State of the ARC is a monthly meme temporarily hosted by Sarah at All The Book Blog Names Are Taken meant to motivate you to finish up your long overdue ARCs (Advanced or Early Reader Copies). This is its original intention, while some bloggers have tweaked it a bit for their own purposes, such as just keeping ARCs in order by due dates. Or you can just be a hot mess like me who sometimes misses publishing dates (or ignores them altogether) and needs a way to stay organized on what has been read, reviewed, or is still begging for attention. Thank you to Evelina @ Avalinah’s Books for coming up with this super helpful monthly meme.

I finished April with 30 ARCs left to be read. 

In May, I got approved for 10 new ARCs, bringing my total to 40. It got out of control, and I started feeling super stressed about it. So instead of getting overwhelmed, I devoted some serious time to reading ARCs exclusively, and made a lot of progress. I read 15 ARCs, reading and reviewing all of the ones I had which are being released through the end of June, except for one that I just got approved for on May 31st. My ratio is up to 88%, and I’m feeling a lot more hopeful. I’m going to get a jump start on working through more of my list this month, and really try to get my ratio back up to over 90% for the first time in a while.

I got approved for 10 new books in May:

• Koshersoul by Michael W. Twitty
• The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Those Summer Nights by Laura Silverman
• Mint Chocolate Murder by Meri Allen
• The Valkyrie’s Daughter by Tiana Warner
• The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
• Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie
• Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
• A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
• Nuclear Family by Joseph Han

These are the ARCs that I read and reviewed, with links to my reviews:

• Blood Metal Bone by Lindsay Cummings — see my review here.
• A Sprinkle in Time by Dana Mentink — see my review here.
• Koshersoul by Michael W. Twitty — see my review here.
• The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna — see my review here.
• The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah — see my review here.
• The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill — see my review here.
• Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White — see my review here.
• Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler — see my review here.
• Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer — see my review here.
• A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow — see my review here.
• As Seen on TV by Meredith Schorr — see my review here.
• And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling — see my review here.
• Blood Orange Night by Melissa Bond — see my review here.
• This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron — see my review here.
• The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule — see my review here.

Here are the ARCs I still have to read:

• Nuclear Family by Joseph Han
• Upgrade by Blake Crouch
• Nothing But the Truth by Holly James
• Shmutz by Felicia Berliner
• The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• The Valkyrie’s Daughter by Tiana Warner
• Murder at the Blueberry Festival by Darci Hannah
• Booked on a Feeling by Jayci Lee
• Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen
• Mint Chocolate Murder by Meri Allen
• No Parm No Foul by Linda Reilly
• Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin
• The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
• Those Summer Nights by Laura Silverman
• Babel by R.F. Kuang
• Three Kisses, One Midnight by Roshani Chokshi, Sandhya Menon, and Evelyn Skye
• Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie
• The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields
• Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
• The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman
• Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese
• Live and Let Grind by Tara Lush
• Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Winterland by Rae Meadows
• Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

How did you do with your ARCs in May?