Books Read in 2023
Jan. 1st, 2024 04:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tjs_whatnot BOOKS READ IN 2023
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Top 10 reads this year. Enemies to Fake Friends to Real Lovers. Bi-Awakening. Epistolary elements were my favorite.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. F/F. Queer Found Family. Time Travel-y Timey Wimey Mystery. Fate.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. F/F YA. Mystery. Hated the main character for most of the book. All other characters are what saved it from being DNF'd.
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. F/F. YA. Coming of Age. Forced back in the closet and deals with religion and small town mindset.
Heartstopper 1-4 by Alice Oseman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. YA. The books are amazing. The show is amazing. Nick and Charlie are amazing. Bi-Awakening. Closet and coming out of it. Deals with heavy subjects in a real way, but with a lot of heart and hope.
Solitare by Alice Oseman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. YA. Not a graphic novel. Tells the story of Tori Spring, Charlie from Heartstopper's strange (and wonderful) sister.
Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. Novella that takes place after the graphic novels and a bit achy, but again, real life achy with a lot of heart and care.
Boyfriend Material ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Fake dating. So. Very. Funny. But also full of heart and feeeeelings.
Husband Material ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Same characters. Similar issues only now is real. Still really funny and full of heart.
10 Things That Never Happened ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Fake amnesia so fake hurt/comfort sort of. Grumpy/Sunshine. Forced proximity. So very lovely.
Paris Dalleincourt is About to Crumble ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. This was actually my first Hall and I did really enjoy it (enough to read more of his things and fall hard). Part of his "Winner Bakes All" Series. Love the Bake-Off feel but this characters aren't my favorite of Hall's works.
Rosalind Palmer Takes the Cake ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. First of his "Winner Bakes All" Series. I hope he writes more of them. These characters were more enjoyable. Bi woman and the two dudes she meets on the show.
Iron and Velvet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. If noir legends like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe has been a dame... and if they dealt with supernatural clients... and if they were queerAF, they'd be this book. First in his "Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator" series. Will probably read the rest.
Something Fabulous ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. Historical Farce of a RoadTrip hi-jink book and I loved its ridiculousness. Grumpy/Sunshine in a Snape/Lockhart fashion.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Graphic memoir. Some of it hit me in a visceral level of ME TOO in regards to my own understanding of non-binary ace-ness and other parts weren't me at all. Which, I guess helped open my eyes to how varied and vast all of this is and how that's okay.
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Part queer rom-com, part look into how mental illnesses manifest themselves and can be dealt with. Both charcuterie have their "thing" they must tackle and deal with. All in the backdrop of a "The Bacholar" like show and its behind the scenes fakeness.
Those Who Wait by Haley Cass ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. First truly smutty f/f I've read outside of Fanfiction. The plot (or at least parts of it) seemed implausible, but I liked the couple.
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Super cute. Very fairy-tale(ish) as it all just seemed too good to be true, or real. But definitely enjoyed it.
The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. First of many dual POV books I read this year and super powerful. This book broke me and made me so invested in these two very different characters. Also Forced Proximity. *sigh*
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because that is reserved for things in going to re-read and I doubt think I'll ever be able to read this book again. It's right there in the title. I can't even be mad about it. Also dual POV.
What is it's Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. I found this book at exactly the right time. I wanted more Silvera, but I wasn't ready for the level of heartache that "They Both Die at the End" caused and I enjoyed "Simon vs. The Homo Sapien Agenda so I thought I'd give this a go. Also dual POV and I really liked the characters and the destiny of it all.
Everything for You by Chloe Liese ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I found this book when someone in a M/M Rec community in FB requested a book with this Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt moment. vibes. It DELIVERS! And I loved the relationship between this surly older character and the goofy up- and- coming teammate. But I also really liked the family that the younger character (Oliver) has. So much so that I might check out the other books in the series that tells their stories. Also deals with anxiety.
Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by MacKenzie Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Historical queer fiction that sort of was a bit like "Something Fabulous" but with less ridiculous and more heart. Oddly though, took me a long time to read and left me slightly idk, unsatisfied? Will read others in the series though.
