💖 What I Read In May 2026

2026 GoodReads Reading Challenge:  27 Books Completed Out of Goal of 100 (27%)

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Bit of a mixed month in May. After months of no dnf's, I had one last month and one this month. I really hate to dnf books, but I have gotten better about deciding when enough is enough, and I would rather put a book away and focus on something else. Some I will go back to eventually, but some I won't. This month's I definitely won't be revisiting. 

I enjoyed many good books this month, with the lowest rating a 3 💜, and quite a few 4 💜 and 5 💜 books. I also got to enjoy one of my most anticipated reads of the year. 

The Midnight Croissant, Written By Bonnie Solomon. Audiobook Read By Bonnie Solomon

My Rating: 🩵 🩵 🩵 🩵 🩵 🩵

Thank you so much to Bonnie Solomon/Bonsol Press and NetGalley for the ARCs for both the ebook and the audiobook. 

This is the second book in a series, although it can be read as a standalone. The first one was Pearly Gates, and was released in 2025. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026, as I absolutely adored Pearly Gates. 

I was lucky enough to be given the ARC for the ebook via the author and the ARC for the audiobook on NetGalley. 

If you only read one book this year, make it this one!

I was a little bit nervous before starting this book. I adore the first book in the series, Pearly Gates, and was anxious that this might not live up to it. I didn't have anything to worry about. Bonnie Solomon has written another beautiful book, and it is a very worthy addition to the fantastic series. 

In this book, Pearly Gates is now a fully fledged spirit guide, trying to stick to the rules. She is living with Dumb Pearly and trying to help her latest charges. They are struggling in their lives, and Pearly is having a hard time figuring out how best to help them. Then she is struck with a brilliant idea - take her charges on a trip to Paris. She gets permission from her higher-ups, but she has to make a dangerous deal with her boss - either she grows her charges' auras, or her boss can decide her fate. And given that her boss hates her, it won't be anything good for Pearly. 

Pearly and her charges go on a whirlwind trip through Paris, exploring many of the city's sights and sampling its exquisite food. Pearly is in her element and has a beautiful relationship with each of her charges and with the grandson of one of them, who is going through a lot of personal and family issues. 

I just loved everything about this book. The audiobook is beautifully narrated by the author, who does an amazing job. 

I can't recommend this book/audiobook enough. If you love twinkly characters with enormous depth and heart to them, then I think you will adore this book as much as I do. 

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Woman In the Pillory, Written By Brigitte Reimann, Translated By Lucy Jones

My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Classics for giving me the ARC for this book

This is such a beautiful and heartbreaking book that shows the horror of war. 

In this book, we meet Kathrin, a young woman who lives on her family farm in Germany during the devastation of the Second World War. She lives there with her domineering sister-in-law while her husband is away fighting with the Germans. Kathrin and her husband don't have a happy marriage; they're going through the motions. 

To help them run the farm while he is away, her husband arranges for a Russian POW to come to the farm to help with the work.

At first, she is wary of the handsome Russian, but soon her feelings for him change, changing all their lives forever. 

If you like historical novellas with devastating heartbreak and drama, you will love this book. Can't recommend it enough. 

This novella will stay with me for a long time. 

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The Bell Witches, Written By Lindsey Kelk, Audiobook Read By Ashleigh Haddad

My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜

I have had this book on my tbr for a while, and was lucky enough to get the ARC for the next book in the series, The Witch and the Wolf, so I decided to start this so I could read the next book before it expires on NetGalley. 

I immersive read this book with the ebook and audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook did a wonderful job. I especially loved her portrayal of Catherine - the elegant and dangerous southern belle. 

I had so much fun reading this book. The FMC is a badass who, even though she is a teenager, has the stubborn determination to see her through the journey she goes on in this book. 

Emily's dad dies suddenly, and so she has to go and live with her father's relatives in Savannah, whom she has never met. For some strange reason, her father did not want her to associate with her grandmother, Catherine, or her aunt Ashley, and she couldn't help wondering what they might be hiding.

Her grandmother and aunt live together in the family home in the heart of Savannah. Catherine is very keen for her granddaughter to know how important her family, the Bells, are to Savannah, and how Emily will have to join the family in their duties around town. She starts to show Emily around town, and after a devastating trip to the local cemetary Emily starts to suspect that there is something strange about the Bell family. All of that is confirmed when she discovers that she and Catherine are witches, and she must learn the ways that will make her a great and strong witch.

Emily's loyalty is tested when she meets a local boy, Wyn. She wants to spend time with him, to the detriment of her time with Catherine. But things are a lot more sinister and dangerous for the Bell Witches. Emily starts to realise that her life may be in danger, and those of the people she loves. Will she be able to stop the danger?

This is a YA book, which I'm not always a huge fan off, but this one takes you on an awesome journey into the supernatural, and is a real page turner. I loved the danger and ominousness Catherine exuded.

If you love supernatural witchy tales with a strong FMC, then I think you will love this book. 

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West of Wicked, Written By Nikki St.Crowe, Audiobook Narrated By Stella Hunter, Samantha Brentmoor, Connor Crais, Ellie Gossage, Shane East, Amy Hall and Sean Masters

My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

I adore the Wizard of Oz. It was my favourite movie when I was a kid, and it is still one that I lovingly watch and remember. I have read and/or watched most of the books set in this world, whether it be a retelling, a sequel or a prequel, and I have varying opinions on their success. 

When I heard about this book, I knew I had to check it out. It's a low level spicy retelling of Dorothy dropping into the world of Oz. It is very dark, with the usual characters you would expect, but they are definitely not singing about being off to see the Wizard. 

In this version, Dorothy is a young woman who is trying to figure out where he life is going. She lives with her Aunt and Uncle in Kansas and has been seeing the boy on a nearby farm, but she doesn't know where she sees her future. When a tornado strikes she and Toto are flung into the wonderful world of Oz, where she kills the Witch of the East. The locals tell her that the only way she can get home is to find the Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City. 

So off she sets. Along the way, she finds the character we know as the Scarecrow, although she comes to call him Rook. He doesn't remember who he is, and so he decides to go along with Dorothy to the Emerald City in the hopes that the Wizard of Oz can help him.

We also meet the Tin Man, a dysfunctional assassin who needs a drug called oil to keep his body moving. He has been tasked by the Witch of the West with finding Dorothy and will stop at nothing to do so. 

As Dorothy and Rook move closer to the Emerald City, they meet the people of Oz as well as many dangers, but everything comes to a head when some disturbing truths come to light. 

I ate this book up. I was able to read it immersively with the audiobook and ebook, and the wonderful narrators did a fabulous job. I loved the depiction of the well-loved characters from The Wizard of Oz. They are recognisable as the ones I love, but they have a lot more darkness to them. 

If you love the world of the Wizard of Oz, but are looking for it to be a bit spicier with lots of danger and darkness then I think you'll love this book. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I can't wait to read the second book in the series, East of Envy, when it comes out in November 2026.

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Maiden, Written By Georgia Leighton - Published 4th June 2026

My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Transworld Publishers/Bantam for providing me with the ARC of this book. 

I absolutely ate this book up. This is the second book I have read from Georgia Leighton, and she has become one of my auto-buy authors. 

Three young women are living in a time of the Maiden Sacrifice. Every year, an eighteen-year-old woman from the mountain regions is chosen to be sacrificed to the Great Dragon. They have been doing this for many generations, but this year, it will be very different. 

This book takes you on a sensational journey with FMC's that keep you turning pages. What could be better than three fantastic FMC's. Three!

Cressyda is a Princess who wasn't born into the Royal Family. Because of this, her place in the family is always tenuous, especially given that the heir to the throne, Prince Samsel, hates her. She is only there at the insistence of the Queen Flavria, who sees her as the daughter she never had. She feels totally out of place in the castle. Could it just be because she wasn't born a Royal, or is there more to it? What is it that she can see in the shadows of the palace?

Alinore is living with the Royal Family after her father's death. She and Princess Cressyda are close, but she also has a special friendship with the youngest Prince Ottone. But she wants more than a life at the Royal Court.

Maylie is a young woman living in the mountains with her husband and children. It's a quiet life, and one that she enjoys, but there is something hidden behind her smiling eyes. Something from her past that no one else knows, and that could change the course of history. 

Georgia has a beautiful way of writing that makes her books nearly impossible to put down. She explains the worlds we are in so wonderfully that you almost feel like you are there. 

If you love fantasy, romantasy, dragons, and three badass FMCs, then I think this book is one you will love. 

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Five Liars, Written By D.L. Fisher, Audiobook Read By Jessica Preddy, Cecily Bednar Schmidt, Rebecca LaChance and Norma Butikofer

My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜

This is a great page-turner of an audiobook. It kept me guessing to the end, and even then, there's an extra wee twist. 

We meet Britt, who is heading away for a combined bachelor/bachelorette party with her husband to be, the matron of honour, work friend and best man at a secluded house. From the moment they all arrive, things start to go wrong. Suitcases go missing, the air conditioning isn't working, a storm is brewing outside, and the tension between the five partiers is high. 

Then, things take an even more dangerous turn. 

I love that the story is told from two timelines - the present at the house and the past when some youngsters are being mistreated by their foster parents, although you don't find out their identities until the end of the book. 

Who will make it out of the weekend with their lives? Anyone?

This audiobook is well done, and the narrators do a wonderful job, although the narrator who read for the best man, Darren, seemed a little robotic at times, which took me out of the story.

If you like dark and twisty stories then I think you will love this audiobook.  

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Death at the Dock, Written By Carmen Radtke

My Rating: 💜 💜 💜

Thanks to Book Sirens for allowing me to read the ARC for this book. 

This is the third book in the Alyssa Chalmers series of books. This is the first book in the series that I have read. You don't specifically need to read the first two books, as I was able to follow along without any problem, but if you can, it's probably a good idea so that you will know the characters and world better.

Alyssa is a young woman living in 1862. She receives a message from Sea Captain Moore asking for her help in locating two missing men. At her side are the first officer and the doctor. She starts her investigation, weaving her way through many secrets and pitfalls.

Alyssa is a wonderful FMC who is very strong willed annd independent. She is determined to get to the bottom of the case, with or without the help of the two men joining her. 

I found it rather slow at first, but it picked up as it went along. 

This is a short and sweet book at only 191 pages.

If you enjoy historical mysteries with an awesome female lead, then I think you'll enjoy this book. 

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Love, Mom, Written By Iliana Xander, Audiobook Read By Kira Fixx, Laura Horowitz, Walker Williams, Melissa Redmond, Petrea Burchard and Travis Horner

My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for allowing me access to the ARC for this book. 

I ate this book up in five days. There are so many twists and turns that I never knew what was going to come next. 

Mackenzie is a young woman whose mother is a very successful author of dark thrillers. When her mother dies suddenly, she doesn't know how to feel. She and her mother weren't very close, and her father is distant, but gentler than her mother. The only person she feels close to is the housekeeper, and she is close with her friend EJ.

On the day of her mothers memorial, she receives the first of many letters. Each of the envelopes is signed From #1 Fan, xoxo. The letters send her down a path to finding out the truth about her mother, her father, and their pasts. Was her mother's death an accident?

Mackenzie is a wonderful character. You automatically want the best for her, and for her to find out the truth about her parents, even if it's something she never could have anticipated. Her friendship with EJ is so much fun to read about, and the banter between them is cute and funny.

I listened to it on audiobook, and the narrators did such a wonderful job, especially the narrator who read for Mackenzie. 

If you like a thriller with twists, turns, and then some more twists, then I think you will love this book.

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