May 2020 | Reading Wrap Up

Well, May was an interesting month for me. After April and the hype of the O.W.L.s I was still really motivated to read all the things but halfway through the month I started to fall into a bit of a reading slump. I think reading much more than usual at once and pushing myself too hard to keep reading, with the fact that I was marathoning a series and maybe wanted something different all added up and a slump was nearly inevitable. I'm thankful for the fact that it seems like it's on control and wasn't really a slump, and I did manage to read quite a bit this month regardless. So let's get onto the books!

After reading the first book of The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot in April I decided to marathon all the other books, and in May I got through five of them.

1) Princess in the Spotlight (Book 2 in the Princess Diaries series)

2) Princess in Love (Book 3 in the Princess Diaries series)

3) Princess in Waiting (Book 4 in the Princess Diaries series)

4) Princess in Pink (Book 5 in the Princess Diaries series)

5) Princess in Training (Book 6 in the Princess Diaries series)

I decided to talk about all of them at once because I honestly don't have very specific thoughts for each of the books. Books 4 and 5 were a bit slower and repetitive for me but overall I really enjoy this series. It is my first time reading them and, although I still believe that if I'd read these when I was a bit younger I would've enjoyed them a lot more, they are very fun, lighthearted and fast reads that always bring a smile to my face. I still stand that they're very current regardless of being over a decade old and I do recommend them to anyone who perhaps is starting out with reading and is in their teenage years or to anyone (like me) who wants the nostalgia factor. All between 3.5 and 4/5 ⭐️

6) The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

So, unless you've been living under a rock, you may know that a new instalment in The Hunger Games series, following the one and only President Snow, just came out and everyone on bookish social media decided to reread this series in preparation. And here's where I tell you a secret: I had never read the entire series. I read book one about eight years ago, ADORED it and never carried on. I had lost all faith of ever reading these so much so that I unhauled my box set. Which meant that, when the buzz got to me, I started listening to the audiobooks 😂. I had completely forgotten how amazing and gripping this book is. Tatiana Maslany also did an INCREDIBLE job narration wise and I loved this. Honestly have no idea how I managed to not carry on with this series. 5/5 ⭐️ (I was also incredibly surprised at how similar the movies are to the original story, want to rewatch them after I finish reading them)

7) Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins

Naturally, I finally remedied the actions of my 14 year old self and carried on with this series right away, and all my thoughts of the first one stand. This is such a good series, the plot and characters are amazing (Finnick is my one true love ❤️) and I was shocked that the movies are really similar (although I expect Mockingjay not to be like that). I must also say, with only the movies I never really shipped Peeta and Katniss (yes, I was team Gale until it just didn't make sense anymore) but reading this I am TRASH for this couple. All the feels, all the love, it makes just so much sense to have them together I think the only reason why I was team Gale in the first place was Liam Hemsworth. 5/5 ⭐️

8) The Angel of the Crows, Katherine Addison

And the last book I read this month was I kindly got an eARC of from NetGalley . I recently uploaded a review of this with all my thoughts (which you can read here) but this essentially I thought this was a really entertaining, fun read. I wish we'd gotten a bit more from the story and the world since I thought it was so fascinating (Sherlock Holmes meets fantasy meets Jack the Ripper – yes please!). This comes out on June 23rd. 3.5/5 ⭐️

And those were all the books I read this month! May was a weird, complicated month so let's hope June is a bit brighter on the whole.

Love,