Most Surprising Books of 2023

These are the 5 books that I either picked up on a whim or had heard some bad things about and I was surprised I actually ended up really liking them!

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

This was a random pick up and it was soo good!

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

Had this sitting on my shelves for years and I finally picked it up and really enjoyed it!

The Drift by C.J. Tudor

My first CJ Tudor and the complexity of the story surprised me, a great read!

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

I was pleasantly surprised, this wasn’t as bad as what I’ve heard!

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien

Wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did!

5 Romance Books I want To Read in 2023 Wrap Up

Back in February I picked 5 romance books that are high on my TBR that I wanted to try to prioritize and I’ve actually finished them all which I am stoked about! They definitely weren’t all wins but I am glad I stuck to it and completed my list.

Happy Place by Emily Henry – Overall this was ok. I just couldn’t get over the fact that if these two would of communicated when they were going through their rough patch in San Francisco then all of the drama wouldn’t of happened. Both of them didn’t want to burden the other and they just kept kept this false sense of happiness to keep the status quo. There was definitely some cute and semi-steamy moments, but I don’t think second chance romances are for me. ⭐️2/5 stars

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – I really like this, I thought the premise was fun and the stakes weren’t too high. I wanted Olive to have a little more confidence in herself and stand up for herself a bit more. I liked the banter between out two main protagonists and learning about Adam more thoroughly and finding out there’s more to him than meets the eye was very cute. ⭐️4/5 stars

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola – This was amazing! I loved all of the characters, they each felt unique and distinct and had a purpose within the plot. There was a lot of social commentary and the plot as a whole felt realistic and wasn’t forced. I loved Kiki’s attitude and the way that Malakai wormed his way into her heart was so endearing and gave me all the feels! ⭐️5/5 stars

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☀️ Summer TBR ☀️

I’m a week late for this Top 10 Tuesday prompt but I couldn’t miss the usual seasonal TBR. So like last summer the plan is to try and cut down my physical TBR and read all of the books I have been thrifting and collecting over the last year that I haven’t gotten to yet.

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Disappointing Books of 2023

This is five books I read this year that disappointed me for one reason or another. These aren’t necessarily books I hated, I just might have been underwhelmed by them or they didn’t live up to the hype.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

I had high expectations because I’ve loved all of Emily Henry’s books so far but this one didn’t gel with me

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

The premise seemed right up my alley but this was a bit boring

Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

I had such high hopes for this but it was a giant fail!

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

I had high expectations as I loved the other 2 books in this series but this was forgettable

How to Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

This fell flat!