I can’t believe it’s already February of 2023 😱 Does anyone else feel weird saying that out loud? 🙋🏻♀️One piece of good news so far is that I have officially read my first book of the year and it is none other than It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover. Seeing as I had read It Ends With Us last year, I was very excited for this next part of the story.
As you will probably already know, this book is all about Atlas and Lily’s story many years after they had initially met. I won’t spoil it but, of course it was another good Colleen Hoover read. Now, if you don’t want to read my opinion about it skip this part 😂
Overall I enjoyed the book but it wasn’t particularly my favorite. In this book, Lily is still recovering mentally from the happenings with Ryle in the previous book and she is navigating her life with her daughter and new found connection with Atlas. The book does explore their feelings as a couple but I was left wanting more. Again, it’s not that it wasn’t a good book, but I wish the story went more into their relationship as opposed to just talking about her continuing to work through her divorce and how she is navigating motherhood. Overall I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars, only because I was left wanting more. But of course, I would 100% recommend you add it to your reading list.
Now, onto books I read in 2022 and what I thought of them.
Note: Most of these are novels. This is my favorite genre when it comes to books. I feel like I always gravitate towards books that have a steady storyline and are somewhat of an easy read.
Shipped by Angie Hockman
This first book that I read in 2022 was a book called Shipped written by Angie Hockman. This book was about a girl who is a marketing manager that works for a travel agency/cruise company and really wants to grow in her career. Aiming for a promotion, she finds out that a guy who has been at the same company for less time than she has is also being considered for the same promotion. She and the guy are sent on a cruise with the task of coming up with a marketing plan as part of their consideration for the job. Once there, they face many challenges and also start having feelings for each other.
My review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought it was easy to follow and very entertaining. Definitely fit the “novel” genre. Specifically, I enjoyed that it didn’t only focus on the love story but also talked about careers and what it is like to navigate your career in 20’s. I would give this book 5/5.
It ends with us by Colleen Hoover
2022 was the year I finally picked up a book by Colleen Hoover and as many others, I am hooked and want to read them all! I started with “It Ends With Us” and was pleasantly surprised, I even finished it in 2 days 😱
Though this book technically fits in the “novel” genre there are some serious topics discussed in the story. As a trigger warning this book does talk about domestic abuse.
My review: I thought it was beautifully written and would work great as a book whose topics can be discussed in a book club.Colleen is a great writer who keeps you guessing and is easy to follow.
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
After reading It Ends With Us I was craving more content from Colleen Hoover so I picked Up Ugly Love. This one was about a girl who is staying with her brother while she finishes school and ends up having a love connection with her brother’s friend and so ensues a secret romance.
My review: The story is a good one. Again, it is easy to follow and read. Overall, I liked it, it kept me wanting to pick up the book and finish it. This one however is a little bit spicy so, forewarning there.
In 5 Years by Rebecca Serle
In 5 Years by Rebecca Serle was a popular one I kept seeing all over social media. It’s a New York based novel about a girl who is in her late 20’s, has a successful career, and basically has everything planned out for the next five years. Then she has a random dream where everything is different than what she has planned out and leaves her wondering how it can be possible for her life to look that way in 5 years. Nothing makes sense, until it does…
My review: At first I really enjoyed this book because it combined both career and personal topics and I could relate to the main character in many ways but then, as the story progressed, it had some really sad parts that at times, made me want to put down the book and stop reading. Overall it is a good story but it does have its sad parts.
Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber
This one is just what it sounds like and I could tell as soon as I saw the cover of the book. It is your typical Hallmark love story. The kind you would see on TV around the holidays. It was about a girl who is wanting to travel home for the holidays but then her flight gets canceled and her only option is to drive to her destination with a stranger who she then ends up falling for.
My review: I thought it was a cute story. It kept me going but was pretty predictable and a little too good to be true to happen in real life. Fun fact, this was indeed made into a Hallmark movie, which I looked up and was terrible!! 😂
One Day in December by Josie Silver
So, this one I had heard about and seen recommended in a few places and I was also skeptical because it seemed like your typical story. It’s about a girl who lives in London with her friend and one day as she is sitting inside a bus, at one of the stops, she sees a complete stranger and is infatuated with him from that moment. She then goes on a year-long search trying to find her mystery love only to find out that it ends up being her friend’s new boyfriend.
My review: This book really made me think about many things in life. Mainly about the idea of whether things are meant to be. It is listed as one of Reese Witherspoon’s book club reads and I can definitely see why. At this point it was one of my favorite books and I so wished I had someone to discuss the various topics with. One cool thing about this book is that at the end it has discussion questions you can use if you decide to read this as a part of a book club. I would give this book a 10 out of 10.
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
The Light We Lost is also an amazing book. Surprisingly very similar to “One Day in December” in the sense that it is a story revolving around fate. It starts with a couple of college students who meet and kind of like each other but then go their separate ways and throughout the years (10 to be exact) they keep in touch here and there as their lives progress individually.
My review: I really loved this story because it made me think about that specific subject (fate) and just how life can take many turns and throughout life, the past can come back to the present in many ways. I would absolutely give this book a 10 out of 10 because I enjoyed the story and it made me think about life and want to discuss some of the topics presented in the story.
Overall, looking back at the books I read, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them in one way or another. Reading for fun has been a nice hobby to distract me and get me away from my phone. Let me know if you have any recommendations in the comments below so that I can add them to my list.
