It is 1st June, which means it is time for my May reading wrap-up! 🙂
I had a really good reading month this month. I read every single day, which is a first, I think. I usually have a couple of days’ break where the chronic pain and fatigue take control of my mind. Click the pictures to go to the full review pages.
I started the month with Fearless by Lauren Roberts. I read the hardback copy of this, which was 527 pages of pure gold to me. I started this on the 1st and finished it on the 4th. I rated it 5 stars and was (still am) very upset that the journey is over. I will miss Ilya and Paedyn, and Kai. I think I will have to reread this series at some point because I really do miss it.
I then read I Don’t Like Mondays by Maria Frankland on my Kindle. This was chosen as a group read between my booktok friends and me. Only Gem and I read this, and I am a little salty about that because they don’t understand me when I say it was just not good. 😂 I started this on the 5th, and as it was only 250 pages, I finished it the same day. I rated this 3 stars, but looking back, I would probably give it a 2.5.
On the same day, I read Death Row by Freida McFadden, also on my Kindle. I had downloaded it as a bonus short read on my Amazon First Reads and decided to give it a go. It was only 79 pages, and I quite enjoyed it. I enjoyed the fact that I did not see the end of it coming. I rated it 4 stars.
I then read Revive Me by Nikki Castle, which was an ARC read that I had applied for through Chasing Books PR. It was 356 pages, and I started reading this on the 6th and finished it the day after, on the 7th. I really enjoyed this; it flowed really well, and the writing style was nice. I gave this 5 stars, and I have thought about it multiple times since reading it.
I finished Revive Me around lunchtime on the 7th, and in the evening decided to pick up another book. I chose That Sik Luv by Jescie Hall as it had been on my TBR for quite some time. I’m glad I finally picked it up. I only read a few pages on the 7th, but when I picked it up again the next day, I didn’t want to put it down. I finished it on the 9th, and I LOVED it. It was 558 pages of pure dark romance goodness. I rated it 5 stars, and again, I have thought about it multiple times.
On the 10th, I started Burn For Me by Brooklyn Cross, which is book one in the Consumed Trilogy and was recommended to me by my friend Corina. I enjoyed reading this and finished it the day after; it’s 335 pages and has a great writing style. I get nervous reading my friend’s favourite books in case I don’t like them, but I gave this 4 stars.
I thought I would read Burn For Me and not the other 2, not because it was bad, but because I only needed book one for my challenge. That night, though I couldn’t stop thinking about that book when I was trying to fall asleep, I woke up on the 12th and straight away started Burn With Me. This one is 470 pages, and I devoured it! I finished it the same day and started book 3. 5 stars.
So yeah, on the 12th, I started Burn Me Down, the final book in the Consumed Trilogy. I didn’t read many pages that night, but I picked it straight back up the next day. This one was 350 pages, and Derek got the redemption he needed, and I was so happy with the way this trilogy ended. I was also so happy that I read all 3 books. I rated this one 5 stars also.
I didn’t know what to read next, I then remembered that I had made a bookopoly in my book journal and decided to use it. I landed on “a book by a favourite author.” It was a no-brainer, I needed to read a Harleigh Beck book, I have a few on my shelf, though, so I put them all in a wheel and spun, and that’s how I ended up reading Obsession. This one is 430 pages, and I started this on the 13th and finished it on the 15th. Like all the other Harleigh Beck books I have read, it was amazing, and I enjoyed every moment of it. I gave it 5 stars.
I then, on the 16th, started Hate by Tate James, and this was also a bookopoly pick and believe it or not, I actually struggled the first day getting into this, but holy moly am I glad I picked this up. I am obsessed with this series. Come day 2 of reading this, and I couldn’t put it down. I loved all the characters, well, except the bad guys, obviously. But holy shit yeah this is one of my all time favourite series now.
