Devour Your TBR - Moody May Wrap Up

Happy Wednesday everyone!  This year I've decided to take part in Devour Your TBR which is hosted by Kathy @ Books and Munches and destiny.  Each month the Goodreads Group for the challenge dedicated to knocking out our ever growing TBRs comes up with a themed challenge.  For May the theme was Moody May (all about mood reading) and I selected eight books which you can see in the photo above.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books in the order that I read them.  I'm not participating in Jazzy June which is all about rereading.  Instead I'm celebrating Pride Month - you can check out my Pride Month TBR here.  I will be back for Devour Your TBR in time for Sci-Fi July.

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To put it simply, The Wicked King by Holly Black is a perfect sequel.  It totally out does itself and I think it's superior to The Cruel Prince.  I need more stars to express how brilliant it is to experience.  I'm not usually a romance fan, but I could read about Jude and Cardan all day long.  I mean, their relationship is a total mess, but I'm totally there for it.  If you've read anything by Holly Black before, you'll know that her writing style, world-building, and character development are all beautiful.  I could go on and on, but I know my review won't do this novel justice.  Just take my word for it: you need it.

I read this novel from May 5 - 9, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty is easily one of my favorite reads of 2019. I honestly have no idea why I waited to picked it up. I was instantly reeled in and I loved every second of the dual narration. The characterizations and world-building are absolutely top of the line. I loved getting to know everyone and everything. I'm a sucker for historical fantasy and both elements are absolutely wonderful here. As much as I enjoyed the new Aladdin remake, I would have practically killed to have seen this on the big screen instead.

I read this novel from May 9 - 17, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I read this as a part of Book Riot's 2019 Read Harder Challenge and it fulfilled the task to read a humor book.  You can see my review here.

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I'm so glad I jumped into The Kingdom of Copper, the second novel of The Daevabad Trilogy, right after I completed book one. One, it was obviously still fresh in my mind, and two, it was an amazing experience. Somehow book two is even better than it's predecessor. I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to hang on until April 7, 2020 for the release of the final book in the trilogy called The Empire of Gold after that ending! Wow!

I read this novel from May 17 - 21, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr is collection of Holmesian short stories that felt incredibly authentic. I guess that makes sense with Adrian Conan Doyle on the job since he's the youngest son of Arthur Conan Doyle and everything. I loved their take on the untold adventures - you know, the ones that are only just referenced in the original stories. I would love to read more from Adrian Conan Doyle in the future.

I read this collection from May 18 - 22, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I love the premise of Everless by Sara Holland where time is money. The execution though was a little lacking for me. Things that I wasn't a fan of: the massive info dump in the opening chapters, the romance angle, and the level of dumb decisions our lead seems to be constantly making. I don't think I'll be back for the sequel.

I read this book from May 21 - 23, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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Sherlock Holmes: My Life and Crimes is a really cool Sherlock Holmes tale that actually feels totally authentic. It starts off as Sherlock's autobiography/ memoir featuring photos and illustrations, but then it begins to tell its own story. It presents an intriguing alternative to what you think you know about "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House". If you're a fan of the character you will definitely need to try this.

I read this from May 22 - 24, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I can already tell that The Poppy War and it's future series is going to become an obsession. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rin's three year journey in this dark fantasy. Kuang's story has plenty of gods and monsters, action and blood, but it is still quite character driven. I also enjoyed that the detailed fantasy world we explore is based on China. I will say though that the first part was easily my favorite of the three. I highly recommend this if you're a fan of grimdark fantasy. I can't wait to read book two, The Dragon Republic. At least I don't have long to wait!

I read this novel from May 24 - 30, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.


Have you read any of these or do you plan to?  What are you reading now?  As always, thanks very much for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!