How many of my Anticipated 2023 Releases did I actually read? 📚

Hello fellow bookworms 📚 It’s time again to reflect on what 2023 releases I managed to read and what books are still on my TBR ❤ Once again the books are sorted into 3 categories: read (with the rating), unread and removed from my TBR. This post has become an annual tradition on my blog by now and I love it, as it’s always interesting to see how many books I actually ended up reading 👀

For reference ~ My Most Anticipated Releases Lists for 2023 📚

• 30 Most Anticipated Releases of 2023 (January to June) 💕
• Most Anticipated Releases of 2023 (July to November) 💕

• ✅ Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute (Talia Hibbert) 💕 January 3rd ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Lost in the Moment and Found (Seanan McGuire) 💕 January 10th ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• ✅ Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies (Heather Fawcett) 💕 January 10th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ Luckily, I got a ton of January Arcs so I ended up reading Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute (Talia Hibbert never fails to deliver!), Lost in the Moment and Found (the new Wayward Children novella) and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies pretty early on in the year! I really enjoyed all of them but Emily Wilde’s is the clear winner as it ended up becoming one of my new favorite Fantasy series 🥰

• ✅ Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Margaret Rogerson) 💕 January 17th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ This Is Not a Personal Statement (Tracy Badua) 💕 January 17th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ What Lies in the Woods (Kate Alice Marshall) 💕 January 17th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Begin Again (Emma Lord) 💕 January 24th ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

➽ I ended up reading all of my anticipated January releases 🥳 I adored Mysteries of Thorn Manor (the companion/sequel to Sorcery of Thorns) and This Is Not a Personal Statement (a YA debut)! I also really enjoyed my Arc of Begin Again, as I love Emma Lord’s books. Another favorite author is Kate Alice Marshall, her adult debut What Lies in the Woods ended up being fantastic 🥰

• ✅The Wicked Bargain (Gabe Cole Novoa) 💕 February 1st ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅Heartstopper Vol 5. (Alice Oseman) 💕 February 2nd -> December 7th ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• ✅Out of Character (Jenna Miller) 💕 February 7th ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

➽ I’ve read some great debut books in February! I liked The Wicked Bargain (a historical fantasy set at sea) and Out of Character (YA Contemporary about a character who loves RPGs) 🥰 Then there was also the fifth volume of Heartstopper that I adored! Originally it was supposed to come out in February but was then pushed back to December. I still included it here, as I had no other December releases on my list!

• ⛔ Always the Almost (Edward Underhill) 💕 February 14th
• ✅ The Last Tale of the Flower Bride (Roshani Chokshi) 💕 February 14th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Immortality (Dana Schwartz) 💕 February 28th ⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ The only February release I didn’t end up reading is Always the Almost! YA Contemporary isn’t a big priority as it used to be anymore, but I really liked the premise and have had my eyes on other books by this author! Apart from that I enjoyed The Last Tale of the Flower Bride (Roshani Chokshi writes the best immersive books) and Immortality (the sequel and conclusion to the Anatomy duology) 😊

• ✅ A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon (Sarah Hawley) 💕 March 7th ⭐⭐⭐.5
• ⛔ Missing Clarissa (Ripley Jones) 💕 March 7th
• ⛔ The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent (Ann Jacobus) 💕 March 7th
• ✅ The Sad Ghost Club Vol 3. (Lize Meddings) 💕 March 16th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ March was a mixed bag, I read exactly 50% of my anticipated releases! I had to preorder to newest Sad Ghost Club volume as I adore this graphic novel series about mental health 🥰 I also read A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, but was a bit underwhelmed by the execution. Missing Clarissa and The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent are still on my TBR, but not a priority right now!

• ✅ Spell Bound (F.T. Lukens) 💕 April 4th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Silver in the Bone (Alexandra Bracken) 💕 April 4th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything (Justine Pucella Winans) 💕 April 11th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ One of my favorite April releases was Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything a mystery thriller debut that ended up being very relatable due to the main character’s fears and anxieties! I also enjoyed Spell Bound (a cute Fantasy about two rival apprentices) and Silver in the Bone (a new Alexandra Bracken series inspired by the Arthurian legend) 😊

• ✅ In the Lives of Puppets (T.J. Klune) 💕 April 25th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Happy Place (Emily Henry) 💕 April 25th ⭐⭐.5

➽ I was so excited for these two books, but while I loved In the Lives of Puppets, I was so disappointed in Happy Place. At least T.J. Klune gave me another great book full of found family and comfort! Meanwhile, Emily Henry’s newest book was very underwhelming and I was shocked by how different it felt from her other romances that I actually enjoyed.

  

• ✅ The Sun and the Stars (Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro) 💕 May 2nd ⭐⭐⭐.5
• ⛔ The Golden Frog Games (Claribel A. Ortega) 💕 May 2nd
• ⛔ Lying in the Deep (Diana Urban) 💕 May 2nd

➽ It turns out the newest cowritten Percy Jacksonverse book didn’t work out for me. The Sun and the Star felt contrived and more like fanservice, which was a bit disappointing, as I love Will and Nico! I still need to read The Golden Frog Games (the sequel to Witchlings, a cute MG Fantasy) and Lying in the Deep (a thriller set on a ‘Semester at Sea’ inspired ship)!

