Hello!

Another month has rolled around and I must I keep getting more and more excited to make these monthly TBRs! For someone who plans pretty much everything they read, you wouldn’t think I’d be so indecisive, but it’s that indecisiveness that means I don’t like mood reading! Being able to turn to a spinner or bits of paper in a jar is thrilling, no matter how sad that makes me!

I make my monthly TBRs but picking a book in a bunch of categories so here are the books I will be attempting to finish this month!

From the Wedding Library (the collection of books we received as wedding gifts when we asked our guests to gift us a copy of their favourite book, and my monthly endeavour to read them all) – Shogun by James Clavell. This is in the top 5 longest books in my entire collection – it’s over 1000 pages long, the audiobook is split into two parts, 24 and 29 hours respectively, and I am mildly terrified.

This is one of the books my mother gave us and she’s warned me that it’s very heavy but the reason she gave it to us is because it completely changed her perspective on life so whilst I am intimidated, I’m intrigued and hopeful that I’ll be able to finish the month saying I’ve read a book with over a thousand pages!

I normally put my Continue a Series category at the end of the list as a little add on, but this month I’m using it slightly differently – I’m actually starting a series, because I’ve preordered the sequel so I need to read it so I can then carry on with a series!

A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L Jensen is a book I’ve seen a lot of mixed opinions on and, I must confess, that I bought it because the Waterstones exclusive edition has the most stunning naked hardback and I am just a girl. So when they announced a coordinating edition of the sequel, I had to get it (obviously), now I just need to read book 1 to be able to read book two.

Which makes my New Release a surprise to no one – A Curve Carved In Bone by Danielle L Jensen, Saga of the Unfated Book 2. I don’t even know if I like book one yet, but fortunately if I do the sequel is already ordered! Ideally I will finish book 1 with enough time to cancel this pre-order if I don’t like it!

Then for my two books from my 25 in 2025 for this month, the first is The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods – I’m really looking forward to this one! I love books about books, bookish people and bookshops and, I’ll be honest I don’t know anything much about the plot but I expect there’s an element of magic and I think it’ll be a lovely little cosy read.

I will probably read the blurb before I dive in just so I don’t go in with the wrong expectations!

And the second book from my 25 in 2025 is Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood! This is a collection of the three STEMinist novellas that were released several years ago now, but I clearly never got round to reading them. This was released around my favourite era of Ali Hazelwood so I think I’ll like them as much as I liked The Love Hypothesis and Love On The Brain. I listened to the Spotify exclusive audiobook novella, Two Can Play, and I adored it so I hope I’m not going in with too high expectations, but I am excited about these novellas.

Then, as a little bonus – The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This was chosen from my jar for my 25 in 2025 in April, then I found the audiobook was available from my library and joined the waiting list. As the end of April approached, I chose a different book from my 25 to read because the hold hadn’t come in yet. In the last few days of the month, the audiobook has finally come in and I’m finally going to listen to it! I’m getting there with my 25 in 2025 and I’ve now made sure to check all of the books that are available on my library and put them on hold now, so this doesn’t happen again!

And those are the six books I’ll be focusing on – I’m less optimistic about finishing this TBR exclusively because of Shogun, but I managed to read the first book in the Crescent City series (which was 800 pages) in under a month so maybe I’ll be able to power through this one too!

There’s also the very recently announced new Ali Hazelwood, Problematic Summer Romance, coming out on the 27th – I’ve not decided if I’m going to preorder it yet but even if I do I think I’ll put it on June’s TBR. June! I can’t believe we’re far enough through the year that I’m talking about June.

Let me know what you’re hoping to read this month (and wish me luck with Shogun)!

Sophie xx