Favourite Books of 2023

This year was definitely better than last year in terms of actually enjoying most of the books I read. Here are my absolute favourite books I completed!

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas

You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

Secretly Yours Review

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless–and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

Hallie’s character I didn’t really gel with. She’s supposedly 27/28 years old and she honestly acts as if she is 20-22. Running around town, getting drunk and vandalizing businesses whilst being very cavalier in her own business ( showing up whenever she wants). I understand she is still mourning her grandmother but I don’t think that’s an excuse to throw away all sense of composure and decency. I feel like she needs to grow up and maybe book that appointment with her therapist she keeps putting off and start to heal properly.

Julian I didn’t really like all that much as well. He is very standoffish and he also knows he has a lot of issues that he kept pent up and won’t get any kind of help for it. For the most part he is quite comfortable sticking to his routines and burying all of those emotions further and further down until the inevitable break down. Also in the smutty scenes where he whips out all of this dirty talk was very jarring and kind of pulled me out of the story.

I did however, really enjoy the setting and premise of the plotline. If these character were a bit more memorable and slightly more mature maybe it would of worked a bit better for me. I kept waiting for twists and conflicts and passion but overall it was just a bit weak.

⭐️2/5 stars I felt unfulfilled

5 Quotes from Last 5 Books

These are five of my favourite quotes from the last five books that I have read!!

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

“What kind of person hate-reads their best friend’s books?”

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Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

“You make me feel like I’m in the exact right place.”

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The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

“how can we appreciate the sun every morning if we don’t live through the dark?”

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Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

“When I read a book it feels like real life and when I put the book down it’s like I go back into the dream.”

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The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

“Women are stuck in a cycle of insecurity perpetuated by the way men treat them, and we are constantly fighting to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we are okay.”

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