May Wrap-Up: The Month Where School Almost (But Didn’t) Destroy Me

Hi all!

It’s time for another monthly wrap-up; doesn’t it seem like the months are just flying by? May was a pretty productive month, and I was very surprised by how much I actually achieved. Uni has been a nightmare, but thankfully, I finish in less than a week’s time. Somehow in between studying, I managed to update my blog quite a bit, which is something I was really worried about going into Master’s. So scary to think it feels like only yesterday I was starting, and by Monday, I’ll be finished my first semester! I need a very well-deserved break (where all I’ll do is read).

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 Books Read:

Best Book of the Month: 

    

It’s a tie between Lord of Shadows and One of Us is Lying. Both were amazing books in uniquely different ways.

Monthly Disappointment: 

I still enjoyed some parts of this book and thought it was a good conclusion to an amazing series, but I was disappointed by the writing and the characters as well. Maas has this ability to make me love/want-to-die for a protagonist, and then the more I read from their POV, the more I begin to hate them. This has already happened with Aelin from her Throne of Glass series, and partially started here too. Thankfully, the next books in this world won’t be in Feyre’s POV – maybe I’ll like her again.

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Books Reviewed: 

Eeeeeeep! The third of the Captive Prince short stories was an absolute delight and I can’t stop fangirling over that world! I love seeing how far Damen and Laurent have come from the first book – where they were bitter enemies – to the most recent short – where they are in love and ruling a kingdom together.

Full review

 

A semi-satisfying, confusing conclusion. After this, I think I’m breaking up with SJM.

 Full review

An incredible, engaging mystery debut that I could not put down. I highly recommend this gem of a novel. 

Full review

A fast paced, adventure-fuelled novel with a badass protagonist and incredible world-building. 

Full review

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Books Purchased & June TBR: 

So this year I made a vow not too spend too much money on books and that the only novels I will buy are ones in an ongoing series. I started borrowing more from the library, and if they didn’t have a book, I would request that they buy it; and I’ve also taken advantage of Netgalley more. For the most part, I have stuck by my rule … and then May hit.

I finish the uni semester in less than one week, and I have started preparing myself for the upcoming holidays by adding shows to my Netflix list, downloading movies and buying books. I fully intend to become a couch potato to recover from the intensity of my Master’s course over the past 3 months. So, the books I bought to help me relax are:

I can’t wait.
Also a few others on my June TBR:

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Blog Awards:

Click on the button to see my answers and who I nominated in turn. (Also, I’m very slow with awards and tags, but I will get there eventually!)

Book Tags:

Something very exciting happened this month – Emma @ A Dreamer’s Library invited me to collaborate with her on a Pride and Prejudice book tag! The tag is based off the famous locations in Pride and Prejudice, including places like Pemberley and Netherfield Park. Check out our book tag by clicking on the above image, and if you would like, please give it a go! (Sorry in advance for how hard some of the questions are!)

I also took part in:
The Harry Potter Book Tag
Desert Island Discs Tag
My Life in Books Tag

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Extra Content

After the wonderful feedback I received in response to my Hating on YA: Adults reading Young Adult Fiction article, I thought it might be a good idea to post an essay I had to write for my publishing class. The essay is about the continual issues of racial stereotypes that keep cropping up in YA fiction, and the blogger community’s response and anger to publishing companies that keep publishing texts that feature negative traits. In the essay, I analyse 3 of the most recent controversies surrounding this issue: The Continent, The Black Witch and All The Crooked Saints. If you would like to read a very long essay, please check it out by clicking on the above image.

This month, the lovely Nadwa @ Painfully Fictional created a Goodreads group for YA book bloggers, and kindly allowed me to become a moderator, along with Jackie and Mandy. At the moment, we’re all incredibly busy with school, but once the semester is over, the group will be so much more interactive. We already have a buddy read planned for July: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. We’ve also opened up discussions about genre-specific YA books, including retellings and SFF, as well as a discussion board about ARCs – what are they, how to get them, and any other queries you may have. If you are a YA book blogger, consider joining our group. At the moment, it is public and available to everyone (though you must be a YA book blogger to join). If you want to check out our group, click on the group’s logo (pretty blue cloud) above.

I was also invited by Turo, a rental car company, to put together a fun post about fictional cars. What fictional cars would you like to drive in real life? Please check it out by clicking on the image above.

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Non-Book Related Stuff:

My sister and I went to see the Aladdin Musical in Melbourne this month! It was such an amazing performance, and the songs were stuck in my head for weeks after (I also bought the soundtrack and listen to it constantly in my car, so that doesn’t help). The Genie was simply incredible, the stage was epic and costumes were fantastical. My only criticism is of the girl who played Jasmine – unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy her performance. I can’t tell if it was the way her character was written – all she did was giggle and prance around – or if it was the acting, but Jasmine was a major disappointment. (I spoke to a friend at work who also saw Aladdin, and said she had the same impression of Jasmine. Ah well.) Aside from that, the musical was wonderful! Best song performance: Friend Like Me. I would see the musical again just to watch that 7 minute song.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season 3 came out this month, and in between assignments and studying for exams, I somehow managed to watch it. While not as funny as season 2, it was still hilarious and explored Kimmy’s future, and Titus’ love life to perfection. The only thing I hate is having to wait an entire year between seasons!

I also discovered this cute 5 minute anime about a guy who has a mermaid living in his bathroom. It makes no sense, but it’s still pretty fun to watch. Check out the first episode:

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May was, surprisingly, a pretty good month. I read 2 out of my 3 highly anticipated releases, wrote up a few reviews, worked on reducing my Netgalley shelf (only 3 books left now), all the while studying for uni. Bring on June and the couch-sitting I see in my near future!

-Laura ❤

How was your May? How many books did you read/review? Did school almost destroy your life too? Let me know and have a great June!