Books Read in 2023

Review: The Dream Hotel

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve read and loved Lalami’s other books but this one was claustrophobic, scary, traumatizing and a little too real in parts. It’s a bleak view on what the world could evolve to and of course like all good books, it’s not impossible to see this type of future unfold.

The amount of data that is collectively available on each of us is indeed eye opening and, if merged together, would be alarming in its ability to predict things. Lalami’s story takes this to an extreme and paints a world in which the government in service of protecting us is creating measures that are draconian.

Coupling all that with the concepts of presumptive-guilt and manipulation results in the kind of story that is both traumatizing and feels all together too possible and real in parts. Thankfully many other parts seem wild and too-far-fetched (at least for now) and help ground that this is still a novel and not our reality.

for now.

with gratitude to netgalley and Pantheon for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Witness 8

Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the Eddy Flynn stories! What an awesome character to build and yet again he never ceases to amaze the reader with his creativity and ways of “bending” the law to ensure he can protect his client. I loved all the characters that worked with Eddy but I will admit that I really really hated Ruby for almost the whole book.

It took until the very end for Cavanagh to redeem her for me and somehow I never actually saw the ending coming and of course the book ended up being not about what you thought it will be about. If you haven’t read this series, you are truly missing out. These books are fast-paced, funny, interesting and always leave you with something extra.

with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A new year means another story with the Wayward Children and I have some to look forward to these so so much. McGuire’s imagination and her ability to weave these incredible and sad and creative stories is unparalleled.

This particular one wasn’t my favorite one and it felt extra sad in the end but the world of water, like all the others, was fascinating. I also loved her story about her homeland and how it felt to be there. Her adoptive parents and how it was more important for her to be who their image of her was vs who she actually was.

These girls are all so sad and yet they are also all so brave. I am grateful for every one of these stories and I hope she never stops writing them. They are also truly fantastic on audio, an immersive expeirence.

with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Beautiful Ugly

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars rounded up.

This book was fun and interesting to read all the way to the end when it gets weird and unbelievable and then the very end which is even weirder and hard to understand.

But aside from that, it’s super fast paced and all you’re trying to understand the whole time is what happened, who took Grady’s wife? What’s up with the island he’s visiting? Is that his wife? What do all the people seem to know besides the reader?

It’s creepy but not too much, it’s intense but not too much, the characters are unlikeable but not too much (until the end) so you just keep turning those pages (or listening in my case) just to find out what is going on.

The audio narration was excellent and kept me on my toes the whole time. I loved the sound effects too!

with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Review: A Great Country

A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars for this interesting and visceral story that was well told and sad and scary and real.

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Review: You Are Here

You Are Here by David Nicholls
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this story but didn’t seem to love it like many others seem to have. It was lovely. It was sweet, it was funny. It just didn’t seem all that special to me.

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Review: Havoc

Havoc by Christopher Bollen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

wow ok this story is crazy. I feel like i have to give it 4 stars just because it’s so crazy. I don’t want to give away the plot more than the blurb does because i think it will take away from the visceral experience you will have with it. Thanks to my friend Lauren who told me to read it.

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Review: The Knitting Circle

The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sweet story about women connecting over their love of knitting and using knitting as a way to move through grief. Sad but also redemptive.

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Review: Brooklyn

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read these out of order but it was still really enjoyable. I love Tóibín’s writing. It’s so quiet and beautiful.

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Review: Broken Country

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, it’s always magical when so late in the year you read a book that turns out to be one of your favorites of the year.

This is the story of Beth who is caught between her first love, Gabriel, and her husband, Frank when Gabriel comes back to town with his son. From the first page, you know that things have gone poorly and there’s tragedy. And you are sucked into the story that will not let you go. I was up until 2am reading, not wanting to let go of these characters.

The character development is so beautiful that these characters jump off the page and you miss them long after their story is over. This beautiful story is about love, betrayal, class, brotherhood, parenthood, loss and so much more. It’s truly beautiful and I cannot recommend it enough.

with gratitude to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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