2023 End of the Year Book Survey

I met (actually, exceeded) my Goodreads goal again this year! Here are my responses to this fabulous survey created by Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner. 

Number Of Books You Read: 37

Number of Re-Reads: 0?

Genre You Read The Most From: mystery/thriller once again topped my reading this year! I didn't read very many fantasy or sci-fi books, so I hope to change that in 2024. 

1. Best Book You Read In 2023?

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater -- for being a delightful fantastical read that warmed my heart :) 

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey -- for being a disturbing sci-fi read that messed with my head :O

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis -- I wasn't super excited for it, as I know it gets mixed reviews, but while I didn't expect it to blow me away I did think it would be enjoyable enough as a cutesy, wintry rom-com read. It was okay, but I found it slow and repetitive, and the 'destined to be together' vibes did not work for me. It didn't give me the "warm fuzzies" as much as I wanted. 

Stormy Petrel by Mary Stewart -- I've enjoyed some of Mary Stewart's other novels a lot more than this one. I'm sorry to say this one is a bust. 

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy -- I wished this one gave us more on the progression of the climate crisis, but it focused on characters instead of the world. It was also really slow-moving. 

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?   

The Echo Wife

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I don't think I really did any book pushing this year. 

5. Best series you started in 2023? Best Sequel of 2023? Best Series Ender of 2023?

Best series started: This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede -- I found this book quite entertaining and absorbing, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series. 

Best sequel: Force of Nature by Jane Harper -- this series is one of my favourite contemporary mystery/thriller series, and I'll be reading book 3 in 2024!

Best series ender: The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (also the only series ender I read this year) -- the first one in the series is still my favourite, and this is my least favourite, but I'm glad to have finished the series. 

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2023?

Jane Harper, who does a stellar job with crafting atmospheric settings and complex interpersonal relationships in her mysteries. 

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Know My Name by Chanel Miller -- I don't tend to read a lot of non-fiction, but this  recounting of the author's sexual assault and its aftermath (including her experience with the court system) was eye-opening. 

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, or If She Wakes by Michael Koryta

9. Book You Read In 2023 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Half a Soul, as a comfort read, or maybe This Vicious Grace if I need to remind myself what happens in book 1 in preparation for the sequel. 

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2023?

The Dry by Jane Harper 

Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik

I think both these covers really convey the atmosphere inside these stories -- one is a bone-dry heat, the other a bone-chilling cold.

11. Most memorable character of 2023?

Alessa from This Vicious Grace, perhaps? I don't think she's my favourite character, but her inability to touch others without doing them harm is quite memorable. 

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2023?

I don't feel like I read a book this year that had really beautiful writing as a stand-out quality, sadly. 

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2023?

Thought-provoking: The Echo Wife, He Said/She Said, and Know My Name

14.Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2023 to finally read? 

Know My Name

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2023?

From Half a Soul: "'I do not believe in such a thing as love,' Elias scoffed. 'Perhaps attraction, or companionship, or friendship. But so many men act as though love is a special sort of magic. I feel that I am qualified to say it isn't so.'

'Well, but you have just described love, I think,' Albert replied in bemusement. 'Attraction and companionship and friendship. Is there nothing special about those things, especially if they are all together at once?'”

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2023?

The shortest (132 pages): Silk by Alessandro Baricco (also my lowest-rated)

The longest (623 pages): The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly 

 

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

I'm gonna go with The Echo Wife, although that may just be because it was the most recent book I read. 

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Either Dora and Elias from Half a Soul, or Alessa and Dante from This Vicious Grace. I'm here for both of these ships!

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The camaraderie that develops between Alessa and her Fontes in This Vicious Grace. 

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2023 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase or The Golden Couple

21. Best Book You Read In 2023 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

I don't know that I read any this year based on direct personal recommendations. 

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2023?

Probably Dante from This Vicious Grace. 

23. Best 2023 debut you read?

I didn't read any 2023 debuts. 

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year? 

 

The Dry or Girl in Ice (both for the settings)

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Half a Soul, with an honourable mention to Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2023?

