May Reading Wrap-Up & June TBR

 Hey, everyone! It's been a long time and I haven't really blogged much. June has been a hectic month. I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed and then started teaching theater for middle schoolers for a summer school camp. To say I was tired and exhausted at the beginning of the month is an understatement. I'm not in a huge reading slump anymore, but I do feel like I'm still struggling a bit. I have found a great series of books to help kick the slump and they've been a lot of fun and have helped me read more. 

THE BOOKS:

        

  

Near the Bone by Christina Henry- 5 stars I absolutely knew that I was going to love and adore this book. It was pretty much perfect. Exactly the type of horror novel I love. We follow a character with a lot of depth and multiple layers of plots. The main character lives on a mountain with her abusive husband and they come across a monster. When a group of cryptozoologists come to the mountain, her husbands secrets could be exposed. Not only is there an unknown monster, but there is also a monstrous husband. I love what this book has to say about certain topics that I cannot say because of spoilers. Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and OWN paperback copy

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare- 1.75 stars (reread) This was my first time teaching R&J. It was a lot of fun. While I don't care for the play itself, teaching it is a BLAST. The kids also really got into the play, so it was something that most people enjoyed. Teaching paperback copy

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King- 4 stars (reread) I remember reading this book in seventh grade when I was sick. Rereading this was interesting because the chapters are so short, but the storytelling technique is fascinating and effective for painting a small town being hunted by a werewolf. It's not a favorite King of mine, but it has some good moments. OWN paperback copy

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones- 5 stars I love Stephen Graham Jones. I consider him to be a favorite and must buy author. He writes some of the most profound and gripping horror novels and novellas. This novella is a wild ride about a boy whose friends start dying and are being killed by a mannequin. It's full of twists and all of the wonderful gore that Jones does so well. OWN Paperback copy

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London- 4.25 stars This was such fun! I had been in a huge audiobook slump until I listened to this one. It was such a great time. I love the Bachelorette and I appreciated what the author was saying about plus-size women and dating. Also, she ended up with who I wanted and it unfolded exactly the way I hoped- FULL OF DRAMA AND MESS. Audiobook copy from the Library

Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine- 4.5 stars (reread) The Slappy books were my favorite as a kid. I thought this was my favorite, but after rereading I think it's the second book that was my favorite Slappy book. These twins, Kris and Lindy, were annoying. I felt the mama's annoyance. I do love a Goosebumps when the stakes are higher like with these books. Audiobook copy from the Library

Macbeth by William Shakespeare- 5 stars This was my first time reading and teaching Macbeth. It was so much fun. I just loved teaching this book and my kids loved reading it and had a ton of fun. Teaching paperback copy

Confessions by Kanae Minato- 5 stars WOW! This book was phenomenal. It blew me out of the park. It was twist after twist. Full of character development and brilliance. It was a mindblowing psychological novel about a teacher who gets revenge on her students after she reveals to the class that she knows two of them killed her daughter. Jordaline Reads recommended this one and I am so happy I bought it because it was amazing! OWN paperback copy

The Empress of Salt and Sand by Nghi Vo- 4 stars I wanted to love this one, but I found it hard to connect with the audiobook narrator. I did like the story, but I would definitely want to reread this one with my eyes. Audiobook copy from Library

The First Evil by R.L. Stine- 5 stars I never read the Fear Street Cheerleaders, but they were a fun time. These books were violent, kind of scary, and typical horror YA pulp fiction from the 90s. This was probably my favorite Fear Street novel I've read so far this year. This was so much fun! OWN paperback copy

Overall Thoughts: I read 10 books in May which isn't bad, but it's the least amount of books I've read in a month so far this year. The funny thing is that I enjoyed pretty much everything I read. I just didn't have too much time to spend reading.

STATS:

Netgalley ARCs: 1

Books I Own: 7

Library: 3

 

Genres:

SciFi: 0

 Horror: 5

Contemporary: 1

Fantasy:  1

Graphic Novel: 1

Children: 0

Nonfiction: 0

Paranormal: 4

Poetry: 0

Romance: 3

Thriller: 3

Mystery: 2

Historical Fiction: 2

Plays: 2

Short Stories: 0

7 Adult Books

2 YA Books

1 MG Book

0 Children Books

Diverse Authors by Race:

Asian- 2

Indigenous- 1

I need to read more diversely!

LGBTQIA+ Authors: Nghi Vo (if any of the authors I read are identify as part of this community and aren't listed, please let me know!)

Here are my 5 star-reads:

5. Macbeth

4. The First Evil

3. Near the Bone

2. Night of the Mannequins

1. Confessions

Challenge Tracker for 2021

 52 Books I Want to Read in 2021:

*Black Sun

*Delilah: Treacherous Beauty

*The Elementals

*Survive the Night

*What Lies Between Us

*Leave the World Behind

*An Enchantment of Ravens

*Samson

*Horrorstor

*Dawn

*The Graveyard Apartment

*The Women of Weird Tales

*Adulthood Rites

*Lilith's Brood

*Night of the Mannequins

15/52

 Read 20 Books That I Buy in 2021:

*Hope, Grace, & Faith

*Mermaid Saga Collection Volume 1

*Creepshow

*Katie

*The Project

*Mermaid Saga Volume 1

*Mermgaid Saga Volume 2

*What Big Teeth

*Grown

*Sheets

*The Wrong Number

*Halloween Party

*The Best Friend

*Cold Moon Over Babylon

*Anoka

*The Midnight Club

*Monster

*Goddess of Filth

*Near the Bone

*Cycle of the Werewolf

*Confessions

*The First Evil

23/20

Read 10 Old ARCs:

*The Paper Boat

*Black Sun

*The Last Halloween

*Moriarty the Patriot Volume 1

*The Haunting of Beatrix Greene

*Over the Woodward Wall

none this month

6/10

Read 5 Physical ARCs or Books Sent to Me for Review:

None 

Read 15 sequels:

*shine your icy crown

*Mermaid Saga Volume 2

*Adulthood Rites

*Imago

*The Wrong Number
*Halloween Party

*The Best Friend

*Night of the Living Dummy

8/15

*Read 5 Stephen King books:

*Creepshow

*Cycle of the Werewolf

Currently Reading / Hoping to Finish:

               

I Put it Down, I'll Pick it Back Up Challenge: 

*One to Watch

Read 3 books I've put on hold. 

ARCs for June:

                    

Audiobooks:

    

             

  

Ebooks I May Read: 

None at the moment!

Books I Own:

   

Have you read any of these books? What was your favorite read in May? Let me know in the comments down below!