Greetings readers!
Boy oh boy. May was THE month for me. It was the month of MAY. *Read that like how Justin Timberlake sings Me.*
Not gonna lie there was a week where I fell into a slump, but I jumped back from it! Not every read this month was omgomgomgoooood, but I had quite a few good ones and am quite happy with what I got done. To add to this, I read faster than I wrote reviews so I am severallll books behind schedule in terms of reviewing. They will be up…eventually though.
Let’s get started shall we!
What Rendz Read
We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett
This was such a great read! I was so surprised by how much I liked it! If you want feminist, fighter pilots then check it out. My Full Review.
The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner
HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH. This book was PHENOMENAL!!!!! READ IT! My Full Review.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
This was the Sisters Reads of May! My sisters, Maz and Kez, and I buddy read this together and we shared our ~thoughts~. Read Our Tell All.
Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George
SECOND HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH! You all have now idea how much I adored this book. My Full Review.
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera
Despite not being exactly what I expected, I enjoyed this Latinx read a lot! More to come in a mini review!
Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao
I have been meaning to read this one for a while now because I loved Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. It was a great follow up for sure! More to come in a mini review!
The Girl Who Sailed The Stars by Matilda Woods
This short, magical MG read is sure to capture the hearts of many! Review to come.
The Snow Witch by Rosie Boyes
I got some great winter and White Witch vibes from this MG read! Review to come!
The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
This was quite an emotional read and it is the perfect Pride Month pick! Review to come!
The Haul
As usual I went overboard with everything.
My purchases
Nocturna by Maya Motayne (Finished copy)
Penguin Teen CA
The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh (I KNOW AHHHH)
A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
Eve of Man by Giovanna & Tom Fletcher
The Triumphant by Lesley Livingston
Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian
Hatchette
Queen of Ruin by Tracy Banghart
The Witching Hours: The Troll Heart by Jack Henseleit
Library:
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera
Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao
Posts From Last Month
THEME THURSDAY | PIRATES
Shiver me timbers…I haven’t read a lot of Pirate YA books!
Even the Darkest Stars | Canadian Dragon Tales Buddy Read Review // We Have Questions!!!
Sha and I tackled another Canadian “dragon” Tales Buddy Read. This one was less successful than the first, but still fun!
My Mismatched Series | A Discussion
Let’s get chatty! Be honest, how many mismatched books do you have?
HCC Frenzy Presents Fantasy Panel! | Meeting Tahereh Mafi, Maya Motayne & Victoria Aveyard // Turns out I am not as cool as I try to be…
Read this if you want to know about how I made a complete and utter fool of myself as I was trying to keep my cool. Spoiler: I did not keep my cool.
THEME THURSDAY |TWINS
Turns out, I have read more twin books than I initially thought!
Other Going-Ons
I Wrote Another Article!
I dug deep into a google search to collect a list of my top 10 most anticipated Latinx Books of 2019! You can read the article here!
I Art-ed!
If you guys don’t follow me on Instagram, you totally should! (@readingwithrendz). I often put updates on my little art adventures. Not all of them are cool, but I like to share my progress. My latest project was a Pinterest Girl that I did in soft pastel!
The following picture is the finished copy (but the lighting is so horrible)!
Aladdin 2019 was not trash. I repeat it was not trash!
Let me tell youuuuuu. I 100% thought this movie was not going to be any good from what I saw in the trailers, but I was so so wrong. it was actually quite fun and I liked how they retold the story. Even Will Smiths top-knot genie was okay with me. I mean it doesn’t beat out the original cartoon, but still! It was quite good!
I was hoodwinked, bamboozeled and betrayed by a Wattpad story!!!
So I was clearing out my iPod because I want to take it on my vacation and I was deleting all unnecessary apps. I stumbled upon my Wattpad app, which I made with the intention of writing but I never did, lol. So I was going to delete it, but then I saw this story cover which I was fairly intrigued by. I read the synopsis and knew that it wasn’t really my style, but I was curious. So I read this contemporary, arranged-marriage romance novel. And I gotta be honest…I was kinda loving it. Like it had its trashier bits and the grammar was off sometimes, but I really did like the characters and the plot direction. And I got to the end and thought wow this was great, until I read the epilogue. The epilogue ruined everything for me. It turned this happily ever after into a bittersweet end. And before you think what you might think, no. No one died. No one broke up. It was just how the author decided to craft their future in order to write a sequel that made me go: NO NO NOOOOOOOO.
So I was mad. But I haven’t been able to find another arranged-marriage romance novel that works for me. So I continue to suffer.
I Went to the Penguin Teen Social!
Book worms of all kinds gathered at the PRHC HQ a couple of weeks ago to talk all things books. It was more of a mix and mingle than a sit-down thing. (There were not many places to sit at all actually) But I had a lot of fun being anti-social with my best bookish friend, Rezanne! I even got to meet Tanaz Bhathena and she singed my copy of The Beauty of the Moment!!!! I got to meet more authors, but I’m still thinking of writing an event recap for it so stay tuned!
I’m thinking of taking another mood month. I’m just going to pick up whatever I feel like I want to try.
I’ve already read The Beholder by Anna Bright and it was quite the read! I’ll talk more about it in my review!
I will be reading Spin The Dawn this month with Mandy @ Book Princess Reviews! We are hoping this will be our first read that we both actually love!
I will also for sure get to The Storm Crow by Kayln Josephson because I will be part of the blog tour!!!
Oh and I have one special read that’s going to be happening this month. Let’s just say I am really going to step out of my comfort zone.
As for the rest of the month….hmmmmmm…we shall see what I am in the mood for!
Let me know what you think! What was your favourite May read? What books are you looking forward to this June? What books did you haul?
Happy reading!
~ Rendz
Reading with Rendz 
Wow, great post! May looked like an epic month for you – sadly I was stuck with exams 😦 hopefully I have the summer to catch up on all the books I want to read! 🙂
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Ah! That’s okay! I hope your exams went well and that you find lots of time to read this month!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Why is it that sometimes you stumble on that really good Wattpad story that makes you question everything you’ve ever read and critiqued??
OKAY OKAY I DID SEE ALADDIN TOO. AND YES IT WAS GOOD. I was too quick to judge, call it if you must, I was a foooool. I was bopping to Genie’s beats and it was witty and fun!
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This Wattpad story ruined my life Sha. How am I supposed to cope now? i still haven’t found a good replacement so I am in the mood for a romance read?
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