The Weight of it All by N.R. Walker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I just fell in love with this main character ❤️Henry❤️ and fell HARD for his journey and his transformation. He deserved all the happiness. He deserved Reed. It's just took both of us time to see it. ❤️ This book also made me fall in love with N.R. Walker right in time for Christmas.
Tic-Tac-Mistletoe/Christmas Wish List and Merry Christmas Cupid by N.R. Walker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The gayest, cheesiest, over-the-toppest, swoonest, Hallmarkest books ever and I loved them. Maybe it was the time of year, maybe it was the narrator or maybe (probably) it was that this author had the cutest characters ever. ❤️
You're a Mean One Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This reads so much like a Schitt's Creek AU Christmas romp. As such, the main character Matthew Prince was sort of unlikeable there in the beginning, but his journey to redemption was so lovely.
Mishagas and Mistletoe by M.A. Wadell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Fake Relationship, grump/sunshine. Oh man, this was so great and so like... reading about a character who is so like you (a teacher of littles) was so nice. I really loved the family dynamics as well. Looking forward to reading more from this author who is super sweet.❤️
Tic-Tac-Mistletoe/Christmas Wish List and Merry Christmas Cupid by N.R. Walker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The gayest, cheesiest, over-the-toppest, swoonest, Hallmarkest books ever and I loved them. Maybe it was the time of year, maybe it was the narrator or maybe (probably) it was that this author had the cutest characters ever. ❤️
You're a Mean One Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This reads so much like a Schitt's Creek AU Christmas romp. As such, the main character Matthew Prince was sort of unlikeable there in the beginning, but his journey to redemption was so lovely.
Mishagas and Mistletoe by M.A. Wadell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Fake Relationship, grump/sunshine. Oh man, this was so great and so like... reading about a character who is so like you (a teacher of littles) was so nice. I really loved the family dynamics as well. Looking forward to reading more from this author who is super sweet.❤️
The Storyteller by Dave Grohl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Memoir. I highly recommend if you like musicians, if you like grunge, if you like Nirvana or love the Foo Fighters you read this book. I very HIGHLY recommend you listen to it. It's like you're just haging out with Dave as he tells you some stories. He skims some things and goes into great detail about others, but it's his life and he gets to choose his to tell it. ❤️
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I remembered liking this book a great deal when I read it and then spending a great amount of time reading things I loved more. So by the time I got around to the sequel, I just didn't care anymore. Maybe I'll be in the proper headspace later...
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 A friend recced this to me, and I didn't understand why until I got to the point where it is revealed that the MC is asexual and wants to have a baby. Still... it was a bit dry and disjointed for my taste.
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Found this on the LGBTQIA+ table at my library during Pride month. Didn't realize that it was are-telling of The Great Gatsby until it was too late. I continued reading hoping it would give me a better appreciation for TGG, but it just really made me hate the characters even more. Except this book's MC Jordan Baker, which I don't even remember from TGG. 🤷♂️
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Cute. Fake Dating. University setting. My niece had me read it because I told her I liked fake dating and she knows I read fanfiction. She told me it was a scrubbed Kylo/Rey AU and she was NOT wrong. A warning though, if you read this and have the opportunity to read the "bonus" chapter from the make character's POV, DO NOT DO IT!
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 YA. Magical Children. My first Seanan McGuire, but definitely not my last.
Fairytale by Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Reminded me a lot of King (and Straub's) The Talisman but this one spends way more time in reality before going into a parallel, fantasy world, and I liked the real world better.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Super cute. Two young people met on a plane and share a night together talking and changing each other's lives. Think they made it into a movie.
Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 I am a sucker for a quirky title and this one is delightfully intriguing. Very much sorry if a spoof of its genre of mystery, who done it, Agatha Christie(ish) and some of the humor might have been lost in me as its not really my genre, but I still very much enjoyed it.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-19 06:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-19 01:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-19 05:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-19 05:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-19 05:42 pm (UTC)I loved the first 13 and liked the last 2.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-20 06:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-21 12:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-21 12:13 am (UTC)And thanks! I've been working on this list since New Year's and I'm totally going to find another way to do this going forward. ❤️❤️
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-22 12:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-22 12:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-03-06 07:27 am (UTC)