Monthly Wrap-Up: May Reading 2025

So yeah, this is really late. I enjoyed the vacation my spouse and I took earlier this month, but man did it push all of my posts back. Let’s get into my reading wrap-up for May 2025.

My reading in May was… okay. I know that I could’ve read more books, and a decent part of me wishes that I would’ve read more, but that didn’t end up happening. At least I read more than one novel, though.

Anyway, let’s just start talking about my StoryGraph statistics from last month!

May Reading 2025

I read 2 books and 662 pages

😐 MOODS: I had five Moods in May, which is more than the month before. The Moods from this past month were: Adventurous, Lighthearted, Hopeful, Funny and Emotional.

👢 PACE: The two books I read last month both had different pacing. One was fast-paced and the other was medium-paced.

🔢 PAGE NUMBER: The novels I read last month were between 325 and 336 pages.

📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction. As usual.

🎭 GENRES: There were three Genres in the books I read in May. They were: Fantasy, Middle Grade and Romance.

📄 FORMAT: This pie chart was surprisingly correct once again. I didn’t even have to meddle with it this time, either! All of the novels I read last month were on my physical copies.

⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 3.5, as I rated the two books I read 3.25 and 3.75 stars.

📉 PAGES READ DAILY: My reading for May was really up and down. I didn’t really start off that great, but I finally started reading my first novel of the month around the 11th and finished it around the 16th. I started reading the second book on the 27th and finished it on the 31st. My highest reading peak was the 30th.

The Books I Read in May

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

★★★✬☆ • my review

★★★✫☆ • my review

Wrapping Up the Wrap-Up

So yeah, this is late and last month I could’ve done better. I’m hoping that the rest of June will either be better than May, or that I’ll do as well as last month.

Right now the stuff on my immediate TBR consists of The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah and A Spell for Change by Nicole Jarvis. I’m still not sure which one I’m going to read next. There are also a couple of new June releases that I’m interested in, so I might actually read one of them first. We’ll see what happens.

I also do want to get back into buddy-reading One Piece with my spouse, but they have a bit of a TBR pile of their own at the moment, and I don’t think I’ll have time in June. Hopefully we’ll get back into it before the end of the summer, though. And as for blogging and blog posts, I’m just gonna keep doing what I’ve been doing.

Anyway, as always, thank you for joining me in checking out my StoryGraph stats for my May reading in 2025. Thank you also for reading, and I hope you have a great day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Weekly Wrap-Up: 6/9 – 6/15

I’m on time this week! Yes! What a great way to start a new week!

So I didn’t really get any reading done, which I am disappointed about, but I do have a nice immediate TBR cued up and ready to roll. My blog activity last week was great though, especially considering it was right after a vacation, even if I did get a bit of a late start with it.

But yeah, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!

Thursday 6/12: The Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025

Last Thursday, I posted a list of the books that I’m looking forward to this month. Or, at least the ones that I think look the most interesting. It was the Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025. As always, it’s basically only fantasy and science fiction, as those are the two genres I primarily read. This time I had four books on my list.

The Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025

Friday 6/13: First Line Fridays / Friday the 13th

On Friday, I participated in First Line Fridays for the first time in a while – like a month. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words.

This past Friday was also 2025’s Friday the 13th. It doesn’t mean anything, I just always notice it for some reason and like to acknowledge it.

First Line Friday: 6/13

Sunday 6/15: Behooved Review / Father’s Day

Yesterday, I finally posted my book review for Behooved by M. Stevenson. It’s a new fairytale-esque romantasy novel with a beautiful cover. It took me longer than it should’ve to get this review out (in large part due to going on vacation the week before last), but it’s posted now and I’m happy. I gave it ★★★✫☆.

It was also a minor holiday yesterday – Father’s Day!! 🎣⛵ We didn’t do a ton, just did some breakfast with my mom’s side of the family and then went over to my spouse’s side to spend time with them. My dad was busy, so we’re gonna meet up some time this week instead.

Behooved Review

Books I Read Last Week

💖🎁 Wrapping It All Up 💖🎁

So yeah, my blog productivity last week was definitely up, which I’m very happy with. I didn’t really read any books though, which is something I’m less happy with. I hope to improve this coming week.

Regarding the stuff I want to do this week, I want to definitely read a book. I’m between A Spell for Change by Nicole Jarvis and The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah (yes, I still haven’t gotten around to reading that one. I think I’m probably gonna go with the former, however, ’cause it’s a little shorter. I could honestly go either-or, though.

For the blog, I want to post my monthly reading wrap-up for May 2025. I’m late as hell with it – again, because I didn’t really do anything, especially with the blog, during my vacation the week before last. I also want to participate in my favorite monthly post, do at least one additional weekly post and hopefully finish another book and post a review about it.

As for life outside books and blogging, not much has changed. I’m still watching what I eat. I did finally take the Easter and spring decorations down though, and shifted everything to summer stuff. Not 4th of July stuff yet – it’s still too early for that!

