Welcome to another My Month is Booked linkup! I only managed to finish 4 this month, but am in the middle of 3 other books at the moment!
My Month Is Booked: May 2026
I have an eclectic mix of mystery, historical fiction, sci-fi, and non-fiction from last month!
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The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, by Brandon Sanderson – A man awakes in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who is he, where he came from, or why he is there. He is being chased by a group from his own time period + the only thing he has to help him are the fragments from his unfortunately-exploded copy of “The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England.”
I discovered Brandon Sanderson’s books last year and they usually aren’t super dark/depressing + have a nice touch of whimsy that I was needing after reading a bunch of sad books last month. This did fit the bill on that front! This book was inspired by the author’s love for Terry Pratchett as well as Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. Overall a fun read and a really interesting “world” that I’d be interested in reading more books in!
The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar – A tale about two sisters, Esther and Ysabel, who live in a small town next to the edge of Faerie. When Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of her lover from Faerie, the bond between the sisters + their lives are put at risk.
I listened to this as an audiobook + it includes singing as well as background noises of the water/rain/trees in the wind. An enjoyable short read with pretty/flowery prose, but there were some loose ends + more world-building I think I would have appreciated. Although it does very much focus on the bond between the sisters, I felt it was said more than shown.
First Witches Club, by Maisey Yates – Three women are dealing with suddenly/unexpectedly-terrible relationships with their husbands and stumble into a magical apothecary shop that opens up in town.
This was an Amazon First Reads pick + waas a cozy/simple read — perfect for if you want a palate cleanser that’s a little witchy and big on the found family vibes/women empowerment. (Kinda like a Hallmark movie in book form!)
Four Treasures of the Sky, by Jenny Tinghui Zhang – Daiyu was named after a tragic heroine who was revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. When her parents mysteriously disappear, she is forced to re-invent herself in order to survive up. This follows her story as she’s kidnapped from China and smuggled to America while she deals with the anti-Chinese sentiment that has swept across 19th-century America.
The author’s father came across a historical marker in Idaho and asked her to write a story of what happened and this is what came from it. This is Jenny Tingui Zhang’s debut novel and was so, so beautifully written, but also dark, heartbreaking and rage-inducing. Some of it was really difficult to get through — the atrocities that Chinese people faced during this time is something that most don’t realize ever even happened, since it’s typically very much glossed over, if not altogether omitted in history books. It’s disappointing that as a society, it doesn’t appear that our country has learned much from this.
I wanted so much for this to somehow magically end up okay, but given the subject matter, I should’ve known it could only have gone the way that it did. The way the author manages to make you still hope/be optimistic through Daiyu’s POV is masterful. Although my soul has been shattered, I do still look forward to reading more of her books. (Honestly, I’d love a prequel on her parents’ lives…)
- Have you read any soul-shattering books lately?
- Any new authors you’ve discovered this year that you really like?
