May in Review

Hey there bloggers!  I very easily could earn the Slacker Award since we are halfway through June and I'm only NOW putting up a May Review.  (Wanna know how I'm a bigger slacker? My intention was to do this monthly, and this is only my second time.  *le sigh*)  


Luckily for me, book bloggers are the lovers of the blogging world.  Seriously.  Is it just me or does anyone else get warm fuzzies knowing how awesome book bloggers are?


Really.  I'm not buttering you up for forgiveness...Truly.


Now, onto what was read!


Our wonderful co-host, For the Roses read Martin Misunderstood by Karin Slaughter.  She said: "What I liked about this novel is the way in which Martin's existence is described. At first I didn't think I'd enjoy reading about a guy like him, but the struggle that is his life is told in such detail that you cannot help but imagine what it would be like to be him or at least sympathize with what he has to go through. At the same time I also found it excruciating, because Martin can be so stupid at times I wanted to scream at him: "Come on, get your shit together!"


Orange Sorbet read Hero by Perry Moore and felt that "Hero isn’t a gay book or a superhero book or a kids-with-messed-up-families book. It’s a book about awkwardness, misfits and keeping secrets: in other words, it’s a book about being a teenager. "


Stella Matutina read volumes 1 - 3 of the manga series Little Butterfly It's the story of two boys who meet, become friends, and more.  She says: "The story itself defied my expectations. It’s much darker than the cover leads one to believe. Nakahara, the more reticent of the boys, has a desperately unhappy home life. Both his parents are abusive. His mother is mentally ill and clearly isn’t getting any help. He isn’t your standard wretched hero; he really does have it bad, and his friendship with the outgoing Kojima helps him cope."  


She also read The White City by Elizabeth Bear which happens to be one of her favorite vampire series.


Stella continued her reading trend with The Bermuda Triangle by Maureen Johnson.  And evidently, "this one made me sob."


Portrait of a Lady read the sequel to Ash, Huntress by Melinda Lo.  "Melinda Lo is one of those writers who speak directly to my soul. I honestly don't know what I would do without her books."


Books Are Like Candy Corn picked up Scalping the Red Rocks by Greg Lilly and really liked that the fact that the main character was gay wasn't the focus, rather it was normal and ordinary.  How it should be.


The True Book Addict read Promised Valley Rebellion by Ron Pritsch. It's historical fiction and "presents the case that homosexuals have been present through out history and not always kept under wraps."


An Irregular Silsbee read Lessons in Desire by Charlie Cochrane.   Her thoughts: "After enjoying the first book in this series so much, I was pretty much champing at the bit to crack into this one. The main characters, Jonty and Orlando, are such a charming couple. It's a delight to read about them in their academic setting, but reading about them on holiday in an island setting was very nearly as fun. Cochrane is excellent at setting scenes, and I often felt like I was ambling along with the fellows on their daily excursions."


The Little Bookworm read Shine by Lauren Myracle and felt it "was a beautiful and heart -wrenching book. Cat's voice comes through loud and clear though she is an introverted character."


Suko's Notebook read My Two Wives and Three Husbands by S. Stanley Gordon referring to it as a "candid" memoir that is also "upbeat and positive". 


Wordsmithonia read Don't  Read a Breathe by Jennifer McMahon and had such a strong (and positive) reaction to the book that he didn't think his review would do it justice.  That's sayin' something there.  Ultimately, he felt "the author brilliantly combined the story of one family's dark descent into their own family mythology with just enough "fantasy" to make you believe that maybe, just maybe, fairies really do exist." 


Amethyst Daydreams read Ash by Melinda Lo.  (Can I just say I love that she ordered the UK version because it was prettier.  Sounds like something I would do). She loves that "you can tell it's based on Cinderella but it isn't a verbatim retelling with prince scratched out and princess written in." 


Notes from the North read the classic A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf. She found that she had plenty of post-it notes stuck through out the book because it was so remarkable and plenty of food for thought.  Overall she loved the book.


And finally, Jackie reviewed Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite.  It's a children's picture book that normalizes a father and his boyfriend's relationship.  Jackie says, "the book's message is one that needs to be taught, it's worth it just for that."