Eight titles read in May. Not horrible, but I can feel the beginning of the summer slump. Only because I'm seeing an increasing trend in the amount of time it's taking me to finish a book. A Court of Silver Flames took nearly two weeks. Two weeks!!! And it turned out to be my favorite in the series . . . I may be in the minority, but give me Nesta over Feyre any day. And don't get me started on Cassian.
Let's approach this month's reads in order of š to š.
Love Notes and Lifelines and Manhunt were both pretty forgettable. Unfortunate, given I like both authors and will still come back to the. What I won't read again is mafia romance. Unholy Vows was my second foray into this subgenre and I have decided it's just not for me.
Olivia Dade falls into the must-read, but not necessarily right away, section of my must-read authors. Unlike Emily Henry, I don't feel the need to be first in line to read her new releases but then wonder 'why not?' once I start reading. Her books are always laugh-out-loud funny. I especially enjoyed the monster erotica sections of At First Spite. I currently have people working on the house next door and all they play all day are crazy conspiracy theory podcasts. I'm thinking of taking a page out of Athena's book and blasting the spicy scenes from audiobooks right back at them.
Speaking of Emily Henry, she's back with a vengeance with Funny People. As I mentioned above, she's a must-read, and must-read IMMEDIATELY author for me. Lately, though I've begun to wonder why. Book Lovers and Happy Place were only okay, despite the generous +4 star ratings I gave them. Funny People is more on par with the earlier Beach Read and People You Meet on Vacation stories that made her popular.
Laura Pavlov has proven to be this year's Melanie Harlow. She's a good palette cleanser for me when I need something light and easy. I anticipate her being up there with Sarah J Maas as the most-read authors of the year.
Daisy Jones and the Six was one of the most enjoyable reads of the month. I did it for a book club where, sadly, I was the only participant. Now, I know this is a contentious subject, but, yes, some of the books I 'read' each month are audiobooks. And, yes, I consider that reading. Any method which conveys an author's words to a reader is 'reading.' That being said, I HIGHLY recommend if you are thinking of picking up Daisy Jones to do the audiobook. It's a full-cast production and is quite brilliantly read.
Upon completion, I gave Funny People and Daisy Jones both five-star ratings. In hindsight, this may have been a bit generous, and a part of me wonders if reading such good books back to back is the cause of my current slump---okay, that's still too harsh a word, but it's easier to type than 'decline in enthusiasm for what I'm reading.'
I made the decision last night to set aside the highly praised book that I started on 5/15. I refuse to say I'm DNFing it because I hope to return to it later. I'm just not feeling the vibe for it at the moment. While I don't do this often, it sometimes is for the best. Case in point, the book I'm about to finish after I wrap this up is by a favorite author. It came out last year, but after reading the introduction and trigger warnings, I put it down. It was the right book, but not the right time to read it.
It's three days into June, and time to start conquering the TBR goals I've chosen for the month. Yes, I've picked a couple MM romances in honor of Pride month (and also because one of my Book BFFs has been badgering me to read Heated Rivalry for ages). But anyone who follows my reads, knows that I don't limit my LGBTQ+ reads to one month of the year.
Any thoughts or opinions on my chosen reads are welcome. Don't hesitate to reach out.
Cheers,
C.J.
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