Read in 2023

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Books Read in 2023

* indicates re-reads. πŸ‘ = enjoyed a lot πŸ‘πŸ‘ = loved
Presented in reverse order. Links go to my review / notes.


Read in June 🌈


Lotusland
by Lisa Romerein
(art, garden)
2023-06-02

Read in May


The Belle of Belgrave Square
by Mimi Matthews
(romance, historical)
2023-05-28

The Siren of Sussex
by Mimi Matthews
(romance, historical)
Indian-British rep
2023-05-27

The Tea Dragon Tapestry

by Kay O’Neill
(comic, fantasy)
non-binary author, queer rep
2023-05-23

Talk Sweetly to Me*
by Courtney Milan
(romance, historical)
Chinese-Am bi author, Black rep, novella
2023-05-21

At Home in Turkey

by Solvi dos Santos + Berrin Torolsan
(home decor)
Turkish author
2023-05-20

Save It for Later

by Nate Powell
(graphic non-fiction, essays)
2023-05-20

Mean Girls Club: Pink Dawn

by Ryan Heshka
(graphic novel)
2023-05-19

Days of Sand

by AimΓ©e de Jongh
(graphic novel, historical)
2023-05-19

River of No Return
πŸ‘
by Laura McPhee
(art book, photography)
2023-05-16

Extra Good Things

by Noor Murad +
Yotam Ottolenghi
(cookbook)
Middle Eastern-English authors
2023-05-15

Battle Royal
πŸ‘
by Lucy Parker
(romance, contemporary)
2023-05-15

Smitten Kitchen Keepers
πŸ‘
by Deb Perelman
(cookbook)
Jewish author
2023-05-13

Flashed

by Zoey Castile
(romance, contemporary)
Hispanic author + rep
2023-05-13

Her Big City Neighbor

by Jackie Lau
(romance, contemporary)
Asian author + rep, self-pub
2023-05-13

That Alien Feeling

by Alessandra Hazard
(romance, sci-fi)
queer rep, self-pub
2023-05-09

Affinities

by Adam Green
(art book)
2023-05-08

The Lost Art of Handwriting
by Brenna Jordan
(non-fiction, design)
2023-05-07

The Korean Vegan

by Joanne Lee Molinaro
(cookbook)
Korean-Am author
2023-05-06

The Trouble with Hating You

by Sajni Patel
(romance, contemporary)
Indian-Am rep + author
2023-05-05

Read in April


Hotel of Secrets

by Diana Biller
(romance, historical)
atheist rep
2023-04-30

The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright *
by Tessa Dare
(romance, historical)
novella
2023-04-27

The Sad Ghost Club

by Lize Meddings
(graphic novel, YA)
2023-04-20

Overview Timelapse
πŸ‘
by Benjamin Grant +
Timothy Dougherty
(art book, photography)
2023-04-12

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
πŸ‘πŸ‘
by Sangu Mandanna
(fantasy, romance)
British-Indian author + rep
2023-04-11

What It Is

by Lynda Barry
(graphic memoir)
2023-04-08

Effortless

by Greg McKeown
(non-fiction, self-improvement)
2023-04-06

Starlight

by Lisa Henry
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub, queer rep
2023-04-03

In.

by Will McPhail
(graphic novel, fiction)
2023-04-01

Gladiator

by Anna Hackett
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub
2023-04-01

Read in March


The Girl from the Sea
πŸ‘
by Molly Knox Ostertag
(graphic novel, fantasy)
queer rep, queer author
2023-03-31

Edge of Eon

by Anna Hackett
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub
2023-03-27

Soviet Space Graphics

by Alexandra Sankova
(art book, historical)
2023-03-26

The Duke Gets Even

by Joanna Shupe
(romance, historical)
2023-03-25

Unraveled
*
by Courtney Milan
(romance, historical)
Chinese-Am author, bi author
2023-03-25

How to Calm Your Mind

πŸ‘πŸ‘
by Chris Bailey
(non-fiction, self-help)
2023-03-24

The Suffragette Scandal* πŸ‘πŸ‘
by Courtney Milan
(romance, historical)
Chinese-Am bi author, self-pub
2023-03-21

