Reading Wrap Up- May

(Warning: This blog may contain some spoilers for some books you may want to read. So if you have not read the book skip over the ‘review’ part of the blog)

I am finally back and my exams are over, so I can get back to posting weekly blogs again. I have so many new ideas that I am so excited to share with you all. Today I want to do a reading wrap-up for the month of May because I have read so many books this month. I wanted to reduce my screen time and I need a substitute for that so I decided to get out of my reading slump. I have had some amazing reads this month so I hope you enjoy 😀

1. The Cruel Prince- Holly Black (The Folk of Air Series book 1)

Summary: Jude, Vivienne, and Taryn were all happily enjoying their life when one day Madoc, a faerie, comes and murders their parents and they are forced to go to Elfhame. The thing about the faerie there is that they can’t lie but they do have a way around their words. As you would imagine, humans are not very welcome there. When Cardan, one of the princes of Elfhame made it his hobby to make Jude’s life miserable and she realized that she has to be as cunning and deceitful as them. One day, something goes horribly wrong at the Kings coronation and Jude’s life is changed forever.

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- this book got me out of my reading slump. Once I picked it up, it was hard to stop reading. Holly black builds this fictional world that is so magical, there is politics and some romance in it. The book spends most of its pages building up the world and introducing us to its characters so we can get to know them better until you reach the second half of the book… I was literally speechless when I reached that part. Best plot twist ever. This book is definitely worth all the hype it gets, although the series literally keeps getting better

Lesson: like Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the world blind.” Since they were always so cruel to Jude, she thought the only way she could survive was to return the cruelty shown to her. That only made her cunning and she was not like she once was. Cardan was also cruel to Jude because he was mistreated by his brother and neither did good for him nor did it do good for Jude. Jude was made that way because that is how Madoc taught her to be. everyone only knew what was taught to them, we should learn to care for each other

“Because you’re like a story that hasn’t happened yet. Because I want to see what you will do. I want to be part of the unfolding of the tale.”- The Cruel Prince, Holly Black

2. The Wicked King- Holly Black (The Folk of Air series book 2)

Summary: (so if you haven’t read the cruel prince, you should probably skip over the next two books because they contain spoilers). So now that Cardan is the king and is sworn to obey Jude for a year and a day, he doesn’t make her life any less miserable but the kingdom of Elfhame does not trust such a young prince and does not think he is capable. Cardan’s brother Balekin seems to be plotting against him and so does the queen of the underseas, can Jude keep up the act of keeping Cardan as her “puppet king” or does Cardan resist?

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- this was by far the best book in the Folk of Air series. So many crazy things happen in this book. I also wanted to mention that I love how short all the chapters are in the book it just makes it so much easier to read for some reason. I also like that romance is kind of a subplot in this book. I wish I could invent another star for this book because I do not think I have ever been so engrossed in a book before. Once you realize the meaning of the title of each book, it just makes the book a hundred times better. I do not want to spoil too much but Jude and cardan>>

Lesson: with power comes sacrifice. Even though Jude was the one pulling the strings, she sacrificed so much to keep her position. The power you acquire always comes at a cost. Jude became so bitter and cruel and devious, all to keep the throne. She tried to hold it together for so long that she forgot that sometimes it’s okay to be weak. She was ruthless and she did everything in her power to remain on the throne. She spent most of her life avoiding the inevitable. But everything that Jude did, she did for Oak.

“The Folk doubtlessly learned this lesson long ago. They do not need to deceive humans. Humans will deceive themselves.”- The Wicked King, Holly Black

3. The Queen of Nothing- Holly Black (The Folk of Air Series book 3)

Summary: (if you haven’t read the above two books, then I suggest you skip over this one as well). Jude is furiously biding her time in the mortal world as a result of her exile thanks to Cardan and the way things went down with his brother, (read the second book to find out), when she faces some huge challenges which possibly lead to new alliances, but when her twin sister, Taryn comes knocking on her door asking for help. Jude misses Elfhame and as their queen, she misses the thrill and returns once again for her final adventure in Elfhame

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- so I did love this book, don’t get me wrong but I think the resolution to the problem was kind of underwhelming. Like everybody had already told Jude what she had to do to get Cardan back but it took her so long to do it, it just kind of stopped the flow of the book for me because in the grand scheme of things that whole plot point really did not do that much for the book but otherwise I absolutely loved everything else. The writing is really good in this book as well

Lesson: “Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.” Jude was made the queen of Elfhame. Only after she got exiled and then released control of Cardan did she realize how much control the power had over her, it was intoxicating. She was betrayed. People will do anything to gain power. She did so much to acquire the power but gave up, even more, to try and keep it

“That's what mortal means," I say with a sigh that I don't have to fake. "We die. Think of us like shooting stars, brief but bright.”- The Queen of Nothing, Holly Black

4. The Inheritance Games- Jennifer Lynn Barnes-

Summary: Avery is suddenly summoned to the Hawthorne house for the reading of the will of Tobias Hawthorne the late billionaire when she realizes that he has left his 48-billion-dollar fortune all to her and disinherited his entire family, she has never met this man in her life. She goes on a thrilling adventure to uncover the truth, finding out secrets about the Hawthorne family she wished had stayed buried

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️- if you are looking for a fast read, this is definitely the book for you. I will say that the concept for the book is absolutely mind-blowing but the execution was poor. I did enjoy the build and the suspense as to why in the world would a billionaire leave an entire fortune to a girl he has never met and disinherit his entire family and I liked how short the chapters were but the ending was really underwhelming and it kind of made reading the whole book really pointless and the execution of the love triangle was not that great either because I could not even tell the difference between the two brothers at some point. I am excited about the second book though, I feel like the setup for the second book was really good.

Lesson: there’s always more to people than meets the eye. All the Hawthornes just looked like a couple of rich boys who did nothing really with their day. They had so much more, so much to grieve, such good times together. Even Avery had so much more to her than what the Hawthornes saw in her. We should give people a chance before coming to conclusions about them. Everyone kind of decided how they felt about someone before they even got a chance to sit down with each other.

“Better the devil you do know than the devil you don’t”- Inheritance Games, Jennifer Lynn Barnes

5. The Last Thing He told Me- Laura Dave

Summary: Hannah receives a note from a young girl at her door stating that her husband Owen instructed her to deliver it, she opens it to find it saying- “Protect her.” (He is referring to his daughter Suddenly he is gone and his company has been busted for fraud so Hannah sets out on a journey to find out about her husband’s disappearance but on the way, she found out secrets about him which changed her and their relationship forever.

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- I guess it is a trend to feel kind of underwhelmed with the ending this month but it was not too bad. It was a nice fast read and I did kind of like the ending but I felt like something was missing for some reason. Like the plot twist came out of nowhere, and I don’t mean like I did not see it coming, it just kind of came from thin air. I was kind of expecting a grander explanation. Like the characters involved in the twist were literally introduced one chapter before we found out and I think it could have been executed better

Lesson: The importance of family. Owen did everything for his family. He wanted his wife and his daughter to stay away from the harm that his past would bring. All that Hannah did was protect Bailey. Every step that she took in her search for Owen, she made sure Bailey was safe. She knew after finding out the truth about Owen, that he would not be able to return for a while and came to peace with that. Her priority was to make sure that Bailey had a good life and that she was safe from anything that could bring her harm.

“He never understood that I wasn’t scared of someone leaving me, I was scared that the wrong person would stay.”- The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave

6. Loveless- Alice Oseman

Summary: Georgia is finally going to university where she is ready to take on a whole bunch of new experiences that she never had in school, she is ready to start a new chapter in her life. She is ready to put herself out there. She knows her time has come to thrive. She soon discovers that she has never had feelings for anyone but she knows all about romance as she is an avid fan-fiction reader. She discovers something new about her sexuality and goes on a journey of self-discovery

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- this was such a great book, I have to say that it was slightly slow and it took me a while to get into but I ended up loving the book so much. This is definitely a way more character-driven book rather than a plot-driven book. This book taught me so much and the writing was really good. I also really liked the length of each chapter and the way Alice Oseman titled them, sometimes it’s the small things. It’s like they say- you learn something new every day. It is not that easy, to discover yourself and find your place in the world but it is a little easier when you know that you are not alone

Lesson: people take time to discover themselves. Some people never really find out who they are. You cannot force something, if it is meant to be it will be. Georgia was kind of forcing herself to have all these “high school experiences” because she just thought that it was the reason she was not able to fall in love. You cannot force things to flow, it will happen in its time. Georgia just needed to give herself time to discover who she was. Sometimes you don’t need to be on the go, you just need to be

“I used to dream of a spellbinding, endless, forever romance. A beautiful story of meeting a person who could change your whole world. But now, I realized, friendship could be that too.”- Loveless, Alice Oseman

7. Circe- Madeline Miller

Summary- This book is about the daughter of the Titan Helios, who is the God of the sun, and a nymph. This is the story of how Circe was always different from her siblings, she did not have the same desires as them, and she never found cruelty something she enjoyed. Physically she was also different and she did not have any powers. Soon she finds out that she has developed witchcraft. One day she does something horrible and is banished to the island of Aiaia for eternity. We follow her story there, through love, loss, betrayal to peace. We see her character develop over time.

Review- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I absolutely loved the writing in this book. Madeline Miller chooses each and every word so carefully and it’s just so lovely to read. It was so interesting and a great re-telling of a part of Greek mythology. I love the way she dove into the depths of some characters. It was a very enjoyable book and I would definitely recommend it to those who love Greek mythology. Even if you do not know much about Greek Mythology, this book will not be confusing in any way. It did take me a few chapters to get into but once the plot progressed I was hooked and could not stop reading this book.

Lesson: age is just a number. Circe spent eternities in this world, but she still had so much to learn. She had so many things that she had left to experience. She realized the true meaning of being immortal as Madeline Miller put it- “I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.” Circe had so much left to experience, some might say as much as humans through their lifetime.

“Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.” - Circe, Madeline Miller

I hope you enjoyed this blog and I hope this gave you some reading recommendations.

Thanks for reading,

Xx Mahika

(Question of the day: What do you think is the most overhyped book you have ever read? Mine would probably be 'All Your Perfects' by Colleen Hoover [don’t get me wrong I absolutely love CoHo but this was not my favorite book])

(Ps: follow my Instagram: @blogbanterandbigwords where I share polls and put teasers for my upcoming blogs, you might also find some nice quotes in there)