Book Recommendations Archives - Novel Visits

Debuts ~ My Favorites of 2023

Susie — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 11:00:45 +0000

I’ve always been a huge fan of debuts and this year is no exception. Even though I read a couple more books this year than last, fewer of them were debuts, but there were still plenty. In fact, there were so many good ones that narrowing this list down to my top ten was no easy task, but it’s done. These ten debuts will give you love, war, history, family, surprises and much more. I can honestly say that I highly recommend each of these books AND that you’ll be seeing quite a few move on to my Best Books of 2023 which I’m sharing on Thursday! That’s also where you’ll find out which of these was my #1 debut of the year. And now, in order of publication only:…

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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.)…

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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….

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Favorite Books of April & May 2023

Susie — Wed, 24 May 2023 10:00:54 +0000

So sorry to have been absent for an April post. I’ve been traveling a lot and some of that spanned the end of April. Plus being on the go did not work for getting my usual reading numbers in, but it was worth it! The big trip to Greece and Turkey with my sister was amazing. I’d been to Greece before and it was wonderful, but wow, I loved Turkey. We ended the trip with three days in Istanbul and I could have easily done a couple more. Okay, enough about me. It’s time for books!

My numbers were down a bit in both April and May, but I’ve read some truly wonderful books, including one that just might be my favorite book of the year so far. Three are from authors I’ve read before and I’ve even got a memoir in here. I hope you find something to add to your own TBR list!…

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Favorite Books of March 2023

Susie — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 10:00:32 +0000

Thank goodness for spring and for light! Here in Washington we’ve had some sunshine, but it’s still pretty darn cold. Staying light into the evenings and getting lighter earlier and earlier are always welcome balms to my soul. March has been a busy month, so I’ve not read as many books as usual, but the four favorites I’m sharing today are all books I really liked and feel confident many others will too.

Next month, I’ll be on a trip at the end of the month, so will either do April late or combine it with May in one big post towards the end of May. It depends on how crazy things are when I get home and I suspect they may be crazy. In the meantime, my reviews show up earlier on Instagram. And now, in order of publication……

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Spring Preview 2023

Susie — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 10:00:07 +0000

So far, my reading this year has been a bit of a roller coaster. Early in January I read a few books I loved, but then I hit a patch that made me feel I was about to head into a slump. You know that feeling? Then, my February reading really took off with so many books I loved, including several from my Winter Preview. Now it’s time to see if the spring crop of books can keep that streak going. I considered SO MANY for this Spring Preview 2023 and I hope the 20 I settled on will give us all hours and hours of reading pleasure. As an added bonus, while putting this all together I realized that this list includes 11 debuts, hopefully bringing with them much to look forward to in the coming years….

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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……

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Favorite Books of January 2023

Susie — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 11:00:49 +0000

My January reading has been all over the place. I’ve read 17 books which is an all time high for me. Of those, I’ve truly loved four books, at least a couple already in contention for Best Books of 2023. That’s awesome and I’m excited to share those books, here, but none come out this month, so you’ll have to wait for my February and March posts. Books released in January have had me more in a so-so range. However, the three I’m sharing today were the bright spots among my January books.

For ALL my reviews delivered close to publication, you can follow me on Instagram.………

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Best Books of 2022

Susie — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 11:00:09 +0000

Finally! Not a completely normal year, but getting closer. 2022 was my first full year of retirement and I have to say, it feels good! I absolutely love the joy and freedom it brings. I got to travel quite a bit which felt wonderful (And, I only came home with COVID one of those times!) The elections were…the elections, but the world doesn’t feel quite so upside-down right now.

On the book side of things, 2022 was a very good year. I read the most books I ever have with 148 finished as I write this, and I’m confident I can make it to 150 before the end of the year. Even better is the fact that this was such a GREAT year for high quality writing, book after book. I never really slumped. Last week , I shared My Favorite Debuts of 2022 and getting that list down to 10 was no easy task! For my Best Books of 2022, I couldn’t do it! I was swimming in wonderful stories. In the end, I had to go with 12 books. I included no nonfiction because I really didn’t read much this year and the only one that might have had a chance, I’ll be sharing here next week. These 12 books are the ones that spoke to me loudest, that stayed with me longest, that I want to press in everyone’s hands, my Best Books of 2022!…

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Winter Preview 2023

Susie — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 11:00:02 +0000

I’ll be honest, I’m constantly debating with myself whether or not to keep this blog going. I love books and reading as much as ever, but the blog is a lot of work. Instagram is so much easier and Sarah’s Bookshelves Live podcast so much more fun. But, I just cant seem to say goodbye to it, so I’m in for another year. Let’s kick it off with Winter Preview 2023! I always have fun pulling these previews together and they really keep me on top of my own reading. I’ve twenty potential best books here, so I hope you can find a few to add to your own 2023 “to be read” lists. And, if you stop back by on Wednesday you’ll find me sharing my Best Books of 2022.…

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