Happy Monday, bibliophiles!
May was equal parts relaxing and stressful (scratch that – more stressful, definitely), but it was a better reading month for sure, so let me elaborate…
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
As with April, I didn’t get to blog as much as I wanted to because of finals and AP testing. Doing three of the latter in the span of only a week turned my soul to mush, but I think I’m more of a sentient being now. And I’m finally done with school! Online was nothing short of a soul-crushing experience, but I’m proud of myself for weathering an entire year of it.
Reading-wise, I actually managed to have a better month! A whole bunch of holds from the library came that I’d been waiting a while for came, and I caught up on a lot of nice sequels. I had a lot of fun re-reading the Six of Crows duology as well. 🙂
Unfortunately, I also had my first 1 star book of the year… [sad harmonica noises]
I really hate to say it, but Wings of Ebony was a big letdown for me. I don’t think I’ll do a full review, but my quick thoughts are as follows: I really appreciated the unapologetic approach to colonialism and racism (which is why I added on the half-star), but the worldbuilding was sloppy at best, the time jumps were too frequent and made no sense, and the writing felt like it desperately needed an editor. Yikes.
Other than that, I’ve continued to do my volunteer work back at the library, and we’re starting to slowly go back to normal! Mask-wearing around there is encouraged but not required for fully vaccinated people (I still wear mine, don’t worry), and we’ve gotten rid of these little stickers we used to track the amount of patrons in store. Oh, and all three seasons of Fargo that have come out on DVD are all on the shelf…nature is healing…
And if you’re wondering about the fox emoji, I put it on to commemorate the fact that we found a family of foxes near our house! We saw all five fox kits on Mother’s Day 🥺
READING AND BLOGGING:
I managed to read 23 books this month! I don’t think I had any 5-star reads this month, but I did read several that came close!
1 – 1.75 stars:
Wings of Ebony (Wings of Ebony, #1) – J. Elle (⭐️.5)
2 – 2.75 stars:
Scavenge the Stars (Scavenge the Stars, #1) – Tara Sim (⭐️⭐️)
Lost in the Never Woods – Aiden Thomas (⭐️⭐️.5)
3 – 3.75 stars:
Aug 9 – Fog – Kathryn Scanlan (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Hellboy: The Lost Army – Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Velocity Weapon (The Protectorate, #1) – Megan O’Keefe (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer, #1) – Lynette Noni (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Hellboy: The Bones of Giants – Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Broken Wish (The Mirror, #1) – Julie C. Dao (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Be Dazzled – Ryan La Sala (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
4 – 4.75 stars:
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers, #4) – Becky Chambers (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Elysium Girls – Kate Pentecost (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Let the Great World Spin – Colum McCann (read for school) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
I Love You So Mochi – Sarah Kuhn (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Summer Bird Blue – Akemi Dawn Bowman (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Magnificent Ms. Marvel, vol. 3: Outlawed – Saladin Ahmed and Minkyu Jung (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya, #2) – Hafsah Faizal (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The Infinity Courts (The Infinity Courts, #1) – Akemi Dawn Bowman (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know – Samira Ahmed (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
Love, Hate & Other Filters – Samira Ahmed (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) – Leigh Bardugo (re-read) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) – Leigh Bardugo (re-read) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Sanctuary – Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH (NOT COUNTING RE-READS): Love, Hate & Other Filters – 4.5 stars
SOME POSTS I’M PROUD OF:
- I had a lot of fun screaming about the Shadow and Bone TV show!
- I made a list of YA books for AAPI Heritage Month!
- I thoroughly enjoyed listening to and reviewing St. Vincent’s new album, Daddy’s Home!
POSTS I ENJOYED FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE:
- Brianna discusses story ideas that she wants to see
- Saniya lists ten YA must-read books by BIPOC authors!
- Saima’s ARC review of Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating (which I have yet to read, but can’t wait to!)
- Cherelle’s lovely review of Skyhunter
- Hundreds & Thousands of Books’ hilarious discussion on why Leigh Bardugo’s Crows are basically The Umbrella Academy (agreed.)
SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I’VE ENJOYED:
DID I FOLLOW THROUGH ON MY MAY GOALS?
- Take some time away for the AP exams and finals: that I did. Barely posted until the second half of the month, so…
- Take care of yourself: …I think I did, at least.
GOALS FOR JUNE:
- Make a list with some Pride Month recs!
- Read at least 20 books
- Enjoy the first month of summer!
- ACTUALLY start that first draft of the sci-fi WIP
At last! Summer!!
Today’s song:
That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
The Bookish Mutant 
23 books on top of APs and finals? That’s pretty impressive!
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Thank you! Still don’t know how I managed it
escapism I guess skdjhfskjdfh
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Great wrap up! Sorry you didn’t like Wings of Ebony. May I ask why? Lol just curious. Have a great June, and thank you soooo much for the mention. It means a lot. ❤
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Thank you!
I was so disappointed, shame that the cover was so gorgeous…
Yeah, it just wasn’t for me…I really appreciated the unapologetic approach to racism/colonialism, but I just hated the writing style, the worldbuilding was hardly ever explained, and all the time jumps made no sense for me.
Anytime! I love your blog, it’s about time that I give you a shoutout! 🙂
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yeah, that makes sense. and aww thank you!!
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Did I just see that you read 23 books + AP tests + finals?! Also I’m glad you enjoyed We Free the Stars! I’m planning on reading it soon so it’s nice to see that others enjoyed it 😊
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I STILL DON’T KNOW HOW I MANAGED IT KSJDHKSJHF
YES it was great! I think I would’ve liked it more if I’d re-read book 1 (so I could remember everything), but I still thought it was great. Hope you enjoy it too! 🙂
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congrats on finishing school and your finals!
wowww 23 books?? that’s amazing. Love, Hate & Other Filters sounds like such a great book, I’ll have to check it out! and tysm for including my review of Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, I hope you enjoy it if you read the novel ❤
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Thank you!!
Aaah it’s incredible, Samira Ahmed never disappoints I swear
Anytime! I love your blog, your review was amazing! I really enjoyed The Henna Wars, so I bet I’ll enjoy it 🙂
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23 books!!! are you superwoman or something!!!!! that’s amazing!
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THANK YOU!! Yeah I’m still not sure how I pulled it off ksdjhfsjfh
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I just finished We Hunt the Flame and loved it and I’m pretty sure we free the stars is good as well! Wow you seem so have had a good reading month, that’s awesome! I hope you have a good month of June!
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It’s definitely better if you read book 1 and book 2 closer together (or just re-read book 1) bc I was a little confused at the beginning, but I still had a lot of fun!
Thanks, you too! May you read many good books 🙂
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oh my god 23 books? with finals and AP classes? hats off to you! that’s amazing!!! i’m planning to read we hunt the flame soon so i’m glad you liked it!!
loved your wrap-up and I hope you have a fantastic June!!
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Ahh thank you!! No idea how I pulled it off (escapism probably shh)
We Hunt the Flame is so good!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Thank you so much! Have an amazing June! 🙂
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i’ve heard so much about i love you so mochi, glad to hear that you enjoyed it and wow looks like may was great for you with so many reads! and ah i’m dying for a six of crows re-read! thank you so much for mentioning my post madeline, i hope you have a lovely june! ❤️
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It’s so cute, I bet you’d love it! YES there were tears shed but it was worth it :,)
Anytime, have a wonderful June as well! 🙂
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