Love Your Library April (April 29-May 16) Hosted by Bookish Beck

In total for May (so far) I've finished 6 books, 5 of them were from the library. I read my first ever book from Interlibrary Loan. It's a great program that allows readers access to titles which your library doesn't own, by borrowing it from another library. My interlibrary loan game from across the United States, it was fun to see how different another library's material could be. Amongst other books were 3 audiobooks and 1 ebook. Overall, I enjoyed the books better than I did last month, my average rating was 4.5 stars this month, compared to 4.0 stars last month.

READ

• The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams - This was a "friends to lovers" story that was so sweet from beginning to end. Bree is fiercely independent, while Nathan is really caring and protective. I had been in a bit of a reading rut, after being sick. This was the perfect fun-read to break the rut. Read for 12 Recs for 12 Friends. ★★★★★ Listened to on Hoopla.
• Spider-Man: Revenge of the Sinister Six by Adam-Troy Castro - I had to get this novel as an Inter Library Loan since my library did not own a copy. It came from a long way away. That was probably the coolest part of this typo filled pulp fiction novel from either the 90s or the early 2000s. I found conflicting publication dates, when I was looking for this book. This was a fun action novel starring a favorite character of mine. Mary Jane Watson-Parker had some of the best moments both with Peter and taking on one of the Sinister Six herself. The action was well-paced, and the danger never got dull, but the author could have had the Sinister Six together more and the story may have been written too fast.  ★★★★☆ IG Review
• The Swarm by Andy Marino - This was a horror novel where an annoying but usually benign insect species mutates and takes over the world. I enjoyed how it read like an artistic indie horror movie. I found myself wondering how the characters might survive and if they could save their loved ones. This book followed four main characters, and I thought that some of those characters were interesting and well-developed, other characters were flat and even annoying. ★★★☆☆ Read on Libby
• Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover by David Liss - This was a re-read/re-listen. I looked up my rating from my first read through, and now I'm wondering why I decided to re-read it. This Spider-Man novel is a prequel to PS4 video game. It follows too many characters and spends too much time away from the main character of Spider-Man, the combination just makes for a boring story. Side note, this plot felt very similar to the Kingpin storyline in the Daredevil TV show. ★★☆☆☆ Listened to on Hoopla
• Restart by Gordon Korman - Imagine getting to start over. What would you change? Chase Ambrose was the school's star football player and biggest bully, but after an accident amnesia gives him the chance to start over. As I listened to this book, I felt bad for the main character. It seemed that a lot had happened to him, and he responded by taking his problems out on others. It is well plotted and even though it is narrated by multiple characters, it follows one well-plotted thread. Restart is packed with humor and heart. Read for Reb Recs ★★★★☆ Listened to on Libby

Currently Reading

• Kill the Villainess, Vol. 1 by Haegi and Your April
• Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee, Bill Evertt, and Joe Orlando
• Climbing Rejection Mountain: An Actor's Path to Success, Stability, and Self-Esteem by Nick Wyman, Michael X. Martin IG Reel
• Spy x Family, Vol. 11 by Tatsuya Endo
• The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
• Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
• Fairest by Marissa Meyer
• The Grim Reader: A Pharmacist’s Guide to Putting Your Characters in Peril by Miffie Seideman
• Under the Surface by Diana Urban

Checked Out, To Be Read

• Star Wars: Tales of Light and Life by Various Authors, Star Wars titles for May the 4th be with You Reads IG Reel
• Star Wars: Defy the Storm by Tessa Gratton
• Star Wars: Queen's Hope by E. K. Johnston
• Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus by Marina Caldarone
• The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer
• Beginner's Guide to Digital Paints in Procreate: How to create art on an iPad 
• The Agatha's by Kathleen Glasglow
• You, Me and Our Heartstrings Melissa See
• Make a Living Living by Nina Karnikowski
• When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington
• The Beginner's Guide to Procreate: Everything you need to know to master digital art by Roché Woodworth
• Write Fearless, Edit Smart, Get Published: A master class for fiction writers by Lisa Mangum

In The Reservation Queue

• Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
• Paper Hearts: a novel by Tess Wakefield
• Ready Player Two by Erenest Cline
• Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter for 12 Recs From 12 Friends

On Hold, To Be Picked Up

• None at this time.

Returned Unread

• God, Where Is My Boaz?: a Woman's to understanding what's hindering her from receiving the man and love she deserves by Stephan Labossiere - I thought this was a Bible study book, but it was written by a motivational speaker. From what I read, it was okay, it just was not for me.
• Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - Was not able to start this book before it was due, so it seemed nice to return it so the next person could read it. Mockingjay 5 Star Review on IG
• Purple Hearts: a novel by Tess Wakefield - I watched the movie and enjoyed it. Someone else had this book requested from the library, so I returned it.
• The Healthy Mind Cookbook: big-flavor recipes to enhance brain function, mood memory and mental clarity by Rebecca Katz - I was looking for brain healthy foods, but I never read cookbooks cover-to-cover.  
• Kiss Like a Star: Smooching Secrets from the Silver Screen by William Cane - I checked this out when I was looking for books with makeup techniques. I thought it was an interesting topic. It is a "how to" book, not a screen study.

To wrap up May was a more interesting month for my reading. I suppose not being sick probably improved my reading enjoyment. This past month I checked out 12 news books that I haven't started, so I have plenty of reading going into the summer. Summer Reading at my library starts June 1 and you have to read fast to get the good prizes, on to the races. Hopefully, I'll have many more great reads to share for next month.

I intend to catch up on Reb Recs because I have 2 new reviews to write on those titles. On Instagram I am trying to catch up on my book reviews. Read my most recent review on Instagram, for Spider-Man: Revenge of the Sinister Six (link is above) and my second most recent review is for Breaking the Dark: A Marvel Crime Jessica Jones Novel by Lisa Jewell. I wrote a lot of short stories as part of longer story ideas. I still do, but here is one from 2011, published in 2020, "Prelude: The Last Commission".

#LoveYourLibrary

Thank you, Rebecca for coming up with this blog challenge and I hope to do it again. Check out her blog Bookish Beck

I love making Bookish Friends! Follow me on Instagram Skai_BooksAndBracelets