Book Review 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.)…

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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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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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Favorite Books of November 2022

Susie — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 11:00:35 +0000

With Thanksgiving is behind us, I hope yours was lovely and that the rush of holiday madness in front of us will be filled with laughter. It’s difficult to believe that there is only one more month left in this year. Time truly flies, even as the world sometimes feels a little upside down. But, let’s not worry about any of that, instead let’s talk books. 2022 has been an amazing year for books and I’ve got three November favorites to share today.

You may be seeing one or two of these in the coming week when I share 2022 Underrated Gems, My Favorite Debuts of 2022, Best Books of 2022 and maybe more! As always, for all my reviews delivered close to publication, you can follow me on Instagram.……

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Favorite Books of October 2022

Susie — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 10:00:32 +0000

I have had quite a month and it has little to do with books. For the first time in well over three years I traveled outside the United States, spending two wonderful weeks in Morocco. We traversed the country by car which at times was an adventure in itself. This was a bucket list trip for me and it did not disappoint. I’ve been asked over and over what I liked the best, but the list is far too long. For cites, Marrakesh and Chefchaouen top the list, but the Sahara and the High Atlas Mountains with their beautiful gorges were also wonderful. The delicious food and many kind, friendly people were true highlights. It’s definitely a trip I’ll never forget!

Despite the travel, I did manage to read some books this month and am very excited to share my favorite three with you today. All were written by authors I’ve read and loved before, so expectations were high and they did not disappoint! These three books could not be more different, yet each was wonderful in its own way. As always, for all my reviews delivered close to publication, you can follow me on Instagram.…

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Favorite Books of September 2022

Susie — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 10:00:37 +0000

Fall is officially here, though it always feels like fall to me as soon as kids go back to school. It’s impossible to get rid of those teacher habits, but this fall I’m learning a fun new habit, that of fall vacations. I spent 10 days this month enjoying Sunriver, Oregon after all the summer crowds were over and it was delightful. Next month, I’m heading to Morocco for two weeks and could not be more excited for that trip. Because of that, I don’t anticipate getting a ton of reading done in October, so I’ve tried to go hard this month. I’ve read some really great September books…and some stinkers. Today I’m sharing two I loved, and one I liked and felt compelled to share because, well, it’s Backman!

As always, for all my reviews delivered close to publication, you can follow me on Instagram!…

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Favorite Books of August 2022

Susie — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 10:00:40 +0000

How’s your summer been? Starting to wind down a bit? Mine has been spent at home much more than usual, but I’ve also been able to enjoy a full gorgeous Pacific Northwest August which I don’t think I’ve done in many years. Being retired has its benefits, including travel in the fall. I have two trips coming up, one in September and finally an international trip in October. Waiting for those, I’ve plowed through quite a few books again this month. Too many have been just okay, so it was easy picking out the three that truly stood out. I hope you might enjoy these, too. As always, for all my reviews, you can follow me on Instagram!

You really couldn’t find three more different books than these! I loved them each for different reasons….

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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!…

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