Reading Wrap Up | Books I Read in Q1 2023
It was quite a slow start to the year for me. I was not consistent with my morning routine for most of the beginning of the year, which meant not getting as much reading done. But, of the books I did read, there were a couple that I really enjoyed! Check them all out below.
Q1 2023 Total Books: 5
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SYNOPSIS FROM AMAZON:
ONE ISLAND
Beautiful, wild, and strange—Meroe Island is a desolate spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. It’s the perfect destination for the most adventurous traveler to escape everything… except the truth.
SIX VISITORS
Six stunning twentysomethings are about to embark on a blissful, free-spirited journey—one filled with sun-drenched days and intoxicating nights. But as it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in, sending them on a dangerous spiral of discovery.
COUNTLESS SECRETS
When one person goes missing and another turns up dead, the remaining friends wonder what dark currents lie beneath this impenetrable paradise—and who else will be swept under its secluded chaos. With its island gothic sensibility, sexy suspense, and spine-tingling reimagining of an Agatha Christie classic, Reckless Girls will wreck you.
MY THOUGHTS:
It was an interesting story and different from the usual romance & thriller novels I’ve been reading. But, there was a point where it felt like it kept dragging on. I guess there’s only so much you can do while stranded on an island with strangers that you barely know and don’t really trust. The characters realized how much they didn’t know about the people they went to the island with and that distrust stirred up a lot of trouble.
SYNOPSIS FROM AMAZON:
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of the night her family was forever altered.
Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her.
MY THOUGHTS:
I totally understand why people were obsessing over this book on BookTok/Bookstagram. Wow.. what a creepy & disturbing story. Wondering how someone could be so cruel and then write all about it in detail. At the end, wondering what the truth really is. Leaving us hanging a bit. This book had me saying “WTF” to myself plenty of times.
I did not have the extended version with the new chapter (you can find that here), but lucky for me, someone posted the entire thing on TikTok, haha. It left me feeling more disturbed about this family and questioning their past even more. If you can handle disturbing stories, read this book!
SYNOPSIS FROM AMAZON:
Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project—a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia—Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.
Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school—archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.
Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it’s her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?
MY THOUGHTS:
Enemies to lovers. I didn’t love how the book built up to the romance. The way that Bee was kind of oblivious to Levi’s obvious true feelings was a bit annoying. But, their characters started to grow on me once they finally started to fall for each other. Then, I was invested in seeing them have their happy ending. This was really similar to Ali Hazelwood’s other book, The Love Hypothesis, bringing together love and science.
4 Essential Keys to Effecitve Communication in Love, Life Work–Anywhere
by Bento C. Leal III
Genre: Self-Help
SYNOPSIS FROM AMAZON:
4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication in Love, Life, Work–Anywhere! is an excellent ‘How-To Guide’ teaching some of the key skills that will help you identify and overcome communication barriers and achieve relationship success with the important people in your life–your spouse or partner, child or children, parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, customers–everyone! Plus, there are Self-Review Questions and Action Items at the end of several of the chapters.
These skills will help you to:
- Listen with greater empathy and understanding to what the other person is saying and feeling
- Avoid listening blocks to effective communication
- Engage in empathic dialogue to achieve mutual understanding
- Manage conflicts and disagreements calmly and successfully
- Nurture your relationships on a consistent basis
- Experience the power of expressing gratitude and appreciation
- And more…
MY THOUGHTS:
Leal gives examples throughout the book of how to communicate effectively using each key skill presented. It’s a great reminder that in order to communicate effectively, we must also listen effectively. Leal shares different techniques to listening empathetically and responding with understanding instead of reacting impulsively. At the end of the book, there is a 12 day communication challenge that you can take on to better your communication. Each day incorporates a lesson learned in the book and challenges you to apply it in your daily life.
SYNOPSIS FROM AMAZON:
What is the formula for a happy life? Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a New York Times–bestselling author, a Walmart executive, a father, a husband. After selling more than a million copies of the Book of Awesome series, wherein he observed the everyday things he thought were awesome, he now shifts his focus to the practicalities of living an awesome life.
In his new book The Happiness Equation, Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing and do anything in order to have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, you simply have yet to unlock the 9 Secrets to Happiness. Each secret takes a piece out of the core of common sense, turns it on its head to present it in a completely new light, and then provides practical and specific guidelines for how to apply this new outlook to lead a fulfilling life.
Once you’ve unlocked Pasricha’s 9 Secrets, you will understand counter intuitive concepts such as: Success Does Not Lead to Happiness, Never Take Advice, and Retirement Is a Broken Theory. You will learn and then master three brand-new fundamental life tests: the Saturday Morning Test, The Bench Test, and the Five People Test. You will know the difference between external goals and internal goals and how to make more money than a Harvard MBA (hint: it has nothing to do with your annual salary). You will discover that true wealth has nothing to do with money, multitasking is a myth, and the elimination of options leads to more choice.
The Happiness Equation is a book that will change how you think about pretty much everything—your time, your career, your relationships, your family, and, ultimately, of course, your happiness.
MY THOUGHTS:
What a great personal development book! Pasricha shows us how backwards we may have been taught to view life and success and happiness. Many people strive for more, thinking that the goal is retirement or having a lot of money. Pasricha emphasizes how important it is to love what you’re doing and be happy NOW, then the success will come. He shares several “secrets to happiness” that will make you shift your mindset and look at all areas of your life from a different perspective.
If you’ve read any of these books, what were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments what books you’ve read so far this year!
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