And that’s a wrap for … May!

May didn’t quite turn out the way we had expected.

The other half had two weeks off work and we had some plans. Nothing set in stone but still. The weather promised to be brilliantly sunny and warm, which it was, and we considered a day or two by the seaside. Introducing Millie to sand and water, getting her used to the idea of not being home for a bit and learning she will always be coming back here and for me also, a change of scenery. I’ve seriously had it with these four walls and my garden, no matter how pretty it looks. It’s all I’ve seen for the last two years.

But no. First, our dishwasher decided to die on us. We had to go out to buy a new one, someone had to come install it and then that someone had to come back on another day because it turned out he screwed up the installation. Our car unexpectedly needed its MOT done. I say unexpectedly because the other half didn’t think he needed to have that done this year so the car in the garage for its check-up and actually queuing in line for the MOT test. More hours wasted.

And then. We had planned a bathroom renovation. Should have been a rather simple job. Take out a bath and put in a walk-in shower. A one day job. Sigh. Not. Because for some reason, our previous plumber decided to remove a whole chunk of tiles behind the bath. Which we didn’t know about until this new plumber removed the bath, obviously. So now a whole section of our bathroom walls needed to be re-tiled and it needed time to dry and whatnot … ultimately turning a one day job into a three day job! And a more expensive one too. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Between all of that, mother-in-law needing surgery (all went well, she’s doing great), gardening work, the usual appointments you make when you’re not working, waiting for deliveries, in-laws … well, in case you didn’t yet realise, the day(s) at the seaside never happened. I never even made it near the car 🙄😂.

In other news, the neighbour from hell is finally gone! And of course, NOW, after years of trying, I finally manage to convince the other half we should move house. Men 🤦🏼‍♀️. Anyway, we’ll see. Our budget doesn’t seem to stretch as far as we thought it might because the housing market has gone completely insane. 😳

Time spent in the garden, then. On the left, Millie is surveying her kingdom, making sure the pigeons don’t come too close. On the right, she’s showing off her silky-smooth stealth mode mere seconds before she “attacked” me 😂.

On the left, the “but nooooo, I wasn’t digging a hole” face. And on the right, not-so-proudly showing her new name tag, which I bought from Etsy. She hates it. It tinkles like a bell when she moves and she’s not at all impressed 😳. Too bad because I love it and I’m the boss. Ahem.

On to the books. I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise when I say it was a bad reading month for me. But the end result was even more shocking than I thought.

| WHAT I READ IN MAY |

I don’t even know what to say. And I can’t pick a favourite either so no book of the month. Let’s just quickly carry on, shall we.

| WHAT I BOUGHT IN MAY |

Well, okay, that could have been worse. Right? Because it felt to me that it was a bumper month of new releases so 9 isn’t all that bad. I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince here.

| RECEIVED FOR REVIEW |

With huge thanks to the publishers.

|ON THE BLOG IN MAY |

Review : Angela Marsons – Six Graves
Review : Jo Spain – The Last to Disappear
Review : Gillian McAllister – That Night

Guest Post : Louise Fein – The Hidden Child

Signed up for the 20 Books of Summer Challenge

So impressive. Seriously mind-blowing. I don’t know how I manage to do it all, to be quite honest. Shut up. 😬

| COMING UP IN JUNE |

June 6 : Blog tour | Review | Sabine Durrant – Sun Damage
June 13 : Blog tour | Review | Jack Jordan – Do No Harm

Should have some reviews that are not for blog tours since I signed up for that whole 20 Books of Summer thing so you know. 😬

And that’s a wrap! Thanks for reading. Hope June treats you all well. Happy reading! xx