Anyway, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Behooved by M. Stevenson | Book Review

Virtue of Mercy. I was married to a horse.

Behooved by M. Stevenson

LENGTH: 336 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Bramble

RELEASE DATE: 20 May 2025

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A charming slow-burn romantasy featuring a duty-bound noblewoman with a chronic illness, a prince who would rather be in a library than on a throne, and a magical ride through a world of cozy enchantment.

Bianca knows her duty comes before her heart. So when the threat of war looms, she agrees to marry the neighboring kingdom’s heir. But not all royal weddings are a fairytale, and Prince Aric, Bianca’s betrothed, is cold, aloof, and seems to hate her on sight.

To make matters worse, on their wedding night, an assassination attempt goes awry—leaving Aric magically transformed into a horse. Bianca does what any bride in this situation would do: she mounts her new husband and rides away to safety.

Sunset returns Aric to human form, but they soon discover the assassination attempt is part of a larger plot against the throne. Worse, Bianca has been framed for Aric’s murder, and she’s now saddled with a husband who is a horse by day and a frustratingly attractive man by night.

As an unexpected romance begins galloping away with their hearts, Bianca and Aric must rely on each other to unravel the curse and save the throne.

My Review

In any case, whoever my betrothed proved to be, I would learn soon enough, and I would match him. Blade for blade. Move for move. Perhaps even heart for heart – though I knew better than to count on the last. It didn’t matter. Noble marriages were built on necessity, not love. And this was the right choice. The only one. I had to see it through.

Behooved is a new romantasy novel by M. Stevenson. It has a fairytale-esque quality to it that I really like, and pretty good world building with an interesting take on the various ways ri channel magic. And, of course, the cover is absolutely gorgeous – one of the best book covers I’ve seen in a while.

🏵️ Bianca of Damaria 🗡️ is our point-of-view character here, as well as our leading lady. She’s a fierce fighter tainted in several different weapons, inwardly compassionate and takes her duty to her country very seriously. Bianca was a great protagonist to follow, and I enjoyed following her story. I also liked the portrayal of Bianca’s chronic illness.

📚 Aric of Gildenheim 🐎 is our deuteragonist, as well as Bianca’s love interest. Gildenheim’s heir and prospective king, he’s kind, but very reserved and socially awkward. He’s more soft-spoken than Bianca, but no less determined than her, even if he prefers the library over weapons. It was fun to watch these two fall in love.

I thought that 🖊️ the story 📄 was also pretty good, even if the plot really slowed down once or twice. It was definitely one of the stronger parts of Behooved, however, and it kept me pretty engaged for the most part. This book also didn’t let a lot of the things that hold other romantasy books back do the same for it. For example: sacrificing plot and logic and well-written characters for (often poorly written) romance and smut.

“I’m afraid,” I said, releasing a truth. Revealing my deepest weakness. “I’m afraid of wanting what I know I can’t have.”

A muscle flickered in Aric’s jaw. “What makes you so certain you can’t have it?”

Speaking of 💕 the romance 💞 aspect of this novel, it also wasn’t egregious (unlike most romantasy I’ve read). The characters end up falling in love in a way that makes sense, they have clear reasons they’re attracted to one another aside from looks and the situation the two are trapped wherein they end up bonding doesn’t feel forced. I will say that I found the chemistry to be pretty lacking between Bianca and Aric, and I definitely wouldn’t consider this book to be the slow-burn the book description/summary professes it to he, but the romance is fine as a whole. There’s also a few spicy scenes for those who enjoy them.

🖌️ The artwork 🎨 on the cover, as I mentioned previously, is stunning. It’s definitely one of my favorite things about this book. The cover is originally what got me interested in reading this book, actually. I love how it’s literally split day and night, and how the colors contrast on both sides. The paperback edition of Behooved also has pretty pink sprayed edges that really matches the rest of the outside of the novel. I’ll stop gushing now, though I could go on. (I think I might end up doing a Bewitching Book Covers on this one.)

-Strength isn’t about what your body can do,- Aric went on. -It’s about how you respond to adversity. And I’ve never known someone so determined to do the right thing, no matter the personal cost.-

So yeah, Behooved was a pretty good book, and a phenomenal addition to the romantasy genre. I definitely recommend it to people who like romantasy, but also like a plot that generally makes sense, likable characters and an awesome magic system.

Anyway, as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

MY LINKS:

Goodreads

Instagram

Weekly Wrap-Up: 5/26 – 6/8

Whew! It’s been a bit, hasn’t it? We were on vacation last week, though, so I decided to take a full break with the blog. And I think it was a good thing – I definitely feel refreshed!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get much reading done last week, though I did do a fair amount of it the week before last. Still, productivity-wise, I didn’t really get much of anything done last week.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the weekly wrap-up!

