Hi everyone! Happy New Year’s! This is my last post of 2023 and I want to take the time to wish all of you the best for the new year that it’s about to start, I hope it’s filled with great books and other wonderful things for your lives.
December was not the best reading month for me in terms of quantity but I read a few really good books. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts on all of the books I read in December:
Knockout by Sarah MacLean (4 stars): This was an enjoyable read. I liked both of the main characters and their dynamic, Imogen is chaotic while Tommy is a rule-follower, so it was always fun to read their interactions and their banter. They have a lot of chemistry and the steamy scenes were really good. As with all the books in this series, I loved the female friendships and the solidarity among women which is portrayed in this book. I wasn’t super invested in the plot and things got resolved a bit too easily but since I wasn’t reading for the plot, I didn’t mind too much. Also, this could have been a lot shorter and it would have been a better book if it was. I’m looking forward to the last book in the series, especially after that ending.
Live and Let Grow by Penny Reid (3.5 stars): This is a cute friends-to-lovers romance novella. I had a good time reading it but the miscommunication went on a little too long.
Run Darling by Adriana Herrera (3 stars): This is my last book of 2023 because I figured that it would be fun to read a romance by one of my favorite authors. But this ended up being more erotica than romance and it was not what I was expecting. Moreover, I had some issues with this novella. I didn’t mind the age gap but I did mind that the hero knew the heroine since she was a young girl and that’s always icky to me, also at the beginning she sounded so naive and young so that didn’t help. Overall, the steamy scenes which are most of this book were well-written, but the amount of sexual displays in front of random people who weren’t willing participants and that a lot of time were people that were there to serve them (waiters or sellers) and couldn’t really say anything, didn’t sit right with me.
Mammoths at the Gate by Nghi Vo (4 stars): This series is so beautifully written, the main characters are endearing and the world is so interesting and it keeps expanding in intriguing directions as the books go on. This particular book does a great job of talking about grief and the role of stories in remembering those who are gone, about going back to a home that is not exactly as you remembered it when you have changed as well, and about how a person’s life is made of a multitude of stories and one single story can never represent the entirety of who they are.
Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland (4 stars): I had a hard time getting into this because at certain points in the beginning the main character felt more like a high school student than a grown-up. Nonetheless, once I got into the story, I was hooked. The romance was so sweet, and the magical realism parts revolving around the sisters’ magical powers added an interesting element to the story. But my favorite part of this book was the exploration of complicated family dynamics and family trauma and the development of the relationship between the sisters.
Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree (3.5 stars): Like the first book, this one has lovable characters that I was invested in. Actually, at the beginning, I was enjoying this more than the first book, I loved the bookshop setting, and reading about Viv helping renovate a bookstore was entertaining. My problem, which I also had with the Legends and Lattes even if I didn’t quite realize what the problem was, is that I don’t care about the plots of these books. Hence, I start to get a bit bored once the focus of the book shifts from the cozy mundane tasks and relationship building to the “mystery” plots in these books.
What’s the best book you read in December? What are you currently reading?
Hello everyone! I have been gone for the last week and a half because of work, I was busy trying to finish everything to be able to take this last week of the year off and with Christmas this past weekend things have been busy. But I’m glad to be here sharing my thoughts on the last few shows and movies I watched in 2023.
I’m trying to catch up with what I missed in the last week, so I’m posting my December reading wrap-up tomorrow and all my favorite, least favorite, anticipated releases posts are going up in the next couple of weeks.
Joy Ride (4.5 stars): It’s been a long time since I found a raunchy comedy to be actually funny and also as funny as Joy Ride was. I laughed so hard watching this. The cast was so good, everyone had great chemistry with each other, the characters were charismatic, and I loved the female friendships that developed during this film. Also, as with any good comedy, there were not only funny moments but also moments that pulled at my heartstrings.
A Man Called Otto (3.5 stars): This was good but it was not very memorable. It started a lot darker than I was expecting and the love story was devastating. I appreciated the way it talked about gentrification and the way the trans character was treated. There was a funny dynamic between a Hispanic couple which I enjoyed and in general, the best part of the movie was Otto’s relationship with the Hispanic family that lived next door. I think the problem with this movie is that it wasn’t heartfelt, it wasn’t charming, and it felt like something that I had seen before.
