Finally! I’m back to working full-time after three months of being out of a job. I was seriously feeling the effects of that. My mind was shattered almost constantly (like I struggled to think or concentrate on one thing at a time), and I was struggling mentally with how to cope. The one thing I had to look forward to in the last month was that I was starting a new job. What I find a little funny, the last two jobs I interviewed for and started with both had start dates very close to my birthday. I’m going to be in what they call “training” for the next six months, but I’m excited about this next chapter.
I’ve never been this happy in a long time in my life. Or as motivated to get up in the morning, get dressed in something nice, then do my hair and makeup. For the last year or so prior to this, I struggled to get out of bed and usually stayed in my pajamas or something close to that for the majority of the day. I won’t claim that my mental health is completely fixed by just going back to work. I still have my down days, but it’s a lot better. I still have to work on my concentration levels, as I’m still struggling with that. I need something to multi-task in order to keep any focus. I’m getting stuff down and learning, but I’m still calling that a work in progress.
Minecraft
For the latter half of April and throughout May, I played a lot of Minecraft. Specifically, on a server hosted by Madeyewlook with my friends Joker, Foxtail, and Sandy. We took over a mountain that had nothing else but a few flowers. Since then, we have built a lot, and there are plenty of trees. Not only that, but we opened up a copper shop since we primarily find that ore when we go into our massive cave and mine system that spans from one side of the mountain to the other. We named ourselves the DeLiquids after a round of phasmophobia that had us laughing so hard over a verbal typo. The top of the mountain is based around liquid containers: a pop can, a beer mug, and a whiskey barrel. The rest has a Tudor/medieval vibe to it. Though we have also taken over a second mountain to make Japanese-style buildings.
In the past, when I played Minecraft, I never built anything to this extent unless I was in creative mode. So, I’m surprised by all that I built, especially when I had to go collect resources for all of this. My cottage (which is massive compared to my normal houses) includes two floors, a loft, and a basement, complete with a lava generating pit and an underground fishing hole.
Body Paints of the Month
Technically, the first body paint is from the end of April. I hadn’t started/completed it by the time my monthly review went live so I’m including it in this post as I LOVE how it turned out. The rest were completed in May, mostly on Saturdays though I did some randomly throughout the weeks after work.
Books I Managed to Read this Month
If they have a ♥ next to them, they are available on Kindle Unlimited. If I did a review, I’ll link it outside I decided to include quick reviews of books or series. If it’s a series, the mini-review is at the end of all the books. Mostly it’s just a quick blurb about what the book/series was about.
- A Throne of Shadows (Prophecy of the Forgotten Fae, Book 1) by Tessonja Odette – 3.75 stars ♥
- See my ARC review for my full thoughts on this book. This is a reworked trilogy (first book only) with an interesting magic system, a different take on Fae lore, enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance, and great world-building.
- The Never King (Vicious Lost Boys, Book 1) by Nikki St. Crowe – 3.25 stars ♥
- The Dark One (Vicious Lost Boys, Book 2) by Nikki St. Crowe – 3.25 stars ♥
- A dark re-imaging of Peter Pan and Wendy Darling, along with the Lost Boys. This does have a reverse harem between Winnie Darling (descendant of the original Wendy), Pan, and some of the Lost Boys. The series is not complete. For full thoughts on the series thus far, see my review.
- Fight Dirty (Black Rose Kisses, Book 1) by Eva Ashwood – 3.5 stars ♥
- Play Rough (Black Rose Kisses, Book 2) by Eva Ashwood – 3.5 stars ♥
- Wreak Havoc (Black Rose Kisses, Book 3) by Eva Ashwood – 3.5 stars ♥
- Love Hard (Black Rose Kisses, Book 4) by Eva Ashwood – 3.5 stars ♥
- This book series takes place in the same universe as Dirty Broken Savages. I wanted to read it after reading the final book in that series, when I realized there must’ve been a reverse harem story between Mercy, Levi, Rory, and Sloan. It starts out with Mercy’s father double-crossing the Black Rose gang, and she is forced to live with the three guys. The longer she’s with them, the more she feels towards them, despite telling herself that she wouldn’t fall for them. I was surprised numerous times while reading the books since I know, years later, that Mercy is still with the guys when River goes to ask for help.
- Vicious Kings (The Dark Elite, Book 1) by Eva Ashwood – 3.25 stars ♥
- Ruthless Kings (The Dark Elite, Book 2) by Eva Ashwood – 3.25 stars ♥
- Savage Queen (The Dark Elite, Book 3) by Eva Ashwood – 3.25 stars ♥
- I was going to read something else, and then I was like “no, let’s read another series by Eva Ashwood.” This one is focused on Grace, a girl who ran away from the mafia life with her father six years before the events of this series. Her wedding is crashed by two opposing groups, resulting in the death of her father and Grace being held prisoner by four guys that were once her best friends and childhood crushes. This series is a reverse harem with a lot of darker tones and more of a focus on mafia and suspense themes (at times). These books alternate POVs between each of the five main characters: Ciro, Grace, Hale, Lucas, and Zaid, though the majority are from Grace’s POV.
My Rating System
Check out this post to see how my rating scale works, but the quick version is:
- 5 stars = Masterpiece. Nothing can literally be better than this. Not to mention, a major book slump happens afterward where I am unable to pick up another book for quite some time.
- 4 stars = One of the best books I’ve ever read, I couldn’t put it down and found little fault in it.
- 3 stars = A good book but there were some flaws, from editing to plot to you name it.
- 2 stars = Liked the book, but wouldn’t say it was something that was memorable.
- 1 star = Book wasn’t for me.
I almost never give a 5-star rating. Some books have come close, but something always held me back from giving it to those books. I also use .25 increments with the ratings, so there’s a range in each of those levels.
Hope you had a great May!
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
Join the Howl of the Pack today by subscribing! To stay updated on everything I’m doing, follow me on Twitter as that’s where I post quick updates. Or join our Discord server. Also, if you like this post, let me know in the comment section, it really helps me figure out what content you guys appreciate. Don’t be shy I would love to hear from you!
