connection to this one. It was definitely still enjoyable, but the characters lacked the warmth and vividness of the characters in the first two books. I rated it three out of five stars, and you can check out my full review here.
Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch:
This is quite possibly one of the most adorable contemporaries I've ever read, and that's saying a lot considering I'm the queen of reading contemporaries. I loved it from start to finish, and Jenna Evans Welch may just be a new favorite author. I rated this one four out of five stars, and you can read my full review here.
How To Catch A Prince by Rachel Hauck:
It's kind of funny how I have zero interest in the royal family in real life, but I sure do love reading about fictional ones. In May I read the third installment in Rachel Hauck's Royal Wedding series, and I especially enjoyed how this one was a second chance romance. Stephen and Corina were both characters I really enjoyed, and as always, I loved the little glimpses into the lives of characters from the previous books in the series. I rated this one four out of five stars.
Spies, Lies and Allies by Lisa Brown Roberts:
Lisa Brown Roberts is fast becoming a new favorite author of mine, and last month I read her newest release. I loved the fact that this one is a ya novel with an office setting as I don't think I've ever read a ya book with that setting before. I loved both Laurel and Carlos as characters, and I really enjoyed their various family members, and the other interns working in the office program with them. Add in a swoon worthy romance, so many fantastic Star Wars references, and Lisa's signature writing style, and this one got a perfect five star rating from me!
In Time by Alexandra Bracken:
This Darkest Minds novella honestly took a little while to grow on me. And I've found that to be the case for this series as a whole. I really wasn't that into this particular story to start with, but then when it was revealed to be about Zu, I got more into it, and I ended up really enjoying it. I gave it four out of five stars, and Zu continues to be my favorite character from this series.
August and Everything After by Jennifer Salvato Dorktoski:
This one was one of my most anticipated releases for 2018, primarily because of how much I'd enjoyed her previous novel The Summer After You and Me. However, this one was probably the worst book I read in the entire month of May. It was extremely problematic for me, especially the toxic relationship featured. I gave it two out of five stars, and I'll be posting a full review on it probably next week.
The Courtship Basket by Amy Clipston:
I'm not sure words could ever adequately express just how amazing this novel was, but I'll definitely try my best. This was the perfect continuation of The Forgotten Recipe, and it such a tender, sweet story about taking a second chance on love, and learning to let others in. I gave it five out of five stars, and I'll be posting a full review on it next week.
Sparks Rise by Alexandra Bracken:
This one I'm sad to say I couldn't get into at all, and it's definitely me least favorite story from The Darkest Minds. I didn't find Sam's character that interesting, and I really had to force myself to even finish this one. I gave it two out of five stars, and highly doubt I would ever reread this.
In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken:
I have to be honest that throughout reading this series I was starting to think that maybe I'd just outgrown dystopians, as I just couldn't seem to get to into this one. However, I read another dystopian shortly after that I completely loved, and proved that hypothesis false. So what I've discovered is that pretty much every dystopian I've ever loved, I've been a huge fan of the romance developing between the two main characters. And I'm sorry to say that I just wasn't a fan of the romance between Ruby and Liam throughout this series, mainly because I didn't care for Ruby's character and the way she continues to treat Liam. While I didn't necessarily dislike this series, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I'd expected to, and I gave this last book in the series three out of five stars.
Beyond The Night by Alexandra Bracken:
And I finished the last Darkest Minds novella in May as well, and I gave it three out of five stars. I enjoyed certain parts of it, including Mia's character, but it didn't really stand out to me, and I don't think this series as a whole will be a reread for me in the future.
Spring Broke by Melody Carlson:
I enjoyed the first two books in the 86 Bloomberg Place series by Melody Carlson, but I wouldn't have said either of them were a favorite. However, this one I was pleasantly surprised with just how much I ended up enjoying it, and that's mainly because I was really impressed with the growth and maturity shown in most of the main characters. I'm going to have a full review posted of this one soon, but I gave it four out of five stars, and I'm looking forward to reading the last book in the series this month.
Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi:
And the last book I read in May 2018 was Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi. This was one of my most anticipated releases, but after being disappointed in The Darkest Minds, I was a little hesitant to pick this one up, just in case it was a case of me not really enjoying dystopians anymore. However, this one definitely proved that false as I loved it, and found it to be just as good as the original novels were. It was awesome to be back in Juliette and Warner's world, and it was a definite bonus to have this one told by both of their points of view. I really enjoyed that Tahereh Mafi didn't have her character's change just because they're now in a relationship, and the cliffhanger at the ending is going to have me anxiously awaiting next year for the release of the next book. I gave this one four out of five stars, and I only wish the sex content hadn't been quite so prevalent, as I didn't think it was really necessary. Overall though, an amazing book, and the perfect book with which to end the month with.
Thanks so much for reading guys! I'll see you all again on Wednesday for my June 2018 TBR list!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photos do not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
After taking the much needed break I required after my boss' passing, I'm back today to get my blog back on its regular uploading schedule.
It's officially June, and it's almost summertime. I've mentioned before that June is one of my least favorite months of the year, just because its the busiest month of the entire year at work, and I often barely have time to get anything else done.
Hopefully I'll still find some time to read some great books this month though, and in the meantime, today I'd like to share with you all about the books I finished last month in May 2018.
May was actually a better reading month for me than April was, as I had very few books that I rated less than three stars, and I honestly love those reading months.
Here's the books I completed in the order in which I finished them:
The Forgotten Recipe by Amy Clipston:
I've had this one sitting on my TBR shelf at home for awhile, and I'd had so many people recommend it to me. Now that I've gone ahead and finished it, I've become a little obsessed with Amy Clipston's writing as the way she was able to pen this beautiful tale about forgiveness, healing, and learning to let yourself love again was amazing, and I gave this one five out of five stars. It was the perfect book to start the month off with.
Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken:
I'd enjoyed The Darkest Minds, and I was looking forward to continuing on with the rest of the series. Unfortunately, I didn't end up enjoying this one as much as I did the previous one. For some odd reason, I don't really care for Ruby's character, and it was actually the side characters in the first novel, Chubs, Liam and Zu, who'd interested me more. Since they don't really have a big part in this one, that might be why I didn't enjoy it as much, but I honestly just found it a little lackluster when compared to the first book. I rated it three out of five stars.
The Replacement Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts:
Lisa Brown Roberts is definitely becoming a new favorite for me. I love her quirky, heartfelt contemporary romances, and The Replacement Crush was everything I was hoping for and more. Vivian and Dallas definitely gave me all the feels, and I gave this one a perfect five out of five stars. You can read my full review here.
Life Support by Candace Calvert:
I'd really loved the previous two books in this trilogy, but I couldn't seem to feel the same connection to this one. It was definitely still enjoyable, but the characters lacked the warmth and vividness of the characters in the first two books. I rated it three out of five stars, and you can check out my full review here.
Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch:
This is quite possibly one of the most adorable contemporaries I've ever read, and that's saying a lot considering I'm the queen of reading contemporaries. I loved it from start to finish, and Jenna Evans Welch may just be a new favorite author. I rated this one four out of five stars, and you can read my full review here.
How To Catch A Prince by Rachel Hauck:
It's kind of funny how I have zero interest in the royal family in real life, but I sure do love reading about fictional ones. In May I read the third installment in Rachel Hauck's Royal Wedding series, and I especially enjoyed how this one was a second chance romance. Stephen and Corina were both characters I really enjoyed, and as always, I loved the little glimpses into the lives of characters from the previous books in the series. I rated this one four out of five stars.