Exmas (3 stars): This was an okay holiday rom-com. I was expecting a little more. It was entertaining to see the main characters bickering and annoying each other, but the movie spends too much time on that and it doesn’t leave enough time for actual romantic scenes where we can understand why the characters should get back together, nonetheless, in the few romantic scenes that were included the two main actors had good chemistry with each other.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (5 stars): This was absolutely fantastic, Taylor put on such an amazing concert. Watching this in the theater with friends was such a magical experience I can’t even imagine how incredible it is to be able to see it live.
Lessons in Chemistry (4.5 stars): I haven’t read the book this is based on but I really enjoyed this TV show. The performances by the entire cast were incredible, the romance was beautiful and devastating and it has two timelines and both were very engaging which is hard to manage. I was infuriated by all the sexism that the main character experienced and I was also devastated by the racism that the secondary characters went through, but I appreciated the depiction of how they fought against it. I wish the end was a bit more focused on the main character and the present timeline and not so much on the love interest and his past, but overall, I really enjoyed the entire show.
Doctor John (4 stars): There was a slow-burn romance that kept me hooked the entire time, the two protagonists had so much chemistry, the performances of the entire cast were great and the medical cases were really interesting. There are mysteries around both of the main characters’ pasts and they added an interesting element to the story, there were some interesting ethical discussions around those mysteries which I appreciated, and I really loved how both of them were there for each other once things were revealed. There was a very emotional storyline that made me cry, which I think was well handled. This was going to get a higher rating but while I liked the ending, I didn’t love the last episode and I think the time jump was unnecessaries. Also, this doesn’t affect my enjoyment of the show but I have to say that the main character in this show has the worst hair extensions that I have seen in a tv show.
Daily Dose of Sunshine (4 stars): This kdrama takes place in a mental ward in a hospital and I appreciated that it tried to explore different mental illnesses and humanize the people suffering from those illnesses. I don’t think it dealt with all of it perfectly but overall I felt it did a good job. Additionally, the performances from the cast and the guest actors that appeared in each episode were really good, and there were also a couple of sweet romances which added a bit of lightheartedness to a show that can be a heavy watch due to the subjects it covers.
What movies or tv shows have you loved lately? Did you watched any movie or tv show that disappointed you in 2023?
As I mentioned in my2024 reading goals post, I want to decrease the number of series I am behind on. I am currently reading 67 series. Out of those, I’m caught up with 32 and I’m behind on 21 finished series and 14 ongoing series. That means I’m behind on 36 series, and I’m trying to reduce that number to 27 by the end of 2024. This means staying up-to-date with the series I’m caught up with even if new books are released and also finishing or getting caught up with an additional 10 series.
After going through my spreadsheet, I chose 11 series that are my priorities to get caught up on or finish in 2024:
Baker Street Mystery Series by Valerie Burns: I read the first book in the series “One Part Sugar, Two Parts Murder” in 2023 and I need to read the second book which came out in June 2023, and the third book which is coming out in July 2024. (books to read: 2)
Ice Cream Parlor Mystery Series by Abby Collette: I read the first book in this series, A Deadly Inside Scoop, in 2023 and I have two more books to read which are already out. (books to read: 2)
House Murders Series by Yujito Ayatsuji: I started this series “The Decagon House Murders” in 2023, there are around 9 books total but only 2 have been translated to English, so that means I only have 1 left to read to catch up (books to read: 1)
The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews: I read 3 books in this series back in 2022, and I never continued with it. I need to read two full novels: Sweep of the Blade and Sweep of the Heart, and a novella: Sweep with Me to be caught up with the series. (books to read: 2.5)
The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski: I have read 6 books in this series and I only have 1 book left because I decided not to read the prequel book (Season of Storms). I tried to read The Lady of the Lake earlier this year but I wasn’t in the mood for it. I’m hesitant to read it because I have a feeling that it’s not going to be a satisfying ending. But I don’t want to let more time pass, so I’m reading it! (books to read: 1)
