Well, it’s the end of another month.
Right now, it doesn’t feel right to pretend that May was just another great month, because it wasn’t. Honestly, it’s hard to feel anything but pessimistic given the state of everything in the world right now. Every single day is like “Oh, you thought that was bad? Here’s something worse!”
I don’t even know what to say. I’m angry and I’m tired and I feel incredibly helpless. If you’re feeling similarly, take a look at these resources that might help direct your actions. And if you’re American, I am begging you to register to vote.
Anyway, that’s not what we’re here for. It’s the end of the month, which means it’s time to wrap up what I read in May. And…well, I think my reading in May is pretty indicative of my overall state of being, since I read much less than usual. My plan was to spend the month catching up on all the ARCs I still haven’t read and I didn’t do great with that.
I read a total of seven books in May — less than my usual 10+ — with an average rating of 4.1 stars. That actually feels quite high, given my lack of major enthusiasm toward most of the books I read this past month. There were a few great ones that bumped it up, though!
Okay, this intro is already a mess and I don’t know what else to say, so let’s just get into this wrap-up.
Books I read
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
RELEASE: OCT. 6, 2020
I feel so conflicted about this book! I think 3 stars is the right rating but I’m second guessing everything?? I don’t know. I have a review partially written but I’m not sure exactly when I’ll post it… Apparently I can’t make up my mind about anything involving this book. Let me know if you’d rather see my review soon or closer to the release date!
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
RELEASE: SEPT. 1, 2020
Mini review is here. This was a lovely and spooky YA book with wonderful representation, even if the writing wasn’t my favorite.
Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Mini review is here. A retelling of Persuasion that honored the original story while bringing something new – in my opinion, a success!
Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Mini review is here. A slow burn romance set in Hollywood and including some of the very best tropes.
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Mini review is here. A nonfiction account of the investigative reporting that helped spark the #MeToo movement. Not an easy read, but an important one!
Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
RELEASE: SEPT. 15, 2020
Nina LaCour never disappoints! I will have a review posted closer to the release date; in the meantime, get excited for her newest heart-wrenching, unbelievably gorgeous fabulist novel that’s all about found family and recovery.
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I cannot stop screaming about this book!!! Expect a long and gushing review coming up, because I have SO much to say about Shakespearean drama, the narrative structure, the characters – everything about this book. Definitely a new favorite!!
Other things
The Half Of It (2020)
Hi I’m obsessed with this movie!! I was excited about this from the moment it was first announced, and it did not disappoint. Coming of age feels, beautiful relationships, and a bittersweet ending that I haven’t stopped thinking about since. One of the best movies I’ve seen so far this year, no doubt!
She-Ra
Honestly, watching all of She-Ra in less than two weeks kind of made my month! This animated show, which just ended with its fifth season, was exactly the thing I needed in my life – amazing characters, gripping plot, themes of friendship and hope and resilience. The ending legit made me cry of happiness. If you’re a fan of Avatar or Steven Universe, you HAVE to watch this show. Anyway, if you need me, I’ll be over here crying about how much I love Catra.
May blog posts
Here on my blog, I had some posts that I’m quite proud of!
Goodreads, pull yourself together 💫 Fancasting characters from some of my favorite books 💫 Review: Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed 💫 Me and Music Tag 💫 Percy Jackson adaptation news 💫 My bookish “nope list” 💫 Book recommendations for Jane Austen heroines 💫 The Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus Book Tag 💫 Anticipated book releases June-September
And around the blogosphere, there were some amazing posts going on:
💫 Xandra @ Starry Sky Books talked about how book to screen adaptations SHOULD be created, and I wholeheartedly agree with all of this.
💫 Fadwa @ Word Wonders listed 100+ books by Muslim authors, which is INCREDIBLE – my TBR definitely expanded thanks to this post!
💫 Ash @ Starlight Strands shared heartwarming middle grade books by Asian authors, which sounds like what we all need right now.
💫 Fatma @ The Book Place wrote a fascinating discussion about personal histories with books, which I loved reading and related to a lot!
💫 Sophie @ Me & Ink talked about consumerism in the book community, a wonderfully thought out and well-written post if I’ve ever seen one.
💫 Alice @ Love For Words listed 9+ websites that every reader should know about, all of which look incredibly useful to me.
June TBR
June is Pride, and I have a very ambitious TBR planned. Wish me luck with all of these!
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
- Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby
- Peter Darling by Austin Chant
- All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
- The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
- Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
- Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
- By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
- The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos
How was your May? What books did you read this month? What do you plan to read in June?
x Margaret
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Weird Zeal 
Totally agree with you on what you said in the introduction.
