May’s Best Reads
It’s that time of the month where I take stock of what I’ve been reading, what my favorites of the month are and what I’m looking forward to reading in the next month.
May was a good month for reading, not as good as the previous months but still, a good read. And there’s a two way tie for my favorite May read. I’m having a hard time picking one over the over so I think I’m just going to go with choosing the both of them. They’re different from each other but still oh so good.
Last month I read a total of 10 books, which puts me at having 5 more books to read before I complete my TBR Challenge with Ames and since we have until June 30th to get the books read, I know that I’ll finish it hopefully as early as next week. Ames, we totally did it…do you think we can do it again for the remainder of the year? Ohh let’s do it, Ames!
Here’s a rundown of the books that I’ve read this month:
- Key of Light by Nora Roberts
- Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts
- Key of Valor by Nora Roberts
- Morning Comes Softly by Debbie Macomber
- Sugar and Sin by Stella and Audra Price
- Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen
- White Lies by Linda Howard
- A reread of Kindom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
- Hawk O’Toole’s Hostage by Sandra Brown
- Crazy Cool by Tara Janzen
And my favorite reads of the month are: Key of Valor by Nora Roberts and Crazy Cool by Tara Janzen. Both books had me enraptured and so lost in the world that the authors created for us readers to enjoy and I will forever pimp their goodness out for all to see and love for themselves. The Key Trilogy is already in a bag, getting ready to be shipped to the great city of Compton, California for a dear friend of mine to enjoy as she’s reading The Circle Trilogy soon and I know she’ll enjoy these books as well.
I’ve also got to give a honorable mention to Morning Come Softly by Debbie Macomber because this book was really good as well, I loved it to pieces but I loved the other books just a tiny more right now…=)
Izzy Says
All right, I’m a bit slower when it comes to reading. Sigh, sucks being a slow reader. Here are the list of books I read:
- Something Sinful by Suzanne Enoch
- Shadowheart (DNF) by Laura Kinsale
- Sugar and Sin (DNF) by Stella and Audra Price
- Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
Ok, so after looking at this list I realize I suck. My best read was Two for the Dough. This book was funny! I’ll say it again: I love Grandma Mazur.
Holly Says
The month started out pretty slow for me (I couldn’t even participate in this last month because I hadn’t read crap) but picked up towards the end of the month. I didn’t keep track of everything I read, but I think I remember most of them:
- Miracle by Deborah Smith
- Muse by Adra Steia
- No One To Trust by Iris Johansen
- Wife by Contract, Mistress by Demand by Carole Mortimer
- Natural Born Charmer by SEP (a re-read)
- Beyond Breathless, Beyond Daring and Beyond Seduction by Kathleen O’Reilly
- Satisfaction Guaranteed by Lucy Monroe
- The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
- A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber
- Virgin River by Robyn Carr
- Three Weddings and a Kiss (anthology)
- Blame it on Paris by Laura Florland
- Taken by Barbara Freethy (DNF)
- Raintree: Inferno by Linda Howard
I think that’s it. I may have done a few more re-reads, but if so I can’t remember which ones. Being sick last week was a blessing in disguise, because I was able to read, something I haven’t been able to do much. Of course, I still haven’t reviewed most of the books, but I’ll get around to it eventually. 🙂
Anyway, I’d have to say my favorite reads for this month were Muse by Adra Steia, Virgin River by Robyn Carr and Miracle by Deborah Smith.
Muse was dark and scary, and just what I needed to help get me out of my slump. Virgin River and Miracle were just straight up romance. No suspense plots, no paranormal elements. They were both very well written and kept me entranced. I even cried a little while reading both. Miracle was a heavy, drama filled read, but was still fabulous. Virgin River was also heavy, but still had a lighter side. I laughed out loud a time or two while reading it. Reviews for both to follow, but don’t wait on me to buy them. I promise they’re great.
I also want to give honorable mentions to The Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber. Both were excellent and I gobbled them right up.
Alright, that’s what we read last month and our favorite picks. What about you?
What did you read last month? What were your favorites? Anything we can’t live without?
I posted my list on my blog.
My fav read for May was Submission Revealed. It’s heavy BDSM, so it is not for everyone though.
I had a lot of neagtive reactions to many of the books I read in May. I hate that. I don’t always list the DNF’s, but one of them I did, becuase I wasted for days on it before I gave up. Connie Brockways, As you Desire.
I’m not listening to AAR board readers anymore. They have steered me wrong every time.
Chantal, the trick is to find someone with similar taste as you and get recs from that person… AAR is good, but they definitively don’t have the same tastes as me… so it doesn’t help me either.
Holly, I can’t wait for your reviews 😀 I have to say, I love the drama in Ms. Smith books 😛 I haven’t read Miracle, but it’s now up on my list to buy 😀 I loved Virgin River and liked the Yarn shop series by Debbie Macomber, so I’m glad you enjoyed them as well 😀
As for my favorite reads this month, it’s Jacob by Jacquelyn Franks and Whispering Rock by Robyn Carr 😀
Chantal,
I never listen to AAR boards. Like Nath, I listen to bloggers and friends that have similar tastes as me. 🙂
Nath,
I’m working on my reviews. I’m anxious to read more Robyn Carr books now.
Jacob was great, but I heard Gideon wasn’t as good. We’ll see. 😉
I think if I’m lucky I read 2 books for May and I can’t remember which they were. Then again, I have a horrible memory which is why I now keep track.
You guys obviously read all over the scale. I stopped reading Macomber because the bedroom door was shut 😉 As much as I loved the stories I wanted more so I haven’t purchased one of her books in years.
One of the other things I can’t do is read an entire series back to back. I notice too many similarities in writing pattern if I do that. I still like to have all the books in my pile but if I read Nora Roberts I’m not sure I could read another of her books in the same month. Weird that.
CindyS
I read a couple Macomber’s awhile ago and didn’t really care for them. Then Ween did that one review raving about her and I decided to try her again. Shop on Blossom Street was awesome. The writing was different. It’s about four women and the chapters are split between them. Different but good. A Good Yarn was the same way.
I like to read a series back to back. I just have to know what’s happening. I can’t wait to see what journey the new characters will go through. lol
I’m weird like that.
But it’s also a curse. Because then I burn out.
Hey Rowena, I don’t know if I could do another challenge. LOL But you’ll definitely finish before the end of the month!!
My plan was to just read 20 books from my tbr pile before I buy anything new. But I’m not going to make a list. Just 20 books. LOL
Holly, I meant to ask how you found the O’Reilly books? I’ve only read the first one, as we’re a bit behind here in Oz.
Kat,
They were pretty good. I wasn’t very impressed with the first one (the heroine drove me nuts with all of her BLAH BLAH I WANT TO BE A MAN BLAH BLAH) but I enjoyed the other 2. I do plan on reviewing them eventually. 🙂