Hi guys, and welcome to my May wrap up!
As you may know, I’ve been in a bit of a reading (and blogging) slump for a few months now. But while I still have some slump after-effects, I can safely say that reading-wise May has been A LOT BETTER. I read quite a few books, and a lot of nice, fluffy, feel-good contemporaries amongst them, which I credit completely for helping me get out of my slump. That, and my k-pop and k-drama obsession, which I still love to pieces.
So without further ado, let’s talk about everything that happened in May!
The Upside of unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Well, this story was not only cute and adorable, but also super relatable and diverse. The perfect read for when you’re looking to get out of a reading slump or even when you’re just looking for something to read a day away with. It mostly got me out of my reading slump, so thanks for that Becky!
Rating: 4 stars | Check out my full review here.
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
Queens of Geek is an adorkable and inspirational look at fandom life, friendship, love and being happy with who you are. It’s the perfect pick-me-up book, the perfect read to make you smile and restore your faith in humanity. A must-read! I am seriously tempted to quote almost every single page, because it’s so awe-inspiring and swoon-worthy.
Rating: 4,5 stars | Check out my full review here.
The Love Interest by Cale dietrich
This was my single most anticipated book of 2017 and I’ve been talking about it pretty much non-stop since finding out about it. And now I finally got to read it and… I didn’t like it that much. I still love the concept of the love triangle turned upside down and the teenage spies and the making fun of all these YA tropes. And I did REALLY ENJOY the first half or so of the book. But then, it all kind of fell flat. A certain plot twist took away all my enjoyment of the book and ruined the character development for me and I also had several issues with the ending. Not sure if I still want to write a full review about it, since I’m so bummed.
Rating: 2,5 stars
A COURT of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
This was a re-read in anticipation of the release of ACOWAR and I can safely say I still loved this so, so much. My favorite book in the series, hands down.
Rating: 5 stars | Check out my full review here.
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
After a year of anticipation following A Court of Mist and Fury, my favorite read of 2016, the next and final installment in this series, A Court of Wings and Ruin, is finally here. And while it was great and I loved it and this series as a whole, I was also… just a tad disappointed. Because the unfortunate truth is that it did not live up to my expectations, or match the gloriousness that was ACOMAF. And while I couldn’t think of a bad thing to say about ACOMAF, I have several complaints about ACOWAR. Check out my review for the full rant and gush.
Rating: 4 stars | Check out my full review here.
Death Note, Vol 1: Boredom
After my intense obsession with Death Note: watching the anime, the movies, the TV show and even the musical – I finally caved and splurged on the entire manga collection. I’m savoring these babies one at a time and started with volume one this month. And yes, I still LOVE this!
Rating: 4 stars
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
OMG, this was just THE BEST! A few trusted blogger friends already read this and were raving about it, so I just had to speed it up and start it myself. And they were so, so right, because I adored this one. If you love adorable stories, important issues discussed while still being cute and fluffy, diversity, cross-dressing, music and amazing friend groups, this is the story for you!
Rating: 4,5 stars | Full review to follow
Top Ten Tuesday
- 30 May 2017: Most Anticipated Books For The Rest Of 2017
- 23 May 2017: 2017 YA Contemporary Releases For Your Summer Beach Bag
- 16 May 2017:The Best & The Worst Fictional Mothers
- 9 May 2017: Ten Things On My Reading Wish List
- 2 May 2017: Top Ten Dreamy, Whimsical Book Covers
Something Different Sunday
This month, I started a new post type, called ‘Something Different Sunday’. Basically, this is where I take the time to talk about anything BUT books. Because as much as I love books (and I do really love books) I also love a lot of other things. So this is where I talk about those topics, which can include anything, from any of my music, tv or movie obsessions to just rants or discussions about topics that are on my mind. In May, I began with two of my biggest obessions lately: K-pop and Death Note!