(I just read several of your posts and I’m physically restraining myself from capslocking “I love everything you write” over and over and over and over.)
May your June be better than May was. (ajdshfk, so many books to put on my TBR now, someone send help.)
Thank you for linking to my post!!
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Ahhh thank you! 😊 Yep, really hoping for a better June, both personally and for the world 🤞 Ahaha glad I could add so many books to your TBR – happy reading! 😀
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I’m curious about VE Schwabs new book and cant wait to read your review! And omg I need to read If We Were Villains but im afraid my heart is going to be torn out and stomped on lol. Looks like you read some great books this month! Happy reading in June 🙂
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Ahhh yes, I’m thinking I’ll probably post my review for Addie LaRue soon-ish! Omg you absolutely do need to read If We Were Villains – it might tear your heart out, but in a good way?? Thanks so much, and happy June to you!
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The Half of It was so good!! I just watched it the other night. Like, I think I need to watch it every night for the next few days, I can’t stop thinking about it either 😀
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AGREED! I already want to rewatch it 😀 Such a good movie!!
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i’m so sad addie larue was only 3 stars for you, margaret! i feel like i’ve been hearing only the most glowing things about it, so i’m excited to see your thoughts on it ❤ (i'm glad you loved if we were villains though! i tried to pick it up last year but didn't get through much, i need to pick it up again)
i just started watching she-ra (finished s1 today!) and i'm really enjoying it!! i love catra too haha. and enjoy the grief keeper and ivy aberdeen's letter to the world — they're both so, so good. have a great june and happy pride!!
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I’ve heard such praise for Addie LaRue also, so it was definitely a little heartbreaking that it wasn’t an instant favorite! Ahh that’s too bad that you weren’t enjoying If We Were Villains – it was definitely in my wheelhouse but I can see how it wouldn’t be enjoyable for others.
YESSS I hope you enjoy your She Ra journey!! I literally cannot stop thinking about it 24/7. Catra!! ❤ Ooh hooray, I'm so glad you liked those books, because I'm so excited to read them. Happy pride to you too!! 🏳️🌈
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If We Were Villains is so, so good! One of my favorite books! i’m happy you enjoyed it so much. And your TBR looks so good, I hope you have a great month!💜
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It’s absolutely a new favorite for me too!! I can’t get over how incredible it is 😀 Thanks so much, I hope you have a wonderful June as well!
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omg i’m so desperate for Watch Over Me, Nina Lacour is fantastic!
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She IS! I hope you love it as much as I did 😀
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Also, so excited for you to read Peter Darling! It’s a favorite of mine!
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Ahhh yay that’s great to hear! I can’t wait!
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The Half Of It is so good ❤ glad you enjoyed your reads ❤
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IT IS!! Thanks so much, and happy June!
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Yes, it’s hard to just go on as “normal” right now when the world is sort of falling apart around us. It really does feel like every blow is worse and worse, and it’s hard to see where it will all end.
On a positive note, I’m so excited that you loved The Half of It—I really want to watch that one with my daughter. I think we’ll both love it!!
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Truly… it feels impossible to concentrate on anything else right now 😔
I hope you and your daughter love The Half Of It as much as I did!! It’s truly fantastic.
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It truly feels like 2020 keeps going downhill 😞 I’m happy to hear that you did enjoy some books though, I definitely keep hearing people gush about If We Were Villains – and it also gives off a similar vibe to Vicious – so that has me very intrigued! I also loved watching The Half of it with a friend – it was truly an incredible movie 🥰
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Yep, 2020 is not our year 😣
If We Were Villains definitely has similar vibes to Vicious, just without the fantastical elements!! I highly recommend it 😀 And that’s wonderful that you enjoyed The Half Of It too – I already want to rewatch it!
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I’m glad you loved The Half of It! I also watched it this month and really liked it.
And that’s great to hear about Watch Over Me, I was looking forward to it because Nina LaCour but hadn’t seen anyone who had read it talk about it yet.
Good luck with your TBR!
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Yesss so glad to hear you also enjoyed The Half Of It!! 😀 And you should absolutely get excited about Watch Over Me, because everything Nina LaCour does is brilliant. Thanks so much, and happy June!
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I just watched The Half of It last night to kick off Pride celebrations, and wow, oh my gosh WOW, it was so soft? And wonderful? And I loved, loved, LOVED that it centered around friendship more than it did anything else. UGH. It was so good, I want to watch it again immediately.
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AHHH HOORAY! 😀 It truly was the softest! I remember seeing an ad for it that said something like “not every love story is a romance” and I was IMMEDIATELY on board. I also want to watch it again!!
