It’s gonna be [a] May…reading wrap-up!
Cheesy joke aside, with personal life movements and busy work and personal days, for once, I actually didn’t read a lot for May. Any time I started my other wrap-up articles, I assumed I wouldn’t finish a lot of books. That proved false when my lowest reading month was seven books and my highest was eleven. Though it didn’t come true for the first four, it appears a slowdown reared its head in May.
I’m still satisfied with what I was able to read despite my schedule. I, of course, continued my binge of Haley Cass books (I should only have one left to read I think), yet tried to sprinkle in something new to break up the romance genre obsession.
4. The Snowball Effect by Haley Cass
Published October 1, 2024
Rating: 4 stars
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake Dating, LGBTQ+, Lesbian, Sapphic, Adult
Summary: Featuring the side characters from Those Who Wait, Regan Gallagher and Emma Bordeaux navigate their new roommate situation. After Regan’s best friend, Sutton, goes to Rome to chase her dreams, she’s left with having Emma as a roommate. Having never truly gotten along, Emma’s uptight attitude clashes with Regan’s “carelessness.” There’s more to them than meets the eye, and once they start realizing that, closeness blooms. It definitely helps when Regan and Emma decide to fake-date after a mix-up with Emma’s mother.
I expected to like this book a lot more than I did, considering it was highly acclaimed by other Cass readers. I don’t love every single one of Cass’s books, or at least, some fall flatter than others. This happens to be one of those. I generally preferred having Regan and Emma as side characters in Those Who Wait. I’m not totally on board with them being a couple either, especially with how aggressively they butt heads in the beginning. It feels like Emma’s character might’ve turned a new leaf too quickly or maybe just not as realistically. I was also hoping that Regan might take a little more accountability, instead of Emma placing the blame on herself. They do have character growth and sweet moments, which is what makes this book four stars. I’ll always love how different each intimacy scene is from book to book with Haley Cass.
3. PROCTOR Vol. 1 by Carmen Costa (story), Riccardo Cecchi (pencils and ink), and Marcos Martins (colors)
Published 2025.
Read May 27-29th.
Rating: 4-4.5 stars
Genres: Graphic novel, Supernatural, Monsters, Fantasy
Summary: Samantha Hale, a punk girl with a drinking problem, an Art History degree, and a terrible mother can’t seem to get her footing. When the Staff of Kings, hidden by her father before his death, is found by her mother, she’s sent on a journey of danger and dimension-jumping with unlikely allies. Together they face assassins and monsters as they try to figure out how to put the staff to rest. Volume 1 covers the first three issues of PROCTOR, with two additional short stories and extra art.
I picked up a copy of this graphic novel at Thy Geekdom Con (convention review article here) and was immediately pulled in by the art and story premise. Though this is a first of it not being on Goodreads, I was happy to crack the spine. One of the fun parts of this story is the writer being local to NJ and PA. It’s always entertaining to read a story that has familiar city names. Other than that, the plot and characters are intriguing. I’m enjoying getting to know the intricacies of Sam’s character while meeting the minor and side characters. The dash of danger in every issue keeps it from being dull and the humor sprinkled throughout was genuinely entertaining. I’m loving the character designs and the backgrounds; it’s frankly a perfect comic style. The only reason it hangs between four and four and a half stars is because I feel a little lost in the world-building. I crave more information about how all this works and sometimes feel more in the dark that I ought to. I am excited to find out what happens in the last half of the series!
The Kickstarter for issue #4 is ongoing until June 5th, 2025.
2. FIREREND by Emma Kennedy
Publishing June 5, 2025
Rating: 4 stars
Genres: Fantasy, Heist, LGBTQ+
Summary: The second published work from Kennedy, this novella launches readers into a new fantasy world. It follows three POVs that come together for one last job. Allara does everything she can for her sick sister, being the only caretaker available. She needs gold and has no marketable skills, making a possible seedy job desirable. Nymm is the leaders of the Fools guild, though they’ve recently fallen out of favor and gold. She wants nothing more than to take care of her found family. Auren wants to redeem himself and help his family get out of their situation. Is this job worth the risk for any of them?
I had the honor of receiving a PR package and physical ARC from Emma Kennedy for FIREREND, and I’ve previously reviewed their debut novel Golden Ruin and done an interview with Kennedy. After all the hype on her Instagram, I was ecstatic to get my hands on their new novella. Her writing is full of beautiful and descriptive imagery and the mystery tugged at my interest. The book cover and art inside is rich and immersive. Although I only rated it four stars, with a slow May, I did not hesitate to place it high on my list for this month. For my longer review, check out my article here.
1. In The Long Run by Haley Cass
Published November 19, 2019
Rating: 5 stars
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Friends to Lovers (sort of), LGBTQ+, Lesbian, Sapphic, Adult
Summary: Taylor Vandenberg was always stifled in her small-town of Faircombe, Tennessee and left as soon as she was able. It’s been twenty-five years since she’s returned for any extended period of time, and yet, her sister needs her. On the opposite, Brooke Watson has done everything to stay and take care of Farcombe. When Taylor comes back into the town’s and her life, things get shaken up. Mostly because Brooke has always been insanely attracted to her, but also because Taylor loves riling Brooke up.
The teasing banter between Cass’s book protagonists was something to live for. Brooke and Taylor have a soft, slow progress through their relationship. They learn to understand each other and their intricate traumas, lending information to their individual behaviors. I loved their personalities individually, but it was even better when the jokester and do-gooder clashed! It was also a breath of fresh air for Cass to write about two lesbians that have essentially known about their sexuality a majority of their life. With this knowledge, the tension and divide between them had to be more than “I thought this one was straight.” It added some needed complexity to the story. It’s frankly just another pleasant five-star read from Cass with a happy ending. The intimacy scenes were great as always and it’s full of fluff too.
Check out my other monthly wrap-ups: January, February, March, April
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