Queen of Books: MAY '19 WRAP-UP

Saturday, 8 June 2019

MAY '19 WRAP-UP

Time for another wrap up!

May was a complicated month for me as I had final exams as well as moved out of college. Then I had my wisdom teeth removed near the end of the month and that was not fun at all. I'm surprisingly still recovering but I am doing so much better.

I didn't read a ton of books this month but I did enjoy most of the books that I did read.

Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first book I read was The Afterward by E.K. Johnston. I had such high expectations for this book and I was a little disappointed. I loved the representation that we got but I thought that the story dragged a little bit. This was about two heroes who have returned from a quest and were trying to go back to normal society. I thought the concept was pretty cool and I liked how it had two female leads but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. I rated this one 3 Crowns.

The second book I read was The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey. Cindy Anstey's books are some of my favorite historical fiction books. This book was about James who witnesses a carriage accident and saves a young woman who says her name is Beth, however she has no memory when she regains consciousness. With the help of James and his sister, Caroline, Beth begins to unravel the mystery that is her life and figure out what actually happened to lead to the carriage accident. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The third book I read was A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I read this in order to watch the TV show and I was very pleasantly surprised. This is about Diana Bishop who is descended from an old/distinguised line of witches. Diana is a history scholar who unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript from the Oxford library and she banishes the book back to the stacks as she wants nothing to do with sorcery. However, her discovery sets vampires, witches and daemons descending upon the library and herself. I loved this book a lot and ended up rating it 5 Crowns.

The fourth book I read was Furyborn by Claire Legrand. I have been trying to read this book for awhile now and I could never get into it until this month. This is about two women, centuries apart, who are fighting in a cosmic war that spans millenia. Rielle Dardenne exposes herself as one of the prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood, when she saves her best friend from assassins. She has to go through trials to prove she's the Sun Queen or she'll be executed. A thousand years later, Eliana Ferracora is a bounty hunter for the Empire until her mother vanishes. She then joins a rebel captain to find her and discovers how terrible the evil at the empire's heart really is. I ended up really enjoying this book and rated it 4 Crowns.

The fifth book I read was Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I have had this book on my shelf for years and never picked it up because I thought the time to read these kinds of books had long passed, however, I picked it up this month and ended up flying through it. This book is about Lissa who is a mortal vampire princess who must be protected at all times. She's protected by her best friend, Rose. After two years of freedom, the two of them are dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians, which is hidden in Montana. However, inside there is even more danger. I rated this book 4 Crowns.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

The only audiobook that I listened to in May was The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco. I wrote a full review of this book however it didn't go up during May but I'll link it here. I ended up really enjoying the audiobook. The narrators really helped bring the characters to life and even though the plot was pretty slow, the audiobook helped move it along. I rated it 5 Crowns.

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN MARCH + APRIL:

An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley Book Review

The Black Coats by Colleen Oakes Book Review

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

5/13 - 5/19

5/20 - 5/26

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

March + April '19 Wrap-Up

Fifteen Anticipated 2018 Releases I Didn't Get to in 2018

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S:

Matthew from A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Simon from Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Dimitri from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Christian from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Tea from The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Beth from The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey

Diana from A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Eliana from Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Rose from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Lissa from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS:

James and Beth from The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey

Diana and Matthew from A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Simon and Eliana from Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Christian and Lissa from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Rose and Dimitri from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH: