May 2022 Wrap Up
Wrap-Up

May 2022 Wrap Up #MonthlyWrapUp #WeeklyWrapUp

Hello readers! I hope you all are well and had great May. My May was all over the place with many things happening and not all were good and it has been out of order. And I’m back from vacation and my partial hiatus as you might have noticed I wrote posts but didn’t exactly interact and or had time to blog hop or for social media. Now that I’m back I just wish I can have my regular reading and blogging and everything else. Here is little highlights of month and a bit about vacation –

As this was our fourth visit to Mumbai we did only few touristy things and stayed at my btoher-in-law’s home for a couple of days. Some days were good some days okayish but my kid enjoyed her stay and she loved the company of my brother-in-law’s daughter who is just 4 months younger than her, so all is good. And I bought few books, I’ll share picture on Instagram later today.

I couldn’t keep my daily updates in Notion like last month. My kid’s school extended her summer vacation for another week so it starts next week on 13th. This time I remembered renewing blog’s domain name. I canceled my audiobook subscription today. I enjoyed listening few books but apparently I don’t listen regularly and read more ebooks and physical books so it will waste of money to continue subscription. I might join again if amazon offers another good deal with audiobook subscription.

May 2022 Wrap Up

Reading Stats –

Books Read – 7
Pages Read – 2314

Books I read

Sweet Talk by Cara Bastone, Lidia Dornet (Narrator)

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Sweet Talk is lovely and just like the title sweet romance revolves around Eliot and his anonymous contact Miss Wrong Number, two insomniac night owls, falling for each other as they talk every night and get to know each other more.

I loved theme and message in this which makes it is a little different from the first book. It also includes a little heavier theme of trauma and dealing with the grief of a dying parent. Author perfectly balanced this serious topic with light and fluffy moments. 

Overall, This is lovely, heartwarming, and clean romance, a bit serious than its predecessor with a good theme and layers.

second chance romance

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Every Summer After is emotive and heartwarming contemporary romance that revolves around childhood friends, Percy and Sam, and their love story.

Percy and Sam’s childhood friendship, their first love, and relationship and how they grew up in present how their past affected them… the whole journey is best part of the book . It truly showed how silly and innocent first loves are.

All those overreaction, high expectations, disappointments, and insecurity is totlly age appropriate, so realistic and realatable.

Overall, Every Summer After is emotive, touching, nostalgic, second chance romance about first love, young innocent mistakes and forgiveness.

The Magic Mindset

The Magic Mindset: How to Find Your Happy Place by Preeti Shenoy

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Magic Mindset is self-help book about healthy and positive mindset and attitude towards different situations of life that help in dealing with problems we face not by looking at bright side but by accepting feelings, having positive attitude and hope, and how to change our outlook to keep hope.

The best part of the book is the activities in each chapter. There is also 14 days challenge at the end of the book with activities to do daily and table to write our feelings after finishing the exercises. Another good thing, this can be read out of order. You can pick any chapter at any time and never feel you missed anything in the previous chapters as each chapter deals with different topics like– relationships, social media, money, health, education, family, past unpleasant memories, out of control situations, saying no, and other people’s actions that affect us. You can pick the topic you’re not happy about in life and read it first or any time in life.

Overall, The Magic Mindset is inspiring, motivating, relatable, and well-written self-help covering many topics and life situations with many tips and suggestions.

Indian contemporary fiction

Best Intentions by Simran Dhir

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Best Intentions is interesting and gripping contemporary that revolves around Gayatri and Akshay’s family and their growing bond with their increasing family issues that turn their dislike for each other to love. The story is about Indian politics, culture, family pressure and expectations, problems in marriage, love, prejudice, family drama, trust, and betrayal.

There are many characters and they all are realistic, some relatable, and intricately connected with each other. There is surprisingly more focus on Nandini and Amar’s marriage issues, politics, and power game than Gayatri and Akshay. It also gives lot do discuss in the book with many layers and themes making a simple looking story a little complicated.

This is hate to love romance but that is sidetracked by themes and layers so I wouldn’t say romance is big part of the story. I wish Akshay and Gayatri had more chapters together.

Overall, Best Intentions is captivating, dramatic, fast-paced and well written contemporary with many layers and themes.

Carry On (Simon Snow, #1) by Rainbow Rowell 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Carry On is intriguing and light urban fantasy that revolves around Simon Snow who is chosen to save the Magick world from an enemy who is sucking magic from the world.

The beginning is great but we are plunged into the world with almost no information. World is revealed bits by bits and it sure makes story interesting but at the same time it gives the feeling of nothing is happening for long time. Story actually picks up pace and becomes more interesting once they start working on who is responsible for Baz’s mother’s death that is around page 150.

I still don’t get why Simon was with Agatha. She didn’t add much to story. Like I said plot and world isn’t that strong. And I didn’t like the end or the way it ended without any reactions or discussions from character.