The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin: I read the first book in 2018, let years go by, and read the second book in 2023. I’m trying to not let so much time go by without reading book 3. (books to read: 1)
Themis Files Series by Sylvain Neuvel: I read the first book in the series in 2019 and I never continued but I have always been intrigued about the rest of the story and I think it’s finally time to read the 2 books i have left. (books to read: 2)
Bright Falls Series by Ashley Herring Blake: I have read 2 books in the series, and to be fair, the book I have left came out at the end of October 2023, so I haven’t had that much time to read it. So I only need to read 1 to be caught up. (books to read: 1)
The Rules of Scoundrels by Sarah MacLean: I read the other 3 books in this series in December 2020 and I don’t know why I never read the last book. But it’s time to remedy that. (books to read: 1)
Feminine Pursuits by Olivia Waite: I loved the first book in the series when I read it back in 2020 and I need more sapphic historical romances in my life, so I definitely want to read the 2 books I have left. (books to read: 2)
If Shakespeare Was an Auntie Series by Nisha Sharma: I read the first book in the series, Dating Dr. Dil in 2023, and I have to get to book 2 and then book 3 comes out in August 2024, so I also have to read that. (books to read: 1)
Is there any book series you want to finish or catch up on in 2024? Have you read any of the series I mentioned in this post?
Ten Top Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and the topic for this week was our winter tbrs. These are all books I can’t wait to read and they are priorities at the top of my tbr for the upcoming months. I decided not to include in my top 10 any of my anticipated releases of 2024 or books in series I want to finish in 2024 because both of those lists are coming in the next couple of weeks. So these are books that have already been released and that are either standalone or the first book in a series.
For the last couple of years, I have been getting more into horror and trying to explore the genre, so these are some horror books that are at the top of my horror tbr:
Rouge by Mona Awad: a gothic story about grief with commentary on beauty standards
These are some books that have been on my tbr for a while and I really want to read but I haven’t prioritized them, but I keep thinking about them so it’s finally time to read them:
I had stopped setting bookish goals that were really specific because I ended up forgetting about them or not reaching them. Nonetheless, there are things I want to do in terms of reading and posting content that are more specific, so I’m trying again and I’m hoping to actually keep track of them this time around.
Read a minimum of 52 books: every year this is my goal, I usually read a lot more than this but it’s my way of not feeling pressure to read and just do it when I feel like it.
Read 1 long (over 450 pages) a month: In the last few years, I have been avoiding long books even the ones I really want to read just because they are long. In 2023, I only read 7 books over 450 pages out of 144 books. I don’t want to keep doing that, that’s the reason I’m setting this goal.
Decrease the number of series I’m behind on to 27.: Out of the 67 (!!!) series I’m currently reading, I’m caught up with 30 series and I’m behind on 37. I really want to reduce that number to 27 which means staying up-to-date with the series I’m caught up with even if new books are released and also finishing or getting caught up with an additional 10 series.
Stop being so reliant on audiobooks: I noticed that I’m basically not reading books if I don’t have the audiobook (even tho I always read along the physical or ebook version) because I know it will take me longer and this is a problem because a lot of indie books or books by authors of color are not released in audiobook format, which means I’m reading less of those books and that’s not something I want.
Read 12 nonfiction books: I had the goal of reading 6 nonfiction books in 2022 and by the end of the year I had read 8. In 2023, I read 9. Next year, I’m hoping to increase the number of nonfiction books that I read to 12.
Read more translated fiction: I want to read at least 12 translated books and try to make most of them books translated from different languages.
Be moreintentional with my reading: This year there were many months where I wasn’t being intentional with my reading and that meant that I read a lot less diversely than I would have liked. I want to change that next year.
Post more consistently on Instagram and on the blog: This has been a goal of mine for many years and unfortunately, in 2023 I absolutely failed and I want to fix that. I’m hoping to post at least once a week in 2024.
Host Latinx Book Bingo: Latinx Heritage Month is my favorite month of the year and to celebrate it, I have hosted the Latinx Book Bingo for the past 6 years. I’m looking forward to doing it again in 2024.
