LIFE'S A PEARL

May 2023 was my best reading month of all time!

For the most part my reading streak mentioned in the mid May reading recap continued. I missed one day of finishing a book but I read 33 books last month so I “made up” for it on other days.

This is not a trend I expect to continue but it was fun to do for a month.

My reading streak also convinced me to keep a Kindle Unlimited membership.

Since I’ve been reading a ton of romance lately, that’s a handy thing to have. It makes it easy to take a chance on a new author or to check out several of the indie authors who have been recommended to me.

I’m off to a solid start with my summer tbr. So far I’ve read 7 books off that list.

I took a deep dive into a couple series last month – Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon being the longest and will likely continue into June.

I also enjoyed reading with my two book clubs over on Fable. There’s a nonfiction – Pearls of Wisdom – and a romance one – A Dose of Romance Book Club.

At the end of the month, I squeezed in a buddy read and crossed at least one of the authors I wanted to read again this year off my 2023 reading life bucket list.

May Reading Wrap Up:

By the Season and Reading Format

Summer Reads

• Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Puck Me Secretly by Odette Stone 🎧📖
• Lovewrecked by Karina Halle 🎧📖
• That Second Chance by Meghan Quinn 🎧📖
• Flawless by Elsie Silver 📖
• Mile High by Liz Tomforde 🎧📖
• The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth 🎧 (also a buddy read)

Book Club Picks

• Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting 📖
• Already Enough by Lisa Olivera 📖

Next in Series

• Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Home Game by Odette Stone 🎧📖
• Barbarian Lover by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon 🎧📖
• Barbarian’s Prize by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Barbarian’s Mate by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Heartless by Elsie Silver 📖
• Penalty Box by Odette Stone 🎧📖
• High Risk Rookie by Odette Stone 🎧📖
• Barbarian’s Touch by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Powerless by Elsie Silver 📖
• Ice Planet Holiday by Ruby Dixon 📖
• Barbarian’s Taming by Ruby Dixon 🎧📖
• Ice Planet Honeymoon by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Barbarian’s Heart by Ruby Dixon 🎧📖
• Barbarian’s Hope by Ruby Dixon 🎧📖
• Barbarian’s Choice by Ruby Dixon 🎧📖
• Dark Russian Angel by Odette Stone 🎧📖
• Barbarian’s Redemption by Ruby Dixon 🎧📖
• Barbarian’s Lady by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Barbarian’s Rescue by Ruby Dixon 🎧
• Barbarian’s Tease by Ruby Dixon 🎧📖
• Barbarian’s Beloved by Ruby Dixon 🎧

Just Because

• Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt 🎧📖

Recaps and Reviews

You can find my reviews for Ice Planet Barbarians (3 stars),  Kiss My Cupcake (4.5 stars), Puck Me Secretly (4.5 stars), Lovewrecked (2.5 stars), That Second Chance (3.5 stars), and Flawless (4.5 stars) plus ratings for further books in some of these series in my mid May Reading Recap.

Already Enough by Lisa Olivera

Rating: 4 stars

This was my one nonfiction read of the month. This book was so hefty with information, I stretched it over two months as a selection for the Pearls of Wisdom book club.

After a heart-breaking start to life, Lisa Olivera came to make sense of her story by believing she wasn’t enough. With the help of a therapist, Lisa changed the story she told herself for the better. 

Now a therapist herself, Olivera explores how are stories are formed and how they can impact our lives. She endeavors to show readers a path of healing by identifying, understanding, and finally reframing the stories we tell ourselves.

The goal being to realize and fully feel that we are already enough, just as we are.

My Thoughts

I loved how the theme of stories tied into other nonfiction books I read this year like The Story of You by Ian Morgan Cron (4 stars) and Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy (5 stars), where Dr. Becky shared her primary belief that we are all already good inside.

There was so much to take in while reading this book! It was full of great information with amazing points to ponder, numerous strategies to consider, and a ton of questions to reflect on.

Olivera writes with a gentle and encouraging tone. She offers so much support, inspiration, and thoughtful resources.

The only thing I wish was different was the overall structure and organization of the book. For instance, I found a 150 page chapter hard to get through. The book is basically split into 3 large sections. That’s a lot of dense information to track and absorb.

Overall I thought my reading experience was a great initial overview read. I hope to get a physical copy to work through again slowly. I think this book is most helpful if you can take your time with it and use it as more of a workbook.

Mile High by Liz Tomforde

Rating: 3 stars

Steam Level: 3

Oh this book.

Basically you have hockey star, Evan Zanders, who believes his career rests on his reputation for being a player both on and off the ice. He can’t wait for the start of hockey season to call upon his roster of hook ups in every city.

