I have to admit this book was just okay for me I just couldn't connect with May she had alot of issues. Wartime and such wasn't the problem I feel May could have been so much more

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So sorry for this late review

A coming of age book about a young village girl growing up during the World War II. It was a rather short book set in England, but felt a little disjointed. I did find this book a little difficult to get through and glazed over parts.

I have to admit that I found this book difficult to get on with. The blurb,cover and title are not quite fitting to the content. I did not take to, or really get to know May and as such I skipped through the majority of the book.

May knew there was safety in keeping her mouth shut when Ma got in one of her fits- cast often when the girls came in after curfew or had been out robbing eggs. Ma said when Pa came home May would get it. Sophie screamed she would leave and Ma said she figured Sophie would. Sophie is Ma’s older sister and had been banished from their home.
This book just didn’t make a lot of sense to me and it definitely did not hold my attention’ It was hard to figure out what was going on. I didn’t end up finishing this book just wasn’t for me. I am sure someone else will enjoy it just not me.

I must admit to having been seduced by the cover of The May Queen. It is evocative and charming; but it had absolutely nothing to do with the plot that I could discover. However, you can take this with a grain of salt as I abandoned the book 31% in, so it may well have some relevance after that

The May Queen is also known as The Maiden, the goddess of spring, flower bride, queen of the faeries, and the lady of the flowers. The May Queen is a symbol of the stillness of nature around which everything revolves. She stands for purity, strength and the potential for growth, as the plants grow in May. She is one of many personifications of the energy of the earth.

The blurb describes The May Queen as 'One girl 's search for love and belonging' which I think we can all relate to. We all long to be loved and want to belong.

'It all began beside the mill pond. Honest, fair and eager to please, fifteen-year-old May has a secret, and not of her own making. She wears it like an invisible badge, sewn to her skin, as though Ma stitched it there herself. It rubs only when she thinks of Sophie, Pa or the other name that's hidden there; that no one knows about. '

Sophie is May's older sister, banished from the family home for bringing disgrace upon the family. May misses Sophie, and her banishment leaves a gap in her life. So May is susceptible in her need to feel close to someone.

Apparently May goes on to join the Wrens in war torn London, but I didn't make it that far. I found The May Queen to be very heavy going- rather like trying to swim in treacle.

The author is exceedingly wordy, but says little. E.G. 'Longing came next, but not with its name. May knew enough of feeling to be aware of its presence, but had not come far enough in grown thought to marry it to its namesake. Christopher had played on her mind a good while longer than he ought to, creeping in like the wind to make the true day blunder. It was Ma always brought her back to ground when she caught May intent on the unseen. Ma brought them all to ground, May thought, as she pushed up the mound to get at some unknown, lighter thing. '

In the 31% that I read, the story went nowhere. At that point I became weary of struggling through the overblown text and moved on, with considerable relief, to my next read.

Thank you to Crooked Cat Publishing via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The May Queen by Helen Irene Young for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own, so please, if you think this book might interest you, please give it a chance.

I kept trying but I just couldn't get into this. Don't know why, but after a month of stopping and starting and trying to get somewhere with it, I've called time and given up. Not for me at the moment.

Unfortunately I didn't have the chance (time) to read this

I did not finish this, It's a coming of age novel with some potentially interesting angles on WWII but it just didn't capture me. I wish someone had done a strong edit..

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this title therefore I will not be leaving an online review

This one just wasn't for me. As a personal rule I do not rate or review books I do not finish. Thank you for the chance to read it.

I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy reading of this book.

May is a unique, spirited and adventurous heroine. She comes across as not being afraid of anything. This is a story of a young May discovering herself amidst the death and destruction happening in the world around her. I personally found the writing style very hard to engage in for at least the first half of the book. By the time the War was raging around her, May seemed to become more real and the story became easier to translate. Through her War efforts, May is able to develop relationships, discover her individuality and begin to form her own opinions of the world. "The May Queen" is not an easy read but I will definitely remember the story and its quirkiness. From my critical opinion, I think the ambiguity and abstract writing found in the first half of the book might lead people to give up on the story before its completion.

I honestly had trouble finishing this book. I should have know from the beginning when the plot and characters struggled to hold my attention. I was very much looking forward to this novel because I love family dramas. This one, however, as so disjointed that I couldn't get into it. I didn't even come to like the characters let alone the plot. Very disappointed.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Cat Publishing for the ARC of "The May Queen" by Helen Irene Young. The genre of this novel is historical fiction. I find that the author writes about the devastating consequences of war, secrets, misunderstandings,friendship, family, love and hope. One of the main characters May joins the Wrens and is a dispatcher during the war. Whenever May is near the water she is reminded of home where she would swim in the pond. She and her family are burdened with heavy secrets and lack of communication. May is not only searching for peace from war, but peace for herself. This is an interesting read and I recommend it for those who like World War Two fiction and history.

When you sit down with this book you must know it’s going to be a slow journey rather than a quick payoff. So have a good cup of tea and be ready for the long haul. If you can do that then you’ll enjoy it, if not and are looking for that “oh cool” moment right away you’ll give up.

There seemed to be lots of things implied throughout this book to the point it felt like the literary version of an abstract painting; multiple people would all come to their own conclusions by examining the same piece of work. I had to reread paragraphs and whole chapters at times to see what I had missed or to gain a better understanding of the author’s intent.

From that aspect this is a good work because it requires you to think and doesn’t just hand feed you everything which so much of our society today has become accustomed to getting in their forms of media.

Although the character development is well written and descriptive I still didn’t feel invested in the characters. They could have been killed off in the next chapter or even in the next sentence and I would have kept reading on just the same as if the author stated what the character wore to a dance.

Overall this book very much read like those long literary works of fiction I had to read in my college English class. They’re great during winter when you need something to pass the time in front of the fire with a good drink. However in this fast paced society of Netflix and social media where people have been raised on getting entertained quickly and in big ways I don’t see this garnering much support.

You will like it or hate it depending upon if you’re a fireplace person or a Netflix person.

The story reminded me very much of a wartime TV drama. Sitting by the coal fire as a child watching one with my parents. It was a heartwarming family saga. There was love and heartache and tears and joy. I actually enjoyed this very pleasant read.

Difficult to get into but a heartwarming story of rural life

Well, this was a weird, almost disjointed book. From the publisher " A tale of one girl's search for love and belonging. The May Queen is a debut novel that goes to the heart of what family means and finding your place in it."

Let's begin with the fact that I had ZERO idea of where or what was going on for the first several pages. If it wasn't for the years listed at the top of every chapter, I would have assumed this was some fairy tale like book, but alas, this was not the case. May Thomas lives a simple life, running errands for her mother, while her father works at manor nearby.

There's some weird family drama, pregnant sister, gruff but loving father, distant and hard mother, a weird, overly friendly uncle. There's a carnival, with floats and a costume contest.

Then time jump, it's WW2 and May is in London, working for the Wrens. She meets stereotypical characters - sassy women, handsome soldiers ...oh wait, scandal! there's a lesbian! She wears pants, rides a motorcycles and goes to parties and on and on and on.

There's some romantic drama, but honestly, it isn't that interesting.

There wasn't enough of a mystery about May's sister for me to care, or enough of a romance with John or Christopher to make me root for either character. I feel like this book had a ton of potential, but at some point the writer got bored with the story herself. Is this a great family drama? No, absolutely not.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I was not able to finish this one, so I don't want to give it a rating.