Get your coffee or tea and a mountain of blankets and recap the year 2023 with me!
Favorites
• A Favorite Standalone…
We Are Inevitable (Gayle Foreman)
Aaron is a bookshop owner who should be in college. As he grasps at what remains of his family, he meets two strangers who change everything.
We love a book about a bookshop! Can a community’s dwindling compassion conquer callous capitalism?
• A Favorite Series…
The Raven Boys (Maggie Stiefvater)
Is this fantasy? Science fiction? Dark Academia? Young Adult Mystery Thriller? I still don’t know. But Stiefvater’s characters cause me literary pain. How many times can someone break without breaking down?Blue, Gansey, Adam, Noah, and Ronan are each a tragic hero, in their own way. Absolutely no one is who they seem to be.
• A Favorite Author…
Talia Hibbert
Jacob, a prickly B&B owner, needs to hire a new right hand. One interviewee ironically injures his arm and offers to help. She can cook for and charm guests… but will Eve Brown be a blessing or a curse?
This is the fourth book I’ve read by Talia Hibbert. While I am nothing like the energetic and sassy Eve, I relate deeply to her struggle to find her place in the world. Oh- and I, too, constantly groove to music!
Noteable Reads
• I Finally Read…
Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli)
Having overcome the apathy of her peers, Stargirl’s pride is shaken by their subsequent shunning. Can she hold on to authenticity and friendship? I love that Spinelli finds magic in mundanity.
• New Favorite Character…
Tash (pronounced TAH-sh)
Tash Hearts Tolstoy (Kathryn Ormsbee)
Teenage Tash’s Tolstoy-inspired web series is getting noticed! As the completion date looms, popularity is going to Tash’s head. Her life becomes Excel spreadsheets and action plans. With the crew heading to university and a chronically apathetic editor, will this be the rise or the fall of ‘Unhappy Families’?
Creativity is a gift, as are Tash’s passion, drive, and commitment. Will mixing family and friendship with her (unpaid) filming career challenge her priorities? Her firm resolve inspired me!
• A Book I Did Not Finish…
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
I came here for dragons, but instead found bland exposition and repetitive world-building. Violet’s thoughts are devoid of personality. Action scenes, which could have felt tense and climactic, were dragged down by lengthy inner monologue tangents. I am not terribly fussed that my library hold expired mid-read.
Next year
• A 2024 release I look forward to is…
Chronically Dolores by Maya Van Wagenen (to be released March 2024)
This book freak-out is getting long. I have decided to continue to recap 2023 in multiple posts. See you soon again very soon for more bookish celebration!
My other book reviews from this year:
- Chalice Of The Gods
- The Sun And The Star
- Mid-Year Book Freak Out (Four reviews)
- Book Love (Three romantic reads!)
Voice of Reason 