Ani's Book Abyss: Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- May 2017

Friday, June 2, 2017

Monthly Reading Wrap Up -- May 2017

May reading for me seemed to have picked up immensely! Whether it's the fact that I had some time off from work, or the ongoing Booklikes-opoly game, or maybe just that I'm not trying to juggle several books all at once, I don't know--I've been moving from one book to another without once hemming and hawing over which book I wanted to continue reading. Maybe my selection of books has just been pretty decent for the month of May--I certainly had my fair share of enjoyment, and didn't truly find too many books disappointing.

I even netted myself my very first 5-Star Read for the year of 2017! That has to count for something, right? I mean, I've had a few 4.5-Star Reads...

May Reads

Also Read: An X-Ops Christmas by Paige Tyler - short story // no official cover

Books Dropped/Put On Hold

None this month! Yay!

Currently Reading

May Reading Stats

Total works read: 15

12 print/e-book novels
2 novellas
1 short story

Average rating: 3.50 Stars

Highest Rated: The Duchess War by Courtney Milan // 5.0 Stars
Lowest Rated: Two Guys Detective Agency by Stephanie Bond // 2.0 Stars

Series I started reading:

Rarity Cove by Leslie Tentler
Two Guys Detective Agency by Stephanie Bond

Series I completed:

Aftershock by Jill Sorenson

Series I have made progress on:

Brothers Sinister by Courtney Milan
Arcane Society by Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick
The House of Steele by Addison Fox
Lucky Harbor by Jill Shalvis
Harmony by Jayne Castle/Jayne Ann Krentz

Favorite reads: There's no question about my favorite read for the month of May. The Duchess War was just magnificent. I loved the characters, I loved the humor, I loved the romance! In fact, as I already stated, it's my very first 5.0-Star read in 2017!

I would also say that I also enjoyed several other books for the month of May. Julie James is always a delight, and next to Love Irresistibly, The Thing About Love is probably my next favorite from this author. Then there's always Jayne Ann Krentz (Running Hot, The Perfect Poison, Obsidian Prey), and Jill Shalvis (Forever and a Day). In fact, aside from certain characters, I find I'm very much loving the fourth Animal Magnetism book, Rumor Has It, that I'm currently still listening to.

Lots of great books read in May!

Disappointing reads: A few disappointing reads in May as well. Two Guys Detective Agency was rather a big disappointment considering how much I'd been looking forward to it--was expecting more after enjoying the Voodoo in Mojo duo last year. Backwoods and Before the Storm were also somewhat disappointing, despite their mediocre ratings--considering how much I've enjoyed both authors' works in the past.

Reviews & Notable Posts

Reviews Written

Memes

Did not Meme this month!

Coming Up In June

Tentative TBR

Other Stuff

With Booklikes-opoly playing in the background, I haven't given much thought to an actual reading list. Even if I tried to "schedule" some books to read, all of that could change depending on what game square I end up landing on with my next roll. So I'm just letting the game decide for me what books to read, and if it doesn't, then I let myself decide depending on my mood. So far, it's been pretty nice.

I even gave up all thoughts of pre-choosing which Reading Assignment book I'd read for June, and will probably do as much for July. Because, as already mentioned, depending on which BLopoly square I land on, I'd rather go through my Reading Assignment list and see if anything fits. Sometimes a book takes me more than two days to read, which means that, according to the game rules, by the time I'm done, it's time to roll again and choose another book.

Of course, according to my most recent BLopoly roll, I'm going to able to read one of my Reading Assignment books when June rolls around. Having extra rolls in observance of Memorial Day Weekend, as well as rolling a double, if I time it right, I can read Once a Thief (currently reading) to fulfill both my Reading Assignment necessity for June, as well as one of the BLopoly game squares.

For June, however, I DO have a tentative reading list because of the Can You Read a Series in a Month? Challenge. I chose to read Brothers Sinister for this challenge--I enjoyed the first book so much (first 5-Star Read!!), that I needed to find an excuse to finish the rest of the series. And there it is! We'll get to see how well I juggle this with BLopoly.

And in the meantime, COYER Summer Reading List is coming up this month as well, and I am very much considering joining.

2017 Wrap-Ups

Ani's Book Abyss

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