I have to admit I don’t even have a monthly playlist this month. So what did I listen to? Well, I still haven’t been able to escape the K-pop obsession that has taken me captive for the past 3 months. It is the perfect music for me right now and has been crucial in keeping me going. So while I haven’t listened to a whole lot of different music, I have been slowly but steadily growing my personal k-pop playlist, which you can check out below.
Some of my faves this month:
BIGBANG – If You (Acapella)
BTS – Spring Day
Cross Gene – Na Hago Nolja
Non-Kpop
The few times I didn’t listen to any k-pop were the times I listened to new albums by some of my favorite artists. There is After Laughter by Paramore, One More Light by Linkin Park and Crooked Teeth by Papa Roach. Of the three, I think my favorite by far is the Papa Roach album. I like After Laughter and One More Light, but not as much as I would have wanted to. Maybe I just need to listen to both of them some more, but right now I’m just not quite feeling the love. I hate to say this, because some people may call me a bad fan or whatever, but I prefer their earlier sounds. I appreciate the new stuff and am all for bands growing and updating their sounds, but it’s just not 100% my thing right now…
TV
Legend of the Blue Sea
In this gorgeous drama, the love story between a Joseon-era mermaid and a town official repeats itself in modern times, when a mermaid falls in love with a con artist. I absolutely loved this drama. The story was super captivating and intriguing and the chemistry between the two leads was amazing. Not to mention it stars Lee Min Ho, who has quickly become my favorite kdrama actor, AND it has funny and sincere mermaids, charming con-artists and cute hackers.
Goblin
This is the story of Kim Shin, a 939-year old immortal Goblin and protector of souls. He is searching for his bride, who is the only one who can end his immortality and give him peace. During his search he also ends up rooming with the Grim Reaper, who has no memory of who he used to be. Though I haven’t finished this drama yet (I’m about halfway), I am absolutely in love. The characters feel so real and well-rounded, it is surprisingly funny and the bromance is just THE BEST. Also, that soundtrack <3
The 100
Though I have loved The 100 from the very beginning, I feel like every season has just been so consistently amazing! Season 4 was no exception: I adored it and was on the edge of my seat for pretty much every episode. The moral dilemmas these characters face are so intriguing. I have no words and I can only gush. I love these characters so, so much and I only hate that I now have to wait so long for the next season. Only downside to this season: I really didn’t like the direction they took Jasper’s character in. He was one of my favorites in the earlier seasons and I think he deserved better.
- Job hunt is still ongoing and it’s been tough.
- Despite this, I’ve been focusing on the positives, such as:
- I’ve had a lot of dance rehearsals since we have 3 performances at the end of May and beginning of June. I’m already 2 shows in and so far they went well so I’m a happy camper.
- Had a lunch date with one of my best friends I hadn’t seen in months and had dinner with a few former colleagues. It’s been fun catching up.
- I have started studing Korean. I originally wanted to study Japanese, but I also want to be able to do it on my own and Japanese (especially Kanji) is just too difficult to study by myself. Not to say that Korean is easy, but the Hangul at least is easier. It’s more like an alphabet which I taught myself rather quickly. Of course, I still read SUPER slowly and I don’t yet understand most of what I’m reading, but I’m already loving it. And this way, at least one day I’ll be able to know what I’m singing when I’m singing along to my k-pop playlist…
- Things to look forward to: in just two weeks, I’ll GET TO SEE GOOD CHARLOTTE AND SLEEPING WITH SIRENS LIVE. And a few weeks after that I get to go to Werchter festival and see Linkin Park, Blink 182, System of a Down and Jimmy Eat World live! Super excited, obviously 🙂
I loved Upside and I am currently reading The Love Interest and I have to say that so far it has been disappointing.I am planning on watching Death Note so your post was very helpful in the decision.
Yay for Upside love 🙂 Sorry The Love Interest has been disappointing for you as well though… I am so, so happy my post was helpful in your decision to watch Death Note 😉 Hope you’ll enjoy it!
