Weekly Mews: May in Review & My June TBR List Poll

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking to Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently. I am linking up to Nicole of Feed Your Addiction's Monthly Wrap-Up Post, where any book bloggers who write monthly wrap-up posts can link up and visit other bloggers to see what they have been reading. 

Happy June! We are approaching the halfway mark for the year, can you believe it? Like the months before it, May seemed to fly by. Our new kitten is growing so fast! She is fitting in well. Mouse adores her. Rehearsals for Oz are going well and are kicking into high gear now that the summer is approaching. Girl Scouts is winding down. We have one more meeting with her old troop--more of  a party as we go our separate ways. This past month, Mouse was able to attend her new troop's Build a Bear party. She's loving the new troop, and, I have to admit, so am I. I think it's a good fit for both of us. Work has had its ups and downs. It's been quite busy, and add in the training days and extra meetings. This past week was an especially tough one, and I am so glad the weekend is finally here.  It was one of those weeks where I came home to my daughter every night and just held her tight.

I desperately need to find time to catch up on my blogging and commenting. I am so behind! Keeping up lately has been next to impossible. I am sure many of you, if not all, can relate! Is anyone else having trouble who has a Blogger blog? I no longer am receiving e-mail comment notifications. As a result, it may take longer for me to approve your comments. It's so much easier with the e-mails. Now I have to go to my site and approve them on the main page, something that isn't so easy to do on my phone when  am out and about. I have tried just about every fix recommended to no avail. I beg for your patience until that gets sorted out.

Peeking around the corner 

Girl Scout Build a Bear Party with her new troop



Rehearsal time with Miss London

A kiss for the kitty

 Growing like a weed!

Vicious! (Caught mid-yawn)

 That's more like it.

Here is what I read in May:

• Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton
• The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy
• A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert
• The Girl From the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

I may not have read much this past month, but it was a good month book wise. I finished both my April and May TBR List winner selections, and enjoyed them immensely. I am not the biggest fan of The Wizard of Oz movie, but oh, how I loved Anne Hathaway's narration of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book! 

New to My Shelves: 

In honor of Mother's Day, my husband and daughter surprised me with this lovely tote with a Jane Austen quote, a book, a journal, and a gift card, which I promptly spent on a few books.

Making the Monster: The Science Behind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by Kathryn Harkup

A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss

A gift from my mom

May also brought the last book fair of the school year at my daughter's school. How could we resist?

Amelia Bedelia Unleased by by Herman Parish, illustrated by Lynne Avril 

I'll Wait, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony

Dreams Come True (Melowy #1) by Danielle Star

I'm a Frog! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

Tiara Friends: The Case of the Stolen Crown by Paula Harrison

The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R. M. Romero

What I Am Reading: I have been playing catch up with my two year long reads, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. I fell a bit behind this past month. I am still lagging behind in War and Peace, but hope to catch up tonight before I drift off to sleep. I have also started reading Jennifer Ashley's cozy historical mystery, Scandal Above Stairs, the second in the Kat Holloway series.

What I Am Watching: I caught the season finale of Timeless and have been able to stay on top of The Fear of the Walking Dead.  May turned into a musical month. I watched Mama Mia, Rent, Sound of Music, and Sister Act--all re-watches, but just as good as the first, second, third, fourth--you get the idea. I also got to see Infinity Wars and ​Solo​. My daughter got me hooked on  R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls the other day.

What I Am Listening To: This past month I listened to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Since our household is immersed in the musical for the time being, I figured it would be a good time to give the book a try. I may try another J.D. Robb book next.

What I Am Worried About: My brother is slowly recovering from pleurisy, which caused quite a scare. It led to other medical tests which uncovered he has a bicuspid aortic valve that has gone undetected since birth. At least now everyone is aware of the problem and it can be monitored.

One of the co-leaders of my daughter's new Girl Scout troop was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. She's since had surgery and will begin radiation followed by chemotherapy soon. It has spread to her lymph nodes. It's all happened so suddenly. I really hate cancer.

All these health issues certainly put things in perspective. I am worried about what the dentist will say about my tooth when he takes a look at it. More so probably the cost. But this pales in comparison to what my brother and friend are going through.

What I Am Looking Forward To: The end of the school year! It does not really mean much for me--I still have to work and Mouse's musical rehearsals have doubled--but it is something. I am looking forward to seeing Mouse's school play this next week. We will also be celebrating my husband's birthday. Wait until you see a picture of the cake! Also, this next weekend the in-laws are coming. They are planning a big move this summer and have been going through their stuff. Since they are downsizing, we are inheriting a few pieces of their furniture. Hopefully we can find room for everything!

What I Am Grateful For:  Girl-day outings--like our most recent lunch out together. A kitty who tackles my foot or hand and just hangs there upside down. My husband who is willing to go out in the middle of the night to fill my gas tank. And my warm cozy bed which I feel I don't see enough of these days.

This Past May In Reading Mews:

• Wishing for Wednesday: What Should Be Wild & All the Ever Afters
• Bookish Thoughts: Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
• Bookish Thoughts: The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman
• Wishing for Wednesday: Dreams of Falling and Us Against You
• Bookish Thoughts: Pressed to Death by Kirsten Weiss
• Wishing for Wednesday: Brief Cases & The Book of M
• Bookish Thoughts: The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
• Wishing to Read Wednesday: Old and New (#1)
• Bookish Thoughts: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
• Wishing to Read Wednesday: Old and New (#2)

Tell me about what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your week? Do you have anything planned for this coming week?

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Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

I am feeling a fantasy mood coming on and thought I would pull these three books off my TBR shelf for you to choose between. One has gotten more praise than I can count, another seems to be a love or hate type book, and the other is one that is just about to hit the shelves. All are books I am anxious to read. I hope you will help me decide what to read next--even if you just vote based on the cover (I have to resort to that too sometimes--so no judgement here!).

A Promise of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles #1) by Amanda Bouchet

KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER... BUT NOT IF SHE CAN HELP IT

Catalia "Cat" Fisa lives disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus. She is perfectly content avoiding the danger and destiny the Gods-and her homicidal mother-have saddled her with. That is, until Griffin, an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south, fixes her with his steely gaze and upsets her illusion of safety forever.

Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker, the woman who divines the truth through lies. He wants her as a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm-until he realizes he wants her for much more than her magic. Cat fights him at every turn, but Griffin's fairness, loyalty, and smoldering advances make him increasingly hard to resist and leave her wondering if life really does have to be short, and lived alone. [Goodreads Summary]

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge? [Goodreads Summary]

Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly.

Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him – every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him – until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The Prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat.

So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all.

Winner takes the loser’s heart.

Literally. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read any of these? Which one do you think I should read?

Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful June and Happy Reading!

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