 

• ⛔ Dragonfall (L.R. Lam) 💕 May 2nd
• ✅ Witch King (Martha Wells) 💕 May 30th ⭐⭐⭐

➽ While I love Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries her newest Adult Fantasy book didn’t work for me. Witch King was convoluted, slow and a big letdown in the end 😢 Dragonfall is still on my TBR, it’s an Adult Fantasy I want to check out, but it’s not super high priority right now.

• ✅ Pageboy (Elliot Page) 💕June 6th ⭐⭐⭐.5
• ✅ Where Echoes Die (Courtney Gould) 💕 June 20th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Business or Pleasure (Rachel Lynn Solomon) 💕 June 20th ⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ I only had 3 anticipated releases in June and I read all of them! I love Rachel Lynn Solomon and Courtney Gould, so I was excited that both authors had new books coming out 🥰 Where Echoes Die (an immersive Horror about two sisters) and Business or Pleasure (a steamy Romance) were both fantastic! I was a bit underwhelmed by Pageboy, as the memoir was all over the place and didn’t have a cohesive narrative!

 

• ✅ Role Playing (Cathy Yardley) 💕 July 1st ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
• ⛔ My Week With Him (Joya Goffney) 💕 July 11th
• ⛔ All Alone With You (Amelia Diane Coombs) 💕 July 25th

➽ The only July release I read was Role Playing, but it was a fantastic, nerdy Romance that got me excited for more books by this author! I’m a bit behind on Joya Goffney’s books, as I haven’t read anything other than her debut. I’ll definitely get around to reading My Week with Him! Same thing with Amelia Diane Coombs, I’m hoping that I can make some time for her new books, like All Alone With You soon 😊

• ✅ Mister Magic (Kiersten White) 💕 August 1st ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ⛔ Bring Me Your Midnight (Rachel Griffin) 💕 August 1st
• ✅ The Narrow (Kate Alice Marshall) 💕 August 1st ⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ I still haven’t read any more of Rachel Griffin’s books so Bring Me Your Midnight is still on my TBR! I loved Mister Magic (another great Horror book by Kiersten White) and The Narrow (Kate Alice Marshall strikes again with an immersive, mysterious YA Horror) though 🥰

• ✅ New Adult (Timothy Janovsky) 💕 August 15th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ⛔ Her Radiant Curse (Elizabeth Lim) 💕 August 29th
• ✅ The Infinity Particle (Wendy Xu) 💕 August 29th ⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ I really enjoyed New Adult (Timothy Janovsky writes the best Romances and this one has time travel/second chance!) and The Infinity Particle (a sci-fi graphic novel about artificial intelligence and robots) 🥰 I have yet to read Her Radiant Curse (the prequel to the Six Crimson Cranes books), but I got an overdue Arc I ned to get to!

• ⛔ The Death I Gave Him (Em X. Liu) 💕 September 12th
• ✅ The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson) 💕 September 26th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ⛔ The Changing Man (Tomi Oyemakinde) 💕 September 26th

➽ I finally managed to read The Chalice of the Gods recently and I loved it! I wasn’t too sure about another Percy Jackson book, but this had the perfect amount of new quests and feelings of nostalgia! September releases I didn’t get around to reading were The Death I Gave Him (still super excited for this sci-fi, especially as my library got a copy) and The Changing Man (not that high up on my TBR, but still an intriguing Horror book) 😊

• ✅ The Fall of Whit Rivera (Crystal Maldonado) 💕 October 10th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Hollowthorn (Kalyn Josephson) 💕 October 17th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ 10 Things That Never Happened (Alexis Hall) 💕 October 17th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ❌ Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date (Ashley Herring Blake) 💕 October 24th

➽ I read most of my October releases!! The Fall of Whit Rivera was perfect for the season as it’s an autumnal book about a girl who wants to organize the perfect fall festival for her school 🍂 I also enjoyed Hollowthorn (the sequel to Ravenfall, a MG Fantasy) and 10 Things That Never Happened (the newest, hilarious Romance by Alexis Hall). I was very hyped for Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, but I listened to the first 10% and was so put off and uncomfortable how Iris’ dating life was judged that I think I’ll remove it from my TBR. Reading other reviews has just reinforced to me that the premise isn’t executed with as much nuance as I would have liked.

• ✅ The Hunting Moon (Susan Dennard) 💕 November 7th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ Bookshops & Bonedust (Travis Baldree) 💕 November 7th ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• ✅ System Collapse (Martha Wells) 💕 November 14th ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

➽ November was a fantastic month for sequels!! Bookshops & Bonedust is technically a prequel and companion to Legends and Lattes, but ended up being even better than I imagined. My most anticipated release of the entire year was System Collapse, the Murderbot Diaries book and it definitely didn’t disappoint! I was also very hyped for another book by Susan Dennard. The Hunting Moon is the sequel to The Luminaries and I love this YA paranormal series, it’s so much fun 🥰

Honorable Mentions I Read ❤

In Conclusion I read

… out of my 49 most anticipated 2023 Releases

➽ I have read 36 books (73% ~ a good improvement compared to last year) containing nine 5-star, twenty two 4-star, four 3-star and one 2-star reads ⭐

➽ 12 books are still on my TBR! 📚 I removed 1 book from my TBR!

Have you read your most anticipated 2023 releases? Did they hold up to your expectations? Any books you’ve lost interest in? 📚