Alien Mercenary’s Destiny

by Mina Carter
(romance, sci-fi)
2023-03-19

A Bride’s Story 13

by Kaoru Mori
(manga, historical)
Japanese author
2023-03-17

Soviet Seasons
πŸ‘πŸ‘
by Arseniy Kovacs
(art, photography)
2023-03-16

The Shallows
πŸ‘πŸ‘
by Nicholas Carr
(non-fiction, technology)
2023-03-16

The Wolf and the Wallflower

by Devin Harnois
(romance, paranormal)
gay + bi rep, self-pub
2023-03-14

Always Practice Safe Hex

by Juliette Cross
(romance, paranormal)
bisexuality rep, self-pub
2023-03-12

What Works
πŸ‘πŸ‘
by Tara McMullin
(productivity)
neurodivergent author
2023-03-08

Honeytrap

by Aster Glenn Gray
(romance, historical)
bisexual rep, self-pub
2023-03-05

When She Belongs

by Ruby Dixon
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub
2023-03-04

Darker Space

by Lisa Henry
(romance, sci-fi)
queer rep, self-pub
2023-03-03

Read in February


Resilience

by Etta Pierce
(romance, sci-fi)
novella, self-pub
2023-02-25

The Earl and the Executive

by Kai Butler
(romance, sci-fi)
queer rep, self-pub
2023-02-25

Zone Eleven

by Mike Mandel +
Ansel Adams
(art, photography)
2023-02-24

Mazebook

by Jeff Lemire
(graphic novel, fantasy)
2023-02-23

Uncommon Places

by Stephen Shore
(art, photography)
2023-02-21

Blind Fall

by Amanda Milo
(romance, sci-fi)
disability rep, self-pub
2023-02-20

The Alpha Experiment

by Eliot Grayson
(romance, paranormal)
queer rep, self-pub
2023-02-18

Dark Space

by Lisa Henry
(romance, sci-fi)
queer rep, self-pub
2023-02-18

Not All Robots

by Mark Russell +
Mike Deodato Jr
(graphic novel, sci-fi)
2023-02-16

Ship Wrecked

by Olivia Dade
(romance, contemporary)
fat rep
2023-02-15

A Duel with the
Vampire Lord

by Elise Kova
(romance, fantasy)
self-pub
2023-02-13

Resisting Maxu

by Victoria Aveline
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub
2023-02-05

Warmth of His Light

by Frey Ortega
(romance, paranormal)
self-pub, gay rep
2023-02-04

Dark Ambitions

by Michelle Diener
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub, novella
2023-02-03

Dark Class
πŸ‘
by Michelle Diener
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub
2023-02-03

Read in January


For the Throne

by Hannah Whitten
(fantasy, romance)
2023-01-27

Convergence

by Etta Pierce
(romance, sci-fi)
self-pub
2023-01-22

Saga Vol. 10

by Brian K. Vaughan +
Fiona Staples
(graphic novel, sci-fi)
2023-01-20

Wintering

by Katherine May
(memoir)
autistic author
2023-01-17

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes

by Cat Sebastian
(romance, historical)
bi rep
2023-01-08

Stolen by the Alien Rogue

by Krista Luna
(romance, sci-fi)
novella, self-pub
2023-01-02

We Hereby Refuse

by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Matt Sasaki +
Ross Ishikawa
(graphic non-fiction, history)
Japanese-American authors
2023-01-02

