One of my reading goals for 2023 was to visit my library more frequently, rather than just borrowing books from the virtual library. While I do prefer reading books on a device, I have noticed that my physical library has more of the books on my TBR than the virtual library, so I decided to request some books that have been sitting on my TBR so that I could finally read them. Here are five books that I recently borrowed from my physical library location and the virtual branch:
I was excited that my library had a copy of The Stolen Heir available right after its release… and there was no wait! The Stolen Heir was the first book that I borrowed from the library in 2023. The Stolen Heir is the first book in a duology which occurs after The Cruel Prince series. This duology follows a teenage Oak who recruits Lady Suren from the mortal realm to rescue his imprisoned father. I read The Stolen Heir back in January. For me, The Stolen Heir was too plot-driven in comparison to the original series, although it has an interesting premise which could make the second novel in the duology more successful.
Ship Wrecked was the first book which I borrowed from Cloud Library, the virtual system which my library uses. I have borrowed this book in the past, but I didn’t read until I re-checked it out this year. Ship Wrecked is the third book in the Spoiler Alert series, which follows two co-stars as they film a popular television series on an isolated island. While I think Olivia Dade’s covers and synopses usually draw me in, I usually find her pacing to be inconsistent. Unfortunately, I had similar issues with Ship Wrecked.
- Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Every Summer After was the next book that I checked out from my library. Every Summer After has been on my TBR and I have been waiting for it to come onto the virtual library. However, I recently read Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren, which Every Summer After is frequently compared to online. As a result, I didn’t want to wait to read it any longer so I could read these two books close together in order to see the comparisons. Every Summer After follows Persephone “Percy” Fraser when he returns to a lake town where she spent her summers as a teenager, in order to attend a family friend’s funeral. There, she runs into Sam, the boy next door. Since this book is so hyped, I was expecting this to be a five star read, and while I like some aspects of this novel, the last act wasn’t my favorite as it seemed inconsistent with the rest of the book.
- The Happily Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
The Happily Ever After Playlist was one of the books that I have borrowed from the library in February, but have not read yet. I have read two books by Abby Jimenez and loved them, so I wanted to read her two other books currently published before her new book releases later this year. From the description, this book seems to be about a woman who lost her fiancé and then finds a lost dog who connects her with a famous musician. Abby Jimenez writes such excellent realistic relationships and this book seems like it will address many real life topics, so I definitely looked forward to reading this book during February.
- The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Last year, I read mostly contemporary books, so I’ve been wanting to pick up more fantasy novels in 2023. I’ve frequently seen The Atlas Six online, with people either loving it or hating it. I don’t have much an idea of what this book is about besides the synopsis, but when I saw this familiar title on my library’s website, I decided to check it out. It looks like The Atlas Six is about six magicians who want to be initiated into an academic society, but only five will make the cut. With this book, I am interested to see where my feelings will fall.
What books have you recently borrowed from the library?
Beauty and the Bean Boots 