Shelf Life: Episode 5

 

Well, I hit 52 books. That's a third of the way to my yearly goal. Goodreads claims I'm 11 books behind schedule...but Goodreads also thinks I'm further along in my goal because It 'makes' me rate my own books. I don't review them, of course, but I do rate them. I could technically count them as books I've read since I have read them, but that feels like cheating. Soooooo, I'm sitting at a solid 52.

    With summer being here and me watching my nieces and nephews more often, I'm sure there will be multiple juvenile books in my future. One kid loves a dino sports series, another loves Ispys, and the third is currently into anything unique (ie, popup books, pull-out books, bilingual books).

    June isn't getting off to a good start, reading-wise. I had to DNF a book I'd really thought I'd like but ended up dreading reading. Currently, I'm reading a poetry book, a romance book, and a fantasy book. The romance book is for our June author spotlight. 

May's Reading log:

Family Justice, M.F. Moody	May	Mafia Romance, Mafia Mysteryish	18+	Ebook	4/5	Mafia Romances aren’t usually my thing but I enjoyed this story. I felt it was a little long, but it had a lot of good drama and after the marriage, there were tons of sexy scenes. This is a story about found and forged family. It’s about vengeance and honor. Trigger warnings? There are mentions of human trafficking and murders but it’s a mafia story so the second is to be expected.
Fierce Vamp, L.D. Wosar	May	Paranormal Romance, Vampire, Horror	18+	Ebook	4/5	Kaysee, the foul-mouthed beauty, has done it again. She’s outsmarted and out queened the entire vampire/hybrid/witch community. Okay, so I totally skipped book 2 and I really need to read it because I was a little lost at the start of this book, but I loved the intricacy of the plot. Wosar weaves together several different subplots to create this massive adventure where Kaysee not only has to fight for her own life but learn to forgive those she loves. I love how dark Wosar makes her vampires. A lot of authors have moved to romanticizing them but Wosar shows just how monstrous they can be.
Flawed Hearts, Celeste Night	May	Dark Romance, Bully Romance, RH	18+	Ebook	4/5	Let me start by saying that I love the title of this book. Flawed Hearts is all about imperfect people finding love when they least expect it. The story itself is a dark romance with bully elements, dubious consent, knife play, and more. If you're going to read this, you'll want to check out the trigger list Night links at the front of the book. Though the romance seems to start fast, it actually has slow-burn elements, and all of the characters see some kind of development throughout the story. I'm docking a star from my rating only because I'm not a fan of dubious consent, but the story is well-written, the plot is intricate, and the readers are forced to ask themselves who they can and can't trust along the way.
Stuck With You, Ali Hazelwood	May	Contemporary Romance	18+	Ebook and Audiobook	3/5	I am unsure how to review this book. I wanted to love it but I ended up just liking it. Compared to the rest of Hazelwood's works the plot was predictable. It did have a slight twist to it, but it was still what you'd expect from a miscommunication/forced proximity trope. It was practically instant love with slight angst elements. I wish it had been drawn out a little more, maybe then it would have been harder to guess where the story was leading. Still, it's a solid 3.5 from me. I like it, it just wasn't my favorite of her stories.
Aiding Azlyn, E.A. Shanniak	May	High Fantasy, Fantasy Romance	YA	Ebook	4/5	Aiding Azlyn is a 4.5 from me. The story started off with a cozy high fantasy feel and seemed to have a simple plot, but then the pace picked up and the plot became complex. There was love, pending war, hate, betrayal, and meddling gods. To be completely honest, the spin Shanniak put on the gods threw me off at first. It was different being in a fantasy world where the gods were practically active members of society. It was a fun take on things. Being a standalone novel, you don't need any prior world knowledge to fall into Zerelon. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books.
Melody’s Class Book	May	Nonfiction. written by a school classroom.	Juvenile	Hardcover	///////	////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Solstice Day Gifts, Lindsay Buroker	May	Fantasy	New Adult	Ebook	3/5	I failed to realize this book actually took place as part of a series until after I read it. No wonder I was a little confused and felt like I'd been dropped in midstory. I feel like I need to read the rest of the series and then reread Solstice Day Gifts. This story was a short fantasy focusing on two outlaws who dock at a small port for Solstice Day. It's pretty lighthearted but the language was super formal at times. Again, this might be intentional and have an impact on the overall series, but I won't know until I go back to book 1.
Heart Boss, Regan Walsh	May	Self-Help, Nonfiction	Meant for Adults	Ebook	5/5	Despite this book being heavily geared toward moms and mothers, I ended up taking a lot away from it. Self-help books are reads I'm picky with, so when I won a copy of Heart Boss it sat on my Kindle for over a year. Then one day I felt ready to read it and, ironically, the subject matter in here is one my coworkers and I have been discussing. Heart Boss made me feel empowered and had me thinking about what I'm giving my time and energy to. I will start applying Walsh's 90% rule to my energy dividend.    I mainly read this book at night and it helped me relax before bed. It was kind of a cool down for me and helped get me ready for my nightly meditation. I'm sad it's over and will be looking to see if Walsh has written any more.
Dino-Baseball, Barry Gott	May	Childrens	Juvenile	Hardcover	5/5	My nephews told me to give this book 5 stars. The 3-year-old loved the pictures...especially the pitching T-Rex and outfielder Long Neck. The 7-year-old got into the story and was actually rooting for a time. This book is not only entertaining but educational with an athletic twist. Actual names of dinosaurs and baseball terms are used on the pages. It was a fun read and I've been told, "We need the basketball one".
How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager, D.N. Bryn	May	Paranormal Romance, MM/romance	Upper YA	Ebook	5/5	I really loved this book, it had a cozy feel to it and the spice wasn't too extreme. Honestly, it was fairly clean. Vincent and Wesley both had me hooked on their stories from the start and even though it was pretty obvious that there would be a fall out there were still twists and turns along the way. I'm going to have to read more from Bryn.