May 2024 Book Haul

As per the normal, here is my May Book Haul for 2024! I'm going to try to keep myself a bit more in line with my Book Buying Restriction of 1:3. I may even up it, depending. Of course my Book of the Month selection doesn't actually count toward that restriction as it is a monthly subscription service that I got myself as a gift....with that in mind, let us begin~

In May 2024, I acquired  books 14 through various means. 

1: Five Broken Blades by Mia Corland - I picked this one out from Book of the Month, because it looked utterly brilliant. Five people from various backgrounds get together to try to take out this terrible ruler. It's based on Korean history, culture, and mythology and I cannot wait. It's a Red Tower (Fourth Wing/Iron Flame) book, so I have a lot of high hopes for it. They haven't let me down yet and I'm hoping they don't let me down now. (I've also painted the edges a beautiful dark red).

2: Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta - With Pride Month only a few weeks away, I decided to one of my rapidly accumulating credits for Audible on a book from the LGBT+ section. This one follows a young girl as she flees the Nigerian civil war and I think ends up with another girl? Something like that. I thought it would make for an excellent addition to my TBR for June.

3: Blood at the Roots by LaDarrion Williams - I saw an ad for this on Threads, possibly even the author himself promoting it. I can't remember now. Anyway, it looked good so I pre-ordered it. Came in this month. I've already started reading it. It's so good (even though I don't understand some of the slang).

4: Make You Mine by E.M. Lindsey - I absolutely do not remember now why I wanted this book. Other than the fact it involves an m/m couple and Pride Month starts in June (a week from yesterday at the time of writing this). It was cheap and I wanted to have a few books on my list that fit in the land of the LGBTQIA+ realm for the month.

5: Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner - I read Godkiller not all that long ago and I have a very strong need to continue the series and figure out what is happening with Skedi/Inara and then the deal with Kissen and her god. It certainly didn't help that the cover of this book was a gorgous metallic green-blue. I'm definitely looking forward to getting to it.

6: Orphia & Eurydicius by Elyse John - I am familiar with the myth of Orpheus, but I cannot say that I've ever actually read it. This looked interesting. I'm curious to see how she rewrote the story to be gender swapped. The only issue I currently have is that Apollo was also the god of music and poetry and I find it difficult to believe that he'd be against his own daughter being a poetess. We will see what happens.

7: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne - I follow Ms. Thorne on BookTok and I have seen her talking about her indie release and then about how it got picked up by a traditional publisher for Barnes & Noble. I saw it on my little extravaganza the other day and I had to have it. I snatched it off the table with such speed that I almost gave myself a papercut. I adored Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and this follows in a very similar cozy fantasy kind of vein where we follow a pair of people who step back from their life of adventuring and start up passion projects. I am so excited for it. 

8: Powerless by Lauren Roberts - I have been hearing that this book was good, it was triple points day, and I have a Premium membership. I know nothing about it. I plan to keep it that way for an honest reaction. 

9: The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown - This book has a kind of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig meets Ink, Iron, & Glass by Gwendolyn Clare. There is this book that can act as a portal and it is one of the most sought after tomes in the whole world and a young bookstore owner ends up with it and we follow what happens with her. It looked brilliant and I cannot wait to see what it's about.

10: To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang - I am so excited to read this one. It's been on my wish list since I'd seen the first ad for it. There are these heavenly invaders that just appeared one day and this girl, Ruying, has the power of death. She ends up working for the enemy or something and I need to know what happens. I do. There's no way I'm not reading this in June. 

11: The Emperor & the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang - I had this book on a request list from NetGalley and it was declined, though I do not know why. I don't even remember an email for it. Ah well. I found a hard copy of it at the local bookstore and now I have it. It looked amazing and I couldn't pass it up. It follows a couple as they meet up again and again only to be pulled apart again. It looked amazing. The synopsis and the cover drew me in and I am looking forward to reading it soon. 

12: Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose - I saw this on Bookstagram and I had to look it up. It follows this somewhat estranged set of siblings as they meet back up after the passing of their mother and as they go through the belongings, they learn things they probably don't want to know. Now they have to decide what to do with the information. Do they go to the police or do they keep it to themselves? I am thinking of waiting and saving this until the fall. (And yes, I did get the one that looks like an old VHS tape).

13: Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur - I wish I had some grand explanation for why I snatched this one on Audible, but it's literally just because the MMC on the cover looks like Steve Harrington. I'm obsessed with Stranger Things. I have no idea what its about other than its a contemporary romance and I'm okay with that. It showed up under Audible's LGBTQIA+ category, so I am kind of curious how that will go....

14: Trial by Sorcery by Richard Fierce - I have no idea what this is about or why I snagged it. I must have done it while I was tired or distracted. Cover looks interesting. Maybe I'll pick it up soon? Who knows!!