What I Read in May

I read a lot of *okay* books in May, a few good ones, and a few that I thought were terrible. I had a ton of books checked out from the library and was focusing on reading them before they were due instead of leaning into what I *actually* wanted to be reading. You live and you learn though, right?!😉 In June, I’m really going to try to lean into my own reading interests and preferences, versus what that latest hyped books are. I also am going to refocus on my goal of reading books I already own. I LOVE the library, but I also need to stop collecting books and never reading them 🙃

Anyway, here is what I read last month- would love to hear if you read any and what your thoughts are!!

Note: I don’t include the synopsis of each book because IMO, it can get redundant to read, especially if it’s a popular book. But if you want to learn more, I linked each book so you can easily read more about it 😊 If you choose to purchase a book through the affiliate links, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.

She’s Not Sorry: I was so excited to read this new thriller by the author of “Local Woman Missing”. I finished it in 24 hours, so it was definitely a page turner and kept my interest! However, I had to lower my rating because of the ending- there were lots of unanswered questions and also because it required a big suspension of disbelief in several sections. Overall, a fun read though! 3.5/5

The Berry Pickers: I went into this book thinking it was a a thriller, so I ended up a little disappointed, because it’s definitely not. It’s more of a slower paced family drama with an underlying mystery and was much more sad and slower paced than I’d expected. BUT it was really well written, a unique story and had interesting, well developed characters. It explored the nuances of what it means to be a family and is one that I’d like to revisit someday, now knowing what to expect. 4/5 stars

Briefly Perfectly Human: I listened to this memoir about Alua Arthur’s life as a death doula on audio and it definitely gave me a lot to think about. She tells the story of her own life, intertwined with stories about her clients, all while telling the story of how she became a death doula and what exactly it is that a death doula does. I hadn’t heard of a death doula prior to reading this book, but after recently losing my grandma I can absolutely see the need and benefit of the service she provides. I really loved the reminders to live a rich and full life and thought parts were very interesting. But overall it was just okay for me, I personally didn’t end up connecting with her story as much as I’d hoped. 3/5 stars

The Last Love Note: This romance was surprisingly one of my favorites this month. Yes, it was a romance (not my typical fave genre), but it was also so much more than that. It tells the story of Kate, who loses her husband at a young age and how her life unfolds afterwards. While it was very sad in parts, I loved the positive reminders to live life to the fullest, love deeply, take chances, etc. 4/5 stars

The Breakdown: My notes in my journal only say “Note to self- no more BA Paris books” 😆 Not a lot to say here except I don’t remember much about it besides that I didn’t like it. I think I’ve read SO many thrillers that at this point it takes a lot for me to be impressed- which is sad because they used to be my favorite! 2/5 stars

The Perfect Marriage: This book has SO much hype but I hated it (and don’t say that hardly ever!) I predicted the killer really early on but kept reading because I thought it surely couldn’t be that simple…but it was. 1/5 stars

Darling Girls: I love Sally Hepworth’s books- she has such a skill of developing both characters AND the plot, which is hard to find in traditional thrillers (see above). This one was hard to read (major trigger warning for child abuse) BUT it still kept me turning the pages and connecting and feeling for the characters. I heard her speak at an event recently and she said that she hoped that the book would raise awareness towards the foster care system and the unfortunate things that can (and do) happen to children in it. 4/5 stars

Mad Honey: I enjoy Jodi Picoult’s books because they always provide a new perspective and really make you think about what you’d do in a similar situation, this one is no exception! I think this would be a good one for everyone to read, no matter how “open minded” (or not) you think you are. 4/5 stars

Part of Your World: I surprisingly didn’t hate it! It was pretty darn predictable but I enjoyed it enough to want to continue to read the series. 3.5/5 stars

Sociopath: It was interesting to learn about what/who a sociopath is like outside of the stereotypical portrayals you see in the media. However, I found her devious acts to be redundant and didn’t connect to her story- which I guess isn’t surprising, ha. 3/5 stars

Real Americans: Looking back I remember each of the three main characters, but not much of the plot (was there one?) The character development was amazing and I really enjoyed reading the three character’s perspectives (each ~1/3 of the book). The three different sections were really well written but I was just left wishing a little more happened. With just a little more plot it would have been a perfect book (to me). The themes of the book include identity, success, and capitalism. 3.5/5 stars

Kind of a big hodgepodge this month, but I’m looking forward to trusting my intuition and hopefully reading some 5 star books in June! If you’ve read a 5 star book recently, I’d LOVE to hear what it is!