#published2019

May Showcase: Let Me Hear a Rhyme and Rising Strong

I read so many good books in May, I had to pick two. My fiction pick is Let Me Hear a Rhyme, by Tiffany D. Jackson.

I listened to Let Me Hear a Rhyme on audio, and the cast was stunning. They leaned into their characters, and gave each such a distinctive voice that was easy to follow along. These three teenagers, grappling with the death of their friend and brother, do their best to honor him…

Talking to Strangers ~ Malcolm Gladwell

Rating: 4/5

Talking to Strangers is not necessarily what you think it’s about if you’re just reading this title. This is not about how to learn to talk to new people better, or tips for coping with anxiety when meeting new people. This is more a book exploring some of the reasons why we as humans are not that great at talking to people in general, and particularly strangers. Talking to…

Wilder Girls ~ Rory Power

Rating: 2/5

DNF’d this book about a third of the way through. This book has such a pretty cover, and I’d heard it was a good survival story, but I didn’t know much a bout it other than that.

A mysterious illness shows up on the island, where there’s a girls’ camp. They start falling ill, their bodies falling apart in very weird ways. This is heavy on the body horror. Honestly, I didn’t…

Storm of Locusts ~ Rebecca Roanhorse

Rating: 5/5

The second in the series, Storm of Locusts was another hit for me. I actually enjoyed this book more than the first, as I love a good well-written book about a journey. These women are pretty badass, and their journey is pretty crazy.

Maggie hasn’t seen Kai since her last bounty hunt, when things went vastly awry. She wants to be with him, as her romantic feelings have only…

Normal People ~ Sally Rooney

Rating: 4/5

Listening to Normal People on audio was not what I expected. I was drawn in almost immediately by Connell and Marianne’s story, and the accent of the narrator, presumably Irish as the story is set in Ireland, kept me hooked. I found chores to do in order to spend more time listening to huge chunks of the audiobook, and finished it in just a few days.

Connell and Marianne are…

Rating: 4/5

Liberty from All the Books raved about this book so much that it simply couldn’t live up to the expectations I had set. However, this is truly one of the most original reads I’ve read in a while. Gideon is an indentured servant of the Ninth House, run by the the necromancer Nonagesimus. Gideon wants nothing more than to escape the Ninth’s rule. Nonagesimus is ruthless, and not at…

Rating: 5/5

The second of Maurene Goo’s novels that I’ve heard, I was not disappointed. This is a romance about a K-pop star, Lucky, who goes out one night for a burger and meets a guy who’s willing to help her explore the city and have the day of her life.

Of course the boy isn’t quite as he seems, as readers are given information Lucky knows nothing about. Readers know that Jack is…