Do you like setting yearly goals? Do you have bookish goals for 2024?
Ten Top Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week the topic for this week was a freebie. I decided to do a post with some short book recommendations, which I make most years in December for all those people who need some help completing their reading goal for the year. So, in this post, I share some of my favorite short books that I’ve read in 2023:
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older (169 pages): If a Sherlock Holmes-inspired murder mystery set on Jupiter with a central sapphic romance sounds like something you would enjoy, you should pick up this book.
Finna (92 pages) and Defekt (170 pages) by Nino Cipri: The series is set in a furniture store that serves as a gateway to the multiverse and has clones as employees. Queer relationships as a significant element of the stories and it includes thought-provoking commentary on capitalism and labor.
Ring Shout by P. Djelà Clark (185 pages): This follows a group of Black women in the 1920’s who hunt evil KKK members, who are not only racist but also literal monsters who conjure spells. If a fantastical take on history sounds interesting, I would recommend this!
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (240 pages): This is the story of a woman who returns to her wife transformed after a deep-sea voyage gone wrong. It’s literary horror, not really scary, instead, it’s haunting and atmospheric. It’s a slow-paced, captivating exploration of loss and grief, of learning to let go.
T. Kingfisher is quickly becoming a favorite author and she is the queen of writing fantastic short books. Thornhedge is a sleeping beauty retelling that turns the story on its head by focusing on the fairy who put her to sleep and the reason why Aurora shouldn’t wake up. A House with Good Bones is a Southern Gothic haunted house story, in which a daughter tries to find out why her mom is so frightened in her own home. Nettle & Bone is about the quest of a princess to save her sister from an abusive husband with the help of a witch, a fairy godmother, a disgraced knight, a bone dog, and a chicken possessed by a demon.
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz (195 pages): A Dominican immigrant in her 50s tells her life story to a job counselor. Her storytelling is brutally honest, weaving between heartbreaking and hilarious moments. It’s been one of my favorite reads this year, and I highly encourage you to pick it up!
A Woman’s Story by Annie Ernaux (104 pages): This book was written by the author following her mother’s death from Alzheimer’s. It’s her mother’s story and the story of their relationship. It offers a powerful exploration of grief and delves into the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship.
Set the Record Straight by Hannah Bonam-Young (150 pages): If a fake dating, childhood friends to lovers, bisexual-awakening, holiday romance sounds like something you would enjoy, this novella may be for you.
Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd (100 pages): This is a powerful, beautifully written, thought-provoking poetry collection. It narrates the author’s own experience of dispossession and it talks about the legalized, ideologically-driven ethnic cleansing that’s taking place in Palestine.
Hermosa by Yesika Salgado (82 pages): This poetry collection explores family, relationships, heartbreak, gentrification, fertility issues and so much more. It’s also a love letter to Los Angeles.
After running behind on this post for most of the year, I finally caught up!!!! I mean, almost caught up, I already watched 3 more things but those are going to go in the last Watched in 2023 post of the year.
For now, here are my thoughts about the movies, tv shows, and documentaries that I have watched lately:
To Catch a Killer (3 stars): It started strong, following the investigation was entertaining, the performances were good, and I was invested in the personal storylines of the characters. Nonetheless, the writing wasn’t the best, the ending had its shocking moments but I didn’t love it and I think it was a bit confusing, especially about the motives behind the whole thing.
The Princess Bride (4 stars): I finally watched this for the first time and it was not what I expected, it was a lot funnier, sillier and weirder than anything I could have imagined. I really liked that the way the movie looked (the set, the costumes, etc) felt like a children’s book coming to life. Mandy Patinkin as Indigo stole the show.
Virgin River Season 5 (3.5 stars): This series fulfills a very specific need I have for cozy, small-town stories with lots of romance, lovable characters, and a good amount of angst (but since I know everything will work out I don’t have to really worry). I appreciate the way this has portrayed Mel’s struggles with infertility and I want to see where they go with that storyline. I do think this series sometimes feels a bit disjointed because there’s a storyline about drug dealers that doesn’t fit with the rest of the plot, but beyond that, I think it’s exactly what I need.
Ted Lasso Season 3 (4 stars): I liked a lot of things about this season, as always I loved the characters and the relationships between them, it was funny and there were the trademark heartfelt moments. But there were so many underdeveloped or disconnected plots, a lot of storylines felt rushed especially during the last couple of episodes and that ending was so unsatisfying.
The Witcher Season 3 (4 stars): I really liked this season, so many things were finally revealed and things are getting into place for what’s coming. I appreciate the way they have adapted the books and made some things clearer. I love Geralt and Yennifer together, so this was a great season for me because they had some great scenes, I also loved seeing Yennifer and Ciri get closer, and seeing the three together was lovely even if short-lived. Some of the secondary characters also got their chance to shine and play big parts in the story, which I enjoyed. I can’t believe that Henry Cavill won’t play Geralt anymore, he was the perfect Witcher.
Only Murders in the Building Season 3 (4 stars): Despite the amazing actors and performances this season, it wasn’t quite as good as the first season of the show maybe because there are points where the three main characters, with their dynamic that makes the show so special, are not working together and are a bit scattered. Nonetheless, it’s entertaining, the mystery keeps you guessing, and the amazing chemistry between the three leads is still there when they actually work together.
Sex and the City Seasons 1 – 6 (4 stars): This was my second time watching the entire series all the way through. I actually watched most of this earlier this year but at the beginning of season 5, I had to stop watching because I wasn’t enjoying it quite as much. Months later I finished the series and I definitely think that the first seasons are a lot stronger than the last. Season 6 took a detour that didn’t add that much to the show and that meant that the ending to a lot of characters and relationships that have been in the show from the beginning felt rushed. But overall, this show was refreshing and witty. The four main characters are compelling from the very beginning and the friendship between them makes this show feel so special.
Kelce (4 stars): I found this very compelling despite knowing almost nothing about American football. The Kelces seem very down-to-earth and honest in this, and it was fun to get a bit behind the scenes of how is the life of a high-level athlete, the family dynamic, and also the whole journey to the Super Bowl and to the face-off between the Kelce brothers.
Beckham (4 stars): I found this interesting because I realized that I didn’t know a lot of things about David Beckham, I didn’t know he was such a good player, and I had no idea of everything he went through after his first world cup and how badly he was treated. But that made me enjoy it more because I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen. Also, they did a great job of using all the footage they had both from his career and his personal life, there were points where they had footage of specific moments and I kept wondering how. Honestly, despite all the clips I have seen on social media of him and Victoria, this docuseries is very much focused on his career and it was an entertaining watch.
Friends The Reunion (4 stars): I had this on my to-be-watch list since it came out and after Matthew Perry’s death, I finally decided it was time to watch it. I enjoyed this, it was entertaining and it was great to see all the cast together after all this time. But I kind of wish that there were fewer guests and games and more of just them reliving old times and revealing behind-the-scenes stories. There was some of that but I wanted more.
What movies or tv shows have you loved lately? Have you watched any movie or tv show that really disappointed you in 2023?
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, since the Latinx Book Bingo ended on October 15th and I posted a wrap-up, I decided to talk about the books I read in the last two weeks of October in my November wrap-up. The only issue was that I read too much during those weeks, because of that, I’m posting my october/november wrap up divided into 2 parts, one where I talk about all the romance books I read and another where I talk about all the other books (this one!).
Besides the books mentioned in this post, I read a book that a close friend of mine published called “La iguana muerta y otras historias que no pude contarte” by Laura Marcela Aguirre. But since it was released by a small publisher, it’s only available in physical stores in Colombia and it’s not even on Goodreads, so that’s why I’m not including it, but it was fantastic.
without further ado, here are my thoughts in some of the books I have read in the last six weeks:
Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala (4 stars): This series is fun and easy to read, I love the coziness of not having to worry about something terrible happening to the main characters. Especially since the strength of this series is the tight-knit Filipino family and their close friends. The mystery wasn’t shocking, I had an inkling of who the murderer was as soon as they were introduced, but there was enough doubt and enough moving pieces to keep it interesting. Also, I don’t really read this series for the mystery plot so it didn’t affect my enjoyment. Honestly, this fulfills a very specific need I have in terms of diverse cozy mysteries, which is why I love reading the series.
