I’m back with year 2 of my Book Club List of 2023, and I couldn’t be more excited. I launched my book club due to the high demand and messages online. As I said last year, I was hesitant about the new endeavor because all book clubs had strict rules. It is why I decided when I decided to launch my book club. We’d read books at our own pace throughout the month. I do monthly polls for book club picks, and I have an exclusive book club in Geneva where fellow bookish besties can join in and chat all month long!
As I mentioned in my Book Club Picks 2022, I knew four things.
- I didn’t want to stick to just one genre throughout the year.
- I wanted every bookish bestie in my community to suggest books we should read.
- Everyone and anyone could join.
- We would be able to read books at our own pace, and it was totally fine if the book of the month wasn’t for you.
Once I figured out the fundamentals, we were off for a year of fun reads. I’m very excited to start another year of my book club! My genres range from thrillers to romance to YA to women’s fiction and more. Every genre is welcome, and the more colorful the characters and plot, the better!
Be sure to comment below any book suggestions you’ve read!
The 2022 HeyitsCarlyRae Book Club List
January
The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim
Genre: YA/ YA Romance
Zahra Khan is basically a Bangladeshi princess. But that doesn’t seem to matter for Zahra in New Jersey. She has to work at her family’s tea shop in order to save money for college. She meets Harun Emon, who she is set up with by her mother. Harun is everything her mother wants for her daughter. He’s rich and handsome, but he’s too stuffy for Zahra’s taste. However, she starts to develop feelings for Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop.
When Zahra learns that Harun doesn’t feel things for her either, they scheme together to sabotage their parent’s planned union. But plans are not always that simple, and Zahra will soon have to figure out how to tell the truth to her parents and herself.
Read the full review of The Love Match here.
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February
Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
Genre: Romance
When Hallie Welch was fourteen-years-old, she had a crush on Julian Vos and nearly kissed him at his family’s winery. Years later, Julian is back in the Napa town, and Hallie is working on overhauling the gardens. But the guy she once knew is nothing like she remembers. He’s grumpy and definitely the complete opposite of Hallie. But after a night of drinking too much wine, she writes a secret admirer letter to Julian and leaves it for him. Only when she wakes up, she instantly regrets what she wrote.
Meanwhile, Julian plans to write a book and has taken time off from his job. But Hallie is starting to distract him as she’s there when he looks out his window. He shouldn’t want anything to do with her since she’s not his type. But Hallie consumes his thoughts until he gets a letter from a secret admirer…
Full Review here.
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March
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
Genre: Thriller
The thriller follows Louise, who has to go back to her parent’s house after they died. The problem? She dreads it. She doesn’t want to have to come to terms with them gone. But most of all she doesn’t want to face her brother, Mark.
Louise, though, has to go back and needs Mark’s help to get the house ready to sell. But as they start to get the house ready they soon learn the house doesn’t want to be sold, and strange things start to happen.
Full Review coming soon.
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April
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romance
This story follows Dr. Briana Ortiz, who is struggling. Her brother needs a kidney, she is almost finished finalizing her divorce, and now the promotion she had counted on may not be hers after all thanks to Dr. Jacob Maddox.
She is set on hating him, but that is easier said than done, as the new doctor keeps surprising her.
Suddenly, their writing and exchanging letters, and it just keeps getting harder and harder to hate him.
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May
Meet Me At the Lake by Carley Fortune
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Fern Brookebanks spends just twenty-four hours in the city with the alluringly handsome Will Baxter. The two have a connection that is undeniable. They vow to meet a year from then but when Fern shows up, Will doesn’t.
Years later, Fern is back in her hometown running her mother’s lakeside resort while her ex is the manager. It’s a life, Fern never wanted for herself. But then Will shows up years too late with a suitcase in hand and an offer. Can Fern trust him again? Why didn’t he show all those years ago? Why now?
Full Review coming soon.
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June
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Harriet and Wyn have been known as the ‘perfect’ couple since the two of them met in college. However, years later, the perfect couple is not so perfect for reasons no one wants to discuss. They really don’t want to have to tell their friends either. Which is why when it’s the yearly get-together with their friends they pretend they didn’t break up five months ago.
The two put on a show for everyone in the Maine cottage their all staying at, but will their friends catch on their break-up? Better yet, will these two find their happy place again and realize what went wrong? Or is it too late to fix it?
Full Review coming soon.
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July
The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Genre: Contemporary Romance
In “The Summer of Songbirds,” June Moore faces the imminent loss of Camp Holly Springs, her cherished creation born out of a past tragedy. The camp has been a refuge for young girls, including her niece Daphne, and her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, who found lasting friendships there.
Now in their thirties, the trio navigates life’s challenges together, from heartbreak to addiction and more. Daphne, an attorney, is caught in a difficult situation with a past relationship resurfacing and a personal issue at work. Lanier grapples with conflicting feelings between her fiancé and her first love, leading to a revelation that tests her bond with her best friend. Despite their own dilemmas, the songbirds, as they call themselves, unite to save Camp Holly Springs from closure. Will it be enough to save the camp and their friendship? Find out!
Full Review coming soon.
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August
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Genre: Fantasy
In a world where dragons reign, and dragon riders hold the key to power, twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail’s fate takes an unexpected turn. Destined for a peaceful life in the Scribe Quadrant, Violet’s mother, the formidable commanding general, thrusts her into a perilous path: becoming one of the elite dragon riders of Navarre.
But Violet faces a harsh reality. Her delicate frame and frail body make her an unlikely candidate to bond with a dragon. In a realm where strength is everything, her life hangs by a thread; dragons usually incinerate those they deem “fragile.” The odds are stacked against her, with fewer dragons willing to bond than eager candidates.
Survival means overcoming ruthless rivals like Xaden Riorson, the powerful and merciless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. As dawn breaks, Violet must rely on her intellect, cunning, and sheer determination to defy the odds, forge an unbreakable bond with a dragon, and secure her place among the esteemed dragon riders of Navarre. The journey ahead is treacherous, and every sunrise is a hard-won victory.
Full Review coming soon.
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