It’s time for another monthly book review and I’m excited to talk about the books I read this month. In May, I read nine books, putting me at 38 books read so far in 2016. I’m interested to see if I can read 100 books this year as I did in 2013, but I’m a little bit behind on that. Time will tell!

Let’s dive into my reviews!

Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆)

This is the first book in a series, about a small-town community in Idaho. Lilah is a struggling kennel owner who is working her way through college after a series of events caused her to drop out when she was younger. Brady is a pilot-for-hire who is just stopping through to visit his foster brothers. The characters were a little stereotypical and the plot was completely predictable, but I still loved this novel. Lilah was such a fun character to read about! Definitely a must-read for contemporary romance lovers.

The One & Only by Emily Giffin (★★★★★)

Perhaps it was the fact that I read many not-so-positive reviews of this novel, so my expectations were lower, but I loved this novel. I’m pretty sure it will make my top-ten list this year. The novel centers around a woman, Shea, and the football town of Walker, Texas, where she has lived her entire life. The story opens with tragedy and we see how the people react to what happened. I can understand some of the criticism because there are a lot of loose ends that aren’t exactly tied up and I downright hated the relationship between Shea and her best friend, Lucy, because it was more contentious than loving. But, still, this novel gave me all the feels, which is why it gets five stars from me. Another criticism of the novel is all the football talk, but psht, that was probably my favorite part! I’m someone who will talk to you about football all day long if you let me, and I appreciated Shea’s knowledge of the game. This book is not for everyone, for sure, but I think this might be my favorite novel of hers. I’m okay with being in the minority. 😉

Playing to Win by Jaci Burton (★★★★☆)

This is the fourth novel in Burton’s Play By Play series, where we meet Cole, an NFL star who has a short fuse that gets him in trouble with the media often; so much so that many teams don’t want anything to do with him, even if he does have talent. Enter Savannah, an image consultant, who works with Cole to change his attitude and his relationship with the media. I loved that Cole was brash and petulant and stubborn – he was such an antihero in the beginning! And I loved Savannah and her sassiness. The chemistry between these two was smokin’ hot, and I enjoyed the way the romance played out in an authentic, believable way.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (★★★★★)

This book reads a bit more slowly than the previous two books, but now that I’ve read the entire series, I know it’s because this novel sets the scene for what’s to come. We are introduced to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, two key characters in the series, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Harry’s dad through people who knew him when he was Harry’s age. Snape is still the worst, though. I understand his character and why he is the way he is, but man, these first few books with Snape are hard to bear!

The Study of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries (★★★★☆)

I kept hearing about this book through Book Riot; it sounded like something that would ring all of my bells, and boy, did it! It’s a Regency romance about a woman, Clarissa, who is being stalked by a powerful French diplomat so she agrees to marry her cousin’s best friend, the gruff and cynical Edwin, in the hopes that this would force this man to leave her alone. This book was feminist at its core and that’s what made it so wonderful. It’s well-written, historically accurate, and perfectly steamy.

Married By Morning by Lisa Kleypas (★★★★☆)

This is the fourth novel in Kleypas’s “The Hathaways” series and it follows the story of Leo, a character who was very unlikable in the first few novels. Leo must marry and produce a male heir within a year, or else his entire family loses their home. So, Leo decides there’s no better woman to choose than his sisters’ paid companion, Catherine Marks. This book was such a delight, and I loved the back-and-forth between Leo and Catherine. I can’t say these books are entirely historically accurate, but eh, who cares… it’s romance! Stretching the truth a little is what makes this genre so enjoyable.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (★★★★☆)

One morning, two girls go missing from their bedrooms. The girls are best friends and one of the girls is a selective mute. There are multiple narratives – from the parents of the girls, the girls themselves, the brother of one of the girls, and the deputy in charge of the investigation – which I thought flowed very well. My only criticism of the novel is that the voices between the narratives weren’t very different (i.e., the voice of a forty-something professor should be very different than the voice of a seven-year-old girl!) But, even still, it was a gripping novel that kept my attention from beginning to end.

Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen (★★★☆☆)

This is a character-driven novel about what it’s like to have it all but to lose the most important essence of you. Julia and Michael are in their thirties and highly successful, living in a multi-million-dollar mansion and experiencing all of the good – and the bad – that comes with such a high level of success. Then, Michael has a heart attack. He survives, but is a changed man, wanting to give away all his money and start over fresh. This was the type of book that I could set down easily and not feel the urge to pick it up again. The pacing is slow and it’s more about the characters and who they were/are, less about a fast-paced plot. It’s beautifully written and has a strong voice, but I didn’t find it particularly engaging – probably because I didn’t actually like Julia or Michael very much. Judging by the reviews on Goodreads, I’m in the minority with my opinion, so I’d recommend people who love a good character-driven narrative to pick this one up!

The Best Man by Kristan Higgins (★★★★☆)

Kristan Higgins is a pro at creating complex yet utterly endearing family relationships. I like the way she writes families because they seem so real – not completely dysfunctional yet not completely perfect. There’s jealousy and hurt feelings and good times and love and betrayal. In this novel, Faith comes back to her hometown of Blue Heron to stop her father from marrying someone who is 100% wrong for him and, in doing so, she realizes she has to confront her past in order to move forward into her future. It’s funny and heartfelt and romantic, even if some of the situations Faith got into felt a little too silly and overdone.

