May 2012: Month in Review + Book of the Month Giveaway

Currently Open Giveaways/Break for BEA:
None, well, except for the one I'm offering you at the end of the post! Make sure you keep reading, because you will be treated to much scandal if you do! I'm leaving for NYC tomorrow, so I wanted to get all of my giveaways finished up before then to keep things neat. I'm sure there will be plenty of bookish giveaways later, though. This month, I gave away 15 books on the blog. Wow. I so did not realize it was that many.

Odds are fairly high that I will not have a chance to post while I'm in NYC, since I will be very busy. I'll also be at a friend's apartment without my laptop. She might let me use her computer, but I'm really not good at using Macs, so I probably won't do a full post.

Expect the posting to resume with a vengeance on either the 7th or the 8th! I'll probably have a couple of reviews for you, a wrap up post with pics, and some books to show off!

Books Reviewed in May:
May turned out not to be the best month book reading-wise, in that I didn't read too much that I loved. My average rating for this month was just barely above a three. I'm a critical reviewer, but even for me that's low. I did really enjoy a number of these, but I read a couple of atrocious manga and had quite a few meh reads.

The ones followed by asterisks all received a rating of 4.5 or 5, which means they're pretty much made of awesome sauce. If you like ranty, critical reviews, odds are pretty good that you'll find one.

14 Young Adult:
Swipe - Evan Angler
Of Poseidon - Anna Banks
Struck - Jennifer Bosworth
Pretty Amy - Lisa Burstein
Angel Eyes - Shannon Dittemore
Cold Kiss - Amy Garvey
Gilt - Katherine Longshore*
Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls - Julie Schumacher
The Forgetting Curve - Angie Smibert
Ladies in Waiting - Laura L. Sullivan
Unbreak My Heart - Melissa Walker
Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
The Weepers - Susanne Winnacker

10 Adult:
The Origins of Sex - Faramerz Dabhoiwala
Indigo Springs - A. M. Dellamonica
Next to Love - Ellen Feldman
Blackout - Mira Grant*
Deadline - Mira Grant*
Inhale - Kendall Grey
So Far Away - Meg Mitchell Moore
Starter for Ten - David Nicholls
Narcopolis - Jeet Thayil
The Orphanmaster - Jean Zimmerman*

4 Middle Grade:
The Prince Who Fell from the Sky - John Claude Bemis
Two Crafty Criminals! - Philip Pullman
Ordinary Magic - Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
The Mapmaker and the Ghost - Sarvenaz Tash*

2 Graphic Novels:
Baby's in Black - Arne Bellstorf
The Coldest City - Antony Johnston

2 Manga:
Baby Pop - Yayoi Ogawa
Angel Wars - Miwa Ueda

Book of the Month Giveaway!
Alright, it's time for the part you all were really interested in!

My book of the month for May is Gilt by Katherine Longshore. There were a lot of good options, but I actually already held giveaways for all of my other favorites this month! Y'all I straight up loved Gilt. It is BY FAR my favorite Tudors fiction. I was lucky enough to win a copy of my own, and it came with the sweetest note from Katherine. She also signed it to me, and with words just for me, rather than a standard phrase. I may have teared up a little bit and then spun in a happy circle. My cat looked at me like I had totally lost it, but that could not stop my joy.

I want one of you to be able to enjoy this awesomeness as well, and I want to get the word out some more about Katherine's awesomeness. So if you like scandals, intrigue, history, and betrayal, get thee to the Rafflecopter and FILL IT OUT.

My Book of the Month giveaways are always international, assuming that a reputable book site will ship to your country! I use TBD or Amazon, whichever's cheaper/easier/ships to you. I've also heard good things about Fishpond, so if they ship to you and they others don't, we'll make it work. Basically, I want everyone to have a shot at winning a wonderful book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway