My Top 5 Reads in 2023: Spring Edition

I love to read and really try to make it a priority when setting my goals for the year.  I don't read a ton like many people but I try to build 20 minutes a day to read and relax.  I love coming home and reading right after work to unwind and on the weekends I like to sit on the couch for longer periods of time with a cup of coffee and my book.  Way back in the day I used to read before going to bed but honestly it's not something that works for me anymore.  I am just way too tired and it feels forced, and that's not a feeling I want to prioritize.  My goal is always to read one book a month, for a total of 12 a year.  Last year I began finding audiobooks that I could focus on and enjoy while getting ready for work or cooking on the weekends.  So my goal for this year is a total of 20 books, 12 which I want to actually read.  So far I have 11 completed and I am going to give you my top five for summer 2023 in no particular order.  You can find more reviews of the books I read  on Gooodreads.

#1 The Maid by Nita Prose  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

(Goodread Choice Award 2022)

This is a book I just finished for book club.  Molly Gray is an interesting leading character.  She sees the world literally and sometimes that's difficult for others to understand and connect to. She reminds us that just because someone is different doesn't mean they aren't worthy of our time and friendship.  As the story of a young woman who gets implicated in a murder unfolds, we learn to appreciate Molly and her wit, her perspective and her trustworthiness.  It's an easy read and reminded me a lot of the Rosie Project and Anxious People.

#2 Verity by Colleen Hover  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

(Goodreads Choice Award 2019)

This was suggested to me by my 13 year old daughter and I could NOT put it down!  I am usually not into Colleen Hoover books or young adult novels, but I couldn't put this one down.  When I wasn't reading, I wanted to be.  It was a page turner, twisted, hard to stomach at times, but you can't put it down.  The story is about a young woman, an aspiring writer, who gets hired to finish off a famous writers novels after the writer is in a terrible accident which leaves her unable to communicate or move.  As the young woman begins her research she discovers a bone-chilling autobiography of the author that no one was meant to read.  The admissions are horrifying and dangerous to the husband and the one child that they share.  The young woman must figure out what is true, what is fiction, and who to trust. 

#3 The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the perfect book  to take along on your next trip to the beach.  I listened to The Summer Place   and I loved the narrator of this audiobook!  So much that I am going to look into other books she does.   The story plot is, their 20 something year old daughter is about to get married, and her whole family is rediscovering their own pasts, their regrets, their missed love opportunities, the skeletons in their closets, and questioning the lives they choose to build.  It was an easy listen with lots of great characters whose lives intertwine and lead them to their own conclusions about what matters in  love, life and family.

#4 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

(Goodreads Choice Award 2020)

A very interesting story of a woman who is debating whether her life is worth living.  As she contemplates suicide she embarks on a road of discovery in the midnight library.  Through the process she chooses to live many different lives, pursing different careers, relationships, friendships, hobbies, etc.    As she lives these lives, she quickly begins to learn that life is complicated,  and discovers a great deal about what she actually values in life.  I listened to the book and found it an interesting concept, although it's not a new idea, I really liked discovering Nora in her many lives.  

#5 The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

(Goodreads Choice Award 2021)

It was full of twist and turns and quick read.  It focuses of the disappearance of two young adults, a new parent couple.  At first the young couple appears to be doing okay and figuring their way out but as we learn more about their characters we realize there was a lot going on behind closed doors.  As the young girls grieving mother continues to be unsatisfied with the explanation that her daughter, and her partner, just bailed on parenting, she and a new to town mystery writer begin to uncover a disturbing story surrounding the disappearance of the young couple.  Easy to read, I kept reaching for it over and over and found it hard to put it down at times.

Your turn!  What should I pick up to read this summer?