Wednesday 5/28: Can’t-Wait Wednesday

On Wednesday May 28th, I did another Can’t-Wait Wednesday. Four weeks in a row! That’s like a straight month!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: A Forgery of Fate

Saturday 5/31: Bewitching Book Covers

On Saturday May 31st, I posted another Bewitching Book Covers for the first time in a month and a half. Wow, that’s a while. I definitely didn’t intend to do that!

Anyway, Bewitching Book Covers (formerly known as Majestic Mondays and Tasteful Tuesdays), is when I gush over a book cover that I like as well as analyze it (sometimes). I also typically give the book covers funny rating systems – not the usual blank out of five stars kind of thing.

Bewitching Book Covers: The Stardust Thief

Sunday 6/1 to Sunday 6/8: Vacation!!

As I mentioned above, my spouse and I took a vacation last week. We’d been planning it for several weeks and had been looking forward to it. And yeah, it was originally planned to be a staycation. We just wanted to stay home and relax, as well as go to a few places around the city-county we live in there we hadn’t been to before. And it was all really nice.

We actually started off the vacation helping one of my close family members move into a new house though. It ended up being kind of fun actually, and we got a bunch of exercise! We didn’t have a lot of time to chat though, cuz of the whole moving stuff thing, but it was nice to see the other family members that helped out.

The places that we visited were an aquarium we hadn’t been to before, as well as a state park that we’d been meaning to visit for years, but hadn’t been able to get around to until now. The aquarium was cool, and walking around the state park was really fun.

My spouse and I also spent a great deal of time playing Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, a new RPG developed by Sandfall Interactive, a French indie developer. It’s absolutely fantastic in pretty much every way – it’s part of the reason we spent so much of our staycation playing it. We’re still enjoying it, in fact, as we didn’t actually finish the whole game last week, haha.

But yeah, the story is incredible; we actually experienced the story through watching another playthrough first, but the story was no less exceptional the second time, and the characters are also awesome. The game itself is also completely gorgeous, and the gameplay is fun and unique. My favorite thing about the game, however, is definitely Clair Obscur’s absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. The OST is some of the most incredible music I’ve ever heard, and it’s one of the best soundtracks ever created, period. If anything, I encourage everyone to find the OST and give it a listen. You won’t regret it.

Books I Read in the Last Two Weeks

💖🎁 Wrapping It All Up 💖🎁

So yeah, because of taking a vacation last week – or staycation as it were – I didn’t really get anything done at all. I didn’t get much done the week before, either, and I don’t have an excuse for that one, haha. I also got quite a late start this week, which I’m kind of annoyed at myself about, but it is what it is. I’m planning on getting at least a couple of other posts out this week besides this one, though.

Regarding specific blog stuff I want to do this week… Well, I definitely want to get my Most Interesting Looking New Books of June 2025 out, even though it’s already a decent way into the month. I also want to do an additional post or two aside from Most Interesting Looking Books, though I’m still debating over what one(s). I also definitely want to read a book this week, though again, I’m still deciding which one I wanna do.

Concerning other things, even though I didn’t get anything else done for the blog last week, I did redo a few thumbnails/featured images. It bothered me that January didn’t really match the rest of the year, so I decided to change up the featured images of my weekly wrap-ups for the first month of the year. I’m pretty happy with it, and am very glad I finally got around to it (I’ve been considering doing this for a while, actually).

Anyway, I’ve gone on for more than long enough here. This weekly wrap-up covered two weeks though – one of which was a vacation – so I guess it makes sense that I’d have a lot to say.

But yeah, as always thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

First Line Friday: 5/23

Huh. It’s been like a month since the last time I participated in this post. Well, let’s get started!

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
📙 Finally… reveal the book!

Here are the first lines:

I stood at the door to my parents’ chambers, staring at the metal sigil adorning the dark wood and willing my stomach to settle. The enameled insignia, crafted by a master Adept’s hand, depicted a riot of lilies with thorn-bearing vines woven between. Gilt paint coated the petals, shimmering in the pale light from the magically forged lanterns lining the walls.

Know the book yet? If you don’t, here’s another couple of hints…

Still have no idea? Here are some lovely photos of books to look at while you think about it a bit longer…

Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Behooved by M. Stevenson!

(Didja guess it?)

Behooved by M. Stevenson

LENGTH: 336 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Bramble

RELEASE DATE: 20 May 2025

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

As an unexpected romance begins galloping away with their hearts, Bianca and Aric must rely on each other to unravel the curse and save the throne.

What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Behooved

Hello and Happy Wednesday everybody! There’s a lot of books coming out lately that I’ve been interested in!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.

This week’s book is:

Behooved by M. Stevenson! 🐎🏰

Behooved by M. Stevenson

LENGTH: 336 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Bramble

RELEASE DATE: 20 May 2025

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

As an unexpected romance begins galloping away with their hearts, Bianca and Aric must rely on each other to unravel the curse and save the throne.

Are you looking forward to the release of Behooved? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?

As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!

See ya ~Mar