Enter Stevie Shay, one of the new flight attendants who this year will be with the team for the entire season. The two immediately dislike one another, yet are attracted to each other. But there’s a no fraternization policy in play.

Of course that ultimately doesn’t stop them.

My Thoughts

This book is over 600 pages! Why?

I have one word for romance books over 400 pages that aren’t fantasy – EDIT!

The book could easily have been edited down to half the length and been a much stronger story. A lot of the book dragged for me. The only reason I got through this was because I had an audio copy to pair with it.

The story finally gets under way around the 40% point.

There were some really cute moments in this book. Of course I loved the nonprofit rescue for older dogs where Stevie volunteers whenever they’re playing at home.

Zanders grew on me. Even though he’s a serious player in the beginning of the book, once he likes Stevie he’s only into her and he doesn’t fight his feelings for her.

There’s amazing body positivity in this book! There’s also a lot of positive therapy talk, but it’s really never shown which felt like a missed opportunity.

Maddison and Logan are two characters so involved in this book that I felt like I was missing something. Like their story should have come first? Apparently Liz Tomforde originally wrote their story on wattpad, but it’s even longer than this and split into two volumes so I’m not planning to read it.

Everyone seems to love the book that comes after this, The Right Move. It’s a little shorter coming in at 530 pages and I really liked Indy and Ryan, who we meet in this book, so maybe I will give it a try. I’m not sold on committing yet.

Powerless by Elsie Silver

Rating: 4.5 stars

Steam Level: 4

This is the third book in Elsie Silver’s Chestnut Springs series. Book 2, Heartless, was a 5 star read for me earlier in May!

Sloane spent her childhood summers on her Uncle Harvey’s ranch with her cousins and Jasper. Jasper was adopted into the Eaton family but both he and Sloane have always been quick to inform people that they aren’t truly cousins.

The two have remained close friends, always missing their chance with one another.

When Sloane’s wedding is suddenly called off, Jasper (now a successful hockey player) is there to save the day, whisking her away to the ranch and later onto a road trip that may finally force them to deal with their feelings for one another.

My Thoughts

This one didn’t start out strong for me. The first third of the book kept it from being a 5 star read.

I had a hard time relating to Sloane. She came off as a poor little rich girl, who’s supposedly smart and successful with every opportunity at her fingertips, but for some reason allowed herself to be her father’s pawn and her fiancé’s doormat?

There was a lot of heaviness and uncertainty to the start of the story.

Once the road trip began though, I was hooked. The humor, their friendship, and the chemistry between them was all amazing! Their exchanges had me laughing out loud. I loved when Sloane cut loose and came out of her shell. And my goodness did things get steamy!

I also really enjoyed the trip to Ruby Creek and meeting all the characters from Elsie Silver’s first series. That one is for sure on my tbr!

The conflict at the end was a little over the top but it wrapped up pretty sweet and satisfying in my opinion. There’s a teaser for the next book in the series, Reckless, written into this one and I cannot wait for that story!

Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt

Rating: 3.5 stars

Steam Level: 2

Farley Jones has a huge career opportunity to go on a comedy tour opening for two very successful and well known female comedians. The only catch? They want her to pretend to date someone famous to drum up publicity.

Meyer Harrigan has been out of the public eye for awhile taking care of his daughter, Hazel, and working as Farley’s manager as well as longtime friend. But he’s the only person he’ll consider for the role of Farley’s fake boyfriend.

Switching between the present fake dating situation and the past as their friendship forms, it becomes clear that the two feel a lot more for one another than just friendship.

My Thoughts

This was my first Tarah Dewitt book. The story was really sweet and different.

I mostly listened to it on audio and that format made it difficult to follow along on the timeline jumps.

The way their past storyline is revealed gave Farley and Meyer’s connection a slow and soft build up. In a way, it felt like a very real and mature love story. There wasn’t really any conflict besides dealing with nerves before shows.

These two were definitely great friends but overall I didn’t buy into the transition to more. As a result, the spicy bits didn’t match the vibe. They felt both lackluster and over the top for shock factor.

This might have been a case where the format I read in just didn’t work for the story.

I really loved the quotes from famous comedians that started off each chapter. Also that cover is gorgeous!

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

Rating: 4.5 stars

Sally Hepworth was one of the 12 authors I wanted to read again this year from my 2023 reading life bucket list. I previously read The Mother-in-Law (4.5 stars) and The Good Sister (5 stars) from her.

I preordered on audio earlier this year when I had several audible credits to use or lose. Typical to my mood reading tendency, the book sat unread on my audible app for a couple months.

