Monthly Wrap Up | May 2020


WHAT HAPPENED IN MAY
  • May felt like a repeat of April, with an extra helping of horrible for good measure. 
  • May also saw The Husband and I celebrate 21 years of marriage. I use the term 'celebrate' loosely. We had (obviously) cancelled the trip we had planned and instead got takeout from a favorite restaurant and ate dinner in an empty movie theater parking lot. Special times, people. :)
  • My city started to reopen throughout May and - surprise! - infections started to increase again. I continued to work from home and rarely left the house.
  • I attended a couple virtual book events in May: one with Jennifer Weiner for the release of Big Summer and one with Kennedy Ryan for her new release, Queen Move. It was great to still be able to enjoy bookish events, just in a different way.

WHAT I READ IN MAY


I read seven books in May, pretty much my average, and I had some good reads so I call it a successful reading month. And *spoiler alert* I was on quite the Emma Chase kick in May. :)


FORMATS
Total Read: 7
1 physical book
4 audiobooks
2 Kindle/e-books
(2 ARCs: Big Summer, Rage and Ruin)

TOP OF THE HEAP
Rage and Ruin
Now this is how the deliver a second book in a series. No second book slump here! In Rage and Ruin Armentrout amped up the action and the intensity (and the swoon factor) and it was easy to fly through this 600 page beast because I had to know what was going to happen. The ending had my jaw dropping because what the what?! Jennifer knows how to deliver an ending that will have you willing to sell a limb for the next book.  

THE ONE THAT INTRODUCED ME TO A NEW AUTHOR
That Second Chance
I've seen Meghan Quinn's books around for ages but I've been hesitant to try them because many seemed to be of the over-the-top rom-com variety with super silly, slapstick-style humor. Which just isn't my thing. But the covers of her Getting Lucky series caught my eye and reading the synopses convinced me to give them a try. So glad I did because That Second Chance was just the kind of straight-up contemporary romance that I enjoy. No over-the-top drama, no super silly humor, and not a lot of angst. Just a solid story with likable characters who were so easy to pull for. I've already read the second book in the series and will definitely continue on.

THE ONE THAT WENT WHERE I DIDN'T EXPECT
Big Summer
When I started Big Summer I had certain expectations: lighter fare (since it was being billed as a beach read), but with Weiner's signature complex characters. And I did get that but also a lot more that I didn't see coming. Big Summer turn a left turn out of nowhere and went in a direction that gave me momentary whiplash. Once I caught up, I sat back and enjoyed the ride. 

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BLOG

I had 17 blog posts in May and shared six reviews: 

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING
    

The Clover Chapel - Devney Perry
Fight For Me - Corinne Michaels
I'm enjoying both my Kindle read and my audio book but I have little issues with both that keep niggling at me. In The Clover Chapel, I really wish there was a dual POV. There's the rare chapter from Nick's POV but I think this story would benefit a lot from the reader being privy to his thoughts as much as we are Emmy's. And in Fight For Me, these two characters are going 'round and 'round and getting nowhere. Their interactions are staring to feel a bit repetitive but I can't help but pull for them.   



WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE READ IN MAY?

18 comments

  1. Happy belated anniversary to you and your hubby! Big Summer was one of my favorite May reads too. It was definitely not the read I was expecting but like you said, once I got my brain to switch gears and go with it, I ended up loving it.

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    1. Thanks Suzanne. :) Big Summer was quite the surprise. And for a "beach read" it still managed to have plenty of substance.

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  2. It's quite an accomplishment to make it to 21 years, even if you couldn't go on your trip. Maybe you can take a better one, when they figure out this virus.

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    1. Thanks Sam. :) It's been a amazing 21 years. Hopefully next year things will be different and we'll feel better about venturing out and taking a trip.

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  3. Congratulations on 21 years, Tanya! Sorry you didn't get to celebrate it in the way you planned. Hopefully you'll be able to take an extra special trip next year. Nice that you still enjoyed a couple of author events!

    I'll have to try Megan Quinn. :)

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    1. Thanks Rachel. It was still a wonderful day. :)
      I've really enjoyed the two I've read by Quinn so far so I'll have to see if she has others along this same style.

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  4. You had a great reading month! I'm sorry your anniversary was not so amazing with the restrictions, but it's nice that you celebrated somehow. May moved my county to Phase 2 opening this past Monday. I went and got my hair done and then was regretting that because I don't like how lenient some people have been. I hadn't really left the house much before that. We haven't even gotten take out since things shut down in March. All of the rates rising makes me sad because I just see that this is going to probably get worse again before it gets better. I just want my 12 year old to be able to see her friends again and be able to go to school. It's not going to happen the way things are playing out.

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    1. Thanks Deanna. It was absolutely still a wonderful anniversary. Ugh, I know what you mean about how lenient people are being. We went to one store yesterday (just one - then I scurried back home LOL) and we were literally the only two people wearing masks. No masks on customers, no masks on staff. I couldn't believe it.

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  5. I am so determined to read Rage and Ruin soon! Every single time you talk about it, I'm just that much more anxious to get my hands on it! I am trying to be patient and wait on my hold to come through. I might crack and buy it. The audiobook is available now, but I know I'd rather read it on kindle and have a more personal experience with it.

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    1. I hope you get it soon, Alison! I don't think I've ever listened to any by JLA on audio. The books that I'm most excited about I always want to read on my own. Like you said, it's a more personal reading experience that way.

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  6. Happy aniversary! Happy June too!

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  7. Happy anniversary! I'm glad you got to celebrate at least a little bit!

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  8. LOL yeah its no surprise that we open up and more cases will happen. I just do all the safety measures and ready to get back to living life again. But I think May was worse than April. Can we just go back to January please? lol I want to redo this year. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! Hope it was still a beautiful day for you two even if you had to cancel plans.

    Love that you read so many goodies from Emma Chase. Love her dearly. Hope this month is better for you and you get some fabulous reads in.

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    1. I'll vote for that Renee. Let's go back to January. Or better yet, let's fast forward past the bad parts. :)

      Emma Chase is always good for some lighter, more fun reads. :)

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  9. Things are opening up all over and of course, cases are going up. I knew it would happen, so I'm still avoiding as much as I can. It's crazy to me how many people just don't seem to care though - like COVID just upped and vanished. Seriously, people??

    anywayyy - I'm glad you liked Big Summer!! I have that one to read sometime soon.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Same here, Lauren. With more people out, and new cases every day, I'm continuing on as I have been. Not going into restaurants, rarely stepping foot into stores, always wearing a mask when I do, etc. And you're right, people act like COVID disappeared! It's crazy!

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