May Wrap Up

I can't believe May is over already.  I had a pretty good reading month.  I didn't get to everything I planned to, but I read some things I hadn't planned on reading at all, I'll call that a win.  I read 3 ARCs, 3 E-books, 2 physical books, and listened to 8 audiobooks.  I haven't had time to write up reviews for eveyrhting this month.  I'm hoping to get caught up eventually.

Ebooks/ARCS

• Bad Boy Brody by Tijan (ARC)
• Review
• I got an ARC of this to review before it came out but it was pretty good.  Definitely an Adult Romance for the 18+ crowd.  It features two fairly broken main characters who find peace in each other.  
• Furyborn by Claire Legrand
• Review
• I really enjoyed this one.  This features angels, magical powers, action, assassins, what more could you want from a fantasy adventure?  I really liked the mythology Legrand created to go with the world
• Beard Science by Penny Reid
• I'm slowly getting caught up on the Winston Brother Series.  I only have one more to go. I've been dying to read Cletus' story, and it not disappoint.  I loved getting to know Jennifer and Cletus, and I always love seeing the rest of the Winston clan.  
• Moonlight Seduction by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Review
• This is another ARC I was able to review.  I really enjoyed this.  Is suspenseful, got a good romance, and the characters are interesting.  I love that the de Vincent house is almost a character of its own.  You aren't quite sure what to make of it.  I really enjoy this series.  
• The Oracle Queen and The Young Queens by Kendare Blake
• Review
• I recently read One Dark Throne, the 2nd book in the Three Dark Crowns series and was able to pick up the companion novellas.  I recommend them for fans of the series, neither really spoils anything

Physical Books

I do most of my reading on my kindle because its convenient, but I have lots of physical books.  Most of them I've read already, but I do have a large stack that I need to get to some day.  With baseball and soccer season in full effect now that spring is cooperating, I tend to read actual books this time of year.  I don't have one of those cool kindles that you can read in the sun, so my physical books come out during the spring and summer.

• The Martian by Andy Weir
• I picked this up at my library's annual used book sale.  I started it got a couple of chapters in and put it down.  I just couldn't get into it.  I picked it back up and wasn't able to put it down.  I loved all the science and Mark Watney's humor.  I always wanted to be an astronaut but I'll have to settle for vicariously living through books.  I recently purchased the movie so I can continue my enjoyment of the book, I hope the movie is just as good as the book.
• Oblivion by Kelly Creagh
• I read the first two books in this series quite some time ago, but my libary didn't have the 3rd book.  On a whim I checked to see if they had a physical copy, one of the other branches had it and I was able to get it sent to me.  While it was confusing at times, I think partly because it's been so long since I was in this world, and partly because there is so much going on, its a good ending to Isobel and Varen's story.  I really enjoyed all of the dark world building and Poe references.  Overall I really liked the series.

Audiobooks

I didn't have much on my to listen to list for May, but as usual I still got through a ton of audiobooks.  I just kind of went with whatever was available this month.  I normally have a ton of items on hold or on my wishlist.  May was just kind of adhoc.

• A Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
• Review
• After waiting forever for this audiobook, I was surprised to find out that it was less than 4 hours long.  It is a delightful, strange story about one of the side characters in The Kingkiller Chronicles named Auri.  Auri is a strange character and we meet her in The Name of the Wind, she is odd and her strangeness is explored quite a bit in this short story.  I quite enjoyed it.
• The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
• I loved this.  Magnus is such a great side character in both The Infernal Devices and the Mortal Instruments, but we only get to know a little about the real Magnus.  I love that this is dedicated to him and we get to see his backstory and his true nature.  Part of this are laugh out loud hilarous and the one liners are great.  I really liked getting to know not only Magnus but we also get to know Raphael better as well as some of the other side characters that make appearances throughout the series but may have only had small mentions or minor parts.
• Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
• It has been a while since delving back into the Shadowhunter universe.  I needed a book with a time of day in the title for my reading challenge and I've been wanting to read this anyway.  It fits right in with the series.  It has the same feel as the Mortal Instruments series, forbidden love, murder, paranormal characters, teen angst.  If you are a fan of the original series you'll enjoy this as I did.  
• The Prophecy by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• I've been waiting for this to come out on audio forever.  The book has been out for a while,but I loved the audio of The Power so much I wanted to finish up the series on audio.  This one focuses heavily on the romance between Seth and Josie, so it is heavily contemporary while still maintaining the mythology plot line with the Titans and the action we've come to love that follows the Army of Awesome.
• The Hooker and the Hermit by L.H. Cosway and Penny Reid
• If you read any of my posts, you know I'm a huge fan of Penny Reid, she co-authors this series with L.H. Cosway.  The 4th book in The Rugby Series comes out in mid-June and I still haven't picked this up.  I have a copy in ebook, but I have more time to listen than I do to read so I grabbed it from Hoopla.  I didn't love this, its not bad, it just doesn't fit my taste.  I am going to use this for another challenge prompt for a book written by 2 authors.
• Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
• I picked this up as a challenge prompt for a book made into a move I've already seen.  The movie was pretty funny, and this is the rare time that I liked the move adaptation better.  I really didn't care for the book at all.  The movie was more of a comedy where this was more gruesome and dark.  I think I was expecting it to be more like the movie and because my expectations were different than what I got it really impacted my enjoyment of the book.  Plus I really don't enjoy most zombie books or movies.  Its just not my preferred genre.
• Chainbreaker by Tara Sim
• This is a continuation of the Timekeeper series.  It follows Danny and Colton on another adventure.  Their romance is a bit more intense in this one, and they both are trying to uncover the secret behind clock towers falling in India.  There is quite a bit more action in this one.  
• Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
• I'm working on this one right now.  Its pretty short so I'm going to count it as completed in May because I'll likely finish it before the month is out.  So far its pretty strange, but I think that is part of the appeal.  I think I'm might be able to use this for another challenge prompt.