A Year in Reading: Pt. 1

Top 5 romance books + my husband's reads

Hello from the weird week between Christmas and New Year’s!

It’s been a little quiet over here these past few months and while I’ve enjoyed the break, I’m eager to get back to more consistent writing in 2024. Consider this my return to the newsletter! And, like is required of all content creators, I want to share a wrap up of my 2023 reading life.

But before we get to the books, a little housekeeping.

You might have noticed that paid subscriptions have paused. I want to make sure you all, both paid and free subscribers, get the most out of this newsletter and that it remains something I enjoy doing and that is sustainable for me. So for now, while I figure out if I want to continue offering a paid option, this newsletter will remain free. If that changes, I’ll definitely share it here! In the meantime you can expect to see me in your inbox at least once per month.

Okay, on to the books!

So as not to bombard you, I’ll be sharing a little bit each day until the end of the year. Coming to your inbox…

• Thursday, December 28 (today) – Top Romance Books (+ My Husband’s Reads)

• Friday, December 29 – Best Audiobooks of 2023

• Saturday, December 30 – 2023 Superlatives

• Sunday, December 31 – Top 10 Books I Read This Year

Best Romance of 2023

This year I read 18 romance books, all of which I enjoyed, five of which I loved.

I’m hoping to read even more next year, so let me know what I need to add to my TBR! Are any of these ones you’ve read?

📖 Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon – I didn’t expect to love this one as much as I did, but it found a spot on my all-time favorites list. This was my first of hers and I’m excited to try her backlist.

📖 The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams – After reading When in Rome by Sarah Adams last year, I was eager to read more of hers. This one was super cute and perfect for fans of the Taylor/Travis romance.

🎧 American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera – This was my pick for my Greedy Reads romance book club, and one that had been on my shelf for literal years because of

Chelsey Feder

’s recommendation. (Seriously, if you want good romance recs, give her a follow.) It was charming, steamy, and I’m very much looking forward to continuing the series.

🎧 Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake – Another first in a series, this was a perfect small town romance with a wonderful cast of characters. I read the second one this year and will be reading the third soon!

📖 Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams – I had to read the follow up to When in Rome, even though I didn’t think it would live up to it. Spoiler alert: I loved it even more. This is a great series for fans of small town and closed door romance.

What I’m Reading This Week

📖 Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang – There are many short story collections on my shelf, but for some reason I don’t pick them up. One of my goals for 2024 is to slowly read one (or essays) every month. And this one was a good start!

📖 Mercury by Amy Jo Burns – 2024 release reading has begun, and there are SO MANY good ones coming out in January. So far, this one seems promising, and I’ve heard great things. Releases January 2. (The original pub date was January 30, so it being moved up makes me wonder if someone like Jenna or Reese is picking it for their book club. This is based on nothing but my own speculation 🤷🏻‍♀️)

🎧 Come and Get It by Kiley Reid – Her debut, Such a Fun Age, got a lot of buzz (and for good reason), so I’m eager/nervous to read her sophomore novel. Again, I’m only a couple chapters in so it’s too soon to tell but I’ll let y’all know my thoughts once I’ve read it. Releases January 30. (Another moved pub date! Originally set for January 2.)

What are you reading in these last few days of 2023?

What My Husband Read This Year

My husband is a fairly avid reader and I thought it would be fun to share (with his permission) what he read this year!

Top three

• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

• Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

• All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

All the others

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

• Trust by Hernan Diaz

• Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

• Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger

• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

That’s it for today! Check your inbox tomorrow for my favorite audiobooks of the year. Thank you for reading!

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This Month’s Poll

I didn’t link the books this issue because it’s a fairly time consuming process. Affiliate links give me a (very very small) commission when people purchase using them. So I want to get a sense of how many folks find them helpful (or not). Thank you in advance!