4. Limitlessness
End of year reading updates, a new favorite fantasy book, great upcoming releases, and anxiety talks.
Welcome!
On this weekly newsletter, every - you guessed it - Sunday, we’ll discuss upcoming releases, an author of the week, top 10 books from last week, and recommendations from you. To send in your recommendation & review, visit the R&R page. Without further ado, let’s get into this week of The Sunday Reads.
There are some absolutely fantastic books releasing this week, even more than listed here! Personally, I’m excited for Gold to release, and I know many who can’t wait for Never (I still need to read all of Hastings books!) Enjoy this week’s new books.
Never by Jessa Hastings (Fantasy): Dec 5, 2023
Never Lie by Freida McFadden (Mystery/Thriller): Dec 5, 2023
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Historical Fiction): Dec 5, 2023
Gold (Plated Prisoners #5) by Raven Kennedy (Fantasy): Dec 7, 2023
Sable Peak (The Edens #6) by Devney Perry: Dec 7, 2023
10 books I’ve compiled from B&N Top 100, the NYT Bestsellers List, and Amazon Bestsellers in no particular order. These are not the ones from last week, but they’re all still on the bestsellers list. If you’re curious, last week’s post can be found here.
Oath and Honor: A Memoir and A Warning by Liz Cheney (Nonfiction, Politics): Dec 5, 2023
Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Self Help)
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (Fantasy)
Inheritance (The Lost Bride Trilogy #1) by Nora Roberts (Romance)
Alex Cross Must Die by James Patterson (Mystery/Thriller)
The Ball at Versailles by Danielle Steel (Historical Fiction, Romance)
Holly (Holly Gibney #3) by Stephen King (Horror)
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson (Nonfiction, Biography)
North Woods by Daniel Mason (Historical Fiction)
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Historical Fiction)
Here’s your reminder to send in a brief book recommendation to my email, thesundayreads@gmail.com. In the meantime, I am more than happy to keep recommending books!
The War of Lost Hearts Trilogy by Carissa Broadbent (Fantasy)
Tisaanah is a slave who barely escapes alive. She treks to the Order, a powerful organization of magical people, to save her friends. In order to join, she has to complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione. But what does the Order actually want from Tisaanah? How will she save those she left behind? What is the dark magic the Order wants her to wield?
A brilliantly written fantasy trilogy that grips you both in plot and characters. Broadbent writes fully formed characters, whether they’re our heroes or our villains, and you can’t help but see every side of them. Additionally, the plot is well done and a vast world is built. I’m deeply excited to read the next book Broadbent comes out with.
Before You Go …
Let’s talk anxiety. So fun. Specifically, by focusing so much on the future, I am limiting myself to all possibilities. I am not someone that can simply “let go”, no matter how hard I try. When will I be content with today? How do I balance that with ambition for the future? The future is limitless, if I remain open to it. How absolutely, unbelievably terrifying and freeing and how exactly do I “remain open”? Can I write down what you say so I can plan it out? I guess this is all to say that I’m trying to find peace in the nervousness I feel about starting my first job, the imperfection of living at home, the uneasiness of not knowing my future because all I can do is try to make today the best I can. I know this isn’t necessarily about books, but I still think it’s important to talk about. I just made my mood board for 2024, which has my SMART goals for the year and will be my lock screen, and my word for the year is “limitless” to remind myself to not put myself in a box, to be open to change and the future. What word will you define 2024 by?
To go back to books, I just finished reading Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling. I am absolutely in love with it! Can we talk about her name because I don’t think I’ve heard of someone who was more destined to become an author than Olivia Rose Darling. She takes her time with the days and characters, making it a long book but also one where we grow to deeply know and love the people we follow. Also dragons!! Yay!! The book got picked up by a publisher (congrats!), so the first book is being rereleased in the fall, with book 2 coming out in 2025, plus two more in the series after that. I just ordered myself the indie copy before it goes out of stock forever. I also need to read Magnolia Parks series by Jessa Hastings, but at this point I might read Never first because I’m trying to get the original covers. My favorite books from November were (obviously) Us Against You and The Winners by Fredrik Backman. I’m most anticipating reading A Little Life in December … expect updates. However, I’m also going to be catching up on a lot of romances, three self help books, and ruthless vows on the 26th!
That’s all I have for today. Much love.
Izzy