What I Read: May 2024

Write Some stuff about the month here.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Luzia Cotada spends her days trying to survive the ruthlessness of being a scullion. But when her mistress founds out about her magic, she is used to impress their guests and higher their station in society.

When she gets the attention of the wrong person, she suddenly finds herself in a world she wasn't ready for and within a competition she has barely trained for.

But everyone has their secrets, and their own plans, and Luzia needs to learn how to keep herself and her family history safe before she ends up at the gallows. But not everyone around her can be trusted.

This book takes place during the Golden Era of Spain and is a standalone!

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Daphne always loved how her fiance told the story of how they met, which ended with them moving to his lakeside home town so they could start their life together. He was great at telling the story, until he came home from his bachelor party saying he was actually in love with his best friend Petra.

Now Daphne has moved in with Miles, Petra's ex, who seems to love the sounds of heartbreak ballads. As they get used to their new situations, Daphne tries to figure out if there is even a place for her in the town.

After forming a friendship and deciding to show their exes they are fine without them, they start to go on summer adventures and post pictures to make them jealous. Until they start to fall for each other instead.

Pit Stop by Ellis Mae

Isamu Miura has just returned home after being medically discharged from the military. His father is packing up to move with his mother to Japan and his best friend is enamored in a new relationship. He know hopes to convert a van to travel the country, with his service dog Inu at his side.  

The problem is the only person who can help him is a guy who wants nothing to do with Isamu or his dog. John is not  a dreamer, after losing his mom and watching his dad live with alcoholism.

When John finally agrees to help Isamu with the van, for the cash that will help him finally finish school and leave, he tries to keep Isamu from getting to close. But as their friendship grows, John can’t help but wondering if Isamu will just become someone else who leaves him behind, a pit stop in someone else’s path.

Collide by Bal Khabra

 Summer Preston is working on getting into the grad school program she has dreamed and planned for her entire life. But when her advisor tells her to work on a different project, or risk losing the spot, she has no choice but to work with the hockey team.

Summer hates hockey, and Aiden Crawford doesn't make the best first impression on her. He doesn't want to be her experiment, but if he doesn't he'll be suspended. As they keep working together and he gets her to open up, he realizes he wants to spend more time with her.

Now they grow closer in feelings and friendship, and Summer is debating if breaking her 'no hockey player' rule is worth it.

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

On the night Rune's life changed forever there was blood running through the streets. To keep herself alive she had to turn in her grandmother to the witch hunters. She now spends her time helping witches escape in the night, even as she attends balls and other functions with the people that hate her kind. But to keep saving the witches, she needs access to move information and the person with that is Gideon Sharpe.

Gideon loathes everything about witches, and the Crimson Moth is making his life harder and harder by the second. In order to get the information he needs, he decides to pursue the one person who is either the crimson moth or working really closely with her, Rune. But how do they plan on using each other when real feelings are involved.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Emma has always wanted to be a screenwriter, but the dream seems far away as she spends most of her time being the sole caretaker of her father. But when a chance comes along to rewrite the screenplay of her of her favorite writers, it seems like the perfect thing to take.

Except that the screenplay is terrible, and Charlie Yates wants nothing to do with her. To him the screenplay is just means to getting his own work green lit, but to Emma its a chance to get her name out there and finally do the thing she has been dreaming to do.

When she ends up living with Charlie of 6 weeks to rewrite the screenplay, they start to test out what is and isn't romantic. The problems start when real feelings start to enter their complicated world.

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Rue Siebert doesn’t have everything, but she has enough. She is a biotech engineer at a startup company, Kline, which is making headway in food science. Everything is how she wants and needs it to be, that is until there is a hostile takeover by another company, their offensively attractive frontman. 

Eli Killgore and his business partner’s want Kline, for more reasons than they are letting on. When he sees Rue, a girl he almost hooked up with a few days ago, at Kline, his job becomes harder. 

Rue isn’t ready to have more than a one-night stand with Eli, but hooking up with him feels like a betrayal to the company that has helped her with everything. When they decide to keep their affair private, they both struggle with how the everything around them is going down. 

The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

This book was my non-fiction book of the month, as well as another audiobook listen. I highly recommend this book as an audiobook, he reads the stories, there are added riffs of music and little giggles and side-notes that make it feel more personal.

This book is a collection of stories by Dave Grohl, starting from his childhood to his movement throughout music and in the world. Its very reflective on certain points of his life and how they led to others, with some additions of stories from tours, family and even reactions to tragedy.

Overall, a really beautiful book and I love feeling like I understand his journey to where he is now better.

40-Love by Oliva Dade

When a rogue wave strips Tess Dunn of he bikini top while on vacation, she enlists the help of a young man near her to help her get it back, or at least get a towel to keep her from flashing everyone on the beach.

Lucas Karlsson can't help but flirt and tease Tess about her predicament. When her friend signs her up for tennis lessons at the resort with the former pro player, his flirting continues and she starts to wonder if it's just a vacation fling.

But Tess has her own worries about their fling, she's 40 and he's 26, but even with that they decide to see how the next two weeks will go for them, and maybe something more will happen before her departure from the island .