Hi everybody, and welcome to my May wrap up!
My May has been quite busy and hectic, but I still got a fair amount of reading, TV and music in. My reading is still not completely up to my usual levels yet – this month I mostly read the Heartstopper comics and then a few books with mixed results. But I did watch quite some TV! Oh, and that TV influenced my playlists a lot too. So let’s just get into what I read, listened to and watched this month!
Heartstopper Vol 1-4 by Alice Oseman
In May I rediscovered my love for the Heartstopper series when the TV adaptation came out (read why I thought Heartstopper was the most perfect adaptation ever) so naturally, after I finished my rewatch of the TV show, I did a re-read of all 4 volumes. And yep, I still love this wholesome, simple yet beautiful story so, so much.
Rating: 5 stars
The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow (Guild Codex: Unveiled #3) by Annette Marie
This was the most epic installment so far in the Unveiled series. It was a gripping, brutal, hopeful and shocking ride. Get ready for long-awaited truths, shocking revelations, painful discoveries and most of all… the long and excruciating wait until the finale on September 9th!
Rating: 5 stars | Read full review
The Other Half of the Grave (Night Huntress #1.1) by Jeaniene Frost
The Other Half of the Grave is the story of Halfway To The Grave, but told from the POV of Bones instead of Cat. I just re-read Halfway to the Grave in April and immediately dove into The Other Half of the Grave afterwards. Does that mean I basically read the exact same story twice, just told from a different perspective? Yes, it does. Does that mean I regret my decisions? No way, this was amazing! I loved the little nuances we learned this time from seeing things through Bones’ eyes and I’m already looking forward to seeing the events from book 2 through his eyes too.
Rating: 4 stars
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) / It’s Not Summer Without You (Summer #2) by Jenny Han
I was craving a nice YA contemporary and with the TV adaptation of The Summer I Turned Pretty coming in June and given how much I love Jenny Han’s To All The Boys series, I thought her Summer trilogy would be perfect. It wasn’t. I still started book 2 because book 1 ended pretty cliffhangery and I still wanted to try at that point. But I just couldn’t bring myself to start book 3. This series was so FRUSTRATING to me. None of the characters are likeable (well, I did kind of like the moms but that was it) and I could not get into the romance at all (with either love interest). I’m still gonna give the show a chance in hopes they will fix some of the things I didn’t like, but I don’t have high hopes.
Rating: 2 stars
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
This was one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2022, and it did not disappoint! I LOVED every minute of Book Lovers. The banter, the sisterly bond, the book love, the romance, the BANTER! This was a super addictive read and I thought it lived up to the hype completely.
Rating: 4,5 stars | Full review coming up
Top Ten Tuesday
One-Word Reviews For The Last Ten Books I Read
Books With Bookish Characters On My TBR
Books I Was SO EXCITED To Get… But Are Still Standing On My Shelves Unread
Swoony Quotes from Recent Reads
My 4 Types of Comfort Reads: The Books I Reach For Over & Over Again
Can’t Wait Wednesday
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo {Can’t Wait Wednesday}
Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell {Can’t Wait Wednesday}
Quote It Wednesday
Something Different Sunday
Kdrama Review: Business Proposal
This month my playlist has been completely taken over by the soundtracks of two queer teen tv shows: Heartstopper and Young Royals. And of course, also some kpop. (I have no regrets.)
Shura – What’s It Gonna Be?
One of my favorite songs from the Heartstopper soundtrack, this is such a fun catchy song and I also love the video so much! (Thanks so much Dini @ DiniPandaReads for introducing me to the video!) I want this video to become a movie, please and thank you.
Baby Queen – Colours of You (Nick and Charlie Version)
Another Heartstopper song! I love the original version of this song too, but this softer piano version is just a whole other level <3
Omar Rudberg – It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane
PSY ft Suga – That That
Business Proposal
Business Proposal is a kdrama that has recently dominated the Netflix charts and for good reason! I definitely recommend this show if you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted rom-com to escape into for a little bit. If you love tropes (especially fake dating), and a fun balance between hilariously derpy scenes and a swoony romance, this is definitely worth the watch. It’s available on Netflix and only 12 episodes, so it’s great for binge-watching! (Check out my full review here)
One Of Us Is Lying
Though I haven’t tried the book and probably won’t – because I have read some negative reviews and spoilers about the ending and do not like that ending and what it implies about mental health – I still really wanted to try the show. I had heard it did something different with the ending and the trailer just seemed really intriguing. And I honestly LOVED this show – it was intriguing, the characters were well developed and the interactions on point – but then the final episode was just AWFUL. While I did like that they changed the ending from the book ending, I also thought this ending made absolutely no sense.
