May 2021 Reads

I read a mixed bag of books this month. I managed to read four books which has been my monthly target for this year. I hoped to do better in the lockdown but binge watching came in the way (argh). Here’s what I read in May –

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Hayes

This is such a beautiful novel. Continuing with my obsession of Greek mythology and the Trojan war – I picked up this book to read about the impact of the Trojan war on the women involved in it. Natalie has painted such a beautiful potrait of the different struggles endured by the women. A wife awaiting 2 decades for her man’s return home, queens of slain kings turned to concubines and even more painful stories. It’s a very moving take on the Trojan war. I highlighted almost 25% of the book – so pretty were Natalie’s words! Definitely recommend reading this book if you’re big on reading mythological fiction. I can’t wait to read other books by Natalie – totally in awe of her writing.

Verdict – 10/10!

Find it here on Amazon!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer

I’ve had this book on my TBR since I saw the promo for the movie, although I haven’t seen the movie yet (I prefer reading the book first). The book is set post World War 2 in London and is about a young successful author, Juliet, who is looking for a story for her next book. She receives a letter from a man living in Guernsey who finds her address in one of the books he reads. They start corresponding about their lives during the war. He tells her about a literary society set up in his village during the German occupation. Juliet decides to visit Guernsey to meet the members of the society and write a book about them.

This book was all kinds of heart warming and a really light read. The story in the book is told through letters between the various characters – which was a really fun way to tell the story. I really liked the positivity and happy-go-lucky feel of the book. Definitely recommend reading this one.

Verdict: 8.5/10

Find it here on Amazon.

I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

I haven’t read a book by Sophie in almost a decade now and while looking for a light read decided to give her another chance. BIG mistake! This book was all sorts of cliched and so boring. I know it is a rom-com that needs to be taken lightly but the story line is so unrealistic. A woman loses her engagement ring and her phone at a social gathering. While looking for her ring she finds an abandoned phone in the trash, picks it up and decides to use it as her own. The man (whose secretary was the original owner of the phone) strikes a deal with her to share the phone till she finds her ring. (🙄) SPOILER ALERT: The story is about her and this man and how a bunch of completely unrealistic events make them fall in love.

I can’t believe I actually enjoyed this genre of books when I was a teenager. After reading amazing love stories like The Song Of Achilles – I think I’ve raised my standards for acceptable romance novels and this doesn’t come anywhere close. Sadly, this wasn’t even entertaining enough to keep me hooked to the story.

Verdict: 2/10 (just because I used to love Sophie Kinsella)

(I’m not even going to bother linking it.)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E.Schwab

I’ve already written a whole post on this book so without going into much details – I enjoyed reading this book. I definitely think it could have been a little better – especially the cliched ending but overall the book had me hooked.

Verdict : 7.5/10

Find it here on Amazon.

It was a fun, mixed collection of reads for me this month. What did you read this month? Any recommendations?

Find my other book reviews and recommendations here.

Check-out my other posts and show them some love –

23 Comments Add yours

  1. Srishty says:

    The second book is on my tbr too , mostly due to the title. I prefer not knowing these days what’s the book is about , but your description makes me pick it up even more! Haha, I still love Sophie and I laughed out loud in this book many times 😛 but yes how can this ever happen in real life 😀

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      Right? I found the title really cute and intriguing. I still have to google it every time to get it right. 😛

      I guess I just couldn’t relate with anything happening in Sophie’s book. It was too much drama and very teenage. And the ending – it seemed like it was straight out of a Bollywood movie. 🙈

      Liked by 1 person

  2. akshita1776 says:

    Added the first two books on my TBR! Great reviews!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      I’m sure you’ll love them! ❤️

      Like

  3. Sounds like new books to go on my TBR. I still love Sophie Kinsella’s work. Light-hearted books can be so stress relieving. The shopaholic series are my favourites. I’m definitely going to read ‘A thousand ships’

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      I loved the Shopaholic series. I really needed a light read this month cause all the COVID mess in India had me stressed. But this book just bugged me SO much. It had one unrealistic event after another. And the ending was so so cliched. 🙈
      ‘A thousand ships’ was my favourite read this month. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I read this book a long time back. I can’t recall my exact feelings. Have you read Undomestic Goddess and Can You Keep A Secret? Both books are by Sophie Kinsella.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Madeline Miller really has raised our standards for romance hasn’t she? I haven’t read Achilles but I loved circe. One of my favorites.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      She truly has! I love both her books though I’m a lil partial towards the song of Achilles. It’s definitely one of my top 5 reads ever. ❤️
      Any good recommendations (since you clearly have good taste 😛)?

      Like

      1. 😁sure. I really love Mariana Zapata’s books. She writes slow burn romance and it’s really good. Kulti is my favorite book by her. Evie dunmore is another new favorite of mine. She writes historical/regency romance which are really fun and addictive to read. She is a new author but she is already a great writer.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Happy Panda says:

        Thank you so much for the recommendations! Going to check out these authors and their books. ❤

        Like

  5. Great selection!
    Although I really enjoyed the movie, I am sad that I saw #2 before reading the book🌺

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      I can’t wait to watch the movie! Though funnily in my head none of the characters look like the actors playing them. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Cool! I should check them out! For the past months I have not been reading anything other than school related books.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      School related books definitely take precedence but if you have Greek mythology as part of your curriculum then I think you’ll enjoy A Thousand Ships or WW2 then The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  7. i need to hurry up and read addie la rue! glad you enjoyed it.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      The plot line was really interesting – the ending was a lil cliched but I still really liked the book! Hope you like it too! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Lani says:

    I, too, have read the Potato Pie book, but it was ages ago. I remember enjoying it. And I’ve put the Trojan War book on my TBR list. It sounds right up my alley. Thanks!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Happy Panda says:

      I’m sure you’ll love A Thousand Ships – Natalie has really beautifully told the stories of the many women impacted by the war.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is on my TBR list too since the film came out. This was the first time that I’d read the synopsis though, it sounds interesting. I like books with creative formats and the plot sounds a little similar to The Help which I enjoyed. A Thousand Ships sounds incredible, I’m also a big mythological fan and it’s rare when those types of stories are told from the woman’s perspective. The title sounds as if it’s named after that famous Christopher Marlowe quote: “is this the face that launched a thousand ships?” This month I mostly read Graphic novels because I’m trying to do research for my superhero comic book. I usually don’t read graphic novels but I ended up really enjoying the ones that I tried.

    Like

  10. Shahrin says:

    Wow! That’s a mixed bunch -love how you are able to keep up with reading target, I am falling SO behind my goodreads challenge🙈

    The first book is definitely on my list and I am currently reading “still me” by Jojo Moyes. xx

    Like

  11. Juliette says:

    Wow, you managed to read so much this month! Congrats! I have struggled to finish even one book – and I really love it… I just need to make more time for that! I am very curious to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, it has also been on my TBR for aaaages now ahah… at my current pace maybe I will get to read in 5 years… 😅

    Like

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