Coming-of-Age Archives - Novel Visits

Favorite Books of Summer 2023

Susie — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 10:00:23 +0000

It’s been a minute! Last time I posted was the end of June when I shared that month’s favorites. I fully intended to do the same with my July favorites, but things just got away from me. To be fair, I was in Tahoe at a long overdue family reunion from July 25th – 31st. I never even thought about it until four or five days into August. Oh well! It was a wonderful time. My family has been doing this Tahoe reunion every three years since my kids were little, but with COVID and all, it just hadn’t happened for too long. The wait was worth it!

Just because I wasn’t thinking about sharing great books, does not mean I wasn’t reading great books. It was so hard narrowing down my list that I just decided to include all the books I loved. (One of these I initially rated lower, but it’s stayed with me so much that I’m including it.) And, huge surprise, I have two nonfiction books in this list!

These books are shown in the order I read them. Most were published in July and August, but a few were earlier. They made for some wonderful summer reading and I’m sure you’ll see more than one on my Best Books of 2023. As always, you can follow me on Instagram @novelvisits, where I most often share books near their release date. (It may be the only place to see my reviews come 2024.)…

The post Favorite Books of Summer 2023 appeared first on Novel Visits.

Favorite Books of June 2023

Susie — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 10:00:10 +0000

It’s been a busy spring and summer isn’t looking much slower. By the time this posts, I’ll be arriving in France. It’s a short girls’ trip all centered around a wedding reception one of my friends really wanted to attend. Over the course of our 11 day trip we’ll be in Paris, Bordeaux, and London. Not enough time in any of those places, but still enough time to have plenty of fun! Paris is my favorite city anywhere and it’s been much too long since I’ve been there, so I’m very excited about that. I’ve never been to the Bordeaux area and am looking forward to exploring…especially the wine!

I probably will get almost no reading done on the trip, but that’s okay. I’ve made up for it with five favorite books of June that I’ve already finished. It seems like this month I either really liked a book or I didn’t like it at all. Very little middle ground. Of course, you’re getting the the ones I most highly recommend.

If you’re interested in knowing what my Favorite Books of 2023 (so far) are, you can follow me on Instagram (@novelvisits) where I’ll be posting that stack sometime this week. Now, for this month’s favorite books! I definitely have a little bit of everything here for you today….

The post Favorite Books of June 2023 appeared first on Novel Visits.

Favorite Books of February 2023

Susie — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 11:00:28 +0000

It might have been cold and miserable for much of this month, but the books have been HOT!🔥 In fact, there were so many February books I loved that this month you’re getting a double shot of favorites, six instead of the usual three. You might notice that two are similar…both mythology retellings, but what can I say? They were equally wonderful! Let’s hope March books are just as good, but that’s a high bar.

As always, for ALL my reviews delivered close to publication, you can follow me on Instagram. And now, in order of publication……

The post Favorite Books of February 2023 appeared first on Novel Visits.

Favorite Books of July 2022

Susie — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 10:00:49 +0000

How’s your summer going? Mine has been a little strange, but things are settling down. I’m lucky to be spending time in beautiful Sunriver, Oregon relaxing, playing, and going on adventures with family. It’s a gorgeous area and being here always revives me. Before I headed out, I did a lot of July reading and it was a bit of a roller coaster, but the highs were HIGH. This month’s favorites, which includes a 6/28 release, brought four (FOUR!) books that will at least be in the running for my Best Books of 2022. One might even be THE Best book.

So, to be clear, I HIGHLY recommend all of these books. You can’t go wrong with any of them!…

The post Favorite Books of July 2022 appeared first on Novel Visits.

March 2022 Book Reviews

Susie — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 10:00:23 +0000

March isn’t always my favorite month, but this year a couple things really helped. First, getting out of rainy Washington and spending two glorious weeks in sunny, warm Scottsdale. And second, some truly outstanding books. Not every book I read wowed me, but it was a month of three top level, hangover worthy books. Of course, I’m sharing those today, plus three others that also hit a sweet spot in my reading journey. (The others? Let’s just forget about those!)

In order of publication and nothing more, my March 2022 Book Reviews!…

The post March 2022 Book Reviews appeared first on Novel Visits.

Six Favorites from November | Reviews

Susie — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 11:00:03 +0000

Can you believe this long year is almost over? It’s been a tough one for my family, so I’m looking forward to a fresh start with 2022. Enough of that, let’s talk books. Today I’m sharing November books, but as December begins, I’m going to have all the fun end-of-year posts, starting this Thursday with 2021 Underrated Gems.

So, stay tuned or follow me on Instagram @novelvisits to see all my thoughts on 2021 books!

In November I picked up a couple books I’d missed earlier in the year and read some excellent November releases. I hope you can find a couple to enjoy among my six favorites from November….

The post Six Favorites from November | Reviews appeared first on Novel Visits.

February 2021 Book Reviews

Susie — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 11:00:44 +0000

It’s been a bit since I’ve posted, and the change has been good for me. Today, I’m sharing six February releases, that I very much enjoyed. A couple releases that didn’t do much for me, I’m not bothering with. I’ve also been listening quite a bit and will be back next week with three great audiobooks from February, including one nonfiction (my first of 2021). How’s your reading been going?…

The post February 2021 Book Reviews appeared first on Novel Visits.

Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah | Review

Susie — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 11:00:03 +0000

Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah (debut)
Publisher: Tin House Books
Release Date: January 26, 2021
Length: 312 pages
Amazon

From the Publisher

“During a snowy Cleveland February, newlywed university students Muneer and Saeedah are expecting their first child, and he is harboring a secret: the word divorce is whispering in his ear. Soon, their marriage will end, and Muneer will return to Saudi Arabia, while Saeedah remains in Cleveland with their daughter, Hanadi. Consumed by a growing fear of losing her daughter, Saeedah disappears with the little girl, leaving Muneer to desperately search for his daughter for years. The repercussions of the abduction ripple outward, not only changing the lives of Hanadi and her parents, but also their interwoven family and friends―those who must choose sides and hide their own deeply guarded secrets…”…

The post Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

The Divines by Ellie Eaton | Review

Susie — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 11:00:50 +0000

The Divines by Ellie Eaton (debut)
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: January 19, 2021
Length: 320 pages
Amazon

From the Publisher

“The girls of St John the Divine, an elite English boarding school, were notorious for flipping their hair, harassing teachers, chasing boys, and chain-smoking cigarettes. They were fiercely loyal, sharp-tongued, and cuttingly humorous in the way that only teenage girls can be. For Josephine, now in her thirties, the years at St John were a lifetime ago. She hasn’t spoken to another Divine in fifteen years, not since the day the school shuttered its doors in disgrace…”…

The post The Divines by Ellie Eaton | Review appeared first on Novel Visits.

BACKLIST BOOKSMy Favorites Read in 2020

Susie — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 11:00:40 +0000

Backlist books have a big advantage when it comes to how much I end up liking them. Their ratings from me are almost always high for a few of reasons. First, I feel no pressure to stay with a backlist book if it doesn’t grab me because I have no obligation attached to it, so mainly finish books that are working for me. Second, I’m most often picking up a backlist book because I’ve hear great things about it from others. And finally, I turn to some backlist books because I’ve read other books from that author, and feel confident her/his other books will be equally as good. I don’t generally read a lot of backlist books, but this year was a little higher than normal with 15 titles. Interestingly, I listened to 9 out of ten of these books. That was a BIG surprise, even to me. No matter the format, these or my ten favorites! (In order of original publication date.)…

The post BACKLIST BOOKS
My Favorites Read in 2020 appeared first on Novel Visits.