It’s been a very slow reading month for me – life got in the way and I only managed 6 books, putting me behind in my Goodreads Challenge on 46/120.
Still, onwards and upwards! I’ve now got many half-read books that I hope to finish in June along with some new additions to the TBR.
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May Wrap-Up
I started the month with ‘Sister Stardust’ by Jane Green for a Random Things blog tour. I enjoyed this semi-biographical story of 1960s Marrakech, packed with sex, drugs and rock and roll. My review is here.
Next was ‘Adult Assembly Required’ by Abbi Waxman. I’d read (and loved) Waxman’s previous book, ‘The Bookish Life of Nina Hill’, so it was lovely to dip back into the same Los Angeles bookish community. This charming story follows Laura Costello as she finds her feet among the kind and quirky residents of an unconventional boarding house. I was pleased to join the blog tour for this one – my review is here.
‘Tell Me Everything’ by Laura Kay was another blog tour read this month – my review is here. This is a sweet and funny story of a young woman trying to sort out her life after a break-up with her girlfriend also leaves her without a home. Natasha is a therapist who helps people every day…but can’t seem to fix her own problems!
Book 4 was ‘Hide and Secrets’ by Sophie McKenzie, a YA thriller that I read with my Year 8 class at school. We enjoyed this story about family secrets and a quest to find truths about the past – my class (aged 12 and 13) mostly rated this at least 4 stars so I’d consider that a solid recommendation!
Next was a fascinating audiobook (bought from Audible), ‘Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine’ by Thomas Hager. This was an eye-opening look at 10 key drugs and their (often weird, interesting or shady) histories. I loved that this gave me an insight into the pharmaceutical industry (a new obsession for me since I read the staggeringly brilliant ‘Empire of Pain’ by Patrick Radden Keefe about the development of Oxycontin), plus information on many medicines we take for granted: statins, antibiotics, vaccinations. Thoroughly entertainingly told, too!
Last up this month was ‘The Birdcage’ by Eve Chase, another blog tour read. I enjoyed this story about three half-sisters regrouping at their shared childhood home and revisiting the past. My review is here.
June TBR
I’m starting this month with the shameful amount of books I half-read in June and that need finishing! I’m loving all of these and now just have to find time to finish them:
- ‘Pandora’ by Susan Stokes-Chapman – brilliant retelling of the Pandora myth set in Georgian London.
- ‘Madwoman’ by Louisa Treger – based in historical fact, this story follows fledgling journalist Nellie Bly in 1880s New York as she takes on a dramatic story.
- ‘The Slow Road to Tehran: A Revelatory Bike Ride Through Europe and the Middle East’ by Rebecca Lowe – I love this story about Lowe’s solo cycle from the UK to Tehran, Iran. It’s packed with humour and insight into lots of places and cultures that I knew nothing about.
- ‘Bad for Good’ by Graham Bartlett – a debut police procedural set in Brighton by someone who really knows his stuff (ex-Chief Superintendent of Brighton and Hove). So far, so good!
As I’ve got another busy month at work, I’ll be needing plenty of fast-paced and gripping books to keep me reading in my free time (rather than sleeping!) Luckily, NetGalley has obliged with some of my most-anticipated crime novels of the year (mostly the latest books in BRILLIANT series):
Hope you all have a brilliant reading month!
Header photo by Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash
Good luck this month, Kate. I’m afraid to even look at my list!