2023 Mid-Year Book Review
It’s here! One of my favorite summaries of the year! Last year I did one overall book review, but since the summer is the time I read most, I thought it would be fun to put out mid-year AND end-year book reviews to make the round up less overwhelming and give you some beach read inspiration.
Note: All book descriptions are excerpts from Goodreads or directly from the back of each book (with edits by moi, because I don’t like when big twists are included in the book descriptions!) Also, if you buy a book through one of the links below they are affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
TOP 5 BOOKS AS OF JULY 2023
Nora Goes Off Script by Anabel Monagan
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmill
The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Books 1 - 5
KATHARINE MCGEE
American Royals #3: Rivals - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance | Drama
Beatrice is queen, and for the American royal family, everything is about to change. Princess Samantha is in love with Lord Marshall Davis—but the more serious they get, the more complicated things become. Beatrice is representing America at the greatest convocation of kings and queens in the world. When she meets a glamorous foreign princess, she gets drawn into the inner circle…but at what cost? Nina and Daphne have spent years competing for Prince Jefferson. Now they have something in common: they both want to take down manipulative Lady Gabriella Madison. Can these enemies join forces, or will old rivalries stand in the way?
Maggie Note: This is the third book in the American Royals series. A fourth is coming out in August 2024, and this is a series that you should certainly read in order!
MORGAN HOUSEL
The Psychology of Money - 5 Stars
Genres - Finance | Non Fiction | Psychology
Doing well with money isn't necessarily about what you know. It's about how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people. Money--investing, personal finance, and business decisions--is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don't make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money explores the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life's most important topics.
ED CATMULL
Creativity, Inc. - 5 Stars
Genres - Non Fiction | Leadership | Business
From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation—into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. It is, at heart, a book about how to build a creative culture—but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull writes, “an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.”
Maggie Note: I’m a big Disney and Pixar fan, so I found this book incredibly fascinating, but I also found it to be oddly emotional and relatable as someone in a management position in a corporate role. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to be challenged to think differently.
KATHARINE MCGEEE
American Royals #0.5: Inheritance - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance | Drama
Princess Beatrice realizes what’s expected of her as heir apparent—and it is not riding in cars, alone, with her Revere Guard. But what the Crown doesn’t know won’t hurt it…right? Princess Samantha is already bored of her own graduation party. She swears she isn’t looking for trouble, but when the king and queen are away, the spare will play. Nina never dreamed of acting on her feelings for Prince Jefferson. Tonight, though, anything seems possible: even a prince and a commoner. Meanwhile, Daphne is hiding more than one secret beneath her perfect exterior. A royal party might just be the window of opportunity she needs—until everything comes crashing down.
ANABEL MONAGAN
Nora Goes Off Script - 5 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Romance | Chick Lit
Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it’s her job. But when her too-good-to work husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns her marriage’s collapse into cash and writes the best script of her life. No one is more surprised than her when it’s picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her 100-year-old-home. When former Sexiest Man Alive, Leo Vance, is cast as her ne’er do well husband Nora’s life will never be the same.
Books 6 - 10
EMILY OSTER
Expecting Better - 5 Stars
Genres - Non Fiction | Parenting | Self Help
Pregnancy—unquestionably one of the most profound, meaningful experiences of adulthood—can reduce otherwise intelligent women to, well, babies. Pregnant women are told to avoid cold cuts, sushi, alcohol, and coffee without ever being told why these are forbidden. Rules for prenatal testing are similarly unexplained. Moms-to-be desperately want a resource that empowers them to make their own right choices.
When award-winning economist Emily Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, Expecting Better is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy.
JULIANNE MACLEAN
The Color of Love - 2 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Contemporary Romance | Suspense
Carla Matthews is a single mother struggling to make ends meet and give her daughter Kaleigh a decent upbringing. When Kaleigh’s absent father Seth—a famous alpine climber who never wanted to be tied down—begs for a second chance at fatherhood, Carla is hesitant because she doesn’t want to pin her hopes on a man who is always seeking another mountain to scale. But when Seth’s plane goes missing after a crash landing in the harsh Canadian wilderness, Carla must wait for news. One year later, Carla receives a phone call that shocks her to her core. A man has been found, half-dead, floating on an iceberg in the North Atlantic, uttering her name. Is this Seth?
Maggie Note: This book was all over the place. There were elements that were super interesting and I read it really fast, but when I described this to my friend Kesler she was like…”What did you just read?” And that’s exactly how I felt when I finished it.
