May Wrap-Up.

Well I set myself a smaller goal this month, and will do so next month too as the wedding is really taking up most of my time now. Of the six reads I set myself, I actually managed three though which I'm pretty proud of!

1. 'The Yellow Wall-Paper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It really took me by surprise how much I enjoyed this feminist classic set of short stories. There were three in this 'little black classic' and each was very different but cleverly written with a great plot. I thoroughly recommend to anyone who hasn't stumbled across Perkins Gilman yet! 5/5 Stars.
2. 'The Astonishing Colour Of After' by Emily X.R. Pan. This is a book I had really looked forward to reading, and the writing was as beautiful as I'd heard it was. I liked the plot, the huge exposure to the culture of Taiwan and the magical realism. I think the characters could have used some work, especially MC Leigh, but I'm impressed that this is Pan's debut. 4/5 Stars.
3. 'The Valley Of Fear' by Arthur Conan Doyle. It has definitely been a while since I read a Sherlock Holmes book and I liked dipping into this one. It had a great mystery to solve, an interesting backstory and, as usual, fantastic banter between Holmes and Watson. I wish that Moriarty had been a little more involved and the ending hadn't been so abrupt though. 4/5 Stars.

This month I read three books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total sixteen.

- The Yellow Wall-Paper

- The Astonishing Colour Of After

- The Valley Of Fear

This month I read zero books for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total three.

This month I read zero books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total three.

This month I read one book for the Diversity Reading Challenge, making my yearly total twelve.

- The Astonishing Colour Of After *Mini Challenge: (East Asian/Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander)*

Here is the update for Pretty Deadly Blog's Bookish Bingo card.

Warm Climate: And The Mountains Echoed; Khaled Hosseini

Stand-Alone: The Astonishing Colour Of After; Emily X.R. Pan

Large Cast Of Characters: Crooked Kingdom; Leigh Bardugo

Spring Release: The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying; Marie Kondo

Three Word Title: Fierce Fragile Hearts; Sara Barnard

Freebie: -

Novella: The Mirror & The Maze; Renée Ahdieh

Epistolary: The Yellow Wall-Paper; Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Yellow Cover: Rubyfruit Jungle; Rita Mae Brown

A Book I Own: Everless; Sara Holland

School Setting: Myth To The Night; Cora Choi

Mystery Thriller: The Valley Of Fear; Arthur Conan Doyle

Planned Reads for May.

I am inclined to put a little bit less pressure on myself for the next couple of months reading-wise, as the wedding is coming up fast and I hate feeling as if I'm constantly playing catch-up. I'm setting myself a target of six reads this month, though I doubt I'll even do that!

'Enchantée' by Gita Trelease is probably one of my most anticipated 2019 releases! It's a bit disappointing that I haven't finished yet but I have high hopes for doing so in the next couple of months, as I have actually started it now! I'm liking what I've read so far, though the size of the book is a little intimidating!

I've been eyeing up 'The Astonishing Colour Of After' by Emily X.R. Pan for a while, as the premise and the cover are absolutely stunning! It not only deals with a lot of themes, it's apparently a contemporary with a little bit of magical realism/fantasy thrown in for good measure and is set in Taiwan!

Speaking of books set in a totally different culture, I love the idea of Julie Kagawa's 'Shadow Of The Fox' Japanese-inspired fantasy! It's had kind of mixed reviews but the cover is stunning and I really want to read something by this author.

I really fancy reading some shorter stories, and this 'Little Black Classics' collection dubbed as feminist stories has really peaked my interest. 'The Yellow-Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman contains three short stories which I'm excited to read!

There's not much to say about 'Reign Of The Fallen' by Sarah Glenn Marsh than I've said in past Planned Reads posts. I want to read it so badly and I hope that I can get to it soon!

It has been a while since I've read any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes' stories, and 'The Valley Of Fear' is up next! I hope it's as good as 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles, which I enjoyed immensely!

May Wrap-Up.

Ouch! What a horrible reading month I've had! I only managed three reads altogether, which is probably the worst I've ever done in a month. I had a fair bit of time off this month too which makes it even more disappointing!

