What a busy month May was! While I didn’t have a ton of stuff in the calendar, it sure felt like I did. The garden was the big focus – I know I say this every time, but this month we had the big machines in! The landscaping is still underway, building foundations and pathways. Aside from that, a friend came to visit and I took the chance to explore the north of my new county.

Reading Wrap

I read 9 books in May, and got in a really nice variety of genres. I made some good progress on 2025 Book Bingo and checked a couple of arcs of my list too.

• A Barrister for the Earth by Monica Feria-Tinta was the first finished, literally on the 1st! Such an important and hopeful book about the future of the earth. I have a full review here.
• Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert was a recommendation from a friend, and a bingo book. I adored this one, folklore of ancient Britain is one of my favourite things in stories.
• The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett was the second bingo book of the month and another friend request. I loved this fantasy murder mystery and will definitely continue the series. I have a full review here.
• The Draw of the Sea by Wyl Menmuir was yet another friend recommendation, and my only audiobook of the month. A lovely meditation on the Cornish coast and the people who live on it.
• Pathfinding by Kerri Andrews was sent to me by the lovely folks at Elliott & Thompson. Reflections on motherhood and how the author came to know herself again through the act of walking. (Full review here.)
• The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau was sent to me by Dryad Books as I am a spring rep for the business (code: EMMA5 for a discount!). A Malaysian-inspired fantasy with friendship at its core. I really enjoyed this one.
• The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater was an e-arc from NetGalley. I was obsessed with the Shiver books when I was younger, and Stiefvater’s writing to this day is still able to capture me. This book was odd and slow, and I was never quite sure exactly what it was about, but despite that it hooked me in good and I read it in 2 days!
• The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst. I binged this nearly 400-page book in an afternoon. That should tell you how much I adored this sweet, cosy fantasy romance complete with talking plants. This was an arc sent to me by Pan Macmillan.
• The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami was a very intriguing dystopia sent over by Bloomsbury. It felt scarily real, the data mining and evaluation that happens in the book seems like its just around the corner…

Reading Challenges

I haven’t given any actual updates on my challenges since January, so I thought I would start!

My ‘Recommend‘ challenges are also getting underway now. I’ve read more of the book club books than I have mods books, but I have stuck as many as possible into Bingo so they should all get read in turn!
For my book club I have read 5/18, mods 2/20, which is a total of 7/38.

Aside from these big challenges, I am on track with The Diverse Baseline, having read at least one qualifying book each month.

I am also on track for reading 50% of the choices for Rewild Your Shelf, as I plan to read this months pick, The Coral Bones, which will put me at 3/5 books.

Life Wrap

As I said, May was a heavy garden month! We rented some big machinery to dig out the foundations for a shed and some pathways. It’s exciting to watch the plan come to life, though quite daunting too. Lots of plants were purchased and put into the two main borders – the shady border next to the front wall is looking lush right now, and the kitchen border is done too and should flower beautifully in the summer.

My best friend came to stay for a few days and we had an amazing time exploring some of north Cornwall together. I love living in this county, it has so much to offer and I don’t think I will ever get bored of any of it.

You Tell Me: How was your May? What your best read?