I finished Hate on the 19th, and the following day I jumped straight into Liar. I finished this on the 21st. I was dreaming about this series, no joke. so so good. If you like dark romance and you like Reverse Harem and you haven’t read this series, then STOP whatever you are doing and read them!! 5 Stars
Obviously, on the 21st, when I finished Liar, I straightaway moved onto Fake. I think this one may be my favourite of the whole series because Archer finally gives in and stops being a dick and the scenes of him and MK are hot and amazing. I finished this on the 23rd, and of course, I gave it 5 stars.
I started Kate on the 24th and finished it the following day and I was so freaking sad it was over. I miss MK and the boys. I adored this series, and I gave this book 5 stars. The only one I didn’t give 5 stars was Hate, and looking back, I think that was more my mindset when I started the book than the book itself. I would give it 5 stars now.
I also beta read this month. I am very new at beta reading in that I have only beta read for a friend and now this one. It was an enjoyable experience, though. The book was about 250 pages. I don’t want to rate it as it isn’t finished, and I know she was happy with my feedback and changing things. I’m excited to read the updated version. I was reading this on the 26th and 27th, but knew it wouldn’t count towards my streak on Fable.
As I needed a book to count towards my fable reading streak on the 26th but I was tired and didn’t want to read a full book due to beta reading I picked Shelly by C.J Riggs, which was a short story, and well, I was definitely not prepared for the Frankenstein, Texas Chainsaw mashup that I got, and I loved it. The book was so fucked it was awesome. 4 stars.
On the 27th, I started Goldflame by Aveline Knight, but due to beta reading, I only managed a couple of chapters. Then, on the 28th, my aunt asked me if I would join her on a trip to Norwich. Which is 4 hours away from us. I said yes because I’m a great niece and left the house for our road trip at 6:30am. I arrived home around 7:30pm. I didn’t want to lose my reading streak, and as Goldflame was an ARC, I wanted to give it my full attention. I remembered seeing a novel on my friend’s TikTok and decided to give it a go, and I went and downloaded Black Card Black. I read about 25% before I fell asleep, and I finished it the next day. It was really good, super spicy and all around good vibes. I gave it 4 stars.
On the 30th, when I was more rested, I picked up Goldflame again and flew through it. I knew if I tried to read it when tired and sore, I wouldn’t have given it a fair review. I’m super glad I waited to pick it back up. I loved it, I may have cried, but you have no proof of that! I remember ARC reading book one last year and loving that too. Whats crazy is the character I loved in book one, I hated in book two they turned out to be an absoloute douchecanoe! I gave it 4.5 stars and can’t wait for book 3.
Lastly, I finished the month with Wanted by Lauren Biel. I was meant to drag Goldflame out another day, so I didn’t lose my streak, but I got hooked on it, and then I needed a novella to read because I don’t like to start a book in one month and finish it in the next. I searched for a dark romance novella on Amazon and saw this one by Lauren Biel, and I like Lauren’s writing. This one fell a little flat for me, though I gave it 3.5 stars. I didn’t connect with either character, but just like in real life, you are not going to like everyone, and not everyone is going to like you.
Overall, I have had an amazing month of reading. I’ve been on so many adventures, I started in Ilya surronded by magic, and ended with a meth addict keeping a nurse hostage. I read a total of 6,086 pages this month, across 18 books. 11 of them I read on my Kindle, and 7 of them I read from my physical TBR.
I want to say it doesn’t matter if you read 5 pages this month or 31 books. What matters is that you enjoy it. I’m proud of reading 18 books this month, but it wouldn’t have mattered if I read fewer. I enjoyed reading the books I’ve read, and that’s all I care about. I just like to keep track of what I read, when I read, what format, etc, because I have a bad memory, thanks to multiple strokes, and I like to look back at my journal and now my blog as a way to remind me what I’ve done. It helps jog my memory. Just remember, have fun with reading!
Anyway, happy June, everyone. I hope you all had fun reading in May, and here’s to another month full of adventures. I’ve started my adventures back in Shadow Grove with Tate James’ Hades series 😁
