Friday, May 30, 2025

MAY I present to you my monthly favorites? | May 2025

It's time for my monthly favorites post! I know how excited you all get for these! Anyways, I've got a lot to share with you all today. I'm currently on my 3rd month of my social media detox and I've been feeling pretty good (those bad days do sneak up on me from time to time). Let's get into it!

A good round-up of my May favorites...




Favorite Music (had a great round overall of all the types of rock music):


Favorite Coffee and / or Tea:


Favorite Workout Videos:


Favorite Book(s) I've Read and / or listened to as an audiobook via Spotify:

  • The Man Made of Smoke (my May 2025 BOTM pick) by Alex North: This thriller book was good! It had a wonderful + atmospheric setting, some plot twist(s) I didn't even see coming, and left me on edge at times, too. I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-made-of-smoke-alex-north/1145956484?ean=9781250757890

  • Motherthing by Ainslie Hograth (library pick): I wasn't too sure if this one would end up in here but to my surprise it did. Out of anything I read, this was the most absurdly, good book I've read in my life (I mean that in the best way possible). It was funny (some of it went a little far- graphically + bodily- but it's fine for my sense of humor) and it touched really well on depression with one of our male main characters. I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/motherthing-ainslie-hogarth/1140838862?ean=9780593467022

  • The Midnight Library by Matt Haig: Out of anything I read in my life, this book was the most wonderful thing. It told us about Nora and all of the paths she could've chosen before taking her own life. She decided to choose the good path and not let her mental health get in the way of it. Beautiful writing and loved the fantasy-whimsy elements of the midnight library itself. I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-midnight-library-matt-haig/1136586832?ean=9780525559474

  • Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberley McCreight (library pick): This was such a nice, solid thriller read with pretty good twists (loved the added suspenseful + mystery elements too)- didn't see ton of them coming- but otherwise I enjoyed it! I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/like-mother-like-daughter-kimberly-mccreight/1144129748?ean=9780593536421

  • Every Last Word by Tamara Island Stone (library pick): This was such a wonderful book (can't say it enough)- even with a plot twist I didn't see coming- and touched on a subject I've not done a lot of homework on which is OCD and it taught me a bit more about it. The author handled the heavy stuff in this book very well (it's not always easy to write at all) and enjoyed the song recommendations thrown into it. I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/every-last-word-tamara-ireland-stone/1120512519?ean=9781484705278

  • It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini: I had this book in my own library forever and I finally got around to reading it. It didn't disappoint! It was funny (little better humor-wise for my liking in comparsion to Motherthing) and accurately portrayed a male main character well with depression. It almost made me cry in one point in the book- that is saying something from me that's for sure! I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/its-kind-of-a-funny-story-ned-vizzini/1100328474?ean=9780786851973

  • The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner (library pick): This was such a good thriller read- a mom group full of hidden secrets, a murder, and it's all set in England? I'll take it! I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-other-mothers-katherine-faulkner/1143030331?ean=9781668024799

  • The Tenant by Frieda McFadden: This is my 3rd Frieda McFadden read and it surprisingly didn't disappoint! It was true to the plot twists and it was nice to hear from the male POV- even though I particularly didn't care for him in the book (the previous reads of hers were only from the female POVs). That ending though! Also made me not want cookies for a minute (if you know, you know). I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-tenant-freida-mcfadden/1146588536?ean=9781464253645

  • Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier (library pick): This story was so good! We meet Marin, of who seemingly has the perfect life until her son is taken from her in broad daylight. A year and three months later, Marin is the total opposite of herself. And just learned her husband, Derek, is having an affair- life is well, isn't it? Then we learn more about the person Derek had the affair with and it took a turn with that. And then the book takes a whole another turn I didn't see coming- learning about what happened to the missing son and who really did it? I was surprised at who did it- it was someone I didn't expect too much. Overall, this was a solid, twisty thriller- I got annoyed with one of the characters in the book (that's just me here) but I had a change of heart about her by the end of the book. I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/little-secrets-jennifer-hillier/1131513260?ean=9781250797087

  • You Deserve to Know by Aggie Blum Thompson: This was another solid thriller! It told us the story of a group in a cul-de-sac neighborhood and we witness a murder within one of the people in said group. The murder is a good sole focus of the story and the rest of it had some twists I didn't see coming. The ending of this one... enough said. I'll link it: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/you-deserve-to-know-aggie-blum-thompson/1145317452?ean=9781250892034


Favorite Fashion Piece(s) / Accessories or For The Home Addition(s):


Well that's all for this monthly favorites! Hope you enjoyed reading it! Go do something nice for yourself today- YOU DESERVE IT! 

See ya!

-Lauren-



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