The Stray Reader

Happy Pride everybody!

Toning down my reading pace since last month to focus on job hunting has not been fun but, sadly, a necessary change to make. It has been mentally taxing to receive so many rejections so I stopped going through the 2024 Indie Brawl Books. Most of them have been so tedious to read that it just adds to the stress, very rarely did I encounter an enjoyable read to let me escape from my grim reality.

Still, I was able to read 5 books this May. Yay. Here’s what I thought about each of them. By the way, I recently updated my website with my rating system so if you want to know how I rate the books I read, click here!

#1: The Boyfriend

⭐3 : There’s heavy SA (s*xual ab*se) that was difficult to go through, thus excellently written.

Unfortunately, while the first half was a nail-biter, the second half didn’t live up to the suspense.

The characters behaved one-dimensionally that I didn’t really feel anything for any of them outside the horror I felt during the SA scene.

#2: A Dark and Rising Tide

⭐4 : Atmospheric, had interesting characters with natural-flowing dynamics, and tense. It’s difficult to make creatures creepy when they’re just described in books but this was so well done that my heart was racing. Amazing!

#3: Strange the Dreamer

⭐5 : It took me a while to get to the rhythm of the writing style but when I got there… I was THERE.

This was breathtaking in all the right places – the scenery, the characters, the plot.

It’s one of those books that you enjoy best when you’re not in a rush. The atmospheric reading experience, if you will.

#4: Libitina

⭐2 : ‘Libitina’ has a really interesting hook, but it felt both fast-paced and slow-paced due to the lack of atmosphere building between significant events. While that is unfortunate, at least I can say that a lot of things do happen – enough to keep the reader interested to stick around and solve the mystery of Libitina’s identity. (Read my full review here!)

#5: A Lady’s Guide to Scandal

⭐4.5 : “A regency romance, a widowed pushover on a journey to learn how to stand up for herself, and a charming man with a questionable reputation and a wise tongue.

Need.I.Say.More?!

A really charming love story!