In May, I had a solid month of reading with a lot of variety. I went from reading about the assassination of a president to one of the steamiest books I have read EVER. Shockingly, one of my favorite books this month was written for upper elementary kids, and it had my heart breaking repeatedly. Take a look at my book reviews and ratings from May to see what strikes your fancy.
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Published Date: November 2024
Genre: Romance
How I Read: Paper
This book is absolutely delightful. It’s easy and funny. I highly recommend this if you are looking for an enjoyable read.
A 38-year-old woman is divorced. To keep her journalism job, she needs to be more relatable to a younger audience. The solution is to start co-writing dating articles with a colleague she is not a fan of.
Her process is to date men that her children select and then write about how the dates go. Meanwhile, her attractive, younger male co-worker dates people he meets online and they find a common theme between the two dates to write about.
She’s dealing with her ex, her children growing up, a surly neighbor, and confusing feelings towards this co-worker.
Published Date: June 2024
Genre: Middle Grade – Fiction
How I Read: Paper
The sweetest 11-year-old boy finds himself alone with his three-year-old sister in their apartment after their mom leaves one day and doesn’t return. After several days, he gets the idea to go on the bus to find the person listed as his emergency contact.
The older woman reluctantly takes the siblings in until they can figure out where their mom has gone. The boy takes such wonderful care of his sister. He tries to do everything right. He gets enrolled in a new school, makes new friends, and gets involved in basketball. But he is so scared for his mom and tries to track her down.
This book broke my heart over and over again. I definitely teared up numerous times. It’s fantastic and the ending was perfect.
Published Date: March 2025
Genre: Middle Grade – Fairytale Retelling
How I Read: Paper
A unique and interesting retelling of Snow White. As a baby, Snow White is taken by a dwarf and raised in a mountain. The dwarfs are very forgetful and don’t remember how Snow White came to live with them.
As usual, the Queen continually checks that she is the most beautiful in the land. But there are elves and magical wisps in this version. Snow White goes in search of answers about her past and must come up with a plan along her journey to secure her future.
I wish the story had been longer, I was really into it! I look forward to more fairytale retellings from this awesome author (my aunt). Discussion questions and a recipe are included in the back of the book.
Published Date: May 2025
Genre: Romance
How I Read: Kindle
Bring this book along on your trip to a cabin this summer or when you are headed out to a lake.
It’s not a sequel, but takes place at the same lake three years after my favorite book by this author – Every Summer After. Now it’s Charlie’s love story.
Alice is in her mid-30s and has just gone through a breakup. She’s feeling a little stuck in her career as a photographer, even though she’s never been busier. When her grandmother breaks her hip, Alice decides to take her to the lake cabin they spent time at one summer when she was a teenager to relax and recover.
Alice makes a summer bucket list that would make her 17-year-old self proud. But she didn’t expect to fall for the hot local(ish) man she fantasized about all those years before.
Yes, it’s predictable but in a nice way that you want a summer romance book to be.
Published Date: September 2011
Genre: History
How I Read: Paper
An interesting piece of history about the life and death (mostly death) of President James A. Garfield.
Born into poverty, he used education and a great personality to succeed. He didn’t want the presidency at all. The Republican Convention, in which he came to nominate someone else and came away with the nomination, was truly fascinating and speaks a lot to how much people respected Garfield.
The book discusses his family life, politics, and early days in the White House. But most of the book details the aftermath of being shot and his eventual death. You learn of Alexander Bell’s involvement, the medical mishaps, the insanity of the assassin, and more.
Published Date: April 2025
Genre: Romance
How I Read: Paper
Readers are not loving this one because I think they expect a fluffy summer romance and this is NOT that. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed the realistic elements. Life is messy and depressing sometimes. You can have romance through that which is why I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it.
A hot vet plus a smart, social media marketing woman with a cat who needs emergency surgery. The two start dating right before the woman needs to move to California to help care for her mother who is suffering from dementia.
Eventually, they decide to date long distance with no end in sight. It’s killing them and their finances don’t allow them to visit each other very often but they can’t imagine life without each other.
The story touches on a few serious topics including child abuse, animal abuse, etc. I loved the ending.
Published Date: January 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy
How I Read: Paper
It seems like a knockoff of The Hunger Games, but I still liked it. Be warned, there is zero spice (a lot of yearning). It’s not my favorite fantasy but I immediately put book two on hold at the library so something about the story grabbed me.
A teen girl lives in the slums stealing to survive. One day, she saves the life of a prince. This act gets her put on the list to compete in the Purging Trials. The games are different this year as the enforcer prince will be competing as well and is expected to win.
But this ordinary girl from the slums with no actual power has a huge impact on both royal brothers. The king is not happy with her influence. There’s a lot of violence, plotting, fancy balls, etc.
Will those resisting the King’s rules of banishing the powerless finally get a foothold or will he put an end to them once and for all?
Published Date: February 2025
Genre: Fiction
How I Read: Paper
I had just read a very similar story to this one and the other (Is She Really Going Out with Him?) was much better. This is not a must-read in my opinion but I liked it well enough.
A divorced woman is getting back into her writing career and dating. Her husband left her for his mistress (a school mom she sees at pickup). Unfortunately, the last thing she wrote was a book about marriage right before her marriage blew up.
Now she needs to write a sexy book about being single, middle-aged, and nothing about her life is sexy. Her old house is constantly having problems, money is tight, and her stepdad and biological father are causing her grief.
Published Date: August 2023
Genre: Romance
How I Read: Audio
This is not your mother’s romance novel (unless she is a kinky b*tch – then respect). Be warned, this has multiple partners at the same time, toys, butt stuff, piercings, etc. If c-words have you reaching to clutch your pearls, this book isn’t for you.
The plot is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t want to give too much away but a sports medicine doctor falls in love with multiple players on the NHL team she works for. Plus, she is the daughter of a famous rock star. It’s SPICY and long. If you need a book that gets to the hot and heavy quickly and often, this one might be for you.
Published Date: April 2025
Genre: Fiction
How I Read: Paper
Spoiler – this book isn’t fun or funny at all. It’s about four adult siblings who have not seen and barely had any communication for the past three years since their father’s passing.
Three of the siblings are “extraordinarily” – a professional athlete, an Oscar-nominated actress, and an award-winning author. The oldest sibling essentially raised the others as their father worked all the time and their mother left them, only reappearing once a summer to take them on random roadtrips until an incident happened that ruined relationships.
Now the youngest sibling is calling everyone together and they are rehashing some past issues as well as bringing some new information to light. New drama (infertility, relationship problems, etc) is added to the mix during the winter weekend in North Dakota.
This book just didn’t do much for me. I liked the ending but overall it didn’t hold my interest.
Published Date: April 2025
Genre: Magical Realism
How I Read: Audio
This story had a dual timeline and I wasn’t invested in either. I found the story slow.
For the current story, a woman’s dad has passed away after discovering potential treasure during a dive off the Amalfi coast. She is determined to find the treasure for her dad’s memory while in the same area for her similar work.
But strange things are occurring that could delay or even prevent her project from moving forward. In addition, a competitor who she has known forever might be on to her father’s find.
The story that takes place in the past is about a group of Italian woman who perform a type of witchcraft that can control the water to help protect their town. Their practice must be kept secret but someone might have spotted one of their rituals which could lead to major problems.
Love, curses, mysteries, treasure hunting, and more make it sound like a really fun and interesting book but overall the story fell flat for me. Too many things went right too easily and quickly in the main characters search for answers.
Want to check out more of my favorite books? Take a look at my April Book Reviews and Ratings!
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