I really love to check in on my Most Anticipated Books of each season list and I know that I have many days of December left, but I’m going to be honest, where my brain is right now, I’m not certain I’ll be getting to anymore of these. I seem to be in a re-reading mood more than anything else and then slowly chipping away at new to me reads. So, let’s just kick this off with checking in on my most anticipated reads!
2023 Most Anticipated Reads
I had eight books on this list that actually came out in 2023 and I’ve read seven. I’ve read Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano, Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller, Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez, Happy Place by Emily Henry, Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh, Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, and The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter. Five of these books were five stars and the other two were four stars so a pretty successful hit rate for me here! The only book I haven’t read from my list is If Only You by Chloe Liese. Why? Honestly, no idea. I own it in two separate formats… I’ll try to get to it this month!
Most Anticipated Books of Winter
So of my ten core Most Anticipated Books of Winter, the ones I still have left are Well Traveled and Do I Know You?. I own copies of both books so there’s really no excuse for not having read them yet, besides, well, you know, sometimes you just get a book and don’t read it. I don’t know how to explain that. But the books I did read are Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert, The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano, Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn, Final Offer by Lauren Asher, Jasper Vale by Devney Perry, Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher, and The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest. My most given rating for these books was 4.5, with a 3.5 being the lowest rated book. So again, I think that’s a pretty high success rate.
Now to look at my Winter Honorable Mentions… Well, this didn’t go as well. I had 12 books on my Honorable Mentions list (which is honestly excessive, but I haven’t learned my lesson, because I went just as overboard in my most recent anticipated books of winter list). So I have read Chick Magnet by Emma Barry (a hit), The Counterfeit Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath (okay), For Her Consideration by Amy Spalding (a huge hit), Take the Lead by Alexis Daria (good), and Just My Type by Fallon Ballard. And the seven I didn’t read… Well, let’s just say, I would appreciate if you could let me know if I should leave them on my TBR or go ahead and forget about them.
Most Anticipated Books of Spring
I feel really good that once again, I only have two books left off of my main list of ten books! And since my Honorable Mentions are like entirely ARCs (well, not entirely, but mostly), the fact that there are only six left of those feels like a true accomplishment too. Anyway, the two I have left are If Only You by Chloe Liese and The Duchess Takes a Husband by Harper St. George. I truly have no idea why I’ve been dragging my feet on these books, but it would be good if I would stop and just read them. My overall rating impressions of the books I did read off my Spring list are mostly positive: Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly (5 stars), The Portrait of a Duchess by Scarlett Peckham (4 stars), Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller (5 stars), Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (5 stars), The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur (5 stars), Happy Place by Emily Henry (5 stars), Pas de Don’t by Chloe Angyal (4 stars), and Alliance with His Stolen Heiress by Lydia San Andres (4.5 stars).
Turning now to the Honorable Mentions, I had way too many. In total there were 24. I read 18 of those 24 though, so that’s pretty incredible. The ones I read were a mixed bag, but there were some favorites. I really loved Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron, Coach by Devney Perry, Funny Guy by Emma Barry, Off the Map by Trish Doller, The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren, The House on Mulberry Street by Jeannie Chin, and The Poisoner’s Ring by Kelley Armstrong. Of course, I DNF’d three of them too. Several were just okay. And at least one of them, I really didn’t like. But all in all, I’m glad I read many of them. Please let me know what books from the six I have left that you think are worth picking up!
Most Anticipated Books of Summer
My Summer list only being one worse than my Winter and Spring lists feels like a serious accomplishment seeing as I’ve had less time with these books, though there’s still no excuse really. I’m so excited for these books still, particularly We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian. I will say, this feels like the time of year where my mood started to take a decrease so I’m not sure if these ratings are necessarily based on the books or my mood, but I had three four star reads, one four and a half, and only two five star reads of the seven I finished. Plus, one two star. And honestly, I still think two stars is generous. Of course, I also think one of my fours should probably be at least a 4.5, so who knows. Ratings. Anyway, all that to say, the books I have left are We Could be so Good by Cat Sebastian, Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon, and Codename Charming by Lucy Parker. And I read Reckless by Elsie Silver (the one I think I should have given a 4.5), Crimson River by Devney Perry (4.5), Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder (2), Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh (4), Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo (4), The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter (5), and Knockout by Sarah MacLean (5).
So let’s turn to my Honorable Mentions… In contrast to Spring, this list is heavily weighted toward books I did not read. There were a total of 22 books that I included in my honorable mentions and of those, I read or DNF’d seven and really only loved Single Dads Club by Therese Beharrie and Lore Olympus vol. 4 by Rachel Smythe. Of the 15 that I have left to read, please tell me what ones you would recommend I keep, versus which ones I can let go of!
Most Anticipated Books of Fall
So unsurprisingly, I still have a whole lot of these books to go. Of the 12 main books that I listed, I’ve read seven of them. So only five to go! I’ve read and really enjoyed Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña, Wildfire by Hannah Grace, Hopeless by Elsie Silver, and Shadows of You by Catherine Cowles. I liked The Brood by Willa Nash just fine, but it wasn’t a standout in the series for me.
Anyway, turning to the Honorable Mentions section, at some point, I really need to rein myself in, tbh, though I suppose only having 16 is much better than the 22 I had in the Spring. Anyway, I read six of them and absolutely love and adored both The Long Game by Elena Armas and Inheritance by Nora Roberts. Of the books I have left, I definitely still plan to get to these and own the majority already. That said, if there are any you think I should drop like a hot potato or prioritize immediately, please let me know!
Closing Thoughts
It’s nice to see that I really do, for the most part, manage to read the books I’m highly anticipating. And I think a majority of the books that I will wind up having on my favorites list are books that I was anticipating for one reason or another. Although, it is always fun to have the surprise attack books. Definitely let me know if you have any thoughts on any of the books I’ve mentioned here today because I would love to chat about them with you!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 