May 2026
I don’t always feel like writing a full review for everything. I was inspired by Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit posts and decided to do something similar as a way to briefly discuss the books I read in a month but don’t write full reviews for.
My reading in May really picked up! After a slow April, I finished 12 books in May! One was a re-read, one has been reviewed on the blog, and another has a review scheduled to be posted before the end of the month:
My re-read was Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan, which I wanted to read again ahead of the sequel. My original review is here. I rated it 4 stars the first time I read it, but on a second read, the story and the characters really sunk their claws into me, and I must bump this up to a 5 star read!
I have now read the sequel, All Hail Chaos, and reviewed it here. Spoiler: I loved it!
The other May read that I have reviewed is The Man by Laura Sims – that review will be published next week. Spoiler #2: I thought this was excellent.
Here are my thoughts on the rest of my May reads:
Strange Pictures, Uketsu (purchased) – 3⭐
This was a quick, neat read and I think I enjoyed it more than Strange Houses. This was a collection of seemingly-unrelated drawings that do come together to tell one story in the end, and it was fun trying to piece it together.
Peking Duck and Cover, Vivien Chien (purchased) – 3⭐
I always enjoy this cozy mystery series. This was another easy read in this series and I’m looking forward to the next.
If Books Could Kill, Kate Eberle (e-ARC) – 3⭐
This started really strongly for me! It pulled me in right away and the premise was so fun. The romance was sweet, but it swerved too far into the zany, silly kind of story for my liking by the end, and some of the characters were just too over the top for me.
Japanese Gothic, Kylie Lee Baker (e-ARC) – 3⭐
I was so intrigued by this, and excited to read it as part of Book Talk Etc.’s Community Read for the month of May. While this had a premise that grabbed me immediately, and it made for a fantastic book discussion, I struggled with this one. I liked the historical setting and the mythology I learned about as I read, but came away overall feeling like was just too bleak for me to enjoy.
Bourbon & Lies, Victoria Wilder (purchased) – 3⭐
After the heaviness of Japanese Gothic, I was looking for a change of pace, and this did the trick. This was a romantic suspense, and made for a quick, easy read. The setting, the bourbon, the family dynamics – there were a few things I liked about this, but at the same time, the banter between Grant and Laney was just too cringey at times for me.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, Ilona Andrews (purchased) – 5⭐
I love Sarah Rees Brennan’s Time of Iron books so much and was looking for something similar to fill the void while I wait for book three, and this sounded like just the thing I was looking for. And it was exactly what I wanted! I loved this book so much! I adored Maggie and I loved reading about her being in the world of her favourite book series. There were some fantastic characters, action scenes, yearning, and more. It was quite a dense book, and being my first by Ilona Andrews, I’m now eager to dig into some of their other books while I wait for the sequel!
The Caretaker, Marcus Kliewer (e-ARC) – 3⭐
This was fine, but the interesting premise didn’t hold up by the end. It may just be a case of this not being an author for me – I think his books have interesting ideas but I haven’t loved the execution of either.
Dark Is When The Devil Comes, Daisy Pearce (e-ARC) – 3.5⭐
This was a dark, gripping read that I couldn’t put down. I got overly annoyed on occasion at some decisions a couple of characters made that I just found too unlikely to overlook, but overall this was a fast-paced thriller that kept me up late to see what would happen next.
Cat Dragon, Samantha Birch (e-ARC) – 3⭐
This was very cute and cozy, and I so wish cat dragons were real! But there was a feeling of a lack of urgency or stakes while I was reading that made me not feel all that compelled to pick it up when I put it down. Maybe in another mood I would have enjoyed it more but it just didn’t grab me at the time.