Until my bookish friend, Alisha, offered to buddy read it with me via Fable. I’m so glad we read it together!

From goodreads:

“There’s a cottage on a cliff. Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.

When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral…Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?

And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate…lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.”

My Thoughts

I was happy to read this book with a friend! It was a great one to discuss!

It was also my first time buddy reading with an audio copy – I usually prefer an ebook for the ease of sharing quotes – but the audio worked out really well. The story was a fun one for sharing our guesses and reactions!

It was propulsive and definitely hard to put down. I think I read it within 24 hours and Alisha stayed up until the wee hours to get to the end!

I equally enjoyed both character’s POVs. Sally Hepworth writes compelling character who keep me invested and reveals that keep me guessing!

The chapters were perfectly bite-sized to keep you reading quickly. And the final payoff was pretty darn good – somewhat sad but very satisfying.

Dark Russian Angel by Odette Stone

Rating: 3.5 stars

Steam Level: 2

After witnessing a crime while leaving work, Olivia’s life becomes threatened. The police want her to testify but even they can’t provide protection from the crime lord she’s up against.

Enter Andrusha, leader of the Vancouver Russian mafia. Instinct tells him to stay out of it, but he can’t leave Olivia to die. Her testimony would put away a dangerous rival. But the more time they spend together, the more he is drawn to her, complicating everything.

My Thoughts

I don’t think I’ve ever read a mafia romance before. After loving Odette Stone’s Vancouver Wolves hockey series earlier in the month, this seemed like a great one to start with.

Andrusha is a side character in book 3 of that series and I was intrigued by him as the old childhood friend who’s now cloaked in darkness for his illegal business practices. He seemed to be a good guy underneath all that.

And he is.

Ultimately I enjoyed my reading experience of this one but not as much as I did with her hockey books.

Olivia wasn’t as strong a heroine as previous characters and for me she didn’t really develop as a character. Some of the conflict with her towards the end infuriated me with her stupidity. At a certain point, it’s becomes self-defense girl!

I’m not sure if I’ll read book 2 in this duology. Beautiful Russian Monster has much higher rating but there also isn’t a audiobook available for it. So we’ll see.

Ice Planet Holiday by Ruby Dixon and Beyond…

Rating: 4.5 stars

Steam Level: Most of the series falls between a 3 and 4

I found myself missing this icy world with its big blue aliens so I continued my rabbit hole into Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians series in the second half of May.

I started with this novella before picking back up with the standard novels.

From goodreads:

“All this snow and no holidays? What’s a stranded human to do?

Create a new holiday, of course. Georgie and the other women decide to bring some new traditions and cheer to the sa-khui. More babies are born, presents are exchanged, and a new romance blossoms between a human woman desperate for a change, and the alien determined to protect her.”

My Thoughts

This was a really fun, quick, and cute read.

I kinda wish I had read it before picking up book 5. I’m definitely glad I went back to it. I felt like I was missing something with Claire’s story so I’m happy to understand it better and I found Ereven, Claire’s mate, to be quite dreamy.

This one introduces some characters who have been in the background of previous books and hints at a lot of future fated mate pairings too.

I’m slowly going back and reading some of the short stories and novellas that I missed. There’s been a lot of confusion for me on the best reading order for this series and I recently found this list very helpful for figuring that out.

Other Books in the Series that I Read So Far this Month

• Ice Planet Holiday (4.5 stars)
• Barbarian’s Taming (4.5 stars)
• Ice Planet Honeymoon (3 stars) collection of short stories featuring second epilogues for first 4 books
• Barbarian’s Heart (5 stars)
• Barbarian’s Hope (5 stars)
• Barbarian’s Choice (5 stars) and favorite!
• Barbarian’s Redemption (4 stars)
• Barbarian’s Lady (4.5 stars)
• Barbarian’s Rescue (5 stars)
• Barbarian’s Tease (4.5 stars)
• Barbarian’s Beloved (3 stars)

General Thoughts on the Series

This series got really good toward the middle and then petered off a bit again.

As you can see from my ratings, books 9 to 11 were top notch! There were some overarching series developments that I loved with these.

I stayed up half the night reading Farley and Mardok’s story (Barbarian’s Choice) and I’m someone who seriously values her sleep!

With my last read so far in the series – Barbarian’s Beloved (book 16) – I was really confused for a lot of the story. There were so many new characters I hadn’t been introduced to before and they are never explained.

I was bummed to realize that I needed to start on the Ice Home series, apparently reading 3 of those books, before continuing with the Ice Planet Barbarian stories!

I wish Ruby Dixon had written them as one series or as two standalone series. This is a series where you really need that reading order list for reference!

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What was your favorite read in May?