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (4 stars): This was as charming and quirky as the other books in the series. As always, I loved the characters, how funny and clever they were, and the way they always did whatever they wanted/needed to do to solve the mystery without much concern. This book was so emotional because of what happens in the main characters’ personal lives, this literally made me sob. The mystery was intriguing and entertaining.
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (4 stars): This is a very interesting take on Sleeping Beauty that includes a very intriguing twist. It has lovable characters, even when it deals with heavy topics there’s a levity that works really well, and it’s one of the only books where I enjoyed the constant flashbacks because they revealed enough information to be intriguing without giving away too much and I just wanted to know what had happened.
System Collapse by Martha Wells (4 stars): I really wish that I had re-read Network Effect because this is a direct continuation of that story, so I was a bit lost at first and it took me a while to be able to get into this. Nonetheless, I loved Murderbot, ART, and their humans as always, Murderbook has its sarcasm and dry humor intact, and the banter between Muderbot and ART is still very entertaining. The plot was engaging and I appreciated the discussions about worker exploitation, the dangers of large corporations having unchecked power, and the capacity of media to influence people.
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (4 stars): This book describes some key moments in Britney’s life from her childhood to the end of her conservatorship, it’s more of a glimpse at those times and there are not a lot of in-depth details, but it still does a great job of depicting the horrible situations Britney has been put in and the terrible way she has been treated by most people in her life. This managed to make me feel infuriated and sad throughout most of her story.
Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis (4.5 stars): This is a collection of Angela Davis’ interviews and speeches, it has some very powerful messages about the importance of solidarity and of considering the intersectionality of struggles, and the need for transnational movements. This book is very accessible and thought-provoking. While sometimes it can be a bit redundant and not go in-depth into certain topics due to the fact that it is a collection of speeches, it’s still worth the read.
That Which Has No Name by Piedad Bonnett (4.5 stars): This was heartbreaking, I definitely teared up while reading. This book is so unflinchingly honest about suicide and schizoaffective disorders. Pilar Bonnet, a Colombian author, does a great job telling her son’s story, his accomplishments, and his struggles both directly related and not with his mental illness. This is beautifully written and it has a powerful message. (I think the translation from Spanish to English may be coming from Penguin soon).
Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd (5 stars): I don’t have the words to adequately describe the importance and power of this book. I can only say that it’s beautifully written and evocative, it shows the horrifying reality of the history of Palestine in such an unflinching and vulnerable way, and it’s one of the most thought-provoking poetry collections I have read.
Fizzy by Claribel A. Ortega (4 stars): This was adorable, it talks about anti-blackness in a way that it’s perfect for the middle-grade target audience, it had an important message and it delivered well and the illustrations were so beautiful.
What’s the best book you read in November? What are you currently reading?
Since the Latinx Book Bingo ended on October 15th and I posted a wrap-up, I decided to talk about the books I read in the last two weeks of October in my November wrap-up. The only issue was that I read too much during those weeks, because of that, I’m posting my october/november wrap up divided into 2 parts, one where I talk about all the romance books I read (this post!) and another where I talk about all the other books.
So here are my thoughts on all the romance books I read in the last 6 weeks, which are mostly 2023 releases:
Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese (between 3.5 and 4 stars): I had a hard time getting into the story. I don’t like when the hero is mean to the heroine because he likes her but doesn’t want to, men who can’t appropriately deal with their emotions really frustrate me. Nonetheless, once he started to try to make it up to Kate and they started to be tentative “friends” I started to like the book a lot more. I really liked Kate and the portrait of her ADHD, I enjoyed the way the romance was developed after the initial tension, I liked the steamy scenes and the demisexual representation, and I appreciated how the conflict was handled because both of them actually behaved like adults and communicated with each other.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (4 stars): I loved the start of this book. There’s a misunderstanding between the main characters when they first meet and I loved the way it was handled, how Briana slowly realized that Jacob is actually an anxious cinnamon roll and they become friends writing letters back and forth. I think they have chemistry from the very beginning, I really appreciated the anxiety representation, I loved the friendship between the main characters and once they started to fake date things got really fun. I had a bit of an issue with the second misunderstanding that happened later on, the miscommunication frustrated me a little bit, but I think it was understandable and I also liked the fact that it didn’t get dragged on for too long.
Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon (4 stars): This is a traditional romance with a lot of thematic depth, it heavily deals with mental health (anxiety and OCD) and does it really well. I really appreciate that this showed a first time that wasn’t that good because sex is not always fantastic from the very beginning and while it made for some awkward moments, it also led to some honest and healthy conversations about sex and also to the sex lessons trope, which was well-executed. The two main characters had such a sweet connection. they had a great relationship based on honesty and things between them got really steamy.
Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez (4 stars): I loved the main character, Gillian, and the character development she goes through was my favorite part of the book. I loved the side characters, as well as how the Latinx community is represented and the importance heritage has on the story. The writing is fantastic. The romance was sweet and there were some really good steamy scenes. My one issue is that the hero, Nicky, was not as fleshed out as Gillian, so at times I wasn’t completely invested in the romance because of that.
The Seven Year Split by Ashely Poston (4.5 stars): This is a romance with a time travel element that has great main characters that have a ton of chemistry and the tension between them is incredible. It has a really sweet romance, particularly, their interactions in the past timeline. The time travel element kept me engaged the entire time wondering when the hero was going to find out and what was going to happen. I also appreciated the journey that the heroine goes through dealing with her grief and deciding what she wants to do with her life. The only reason this doesn’t get 5 stars is that I wish the main couple had more moments together in the present timeline.
The Nanny by Lana Ferguson (3.5 stars): I liked this even if I had some issues with it. The main characters had great chemistry, there were some good steamy scenes, the hero’s daughter was adorable and I loved her relationship with the heroine. My issue with this is that it was too long so it dragged at certain points, especially because they get together early on and there’s a big portion of the book that it’s them together while the heroine tries to hide part of her identity and not much else is happening.
Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage (4 stars): The main characters had amazing chemistry from the beginning and I loved seeing the development of their relationship from dislike to love. I think the author did a good job of showing how Emmy went from distrusting Luke to seeing how caring he was. I loved the fact that they were there for each other and they communicated with one another. There’s not a big, dramatic conflict in the story, there’s a bit of external conflict and it’s solved rather quickly, and I appreciated that. My one issue with this is that Luke had a couple of behaviors throughout the book that I didn’t love.
Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn (3.5 stars): This was ok but it wasn’t really memorable. I loved the fact that the friendship between the main characters felt believable, the romance was sweet and there were some really good steamy scenes. Nonetheless, this dragged. I usually love slow-burn romances, but in this book, the main characters were not communicating with one another, they were assuming a lot of things about the other’s wants and expectations and that’s the only reason they weren’t together and that went on for a little too long and it started to be frustrating.
Codename Charming by Lucy Parker (3.5 stars): I’m feeling very conflicted about this book. The main couple was so sweet, they understood and comforted each other, they communicated and there was a lack of unnecessary conflict between them, and the steamy scenes were really good. I loved the grumpy/sunshine dynamic and the slow-burn romance. Moreover, even when it was a low-angst, low-conflict, slow-paced book, I was entertained the whole time. Nonetheless, it made me uncomfortable that it’s established very early on that the hero is ugly – which I appreciated because we need more protagonists who don’t look like movie stars- but this fact was repeated so many times by every single character in almost every single page of this book, so I feel like it was overdone and it reduced the hero to his appearance which I think was the opposite of the message that it was trying to send.
