My Very Late May Wrap-Up: Finale, Again but Better and More!

So... I thought May was going to be an amazing reading month. So many of my most anticipated books of the year came out in May, and I thought I would have no problem reading a ton of books. Well, that's not what ended up happening. I ended up only reading 7 books, and only 2 of them were anticipated new releases :/. Granted, I was finishing up school for the first half of May, and that was when my reading was the slowest, when I only read 2 books.

The first book I read was one of my most anticipated books of the year, Finale by Stephanie Garber, which is the conclusion to the Caraval trilogy. This book came out May 7th, and I finished it by May 9th (though it is unfortunate that I didn't finish a book during the first week of May). I loved this book and absolutely devoured it. I'm not going to get into the plot of the book because, you know, spoilers, but know that we get dual perspectives in this one (the previous two books have been from one perspective), we meet so many new characters, and the world is expanded greatly. My favorite thing about this series is the aesthetic, which feels very Baz Luhrmann/Moulin Rouge!, as well as the prose. It is Laini Taylor-gorgeous. I love this series with my whole heart and I highly recommend it! Rating: A+.

Next, I read an ARC of Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, which is now already out. I really liked Margaret's first novel, An Enchantment of Ravens, but I LOVED this one. The world-building is incredible, the characters are so interesting and complex, and the magic system is very unique. In this world, people (sorcerers) get their magic by giving away a portion of their lives to highborn demons. If you like Fantasy, if you just love books (this book is really about magical libraries) then you'll love Sorcery of Thorns! Rating: A.

I read another ARC, The Beholder by Anna Bright. I was very much looking forward to this book, as it sounds like Isabella candy; the marketing claims that it is perfect for fans of Caraval and The Selection, and Anna herself describes the book as Once Upon a Time meets The Bachelorette. I mean, sign me the f*** up! Unfortunately, I was a bit let down by the book. It follows a girl named Selah who is the future leader of a small country, and has to go on a voyage to a bunch of different countries to find a husband. This first book chronicles the first two stops, one in England and the other in a country called Norge (obviously inspired by Norway). I thought that the way the book takes inspiration from a ton of different myths and fairy tales was super cool; each of Selah's suitors is inspired by a different mythical figure (think King Arthur and Thor). However, the world made absolutely no sense in so many ways! And it wasn't that the author was trying to be vague, it was that the world was poorly executed/developed/explained. A few examples. One, Homer (the same Homer who wrote The Odyssey) is a prominent side character in the book. He talks about how he met Odysseus and Penelope and blah blah blah. And yet, there are radios in this world, and The Odyssey was written sometime during the 8th century BC. Another thing is that Norje, Selah's second stop, is clearly supposed to be Norway. But England is England and New York is New York, so it really didn't make much sense that Norje wasn't called Norway. The world-building was just a mess. And it had some pacing issues. That being said, it was still enjoyable! It was very unique, and I really did love the second half of the book. Rating: B/B-.

I also read Again, but Better by Christine Riccio! I loved this! I want to start off by saying that this book isn't for everyone. In order to get the most out of this book, you really have to either have had a similar experience or be going through something somewhat similar to what the main character is going through! And that's OK, because those are the people Christine wrote this book for! So, this book isn't for everyone, but it was definitely for me. I picked it up at a point in my life where I just connected to the story and the main character, Shane, so much! Plus, I loved all the pop culture references! I will admit that the writing is kind of mediocre, and there are a lot of grammatical errors (and this was in the finished copy), which is why it's not getting a full 5 stars. But if you're in college, or about to go to college, I definitely recommend picking up this book! Rating: A-.

I read yet another ARC! I read Deadly Little Scandals, which is the conclusion (?) to the Debutantes series. I really loved the first book, Little White Lies, and this one was no different. Little White Lies was 80% Gilmore Girls and 20% Pretty Little Liars, but I felt like Deadly Little Scandals was exactly the opposite. I absolutely flew through it and had so much fun with it! My favorite thing about Little White Lies was the female friendships; you would think, with rich southern belles, there would be a lot of backstabbing and bullying towards Sawyer, the main character who didn't grow up in that world, but that wasn't the case, and I really loved the strong, loyal friendships that Sawyer developed with her fellow debutantes. The only thing I will say about Deadly Little Scandals is that the ending was a little ridiculous. Not the reveal itself, but the aftermath of the reveal. Trying to be as vague as possible, but basically, I felt like after a certain person did what they did, it was super unrealistic to going back to your life with that same person as if nothing had ever happened. That's all I'm going to say, but I gave this book a very strong A-/B+.

I also reread The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg, this time as a final copy with all the finished artwork and whatnot. I participated in the blog tour for this title, so you can check out my review and interview that I did with Jess here! Rating: A+

The last book I read in May was definitely the biggest surprise, and that was Verity by Colleen Hoover. I LOVED this book. I literally read it in a few hours, I just couldn't put it down. I will say, this book is f***ed up! Big time. It is definitely R-rated. Verity blew my mind, and the ending was bonkers! I think I am in the minority, and I might actually believe __________, but I don't know! If you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about. If not, go and read it! This is the perfect book to bring on a long plane ride (just make sure it's not the only book you bring!).

That is my May wrap-up! With the exception of the Caraval series, if I could only recommend one book from my May wrap-up that you pick up, it would definitely be Verity, if you can handle crazy s***, that is. And although I didn't read as much as I would have liked to, I did find a handful of all-time new favorites! Quality over quantity, right?

XOXO,

Isabella