This was a very good month of reading! I had a bit of a Shakespeare stint, but the highlight was definitely the Lunar Chronicles, which I’m obsessed with and still not quite over. And to think, for the longest time I thought I wouldn’t enjoy them and refused to read them. I’M DUMB. I love when books prove me wrong.
This month’s favorite
THE GOOD
Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford • ★★★☆☆
This author wrote Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which I love, so when I saw this ARC was available for request I went for it right away. This book takes on the story of an orphan boy from China who is raffled off at the 1909 world’s fair in Seattle and ends up at a brothel. Unfortunately I didn’t find this book quite as enrapturing as Bitter and Sweet, but it takes on a lot of misfortune with a lot of heart. Full review to come nearer to its release date in September! (Is it ARC etiquette to read it closer to its release? I’m impatient…)
Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine • ★★★ 1/2
I liked this retelling of Romeo and Juliet, which had a brilliantly dark edge. I did have some scruples with the characters, but overall I think this was a more “It’s me, not you” situation, because I felt like I should have enjoyed it more than I did. But if nothing else, read it for Mercutio. Full review.
Saving Hamlet by Molly Booth • ★★★ 1/2
This was a fun, cute book about a girl who travels back in time to Shakespeare’s London to put on a production of Hamlet at the Globe Theater. There’s a bit of a love quadrangle and perhaps a bit too much suspension of disbelief is required, but it was a quick and enjoyable read. Full review.
Fairest & Stars Above by Marissa Meyer • ★★★★☆
I really enjoyed these two companion books to The Lunar Chronicles. They were fun! And sad. But mostly I was happy to get to spend a bit more time with the characters after finishing the series. I will be reading Wires and Nerve soon! I think I’m putting it off because I’m not ready to be completely finished…
THE GREAT
Cress & Winter by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles 3 &4) • ★★★★★
These two books were, without a doubt, the best two books I read this month. The Lunar Chronicles was the most fun I’d had reading a series in a long time, to the point where I slowed my reading of Winter because I didn’t want it to end. I loved the story, I LOVED the characters, and I think Marissa Meyer is a genius for working these fairy tales into such awesome, futuristic adventures. Cress and Winter were definitely my favorites of the series. I adore these books. Cress review / Winter review
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz • ★★★★☆
This book was super sweet, and I loved the relationships in this book, particularly the father/son relationship and the relationship between the main character, Sal, and his best friend, Sam. I loved reading such a tight relationship between a girl and a boy that didn’t turn romantic. This book dealt with some hard topics but was so gentle and good. Full review.
Bookish Tags
I also did a lot of tags and awards this month, and I honestly feel so happy and honored when people tag me! I never thought I’d make such good friends on here ❤ And I find tags to be a lot of fun, and I love getting to know people through them.
Listicle Tag
Mystery Blogger Award
The Bookish Courtship Tag
This or That Book Tag
The Blogger Aesthetic Award
Currently Reading…
Obviously I’ve had my fill of do-gooder YA protagonists this month, because my mood has me craving a good “brutal triple murder in a remote Scottish farming community in 1869.” It’s been too long since I’ve read something dark and gritty and morally ambiguous.
Goodreads summary:
A brutal triple murder in a remote Scottish farming community in 1869 leads to the arrest of seventeen-year-old Roderick Macrae. There is no question that Macrae committed this terrible act. What would lead such a shy and intelligent boy down this bloody path? Will he hang for his crime?
Presented as a collection of documents discovered by the author, His Bloody Project opens with a series of police statements taken from the villagers of Culdie, Ross-shire. They offer conflicting impressions of the accused; one interviewee recalls Macrae as a gentle and quiet child, while another details him as evil and wicked. Chief among the papers is Roderick Macrae’s own memoirs, where he outlines the series of events leading up to the murder in eloquent and affectless prose. There follow medical reports, psychological evaluations, a courtroom transcript from the trial, and other documents that throw both Macrae’s motive and his sanity into question. Graeme Macrae Burnet’s multilayered narrative will keep the reader guessing to the very end.
I hope you all had a lovely May! Let me know if you read anything great this month!
Lost: Purple Quill 