What I Read in May
This post contains affiliate links that help support this indie author. You can learn more here.
I love May, for a variety of reasons, but I think most come back to the end of school and the beginning of summer vacation. As long as I can remember, I’ve hated the cold. With my thyroid disease, I’m constantly cold, so when summer finally rolls around, it feels nice to feel something else. I love the feeling of the sunshine on my bare feet while I’m on the patio or the chlorine in my hair when I go to the pool for the first time in the summer (which I did last week) or the sun setting later and later into the night, giving me an excuse to sit outside during the sunsets.
As summer sneaks in, I find myself leaning into my creativity more. I read more in May. I got back up to four books a month and I just love reading. I still remember being a kid learning how to read and once I learned, not much has stopped me since.
Being an adult sometimes does, but that’s besides the point.
May started off with me finally finishing The Windsor Knot, which I reviewed in my April recap. I officially finished it on May 1st, though, so I’ll give it a quick mention.
1.A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
The first full book I read in May was A Stranger in the House. I love everything Shari Lapena writes, and this was no exception. I’m pretty sure this was her first book, and it tells the story of a happily married couple. Well, they were until a car crash leads to a fury of lies being uncovered. I’m not married, but I love these domestic thrillers. Lapena is amazing at these, and A Stranger in the House was the last book I had left to read from her, so now I just have to wait for her next book to come out. If you love thrillers, you cannot go wrong with Shari Lapena.
2. The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmesby Elissa R Sloan
I followed this up with The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes, which is a long book but a good one. I will say, it does cover some heavy topics like suicide and rape, along with alcohol abuse, so be aware when picking this book up – it’s heavy (both literally and emotionally). This book is split in four POVs with two timelines, and usually that would deter me, but it works for this book. The story is about four girls who form a girlband (I kept thinking of it like the Spice Girls), their rise, and how they all fell apart, leading to Cassidy’s death. A heavy book, but it was well written.
3. Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
After some heavy reads, I made a pivot to some romance as a little cleanser. I went with Spoiler Alert as my next read, and I did not anticipate it to hit me so hard in the feelings. The romantic female lead, April, is plus sized and I think the book does a great job tackling questions and conversations fat people get on a regular basis (at least some that I get as a fat person), like suggestions to eat salads (I do eat salads, they aren’t the magical pill). I think April did a great job of setting boundaries with her family about how those were not things to discuss. I just wish I could be brave enough to put up those boundaries with my family, because those conversations can really mess with me. April is a literary hero I didn’t know I needed.
4. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The last full book I read in May was People We Meet on Vacation. This is the second book I’ve read by Emily Henry, after reading her first book, Beach Read, last August when I took time off to visit my parents. So I started this second one in anticipation of going to visit my parents this past weekend. I read this book in about two days, between the pool, the nail salon and my bed. I enjoyed this one more than Beach Read and I’m definitely looking forward to her next book!
I didn’t really start a new book after finishing that, since my boyfriend came with me to visit my parents, but I have plenty to start this week.
What have you read this past month?
