May Wrap-Up & June TBR

I just ordered twenty-four new books. And they should be here in a week. Pray the - I don't even know who anymore - that I have enough shelf space.

I read a manga this month. I haven't read any manga for years. It was a nice change, and even though I really enjoyed the change, I know that my heart belongs in the world of words only, not in the world of graphic novels. Although, illustrated editions are always welcomed.

Only reading five books in a month, without any of them being overwhelmingly long, was new to me. Next month I have to do better. As for this month, here are the books I read.

Good Morning Call #1
Yue Takasuka

★★★☆☆
Goodreads

166 pages

Protected (Ariya Adams Trilogy #1)
Anna Applegate

★★★☆☆
Goodreads
Review

258 pages

Dragon's Heart (Dragon Lore #1)
Eden Ashe

★★★☆☆
Goodreads
Review

198 pages

By the Light of the Moon (Rise of the Arkansas Werewolves #1)
Jodi Vaughn

★★☆☆☆
Goodreads

272 pages




The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3)
Mary E. Pearson

★★★★★
Goodreads
Review COMING SOON

679 pages



One thousand five hundred seventy-three pages I managed to plow through in the month of May. I should feel proud, right? It means almost 51 pages a day, on average. But I did not read consistently during the month. I read nothing in the beginning, then a lot during the second week. Suffered through the slight reading slump caused by The Beauty of Darkness and then began reading A Court of Wings and Ruin. Two massive, intimidating books followed by each other at the end of the month is a lot to ask. Both books were so emotionally wrecking, that only a true masochist would be able to read them without falling to pieces. There was still a hundred pages left when May turned into June. I finished ACOWAR today. And I feel empty, like a shell of what I used to be.

I've been thinking about it, should I set myself another near-impossible TBR? I know that if I don't set one, I'll be doing a lot of rereading and won't be shortening the ever piling TBR. If I will, I'll be too stressed out to actually read. So, I will be doing it half and half this time. My goal is to finish all the books from May's TBR, which are:

TwoSpells, Mark Morrison
My Lady Zane, Steven M. Sullivan
The Last Cleric, Layton Green
The Never Dawn, R. E. Palmer
Onions, Cy Young

And then everything on top of that is an added bonus. To meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge pledge of 120 this year I should read 11.3 books each month. It used to be ten books a month, but since I am eleven books behind schedule, the number has grown.

I am flying full hours the entire summer season. Which means less consecutive days off, but still plenty of hours to read. The summer season has brought old acquaintances back, mended deep gashes, and grown hope and stability for the future. I hope to keep it that way, even though sometimes staying still, present in the moment, is the hardest thing one must do.

Review: The Dragon's Heart (Dragon Lore #1)

★★★☆☆

From Goodreads:
The dragon-shifter king will do anything to keep his mate alive…even if it means war.
After millennia as king of the dragon-shifters, Daniel Ashborne wants a little peace and quiet, especially from the beautiful Hollywood starlet who haunts his memories. His escape tactics end abruptly when he is called to the ER to save the one woman he wants to forget, but who now bears his mark.
Shelby Kincade’s life and movie career were nearly destroyed when Daniel vanished a year ago. Now he’s back, claiming they have been accidentally mated. Getting over him once was hard enough, but she must choose either the life of her dreams or the man she can’t live without.
With peace finally on the horizon between the dragon-shifters and the Hunters, an assassination attempt on the dragon king and his mate shatters everything. Tensions rebuild as Daniel and his loyal team of shifters try to discover who put out the hit. Enemy and ally lines are crossed, but in the end–after the battle ash has settled–no one could have foreseen who has plotted for their own gain.

You cant trust anyone, not even your own feelings. Betrayal at every turn and nothing is what it seems.