BOOKENDS: What I Read in May 2024

May was a much more enjoyable reading month overall, no duds, just solid reads. It was in organizing my Goodreads that I figured out that I’d read another book this month (Ana Maria and the Fox) because somehow Goodreads kept my update/review about the book but didn’t mark the date on which I finished it. Now that Emily Henry’s books are being released in hardcover first rather than paperback originals, I’m fortunate enough to access the arcs and read those while I wait for the paperback releases to match the rest of my books. Summer Sons is excellent Appalachian dark academia horror, and I definitely want to read more of Mandelo’s work. Juniper & Thorn and Godkiller lived up to my expectations, which was a nice surprise after reading some other popular stuff in the previous months that was just… not great.


WHAT I READ

💖 purchased/owned | 🌠 library/borrowed | 🔮 review copy | 💞 reread | 👻 dnf

🌠 Ana María and the Fox, by Liana De la Rosa
💖 Summer Sons, by Lee Mandelo
💖 Superman vs. Meshi, vol. 1, by Satoshi Miyagawa, illus. Kai Kitago
💖 Juniper & Thorn, by Ava Reid
🔮 Funny Story, by Emily Henry
💖💞 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror, by Robert Louis Stevenson
💖 Godkiller, by Hannah Kaner

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books on my Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly discussion hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl (and formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish). This week, I’m featuring my Fall 2023 TBR! I read only one off of my Summer 2023 TBR (and to no one’s surprise, it’s Fourth Wing). It’s been a weird summer, and I fell off the wagon for a lot of things. The only book carrying over from the previous list onto this one is T. Kingfisher’s Nettle & Bone.

Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree — I bought the BN exclusive paperback edition with the deckled edges last year and still haven’t read it. With the weather cooling down, I’m definitely in the mood for some cozy fantasy.

Payback’s a Witch, by Lana Harper — Another one of those that I bought when it came out because the story and the cover appealed to me. 

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, by Sangu Mandanna — I’ve been saving this since last year since I bought it after ‘spooky season’ was over! I’ve heard so many good things about it, so I’m ready to dive right in.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, by Juno Dawson — This one is another one that I wanted to save until the third book had a release date, but once I saw the second one out on the table at work and saw the third title of this trilogy, I knew I needed to add this to my fall TBR.

Certain Dark Things, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — 2023 is the year of vampires for me, apparently, between all of the vampire books, movies, and video games (hello, Astarion) I’ve been consuming. 

Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher — every time I reached for this over the summer, something in my brain was like, no this is autumn, and I can’t wait to take a weekend day to read this with a hot chocolate

Summer Sons, by Lee Mandelo — this one I should have read in August, but I forgot about it and now that it’s spooky season, it’s time to read it!

If We Were Villains, by M.L. Rio — to be fair, I have had a copy of this on my shelves for years – from way back when it initially made the bookstagram rounds, but this BN exclusive cover (and sprayed edges) caught my attention, and dark academia fits this season so well

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library, by Hester Fox — this came out in April?? I bought it as a birthday present for myself, but like Nettle & Bone, this feels like a very seasonally fall read, and I’m looking forward to reading more of Hester Fox’s work

A Certain Hunger, by Chelsea G. Summers — I have been thinking about this one for a long, long time, and I finally got my hands on it a few weeks ago!

What’s on your fall TBR?