Reading has always been a wonderful escape for me. Even more so once I admitted how much Romance and Fantasy keep me going. Why struggle through a book based on someone else’s high-minded ideas of an acceptable genre to read? They don’t know what they’re talking about, most likely, and my taste isn’t wrong if it makes me happy and isn’t hurting anyone. Bring on the all night reading session!
Below are my top three favorite reads of 2023 within the Romance, Fantasy and Self-Help genres. These books kept me up into the wee hours of the night…quietly calculating how many hours of sleep I could get away with and still function at work the next day.
What were your best reads of 2023? Let me know in the comments.
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
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Now since this is the second book in a series I’m going to note – SPOILERS AHEAD: I didn’t love the continued story of Alex Stern quite as much as the world building that made up Ninth House. But I’m hoping from the slow burn between Alex and Darlington this series is going to go on for awhile longer and give us some 🌶️ Much like many of Leigh Bardugo’s other books, I look forward to a re-read, ’cause I know I missed some stuff.
Learning more about Alex and Darlington in this book was interesting and kept me reading. Any interaction between “Darlington” and Alex had me upset he was trapped and they couldn’t be around each other more. I hope there are more books in the series.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
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Pen pals, friends to lovers, fake relationship, FMC with trust issues and MMC with anxiety issues. This book had me crying; found it slightly triggering for my anxiety – but also gave some good tips on coping mechanisms. Am I supposed to be using a romance book to guide me through my anxiety issues?! Probably not, but it just made me love Briana and Jacob even more and I can’t go back now. Even though I really wish I could read it again for the first time.
The Good Enough Job by Simone Stolzoff
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Now I’ll admit, while I was reading this one I was already on a sabbatical from work. So it really just helped to read this book while on my work break and feel seen.
As a recovering workaholic I found the specific examples within the book helpful, you know in case you’re in denial about how draining and unrealistic that “dream job” is. I couldn’t stop talking about the book as I read through it, often recommending it to my friends and family (all the Type A people, especially) as I went along.