Young Royals
HI AND WELCOME TO MY BIGGEST OBSESSION OF THE PAST MONTH! After watching and loving Heartstopper in April, I started seeing a lot of social media posts comparing it to Young Royals, a show I hadn’t heard of before. Young Royals is a six-episode Swedish show on Netflix that’s about the Swedish prince getting into some trouble and being shipped off to a boarding school. There, he becomes friends with a working-class choir boy and their friendship quickly turns romantic. Isn’t that premise already amazing? I absolutely ADORED this show and already flew through the 6 episodes in just a few days. There is going to be a second season though (they just wrapped production, so hopefully soon) so the wait will hopefully not be too long. Full review to come later this week because I need to gush some more 🙂
And also…
I started a rewatch of The OC, a show I used to love when it aired years ago. I’m only 8 or so episodes into season one, but I’m loving reliving Seth and Summer’s relationship and also all the drama. Also, I of course started watching the new season of Stranger Things. I’m 3 episodes in so far and whoa this may be the creepiest season yet? But I am loving it a lot so far!
May was a busy month at work, so my apologies if I’ve been a little absent on the blog and late with commenting and blog hopping. My evenings have mostly been spent crashing in front of my TV. I have a week off now and then I expect June to be busy as well, but after that things will hopefully be a bit calmer again for the summer.
Things that made me happy this month:
- I’m having a week off work right now together with my husband and we’re enjoying our vacation time! We’re mostly staying at home and going for a balance of chores and relaxing, so it feels productive and yet chill too 🙂
- I had a quality day with the BFF this month (we went shopping and had sushi).
- I went to a dance performance by my old dance school. It was the first time I saw everyone again after I quit dancing 2,5 years ago and I loved re-connecting. Though I still really miss the people I felt… okay… with not being on stage myself, which confirms I made the right choice to quit. It was super nice though to be able to see a dance show as a spectator instead of a dancer!
THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:
- The first birthday and birthday party of my goddaughter <3
- BTS comeback!
- The new season of The Umbrella Academy and the new show First Kill on Netflix!
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?
I’m sad I haven’t gotten around to reading The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow yet. It’s waiting on my Kindle…
I’m so looking forward to hearing your thoughts on The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow! But reading it later will also make the wait for the finale more bearable so there’s that too 😉
Ahh, a week off to just chill and catch up on things sounds amazing! This season of Stranger Things definitely feels darker and gorier!
It has been amazing! I’m sad it’s almost over, but that’s how it goes 🙂 The new season of Stranger Things is definitely more horror-like than before, but for a scaredy-cat, I’m surprisingly liking it anyway.
Happy June! I’m obsessed with the Heartstopper TV show, so I need to read the books for sure.
Ahh I’ve been so obsessed with Heartstopper too! I’d definitely recommend the books, they’re so much fun (and yet also dealing with important topics too).
Sounds like May was a good month with vacation, etc. I hope June is just as good. I think I’m going to just watch the Han movie rather than read the series.
May has definitely been good overall and I’ve been enjoying my vacation a lot! (sad it’s almost over again but that’s how it goes 🙂 )
I didn’t like the Summer series myself, so I’d definitely recommend the tv series instead, I have a feeling I’ll like that one more!
Great wrap up, Lindsey! Sounds like a very busy but fulfilling month. I loved Heartstopper and I was so excited/happy when What’s It Gonna Be ended up on their soundtrack cos its been one of my fave underrated songs for a long time! 😍 Also, yes, the video is perfect and needs to be made into a movie already!!! I’ve also heard a lot about Young Royals but haven’t watched it… Though I’m guessing it’s worth it!? 😃 I hope you have an awesome June!
Thanks so much! Heartstopper is definitely so amazing and so is the soundtrack! What’s It Gonna Be definitely deserves so much more hype, it’s such a catchy song and the video is so fun!
Ahh, I’ve been OBSESSED with Young Royals this month so I definitely recommend it! I just posted my full review (or gush if I’m honest) today 😉
I hope you enjoy your vacation. 🙂 It looks like you read quite a bit, Lindsey. I understand it not being quite up to your usual standards, though. 🙂
Thanks so much! Haha yeah, I guess it’s still ok, it just doesn’t quite feel like my normal reading pace 🙂
I loved One Of Us Is Lying too, and NEED S2! But yeah… that ending!
I’m super curious about season 2 too! Is it already confirmed there will be a second season? I didn’t like the ending, but I’d still love a second season 😀
I am obsessed with Heartstopper 🤣🤣🤣🤣
OMG, same! 😀 It’s so wholesome and feel-good and amazing <3
I’m eagerly awaiting Book Lovers.
I loved it, hope you will too!
I read the first two Heartstopper books. I really need to read the last two, and watch the show. It sounds fantastic. And now I need to watch Young Royals too.
Lauren @ http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Heartstopper is AMAZING! I definitely recommend the graphic novels, AND the show 🙂 And yes, Young Royals definitely too! I just posted my full review today.