You can always tell my stress level by the number of books I read, and judging by this book roundup,  which doesn't include the books I reread, May was a stressful month. It really was a stressful month for me, on all fronts, and reading has always been my escape. But here's something you should know about me: I can read a 300-400 page book in an afternoon easily, whether I'm stressed or not. What stress does is make it less likely for me to take a break between books. As in, I'll finish one book and immediately begin another. There was a lot of that last month, but I read some really great books, especially the last one on this list. So let's dive in!

Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, and Pride (Deadly Seven 3-7)

Author: Lana Pecherczyk 

I read most of Wrath in April but finished it at the beginning of May, then couldn’t stop myself from gobbling up the next four. I read them back-to-back-to-back. All that’s left in this series is Despair, the sister they thought had died. There’s also a prequel about their parents that I'm waiting to read after the final book of the siblings' tale.

Okay, so the Deadly Seven are a group of genetically-modified siblings who were designed to eradicate the world of the deadly seven sins. They were stolen from the lab they were born in and raised to follow different path, but the Syndicate wants them back badly. Each sibling can identify deadly levels of a specific sin, hence their names, and if they get out of balance can black out and go into what's essentially berserker mode. The only way for them to avoid that is to find their soulmates.

The Hundredth Queen 

Author: Emily R. King

Kalinda is an orphan who's been raised by the Sisterhood since birth. A sickly child, she never expected to be chosen as the rajah's final wife, but she is and must fight to secure her position and her life. But Kalinda's mysterious childhood fevers were not the result of an illness like she's always thought. There's power in her blood, and she'll have to use it to save not only herself but everyone else.

This was not a bad start to a series. It’s not the best thing I’ve ever read and had some similarities to a duology I read at the beginning of the year, which I really enjoyed. I’m going to continue it, but I’m not in a hurry.

Hades, Hermes, Thanatos, Charon, and Erebus (Court of the Underworld - books 3-7)

Author: Alessa Thorn

This series is So. Damn. Good. It is the best mythological reimaginings I’ve read. Each book focuses on a different couple - Hades and Persephone, Hermes and Selene, Thanatos and Hecate, Charon and Circe, Erebus and Medea - but they're part of a series-long plot line, so you need to read them in order.

The Olympians are all dead, and Hades and his court rule over the newly-regenerated city of Styx. Pithos is a group of monster-hunters on a mission to rid the world of gods and magic. Never mind that the 'monsters' they're targeting aren't exactly what you'd call bad guys. And let's not overlook the fact that Pithos itself has two factions, one of which is after these monsters for their immortality.

Pestilence (The Four Horsemen book 1)

Author: Laura Thalassa 

When Pestilence rides in the direction of her small town, firefighter Sara Burns draws the shortest straw and stays behind to kill the horseman of the apocalypse. Except he can't die. Instead of killing Sara with his plague, Pestilence takes her as his prisoner, and she's forced to witness firsthand the devastation of his curse. But then the unthinkable happens. Pestilence becomes more human the more he interacts with Sara.

This book was well written but really heavy and not at all what I was expecting. It was difficult to read because of the situations it presents to you. There were also a lot of easy parallels to draw between the book and what's been happening the last few years in reality, which made it all the heavier. As you would expect, there are three more books in this series - one for each of the remaining horsemen. I don't know if I'll read them. I don't know if my psyche can take it.

Battle Scars (Gilded Knights book 5)

Author: Emilia Finn

I have been waiting for Troy’s book for forever, and it did not disappoint. I really love how she ties all these books/series/collections together. At the risk of spoiling something, I am so happy she brought this particular story full circle from the Checkmate series.

Okay, so Troy is sent in undercover to be the bodyguard for the daughter of a mafia boss. They know Michelle's father is trafficking girls and drugs. What they don't know is that his secrets run so much deeper or that Michelle isn't who she appears to be.

Drive Me Wild (Riggs Brothers book 1)

Author: Julie Kriss

Emily is the daughter of her hometown's first female cop. The summer before she left for college, Emily had a secret romance with Luke, the boy from the literal wrong side of the tracks. When she headed off to school, Luke left town and wandered around the country. Now, they're both back in town and thrown back into each other's lives. But Luke's imprisoned father has dragged him and his brothers into a mess, one that Emily's mother is determined to crack, and now Emily is stuck in the middle.

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

There's a reason this one is showing up on all the book lists. It is hands down the best book I read last month. It was such an intimate look at the film industry spanning the decades between the late 1950s and early 90s. It's also a poignant story of what one woman sacrifices for stardom and then for her lover.

No one is more surprised than Monique when film icon Evelyn Hugo wants her, and only her, to do a tell-all interview. The actress, who is perhaps as well known for her seven marriages as she is for her film roles, hasn't been interviewed or photographed in years, and Monique is an up-and-coming young journalist who's new to Vivant magazine. Evelyn is finally ready to tell her life's story, and she leaves no detail out, including several big secrets she's been keeping for decades. But like pretty much everything else in her life, Evelyn insisted on Monique being the one to record her story for a very specific reason.