May Wrap Up

This month I read 8 books. 7 ARCs and 1 back list title.  I read a total of 3549 pages.

If you have been following my blog you might have read my recent blog post What Makes A Great Book? where I looked at my past five star reviews to see what qualities my 5 star books had in common. I am a huge fantasy buff and I hadn’t read a 5 star fantasy in two months, when I read The Poppy War. I FINALLY got to read a 5 star fantasy this month, so I am super happy about that. It had been FAR too long. B

 

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang ★★★★

Publication Date: 8/6/19

I really enjoyed this sequel to The Poppy War, but didn’t LOVE it the same way I absolutely LOVED The Poppy War. It suffered a little bit from second-book-syndrome, but it was still an amazing read. — My review will be on my blog closer to the publication date.

 

Nocturna by Maya Motayne ★★★★

Publication Date: 5/7/19

Nocturna was a LOT better than I had anticipated it to be. I think I expected it to suck because I hated the cover, but the book was a really fun read. It had an interesting magic system and morally grey characters. Check out my review!

 

 

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad ★★★★

Publication Date: 5/14/19

This was a real slow burn fantasy. It was so culturally immersive and very vividly written. I really grew to love the characters, and loved how cultural this book was. This is one of those books that I will remember for a long time. Check out my review!

 

The Night Before by Wendy Walker ★★★★

Publication Date: 5/14/19

This fast paced psychological thriller was exactly what I needed after reading a slow burn fantasy. This book was one that I tore through and finished in less than a day. I really liked the pacing and suspense of this one. Check out my review!

 

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire ★★★★

Publication Date: 5/7/19

This is the first book I have read by Seanan McGuire. I really loved the two main characters and their relationship with one another was done so well. The character development was so great that I thought that I might have finally found that elusive 5 star fantasy. I had some issues with the pacing and the plot that brought the rating of this book down for me. Check out my review!

Wilder Girls by Rory Power ★★★★

Publication Date: 7/9/19

This was an unexpected surprise! I didn’t really expect to like this book, but I really LOVED Wilder Girls. I never wanted to set this book down and I loved that it was set at a boarding school. This was a really great read about survival, friendship and loyalty. Absolute knockout debut for Rory Power, I can’t wait to see what she writes next. — My review will be on my blog closer to publication.

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

★★★★★

I finally found the elusive 5 star fantasy! I absolutely LOVED This book. I am so late to the game on Brandon Sanderson’s work, but I am so happy that I have discovered him. Thank you SO much to everyone who recommended this book. This book had everything I didn’t know I needed in a fantasy. — Look out for my review soon!

Recursion by Blake Crouch ★★★

Publication Date : 6/11/19

I knew that after reading the first book in the Mistborn series that the next book would probably suck in comparison. Recursion had a really great idea behind it, but kind of lost me in the execution. It was super thought provoking, so I’m glad I read it, but I had a lot of issues with this book and almost didn’t finish it. I found the concepts behind it absolutely fascinating though, so it was really hard to rate this book. — Look out for my review soon!