Read in May 2024
The first half of May was a boom for my reading pleasure, but then in the second week I delved into a highly rated book for a book club that I just couldn’t find my way into. I felt how the book sucked all the pleasure and enthusiasm out of me, but I still didn’t want to give in. I tried to turn the tide by listening to good audiobooks in between, but unfortunately May resulted in a serious reading hangover, which continued well beyond June.
In the end I finished 5 books, good for 1962 pages, which is the lowest number of books and pages read in a month in 2024 until now. The average May book comes to 392 pages/book.
There was also that one book that I just couldn’t find my way in and that I continued to read stubbornly for far too long, only to eventually throw in the towel after 286 pages (55% of the book), after the damage to my reading appetite had already been done.
So it was definitely a month of highs and lows as far as my ratings go. For the finished books, the stars varied between 2 to 5, with all possible options in between. This brings the average finished book in May to 3.6 stars.
In terms of target group, I remained in my own category with 6 adult books.
The reading method was varied, with 1 e-book, 3 audio books and 2 physically-owned books.
For the genres I switched between 3 genres, namely romance (1), fantasy (2) and mystery (3).
All the books I finished or started reading were in English.
Below is the list of the books I read in May and my rating in stars.
Click the link to jump to the blurb and my review! As always, be aware that both blurb and review may contain spoilers, especially if they are sequels in a series! Sometimes I also hide spoilers behind an expandable text!
- Hobb, Robin – Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy #2) ★★★★★
- Jimenez, Abby – Worst Wingman Ever (The Improbable Meet-Cute #2) ★★★
- Griffiths, Elly – The Last Word (Harbinder Kaur #4) 🎧 ★★
- Sutanto, Jesse Q. – Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers 🎧 ★★★★
- Riley, Lucinda – The Murders at Fleat House 🎧 ★★★★
- Jimenez, Simon – The Spear Cuts Through Water (DNF)
Hobb, Robin – Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy #2) ★★★★★
Genre: Fantasy
Renewing their vicious attacks on the coast, the Red-Ship Raiders leave burned-out villages and demented victims in their wake. The kingdom is also under assault from within, as treachery threatens the throne of the ailing king. In this time of great danger, the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz’s hands—and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.
My review for this amazing book can be found here.
Jimenez, Abby – Worst Wingman Ever (The Improbable Meet-Cute #2) ★★★
Genre: Romantiek
Holly is dealing with the impending death of her grandmother and still reeling from a bad breakup. One bright spot: a Valentine’s Day card on Holly’s windshield—even if it wasn’t meant for her. An amusing mistake soon turns into a lovely exchange of anonymous notes, little acts of kindness, and a growing affection between two strangers. What happens when one of them has to say goodbye?
After the rollercoaster ending of Royal Assassin, I chose to read the second book in this collection of short stories as an interlude. This one was cute and heartwarming just like the first story, although a little less compelling. Perhaps a little too full of coincidences, but they are part of the genre and ultimately they did not detract from my enjoyment. Kudos also for how the author managed to convey not only the main characters, but also many of the side characters, as real people with depth.
🎧 Griffiths, Elly – The Last Word (Harbinder Kaur #4) ★★
Genre: Mysterie
Then a murder case turns up. Local writer, Melody Chambers, is found dead and her family are convinced it is murder. Edwin, a big fan of the obit pages, thinks there’s a link to the writer of Melody’s obituary who pre-deceased his subject.
The trail leads Benedict and Edwin to a slightly sinister writers’ retreat. When another writer is found dead, Edwin thinks that the clue lies in the words.
Seeking professional help, the amateur investigators turn to their friend, detective Harbinder Kaur, to find that they have stumbled on a plot that is stranger than fiction.
This is the fourth book in the series around detective Harbinder Kaur, but in this one we hardly even saw her. Instead, we return to characters we met in book two, Natalka en Edwin, who have now started their own detective agency.
Although I enjoyed the return of these characters and mainly liked the perspectives we got in this story, I did not really enjoy the plot or the murder case. It felt too convoluted and repetitive. I also felt there were way too many characters and too many things relied on coincidence.
🎧 Sutanto, Jesse Q. – Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers ★★★★
Genre: Mysterie
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?
Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).
But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.
Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.
What a quirky, cozy and funny book!
I came for the murder mystery, but stayed for the found family and humor.
I loved how this book made me care about everyone, especially Vera, who is absolutely bonkers! Although, she did read quite a bit older than her so called sixty, but I could easily ignore that and imagine her being more in the vicinity of eighty.
My only gripe would be that the ending felt too rushed, but other than that I had quite the fun time listening to this!
