Recap: May 2015!

All in all, May was a pretty good reading month, which is odd, since it has been so hectic.  I do find, however, that I tend to want to read most when I have less time.  How inconvenient.  Anyway, I finished a total of eight books this month, a Shakespearean play, and three Russian stories.

Hexed by Michelle Krys

Rating:  2.5 Keys

Hexed (which I reviewed here) was mediocre.  It had decent writing, but had abhorrent characters.  The plot wasn't as bad, but the book as a whole was a total cliché.  I think it is safe to say that I didn't like this one.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Rating:  2.5 Keys

The Girl on the Train was a disappointment.  It just wasn't what I thought it was going to be.  The mystery was fairly standard and it isn't very exciting, for a thriller.  Again, the writing was enjoyable and the characters were absolutely appalling.  I had high hopes and they fell flat.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Rating:  4 Keys

I had much better luck with my first Gillian Flynn novel, Sharp Objects.  This book is sickening, in a good way.  A brilliantly written murder mystery with rich characters and settings.  The only downfall is the obviousness of the killer.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Rating:  3 Keys

Splintered is an Alice in Wonderland retelling.  While I am happy this book stayed true to the original story while also maintaining a fairly original plot, I felt it was just a little all over the place.  Full review to come.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Rating:  5 Keys

As you can tell, I have really been loving the mysteries this month, so I would finally read a book by the Queen of Mysteries herself, Agatha Christie.  I loved this book, I'm not going to lie.  The writing is very crisp and clear and it keeps you guessing until the end.  My dad actually recommended this to me, and I couldn't be more grateful.  Full review to come.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating:  4.5 Keys

I only just finished this book a handful of hours ago, on the last day of May.  I don't understand why I waited so long to read this sequel to The Raven Boys.  It surpassed even the first book in the series, which was quite a feat.  It's no secret that I love Maggie Stiefvater's gorgeous, lyrical writing, and this book did not disappoint.  Full review to come.

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Rating:  3 Keys

I'm not generally a fan of Shakespeare, but I have to admit that I didn't hate this one.  I liked the themes presented and the story wasn't horrible, all in all.  I won't be doing a full review of this play, as I don't review the books I read in school.  This is simply because I am already predisposed to dislike anything I am forced to read, and it wouldn't be fair to the books themselves to give full review that would be admittedly biased.

The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima

Translated by Meredith Weatherby

Rating:  1.5 Keys

Oh, my, how I hated this book.  Again, I read this for school, so I am not perfectly objective, but I stand by my opinion.  The story was utterly pointless.  Nothing meaningful happened.  I am not sure if this is because of the translation, but the writing was also quite choppy and full of grammatical errors.  If I hadn't had to read it for class, I would have put it down after the first chapter.

I also read A Problem and The Proposal by Anton Chekhov; and How Much Land Does a Man Need?  by Leo Tolstoy for English class, all of which I found perfectly pleasant.  Like I said, May was a pretty good reading month and I hope June will be equally as fantastic.