Let's see what I can finish before the end of the month!

UPDATE 5/4/21: I was in the hospital 4/28-4/30 and unable to access any personal belongings, so I only got an extra 5% on Helter Skelter. I'm pretty disappointed but my health comes before personal goals. I guess. Here's a picture of my cat for penance.

Three more days left in the month! I am currently reading 9! books and I'm really curious as to how many I can accomplish. I'm at thirteen so far for this month, and I'm really hoping to make it fifteen or more. Here's what I'm working on:

The Secret, Book, & Scone Society - Ellery Adams - 14% in

Thoughts so far - I'm loving this one so far! I love a quirky town if it's well done, and I love the idea of a bakery that can bring back your best memories and a bookseller who can renew your passion. The writing is engaging and good so far, and it's early on but I am lacking some character from the members of the society who aren't Nora.

Helter Skelter - Vincent Bugliosi - 6% in

Thoughts so far - It's taking me a little to get through this, after all, it's nearly 600 pages of detailed information about the Manson family murders and the events leading up to it. So far, even merely 6% in, I have learned so much about the Manson family that I had never known before. There are far more bodies attributed to the family that I never knew of, and I thought that I really knew all this stuff from documentaries!

Priestess of the White - Trudi Canavan - 50% in

Thoughts so far - I'm listening to this one on audio, so it's taking me longer as I have to wait on the narrator. I also have a lot of focus issues and I tend to have to go back to re-listen to the book. I've actually read this before - I'll be honest, my mom had this book in our library and during the height of puberty I'd pull this one out and read only the sex scenes. I figured I ought to try reading this series again and actually figure out the plot. So there, now you've learned something about me.

Minx - Julia Quinn 16% in

Thoughts so far - Ugh. I'm putting this one off. It's in Quinn's first triad of books, and you can tell. The book's writing is passable, but I'm definitely glad Quinn improved over the years. Her heroes are beyond awful in this triad, and are extremely controlling and condescending to the point of actually locking their spouses up to keep them from wandering off. Disgusting. But I digress, of the three books this hero is the most likable and the least awful, and by the end of the the previous book in the triad I had been begging for a book in which he gets a wife!

The Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas - 34% in

Thoughts so far - Slow to start in my opinion but with the arrival of the competition I was far more interested.I was much happier with the action in this than I was with A Court of Thorns and Roses. Celaena is much stronger than Feyre and it's not as obvious who her love interest will be. The main issue I'm having is constantly describing the heroine as "once beautiful" all. the. time. We get it, she's pretty. It's nitpicky but it is a pet peeve of mine.

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas - 8% in

Thoughts so far - I am barely into this one and struggling to keep going. I really want to push through the series because it is wildly popular and I enjoyed the first one enough, despite my ire at the forcible tattoo thing. We see Feyre and Tamlin experiencing PTSD after the events under the mountain, but Tamlin is showing signs of controlling, upsetting behaving. I hope it's okay later, and I promise I'm giving it a chance, but it may take a minute.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart J. Turton - 32% in

Thoughts so far - This one is living on the back of the shelf. I think because I am listening on audio I may be missing a lot and am more likely to be confused. The plot lines are very tangled and I honestly can't even tell you the main character's name because of my befuddlement. Maybe I'll finish it one day and understand. Perhaps.

Cybele's Secret - Juliet Marillier - 33% in

Thoughts so far - This is a reread of a childhood favorite. I remember the day I bought this book as a young girl, and I had finished it by the time we got home from the store. I reread it the next day, because I simply adored Paula and Stoyan, and I am obsessed with anything to do with cults and myths, and this is a combo of both! This and the companion Wildwood Dancing have been read a dozen or so times by me.

Urban Tantra - Barbara Carellas - 30% in

Thoughts so far - I'm not going to go into detail about this one because my dad is going to read this. Just know I like it and there's a ton of sex positive info for cishet and queer couples and more alike.

The White Goddess - Robert Graves - 4% in

Thoughts so far - I'm going to finish this giant monstrosity of a book. I really am. Just maybe not this month or next month. This is a non fiction book about poetry, and thus far there is a great deal about the goddess as a matriarch has been driven out of history, so I'm thinking maybe I'm going to like it once we dig in. Perhaps.