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I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love Addie as much as you would have liked !! I’m seen a lot of good things so it is a shame when a book doesn’t live up to the hype !! I’m so excited to hear you loved If We Were Villains because I really need to pick up this book at one point !! It sounds amazing !! I’m heard so much about The Half of It, I really need to steal my sister’s bf’s account to watch it 😉 but I’m so glad you loved it !!
Thank you so much for sharing my post and all your kind words !! I hope you have a great June and enjoy all the books on your TBR. I’ve heard good things about Clap When You Land ! ❤
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I feel like I’ve heard nothing but praise for Addie LaRue too, so it definitely came as a sad surprise that I didn’t love it! Oohhh you should absolutely pick up If We Were Villains 😀 And watch The Half Of It!! Cannot recommend enough. Thanks so much, Sophie, and happy June to you too!
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2020 really won’t let up 😞😞 Somehow, this year keeps getting worse and worse, and I have no idea how we’re gonna survive until December, honestly 😅
Ah, I’m so sad that Addie LaRue wasn’t really for you! It’s one of my most anticipated releases, and I have such high hopes for it since V.E. Schwab is one of my faves, and I’ve heard so many rave reviews. Same goes for Cemetery Boys. I’m glad that you enjoyed, but based on your problems with it, I’ll definitely lower my expectations when I read it
Wishing you the loveliest June! ❤
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It’s true 😣 Here’s hoping that we make it to see 2021!
I was sad about Addie LaRue too 😢 I hope you enjoy it more than I did, though – I really think it was just a matter of personal taste!
Happy June to you too ❤
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I have Something to Talk About on my TBR for this month and I can’t wait to get to it 😀 And I’m hoping to get around to Cemetery Boys later this year, it sounds like my perfect kind of book.
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Yay I hope you love Something to Talk About! And Cemetery Boys, which is just a lovely book!!
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I’m so sorry to hear you haven’t read as much as usual, but yay for finding some new great reads at least ❤ I hope that June will be better and brigther, both for you and hopefully for the state of the world in general, because, I mean… it's really, ugh. I don't even have the words.
I love your June TBR! I loved By Any Means Necessary, can't wait to hear what you think of it 🙂
Happy reading and take care, Margaret ❤
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Indeed, I’m glad that I was at least able to find some good books! I hope the same for you ❤
That's great to hear, since I'm really excited to read By Any Means Necessary 😀 Hope your reading goes well this month too!
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Oh my goshhh I love that you mentioned both The Half of It and She-Ra, because I love them both !! The Half of It was so emotional and so so good ❤ and I started watching She-Ra earlier this month, and I'm already on season 5 – I'm flying through this show, it's INCREDIBLE. I started watching it because I had just finished Avatar (best show ever) and was feeling a void :') so I started She-Ra, which has definitely filled the void that Avatar left behind. Aahhh I love She-Ra so much!! Who's your favorite character?
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They’re both sooo good! Haha I did the exact same with She Ra — once I started, I just COULDNT STOP and before I knew it, I was at the end 😅 It really is the perfect thing to fill that Avatar void! I love all of the characters, but my absolute favorite is Catra ❤ What about you?
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Yeessss omg it’s an amazing show and I’m so sad that I’m almost done with it already :’) And ahhh haha I feel like every time I ask my friends who their favorite She-Ra character is, they always say Catra lol. And tbh I didn’t get why until today (I progressed further into season 5), and now I ADORE Catra with all my heart 💕 she’s amazing !! And I loveee all of the characters too, but my favorite is either Bow or Scorpia, they’re both such wholesome & supportive characters ☺️
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Every time I think about Catra, my brain is just like 😍😘💕💖❤️ I’m a sucker for a good redemption arc!
Ahhh Bow and Scorpia are soooo sweet I love them!!
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Okay today I watched more of season 5 and I have like 4 more episodes to go before I finish this incredible show :’) but aahhhh omg that’s literally my mood now with Catra!! I love her SOOOO much hehe, and I’m also loving all the Catradora moments in this season so far 👀💕 they’re so cuteeee
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Yesss I love it! I hope you’ve finished by this point, and I hope it was amazing 😀 Catradora is the BEST ❤
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Omg yes haha I finished it sometime last week and I LOVED THE ENDING SO MUCH, it made me so happy 😭💕 the best friend squad (+ all of the characters tbh) have my ENTIRE heart aahhhh this show is incredible !! CATRADORA is canon omg I still can’t believe it hahah
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HOORAY!!! The best friend squad ❤ And Catradora!!! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ I'm still not emotionally recovered from that finale tbh
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