None?

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Echo Wife, which not enough people are reading or talking about! Honourable mention to The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King, which while it had some problematic elements (he wrote it for his daughter and it has only one MINOR female character???) was a nostalgic trip back into 80s YA fantasy for me. 

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I never know what to put for this prompt. 

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2023?

The Echo Wife

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Know My Name, because how the author was re-traumatized over and over again by the justice system was appalling.

 

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2023 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2024?

Homecoming by Kate Morton

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2024 (non-debut)? 

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton -- I'm kinda apprehensive about this one, because I'm not sure if the premise is for me or if it will live up to the awesomeness that was The Seven Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle. *crosses fingers*

3. 2024 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? 

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown 

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2023?

I'm not reading series as much as I used to, so I don't think I actually have an answer for this one. 

Half a Soul: Short & Sweet (Adult)

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

This book was really just a delight. I enjoyed the premise -- a young woman had half her soul stolen by Faeriewhen she is a girl -- the setting of Regency England, the inclusion of magic, the dynamic between Dora and the Lord Sorcier... this story is charming. I could quibble about a few issues I had (spoilers, highlight to read: how exactly does the scrying work? How does her soul end up getting transported to the place she is scrying? And I wasn't entirely convinced by Dora's motivation to murder Lord Hollowvale. Also, how does she finally, in the epilogue, become one with her other self again?) but I don't really want to, because this book had so many good things going for it and is the perfect pick-me-up sort of read. If you liked Sorcery and Cecelia, you will definitely enjoy Half a Soul.

4.5 shooting stars.

By the Book: Short & Sweet

By the Book by Amanda Sellet

Nothing revolutionary, but a cute YA read about a girl making friends, falling in love, and learning to own up to her mistakes, all with a literary fiction of the 1800s theme running through it.

3.5 shooting stars.

Silk: A Rambling Review (Adult)

Silk by Alessandro Baricco

2.5 stars, perhaps? This story is simply written, and if you think about it, not much happens plot-wise. It's basically about a man who travels to Japan multiple times for his silk worm business, and is immediately attracted to a woman he meets but who he never exchanges a single spoken word with. This book is... odd. The writing is sparse, simple, and detached, yet somewhat repetitive. The reader is given very few details about the man's life, or his mindset, or the historical setting, or the silk worm business. Yet the book has its own sense of the poetic at times, conveying feelings of longing and wonderings of 'what could have been.' 

There's also a twist at the end that I didn't pick up on. However, this story revolves around someone who is married and essentially cheating on his wife (if not physically, then mentally/emotionally), which is something I generally don't like to read about in my books. The reader is kept at a distance from Herve's thoughts and intentions, so I never understood why he was making the choices he was (he seemed to love his wife very much, after all). There was also an aspect of the story that was made much of but never explained (spoiler, highlight to read: we never find out how the young woman who was not of Japanese heritage ended up in Japan).

Plus, Herve continually refers to the woman he meets in Japan as having the "face of a girl", and as he is obviously attracted to her, this came across as kinda...icky.

2.5 shooting stars (and that's being generous).

The Dry: Short & Sweet (Adult)

The Dry by Jane Harper

A good start to my reading year! This mystery is a slow-moving one -- the murder has happened at the start of the novel, and the rest is spent with the police as they follow leads and uncover clues -- but I liked the sense of place Harper establishes (the hot, dry small-town feel of Kiewarra) as well as the characters and their relationships and history. Falk was an enjoyable protagonist to follow, as he has a good heart and really cares about others, but at the same time, seems to find it difficult to open up to them. I did find the reveal of the current-day storyline to be a little unsatisfying, but I found the past storyline to be gut-wrenching and horrifying (spoiler, highlight to read: the abuse that Ellie endures from her father is sickening, and I wish the end of the book had delivered justice for her. However, sometimes justice doesn't happen in real life, so I guess I can't expect it every time in fiction either.). I will definitely look into what else Jane Harper has published!

4 shooting stars.