It's officially the month summer begins! I love summer, and not only because it's my birthday season.
I covered quite a lot of genres in May: literary, mystery, history, horror, YA contemporary, magical realism, thriller, memoir, and fantasy. Let's get into it! All covers are linked to Goodreads.
Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
Genre: Literary Fiction
Release Year: 2014
Beautifully written, and engrossing despite the slower pace.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie (Audiobook)
★★★★
Genre: Mystery
Release Year: 1926
The queen of crime strikes again! I had no idea where this was going, and my jaw dropped at the big reveal at the end!!
Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, by Joan Druett
★★★
Genre: Nonfiction
Release Year: 2007
This could have been such an interesting book, but something about the storytelling was missing for me. I kind of just endured it rather than gobbling it up, as I feel I should have been doing.
Wolf Worm, by T. Kingfisher
★★★.5
Genre: Horror
Release Year: 2026
Yep, this was gross. I love T. Kingfisher's writing, though, and I love that she used to be an illustrator, and all the details about watercolor were from her experience. My head felt itchy for a while after I finished this book (IYKYK).
With the Fire on High, by Elizabeth Acevedo
★★★★
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Year: 2019
I really enjoyed getting to know Emoni as a character, and the ending felt satisfying. The short chapters made this book one that I could pick up whenever I didn't have a lot of time, or, on the flip side, one that I could breeze through big chunks of when I did have a lot of time. (I will say, the fact that she took the beer bread out of the oven and cut a slice of it right away at the end did hurt my soul a little bit. I mean, she's supposed to be an amazing cook?! Not a great baker though, I guess.)
Twice, by Mitch Albom
★★★★.5
Genre: Magical Realism
Release Year: 2025
Mitch Albom knows how to write a story.
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, by Lisa Unger (Audiobook)
★★★.5
Genre: Thriller
Release Year: 2022
Overall, I thought this was good. There was some repetitive language, especially near the end (everyone's face was a mask of something–fear, anger, sadness, etc.), and I'm still not sure how stars twinkle violently (although they did it twice in close succession in the middle of the book). I thought the question of, "Who is really your family?" was an interesting theme to explore through the medium of a thriller; it definitely added some depth.
Things My Son Needs to Know about the World, by Fredrik Backman (translated by Alice Menzies)
★★★★
Genre: Nonfiction
Release Year: 2012
Absolutely delightful, written in Backman's signature style (although I'm not sure if it was him or the translator, but a couple of thoughts just didn't compute in my brain). I loved the short essay format. Now I've finally written everything he's published to date!
Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai'i, by Sara Kehaulani Goo
★★★
Genre: Nonfiction
Release Year: 2025
I wanted to like this book. The author had an important story to tell. I was just disappointed that the book wasn't written better, especially since she makes such a big deal about her journalism career (which, in her defense, is impressive). There was so. Much. Repetition. Sometimes it felt like she hit upon a phrase that she liked and just copied and pasted it over and over again throughout the book. Details and facts were repeated ad nauseam. To be honest, this was not a pleasant reading experience.
The Kingdom of Almonds, by Ariel Kaplan
★★★★
Genre: Fantasy
Release Year: 2026
I adore Ariel Kaplan's writing and characters. As with the other books in this series, the plot was somewhat difficult to keep track of just because there's so many characters and so much happening all at once, but this did not diminish my enjoyment of the book. I wish more people were talking about the Mirror Realm Cycle!
Reading Goals/Challenges
Goodreads Challenge: 51 / 120
Paper TBR: 7 / 12
Nonfiction: 13 / 12
National Month Challenge: 5 / 12
Cover Lovers Reading Challenge: 19 / 50
New Release Challenge: 9 / 12
Rereads: 4 / 5
I’m glad you (somewhat) enjoyed “Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six”! And the graph is absolutely rad, so aesthetic
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