May Reviews, Part 3

I’ve finished my next crop of review for May. Let’s dive in. 

Statistics

Age Category: 5 Adult

Whoa, is that right? That may actually be the first time that’s ever happened. All 5 books were written for the same age category? WEIRD!

Author’s Gender: 3 M, 2 F

Genres: 2 Contemporary (1 Philosophical?), 2 Mystery/Thriller, 1 Romance

Whew, at least they varied in genre since they obviously didn’t vary in age category. 

Indie Authors: 2 Y, 3 N

Again, as close as I can get with an odd number of books. 

Total Pages Read: 1140

Average Pages per Book: 228

Some short books in this crop! 

Ratings: 2, 2, 4, 4, 4

That seems like a strange pattern, doesn’t it? Two books that can only be described as problematic and three books that were great books for their genre. Interesting.

Book Notes That Didn’t Make the Video

Ubiety

• In addition to being the lowest average rating of any book on my TBR before this month started, this was also a review request. Because of a busy schedule, I had this book scheduled for October. I love when I can drop a review request early because of the shield challenge!
• This author is only a teenager. I applaud his attempt at writing something so highbrow and philosophical. With a little editing work and polishing, this could be something amazing.
• You can find this book here. 

Shine

• I listened to this one as an audiobook from my library’s online catalog. 
• This book was intended to be a short novella to get readers interested in Ruth, one of the main characters featured in Jodi’s book Small Great Things. I have already read the full novel and ADORED it. So, for me, this was a journey backwards into the life of a character I already adore. 
• Grab yourself a copy of this one here or of the full novel also featuring Ruth here. 

Criss Cross

• I actually blogged once about how much I loved Alex Cross books. You can check that our here, if you’re interested. I tell you this because, when it comes to Alex Cross books, it’s impossible for me to be completely impartial. 
• I briefly mentioned, in the video, that the characters are important to me. My absolute favorite characters are Nana Mama because she reminds me of the wonderful women in my family, John Sampson because everyone needs that kind of friend in their life, and (of course) Alex because he’s the kind of moral compass we all need. I’m going to need James Patterson to remember that about Alex in the next book and bring him back with some answers for a few of his waverings we learned about in this one, I think. 
• Grab yourself a copy of the book here or of my favorite Alex Cross book of all time here. 

Before the Fall

• I listened to this one as an audiobook that I borrowed from my local library.
• This one had been on my TBR for quite some time. It was recommended to me by another avid reader because I enjoyed All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda and they thought this was similar. I don’t think I see the similarities, honestly. 
• Grab yourself a copy of the book here. 

Fame & Privilege

• This was an electronic copy I was given by the author in exchange for an honest review. 
• The title of this one does make sense. This is essentially a story about two people who have both fame and privilege falling in love. It’s definitely not everyone’s love story. 
• Support indie authors and grab yourself a copy here. 

The Video

Check out the full reviews by watching the video and don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel to show your love.