1. 'The Power' by Naomi Alderman. I borrowed this read as a couple of friends of mine were also reading it, and I've heard such mixed reviews about it! Some people loved it, and some really didn't. For me, it didn't really blow me away or fill me with rage. It was well-written and filled with a lot of subtle, clever parallels with reality. I never really felt that it had much of a plot though, and there was a lot of build with very little climax. 3.5/5 Stars.
2. 'The Quick & Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns' by Archie Bongiovanni & Tristan Jimerson. This was a good little guide to something that a lot of people find inexplicably confusing. Pronouns. I have misgendered people in the past and felt absolutely terrible about it, so it's definitely necessary for books like this to exist. I liked the dynamic between Archie and Tristan too, though I think it was a little repetitive at times. 3.5/5 Stars.
3. 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles' by Arthur Conan Doyle. I loved this next installment in the Sherlock Holmes series because not only was it mystery, but there were a few supernatural elements to make things interesting! In fact, I think this was my favourite story so far! Yes, I already sort of knew what was going to happen, but it was nice to see Watson play a more pivotal role in the story that wasn't observing Holmes. 4/5 Stars.

This month I read two books for the Beat The Backlist Challenge, making my yearly total so far fifteen.

- The Power

- The Hound Of The Baskervilles

This month I read zero books for the Finishing The Series Challenge, making my yearly total so far zero.

I read one books for the New Release Challenge, making my yearly total so far five.

- The Quick & Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns

I read one book for the Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge, making my yearly total so far eleven.

- The Quick & Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns

Here is the end result for Pretty Deadly Blog's Bookish Bingo card.

Part Of A Series: The Novice; Taran Matharu

Made Into A Movie: The Hound Of The Baskervilles; Arthur Conan Doyle

Spring Release: Children Of Blood & Bone; Tomi Adeyemi

New To Me Author: Milk & Honey; Rupi Kaur

Freebie: --

Intersectional Diversity: bone; Yrsa Daley-Ward

Animal On Cover: Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them; J.K. Rowling

Epistolary: The Power; Naomi Alderman

Family: Spectacle; Megan Rose Gedris

LGBT+: They Both Die At The End; Adam Silvera

Multi POV: The Quick & Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns

Second Chance: The Magician's Nephew; C.S. Lewis

Planned Reads For May.

May is the month of my birthday and, as a result, I always save books that I'm super excited to read for it! Yay!

I'm currently reading Naomi Alderman's 'The Power' and I have to say, a lot of controversy surrounds this book. Some hail it as being super feminist while others claim it to be a step backwards? I'm really interested to see what my own thoughts will be for this one.

It's time to get round to the final book in the Malediction Trilogy, 'Warrior Witch' by Danielle L. Jensen. I have waited way too long to finish this series and it's time I did so! Especially as I enjoyed the books so far so much!

It's time for some more reading from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes', this time I'm reading 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles'! This is probably the most famous of the Sherlock Holmes stories and I'm looking forward to finding out why, especially as I've enjoyed the other Sherlock Holmes stories so much!

I'm still looking forward to this 'The Belles' by Dhonielle Clayton! I know it doesn't seem like it because I haven't got round to it in the last couple of months but this is one of my most anticipated reads of the year! That cover is playing a big part in that.

Another book that I've been dying to get round to is Leigh Bardugo's 'Wonder Woman: Warbringer'! That's actually pretty surprising considering the fact that I don't usually like to read comic book retellings, so I'm really hoping that this is done well because I adored the Wonder Woman film!

'The Astonishing Colour Of After' by Emily X.R. Pan is the last one I'm bringing over from last month's TBR pile! I can't resist the cover, or the lure of reading about a totally new culture! I'm so excited about this book!

It's time. I'm having serious withdrawal symptoms from George R.R. Martin's world and I really want to read 'A Dance With Dragons: Dreams & Dust' which is the next in the series that I haven't read yet! I've put this off for long enough!

