Always With a Book

Month in Review: May 2023

 

How is it June? May seemed to fly by! Fortunately, the weather has turned warm enough that I’ve had some quality outdoor reading days and I just love that. I had a pretty good reading month – lots of fantastic books, some that were quite large in length but that never deters me as long as I am invested in the story. I also participated in a review-a-thon, which allowed me to focus on getting reviews done and that really helped me to get a bit caught up with those. I really need to do that more often!

 

READING STATS:

  • Read this month: 23
  • Year to date: 118

 

  1. Fractured — Karin Slaughter (audio book)
  2. Homecoming — Kate Morton
  3. I Will Find You — Harlan Coben
  4. Tell Us No Secrets — Sienna Sterling (audio book)
  5. The Hook — Victoria Helen Stone (audio book)
  6. The Half of It — Juliette Fay
  7. The Revenge List — Hannah Mary McKinnon
  8. Sign Here — Claudia Lux (audio book)
  9. Playing It Safe — Ashley Weaver
  10. Undone — Karin Slaughter (audio book)
  11. Out of the Ashes — Kara Thomas (audio book)
  12. The Chateau — Jaclyn Goldis (audio book)
  13. Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt — Lucinda Riley, Harry Whittaker
  14. Identity — Nora Roberts (audio book)
  15. The Drowning Woman — Robyn Harding (audio book)
  16. The Last Word — Taylor Adams
  17. Darkness Calls — Michael Katz Krefeld
  18. The Hollow — Agatha Christie
  19. Drowning — T.J. Newman (audio book)
  20. The Good Doctor — Jessica Payne (e-book)
  21. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women — Lisa See (audio book)
  22. Banyan Moon — Thao Thai (audio book)
  23. Love Betrayal Murder — Adam Mitzner (audio book)

 

MY TOP 5 OF MARCH: 

***I saw this on a friend’s blog and really liked it, so I’m adding it to my monthly wrap-ups.

  1. Favorite book(s) of May – these books are the ones I absolutely loved and will be recommending to everyone. They will be staying on my shelf and might even be rereads at some point in the future.
    • Homecoming
    • The Chateau
    • Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt
    • Drowning
    • Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
  2. Biggest Surprise of May: How much I enjoyed Sign Here. It was such a quirky book, and the humor was dark, but I was totally into it.
  3. Biggest Disappointment of May: I thought I would like The Last Word more than I did, especially after hearing so many of my friends raving about it. I still liked it, but I didn’t love it as much as I loved No Exit.
  4. Favorite Part of Month – Being in conversation with Kara Thomas for the launch of her debut thriller, Out of the Ashes. It was such a fun night and I was thrilled that a few of my book friends attended the event!
  5. 5 Books I’m most looking forward to reading next month:
    • All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby – I have become a huge Cosby fan since reading Blacktop Wasteland. He writes dark, gritty crime fiction, but with heart. Out 6/6
    • The Woman Inside by M.T. Edvardsson – I loved this author’s last book, A Nearly Normal Family, and have been waiting for his next book. This new Nordic crime thriller sounds right up my alley.  Out 6/13
    • A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor – This is the next installment in the Maggie D’Arcy series and it’s one of my favorite series! Out 6/20
    • Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie – I am a big fan of Catherine McKenzie’s thrillers and this one sounds so good – a story about trauma and revenge, yes please! Out 6/27
    • Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez – I loved Heather Chavez’s debut novel No Bad Deed and have her 2nd book, Blood Will Tell on my tbr. I’m so excited to have this new one in my hand. Out 6/27

 

So tell me, what was your favorite read of the month? What are you looking forward to reading in May?

 

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