This month has been so busy for us, and we have spent it 90% of the time outside. I am pleased to inform you that I already know every single child and elderly person that lives in our neighbourhood by name! This is thanks to my little unapologetically social toddler (she is nothing like me, hahah, if I could stay home all day I would!)

This tiny note aside, here are my stats for this past month:

ALL THE BOOKS I READ THIS MONTH:

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery
2. More Than Friends by Denise Hunter
3. A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham
4. Letters from the Last Apothecary by Bita Behzadi
5. Brighter than Before by Courtney Walsh
6. Spies, Lies, and Alibis by Natalie Walters
7. Wilding by Isabella Tree
8. La Dolce Veto by Caitlin Alice Gilbert
9. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
10. Handsome by Ezra Palmer
11. The Only Child by Guojing
12. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
13. Books, Iced Coffee & a Side of Dragons by Amanda Lovelace
14. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
15. Unexpected Lessons from Professor Higgins by Patti Smith
16. Legends & Lattes (The Graphic Novel) by Samuel Sattin, Travis Baldree
17. Anne of Avonlea by L.M Montgomery

CHALLANGES

1. Fantasy Challenge Dark Path: I have ticked: Dragons, High fantasy/Epic fantasy, Assassins, Touch her and die, Forbidden Magic. What is left is: Dark Fantasy, Tournament/ Deadly competition, Fae, Curse, Political intrigue, Betrayal and Pirates.
2. A to Z reading challenge: I have ticked A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V and W. Left: F, J, K, Q, X, Y and Z
3. Valentine’s book boyfriend bingo: the prompts are: Firefighter, Shadow Daddy (whatever this one means lol), Prince, Cinnamon roll hero, Hockey player and Mountain man. Cinnamon roll hero and Mountain man are completed! Nothing has changed here.
4. Romance challenge: I have completed them all: Contemporary romance, Small town romance, Paranormal romance, Military romance, Holiday romance, Sports, Second chance, Western, Fantasy, Romantic comedy, Workplace and Spicy romance.
5. Romance trope bingo: The ones I have got: Grumpy and sunshine, Friends to lovers, Slow burn, Opposites attract, Fake relationship, Forced proximity, Enemies to lovers, Age gap, Forbidden love, One bed, He falls first. I have left only one: Road trip.
6. Thriller challenge: Nothing changed here since last month. This is one of the two challenges that I doubt I will be able to complete, but I have got the Psychological thriller box ticked. What is left is: Domestic thriller, Serial killer, Winter thriller, Revenge, Cold case, Kidnapping, Isolated location, Small town, Legal thriller. Blackmail and FBI.
7. Mystery challenge: here it is going much better than I thought, I have ticked: Missing person, Amateur sleuthing, Cosy mystery, Family secrets and Detective. The ones I need still are: YA mystery, Murder, Heist, Secret society, Historical, Paranormal and Crime-solving duo.
8. Fantasy challenge Magic Path: I have ticked: Witches/Wizards, Mermaids, YA fantasy, Cosy fantasy, Elemental magic, Urban fantasy, Found family, Magical Realism. What I have left: Magical school/academy, Mythology, Chosen one, Historical fantasy and Elemental Magic.
9. 50 States of America: This is a new addition, and I have collected 10 of the 50 states needed!

BOOKS I LOVED:

Here are my top 5 books of the month of May in no particular order:

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: I just love the story, the setting and the writing!
2. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: This is a very profound and difficult book that I will be rereading. It provides so much clarity on this topic.
3. Anne of Avonlea by L.M Montgomery
4. Unexpected Lessons from Professor Higgins by Patti Smith: A very unexpected read indeed. I loved every single lesson from Professor Higgins, and I just fell in love with his character!
5. Wilding by Isabella Tree: Insightful and thought-provoking read for sure

Have you read any of these books? Let me know which was your favourite read in May!

Happy reading, and have a lovely rest of the week ❤