May Book Stats

• Number of books read: 9 (3,650 pages)
• Format breakdown: e-books (5), physical books (4)
• Genre breakdown: romance (6), fantasy (1), fiction (2)
• Number of diverse reads: 3 out of 9 (33%)
• Where I got my books from: Overdrive (5), a friend (1), library (3)
• Money spent on reading this month: $0 (yay libraries!)
• Where I visited:
  
  Idaho (1), Texas (1), Missouri (1), Iowa (1), New York (2), and England (3)

How many books did you read in May? Which one was your favorite?

I’ve decided to bring back my monthly book review posts because I really missed doing them. I love to write them, and I’ve heard from people that they love reading them. So, they’re back and I couldn’t be happier about it. I hope you enjoy and find some new books to add to your TBR list!

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (★★★★☆)

This book gave me all of the feels. It follows two women throughout their friendship – from their first meeting as young girls in the 70s all the way through college and first jobs and marriage and babies. It shows the ways friendships can ebb and flow over time, how it can change as we evolve into different people with different life paths. The women were frustrating at times, vulnerable at others. I connected much more with Kate than I ever did with Tully, and I felt her struggle so much more deeply. It’s quite the novel at nearly 500 pages, but the time is so worth it. Kristin Hannah definitely knows how to pull at my heartstrings.

Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton (★★★★☆)

This is the third novel in Burton’s “Play by Play” series, and follows the story between professional hockey player Ty and bartender Jenna. Like Burton’s other novels, this one had more sex scenes than seemed necessary, but I was happy that there was more of a conflict between the characters before that all started happening. The overarching theme that Jenna is putting her life on hold to be there for her family was well-explored and I loved the way everything unfolded so naturally. And, who can deny the chemistry between Ty and Jenna? Sizzling!

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy (★★★☆☆)

I was excited about this book because it features a plus-size protagonist, something I don’t see in many books. (And, if the protagonist is fat, she usually hates her size and all she wants to do is lose weight.) Dumplin’ was different in that this story didn’t center around Willowdean’s weight. Of course, it’s a central theme of the story – loving yourself as you are, and that you are just as deserving of good things as your skinnier counterparts – but there’s more to it than that. There’s friendship and how it evolves, romance and how it can change you, entering a beauty pageant even though you feel as if you may not fit in. As lovely as this novel was, though, I do wish the author hadn’t fallen into the trope of making fun of skinny people (i.e., “twigs”) because body acceptance is about accepting all body types, not just fat ones. I also think the story could have used a more solid plot because there were times the story dragged.

Suddenly One Summer by Julie James (★★★★★)

I read this book in 24 hours, as I typically do with James’s novels. She’s the writer I find myself most wanting to emulate in my novel because I love the way her stories develop. This novel followed the story of divorce lawyer Victoria and investigative journalist Ford and had a cute subplot of the two of them teaming up to help Ford’s sister find the father of her baby, with whom she had had a one-night stand. A fun, light-hearted novel!

The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister (★★★☆☆)

This was April’s book club pick, and it definitely had an interesting premise: it’s the early 1900s and a female illusionist’s husband is murdered. She’s the prime suspect and has one night to convince a policeman that she didn’t do it. During this long night, we learn about the illusionist’s past and how she got to where she is today. I find stories about magic to be very hit-or-miss for me (I loved Water for Elephants, but it took me two tries to get through The Night Circus), and I found this novel to be just okay. There were strong characters and a fast-moving plot, but I was disappointed by the ending.

Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins (★★★☆☆)

This wasn’t my favorite novel from this author, but it was a good read nonetheless. Higgins’s novels usually have the typical chick-lit tropes in them, but they seemed to be toned down in this novel, thankfully. I also loved that characters from her other novels made cameos – that was a fun surprise!

Looking for Trouble by Victoria Dahl (★★★★☆)

Another novel I read in less than a day! Dahl’s novels are typically quick reads for me because she creates great conflict and interesting characters, even if the books are a bit raunchier than I typically enjoy. Some parts of this novel felt a little over-the-top, but overall, I loved this novel and the romance between Alex and Sophie.

A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca (★★★★☆)

I read this for the postal book club, a memoir by award-winning poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. I wasn’t too keen on reading it because I knew it would be a heavy read and boy was it. Baca had a very, very tough life – abandoned by his parents at the age of 10, thrust into an orphanage, living on the streets at 14, and then convicted on drug charges at 21. When he entered prison (where he ended up serving six-and-a-half years), he was illiterate, but he learned to read and write while incarcerated. Baca’s story is raw and gut-wrenching and uncomfortable to read at times. I constantly had to set the book down and walk away from it for a while because it was affecting me so profoundly. I’m glad I read it, though, because it reminds me of the power of the human spirit, and how we can persevere even when life looks the most bleak and hopeless.

April Book Stats

• # of pages: 2,831
• Quickest read(s): Suddenly One Summer and Looking for Trouble (less than 24 hours)
• Longest read: The Magician’s Lie (9 days)
• Format breakdown: physical book (4), e-book (4)
• Genre breakdown: romance (4), fiction (2), YA (1), nonfiction (1)

What was the best book you read in April?