This book is so stunning and I adored the predecessor to Erin Bowman's 'Retribution Rails' so much that I need to read this ASAP! I can't wait to get stuck into another YA wild west adventure with badass characters and (hopefully) a sizzling romance.

May Wrap-Up.

This month has been much better for me than it was before! I actually read five books! One of them wasn't on my intended TBR, but I'm still very pleased with my progress and can't wait to share my reads with you!

1. 'A Darker Shade Of Magic' by V.E. Schwab. I loved this book. I'd heard a lot about it from various book bloggers in my circle that love YA Fantasy, and while I took a long time getting round to it I found it to be well worth the wait. Firstly, the characterisation was great. I loved Kell and Lila, particularly as their relationship was friendship orientated and held no romantic interest. The best bit of this book was the world-building though. It took a very simple premise and made it into something really cool - parallel universes that didn't feel in the least bit sci-fi! 5/5 Stars.
2. 'Dear Ijeawele, Or A Feminist Manifesto In Fifteen Suggestions' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I read this on the train home because I wanted a really short read for the half hour journey, and was in the mood for some non-fiction! Adichie is probably one of my favourite feminists - I have watched her talking online about so many different topics but it always relates back to feminism. I've also read and loved 'We Should All Be Feminists' and think it's vital reading if you're interested in the topic. This book felt more personal as it was addressed to a friend and not a general audience, but still rung true and held some great suggestions. 4.5/5 Stars.
3. 'Noteworthy' by Riley Redgate. Another great read from this month, May was full of them! You may all be aware that Contemporary YA is not my usual thing. This year I've been really trying to read more of the genre to get more of an understanding of it at it's best and I've found some awesome books as a result. This was one of them. The book was almost flawless - oodles of diversity, great characters, engaging plot and a setting that sent me flying back to my own education. I deep, reflective commentary on American society that Redgate snuck in there too. Great stuff! 5/5 Stars.
4. 'The Trap' by Alan Gibbons. While this was my most disappointing read of May, it was by no means the worst book I've ever read. It actually exceeded my expectations because I was deeply worried that it's controversial subject would promote a message I didn't agree with. However, as it turned out, it did the exact opposite. Two of the three POVs were really interesting and gave such insight into Muslim life and how ISIS operates, while one was extremely boring and almost made parts of it unreadable. 2.5/5 Stars.
5. 'The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes' from 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I felt that it was about time I got to another collection of short stories from the famous author of everyone's favourite detecting duo. I don't think stories revolving around Sherlock Holmes will ever get old for me. I love Holmes' sarcastic nature and his methods of deduction are fascinating to watch in action. These stories introduced both Mycroft and Moriarty, two beloved characters from the series, and they were everything I imagined they would be. 5/5 Stars.

Now it's time to see how I did with my challenges this month!

This month I have read two books for the Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to thirteen. My reads were:

- Noteworthy

- The Trap

This month I have read two books for the 2017 New Releases Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to four. My reads were:

- Dear Ijeawele, Or A Feminist Manifesto In Fifteen Suggestions

- Noteworthy

This month I have read one book for the LGBTQIA Challenge, bringing my yearly total to six. My reads were:

- Noteworthy

This month I have read two books for the Diverse Reads Challenge, bringing my yearly total to seventeen. My reads were:

- Noteworthy

- The Trap

Next up, here's how my Bookish Bingo card ended up for the final month of the challenge!

Muslim Main Character: The Trap; Alan Gibbons

Paranormal: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here; Patrick Ness

Just Words On Cover: Not If I See You First; Eric Lindstrom

Sisters: Three Dark Crowns; Kendare Blake

Magic: Hidden Huntress; Danielle L. Jensen

Non Fiction: Dear Ijeawele, Or A Feminist Manifesto In Fifteen...; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Series Finale: Homecoming; Claire Legrand

Thriller: Blood For Blood; Ryan Graudin

Freebie: --

PoC On Cover: Radio Silence; Alice Oseman

Multi POV: A Darker Shade Of Magic; V.E. Schwab

LGBT+ Main Character: Fairy Tales For Modern Queers; Emily Reed

Adapted To TV/Movie: The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes; Arthur Conan Doyle

2017 Debut: Noteworthy; Riley Redgate

Retelling: Ash; Malinda Lo

Scary: The Loney; Andrew Michael Hurley

Planned Reads For May.

