Monthly Roundup: May 2018

May was a CRAZY month. It was my birthday at the beginning of the month, and then we went on vacation at the end, with lots of work in between! I had so much going on, and yet I still read ten books!

Sky in the Deep - Adrienne Young (5 stars)
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller (3 stars)
A Court of Frost and Starlight - Sarah J. Maas (3 stars)
Down Among the Sticks and Bones - Seanan McGuire (4.5 stars)
The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater (4 stars)
Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire (4.5 stars) [reread]
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman (4 stars)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (4 stars)
Nothing But Sky - Amy Trueblood (3 stars)
Beyond a Darkened Shore - Jessica Leake (4 stars)

I finally seem to be getting out of my book slump! I really enjoyed most the books I read this month.

Most Anticipated was Sky in the Deep. What a beautiful story about love and redemption. The plot itself is simple, but the character arc was emotional and poignant and the writing was evocative and lush. Another Viking inspired book was Beyond a Darkened Shore, which I had received in my April FairyLoot box. It was a wonderful fantasy adventure, blending historical events with Celtic and Norse mythology.

I also read The Raven Boys, the first in a series that I've heard about for years and am finally getting around to! I also read a couple contemporaries that I've heard a lot about, Elinor Oliphant and Seven Husbands. Both were beautiful and gripping.

I'm currently reading The Queens of Innis Lear, and I have a huge TBR going into June!

What did you read in May? What is on your list for June?

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Monthly Roundup - January 2017

In January I read 6 books, which is keeping with the pace I need in order to read 80 books this year. 1) The Reader - Traci Chee (3 stars) 2) Wayfarer - Alexandra Bracken (3.5 stars) 3) Windwitch - Susan Dennard (3.5 stars) 4) The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead (3 stars) 5) Behind the Throne - K. B. Wagers (5 stars) 6) Queen of Shadows - Sarah J. Maas (4 stars) I say that's a pretty good start to 2017! I recently started a new job, so posts have slowed while I rediscover the work/life balance, but overall I really enjoyed the books I read this month and would recommend them all (especially Behind the Throne !!! Gahh!!! Review coming soon!). My TBR pile for February is a mile long, but I'm especially excited for A Conjuring of Light, the conclusion to the Shades of Magic series by V. E. Schwab. I've also got the February Book Club pick, Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, and I'll finally finish up Empire of Storms , the latest book in Sarah

Ensnared

Ensnared by Rita Stradling I received a free ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis ( from Goodreads ) "Alainn’s father is not a bad man. He’s a genius and an inventor. When he’s hired to create the robot Rose, Alainn knows taking the money is a mistake. Rose acts like a human. She looks exactly like Alainn. But, something in her comes out wrong. To save her father from a five year prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose’s place. She says goodbye to the sun and goes to live in a tower no human is allowed to enter. She becomes the prisoner of a man no human is allowed to see. Believing that a life of servitude lies ahead, Alainn finds a very different fate awaits her in the company of the strange, scarred recluse." Review The premise sounded very interesting: Beauty and the Beast retelling in the near-future with robots and AI. But it really really fell flat. I read the first few chapters, then put it down for a couple of months .

Arcanum Unbounded

Arcanum Unbounded - Brandon Sanderson Synopsis A collection of Sanderson's "short" stories and novellas set in his Cosmere universe. Review It's no secret that Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors. His writing is stupendous, his stories are incredible and his plot twists are mind-blowing. Rarely can I figure out exactly where the story is headed, but I am always exceptionally pleased when I get there! Sanderson isn't as known for his "short" stories. Probably because they aren't short. Two of them in this collection clock in around 40k words, which is approaching the line between a novella and a novel. A few of the stories ( The Emperor's Soul, Sixth of the Dusk, Shadows for Silence ) can be read with no knowledge of his other books, and would perhaps be a good introduction to his writing. Those ones you can get individually or are published in other anthologies. I myself had already read a few of the stories, but withi

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