ELIN HILDERBRAND
Paradise #1: Winter in Paradise - 3 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Mystery | Romance
Irene Steele’s idyllic life - house, husband, family - is shattered when she is woken up by a late-night phone call. Her beloved husband has been found dead, but before Irene can process this tragic news, she must confront the perplexing details of her husband’s death. He was found on St. John island, a tropical paradise far removed from their suburban life. Irene flies down to the beautiful Caribbean beaches of St. John only to make another shocking discovery: her husband had a secret second family. As Irene investigates the mysterious circumstances of her husband’s death, she is plunged into a web of intrigue and deceit belied by the pristine white sand beaches of St. John’s.
ELIN HILDERBRAND
Paradise #2: What Happens in Paradise - 3 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Mystery | Romance
A year ago, Irene Steele had the shock of her her loving husband, father to their grown sons and successful businessman, was killed in a helicopter crash. But that wasn't Irene's only shattering he'd also been leading a double life on the island of St. John, where another woman loved him, too. Now Irene and her sons are back on St. John, determined to learn the truth about the mysterious life—and death—of a man they thought they knew. Along the way, they're about to learn some surprising truths about their own lives, and their futures.
ELIN HILDERBRAND
Paradise #3: Troubles in Paradise - 3 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Mystery | Romance
What happened in Paradise? At last all will be revealed about the secrets and lies that led Irene and her sons to St. John -- and to new lives that transformed them all.
Books 11 - 15
LAURA DAVE
The Last Thing He Told Me - 5 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Mystery| Thriller
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child and wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.
COLLEEN HOOVER
It Ends With Us - 4 Stars
Genres and Themes - Fiction | Romance | Abuse
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
JENNIFER GOLD
Half Way to You - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Travel | Romance
Forty years ago, aspiring writer Ann Fawkes left the United States for a Mediterranean adventure that opened her heart to travel and love. After a chance encounter propelled her into the publishing world, she released her first novel, an instant bestseller—and the last book she ever wrote. Now, Ann lives a reclusive life in the San Juan Islands, hiding from the public and its probing questions. But when podcaster Maggie Whitaker convinces Ann to sit for an interview, Ann agrees on one condition: Maggie must keep her story off the record. Determined to change Ann’s mind before she loses her job, Maggie agrees. But as she learns about Ann’s life—particularly the love affair that inspired her novel and the decisions she made in its wake—Maggie realizes Ann’s story intersects with her own in shocking, life-changing ways.
EMILY HENTRY
Happy Place - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance | Chick Lit
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they aren’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?
JANE CRITTENDEN
Worlds Apart - 3 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance
Can first love survive 18 years, 11,000 miles and a lifetime of misunderstandings? Eighteen years ago, teenage Amy fled England, pregnant and heartbroken, to start over in New Zealand with her parents. Now Chris, the love she left behind, has walked into her beloved café by the beach and thrown her life into turmoil. As far as Amy’s concerned, Chris chose to ignore the child she was carrying when they last met. She brought up their daughter alone and created a happy home for them both on the other side of the world. But with Chris suddenly back in her life, she can no longer ignore the past and begins to wonder what really happened all those years ago. Old secrets and new revelations cast Amy’s world into doubt.
Books 16 - 20
EMILY OSTER
Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool - 4 Stars
Genres - Non Fiction | Parenting | Family
As any new parent knows, there is an abundance of often-conflicting advice hurled at you from doctors, family, friends, and the internet. From the earliest days, parents get the message that they must make certain choices around feeding, sleep, and schedule or all will be lost. There's a rule--or three--for everything. But the benefits of these choices can be overstated, and the tradeoffs can be profound. How do you make your own best decision?
ELIN HILDERBRAND
The Hotel Nantucket - 5 Stars
Genres - Historical Fiction | Romance | Mystery
Fresh off a bad breakup with a longtime boyfriend, Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton is desperately seeking a second act. When she’s named the new general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, she hopes that her local expertise and charismatic staff can win the favor of their new London billionaire owner, Xavier Darling, as well as that of Shelly Carpenter, the wildly popular Instagram tastemaker who can help put them back on the map. And while the Hotel Nantucket appears to be a blissful paradise, complete with a celebrity chef-run restaurant and an idyllic wellness center, there’s a lot of drama behind closed doors. The staff (and guests) have complicated pasts, and the hotel can’t seem to overcome the bad reputation it earned in 1922 when a tragic fire killed nineteen-year-old chambermaid Grace Hadley. With Grace gleefully haunting the halls, a staff harboring all kinds of secrets, and Lizbet’s own romantic uncertainty, is the Hotel Nantucket destined for success or doom?
AMY POEPPEL
The Sweet Spot - 3 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance | Contemporary
In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental, unlikely friendship when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep.
ABBY JIMENEZ
Yours Truly - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance | Chick Lit
Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter. And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions.
CURTIS SITTENFELD
Romantic Comedy - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance | Chick Lit
Sally Milz is a sketch writer for a late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life. Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder whether there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy; it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her...right?