Boy am I behind! I've been in such a reading slump as of late it's no wonder, but now I'm starting to feel better about my reads so hopefully I can do a spot of catching up! I've got some great reads lined up for this month, some borrowed from last month's TBR.

1. 'A Darker Shade Of Magic' by V.E. Schwab. I've already started this book and I am in love with it. At least so far. I've seen so many great things about Schwab's books and I'm finally reading them, so I can't wait to see how I get on with them!
2. 'Noteworthy' by Riley Redgate. I loved 'Seven Ways We Lie' by Riley Redgate before, her debut read. This one looks like it's going to be great and having done a Performing Arts degree, right up my street! I have no doubt that this is going to be an awesome read!

1. 'The Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes' by Arthur Conan Doyle. Elementary my dear Watson! It has been far too long since I've sat down with a good ol' Sherlock Holmes story and I really would like to finish this monster of a book by the end of the year if I can, so it's time to read some more adventures! I've really enjoyed them so far, so let's hope for another great read!
2. 'The Trap' by Alan Gibbons. I'll be honest, I'm getting warning signs from this book and I the more I think about it, the more I'm sure it was released under a different name before and received a lot of bad rep. But I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt because I want this to be a good read so badly!
3. 'A List Of Cages' by Robin Roe. I will read this book! I was supposed to get to it last month but thanks to my terrible slump I didn't manage it. I really like the synopsis though and it focuses on a character with ADHD which I've never read before so it should be interesting!
4. 'Green Rider' by Kristen Britain. This gorgeous cover keeps giving me the eye so it's about time I gave it some love and read this Fantasy novel that has been sat on my shelf for a really long time! I know that other books in the series are out too so I'm hoping this will be enjoyable enough for me to continue!
5. 'Ruby Slippers' by Keir Alexander. This book is probably very cross with me, because I won it as a Goodreads First Read so long ago and never got to it. It's not my usual thing but I think the synopsis is interesting and I like the links to 'The Wizard Of Oz' so I'm willing to give it a try.
6. 'Traitor To The Throne' by Alwyn Hamilton. I actually received this book around the time that I read the first, which I liked a lot. Great cowboy inferences and I'm excited by the Scheherazade style story so I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.

May Wrap-Up.

This reading month didn't end up being as successful as previous ones this year, but it's easy to see why! I've been so busy what with my birthday, and preparing to go on holiday etc. I've achieved five of my seven planned reads, and I haven't enjoyed them all as much as I'd hoped though there have been a couple of great ones. I'm glad I got through them!

1. 'A Court Of Thorns & Roses'; Sarah J. Maas. This was such a great read that I really enjoyed. Good characters, interesting world-building and such potential! I felt like Maas held back a little with the details, and I'm not sure how I feel about Tamlin, Feyre's love interest. Characters such as Lucien & Rhysand however I loved, and I can't wait to get to 'A Court Of Mist & Fury'. 3.5/5 Stars.
2. 'Thief With No Shadow'; Emily Gee. This was a charming, strangely sweet little story despite some of the weirder sexual connotations it had throughout. I did enjoy it, particularly the glimpses of a nicely thought out world that Gee has built. The problem is, that Gee didn't really delve deep. Most of the plot was in a house, waiting for someone to wake up and watching Melke do the washing or Bastian go to the market. I would have liked a little more exploration if I'm honest. 3/5 Stars.
3. 'Allegiant'; Veronica Roth. This was the big one for this month, purely because I've been so apprehensive about reading it. My sister warned me that it would disappoint, and she was right. It felt so different from book one, which I adored: Tris & Four quickly became my least favourite characters, the others whizzing out of my memory completely and remaining neutral. The ending had no emotional impact on me whatsoever and only served to highlight that really, nothing had been resolved and there were still a ton of problems. 2.5/5 Stars.
4. 'Pantomime'; Laura Lam. This was definitely my favourite read of the month, and it completely blew away my uncertainty about how much I'd enjoy it. The world-building was magical and enchanting, Lam's writing has a completely bewitching quality that I adored, and her characters were complex and had real personality. The Intersex MC was a real draw for me too, as it explored the androgynous character of Gene/Micah well and despite a slightly weak ending, I am very excited about this series! 5/5 Stars.
5. 'World After'; Susan Ee. I've been wanting to read the second book of this series for ages, I loved 'Angelfall' so much! There were some great moments in this one, mostly in the form of development. I got to see more of Penryn's family dynamic as well as some world-building. The pacing was just as good as book one too but in terms of plot development, there wasn't an awful lot. The lack of Raffe really marred my experience too, so I had to mark it down. 3/5 Stars.

