Wow, what an epic month for reading. May was my last full month of maternity leave, and fittingly, it was probably my best month for total books read in a long time. 

We’ve had an incredibly rainy Spring, which is likely why I’ve managed to get through so many books lately. Baby girl and I are venturing out as much as we can, but when the rain never ceases we’re somewhat limited in what we can do. I took advantage of the time indoors to get through a good number of books that are on my backlist TBR. Not all of them were huge hits for me, but it was still nice to check so many off of my list that I’ve been wanting to get to for ages. 

Here’s what I managed to cover this month:

Books Read in May 2025

1. Januaries by Olivie Blake: full disclosure, I skimmed the last 30% of this book because, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t get into it. I am typically a huge Blake fan, but this collection fell pretty flat for me. A couple of the stories grabbed me well, but many just seemed to drag without a lot of reward at the end. It won’t stop me from reading more of her works, but I’m taking a bit of a pause after giving this one just 2.5 stars. 
2. A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L. Jensen: in contrast to Januaries, A Fate Inked In Blood single-handedly revived the romantasy genre for me. I was feeling a bit burnt out in this area and struggling to get into these types of stories, but this wholly unique Viking-inspired romantasy was absolute perfection. A gorgeous slow burn, a meaty plot, and really interesting magic, it genuinely had it all. An easy 5 stars with a full review to come.
3. The Dead Take The A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey: I didn’t love this like I’d hoped to, but I think it’s likely it was just an issue of personal preference. At its core, the book was well written with a compelling storyline, but I found it gratuitously gory and a little heavy on the details and I felt a more concise approach would have worked better for me. I rated this a 3.5 stars since I rate based on my own enjoyment, but I think there’s an audience for this book—it just isn’t me.
4. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: what an absolute joy of a book. This little novella is so optimistically driven and does such a marvellous job of reflecting on life and meaning and perception. I loved everything about it and rated it 5 stars with a full review to come.
5. The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt: as a parent, this book was extraordinarily depressing, but also full of actionable insight. It was well researched and cited, and definitely left me with a lot to think about. I rated this one 4 stars because the detail was a little heavy, though important.
6. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel: this was such a unique and enjoyable novel. I loved the premise with characters woven through time and the slow unfolding of the big reveal. My only gripe is that I wish we could have spent more time with some of the lesser-explored characters. I rated this one 4 stars with a full review to come.
7. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig: I absolutely LOVED this book, it completely consumed me for the entire time I was reading it. I loved the world-building, and the magic felt wonderfully unique. The romance was also perfectly executed, and I loved that it was a subplot to the larger, more nefarious events. This was a fantastic read, I rated it 5 stars with a full review to come.

TBR Lists

This month, baby girl started crawling (!!!) so while I did manage to plow through a lot of books during naptime, my idle time for scrolling social media has dramatically decreased. I still managed to add a few new books to my TBR though, including:

• This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara: a young woman tries to solve the case of her own attempted murder, alongside her suspected murderer. I saw a raving review online about this one and the premise sounds violent and romantic.
• The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers: this one isn’t expected until this winter, but I loved The City of Stardust by Summers and given that this one is about a deadly magical bookshop and the nefarious secret societies that tie into it (two of my favourite elements in fantasy), I’m quite certain I’ll enjoy it.
• Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry: a romantasy with enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, and an underestimated heroine. I’ve seen a lot of positive talk about this one online which made me add it to my TBR.
• Ascension by Nicolas Binge: a speculative thriller about a gigantic mountain that appears in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that leads all those who investigate it to question what it means to be human. This one sounds really creepy, I might save it for closer to spooky season.
• Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli: a story about witches being hunted, a vigilante working to save them, and the romance that unfolds between her and a savage witch hunter. This is another one I’ve seen great reviews for. 

What I’m Loving Right Now

As I prepare for a new season (motherhood combined with heading back to work), I’ve been focusing on getting ready for that transition in all respects. I’m so fortunate to have a flexible job where I work from home, but this is still a huge change for me, so I’ve been spending the last month quietly preparing. Here are a few of the things that have brought me joy in this season of transition:

Finishing a New Gallery Wall

When baby girl arrived, we had to rearrange my office/library to now serve several functions, including a home gym and a pull-out couch. Changing everything around also required me to move my desk, which now sits in front of a blank wall.

I spent a lot of time this month hunting down what I felt were the right pieces to create a new gallery wall that pays a bit of tribute to my love of reading and the Forests and Fiction blog. I’m so pleased with what I’ve selected and can’t wait for the prints to come in, I’ll certainly be posting some final-product pictures once it’s complete.

Focusing on Eating Well and Getting In Movement

So much of the newborn trenches is just pure survival. Now that we’re past that, and as I prepare to head back to work, I’ve put some extra time into focusing on ensuring we’re eating well and that I’m getting movement in. 

Getting 10,000 steps a day with a newly-moving baby is fairly easy, so adding in an extra walk hasn’t been a huge challenge, but food took a little more forethought. We recently started subscribing to Hello Fresh, a meal delivery service, and it’s made a huge difference in our eating habits. Even on my most exhausted of days, I find pulling together a dinner that’s already shopped for and laid out in minute steps is something I can easily accomplish, and I’ve been loving the variety of foods we’re bringing into the house as a result.

A Decent Water Bottle

This sounds absurd, but I think I’ve been through 50 water bottles in the past 5 years trying to find one that I didn’t hate. I’m terrible at drinking water and if I don’t make it an intentional habit, I’ll have none in an entire day.

I hate a hard straw, so I recently found a Contigo bottle with a soft top and it turns out, that’s all I needed. I’m focusing on getting my water intake up now, particularly as I add in more movement.

That’s it for May! In June, I’ll be juggling work and taking care of baby girl for a few weeks until my husband taps in for his parental leave, so I’m not sure what my reading time will look like just yet. Time will tell, but hoping to squeeze in some good books before the chaos ensues.