May Wrap Up

 All the books I read in May 2025

***Please note that reviews may contain spoilers***

Lady of Darkness by Melissa K. Roehrich - 4 ⭐

I ate this book up when I first read it and I have done so again on re-read. It is gripping, compelling and addictive. There is a large cast of characters to meet, snarky comments and witty banter plenty as well as a slow burn romance filled with tension. Scarlett was a fantastic character to follow - my favourite kind of FMC, one who has done and been through a lot, yet remains strong and sassy, she gives me Aelin vibes. She has many physical and emotional scars which are centred around some rather dark themes, which the author handles brilliantly in my opinion. This is a dark fantasy romance with themes that some may find triggering, so please search up trigger warnings before embarking on this one. I loved it and it is now also being traditionally published, so I am waiting to get my hands on the next instalments so I can continue my foray into this world. It will take some time to get through them all though as they are now being traditionally published and not all five books are out yet. 

Lady of Shadows by Melissa K. Roehrich - 4 ⭐

This was a fantastic continuation. Compulsively readable that I done it in 1 sitting. I couldn’t put it down. The direction the story went in opened up this world even more and introduced new characters with reveals on others back stories. It was incredibly enjoyable. Sorin is climbing up my rankings on the book boyfriend list. I wonder where he will fit once the series is over. Still not quite 5 star reads yet, but if they continue to build in the way I hope, I can see the next instalments reaching this.

The Bond That Burns by Briar Boleyn - 4.5 ⭐

Book 2 of Bloodwing Academy. I had a very turbulent time reading this book, mostly because of Blake. As bully romances go, I found that Blake didn’t do much of the bullying in book 1. This seemed to be reserved for this one. Which if I’m honest was so frustrating as his actions did not align with his thoughts. This is not a criticism of the plot however, because I can see why the author done this. Blake was raised to think and act a certain way and that is not going to disappear over night. Seeing him struggle and question actions that should be normal to him was refreshingly realistic but as a fan of Medra, was incredibly frustrating to read. It was really difficult to root for him at times, despite that I wanted to. Aside from that, this book was amazing. The way the story developed from the first one. The interactions with Media and Nyxaris are great, I love a grumpy dragon. Also the ending! Wow, what a way to end a book. I need the next one now! Also side note. Neville is the best character in the whole series.

Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti - 3.5 ⭐

I have put this off for so long that it was finally time to dive in. I remain on the fence as to whether this was a good idea or not. As per all the reviews I’ve heard, I will be going beyond the first book since I have heard it is the weakest. However, while I can absolutely understand the criticisms of this book, I had a good time reading it. I knew it was a bully romance, but I swear I was not prepared for just how brutal this bullying goes. This book made me so angry for a good portion of the time. To the point where it’s clearly the series that is a bully romance, since there was definitely none of the romance part in this one. I can see the breadcrumbs to some of it. Honestly though, the main reason I want to continue is because I really want to see just how we get to the romance part. As of the ending of this book, I’m surprised Tory and Darcy have the capacity to fall for any of these characters. Personally, I would just kill them all. The last few chapters were so hard to read. At this point I just want them to get revenge. I look forward to having my mind changed.