April Wrap Up and May TBR.

Hey guys! Do you guys feel as if there’s not much time left? I feel like the clock’s ticking too fast and I don’t even know why I feel this way. I told myself that I’ll stick to my TBR religiously this month and I did, expcept for two books🙈. It’s progress compared to the previous month. I also added lot of books that weren’t on my April TBR list so this totally nullifies the whole idea of having a TBR at this point.

I started this month with a postive mind. Compared to last month, I’ve made progress in terms of trying to stay less stressed and distracted. You must have noticed that I changed a few things on this blog which was also because I wanted a change and it worked. These two months have been a rollercoatser ride for me. What with the injury, wedding preaprations, allergy and all. But I stayed focused and wrote a lot, which is why I was able to finish so many books.

So I wanted to y’all know that if there’s much going on in your life, take a break. You need it and surround yourself with things that make you feel good. I don’t know how April must have been for you, but let me know in the comments.

Books Read in March

➼ City of Lost Souls ★★★ ★ | This book was a surprise for me. After the ending City of Fallen Angels, I never expected to see Jace with Sebastian. They were brothers and friends which made me doubt if I was reading the right book. Besides, I got to see a different side of Sebastian. He showed signs of normalcy and love but he spoiled it in the end. I wonder who he’d be if his father hadn’t made him a demon.🤔

➼ To Kill a Kingdom ★★★★ | This book was good; loved the banter and hate between Lara and Elian. You can read my review here.

➼ City of Heavenly Fire ★★★★ | I’m sad that I couldn’t rate any books in the TMI series as a 5. This was mostly because some endings and chapters proved to be anti-climatic. But this is still my favorite series because I love the characters and plotline. I could keep reading any number of books with these characters and never get bored.

➼ The Bone Shard Daughter ★★★ | I was disappointed with how this book turned out. It has a very promising set up so I’ll be returning to this book again some other time. You can read the review of this book here.

➼ Ranger’s Oath ★★★.5 | This was a fast read. I loved the concept of Arc of Radiance and how rangers and mages had to fight off demons that breeched the Arc. My review.

➼ The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue ★★★★.5 | I will be reviewing this book soon. I want to speak a lot about some things here. There wasn’t anything grand or new offered in the book, but I related to the characters in the book— not that I need to relate to the characters everytime I read— who left an impression on me.

➼ Kate in Waiting ★★★★ | This book was entertaing and theatrical, literally. Each relationship was represented well and I’d just read it again to read more about Kandy (Kate+Anderson). Read my review here.

➼ The Beautiful Ones ★★★ | I’ll never get tired of reading books that just carry me into their world. This book had courtship, dramatic turn of events and a morally grey character. My review.

➼ Winterwood ★★★★ | This was my first Shea Ernshaw book and her writing was phenomenal in this one. This book made me feel the cold of the place through her writing. It was as if I was reading Poe and not a YA Fanatsy.

➼ Lady Midnight ★★★★.5 | The writing and the pace of this series is different from TID and TMI. Despite this novel being slow, I found things that were executed well and the ending didn’t feel anti-climatic.

➼ Vicious ★★★★★ | This book was gritty, dark and was so different than ADSOM and TILOALR. I wasn’t buying the concept of EOs even after 40% of the book. But then it became far more interesting with all the other EOs adding up their narrative to the story.

➼ Lord of Shadows ★★★★ | By the end of book 1, I was so used to the Blackthorns way of life. Mark sounded like a shadowhunter in this one, but I missed the way he used to converse in book 1. I remeber how Emma and the others used to tease him for that. I was expecting Lady Midnight to appear soon in the novel but she came later in the novel. She was an enigma but the ending left me speechless and numb. I wasn’t expecting that ending!

➼ The Ones We’re Meant to Find | I’ll be posting the review of this book on Monday. I remember watching the ending scene of Gravity where she finally feels the ground under her feet and how grateful she’s for that. That scene is my favorite from the movie. This book also made me feel the same. These two sisters were different and there were many surprises along the way. I will be speaking about them on Monday.

➼ Just Pretend |Yet to review and rate.

➼ Shark Summer ★★★★

➼ Juliet Takes a Breath ★★★ | This was about a Puerto Rican Lesbian trying to come out to her family and accepting her self and letting go of all the hurt and shame that comes with beinaccepting her identity. The illustrations were colorful and captivating too.