A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña (4 stars): Both main characters were loyal and they were willing to fight for the things that are important to them. The relationship Saint had with his daughter was adorable and the trust and love that Lola builds with her was a highlight of the book. This does a good job of talking about gentrification and activism and also about the importance of not prioritizing our causes over our happiness and instead finding a balance. While this wasn’t that steamy, the characters did have great chemistry and banter from the beginning. The author does rely a little too much on the feelings the characters had for each other when they were younger and sometimes the development of their relationship in the present felt like it came out of nowhere. Nonetheless, I appreciated that they quickly cleared up the misunderstandings of the past and, by the end, they had serious discussions and they had to think about how they were going to make their relationship work in the present.
The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren (3.5 stars): This was a fun, quick novella. While the relationship developed a little too quickly, I appreciated that there were some very romantic moments and also some steamy ones.
A Walk in the Park by Rebekah Weatherspoon (4 stars): This was a sweet story. It had two likable main characters and even if the way they met was a bit hard to believe, I really liked how their relationship developed from sharing a dog as two strangers to falling in love. I also appreciated that we get fat representation of the hero and the heroine.
Crimes of Passion by Jack Harbon (4 stars): The grumpy/ sunshine dynamic worked really well in this, the two main characters are so different but they have common interests and I loved seeing them go from dislike to like. I loved the way the podcast element was incorporated into the story. My only issue is that there was an argument at the end and some things were said that I think needed more groveling to be forgiven and that did not happen. But overall, this was a very fun read.
Coming Home by Kennedy Ryan (4 stars): This was a sweet story. I’m usually not a huge fan of second-chance romances but in this case, it worked because it felt realistic, both characters went and lived their lives (got married, divorced, one had a child) and then they found themselves again in their 40s and decided to give the spark and chemistry between them a chance.
What were the best and worst romance books you read in 2023?
It’s been a while since I participated in Ten Top Tuesday, which is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, but I wasn’t sure what to post, and when I checked the topics for this month, this week’s topic “books set in X” really caught my eye. So I decided to make a list of romance books set in small townsthat I have read and loved in the last couple of years. I kind of cheated and included books in a series just as one entry on the list, so there are more than 10 books in this list, but I couldn’t pick just 10.
Both of these books are set in a small town in Kansas and they have a big Mexica-American family at the heart of the story, some paranormal elements, female characters that go through a lot of character growth, and really sweet but steamy romances. In After Hours on Milagro Street, there’s an opposites attract romance with forced proximity. In Full Moon over Freedom, there’s a second chance romance between childhood friends.
This is set in a small town in Wyoming and if you like cowboy romances, the brother’s best friend trope, two main characters with tons of chemistry, and a reformed bad boy, this book is for you!
This book is set in a small town in North Carolina and it’s a slow-burn romance with two plus-size characters, it includes the grumpy/sunshine trope and there’s a big focus on the healing and character growth of the heroine.
This is set in a small town in Michigan. It’s a second-chance romance between childhood sweethearts, and it’s a perfect example of a low-angst, low-conflict romance book done right.
This is set in a small town in South Carolina, and it’s a romance between someone running TO a small town and someone running FROM a small town that has to come back. It’s a friends-with-benefits, interracial romance with a plus-size female main character.
These books are set in small town in Maryland. Lovelight Farms is a friends-to-lovers romance with a fake-dating plot. In The Weeds is a second-chance, grumpy/sunshine romance, with forced proximity. Mixed Signals is a friends-to-lovers, sunshine/sunshine romance with a little fake dating.
This series is set in a small town in Oregon, both books are sapphic romances and deal with complicated family relationships. Delilah Green includes the sister’s best friend trope and one of the main characters is a single mom, and Astrid Parker is a rivals-to-lovers romance.
A big part of this is set in a small town in Minnesota. It’s an opposites attract romance where there’s an age gap and the woman is 10 years older than the guy, and it deals with heavy topics such as past abusive relationships.
A big part of this book is set in small town in North Carolina and it’s an enemies-to-lovers romance between two people who work in the publishing industry.
Set in a small town in Colorado, and it’s a slow-burn romance, with a grumpy/ sunshine dynamic, a single dad as a protagonist and a bit of forced proximity. It has a very outdoorsy vibe and there’s a lot of hiking.
Is there any particular setting that you love in books, like a specific city or country, large city or small towns, beaches vs snowy places?
Bookish Wanderess 