Hi everybody, and welcome to my May wrap up!

May has been a SUPER BUSY month for me due to work stuff, but while I didn’t break any records with number of books read, I still got quite some reading in so I can’t complain. I also finally caught up to Shadow and Bone and I LOVED it. Oh, and that one kpop band I like released a new song. So anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to in May:

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

As a huge fan of Beth O’ Leary previous novels The Flatshare and The Switch, I was eagerly awaiting her third book, The Road Trip. Because other than a fan of Beth O’Leary, I also LOVE road trips, so this was a sure win in my mind. But, though I can appreciate the book as a whole and I definitely applaud the writing, this story and characters just didn’t do it for me as much as I had hoped. I personally missed the cozy, warm and happy vibe that her previous books had and just couldn’t get into the second-chance romance aspect of this story.

Rating: 3,5 stars | Full review

Once Burned (Night Prince #1) by Jeaniene Frost

I’m still making my way to Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress universe and I finally made it to Vlad’s story! Reading the previous books, Vlad has always been a favorite of mine, so I was happy to read more about him. This story is told from the POV of Leila, a human circus artist who has a terrible but strong power. Their paths soon cross and we are thrust into a typical Jeaniene Frost adventure with lots of action, mystery and of course, lots of romance and steam!

Rating: 4,5 stars

Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2) by Jeaniene Frost

What can I say? After the kind-of cliffhanger of the previous book, I couldn’t pace myself and just dove right into the second book about Leila and Vlad. I have to say I didn’t like this one as much. Leila and Vlad had some communication issues, which always irks me a bit and I didn’t enjoy the drama that ensued because of it. But overall, I still adore this world and the characters and I’ll definitely continue on.

Rating: 4 stars

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

In Deeper Waters immediately drew me in because of the stunningly pretty cover AND because of the comparison to Pirates of the Caribbean. (Because, pirates!). But really, that comparison does not do it enough justice. This is more than a pirate story, and it’s actually more of a high fantasy romance. There’s magic and magical creatures and princes and political alliances and yes, pirates are in there too but they’re just a small part. Overall this felt more like an easy, soft and light-hearted fairytale. And truthfully, that’s all I wanted and exactly what I needed so it was perfect to me. I’d highly recommend this if you’re looking for a nice, light read about two soft boys finding each other in a magical world.

Rating: 4 stars | Full review

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

I think The Soulmate Equation just took the spot of The Unhoneymooners as my number two favorite Christina Lauren book. (Autoboyography is still N° 1!). I loved every minute of it and tore through it in about a day. I loved all the science in this one, and the little family our main character Jess had with her daughter, grandparents and best friend. They were adorable. Add to that a hot scientist LI and a dash of hate-to-love and I was sold! (Also, did anyone else catch their super cute thank you to BTS in the acknowledgements?)

Rating: 4,5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday

One-Sentence Reviews For My 12 Most Recent Reads
Covers With Spring/Summer Vibes
Book Titles That Are Complete Sentences
Favorite Bookish Quotes About Books & Reading

Quote It Wednesday

Can’t Wait Wednesday

A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Well, it’s been a BTS comeback month, so really, enough said 🙂

MY FAVORITE: BTS – Butter

They did it again! Butter is such a fun, happy, feel-good, poppy summer song and I love it.

Itzy – 마.피.아. In The Morning

Usually it takes me a few listens to get into an Itzy song, but not this time. I’m OBSESSED.

Olivia Rodrigo – good 4 u

I really enjoy this poppy, angry break up song. Even if it does resemble Misery Business a teensy tiny bit 🙂

Shadow and Bone

I finally watched all episodes of Shadow and Bone and OMG, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Definitely one of the best adaptations out there. I loved the cast so much and thought they did a perfect job as these characters. I loved the changes they made compared to the book, like Alina being half Shu, and pretty much everything about the way the crows and Nina and Matthias were integrated into the story. Also, I know everyone is out here fangirling over Ben Barnes as the Darkling (and he did a great job), but can I just give a shoutout to Kit Young as Jesper Fahey? I mean, I liked Jesper in the books, but Kit made me fall completely in love with him. Here’s hoping he’ll get his demolition expert soon 😉

Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 2

My husband and I are still slowly making our way through Buffy. For me it’s a rewatch (this was my fave show as a teenager, I must have seen every episode like 10-15 times already), but for my husband it’s a first time. We’re really enjoying it! I thought this show really picked up in season 2 and of course the Angel storyline is a classic. Also, season 2 has Oz and Spike, both of whom are my fave characters, so yeah.

May has been super busy because I had a week off, so of course the weeks leading up to it have been extremely stressy weeks because all of the preparation that goes into taking time off (is this a regular occurence for everyone when taking some vacation days at work or is this just me?) So basically, May felt like it flew by but really, not a lot happened…

Things that made me happy this month:

• I had my first week of holiday this year! The weather sucked, but hey holiday, so I’m not complaining.
• I (kind of) started a new workout routine. I say kind of, since it’s only been 2 weeks or so so I’ll need to carry on some more before it really becomes a routine, but… I’m hopeful. After a year of doing nothing workoutwise though, my condition is awful so I’m pretty much starting from the bottom again (I’m still in the cramping up when making a tiny move-phase and also the being out of breath after half a minute of warming up-phase), but at least I’m feeling a little better about moving again and I’m working towards feeling stronger again.

THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

• My niece/godchild will be born!
• Spring weather, I am ready for you.
• Bookish releases: I’m mostly excited for One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston and the new Warped book by Annette Marie!

How was your May? What did you read? What did you listen to and what did you watch? What are you looking forward to in June?

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