Happy Thursday sweet friends! Can you believe we are 2 days away from it being May?! Where does the time go. I feel May is going to be a good month because I get my second dose of the vaccine and then will be fully vaccinated against COVID and that fills my heart with so much light I can’t even tell you! It also happens to be my birthday month! I’ll be 26 at the end of May. Oof evening writing that out makes me feel just a smidge old haha.
Another reason to get excited for a new month is to dive into all the books I want to read! In previous months I’ve set kind of a strict TBR for myself and find that it doesn’t work for me. I am not fully a “mood reader” I would say but I definitely lean more towards that and like to give room for books to choose me as well. Not to sound too woo-woo but I do feel certain books call to us when we maybe need to read or experience the story within to learn something from it’s pages. Now that you definitely think I am a little nerdy haha let’s talk about the books I am excited to dive into!
Let’s break down the books by category! Rom Com, YA, Non Fiction,
In the Rom Com Category:
Ah one of my absolute favorite categories and one I used to almost exclusively read! But since I joined bookstagram I’ve really broadened my scope! Anyway, onto the books.
- First up is Maggie Finds her Muse by Dee Ernst:
All Maggie Bliss needs to do is write. Forty-eight years old and newly single (again!), she ventures to Paris in a last-ditch effort to finish her manuscript. With a marvelous apartment at her fingertips and an elegant housekeeper to meet her every need, a finished book―and her dream of finally taking her career over the top―is surely within her grasp. After all, how could she find anything except inspiration in Paris, with its sophistication, food, and romance in the air? But the clock is running out, and between her charming ex-husband arriving in France for vacation and a handsome Frenchman appearing one morning in her bathtub, Maggie’s previously undisturbed peace goes by the wayside.
- Next up is Maybe One Day by Debbie Johnson (she wrote the comfort cafe series which I adored): The truth changes everything. For years Jess believed that Joe—the father of her child and the only man she ever loved—had abandoned her during her greatest time of need. That belief nearly destroyed her. Seventeen years later, when cleaning out her mother’s house, Jess unpacks a box of cards and letters hidden in the attic and makes a discovery that changes everything about life as she knows it. Shaken but empowered, Jess—and her two stalwart best friends—set out on a remarkable journey to follow a set of faded postmarks around the world. Is Joe still alive? Does he know that Jess never forgot him? Maybe their love story isn’t over.
- Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey (not published until may 18th): Nothing will stop Madeline Moore from taking over her family’s independent bookstore after college. Nothing, that is—until a chain bookstore called Prologue opens across the street and threatens to shut them down. Madeline sets out to demolish the competition, but the guy who works over at Prologue seems intent on ruining her life. Not only is he taking her customers, he has the unbelievable audacity to be… extremely cute. But that doesn’t matter. Jasper is the enemy and he will be destroyed. After all—all’s fair in love and (book) war. {I can’t WAIT to read this one. I love this type of love/enemy trope as well as anything that has to do with a bookstore in it.}
- Last in this category and I might not get to it but hope too is Kisses and Croissants by Anne- Sophie Jouhanneau: Mia Jenrow has always known she’s destined to be a professional ballerina. In fact, it’s in her blood—according to family legend, her too-many-greats-to-count-grandmother once danced for the Paris Opera and was painted by Degas himself! Her parents say it’s just a fantasy, but to Mia it’s so much more than that. It’s her fate. Mia is planning to spend a magical summer in France pursuing her dream, but as she pirou-ettes into Paris, she soon realizes it may be a bit more complicated than she hoped. For starters, there’s her rival, Audrey, who will stop at nothing to show her up. There’s her ballet instructor, whose impossibly high standards push her to the breaking point. And then . . . there’s Louis. Devastatingly, distractingly charming Louis. He’s eager to show Mia his city—and Mia is more than happy to hop on his Vespa and wrap her arms around him as they pass the gleaming lights of the Eiffel Tower. Mia’s summer was supposed to be about ballet—but there’s a reason Paris is called the City of Love. . . .
In the YA Category:
- This month I started the Crave Series by Tracy Wolff and I finished Crave and now am about 3/4 through the second book Crush so in May I want to finish Crush and hopefully start the third book Covet. This has been one of my favorite series I have read so far this year/ in YA Fantasy. I truly couldn’t recommend it enough! Here’s a little synopsis of Crave: My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me. Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me. Which could spell death for us all. Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally―as the bait.
Lastly, in the Non-Fiction Category: I want to finish reading The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. A new hobby I dove into during this month is bullet journaling and I have found that it not only helps me stay organized but I adore getting to be creative in a different way with each spread. I want to share more into bullet journalling and the spreads I create with you all. And I want to finish reading his book since he created the method after all and he takes you through how to organize your journal, inspirational stories of how his method changed his life and others, and more.
Well that is quite a hefty load of books to read in May but I honestly can hardly wait! Reading new books is truly one of my absolute favorite things in the world so a thick book stack is pure happiness to me. Let me know what books you’re looking forward to reading in May!
Talk to you all soon,
M
Whimsy & Willow 