Jump to: Top of section

Did Not Finish

  • Crowded Vol. 1
    by Christopher Sebela
    (comic, action)
    main character was eminently dislikeable
  • A Life With Alexandra David-NΓ©el: Book I
    by FrΓ©dΓ©ric Campoy + Mathieu Blanchot
    (comic, adventure)
    didn’t like the setup
  • Solomon’s Crown
    by Natasha Siegel
    (alternate history)
    author’s note really turned me off
  • Only Bad Options
    by Jennifer Estep
    (fantasy, romance)
    DNF 2% — wasn’t digging the POV, more magic-y than expected
  • The Life & Love of the Forest
    by Lewis Blackwell
    (coffee table book)
    uneven writing, poor photo curation
  • Starfighter Command
    by Grace Goodwin
    (romance, sci-fi)
    DNF 48% — not enough of a throughline
  • The Right to Sex
    by Amia Srinivasan
    (essays, commentary)
    boring
  • The Creative Act
    by Rick Rubin
    (non-fiction, creativity)
    way too woo-woo
  • Married by Scandal
    by Tessonja Odette
    (romance, fantasy)
    wasn’t for me — narrator was too intense and dramatic
  • The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction
    by Alan Jacobs
    (non-fiction, essay)
    I think I already agree with the premise
  • How to Read Now
    by Elaine Castillo
    (essays, commentary)
    DNF 21% — just not that into essays
  • Magician
    by K.L. Noone
    (fantasy)
    boring first chapter
  • Heart, Haunt, Havoc
    by FreydΓ­s Moon
    (horror, romance)
    put it down and never went back πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ
  • The Bright and Breaking Sea
    by Chloe Neill
    (fantasy, alt history)
    DNF 24% – felt slow even though plot was advancing
  • The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen
    by KJ Charles
    (romance, historical)
    didn’t even finish the first chapter — greatly disliked the POV character
  • The Rebel and the Rake
    by Emily Sullivan
    (romance, historical)
    DNF 7% — infodump from both POV and their meetcute was boring
  • Something Wilder
    by Christina Lauren
    (romance, adventure)
    DNF 50% – don’t like how the characters reacted after A Bad Dramatic Thing, and the misunderstanding between the leads was frustrating
  • No. 5 Vol. 1
    by Taiyo Matsumoto
    (manga, sci-fi)
    wasn’t feeling it, though the art was intriguing
  • Join the Future
    by Zack Kaplan + Piotr Kowalski
    (graphic novel, sci-fi)
    anti-socialist, pro-individualist
  • Ten Steps to Nanette
    by Hannah Gadsby
    (memoir, humor)
    sounded too intense, didn’t find the intro funny
  • Freethinkers
    by Susan Jacoby
    (non-fiction, history)
    too slow, have tried starting this book too many times
  • Witchlight
    by Jessi Zabarsky
    (graphic novel, fantasy)
    didn’t like the characters
  • Priestdaddy
    by Patricia Lockwood
    (memoir)
    DNF 3% — wasn’t funny
  • Breath of Life
    by Jocelynn Drake
    (romance, fantasy)
    DNF 28% — MC was annoying, pace too frenetic
  • Ring Shout
    by P. Djèlí Clark
    (horror)
    DNF 7% — too gross!
  • Radiant Sin
    by Katee Robert
    (romance, paranormal)
    DNF 52% — not much happening despite continual warnings about danger
  • Accelerating Universe
    by Nicola Claire
    (sci-fi, romance)
    DNF 7% – didn’t like the MC or conflict
  • Devi’s Distraction
    by Ruby Dixon
    (romance, sci-fi)
    DNF 8% – alien attitudes rubbed me the wrong way
  • The Assassin’s Salvation
    by Ruby Lionsdrake
    (romance, sci-fi)
    DNF 69% – I felt uncomfortable about the age and experience gap between the leads
  • Hot Blooded
    by Heather Guerre
    (romance, paranormal)
    DNF 38% – the hero was throwing up some red flags on creepy behavior
  • So I Accidentally became an Alien Outlaw’s Mate
    by Sophia Sebell
    (romance, sci-fi)
    DNF 20% – needed editing, hero reminded me of Arnold but not in a good way πŸ˜‚
  • How Far the Light Reaches
    by Sabrina Imbler
    (essays)
    just not a big essay person, might try again
  • The Unbalancing
    by R.B. Lemberg
    (fantasy)
    DNF 8% – main character had an annoying outlook
  • Wed to the Alien Gladiator
    by January Bell
    (romance, sci-fi)
    DNF 58%, wasn’t holding my attention
  • Getting to Center
    by marlee grace
    (self-help)
    didn’t like the writing style, wasn’t saying much of anything
  • Electric Heart
    by Anna Carven
    (romance, sci-fi)
    hero was kind of a jerk
  • A Restless Truth
    by Freya Marske
    (romance, fantasy)
    didn’t grab me, didn’t like the MC
  • The Red Scholar’s Wake
    by Aliette de Bodard
    (sci-fi, romance)
    disliked the power differential between the MCs, wasn’t feeling it
  • The High Commander’s Mate
    by Ella Blair
    (romance, sci-fi)
    needed more editing
  • Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
    by Gabrielle Zevin
    (fiction)
    too literary, too drama
  • Sisters of the Vast Black
    by Linda Rather
    (sci-fi)
    looked like it was going to be kind of a closed character study that sounded boring
  • The Spare Man
    by Mary Robinette Kowal
    (sci-fi, mystery)
    too much alcohol, weirdly mixed modern and old language, the heroine was big into throwing around her money and name

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