Yay for all those wonderful contemporaries! I’m dying to read Queens of Geek and Noteworthy and so glad to hear you loved them both!!! My May was very hectic. My exams ended but entrances for postgraduate courses kept me busy. Also I’m leaving tomorrow to go meet some obscure relatives and attend the wedding of someone I’ve met ONCE in my life..Hopefully later in June I’ll get more time for books 😀 I watched season 10 of Supernatural and re-watched 3 seasons of FRIENDS 🙂 That was the best! Here’s to an awesome June!! 😀
Yay! I hope you’ll love both Queens of Geek and Noteworthy! <3
Oh, wow, sounds like a hectic May indeed. Hope everything went well and will still go well with your exams and postcgraduate course entrances!
Ah, that sounds pretty awkward to meet some obscure relatives and attend a wedding with them :s Hope you'll still have fun anyway!
SUPERNATURAL! I think I stopped watching around season 10 so I should really pick it up again some time soon because I love me some Sam, Dean and Cas <3 And FRIENDS is ALWAYS amazing!
Thanks so much Uma, hope we'll both have AMAZING Junes! 🙂
I hate you for getting to see Blink-182 and Linkin Park live. 😛 I’ve started watching PLL again. How did I get sucked back into this hole??? lol. I’m trying to get back into music. But it’s slow going. Sucks that May was so tough mentally. Here’s to June being a bit better!
Haha, I’m sorry 😉 Hope you’ll get to see them live someday as well!
OMG, PLL! I was obsessed with that show, but I eventually stopped because I needed answers and was too impatient to wait for them 🙂 But I’m still kind of following by reading recaps and spoilers, oops 😉
I had a big ‘music slump’ up until about a year ago myself, so I hope you’ll get out of yours soon 🙂
Thanks so much, hope you’ll have a great June as well!
That’s such a bummer about The Love Interest. That’s one of my anticipated reads too. I’m reading The Upside of Unrequited right now and really loving it so far, especially Molly.
I loved The 100 this season too. It’s always such an adrenaline rush and I loved Octavia’s journey this season. I do agree about Jasper though, and as a Kabby shipper, I also wish there had been more Kane and Abby moments. Still an incredible season and I’m stoked that the season finale really opened up the door for the series to continue for a long time.
I know, I had such high expectations of TLI – maybe too high… Hope you’ll still love it though! And happy to hear you’re loving The Upside 🙂
Yay, The 100! Octavia has had an amazing journey indeed! She was already amazing, but I think she became my favorite character this season 🙂 I do wish they had gone another route with Jasper’s character and I also agree that we were missing a lot of Kabby scenes, especially in the last few episodes. The series finale did change everything, and I’m so excited to see what’ll happen next!
Oh you had such a great reading month, that’s awesome! I recently got Queens of Geek and can’t wait to read it. I’m hoping to read The Love Interest soon just as well. So happy you liked Noteworthy, it was such a great book, wasn’t it? 🙂
Best of luck for your job hunting! I hope it will go well and that you’ll end up with something great that you enjoy for sure <3 I'm sorry to hear the month has been a bit rough, if you ever need to talk about it or just vent, I'm always here! <3
Hope you'll have a great June! <3
I so hope you’ll love Queens of Geek as much as I did! And well, that you’ll love TLI MORE than I did 😉 Noteworthy was so great, though I’m having trouble writing a review without gushing non-stop 🙂
Thanks so much Marie <3 I wish you all the best for June as well, let's make it an amazing month :)
So happy to see that you enjoyed Noteworthy, Queens of Geek and Upside!! They were all so lovely ♥ Such a shame that you didn’t enjoy The Love Interest D: I’ve been hearing more and more mixed things which has me worried because I was SO excited for it.
I definitely wasn’t a fan of the new Paramore album at first, but the more I listened the more it grew on me. It’s definitely not my favourite and the sound still isn’t completely my thing but lyrically it hit so close to home. I need to listen to the new Papa Roach album!!!
Those live shows you have coming up sound amazing. Jimmy Eat World was such a cool band to see live especially hearing The Middle ?.
Also, sorry things haven’t been that great for you during May ♥♥ If you ever need to vent then I’m here!! I really hope June is a lot better for you ?
