It’s the first of June, so time to look back at how our month was in May. First up is our monthly book haul. Have we added any new books to our shelves or audiobook accounts? Keep on reading to find out!

Candyce

May was a wild month and I bought more books than planned, haha. I blame that on my trip to the bookstore when all English books were 10% off, haha. I ended up adding a total of 24 books to my shelves. Oops!

Meet Me at the Lake – Carley Fortune

Last year I enjoyed Every Summer After and even though the ending didn’t completely work for me, I liked it enough to want to read more by this author. The cover is stunning and it’s a story that has two timelines. I want to read this one soon.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 – Fujita

My boyfriend has gotten me into anime, because he chooses things he knows I’ll love. Now I’ve also started reading more manga. I loved the anime for Wotakoi, so I wanted to see what the manga was like. I’ve already read the first volume and I’m excited to read more.

Cat & Gamer Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 – Wataru Nadatani

As a cat lover this Cat & Gamer manga caught my attention. Just look at how cute these covers are. A few friends of mine on Goodreads read these and seemed to enjoy them, so I’m going to give these two a go.

Bunny – Mona Awad

Bunny is a book I’ve seen everywhere and after seeing it so much I’m just really curious. I’ve heard this is a really weird story, so I guess it’s time to experience it for myself now.

Things I Wanted to Say & Promises We Meant to Keep – Monica Murphy

When I read A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime last year I didn’t realize it was part of a series. This series was picked up by Bloom Books, so I was able to get these two for pretty cheap. I know a fourth book just released, so I’ll have to get that to complete my collection soon.

Once Upon a Broken Heart – Stephanie Garber

So I’ve only read the first book in the Caraval trilogy, but I’ve heard that Once Upon a Broken Heart is amazing and can be read without reading Caraval. So with the third book releasing later this year I’d say it’s time for me to start this series and see what it’s about.

Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson

Snow Crash was a book someone suggested in my book club when we voted for our new read. This one didn’t make the cut, but it still sounded interesting. I have to say this is giving me Ready Player One vibes.

Half a Soul – Olivia Atwater

Half a Soul is a book I’ve seen around, but never picked up. I recently watched a reading vlog on YouTube and this book was read and really loved. The story has royalty and a character with half a soul. Sounds interesting!

Nightbirds – Kate J. Armstrong

Nightbirds is a book I saw on bookstagram a few times, but didn’t really pay much attention to. When I was at the bookstore a friend showed it to me after reading the synopsis that sounded interesting to her. Magic is outlawed for woman and there are secrets and political intrigue. Sign me up!

Silver in the Bone – Alexandra Bracken

I enjoy reading retellings of the Arthurian Legends, so Silver in the Bone has been on my radar. It’s also a floppy paperback and I love those.

The Foxglove King – Hannah Witten

The Foxglove King is part cover by and part I bought it because some of my friends loved it. There was just a cover reveal for the sequel, so I’m excited to see what this is all about. It’s close to 500 pages, so it’ll keep me busy for a bit.

Delicious Monsters – Liselle Sambury

Last year I loved the Blood Like Magic duet, so I was really excited when Delicious Monsters was announced. This year books have been getting some amazing covers! The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie is definitely intriguing.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone – Benjamin Stevenson

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is another booktube made me do it story. In the same vlog as Half a Soul, this book was also read. I love the idea and it seems like it’s told in a really fun way. Another floppy paperback that I love!

Practice Makes Perfect – Sarah Adams

When in Rome was such a fun small town romance, I knew I needed Practice Makes Perfect. There seems to be a kind of body guard romance with some fake dating. I’m looking forward to reading this one.

The True Love Experiment – Christina Lauren

In The Soulmate Equation we meet Fizzy and I remember saying I wanted her to have her own book. Well my wishes came true with The True Love Experiment. Fizzy is a romance author who has never experienced love herself. I can’t wait to read her story.

Yellowface – R.F. Kuang

Yellowface is a book that’s been all over the place since it was announced. The story sounds amazing and I know Isabelle loved it. So I ordered the Illumicrate edition, but I also bought this paperback in case I want to annotate while reading.

That Summer Feeling – Bridget Morrissey

That Summer Feeling was definitely a cover buy that just happened to have a fun synopsis as well. I lover that this book a sleep away camp for adults. I’m excited to see this romance play out.

The Book That Wouldn’t Born – Mark Lawrence

The title and cover alone had me wanting to pick up The Book That Wouldn’t Burn. One of the main characters has lived his life trapped in a library. I’m very intrigued. This book is huge though, so I feel that this is more of a winter read.

Roll for Initiative – Jaime Formato

I want to read more middle grade books and I couldn’t resist picking up Roll for Initiative. The end pages are really cute and I love that the main character uses D&D to help her in different ways.

Some Desperate Glory – Emily Tesh

So I got an Illumicrate book for this first time in a few months. I don’t read a lot of science fiction, but Some Desperate Glory sounded really good. This is a debut novel and I’m hoping to love it as much as I think I will.

Path of Prophecy – Kara S. Weaver

So my amazing friend has published the final book in her fantasy series. I’m currently halfway through the third book and I’m loving it. She isn’t always nice to her characters, so I’m glad I have the fourth book already. I have a feeling I’m going to need it right away. I also forgot to take a picture of my actual book.

 

Isabelle

This has been another month without any new physical books. I haven’t been reading much unfortunately but that also means I haven’t really been looking at new books either. Luckily I did get a new book on Audible so let’s take a look!

Audible

Empire of Storms – Sarah J. Maas

I actually got this fifth book in the Throne of Glass series on sale so I still have my credit for the month. My reread is going pretty well and this will be the next book, so I might use that credit on Tower of Dawn but we will see. For now I’m happy that I’ve got the next book lined up already.

So that’s our May 2023 bookhaul! Have you read any of these? Or have you received/bought any new books in May? Let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.