Overall, Carry On is enjoyable, fun, entertaining and light urban fantasy with lovely M/M romance and Harry Potter vibe.

A Sunrise Over Bali by Sandy Barker

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

A Sunrise Over Bali is cozy and heartwarming travel romance that revolves around Jaelee at the crossroad of life who find love, friendship, and home at Bali. The story is about getting over heartbreak, betrayal, found family, friendship, love, and self-discovery.

Best part of the book is setting, Bali and UROP-a co-living space for the digital nomad. I loved reading about places and activities, food, culture, lifestyle of Bali. They aren’t all out of brochure places and activities or all nice and touristy part but had the feel of real experience making the story perfect escapism. I loved the idea of digital nomads.

Most readers had issues with Jaelee but I guess I’m fine with her. My main complaint here is, it’s not that gripping. It’s extremely cozy that I often fell asleep while reading this. No drama for most of the book also didn’t help it. Story’s backdrop is amazing but the main story is just too simple and too drawn out. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Jaelee and Alistair.

Overall, it is enjoyable, cozy, armchair travel fiction but is too simple and lacks the chemistry.

Looking for Like by Ravina Hilliard

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Looking for Like is fun and interesting detective romance that revolves around NYPD detective, Sabrina Holt falling for Hollywood star ride-along, Patrick Townsend, forced on her as punishment. The story is about family, police procedure, manipulation, trust, betrayal, and love.

I have mixed feelings for this. The beginning is promising. I enjoyed the character introductions and storyline but after some point, I found characters annoying and overly dramatic. I also didn’t like side characters or Sabrina’s family that much. They all behaved wierdly.

Romance is hate to love with a celebrity falling for a normal person arc. I felt romance is a little too fast. While there are hot scenes I still wasn’t satisfied the way they are described or the chemistry or banter or conversations between characters.

Overall, Looking for Like is interesting and promising romace with all noce tropes, actions and romance but it turned out okay for me.

Reviews Published

Set On You by Amy Lea
Mr Wrong Number by Lynn Pianter
10 reasons to read Gemina
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
10 reasons to read Obsidio
The Magic Mindset by Preeti Shenoy
Best Intentions by Simran Dhir

Blog Stats

Views – 3649
Visits- 2186
Comments – 183

I meant to write a blogger support post but I couldn’t get time at the end of the month and as I was less active in May I also didn’t stop to save links I enjoyed in draft. So in June I hope to write two blogger support posts and make sure I blog hop and save links I enjoyed.

As for the Weekly Wrap Up, I returned back home in weekends and as last week went in site seeing and spending time with in-laws I couoldn’t read much except I finished Looking For like I started when I was leaving for vacation and started read Adult Assembly Require that I’m still reading.

Currently Reading

Adult Assembly Required Abbi Waxman

When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy… but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren’t sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work for them.

A young woman arrives in Los Angeles determined to start over, and discovers she doesn’t need to leave everything behind after all, from Abbi Waxman, USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

I’m 40% through this book and I love writing. It’s so much fun to meet all the characters and knowing them as story progresses. I loved Nina and Laura’s facts and so much information shared through these characters. I have to say no book set in Los Angeles described it as good as this book. I’m reading this slow and strangely I don’t mind it. I can spend as much time as I want with this book and never get bored, It’s this comforting and lovely.

Next I might read

Out of the Clear Blue Sky Kristan Higgins

From New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins comes a funny and surprising new novel about second chances–and why the lies we tell ourselves are the most dangerous.

Lillie Silva knew life as an empty nester would be hard after her only child left for college, but when her husband abruptly dumps her for another woman just as her son leaves, her world comes crashing down. Besides the fact that this announcement is a complete surprise (to say the least), what shocks Lillie most is that she isn’t…heartbroken. She’s furious.

Lillie has loved her life on Cape Cod, but as a mother, wife and nurse-midwife, she’s used to caring for other people…not taking care of herself. Now, alone for the first time in her life, she finds herself going a little rogue. Is it over the top to crash her ex-husband’s wedding, dressed like the angel of death? Sure! Should she release a skunk into his perfect new home? Probably not! But it beats staying home and moping.

She finds an unexpected ally in her glamorous sister, with whom she’s had a tense relationship all these years. And an unexpected babysitter in of all people Ben Hallowell, the driver in a car accident that nearly killed Lillie 20 years ago. And then there’s Ophelia, her ex-husband’s oddly lost niece, who could really use a friend.

It’s the end of Lillie’s life as she knew it. But sometimes the perfect next chapter surprises you…out of the clear blue sky.

This will be my first book by author and I always enjoy wife lashing out at cheating husband scenario. I can’t wait to see how she finds perfect next chapter in life.

Thank you for reading! Let’s chat..,

How was your month?
Have you read any of these books or plan to?

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Hi, I'm Yesha, an Indian book blogger. Avid and eclectic reader who loves to read with a cup of tea. Not born reader but I don't think I’m going to stop reading books in this life. “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

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