May felt like the full return of my energy. While I’d been feeling better the month before, in May, I mostly felt normal as far as mental capacity went. Everything else still feels very much in the trenches of the second trimester, but almost every night I found myself finally able to sit down and squeeze some pages in of my most recent read. 

Along with the return of my energy also came the return of summer, and I couldn’t be more ready for it. Aside from the brutal swelling I’ve been enduring as baby girl continues to grow, it’s been such a delight to read outside on my back deck under the sun. There’s something magical about getting lost in a book while a warm breeze runs through your hair and the trees around you blossom for the first time in many months.  

The combination of feeling better and better reading environments led me to one of my best reading months in quite some time. I felt like I was consistently knocking out great books and I finally feel like I have some momentum behind me again. 

Here’s what I got up to in reading and otherwise over May:

Books Read in May 2024

I crossed genres and formats in May, reading whatever I felt like at that moment, and it was glorious. The result was a series of great books, some of which I’m still stinking about today. 

In May I read:

1. Thornehedge by T. Kingfisher: an inventive, creepy take on the classic sleeping beauty fairy tale. This was a quick but impactful novella that was great in audiobook format. I rated it 4 stars. 
2. Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells: another fantastic addition to this series, and very action-heavy in comparison to the last one. I rated this one 4 stars.
3. Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan: this was the Illumicrate book last month and I felt like it was a supremely unique, very promising start to a fantasy series based around mythical sea creatures and folk with East Asian inspirations. I really enjoyed this book and rated it 4 stars.
4. Normal People by Sally Rooney: this book cemented how much I love Rooney. I felt so many emotions as I went through this turbulent and difficult love story. Rooney has a unique style that I can’t get enough of, I rated this book an easy 5 stars.
5. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson #2) by Rick Riordan: I’ve been continuing my journey through the Percy Jackson series on audio, and I’ve got to say it’s an exceptionally good middle-grade series. I’m not going to do a full review until I’ve finished the series, but this book was 4 stars for me.
6. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins: this book completely blew me away. It was a genre-bending ride that I couldn’t predict at any point and was so wild that there were times when I was actively thinking “How does someone even come up with this????” This was one of my favourite reads of the year and an easy 5 stars. 

TBR Lists

For the first time in months, I not only read a good amount, but I also started adding books to my TBR again! The last few months have been such a haze of exhaustion that I could barely keep up with the day-to-day tasks of just living my life, let alone find time to think about things I wanted to read someday in the future. But sure enough, in the past month or so I’ve found myself getting back into the bookstagram community and taking note of the recommendations that look interesting. 

Here are the ones that most recently caught my eye:

• An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson: I love a good dark academia book, so when I saw this one come with a glowing recommendation from Alix Harrow, I immediately added it to my TBR. It hits shelves in September and I’ll be picking it up.
• The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series: I saw this one recommended by a fantasy bookstagrammer as being an underrated series. It’s an interesting take on the Jekyll and Hyde classic that I’m keen to give a shot.
• The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields: I’ve seen this one recommended everywhere as a super enjoyable cozy fantasy, a subgenre I absolutely adore.
• The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa: this one was recommended by Shannon Chakraborty, the master of fantasy as far as I’m concerned. If she recommends it, I’m going to read it.
• A Bit Much: Poems by Lyndsay Rush: another one I saw floating around bookstagram, and since it’s been a while since I’ve picked up a poetry compilation this one piqued my interest.
• Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland: described as fantasy romance light for fans of Ocean 11 and Six of Crows by Rachel Skye. So many of my favourite things that I can’t wait to pick this one up.
• The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten: I’ve seen this one float around a few feeds, but when I saw The Bookscript write a rave review about it, it felt like it was time to add to my TBR.  
• Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati: a reviewer I trust put this one out there as a 5-star read, and given that I’ve wanted to give Greek mythology another shot ever since starting the Percy Jackson series, this book looked like a good step into the adult arena for this genre. 
• Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley: described by Tessa at the Lit Homebody as containing found family, dry, British wit and charming dialogue. I love the sound of this one, hoping I can grab it on audiobook.

What I’m Loving Right Now

I feel like there’s so much going on in my life right now, and fortunately for me, so much of it is good. Whether it’s work, reading, or everything on the go in my personal life, I have so much to look forward to and so much to enjoy in the moment. Here are a few of the things bringing particular joy to my days in the past month:

Baby Prep and Developments

Everyone told me that the second trimester would be like a honeymoon phase, and while I found that very difficult to believe in the trenches of early pregnancy, I see why it was said now. Not only do we get to see baby girl more often (did I even mention we found out we’re having a girl?! We are THRILLED!!), but I can now feel her moving around and kicking up a storm as she raves at random times of the day. Watching her grow and progress is the joy of my life, we already are getting so impatient to meet her. 

Also, this weekend is our baby shower! Because we got married during COVID, we didn’t get to do any of the traditional celebrations that most people get around such a momentous occasion. We’re soaking up these experiences for baby girl and just so happy that we get to celebrate with our friends and family. It’s something we don’t take for granted given how the past few years unfolded.

Working My Way Through The Backlist

Last month I kicked off the Season of Series, which is my attempt to get to all the backlist books on series I’ve started over time. I naively thought I’d manage this in a couple of months, but since I’m a mood reader, that’s been impossible. 

That said, I am knocking a couple of books from different series off the list every month, so while my progress is slow, I’m hoping I can get caught up by the end of the year. It’s been a joy to jump back into so many of the stories I’ve loved. I also finished one of the series on the list, the Little Thieves series by Margaret Owen! There will eventually be a third book to this series (which I loved, it might be my favourite YA fantasy series right now), but for now, I’m caught up on the releases. I loved knocking this one out, my full reviews for each book can be found here:

• Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
• Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

The Lit Homebody’s Summer Reading Challenge

Remember when you were a kid and your teacher or your local library would assign summer reading challenges? Are all readers not completely nostalgic for this??

I know it can’t just be me, since Tessa at The Lit Hombody on Instagram launched a whole challenge for it. I loved the prompts that she used for the challenge and have already mapped out all of the books I’m going to attempt to get through that correspond with them. And to feel extra accomplished, I used as many books from my physical or other TBR lists as possible, so it’s almost like I’m making double the progress by hitting two goals… well, “almost” being the key word.

I can’t wait to dive into this challenge head-first, and first up on my list is The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, set in Spain, which covers one of my dream vacation locations. Bardugo is a never-miss author for me, so my expectations on this one are high.

So that was May! A little hectic, a lot of fun, and a really promising start to the summer. I’m excited about all I have to come in the next few months.