Books Lately: May '17

May was definitely not a great month for reading.  It was the last month of school before summer break and full of basketball games, baseball games, birthday parties, family events, school events, etc.  I honestly only read the first three books all the way through before the end of May.  The last book I finished last night but still counting it towards my May reads because, why not?



Piercing the Veil, by Nicole L. Taylor

**A copy of this book has been generously provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Description from NetGalley:

"FAMILY SECRETS. PARALLEL WORLDS. FORBIDDEN LOVE.

Eighteen-year-old Alexa Moore has had enough of her rigid, controlled existence. Shortly after her graduation, she decides it’s time for her to make the decisions in her life, and quit letting her grandmother have the last say. But when she sees a man watching her—at her graduation, at the market, outside of where she volunteers—her excitement is snuffed out by a sense of dread she can’t shake. And that’s only the beginning…

Soon, strange things begin happening: doors opening by themselves, books falling off shelves. At first, Alexa ignores the bizarre occurrences, chalking them up to coincidence. But when things take a violent turn, she discovers that these occurrences aren’t coincidence at all. In fact, they’re all tied to one thing: her. It isn’t long before she realizes that telepathy and empathy are not the only abilities she possesses. And these new abilities—ones she cannot begin to explain—are growing in strength…becoming more and more dangerous.

Lost and confused, Alexa turns to her grandmother, the one person she trusts above all others, for help. But Gran isn’t who she appears to be, and Alexa finds herself embroiled in a family history that’s shrouded in mystery and lies, where no one, not even the young Irishman she’s fallen for, is who they seem. 

Part romance, part thriller, and part fantasy, Piercing the Veil is Nicole L. Taylor’s premiere novel that is not to be missed."

I enjoyed this book because of all the mystery and family secrets as well as the magical and paranormal parts.  I really liked Alexa because of how strong she is even with all these secrets and changes going on, she still manages to keep herself together and not fall to shit.  The fact that she has a dark backstory makes her all the more intriguing.  The romance between Alexa and Roman I could do without because it's just so predictable.  Also, the whole "Cuz" thing whenever the cousins are talking to each other was kind of annoying, but then again, the characters are teenagers so I guess.  Lastly, just warning you that this has a cliffhanger ending which irritated me.  This book left me with so many more questions than answers.  Just when I was excited to learn more about Alexa's powers, family history and Aurandia, the book ends and I have to wait until the next one comes out to find out what happens.

The Chaos of Longing, by K.Y. Robinson

Description from Amazon:
"The Chaos of Longing is a prose and poetry collection draped in raw honesty, ache, and eroticism. The book explores trauma, mental illness, love, heartbreak, and the realizations from it all."

This collection of poems told an interesting story about the author through each piece.  It was a quick read, as most poetry books are, but some of the poems were pretty provocative.  I couldn't connect with this book as much as I could with the poetry books I'd read previously so it was just okay for me.

The Ship, by Antonia Honeywell
**A copy of this book has been generously provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Description from NetGalley:
"London burned for three weeks. And then it got worse...
Lalla has grown up sheltered from the chaos amid the ruins of civilization. But things are getting more dangerous outside. People are killing each other for husks of bread, and the police are detaining anyone without an identification card. On her sixteenth birthday, Lalla's father decides it's time to use their escape route--a ship he's built that is only big enough to save five hundred people.

But the utopia her father has created isn't everything it appears. There's more food than anyone can eat, but nothing grows; more clothes than anyone can wear, but no way to mend them; and no-one can tell her where they are going"

I always get a little creeped out when I read post-apocalyptic stories and this was no different.  The way the author described the how the world began to fall apart seemed pretty realistic to me and the way the Paul family secured a ship and selected people to go with them while the rest of the world wasted away kinda reminded me of Noah's Ark.  Lalla's character annoyed me quite a bit because of how naive she was.  She lived such a sheltered life compared to everyone else so I understood how frustrated all the other characters were with her.  I liked how she finally realized things and stood her ground in the end though.


The Hour Wasp, by Jay Sheets
**A copy of this book has been generously provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Description from NetGalley:
"This poetry collection does the unspeakable.  It takes you on a journey, in three sections, through morose, sometimes tragic imagery (the ouroboros rinsed in venom / [flickering] the shape of things unshaped // no silken moments / only that which is always breaking / [something is always / breaking here]), and finds itself, in those melancholy moments of the second section some hint of a truth, of a reason, of hope, or a hope (the hour wasp awakens // & we are the things that take shape / & we let the things without shape take shape), and then, finally, we come to the final section, the send-off, the great, all-encompassing display of universal truths, using similar images, visions Mr. Sheets has experienced himself through dreams and meditations, and gives the reader the sense of understanding, almost accomplishment as she has waded through the dark along with the author and illustrator and come to find a sense of solace, one that may stand the test of time (i see the thousandth star / she looks to the thousandth star / the thousandth star is us // & i wonder if i / or anyone i  know    should be so lucky / & i light a new fire at the end of myself)."

This one was a hard no for me.  It was very short but took me a while to get through, considering how short of a book it is.  I fell asleep reading it and couldn't keep my focus.  And I'm not sure if it was meant to be that confusing or if that's just the way the proof version is, but I was lost as to where a line started and ended so it was like reading one long-ass paragraph of nonsense at a time.  There were a lot of words I didn't understand and though I did get the feeling of the mood the author was going for, it just wasn't for me.

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Also, I know I haven't updated my 52 books list in a while, so I'll put the updated one in next month's book recap.