I was planning on reading the graphic novels in May but I wasn’t in the mood to read The Gilded Ones so instead finsihed these three books. I will be reviewing them some time in May.

Favourite Book of the Month

May TBR

I want to read a few YA novels along with these Fanatsy this month. I’m higly anticipating to read The Poet X. I’ve heard the book is written fully in poems, so I’m excited to read it.

I don’t know if I’ll stick to this TBR or might not finish it but I’m listing it anyway.

➼ The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne (The Bloodsworn Saga #1) ❘ Set in a brand-new, Norse-inspired world, and packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance, The Shadow of the Gods begins an epic new fantasy saga from bestselling author John Gwynne. After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið. Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave – or desperate – enough to seek them out. Now, as whispers of war echo across the mountains and fjords, fate follows in the footsteps of three people: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn. All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods . . .

➼ Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim (The Blood of Stars #1) ❘ Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars. Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job. Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise. And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

➼ A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey ❘ Love & Gelato meets Don’t Date Rosa Santos in this charming, heartfelt story following a Miami girl who unexpectedly finds love—and herself—in a small English town.
For Lila Reyes, a summer in England was never part of the plan. The plan was 1) take over her abuela’s role as head baker at their panadería, 2) move in with her best friend after graduation, and 3) live happily ever after with her boyfriend. But then the Trifecta happened, and everything—including Lila herself—fell apart.
Worried about Lila’s mental health, her parents make a new plan for her: Spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and reset. But with the lack of sun, a grumpy inn cook, and a small town lacking Miami flavor (both in food and otherwise), what would be a dream trip for some feels more like a nightmare to Lila…until she meets Orion Maxwell.
A teashop clerk with troubles of his own, Orion is determined to help Lila out of her funk, and appoints himself as her personal tour guide. From Winchester’s drama-filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn’t long before Lila is not only charmed by Orion, but England itself. Soon a new future is beginning to form in Lila’s mind—one that would mean leaving everything she ever planned behind. 

➼ Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (The Last Hours #1) ❘ Chain of Gold, a Shadowhunters novel, is the first novel in a brand-new trilogy where evil hides in plain sight and love cuts deeper than any blade. . Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else. But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monsters are nothing like those Shadowhunters have fought before—these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers—and forced a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.

➼The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco (The Bone Witch #1) ❘ A story of scorned witches, sinister curses, and resurrection, The Bone Witch is the start of a dark fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Serpent & Dove and The Cruel Prince. Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price… When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training. In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha—one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

➼ The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo ❘ A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo. Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

➼ Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga ❘ I am learning how to be sad and happy at the same time. Jude never thought she’d be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria. But when things in her hometown start becoming volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives.

At first, everything in America seems too fast and too loud. The American movies that Jude has always loved haven’t quite prepared her for starting school in the US—and her new label of “Middle Eastern,” an identity she’s never known before. But this life also brings unexpected surprises—there are new friends, a whole new family, and a school musical that Jude might just try out for. Maybe America, too, is a place where Jude can be seen as she really is.

Favorite Songs of the Month

• Bambi and Cry for Love by Baekhyun
• Oh Really. by N.Flying
• Save U by Kang Daniel ft. Wonstein (The entire album is amazing)
• RED by The Rose
• Hurts Like Hell by Fleurie
• Seattle Alone by BOL4
• Enjoy Enjaami by Dhee, Arivu, Santhosh Narayanan

Plans for May

➼ Complete a fantasy series

➼ Be consistent on Bookstagram

➼ Read at least 4 ARCs

Posts I liked in April

• Read the recipe for a 5 star read by April @bookedtillmidnight
• Ahaana @windowstoworlds discusses about inclusivity and diversity in YA Fantasy and also recommends 13 diverse reads. Go check it out!
• Sofii @ abookathought started this wonderful project for bookbloggers last month. I couldn’t link it last month so I’m sharing it here.
• WordyandWhimsical recommends books based on Tayor Swift’s Fearless. I enjoyed reading this post and loved the recs too.
• Sofii @abookathought comes with these news posts.I loved the idea of this post and you should check it out. I might try it out some day.
• Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub recommends books to read if you like Harry Potter (or instead of HP)

Let me know how was your month and your reading plans for May.