What did you read in May?

[charlatti]

Ratings, recommendations, etc?

[mie]

Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan 4*

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren 3*
Kyland by Mia Sheridan 3*
The Truth About Love by Maisie Myers 3*
A Really Bad Idea by Jeannine Colette 3*
Under One Room by Ali Hazelwood 3*

The Spanish Love Decetption by Elena Armas 2.5*

[travella]

4*
The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel

3*
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Barnes

2*
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber
What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline

[charlatti]

5*
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

4.5*
The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker
Trust by Hernan Diaz

4*
The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
O Beautiful by Jung Yun
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

3*
The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel
Fellow Mortals by Dennis Mahoney
The Split by Sharon J. Bolton
Happy for You by Claire Stanford

2*
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

[tacokick]

I read a lot! I normally only read at night but if it’s nice I’ll read in the hammock during the day so that helped.

Trailed One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles (it read more like journal than a cohesive, edited book)

Magpie by Elizabeth Day (ok)

Metropolis by B.A. Shapiro (not very good)

The Moment: Wild, Poignant, Life-Changing Stories from 125 Writers and Artists Famous & Obscure Edited by Larry Smith (fine)

The Pharmacist's Mate by Amy Fusselman (fine, odd)

The Party by Elizabeth Day (a lot build up for nothing)

Summer Island by Shelly Nobel (liked the family parts but the romance/relationship stuff was really poorly written)

We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart (ok)

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole (weak ending)

Managing Expectations by Minnie Driver (great)

Rx by Rachel Lindsay (fine)

Friends Like These by Sarah Alderson (cheesy)

In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson (cheesy)

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave (bad!!)

The Shadow House by Anna Downes (a mess but good ideas)

The Adults by Alison Espach (very good)

Vera Kelly: Lost and Found by Rosalie Knecht (great!)

So Help Me Gosh: A Memoir of Faith and Other Awkward Things by Brooke Barker (great!)

Dark Circles by Caite Dolan-Leach (not bad)

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (lol)

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner (messy)

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman (why do I read her books?)

The Miranda Obsession by Jen Silverman (disappointing)

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub (lots of fun)

Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair (Something felt very off about this book)

Back to the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Rediscovered by Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield (I’d love a deep dive into their finances)

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (eh)

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (so so much tennis)

The Second Husband by Kate White (fun)

The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters: A True Story of Family Fiction by Julie Klam (generally I like her but I didn’t quite get the point of the book)

The Second Mother by Jenny Milchman (very long, I don’t know if it needed a “mystery” element)

Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love by Haruki Murakami with Philip Gabriel (Translator) (cute)

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi (a little repetitive but clearly put effort into the food sections. So many authors don’t even when they have chef main characters!)

Tracy Flick Can't Win by Tom Perrotta (not sure we needed a sequel)

The Mother-in-Law by Karen King (not good)

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach (I think I read part of this before but read it because it has one of the characters from her most recent book in it that I also read this month)

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins (silly but fun)

[rootbeerfloat]

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel - 3*
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - 3*
The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - 3*
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint - 2.5*

I liked the Inheritance Games books the best.

[dearprudence]

The Wedding Setup- 4*
Family Chao- 4*
Nottingham- 4*
Dread Nation- 4*
Deathless Divide- 4*
To Kill a Kingdom- 3*
Black Leopard,  Red Wolf- 3*

[meowmaps]

Wahala by Nikki May 4*
Black Girls Must Be Magic by Jayne Allen 3*
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas 4*
The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith 2*
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson 4*
Notes on an Execution 4* by Danya Kukafka

[Vespasia]

I enjoyed everything I read last month. 

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn - she remains one of the few authors who can write WWII fiction that I will actually enjoy

Elektra by Jennifer Saint - I preferred Ariadne but I think that had more to do with the source material than the author

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel - I tend to really love her books while reading them and then promptly forget what they were about. I was glad that the references to previous books actually sparked my memory enough for them to add to the book.

Stag by Karen Russel (Kindle Short)

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian - I think this was my favorite of the month. Despite everything that happens in the book it really made me want to go on safari again

Atomic Anna by  Rachel Barenbaum - I expected something different than what was essentially a multigenerational story of mothers and daughters. It was still a good book, I just expected more. 

[litskispeciality]

Rock Paper Scissors - I didn't like it as much as the hype. Too slow to start, bad ending

Songs of the Humpback Whale - body/fat shaming, story all over the place...not Jodi Picolt's best work.

The Judge's List - 3.5*'s. I didn't read The Whistler (first)

13/30 for the year. In really good shape to hit goal.

[mrspez07]

Wild Irish Rose (quick read romance) 3*
Firekeeper’s Daughter 5*
The Other Black Girl 3*
Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation… 5* (read this or another of his if you have a yard)
Apples Never Fall (audio) 3*
The Inheritance Games 3*
The Lincoln Highway (audio) 4*