This month I have read five books for Pretty Deadly Review's Backlist Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to twenty. This month's reads were:

- 'A Court Of Thorns & Roses' by Sarah J. Maas

- 'Thief With No Shadow' by Emily Gee

- 'Allegiant' by Veronica Roth
- 'Pantomime' by Laura Lam
- 'World After' by Susan Ee

This month I have read zero books for Falling For YA's Netgalley & Edelweiss Challenge bringing my yearly total so far to eight. 

This month I have gained fourteen points for Novel Heartbeat and Writer Grrl Reads' Prequel & Sequel Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to thirty eight. This month's points were as thus:

- +10 for 'Allegiant' by Veronica Roth

- +2 for 'Allegiant' by Veronica Roth
- +2 for 'World After' by Susan Ee

This month I have read zero books for [un]Conventional Reviews' New Releases Challenge, bringing my yearly total so far to six.

This month I have read one book for Daily Prophecy's Retelling Challenge, bringing my yearly total to five. This month's reads were:

- 'A Court Of Thorns & Roses' by Sarah J. Maas

And here is my completed Bookish Bingo Card plus Story Sprites board update!

Second Chance: The Invasion Of The Tearling; Erika Johansen.

Non-Binary MC: Pantomime; Laura Lam.

March, April, May Release: The Selection; Kiera Cass.

Criminals: Thief With No Shadow; Emily Gee.

Metallic Lettering: Truthwitch; Susan Dennard.

Book Towards Another Challenge: Golden Son; Pierce Brown.

Green Cover: Thorn; Intisar Khanani.

Freebie: Siege & Storm; Leigh Bardugo.

Retelling: Beauty's Beast; Amanda Ashley.

Set In More Than One Country: The Passenger; Alexandra Bracken.

Characters Are Not Human: World After; Susan Ee.

Rec'd By More Than One Friend: Allegiant; Veronica Roth.

Flowers On Cover: A Court Of Thorns & Roses; Sarah J. Maas.

MC Shares Your 1st Initial: Seven Ways We Lie; Riley Redgate.

Written Under A Pen Name: The Tropic Of Serpents; Marie Brennan.

Number In The Title: The Sign Of The Four; Arthur Conan Doyle.

Non-Fiction: Reasons To Stay Alive; Matt Haig.

Stand-Alone: Read Me Like A Book; Liz Kessler.

Alternative History: The Passenger; Alexandra Bracken.

Non-Fiction Biography: Reasons To Stay Alive; Matt Haig.

Book With Virtual Reality: Allegiant; Veronica Roth.

Book With A Sarcastic Character: The Sign Of The Four; Arthur Conan Doyle.

Female Role Model: Thorn; Intisar Khanani.

Epic Battle Scene In Book: Truthwitch; Susan Dennard.

Story With A Strong Family Bond: Thief With No Shadow; Emily Gee.

Competition Among Characters: The Selection; Kiera Cass.

Setting - Dystopian: World After; Susan Ee.

Theme - Revenge: Beauty's Beast; Amanda Ashley.

Character With Undecided/Unknown Sexuality: Pantomime; Laura Lam.

Tight Male/Male Friendship: A Court Of Thorns & Roses; Sarah J. Maas.