Recap of My Bookish Love for 2023

 Hello Dear Readers! 

Happy New Years 2024! 

2023 was a surprising year for me! I had no idea I would venture into the world of Instagram bookstagramming. I was trying to remember to update The Small Book Blog at least once a month and not always doing well with that task. However, with encouragement of my dear friend who loves to push me to be my best self, I dove into the deep end and have been happily treading water and swimming fairly successfully for the last half of the year as a bookstagrammer  (@smallbookblog) AND keeping up with my web blog too! Wahoo! Go me! Now I just need to keep reading, learning, making more bookish friends, and sharing my world of books with anyone and everyone. 

For those readers tracking their annual number of reads, I use Goodreads. I love that website for tracking books, looking up books, etc. This year my annual goal was to read 80 books. I am shocked to share that I not only achieved my reading challenge goal but almost doubled it! At the end of 2023, I will have read 142 books!!!! I am happy to say, after looking at all their beautiful covers and remembering snippets of them, there are very few that didn't bring me joy. I am posting my bookish adventures with this post. Hopefully they aren't too tiny to see. How did you do with your 2023 reading goals? I am unsure what my 2024 book challenge will be, but historically I try to do a few more books if I achieved the previous years goal. No stress, just trying to grow and see what I can do. 

With this look back, I just wanted to wish all my delightful and beautiful bibliophiles a very Happy New Year! "Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one." -Brad Paisley 

Erin Sterling's The Ex Hex

The Ex Hex is a cute paranormal romance. We follow two lineages of witches whose role is to reinforce the town of Graves Glen ley lines periodically. However, from a past entanglement, subsequent breakup that results in a potentially drunken curse placed on the lost love, Vivienne isn’t excited to work alongside Rhys all these years later. Unknown to the other, both look back on their lost romance as the one that probably got away all these years later. When the ceremony goes disastrously wrong, Vivienne and Rhys are forced to troubleshoot what happened and how to correct the magic before it’s too late. More than just twisted magical sparks are flying before long. 

This is a fun romance with magic and witches. I would call it a “beach read.” It’s entertaining, sexy (with some spice for those of you wondering, a mostly open door for a few quick scenes), and an uncomplicated storyline that pulls you in with creative twists, but not under into the world of heavy emotions or darkness. It is magical happiness in an adventurous story of wishes and hexes gone wonky. 

Rebecca Yarro's Iron Flame

“Sorry to inconvenience you, but this year the role of Violet Sorrengail”—he points to me—“ will be played by Xaden Riorson”—he taps his chest—“ who will drag her, kicking and screaming if he has to, into a real relationship with real discussions, because he refuses to lose her again. If I have to evolve, you do, too.”

            -Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

OMG! This is such a great second book in a long series!!! I feel like the above quote really encapsulates it. Iron Flame gives us more foundation, it adds twists yet answers questions while posing more… there is love, sex, violence, love, betrayal and loyalty… ugh! So many secrets, revelations and discoveries! I really can’t say anything more specific without being a potential spoil sport & I don’t want to be, but my gosh! Soooo good!!!!

Once again Yarros takes us into her world, expanding it, while we taste, touch, feel and experience it. The action and movements I could picture and walk the frozen grounds and dark caverns with the characters, happily in the safety of my reading space of course. Lol! I wouldn’t want it shorter or longer because we needed everything to set up the longer series. We need the mundane with the exciting and electric elements. I knew when I learned this was a 5 book series it would get messy, complicated, more history would come forward to keep the series elongated, entertain, interesting and add as many elements as possible to weave the story and characters into. If it was just 3 years of college with an epilogue at the end, no one would love or be as addicted to this series as we are. There are so many things to talk about and yet… I can’t… not here. Hurry up and read dear readers so I can theorize and have a therapy session with you!

I wonder what my signet would be… I definitely would be a rider with my dragon and not a flier with a gryphon. And yet I am still waiting on my letter to Hogwarts too. Luckily it's Christmas time and magic is in the air. *winks*

Alix E. Harrow's Starling House

 

This book… it’s good! I can see why Reese Witherspoon wanted this book to be her book clubs’ monthly choice. The writing is fantastic, it’s engaging and everything just flows. I did the audiobook version and it was almost relaxing. The reader was wonderful to listen to and, like I said, the story was a smooth ride. I wasn’t pulled out of it at all…well… other than to have to pause and work here and there. *Winks*

We find ourselves wandering through the pages of mystery, adventure, magic, and light horror within the walls of Starling House as Underland gets stronger and the monsters more frequent. I enjoyed the research and information on the past. It really helped inform on the present predicament Arthur and Opal find themselves trying to fight. I loved how sentient the house is and the magic within it- the house can accommodate whatever the warden needs, or the house decides is needed, even updating itself with the changing times for things like plumbing and electricity! I also loved the idea of the magic fighting the outside world so you can’t map it, photograph it, describe it… it’s almost a living thing, deciding who is a trespasser and who is welcome. Starling House protects its own.

This is my first Alix Harrow book and after reading Starling House, it has given me the push I need to finally read her 10,000 Doors of January. I will admit I have been moving it down my TBR pile. I think it’s the “10,000” in the title, my mind says, “that’s how long the book is” and I shy away. I just checked, less than 400 pages. *Phew* I will also share, I felt Starling House had tones of Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House and Stephen King’s Fairy Tale. I’m just delighted I pushed myself to read this book and find a new author to follow. I hope you do to. Let me know!