My birthday month has come and gone, and I’m a year older (yay!!!). I must say, time really flies. While it was a very busy month for me, I still managed to read seven books. Pretty decent, considering. The following post includes my May 2024 book reviews.
While it wasn’t a great month quantity-wise, it was very respectable quality-wise. To me, any month that includes five-star readings is an amazing month. As many of you know, I don’t give five stars easily. so when there’s at least one book that I rate five stars, it qualifies as a good month in my books. There was a second book that came close, but I’m happy with the one amazing book I read this month. It made up for a couple of rather mediocre ones.
Without further ado, these are my May 2024 book reviews.
Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering
This is a satisfying book to read if you’re looking for an easy-to-read, young adult rom-com. Most of the action takes place on college campuses. Hence, the dialogue and topics at hand relate to first relationships between privileged white students. Not only between friends and friendship groups, but also intimate relationships. The character development didn’t go too deep, but it was tolerable.
It was an okay book, but nothing I will probably remember reading in a few months. I liked the author’s Bye, Baby more than her older novel; it shows that she grew as a writer. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with this one, it just felt a bit too superficial for me.
Still, I gave it three stars on Goodreads.
Maame by Jessica George
What an incredible debut novel, and from such a young author! She shows lots of promise, and I’m looking forward to anything she will write in the future! I loved this book so much, I’m really glad I decided to read it this year! As per usual, I bought this book a while ago, most likely last year, but it took me a few months to finally read it.
And I’m very glad that I did. I heard good things about it, and I can attest that it is worth prioritizing. If you were thinking about reading it, I say don’t hesitate. The hype is real.
It is a very well written contemporary fiction, coming-of-age book that follows Madeline, or Maddie, through her early twenties. She is the daughter of Nigerian immigrants living in London, and she has a sort of identity crisis. Raised by her conservative parents to cater to her male relatives, Maame is trying to change the way tradition dictates behavior and set her own rules.
I loved the way the author developed her character, flaws and all. Because Maddie isn’t perfect, but she’s trying to become her own person.
If you have your eye on this one, I definitely recommend it.
The Damages by Genevieve Scott
While Rosalind was in college, she was a spoiled, untitled brat who didn’t think much of others. Fast forward to today she has evolved, but the poor choices she made as a young adult come back to haunt her. She now wishes she was more aware of how her actions played a role in shaping her as a person.
Although it seemed very intriguing after reading the synopsis, this book fell a bit flat for me.
To be honest, I can’t even pinpoint what irked me the most. All I can say is that it didn’t live up to my expectations.
The MC was insufferable, as most of the supporting characters. It was hard to enjoy the book while rolling my eyes at a good part of the dialogue. Most of the cast was horrible and generally very self-centered, not to mention that they made questionable decisions.
There were a few positive points, but it wasn’t enough to make me want to recommend this book to anyone. I must admit that the title is fitting though. It gives readers a good idea what to expect from the book.
Strange Sally Diamond by Luz Nugent
What a treat this book is! I mean, if disturbing, gory books are your thing, you won’t be disappointed. This book starts off with a bang from the first page, so you know the author doesn’t sugar coat the action. It only gets more strange and dark from there on, but what a story. It is a well woven plot that all comes together at the end.
Although I thought the book would take us to a different ending, it was pretty safe. I was satisfied with the overall storyline and I took a liking to Sally towards the end. Some of the supporting characters felt suspicious to me, but all in all it was an interesting cast, to say the least.
I’m glad I finally ticked this one off my tbr list.
Night Shadows by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir
The third book in the Forbidden Iceland series, Night Shadows, was ok, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous two. It was your typical Nordic Noir thriller that checked all the boxes that constitute a decent thriller: the atmospheric setting, the dark characters, the fast-paced action, and the flawed detectives.
Despite that, this book felt a bit rushed to me, or maybe the translation was a bit off thai time around. But it didn’t click with me like the author’s first two installments.
The ending left me blazé, as it was very underwhelming. I expected it to end on a different note, but ah well. Can’t like them all!
I’m actually reading the fifth book of hers right now, and it’s a lot better than this one! Stay tuned for next month’s post when I will review it.
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
I’ll be very honest here: I had such high hopes for this book, I really did, but the disturbing topic made it very hard to like. It was well written, don’t get me wrong, and I typically have no issue with hard-to-digest books. But this one was on a different level. It was very twisted and downright sick. Even the author herself admits in the acknowledgments that many of her friends thought something was wrong with her after reading a copy.
Yes, that type of f***ed up. I almost gave up after a third, but I was determined to see it through. Mostly out of curiosity, to be honest. All I will say is that I don’t regret reading it, but it falls under the failed expectations category. Needless to say that I will read her second book because I own it, but I’m sure that’s where I will end the series.
If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay
Happy publication day to If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay. The book came out officially last week, and I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced readers’ copy.
Although the first third of the book was a bit slow, it picked up pace after that. Unfortunately, not enough to make me love it. It was ok, with enough action to keep me engaged, but I only gave it three stars.
The book had a couple of storylines that were confusing at first. That made me not want to pick it up as often as I normally would. But it did make sense at the end, even though some things were too far-fetched for my liking. So, as my first book by the author, I must say that I wasnt wowed. I’m not gonna run and read any of his previous books just yet.
Concluding Words
So, this is where my May 2024 book reviews post ends. As you can see, my May reading wasn’t exceptional, but I can’t complain. I had a couple of great books, a couple of meh ones, and the rest were ok.
How was your May reading? Anything great I should add to my tbr list?
Leave me a book related comment or a suggestion in the box below. Until next time, keep reading fellow bookworms.
