May Wrap Up

The start of the month went swimmingly! I read so much in the lead up to and during Bout of Books 13.0. But then I hit a super slump... I kept reading but the book I was reading really felt like a chore. I've finished that now and feel a bit more enthused about the book I'm reading now :)

Books:
Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
Sufficient Grace - Amy Espeseth
We Were Liars - E.Lockhart
Horseradish - Lemony Snicket
Tales from Outer Suburbia - Shaun Tan
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Jesse Andrews
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe (Scott Pilgrim #5) - Bryan Lee O'Malley
Locke & Key (Vol.1 to 6) - Joe Hill

Total of 14 - which is pretty good. I can't believe I feel like I haven't been reading enough, this is heaps!!
I've written about a lot of these books during Bout of Books so I won't repeat my thoughts here but I will mention some of the other books I read this month.

Fangirl was amazing. I loved it so much, I can see why everyone is talking about it so much. I could really relate to the characters, I was engaged with their story, I kept turning the pages. This book had everything I needed for a really great read.
I wasn't so interested in the Simon Snow fan fiction. It was written well and would have been interesting as a book on it's own, but I felt like it took me away from the characters too much.
This book is 5 stars in it's niche (fun, easy to read, YA contemporary, romantic comedy) but 4 stars overall.

Sufficient Grace was interesting, it reminded me a lot of Montana 1948 which I read in high school. It was a story about two girls who live in rural america and their struggles. It was really well written, the descriptions were poetic and the scene was set beautifully. It was an slow book and emotional, but in a subtle kind of way. I enjoyed this for what it was.... but the blurb had one of my pet peeves, where it tells you a plot point that doesn't occur until 3/4s of the way through the book. (And in this case it wasn't even entirely correct!)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane was a bit of a struggle. I read the first half and was really enjoying it but then I hit a slump and struggled with the rest of it. I'm not sure if it was the book or if it was just me but I just wanted to be done with it. The images and events were fascinating, I liked the use of magic and how unique it was. I could appreciate this but couldn't enjoy it. Don't let my review put you off though, I'll give Neil Gaiman another go when I'm in a better reading mood.

Locke & Key was the best! I'm only new to graphic novels but this series was really enjoyable.  I said 'wow' out loud at least once every book, the story and art was amazing. I'm sold on the graphic novel concept now!

I'm halfway through the audio book of Shiver by Maggie Steifvater, hopefully will finish it in June.

Hope you had a good reading month. If you have any recomendations for something fun to read let me know.
Happy Reading
Sarah