This month has been hard. There is so much going on in the world right now that is just heartbreaking. It’s also been a difficult month in my personal life. It was really just one of those months that if it can go wrong, it did. I was able to get a good bit of reading done despite it all. Here is my May wrap up.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Synopsis:
How long can you protect your heart?
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl.
But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.
Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.
My Rating: 5/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/05/12/where-the-crawdads-sing-by-delia-owens-review/
The Hobbit
Synopsis:
A great modern classic and the prelude to The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. Gandalf disturbed his contentment when he shows up to take him on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/05/15/the-hobbit-by-j-r-r-tolkien-review/
The Broken Girls
Synopsis:
Vermont, 1950. There’s a place for the girls whom no one wants–the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the ones too smart for their own good. It’s called Idlewild Hall, and local legend says the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their friendship blossoming–until one of them mysteriously disappears….
Vermont, 2014. Twenty years ago, journalist Fiona Sheridan’s elder sister’s body was found in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And although her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of the murder, Fiona can’t stop revisiting the events, unable to shake the feeling that something was never right about the case.
My Rating: 3/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/05/20/the-broken-girls-by-simone-st-james-review/
Rekindled Prophecy
Synopsis:
Guardian angel Greylyn saves innocent humans from their own inner demons or the more nefarious real ones. She’s overdue for some rest and relaxation, but upon finding her archenemy already entrenched at an authentic Irish bed and breakfast, she knows her vacation is over before it ever starts.
Enemies for over four centuries, Greylyn has fought the dark guardian, Kael; and fought her desire for him. This time, however, she must work with the dashing dark guardian to protect innocent lives. It’s a deadly gamble. One she has no choice but to take.
But the situation is far more treacherous than she realizes as a notorious fallen archangel holds the lives of a mother and her unborn child over Greylyn’s head to force her to consummate a dormant, but deadly prophecy. One so deadly that Heaven didn’t even write it down.
Rekindled Prophecy: Greylyn the Guardian Angel is a contemporary fantasy novel with strong undertones of romance and sex appeal between two enemies – one working for Heaven, the other working for Hell.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: https://atomic-temporary-167326132.wpcomstaging.com/2020/05/29/rekindled-prophecy-by-k-c-freeman-review/
Psycho
Synopsis:
The story was all too real-indeed this classic was inspired by the real-life story of Ed Gein, a psychotic murderer who led a dual life. Alfred Hitchcock too was captivated, and turned the book into one of the most-loved classic films of all time the year after it was released. Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates motel. One night Norman spies on a beautiful woman that checks into the hotel as she undresses. Norman can’t help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: https://readinginthewildwoodcom.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/psycho-by-robert-bloch-review/
In My Attic
Synopsis:
Sometimes all it takes is murder to discover who you truly are.
Myrtle Coldron shared her parents’ practical view of the world, so when she was orphaned as a teenager and sent to live with an aunt with more than a few Wiccan leanings, her worlds clashed. Intent on escaping from all things witchy and an aunt with a decided idea of who should be given her magical lineage, Myrtle settles herself in academia, far from the small medieval village of Avebury.
But when she receives a call about her aunt’s mysterious death from a fall from the attic, Myrtle’s carefully constructed world falls apart. Guilt-laden from ignoring her aunt’s pleas for help as simply more of her witchy ramblings, Myrtle returns to Avebury to bury her aunt, sell the Witch’s Retreat–her aunt’s witch-themed inn–and put this part of her life behind her forever.
Yet the sleepy, historic village will not let her be: at turns met by cryptic folks and strange happenings, including threatening notes, footsteps in the attic in the middle of the night, and a plant with a mind–and legs–of its own, Myrtle determines she owes it to her aunt to find out what happened. Distraught and hounded by a selfish cousin, two daft but well-meaning sisters, and two equally handsome–and equally suspicious–boarders, Myrtle soon discovers that taking a practical approach to things otherworldly isn’t the best plan and that denying her lineage–and her powers–may just cost her her life.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/My-Attic/Lina-Hansen/9781942856511?id=7857088550358#overview
Death by Curiosity
Synopsis:
Everyone knows that witches aren’t real.
And yet when the sleepy village of Habely is rocked by a series of bizarre murders and James Pettyfer is arrested after being caught whilst disposing of the bodies, he claims that he was made to do it by Elodia Knight – a lady who’s capable of magic and can get into other people’s souls.
While everyone else is skeptical of the claims, local Police Typist Armitage Black is nothing but intrigued about what’s going on. Ignoring the warnings of her best friend, Angie Fallows, and the reprimands from Detectives investigating the case, Armitage delves into her own enquiries about what Knight is up to and why she’s doing it – but the more she finds out, the more questions she has.
Armitage is determined to get to the bottom of Knight’s plan and work out how she’s making herself appear to be a witch – but Knight won’t let anything stop her from achieving what she set out to do. As Armitage becomes more and more involved in the case, she finds herself becoming a target of Knight – and becomes embroiled in a battle of wits and determination that has the highest of stakes to everyone involved.
My Rating: 4/5
My Full Review: Coming soon.
That wraps up May. Where the Crawdads Sing was by far my favorite of the month. It will also probably make an appearance on my favorite of the year list. What was your favorite read this month? Let me know in the comments. I pray that June is a better month. Stay happy and safe!
Reading in the Wildwood 