Most of my May reading took place during an AMAZING trip to South Africa to see the beautiful animals in Kruger National Park, so I gravitated towards shorter reads that could easily hold my attention. Thankfully, this lead me to two books in the 5-star range. Let’s get into it!

Stats

Total books read: 7

2026 releases: 4

Horror: 2

Contemporary romance: 2

Aardvark picks: 1

The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw (5 stars) – I was riveted by this dark academia horror that I read on the plane. It was gory and fascinating, told both in present tense and flashbacks, introducing us to a cast of characters with unique powers and traumatic histories in a very short period of time, including our angry-for-very-good-reasons heroine. This book was short, but it utilizes every sentence and page to immerse the reader in the horrifying world it creates in short order. I’m really looking forward to picking up more from Cassandra Khaw; I actually bought another of their books this month (The Dead Take the A Train).

Seasons of Glass & Iron by Amal El-Mohtar (4.5 stars) – I was really impressed by this excellently-written short story collection full of retold fairy tales, creative worldbuilding, and complex heroines. I enjoyed the very popular This is How You Lose the Time War, but this collection, in my opinion, is better.

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker (4 stars) – I really appreciated the skillful writing and creepily fascinating premise of this ghost-story-in-two-times novel, but I did feel that the pacing could have been better and more concise to serve the story in a more streamlined way. The book’s first sentence completely hooked me, but my interest waxed and waned somewhat throughout the book. I’m still interested in reading this author’s debut horror, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this one to fans of historical horror.

Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake (4 stars) – I enjoyed this contemporary Sapphic romance between two artists who share the same ex set at an adult summer camp situation in a small town, but not quite as much as the first book in this newer series.

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty (4 stars) –  This was a really interesting take on contemporary faerie stories, set in present-day Montana but with an alternate history where Faerie has existed alongside the normal world but laws and technological development have increasingly restricted humanity’s access to making Faerie bargains. Our main character was stolen to Faerie about a century ago, and is adjusting to a contemporary life while working for a company brokering contracts between humans and the Fae. I really liked the premise, but the romance aspect wasn’t as interesting to me, and I would have liked a more interesting storyline in the Fae world.

The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur (4 stars) – This was a fun contemporary paranormal romance between a broken-hearted chef and the demon offering her five wishes to try to salvage her life and love. I like romances with chef protagonists, and I liked the chemistry between the two leads and explorations of different possible outcomes.

The Mistake by Elle Kennedy (3.5 stars) – I haven’t watched the Off Campus show yet (I know!) but I did manage to actually read the second book in the series after jumping from The Deal to the Briar U books. I liked this book and protagonist John Logan, but not as much as The Deal. I will try for The Score next, and then maybe finally watch the show.