Queen of Books: MAY '23 WRAP-UP

Wednesday, 7 June 2023

MAY '23 WRAP-UP

Time for another wrap up!

Hello everyone! Here we are with the May wrap up for 2023. I didn't read as much as I usually do but this was my last month of undergrad and I was extremely busy with coursework. Also, I saw Taylor Swift this month so I was busy with that as well.

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first physical book that I read was This Cursed Crown by Alexandra Overy. This is the sequel to These Feathered Flames which I read last year and rated five stars. I really enjoyed this sequel and thought it was a good wrap up of the storyline. I ended up rating this one 4 Stars.

The second physical book that I read was Broken Bonds by J. Bree. This has been hyped up and promoted all over the internet and I went into it knowing basically nothing. I ended up not really enjoying this one like I thought I would. I don't really know how to explain this book honestly and I am not sure if I will continue on with the series. I rated it 2.5 Stars.

The third physical book that I read was A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan. This series is so cute and I've enjoyed reading all of them. This is about a girl named Hailey who has a salad shop called By the Cup and she is currently trying to make it a success. She finds herself in a disastrous meet cute with Wes, who wants companionship but not really love as the pain from his parents' divorce still follows him. This is so cute and I had a great time reading it. I rated it 3.5 Stars.

The fourth one that I read was Otherwise Engaged by Avery Keelan. I actually read this on my kindle but it was not an ARC so I didn't list it in that section. I loved this book so much. It was such a good palette cleanser between some of the other books that I read this month that I didn't love as much. This is about Thayer who invents a boyfriend in order to stop her family from bothering her but now she has the problem with actually finding someone to be her fake boyfriend at a wedding. Enter her ex friend Bennett who's business is in peril and he needs to fake an engagement to save it and his reputation. They decide to enter into a fake engagement/relationship that mutually benefits them. I loved this one and rated it 5 Stars.

The fifth one that I read was When A Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare. This is a historical romance about a woman named Madeline who is certain that she'll be failure on the London marriage mart so she invents a Scottish sweetheart and she writes to this imaginary man. Eventually she decides to pretend he gets killed in battle in order to avoid the pressures of London society. However, years later, the man that she invented turns up on her doorstep. This was so fun and I rated it 4 Stars.

The sixth one that I read was For The Throne by Hannah Whitten. This is the sequel to For the Wolf which I read earlier this year and really enjoyed. It's a mix of Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood and is such a good adult fantasy novel. I rated it 4 Stars.

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ

The first ARC that I read was Earls Rush In by Jennifer Haymore. This was a historical romance that begins with Finneas Jones who is the Earl of Trevelyan, kidnapping his deceased best friend's younger sister after he learns that she is about to be betrothed to a man with bad intentions. Charlotte has only a few months before her aunt and uncle kick her and her younger sister out and she thinks Mr. Bagshaw will be a good match and save her from that fate. She is shocked when Finn hijacks her carriage as she hasn't seen him since her brother's death. Then when their carriage crashes during a perilous blizzard, Charlotte and Finn have to pose as husband and wife while they shelter at an inn. This was so good and I had such a good time reading it. This one released on May 8th. I rated it 4 Stars.

The second ARC that I read was Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman. This was another historical romance that I read this week. This is set in the 1830s and is about a rich girl named Isabelle Lira who is searching for a rich husband in order to help preserve her dead father's investment business. However, she falls for Aaron Ellenberg who is the janitor at a local synagogue instead. It's such a cute book and there's Jewish representation (although I can not speak to it being good or bad as I am not Jewish myself). I had such a good time and I rated it 4 Stars.

The third ARC that I read was Tall, Duke and Scandalous by Amy Rose Bennett. This was an interesting one as I didn't really love it and I expected to love it a lot. I really liked the main heroine but I didn't care much for the hero or the romance. There was also a lot of talk about children which I didn't love. I ended up rating it 3 Stars.

The fourth ARC that I read was Kiss The Girl by Zoraida Cordova. This was my favorite book that I read in the month of May and is definitely going to make it onto a favorite books of 2023 list. This is a Little Mermaid retelling about a girl named Ariel who with she and her sisters are a band called the Siren Seven. They've been a pop culture phenomenon since they were kids, however after their farewell tour Ariel wants to spend her summer living a normal life. But her father has other plans as he wants to begin her breakout solo career, beginning with an announcement on a morning talk show. The night before her appearance, she and her sisters sneak out to a rock counter and it's there where Ariel crosses paths with Eric Reyes who is the lead singer of an up and coming band. He's unaware of her true identity and invites her on the road with him for the summer and disobeying her father, she goes with him. This was so cute and so much fun. I ended up rating it 5 Stars.

REVIEWS IN MAY:

NONE

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

NONE

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL MEN:

Bennett from Otherwise Engaged by Avery Keelan

Eric from Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Cordova

NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Thayer from Otherwise Engaged by Avery Keelan