Books I Read In May

The books I read in May definitely reflected the changing spring weather. With the sun finally showing himself in England I couldn’t resist books which were upbeat and happy (with the exception of the murder mystery!) I hurtled through four of these six books in the first half of the month and hardly lifted my eyes from the pages of a book to eat and drink. I even got to indulge in one of my favourite things; reading outside in the sunshine. I was also really lucky with the books I chose last month. Which is why I thought it would be fun to start a chronicle of the books I read from month to month. Luckily I can start on a high note as there were no duds, or books I gave up on half way through! So, with the most clunky introduction possible, here’s what I read in May:

The Diary of a Provincial Lady

Honestly, I think the cover of this book does it a disservice. I had no idea going in just how wickedly funny this book was going to be. It was like reading the older, better version of Bridget Jones’ diary. In fact, I’m willing to lay bets that Bridget Jones is heavily inspired by The Diary of a Provincial Lady.

Written in a funny, off-hand diary style. This book tackles to mundane, everyday life of a 30 something married woman in 1930s England. What I love about authors who write about ordinary things is just how much these themes seem to resonate with me. I am always amazed how the problems we face now were the same then! I loved the character of the Provincial Lady and am looking forward to reading the follow up books soon.

The Body in the Library

Unusually for Agatha Christie novels, I had guessed the murderer long before the plot wound up. For this reason I was slightly disappointed by The Body in the Library. However, this didn’t stop me enjoying the way Christie twisted and turned the plot, which revolves around…you guessed it…a body in the library.

I actually read this book as part of a read-along on Instagram which was fun. The Maidens of Murder choose an Agatha Christie book to read every month and then host round up chats at the end of each month to go over each book. I’ll definitely be joining in another one soon.

Sleepless in Manhattan

Ahh I always turn to Sarah Morgan when I want a light, bright romance to read. She’s definitely one of my favourite romantic fiction authors. I love the way she spends time developing heroines who have a complete life (including hunky hero) rather than revolving the plot around just the developing relationship. This book is the first in her newest trilogy and as such, there is some time devoted to establishing each of three friends who will head up her own book.

I thought the relationship development between Paige and Jake was really nice. Plus, one of my favourite types of plot is the age old, friends who fall in love so I was pleased as punch to see that was the way things were headed in Sleepless in Manhattan. Looking forward to book two!

Landline

This was the last minute show stopper. Definitely one of the best books I read in May! I picked up Landline at the Library and, like most spur of the moment choices, I didn’t really expect much from it. I have heard lots of good things about Rainbow Rowel on twitter and Instagram, but I’d sort of written her off as a YA author (sorry!) And, since I tend not to read much young adult fiction I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did.

But love it I most certainly did. These days, thanks to being employed full time, it takes a LOT to get me to stay up late reading. But I just couldn’t. put. This. Book. Down. I woke up the next day, bleary eyes and feeling hungover but it was totally worth it. Thank you Rainbow for writing a book about real life, and real love. I LOVED this book! I’ll definitely keep my eyes out for other books.

Randall’s Rogues Series Book 1&2

A Lady for Lord Randall by Sarah Mallory
A Rose for Major Flint by Louise Allen

Since Mills & Boon now have an app, I decided to indulge in a couple of historicals this month. The ones I settled on were book part of a series, which I bought without realising! Each one is set during the Battle of Waterloo, in Brussels, and was written by a different author.

I really enjoyed both of them. They were well written and had just the right amount of period detail to help set the scene. I especially enjoyed the chemistry between Mary and Lord Randall in the first book and thought her role as a school teacher added a little extra.

However I preferred book two ever so slightly more than book one because the heroine, Rose (Catherine) was dealing with Shell Shock, which I thought was a really interesting twist, I also enjoyed the will they, won’t they marry element, especially as it was Rose who didn’t want to marry. I would definitely recommend both books, and will be reading the third book ‘A Mistress for Major Bartlett’ in June!

So, that’s all the books I read in May

What did you read?

PS. Here’s some other posts you might enjoy

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