Spies, Lies and Allies by Lisa Brown Roberts:
Lisa Brown Roberts is fast becoming a new favorite author of mine, and last month I read her newest release. I loved the fact that this one is a ya novel with an office setting as I don't think I've ever read a ya book with that setting before. I loved both Laurel and Carlos as characters, and I really enjoyed their various family members, and the other interns working in the office program with them. Add in a swoon worthy romance, so many fantastic Star Wars references, and Lisa's signature writing style, and this one got a perfect five star rating from me!
In Time by Alexandra Bracken:
This Darkest Minds novella honestly took a little while to grow on me. And I've found that to be the case for this series as a whole. I really wasn't that into this particular story to start with, but then when it was revealed to be about Zu, I got more into it, and I ended up really enjoying it. I gave it four out of five stars, and Zu continues to be my favorite character from this series.
August and Everything After by Jennifer Salvato Dorktoski:
This one was one of my most anticipated releases for 2018, primarily because of how much I'd enjoyed her previous novel The Summer After You and Me. However, this one was probably the worst book I read in the entire month of May. It was extremely problematic for me, especially the toxic relationship featured. I gave it two out of five stars, and I'll be posting a full review on it probably next week.
The Courtship Basket by Amy Clipston:
I'm not sure words could ever adequately express just how amazing this novel was, but I'll definitely try my best. This was the perfect continuation of The Forgotten Recipe, and it such a tender, sweet story about taking a second chance on love, and learning to let others in. I gave it five out of five stars, and I'll be posting a full review on it next week.
Sparks Rise by Alexandra Bracken:
This one I'm sad to say I couldn't get into at all, and it's definitely me least favorite story from The Darkest Minds. I didn't find Sam's character that interesting, and I really had to force myself to even finish this one. I gave it two out of five stars, and highly doubt I would ever reread this.
In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken:
I have to be honest that throughout reading this series I was starting to think that maybe I'd just outgrown dystopians, as I just couldn't seem to get to into this one. However, I read another dystopian shortly after that I completely loved, and proved that hypothesis false. So what I've discovered is that pretty much every dystopian I've ever loved, I've been a huge fan of the romance developing between the two main characters. And I'm sorry to say that I just wasn't a fan of the romance between Ruby and Liam throughout this series, mainly because I didn't care for Ruby's character and the way she continues to treat Liam. While I didn't necessarily dislike this series, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I'd expected to, and I gave this last book in the series three out of five stars.
Beyond The Night by Alexandra Bracken:
And I finished the last Darkest Minds novella in May as well, and I gave it three out of five stars. I enjoyed certain parts of it, including Mia's character, but it didn't really stand out to me, and I don't think this series as a whole will be a reread for me in the future.
Spring Broke by Melody Carlson:
I enjoyed the first two books in the 86 Bloomberg Place series by Melody Carlson, but I wouldn't have said either of them were a favorite. However, this one I was pleasantly surprised with just how much I ended up enjoying it, and that's mainly because I was really impressed with the growth and maturity shown in most of the main characters. I'm going to have a full review posted of this one soon, but I gave it four out of five stars, and I'm looking forward to reading the last book in the series this month.
Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi:
And the last book I read in May 2018 was Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi. This was one of my most anticipated releases, but after being disappointed in The Darkest Minds, I was a little hesitant to pick this one up, just in case it was a case of me not really enjoying dystopians anymore. However, this one definitely proved that false as I loved it, and found it to be just as good as the original novels were. It was awesome to be back in Juliette and Warner's world, and it was a definite bonus to have this one told by both of their points of view. I really enjoyed that Tahereh Mafi didn't have her character's change just because they're now in a relationship, and the cliffhanger at the ending is going to have me anxiously awaiting next year for the release of the next book. I gave this one four out of five stars, and I only wish the sex content hadn't been quite so prevalent, as I didn't think it was really necessary. Overall though, an amazing book, and the perfect book with which to end the month with.
Thanks so much for reading guys! I'll see you all again on Wednesday for my June 2018 TBR list!
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photos do not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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