They were all so amazing, I’ve definitely been on a super amazing YA contemporary streak in May 🙂 Definitely do hope you’ll enjoy TLI more than I did – maybe my expectations were just too high…
Ah, maybe I really do need to listen to the new Paramore album some more. And pay some more attention to the lyrics and less to the sound 😉 I did love the new Papa Roach album, I liked that the sound had some new elements, but was still so recognizably them.
That’s so cool that you got to see Jimmy Eat World live already! I am so looking forward to seeing them perform, but ESPECIALLY The Middle because that’s my jam haha 😀
Also, thanks so much Lauren! Hope your June will rock as well <3
Goblin sounds adorable 🙂 hey, I also taught myself Japanese and Korean once! But JP was easier for me. Korean grammar might be similar, but somehow it was harder for me. Good luck anyway, both languages are fun 🙂 although I can no longer use Korean (although I probably could get by with Japanese if I reviewed)
Goblin is indeed super adorable 🙂 Oh, that’s so cool that you taught yourself Japanese AND Korean! I’ll see how well I do with Korean and then maybe some day I’ll try Japanese as well 🙂
Wow, you had an awesome month in may. Lots of great looking books I need to check out. Glad that you’re starting to get out of the reading/blogging slump. I hope it’s even better in June. Enjoy these books and have a wonderful week. ?❤️
Thanks so much! Yes, slumps suck, I’m happy I’m getting out of it (albeit a little slowly) 😉 Hope you’ll have a wonderful June <3
I’m bummed to hear that you didn’t love The Love Interest. That’s one of the ones that I’m really excited to read. I just won a copy of it recently so hopefully I enjoy it a little more than you did. lol! I’m also really excited about Noteworthy and The Upside so I’m glad to hear you loved those. I read Queens of Geek and really loved it. It’s one of my favorite books of the year.
I know, I’m so bummed too! Maybe my expectations were just too high because I was anticipating it for so long… Hope you’ll still love it so much more than I did though! I did really love Noteworthy and The Upside so I’m excited to hear what you think about them 🙂 Queens of Geek was indeed amazing <3
Oh looks like your May really rocked and you were busy. *crosses fingers* for your job finding. Also kudos to learning a new language. That really rocks.
Thanks so much 🙂 I do love learning new languages! Hope you’ll have an amazing June!
Bummer about the disappointing read. That is THE worst. Especially when it’s such a highly anticipated read. Hope you find amazing reads this month! 🙂
Good luck with the job hunt. Hope you begin to have success.
Exactly! Maybe it’s because my expectations were just TOO high though, that’s always dangerous…
Thanks so much Rissi! Hope you’ll have an amazing June as well!
Hi Lindsey, I’m so sorry that the job hunt has been so rough. I’m rooting for you though!
Korean is exciting! I hope that you manage to pick it up quickly.
I’m so glad that May was a better month and I hope that June is even better still. I still am so many reviews behind but I’ll get to ACOTAR series soon!
Thanks so much Di!
I’m loving the Korean, but I think it’ll definitely take a looong time before I’m even relatively fluent. But I don’t mind, I’m loving the learning process 🙂
I hope June will be better in terms of reading and blogging as well 🙂 I’m not that behind on reviews, but I am behind on reading (again). I did just finish Flame in the Mist, so that review’ll be up soon I think… Looking forward to your ACOTAR series review!
I’m so glad May was better than April in terms of the slump! Slumps are just the worst.
So sorry to hear about the job search, though 🙁 I hope things turn around very soon <3
I am dying to read Queens of Geek! It looks so fun and entertaining. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Hope you have a wonderful June, Lindsey!
Slumps are the worst indeed! Not being in the mood to do something you love sucks… but I’ve learned to just go with it and do something else I love for a while, like binge-watching tv haha 🙂
Thanks so much Amy! <3
I LOVED Queens of Geek! Hope you'll enjoy it just as much when you pick it up!
Have an amazing June!