Monthly Wrap Up: May 2020

April was such a productive month when it comes to reading. After being in a “fantasy slump” I started reading fantasy books again and kind of went into a “contemporary slump” instead. Fortunately, there’s a book that saved the day before I didn’t pick up a contemporary ever again, so let’s see what I read this month, shall we?

This month I participated in the SeaMAYdenathon by Sometimes Leelyn Reads and Fangirl Pixie Blog, and even if I unfortunately didn’t completed all the prompts, I had such a good time reading the books I choose for this readathon.

For the readathon, I read 8 books, completed 9 prompts and read 2648 pages in total.

1. Crier’s War by Nina Varela (prompts: sapphic romance, #ownvoices)

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

This!!! This is the one that got me out of my fantasy slump. I rediscovered my love for fantasy with Crier’s War. The worldbuilding is good perfectly executed, the characters are realistic and you make an instant connection, plot development couldn’t been better and the author makes the story flow so smoothly, even when adding politics and elements from the past that, far from making the book dense, makes the story even more magical and interesting. I wasn’t sure to pick this one for the readathon but I’m so, so glad I did.

2. The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska (ARC) (prompts: book with a magical kingdom)

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

With so many ARCs on my TBR, I had to squeeze some in this readathon. I was really anticipating this book and let me tell you, now I understand the hype. The two strongest points in this book are the island curse element and the great development of the two main characters, Eva and Lina. You can read my full review here.

3. The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One by Amanda Lovelace (prompts: read a book out loud)

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

My poetry pick for the month was the second book in the “women are some kind of magic” trilogy. If I was going to read a book out loud it definitely had to be a poetry book because no way I was reading a 50-page chapter out loud, lol. As always, I enjoyed Lovelace’s writing style and her way to send her message to the audience, fearless and raw. It didn’t have that 5-star sparkle for me, but still I believe it’s one of her strongest books.

4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (REREAD) (prompts: read a tear jerker)

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Cielo? Rereading a book? You must be wrong… only I’m not.

When I got this book in Spanish I just knew I had to reread it and live the experience again in my native language. This one made me cry like a baby towards the end the first time I read it, so I already knew it’d fit this prompt perfectly. I loved it as much as the first time and found some things I didn’t notice before. Last month I made a post gushing about my love for this book so click here if you want to check it out.

5. Six of Crows (prompts: recommended by a friend)

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Everyone and their moms recommended me Six of Crows. This is stan book twitter’s HUGE favorite, and my expectations were as high as the sky. Sadly, I couldn’t love it as much as the rest. Yes, Six of Crows has a great worldbuilding. Very well-thought and realistic. The development of some of the characters is perfect, like Nina, Matthias and Inej. But I wasn’t expecting the author to develop the worldbuilding first and the characters second. You get pages and pages of how the politics and economics work at Ketterdam, and I’m just like… I don’t care? I’m sad to say I was bored during the first half and it was Nina and Matthias’ relationship that kept me going. However, it improved a lot towards the end and it was left in a cliffhanger, so I’m going to be reading Crooked Kingdom soon.

6. The Falling In Love Montage by Ciara Smyth (ARC) (prompt: summer beach read)

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is a perfect book to read in the summer because it has that kind of vibe. I loved the rom-com references and the way the hard topics were addressed. I have a blog tour stop coming soon for this book so stay tuned for my review!

7. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab (prompt: forever on my TBR)

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Now that I have read this book I feel stupid for not reading it sooner. The worldbuilding and plot of this story is unlike anything I’ve read before, and V.E Schwab did a wonderful job at putting it all together. The characters stole my heart (especially Lila), and I just can’t wait to read the sequel!

1. Last Girls by Demetra Brodsky (ARC)

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

Though the pacing of the book made me not enjoy this book as much, I still think it has a good potential and I’d recommend it for those that like books about sisterly bonds, family secrets and that are interested in the “prepper life”. I made a review of it which you can read here.

2. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

This is the cutest and fluffiest rom-com I’ve read this year. I was so, so happy to finally read a romance book without too much angst and suffering for the characters. With this book you can just sit back, relax and get absorbed by this lovely story about leaving silly doubts behind and just accept your feelings towards the one you love. My little review doesn’t even make this book justice, so I’ll just recommend you to give this a try and shut up already.

3. Dark And Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

This was May’s pick for the Twisted Tales Book Club. This book has three POVs and the chapters alternate between events from 1518 and 2018. Time jumps are always a hit or miss, and sadly it made the reading experience not so enjoyable for me this time. I was very interested about Lala’s chapters from 1518 and Rosella and Emil’s from 2018 were quite good too, but I could get invested in any of the two stories because of the constant changes in the POV. However, my complaints end there –this story has great LGBTQ+ representation, and we also get to know more about gypsy culture. Despite my low rating it’s still a book I’d recommend.

4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

(Also part of the SeMAYdenathon for the dystopian prompt!) This book… while I really thought it was going to be a 5 star read, the third and final part totally disappointed me. However, I really enjoyed the first two parts and getting to know more about Panem and its history was a wonderful experience. I have a spoiler free review of this coming up on June 3rd.

5. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

This is definitely my favorite book of the month. Elizabeth Acevedo made a wonderful job addressing complex family relationships, grief, and sexual assault. The dual POV between Camino and Yahaira was perfectly executed and painted a beautiful full picture of the story, and I love how I can see some of my culture’s traditions on Acevedo’s work. While reading her books I feel acknowledged, represented and seen, and I wouldn’t change that feeling for anything.

Milestones

• The blog reached 300 followers! I also reached 600 followers on Twitter, so I doubled up my follower count on these two platforms!
• I was chosen for a couple of blog tours for the first time! This makes me so excited, and I can’t wait to participate!
• I redesigned my blog, changing colors and logos and putting the categories in place.
• I was approved for two ARCs of books with Latinx rep! This makes me especially happy because it’s so important for me as a Latina to keep reading and promoting books with Latinx representation.
• I started a new section on my blog titled Book Blogger Highlight.

Posts

Since I did 12 posts this month and I don’t want to spend the whole day listing them, I’ll share you my favorite posts I did during the month:

• Top 10 anticipated sequels for 2020
• Discussion: Let people read what they want
• 10 diverse retellings I want to read (+introducing my book club)
• Book Blogger Highlight #1: Beth from BooksNest (+Interview!)

On June I’m very excited to be participating in some blog tours for the first time, as I already mentioned. I will also participate in the Myth-Taker Readathon, which you can learn all about in this video by Ashleigh from booktube. And I’m also going to be working on a big project along some fellow book bloggers and I can’t wait to see the final result (and for you to see it too!)

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That’s all for this post! What were your favorite books in May? Have you read some of the ones mentioned here? Let me know in the comments!