MY BRAINCHILD TURNED ONE YEAR OLD! || (LATE) MAY WRAP-UP

Hullo, bookdragons!

May sapped all the energy from my body but it was my blogiversary (is this how you spell it? my two brain cells can’t think properly) month so it still had its bright patches. I actually don’t have a regular class now but I have to go to school for graduation practice which is straight up exhausting. I go home feeling like a very dead vegetable and then sleep without reading one word from the books I’m currently reading. WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE YEAR AND I STILL HAVEN’T MADE A DENT ON MY TBR PILE. I’m definitely not panicking.

MAY 2019 WRAP-UP

Reading

As I’ve mentioned earlier, my reading progress isn’t really going on as smoothly as I planned. I’m trying not to feel too bad about it (truth: I feel so bad about it) but I really hope I can read more books in the following months. OH PLEASE LET ME READ MORE BOOKS I AM BEGGING ALL THE HEAVENS NOW.

Here are the books I read in May:

1. Romanov by Nadine Brandes (★★★☆☆)

Good enough Anastasia retelling but I thought the pacing was very dragging. It took so long for the story to build up and I didn’t feel any attachment to the characters. I still commend the descriptive writing and the world-building though. You can read my full review here.

2. ‎We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (★★★★☆)

It didn’t quite live up to the hype but I still enjoyed it immensely. I loved the Arabian-inspired world but didn’t really connect with the characters that much. It started out very slowly (yes there were dragging parts too) but became more fast-paced as the story progressed (some events felt rushed to me unfortunately).

However, the ending was an absolute killer. Can’t wait for the next book. You can read my full review here.

3. ‎The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad (★★★★★)

This is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. THIS IS THE DIVERSE STANDALONE WE ALL DESERVE. The world-building is A+ and I loved Nafiza’s writing style. Oh and the romance subplot was soooo good. It hit me right in the feels about 4197645 times. This book also has strong female characters who can smash the patriarchy in a blink.

JUST READ THIS BOOK, OKAY? Will forever scream about this one. Full review coming soon.

4. ‎Heart of Mist by Helen Scheuerer (★★★.5)

Heart of Mist is a promising addition to the fantasy genre with its meticulous world-building, detailed writing, nuanced portrayal of societal issues, and remarkable characters. However, I also had issues with this book’s pacing. It was too dragging that I almost dozed off at some points. Still looking forward to the sequel though. Read my full review here.

Blogging

OOH HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO BOOKDRAGONISM!

I’ve been looking forward to this milestone and I can hardly believe I made it this far. Who would’ve thought that my procrastinating butt could survive one year in this blogging gig? I started this blog as an extra hobby but now it has become a part of my DNA. My first-born child will probably roar in dragonish and speak HTML codes someday. It’s not exactly a pretty image but I can adjust.

Anyway, I’ve said this a million times before but THANK YOU VERY MUCH. In my first year, I had 1k followers, 17k hits, and wrote more than a hundred blog posts.

I never would’ve achieved so much if not for y’all. Honestly, I’m struggling with blogging right now (hence the late posts and bouts of inactivity) but I’m trying to find my groove back for all of you. My dragon heart loves you so much.

In case you want to read them again, here are my posts from May (there are so few of them I want to weep):

I ALSO FAILED SPECTACULARLY AT BLOG HOPPING LAST MONTH. Natural selection will come for me now. ‘Twas nice meeting y’all.

Anyway, here are some blog posts I enjoyed reading in May:

• Kal interviewed Liz Kerin who is the author of an upcoming fantasy book—The Phantom Forest. I’ve heard so many praises for this book and I can’t wait to read my ARC! This interview also made me connect with the book even though I haven’t read it yet.

• Check out this list of diverse romances from bookathonblog! You can find many great book recommendations there.

• Cait shared some YA anxiety book recommendations in her post. My favorite blogging queen is out here spreading snark and wisdom again. IT’S WORTH READING Y’ALL SO CHECK IT OUT.

• I also enjoyed reading Sophie’s post where she talked about books that made her cry. I loved her witty remarks and my own blog post even got a special mention. I love one (1) supportive blogger friend.

That’s it! I’m so glad to be a part of this community and thank you again for helping me in my first year on this platform. I hope you won’t get tired of screaming about books with me. I also hope y’all will still stick with me even though I’m in a huge creative slump right now. I’m really hoping to read and post more this month. WISH ME LUCK.

Have a great June, y’all!

How was your May? How many books did you read? Oh and tell me some tips to get out of a creative slump! I badly need them right now.