May Recap

sometimes less is pretty damn great

This month turned out not to be as bad as I thought it was. I got off to a strong start at the beginning of the year. I read something like 20 books in January and 15 books in February. Then I didn’t read anything for a whole month. I felt like I was struggling to get my groove back. So, my heart kind of sank when I saw I read six books this month when I had read eight the month before. Then I just finished watching one of my BookTubers, Syd, talk about her reading slump and how she hadn’t had a 5-star read in ages. I had three this month. So, yeah, I guess May was a winner for me.

5-Stars

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

One of my favorite books from last year was Good Material by Dolly Alderton. Turns out Caroline O’Donoghue did a short run podcast, Sentimental in the City, with Dolly in 2021. I definitely need to give it a listen. They both have the same vibe. I didn’t know anything about the plot going in, and I think this is one of those books where it is best to just let the events carry you along. One could say that the book is about the choices people make, choices of action and inaction. The characters are flawed and lovable. I know I’m not doing a great job selling it, but I loved it.

Still Life by Sarah Winman

Some YouTuber, I don’t remember who, recommended two books Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny and Still Life by Sarah Winman. The YouTuber’s pitch for these two books was good enough for me to add them both to my TBR. I read Early Morning Riser back in 2023 and really liked it. Solid four stars. Still Life took me a bit longer to get to, but I finally did. Do I regret not getting to it sooner? Yes, yes, I do. While I loved The Rachel Incident, I LOVED Still Life. This is one of those stories that will be an all-time favorite. Let’s just say that two people meet in Italy during the waning days of WWII, and while they part ways after a few hours spent together, their lives are linked from that point on. I will write more about it later because there’s just so, so much I loved.

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

This is my second Abby Jimenez book. I read Part of Your World and really liked it, a solid 4-stars. I’m not a big romance girlie, but I enjoyed Part of Your World enough that I wanted to read more by her. Also, I’ve seen so many BookTubers say, “I don’t really like romance, but I like Abby Jimenez and Emily Henry”. So, there you are. Instead of telling you what Say You’ll Remember Me did that I loved, I’m going to say what it didn’t do. It didn’t have the stupid third act miscommunication. I usually love the first half of these books, but then I amp it up to 2x speed to get to the ending when everything gets stupid. Jimenez was able to keep the story together without resorting to the usual conventions. In this one she takes a couple who love each other, but who struggle to stay together when life has other plans for them. Perfection. Honestly though, I don’t know if there will ever be a romance that’s as perfect for me as this one, which is kind of sad. I’m so happy I was able to get to this one so quickly after its release

Side note: The audio director made a choice with this one that was so good. When a book is told from two (or more) perspectives with two narrators, usually each narrator does the voice for both parts when they are doing their section. What they did in this one, which works so unbelievably well for the banter, is the narrator will do the lines for their character for the whole book. So, when they are bantering you get both of the narrators doing it in all the sections. OMG!! Dude, this needs to be done all the time. It elevated everything.

4-Stars

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Oh boy, this is one that has been on my TBR for years. I was there when Emily brought it up for the first time at the end of 2022. Then I saw it catch like wildfire and burn through BookTube all the way to mainstream media’s best books lists. I regret that I didn’t read it back in 2022 when Emily first started raving about it. I could have been ahead of the wave. It wasn’t until one of my other YouTubers, Fern, read it in May that I finally got to it. I had to know what she thought. After finally getting to it, do I love it as much as everyone else? Not really. Unfortunately, it is one of those books you can’t really talk about without spoiling things. I liked it and what Harpman was doing. I just didn’t LOVE it. I am extremely happy I’ve finally read it, and that this book is staying alive (in print) and out there continuing to rock people’s worlds.

Fern’s review: I am unwell.

Alice (one of my other BookTubers) review:

What a unique, unsettling, disquieting little book. It's burrowed its way into my brain, and I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about it.

Tip if you want to read it: go in blind.

Confessions by Catherine Airey

Disclaimer: I only clicked on this book because the cover is a photo of a young woman holding a kitten.

This is a multigenerational story that starts in NYC on September 11, 2001, where a teenaged Cora is wandering around the traumatized city as she comes to realize her father has perished in one of the towers. From that horrendous day, the book takes us back to the 1970s through to our current time. This is Catherine Airey’s first book, and while it isn’t perfect, it does accomplish a lot, including making me cry. Cora’s family was broken before 9/11 and only when she is left utterly alone do we see how she came to be orphaned and how meeting the family she doesn’t know she has changes everything.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

After reading some heavy books, I needed something light, so I picked up The Switch (not The Swap, which I kept thinking was the title). Easy peasy, a grandmother and granddaughter swap homes and there’s a lot of meddling in people’s lives and romance. It was just what I needed.

On second thought – No

I went through a few DNFs before I found the book I am currently reading. I’ll mention them because there were three.

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

This was in an email from the publisher that had a list of ghost stories. I got about 35% through it. It is about a pilot with some serious PTSD after he survives a plane crash he desperately tried to avoid. He and his family move to the sticks and there may be something behind the door in the basement of their new home. I put it down when I got Say You’ll Remember Me, and realized I didn’t care enough to finish it.

The Wake-up Call by Beth O’Leary

I’ve really liked the two Beth O’Leary books I’ve read and am working through her back catalog. I found out there were two big problems with this one tho. First, it started during Christmas. I’m not into holiday stories, especially not in May. It was also about these two people who work doing weddings at a hotel. I’m not into weddings either. Weddings + Christmas = nope

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

I got this one because Penner has a new book that’s just come out called The Amalfi Curse. I put it on hold. Then I saw that The London Séance Society was available. Turns out it wasn’t very well written, and I didn’t care about what she was setting up. I read Sarah Purcell’s The Shape of Darkness last month, and she is a far better writer. It is harsh, but I actually canceled my hold on the Amalfi book. I know a couple of people who have it already. I’ll see what they think first.

Okay, that was a lot for not that many books. I am really enjoying the book I’m currently reading. It is one of those that depends on how the ending goes. I hope it goes the way I want it to. We will see.

This week’s vibes: