May Wrap-Up + Mini-Reviews

So May was prettyyyy crazy, and unfortunately I had little time to read. This was disappointing because I really felt like reading all of this month-- I just didn't have the time, and if I did squeeze in some time, I'd feel guilty about all the stuff I still need to finish. So it was kind of a lose-lose situation.  I am hoping next month will be better and less busy, but at the way my schedule is looking now, this seems very unlikely. :/ Anyhow, I did get a chance to read some great books in May. I have wrote a couple sentences on my general feelings for each one and provided a link for the books I reviewed.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (*** */*)
I finally finished this last month as part of a novel study I've been taking part in. The beginning was slow and dull to me, but it picked up speed and some parts I found very interesting. The dystopia world was interesting since it was set in the Southern USA and Mexico, and the entire book was very unique. However, the last section (La Vida Nueva) was very separate from the rest of the book and the ending was extremely abrupt.

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans (***)
Level 2 was not what I was expecting at all, as I was thinking it would be more a otherworldly, action sort of book, where it was actually more contemporary. I also had problems with pacing in this book, as the middle was very slow and seemed as if nothing happened, yet at the end things happened too fast. I found that many of the flashbacks and middle section of the novel were unnecessary or repetitive. The setting, Level 2, was interesting but I would've liked to see more development.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (*****)
Though there were a few slow moments and painfully obvious "twists", I absolutely loved this book! Because they didn't focus too much on the "twist", it wasn't too bad that it was predictable. I loved the writing style and perfect mesh between two of my favourite genres-- Dystopia and fairytale retellings. This book had a little something for everything, and tons of awesome elements that all come together at the end. I can't wait to read Scarlet!

Glitches by Marissa Meyer (****)
After finishing Cinder, I wanted more of this awesome story, so I read Glitches, a 30 page short story. And though this story doesn't really contain anything we don't already know, it was very interesting to see it all from Cinder's eyes at the time and understand the effect the events had on Cinder's step-family.

Shards & Ashes (****) 
It's kind of hard to do a review as this one is an anthology. In my full review, I wrote a mini-review for each story. The general comments I had were not being able to connect to the piece and also development of the world created, which is hard in a short story. Though some I didn't care for, I also really enjoyed a fair amount of the stories as well.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (****) 
The pieces of the puzzle really came together in this novel with gorgeous illustrations and a unique perspective. The characters were interesting, but sometimes I wasn't a fan of Hugo and his actions because it limited the story, despite the fact I understand why he did the things he did. I loved the setting of Paris. The incorporation of old films was awesome too. However, I felt like something was missing that I couldn't place, or couldn't connect with.

Mind Games (**)
I was quite disappointed with this read. It was very bland-- I wanted assassins and action and I got repetition of the same things, the same thoughts. I didn't like the writing format (how it jumped from past to present and the way that was executed) or the writing style for Fia's chapters. Many of the characters seemed underdeveloped or superficial. I don't think I will be reading the books following Mind Games.

The amount of books looks like more than it is because one was a short story, one was a illustrated novel, one I read most of last month, one I read some of last month and is a short story anthology, and two are very short books.

Thanks for reading! My June TBR will be up shortly. What did you read in May, and what do you want to read in June?