Emma's May Reading Extravaganza

3,333 pages, included the not pictured: A Conjuring of Light

The beginning of May was pretty crazy for me what with finals, studying, packing, traveling home. But, I haven't been doing much of anything since I got back except reading. And golly gee have I read a lot this month (seven books to be exact). I thought I'd share the books I finished this month, tell you what I thought of them, and maybe influence your summer book list.

Sometimes I dream that I live in this universe. Also, is this artsy or stupid?

The first book I finished this month was A Court of Wings and Ruin by the lovely Sarah J. Maas. I gave this five stars on Goodreads. This is the third and final book in her A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy, so I feel like I can't really talk about any of the plot points without spoiling the first two books. Basically, this is a new adult fantasy series about fae. There's magic, monsters, battles, wonderful banter, addicting romance, basically everything I look for in a book. This book is marketed as YA, but I would have to disagree with that categorization as it is very explicit and might make younger readers uncomfortable. So, if you're old enough and/or are comfortable with explicit passages, I'd recommend this book. There's definitely something for everyone.

The name of this book sounds so off-putting, but I swear it's really good.

Like, I literally hate saying I'm reading The White Princess.

The second book I finished was The White Princess by Philippa Gregory. I also gave this five stars on Goodreads. This is one of the many installments of the Cousin's War series. I don't know if that's the official name of the series as it's more of a collection of stand alone novels, but just know that there are other books in this world. It picks up almost right after the Battle at Bosworth, where Henry Tudor took Richard III's crown and became king of England. However, instead of focusing on the battles and the king it focuses on his wife, and former lover of the late king, Elizabeth of York. Elizabeth is one of the last in her line, both of her brothers having been killed in the Tower of London, and she is to marry Henry Tudor. The book follows almost two decades of their marriage. It is very detailed, very political, but still very captivating and addicting. I just adore Philippa Gregory and will someday finish all of her books.

The cover of this book is so ugly I couldn't even get a semi decent

picture from the front.

The third book I finished was Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I gave this five stars on Goodreads. Technically, I started this back in January, but I didn't really get into it until late April. I listened to the audiobook version so I think it took me a little longer to finish than if I had just read the physical copy. There is far too much plot in this book for me to summarize it well, but just know that it is action packed, magic packed, and full of so many twists and turns you'll have whiplash by the time you're done reading. Basically, this is a very high stakes, very fantastical heist novel, with a side dish of revolutionary thought. The characters are amazing and hilarious, and my heart broke about a thousand times. I'll probably write an individual review for this book because it was just so damn good I need far more than just a paragraph to talk about it.

This is when I started regretting the purple backdrop because it

really clashes with this series. Not pictured: A Conjuring of Light

I'm just going to lump the next three books I read into one segment: the Shades of Magic trilogy by VE Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light). I had seen this books in bookstores and online for quite some time, but only picked them up last week. I read the first one in about three days, the second one in two days, and the last in less than twenty-four hours. These books were not short, mind you. If I am correct, each book was between 500-600 pages. The premise of these books is that there are four different worlds, connected by one city: London. In each world, a city called London sits in the exact same geographical spot. The worlds also have different levels of magic. There is Black London, which has the most magic; White London, which has a little bit less magic but is a violent and brutal place; Red London, where magic and people thrive; and Grey London, which has next to no magic. Grey London is meant to be our world's Regency Era London. Only a select few, the Antari, can travel between the worlds. One of the main characters, Kell, happens to be one of the two remaining Antari magicians. These magicians are gifted with power over all the elements, and the power of blood magic. They're very badass. Kell, of Red London, is robbed by Delilah Bard while in Grey London, and an adventure across worlds commences. This series is just a joy to read. It is very funny, very emotional, very interesting, and just an all around great read. It's just wonderful. I gave each book a five stars on Goodreads.

I was tempted to take a picture of

the back of the book because the author

is so handsome, but I decided that would be

immature.

The last book I read this May, I told you I read a lot, was Golden Son by Pierce Brown. Once again, five stars on Goodreads. I've already posted a review on this book, so if you want a more in depth review I'd recommend taking a peep at that. This is the second installment of the Red Rising Trilogy, and it is phenomenal. If you know me, you know that sci-fi isn't usually my cup of tea, but I am addicted to this trilogy. It just doesn't read like most sci-fi novels. Brown doesn't go super in-depth on the science or aliens, which I really like because I honestly find that to be the least believable aspect of most sci-fi. He really just focuses on creating incredible characters and constructing mind-blowing plots. If you like The Hunger Games  or Star Wars, I can almost guarantee that you will also enjoy this trilogy.

I have no idea why it is only focused on the bottom book...artsy?

And that's a wrap on reading in May. There might be a summer reading list coming your way in the next week. I'm going to try to plan each read perfectly so I don't get into a slump that deters me from reaching my 2017 reading goal of 50 books!