May 2021 Reading
May was a challenging month for reasons not related at all to my reading. There were, however, two exciting reading related events. First, I set foot inside my local library branch for the first time since March 2020! It was delightful to browse the shelves and check out books. The second was shopping at two library book sales and finding some interesting new-to-me titles.
Even with all these distractions, I managed to finish reading eighteen books.
Read in series, not parallel
The Psy/Changeling Trinity Series is a subtle shift to share more of the Psy/Changeling world by Nalini Singh. It explores new areas and meeting new characters. I enjoyed Silver Silence, perhaps the most out of any of the books in this world.
I also read the Peter Grant/River of London series by Ben Aaronvitch. Adrienne Martini introduced me to the existence of these books in her newsletter. As an Anglophile myself it was a good way to pretend travel to London. I will not confirm or deny watching reruns of Endeavor during my devouring of these books. It’s impossible at this time to state a favourite book, I’m hoping the library licenses What Abigail Did That Summer soon, she is a fascinating character and I’d like to get to know her better. While Aaronvitch claims he’s not comfortable with the form, I found Tales from the Folly to be a remarkable short story collection and wish I hadn’t read it all in one evening!
NetGalley Reviews
There are two NetGalley reviews this week! Hopefully I’ll share more soon. I finished reading several titles and now have to write something more coherent than “I liked it”.
Paper & Blood (Ink & Sigil #2) by Kevin Hearne
This second book of the Ink & Sigil series caused me to break my moratorium on requesting new ARCs before I finished a few more reviews. I love this new series set in the world the Iron Druid introduced ten years ago.
Is it a perfect book? It’s close. Is it remarkable that Hearne completed the manuscript during this global pandemic? Yes! Will we be reunited with beloved characters? SAUSAGE! (That’s a yes–Oberon and Starbuck are a key part of this story as are Al, Buck, Nadia, and yes Atticus).
Paper & Blood is wonderful read with Hearne’s signature wit and wordplay. You can read more thoughts in this NetGalley review. It’s available now for pre-order with a signed bookplate from The Poisoned Pen.
Adventure Cables by Meghan Jones
This is a book I’ll write more about at little acorn creations tomorrow.
It is a pattern collection with extensive tips and tutorials. It’s geared toward intermediate knitters.
Pre-order today, it will be released in September.
June Reading Plans
I’m working through the October Dayne and InCryptid books by Seanan McGuire. It’s unclear to me why I’ve not completed these series yet. I think they’ll be good escapes this month.
There are more NetGalley reviews in the queue and I hope to make it to at least a 50% review ratio by the end of this month. If I stopped requesting new books faster than I can review them, it would be a much easier goal to reach!
