May’s Reads
Running total books/audiobooks/short stories read in 2026 by month end: 38.
I behaved much better in May. Focusing on catching up with the programme, I managed five books, and had started another three by the very end of the month, which seems more reasonable than the one read for April. Not gonna lie, Pokopia was still murmuring my name in the corner behind me, but I stayed strong and bravely controlled my raging hedonism.
My first mention has to be Legendary by Stephanie Garber, the second Young Adult (YA) instalment of the Caraval trilogy. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as the first book, but I actually loved hearing Tella’s story. Tella was one of my favourite characters in the first book. It is important to note that this is only the first part of Tella’s story, which will be completed in the next and final section; Finale. In some ways, the greater, two-book length means there is no real ending to Legendary, and this is a weakness. It is also less cohesive in narrative terms I felt to the first part. Like the rest of this trilogy, it does have weaknesses, but the imagery and author voice is lovely, and the reason for my five-star review.
Next, I would like to talk about Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman. I was looking forward to reading this one given it is by the author of Birdbox. I had seen Birdbox the film, and honestly had mixed feelings about it, but Unbury Carol was my first actual read by Malerman. Unfortunately, I did not like it. I felt it lacked direction, the characters were shallow, and the dangers cartoonish rather than scary. On the other hand, I desperately wanted to like it, because the concept was so incredibly original and imaginative. This one was a group book club read, and as a result, I made myself read to the end. Amazingly, I really did like the ending, something I am historically difficult to please with. So here is a book that I would have DNF’d, that I actually ended up enjoying the last third, which feels like a lesson of some kind. I mean, I’m probably not going to learn the lesson, because life is too short to not DNF books that don’t draw you in, but still. I might give some a better run if I’m in doubt.
My final highlight is The Trad Wife by Carrie Hughes. This was a free option on Audible and I wanted to mention it, because since I cancelled my Kindle Unlimited (KU) subscription a couple of months ago, I have found that good free Audible options have pretty much vanished. This one scored a solid three stars for me, in all the best ways of an easy, fun read with an interesting story. There was plenty in here that irritated me, not least the treatment of some religions, which I felt was a little dismissive, and the story was predictable in places, but it has loads of humour, lots of great quotes, and was a really gentle listen.
These books were all reviewed by me on the My Bookshelf 2026 page, and wherever possible, on my GoodReads and Storygraph accounts; you can follow me and comment on these sites. I sometimes wander across rare, old, or unusual stories that are not listed on these forums, which will appear only on My Bookshelves. Please note that I include audiobooks in my reading record, and absolutely do consider oral forms of storytelling to be a legitimate and inclusive form of reading. The summary of my reading challenge for 2025 can also be found in My Bookshelf 2025 page.
As always, thanks for reading along!
