The first book I finished in 2023, was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I started the Harry Potter series for the first time in probably a decade at the end of 2022 and thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this series again. Harry Potter was the book series that really got me into reading as a child and I would make sure I got the newest book on release day every time a new one came out. Half Blood Prince is probably my favourite book of the series, however maybe the saddest also. Reading through these books again reminded me of how many differences there are between the books and the movies. I think the most notable for me are the lessons that Harry and Dumbledore have, where Dumbledore opens the pensieve to show Harry what memories he has collected over the years regarding Tom Riddles past. These snippets provided much more context to the story line and the background of the horcruxes. Another difference I thought would have been vital to the movie, is Harry returning to Dumbledores office after he dies and Dumbledores funeral, why they made the decision to not include that made no sense at all! I also liked the peek into Snapes history too, the mention of his mother made him feel more human than any of the other books/movies have. 

I feel this book is pivotal in the series, maybe the most important and the book that changes the path of the storyline. I really enjoyed it, I remember that this was the Harry Potter book I would always go back to when I was younger, and I completely understand why now.

Rating: ★★★★★

Total read time: Unknown due to starting reading in 2022

 

Of course the second book I read was Deathly Hallows. I would say this is another one of my favourites of the series, it all ends with this book, and I think it really done the series justice. This book really draws everything to a close, answers questions we had been wondering for over a decade and provides plenty of closure for the reader. Again, non-readers missed a lot of crucial information, Harry had a birthday party, Viktor attended Bill and Fleurs wedding and told Harry that the Deathly Hallows symbol was related to Grindelwald, Tonks announced that she was pregnant and Remus attempted to abandon his family to help the trio. However, I think the most important part of the book that was missing from the movie, is the conversation that occurs between Harry and Voldemort before their final duel. I feel that for the movie, they wanted this big action packed duel with the scenes of them flying around Hogwarts together, but the book version was far from that and important words were written! I also feel that Harry fixing his wand in the book, should definitely have been included in the movie – it’s such a better ending! 

Rating: ★★★★★

Total Read Time: 15hr 1min

 

This was the first book from Colleen Hoover that I have read. I have heard so much about her books, it was hard to not give in and grab a couple. I picked this one first as I fancied something completely different to what I had read so far and this book was unlike any I’ve ever read, being completely honest. Ugly Love is the story of Tate in current time and Miles, six years ago. It follows Tate falling in love with Miles and Miles dealing with the first time he fell in love. This story is all about love, sex and having both after dealing with a traumatic experience. I think this book is a really good one to start off your Colleen Hoover journey. The sex scenes are a bit heavy, and I’m not a ‘smut’ reader so that was pretty new to me, but they were very relative to the story. The only negative I have of this book is the last chapter, everything happens so fast! I feel like there could have been a sequel to this story, but that final chapter cuts the option of that off completely. I liked Colleen writing and will be reading the others I have from her as well as probably buying some more!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Total Read Time: 5hr 43min

 

I don’t really know where to start with this book. I had heard so much about how heart breaking this book was and how many readers had shed tears over it, so it was high on my list of books to read. A Thousand Boy Kisses follows tells the story of Rune and Poppy, children who fall in love and build a relationship to their teenage years, until Rune has to move back to Norway and a few months into their long distance relationship, Poppy stops all contact. I’m not going to explain the rest of the story, as this is one of them books that you just have to read yourself! What I will say, is stick with it! For the middle of the book, I was getting a little bored. I knew the characters, I understood the situation but it contains a lot of dialogue and lot of repeated dialogue. Just when I thought this book would be a did not finish,’ my mind completely changed and when I tell you I bawled my eyes out, I mean I really bawled my eyes out at the rest of the book. The last few chapters had me sobbing, and the ending – I have no words. This book is very young adult, which I get that a lot of actual adult readers don’t enjoy, but I love going back to a YA every now and then for something a bit light – this was not light! I would recommend this book to anybody who really wants to feel something when reading a book, I haven’t found a single review where the reader hasn’t ended up in tears by page fifteen, and heart broken by the end. The only reason I’m giving this book a four out of five stars, is because of that bit in the middle that nearly made me give up. 

Rating: ★★★★☆

Total Read Time: 6hr 29mins

 

It’s been a long long time since I’ve read a book and fallen in love with a character. Thinking back, the last book that made me feel this way was The Notebook and that was in 2010. If He Had Been With Me is the story of Autumn and Finney, best friends since they were babies, more like family to each other than blood relatives. This book follows their relationship through their school life, how Autumn being a ‘weird kid,’ wearing tiaras daily and Finney, the cool popular football player, how they drifted apart for unknown reasons and dated other people, how their friendship impacted those relationships and how they finally find each other again. Just like A Thousand Boy Kisses, I’m not going to spoil the book for anybody as again, this is one you just need to read! However, if you want the ending to be impactful, do not read chapter one. Chapter one tells the reader of the doom of the book, if you didn’t read chapter one, the ending would be a surprise and would hit you harder! I wish I’d had this advice before I started the book. I really wish there could be a sequel to this book, and unfortunately there isn’t, however the author Laura Nowlin is bringing out another book called If Only I Had Told Her, which isn’t a sequel, but I think the same story from Finns point of view. Now what a different story that will be! I’m going to pre-order it as it is released in October and I already can’t wait to read it!

Rating: ★★★★★

Total Read Time: 5hr 36mins

 

Love & Other Words was another book that I had seen a lot of girls talking about, so I really wanted to read it. While the story is lovely, and laid out with a mix of past and present life from Macy’s point of view, I feel it was a bit dragged out. However in saying that, I feel like everybody deserves a love like the way Elliot loves Macy in this story. I see a pattern here, but again this story is about childhood best friends who fall in love to be separated for eleven years due to a mysterious reason. While this is a beautiful love story, albeit a bit dragged out, I predicted the ending and I hate that. I guessed the plot about two thirds of the way through the book and spent the rest of the time waiting for it to come out, which spoilt it a little bit for me. That being said, I would definitely read a sequel to see how Elliot and Macy life turns out post the plot!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Total Read Time: 6hr 2mins