We’ve reached the end of May and the beginning of June which means it’s time for another edition of “What I Read!” Despite this month being insanely busy, I managed to eke out a few books.

First up was Pretty Girls Dancing, by Kyle Brant. This book was one of my Kindle first selections, so I got it for free at the beginning of the month at some point or another. It’s been in my kindle for a long time, and I finally got around to reading it. It was, of course, a mystery/thriller (all the ones I choose from Kindle First seem to be), and as such it held my attention for the most part as I was reading. The basic plot line revolved around a missing girl whose case seems eerily similar to some other kidnappings in the area aside from the fact that they occurred over a decade apart from each other. The detectives on the case need to figure out if they are dealing with the same person, and ultimately solve two mysteries in the process.

It wasn’t the most compelling mystery novel I have ever read. I found it a little slow-paced for my personal taste, and some of the suspects seemed to be a reach as I made my way through the book. However, these days, the fact that I got from beginning to end of the novel is a good sign, since it means it actually held my attention while I was so busy running around otherwise!

Next up I read In the Heat of the Moment, by Viveca Sten. I love Scandinavian noir, and I have enjoyed most of Sten’s novels so far. It was only natural that I add this one to the mix. I love that she uses the same characters and returns to their little lives in the archipelago in Sweden. In this novel, Sten does this again. The novel is set during Midsummer’s Eve, when people are in high spirits and celebrating on the island. Tragedy strikes in the form of a murder, and this time it is much closer to home for many of the characters.

As usual, Sten lays out the story efficiently: not too fast and not too slow. She lets out just enough information to keep you reading until you finally find out whodunnit (or what caused it) in the end. It’s also always nice to revisit characters, especially for someone like me who tends to get attached to them and gets pretty nosy about their fictional lives.

My third and final read of the month was The Other Woman, by Sadie Jones. This was a Book of the Month Club selection. This one had a tried-and-true concept: boy meets girl, girls meets boy’s horrible mother, boy’s mother tortures girl. It wasn’t a thriller exactly, but there was an air of mystery surrounding the story. For example, the main character – along with the reader – wants to find out what happens to her boyfriend’s ex. As the story unfolds, so do the mysteries of the characters until you get to the final reveal at the end. I can’t say that was necessarily unexpected, as I didn’t anticipate it, but I also felt like the story couldn’t be as simple as it was. I knew there had to be something else going on. Even so, as I said with Pretty Girls Dancing, the book kept me reading during a very busy period so it’s worth looking into!

I had been hoping to read a little more by this point in the year, but I’m soon to be free for the summer, so I’ll have ten weeks to read and sew and catch up on everything I haven’t been able to do while I’ve been so busy! Or maybe I’ll just laze around and watch t.v., cause I’ve got that option too!

Actually, I’ve got a project in the works that I’m going to talk more about soon but I’m very excited to get started on it!