What I Read: May

This month was a little slower with reading because it was so busy. Toward the end of the month I started itching to read some beachy books and went to Carley Fortune to start my "summer". I love her books for summer/beach reads. Toward the end of the month, after the pool opened there was some poolside reading while the kids swam in water that was far too cold for the likes of me! I'm sure there will be plenty more of that this summer!

Poolside reading has commenced!

Books:

• Shark Heart by Emily Habeck- This was such an interesting book and premise. I really liked how the perspective of the book was broken up. The side story of the tiny pregnant woman made me think of a dream I had when I was pregnant with Elise that I was pregnant with a dog fetus rather than a human fetus.

• Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker- This book started off super slowly. It took me a while to get into it, but once it took off, I was gripped and couldn't stop reading. The ending was phenomenal and has me still thinking. I was disappointed in this book in comparison to Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, but it was still pretty solid. 

• Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch- I wanted a fun, beach read kind of book. I almost DNF'd this one around page 50, but I decided to give it one more go. I'm glad I did because it ended up being so cute. It was a very slow start and I found it annoying how long she kept what happened with Cubby a "secret". I was pretty sure I knew what she was alluding to and ended up having it spot on. I just got annoyed with how she was being vague about it. The guidebook was a cute touch. I really enjoyed that author's voice.

• Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton- Funny story on this book, I found it in the sale section at Books-a-Million and bought it. I started reading it and loved the Crow's voice and was already cracking up. Once I got around 20 pages in and he was referring to other adventures, I started to get an inkling that it was a sequel and looked it up to find it was the sequel to Hollow Kingdom so I stopped reading it and ended up listening to Hollow Kingdom as an audiobook first and then coming back to this book after I finished. I loved this follow up to S.T.'s journey and the hope it leaves you with at the end of the story.

eBooks:

• Go as a River by Shelley Read- I felt for as long as we stayed with Victoria through some really tough and boring years of the story, we deserved more from the ending. The writing was beautiful and I liked the story. I just didn't love it.

• One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune- I loved this book so much! I wanted a summery read and I loved how the setting was like another character in Every Summer After so I decided on this one. I was so excited to read Charlie's story. I also really enjoyed the little glimpse into Percy and Sam's lives after their story ended.

• Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green- "We must also address the root cause of tuberculosis, which is injustice. In a world where everyone can eat, and access healthcare, and be treated humanely, tuberculosis has no chance. Ultimately we are the cause. We must also be the cure."

Audiobooks:

• The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman- I really enjoyed this book. The floor was much more interesting than book 3. The epilogue was so good and has me very excited for book 5!

• The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku- His story was so unique and different from other stories of Holocaust survivors that I've read. My favorite quote was, "Why not give hope a chance, it costs you nothing.

• Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton- Oh my goodness! This was such an interesting and unique book. It takes place during a zombie apocalypse and is narrated by a domesticated crow. Said crow is hilarious. I absolutely loved this book and was very excited to read the sequel.

• The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman- This was my favorite Dungeon Crawler Carl book yet! The quests, the goat screaming, the murderous sex doll head, the raptors, the bears, oh my! I loved it all.