🎧 Riley, Lucinda – The Murders at Fleat House ★★★★
Genre: Mysterie
The sudden death of a pupil in Fleat House at St Stephen’s – a small private boarding school in deepest Norfolk – is a shocking event that the headmaster is very keen to call a tragic accident.
But the local police cannot rule out foul play and the case prompts the return of high-flying Detective Inspector Jazmine ‘Jazz’ Hunter to the force. Jazz has her own private reasons for stepping away from her police career in London, but reluctantly agrees to front the investigation as a favour to her old boss.
Reunited with her loyal sergeant Alastair Miles, she enters the closed world of the school, and as Jazz begins to probe the circumstances surrounding Charlie Cavendish’s tragic death, events are soon to take another troubling turn.
Charlie is exposed as an arrogant bully, and those around him had both motive and opportunity to switch the drugs he took daily to control his epilepsy.
As staff at the school close ranks, the disappearance of young pupil Rory Millar and the death of an elderly Classics master provide Jazz with important leads, but are destined to complicate the investigation further. As snow covers the landscape and another suspect goes missing, Jazz must also confront her personal demons . . .
Then, a particularly grim discovery at the school makes this the most challenging murder investigation of her career. Because Fleat House hides secrets darker than even Jazz could ever have imagined . . .
My first Lucinda Riley and I’m immediately saddened she was not able to write more books in this genre.
This was a very compelling, thrilling and complex murder mystery. The story grabbed me from the start, and despite its length and enormous wealth of characters, I never felt bored or lost.
Inspector Jazz is one I would have liked to follow in more cases.
Recommended!
Jimenez, Simon – The Spear Cuts Through Water (DNF)
Genre: Fantasy
The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.
But that god cannot be contained forever.
With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.
Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water is an ambitious and profound saga that will transport and transform you—and is like nothing you’ve ever read before.
DNF @ ±55% (page 286)
“ Before you arrive,
you remember your lola, smoking. You remember the smell of her dried tobacco, like hay after a storm.”
This is the one, the culprit and ruiner of my reading mojo. I really wanted to love this book, but in the end I found it boring and bloated.
I started this book, chosen for the April book club in Andrew Watson’s Discord, with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty. Even though I was already late, I still wanted to read the book, because the group was very positive about it, especially about its unique narrative style and evocative storytelling.
“Once, the Moon and the Water were in love.” She lingered on that word, love, just as the smoke lingered in the air. “You can imagine it was not the most convenient affair.”
The start wasn’t smooth – I had to re-read the first few pages several times because it was difficult to get into. But suddenly I was in it and flying through the pages. The writing style is indeed very special. It’s the first time since N.K. Jemisin’s “The Fifth Season” that I encounter a second-person perspective. The strange thing was that, even though I am a woman myself, I still experienced the you character as masculine. I’m not sure why this was the case, but it added an extra layer of curiosity to my reading experience. At that point, I had no deeper thoughts about the book, other than an appreciation for the poetic writing style and a growing curiosity about where the story would go.
But as I progressed, my enthusiasm began to wane. I needed some encouragement from the book club to continue reading.
Even though I had completed the first day of the narrative (the book has 7 parts, a before, an after and 5 days), there was nothing that really attracted me to continue. Yes, the storytelling style is unique, but it started to feel like this stylistic choice was hiding a lackluster story. I wondered if this narrative style was really necessary and if the story would ultimately blossom. I felt a little frustrated because I really wanted to experience the magic that many other readers found in this book, but with almost 200 pages under my belt, I wasn’t feeling it. This disconnect made me question myself – was I missing something? Wasn’t I smart enough to appreciate it? The frustration grew, and I feared a reading slump, feeling sad and out of place for disliking a book that others cherished.
“This is a love story to its blade-dented bone.”
Despite all this, I continued to persevere with stubbornness and determination. By this point, I had been chipping away at the book for over three weeks — an unusually long time for me. I started the third day of the narrative, but when reaching page 286, I finally decided that I had had enough. I was giving up. I had read more than half of the book, but it still didn’t resonate with me. While I could acknowledge the brilliance of the writing, I felt nothing but a deep reluctance every time I picked up the book. Forcing myself to continue only increased my aversion and pushed me further and further toward the dreaded reading slump.
So yeah, I pushed on for too long, only to finally have to admit that this book just isn’t for me. Part of me remains sad that I haven’t been able to discover what resonates so much with others. But at the end of the day, it should never be forgotten that not every book is for every reader, and that’s totally okay!
It’s a pity that I lost my reading pleasure for a long period of time. I really need to take this lesson to heart and learn to say goodbye to a book that I don’t like much sooner!
