{"id":4386,"date":"2026-06-01T21:34:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T02:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/?p=4386"},"modified":"2026-06-01T21:34:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T02:34:00","slug":"heidis-may-2026-reads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/?p=4386","title":{"rendered":"Heidi&#8217;s May 2026 Reads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four. FOUR!? Four total books.<br><br>Welp, that about sums up May for ya! Shake ups at work, the end of the school year, and a trip to celebrate graduates. Time to elbow my way into June by cracking open some books! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Total Books: 4<br>Audio: 3<br>Physical: 1 <br>Mix: 0<br>DNF: 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"318\" height=\"465\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.png 318w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-205x300.png 205w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Genre: Middle Grade Fiction\/Fantasy<br>Format: Audio<br>Rating: 2.25\/5 <br><br>Summary: Twins fall into a book and go on a series of quests meeting fairy tale characters.<br><br>The audio book contains a full soundtrack and the story has amazing potential. However, this exciting setting had a brother\/sister duo go on a bunch of errands for 400+ pages. We need this! Peril! Okay, got it! Now we need this! Peril! Okay, got it! (repeat x 10) My husband caught me in the act of rolling my eyes while listening to the twist. I&#8217;m sorry to say it fell very flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"264\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4392\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6715421303656598;width:325px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-4.png 264w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-4-198x300.png 198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Genre: YA (Dystopian)<br>Format: Audio *reread<br>Rating: 3.25\/5 <br><br>Summary: A community lives in factions based on characteristics meant to help the greater good. Uh oh &#8211; what if this is a corrupted system!?<br><br>This book didn&#8217;t hit as hard the second time &#8211; maybe because I first read it 15 years ago or maybe because I&#8217;ve read so many similar books since then. Tris, the main character, breaks from her family&#8217;s expectations (abruptly), falls in love (abruptly), and gets involved in a revolution (abruptly). You must suspend a lot of disbelief. I heard there was a &#8220;sliding doors&#8221; book coming out in the next year on what happens if she made a different choice, so I wanted to remember what happened the first time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"331\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-5.png 331w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-5-199x300.png 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 331px) 100vw, 331px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Genre: The least thrilling legal thriller<br>Format: Audio<br>Rating: 3\/5 <br><br>Summary: An old lady dies and the lawyer is suspected of murder.<br><br>There is nothing really bad about this book, but the description of &#8220;MYSTERY LEGAL THRILLER&#8221; while being a snooze fest is the real twist. Don&#8217;t say the intrigue will keep me up at night when an old lady dies, and then we find out that the guy we know didn&#8217;t do it&#8230;..didn&#8217;t do it. It is very okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"388\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4389\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7820363430227065;width:323px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1.png 388w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-1-233x300.png 233w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Genre: Reality TV Memior\/Non-fiction<br>Format: Physical &#8211; with illustrations! <br>Rating: 5\/5 <br><br>Summary: A history of Survivor and Rob&#8217;s path to make a career out of the show.<br><br>This was written for a very specific group: Nostalgic Survivor fans and listeners of Rob Has a Podcast. I started listening to RHAP a few years ago and became a bigger fan during the Covid times. Where else was I going to find a song parody contest about the previous week&#8217;s episode?? How else can I partake in one of my favorite New Year&#8217;s traditions of listening to a 4-hour podcast using pop culture references in a fake game simulator?? I warned you &#8211; this caters to a very specific fan base. I just happen to be one of those fans, so 5 stars, no notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">THE QUIT LIST: SUPER PICKY EDITION!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"672\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-672x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4391\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6611757975501413;width:132px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-672x1024.png 672w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-768x1170.png 768w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-1008x1536.png 1008w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-1344x2048.png 1344w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3.png 1575w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This book has potential. At 40 pages, the main character was annoyed at another character for pronouncing her name incorrectly. I had also been pronouncing her name incorrectly in my noggin. Now the main character is annoyed at ME!? Life is too short. NEXT!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2-683x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4390\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6715313498641421;width:131px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2-1024x1536.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2-1365x2048.png 1365w, https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-2.png 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was pessimistic about this book to begin with, as it had popular Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow vibes. By 20 pages, I was thinking, &#8220;Ew, it actually has The Great Gatsby vibes&#8221;. (Yes, I should have known by the cover.) At page 21, it made a The Great Gatsby reference. NEXT!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Okay, okay. Seriously, next. I need to get back to it, big time! Happy Summer Reading, friends!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four. FOUR!? Four total books. Welp, that about sums up May for ya! Shake ups at work, the end of the school year, and a trip to celebrate graduates. Time to elbow my way into June by cracking open some &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/?p=4386\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4386"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4399,"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions\/4399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heidiandjustin.com\/ourplace\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}