Posted on by bookreviews628

My Favorites of 2023

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays this year and were able to take a nice break. I also hope you got some good books as gifts that you will read this upcoming year. My TBR list looks pretty good, and I will post a new review sooner than later. Now, it is time for my annual favorites list. I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you so much for continuing to support my blog! I’m wishing you all the best for 2024.

Books

  • Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
  • My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Odessa Moshfegh
  • Birds of Paradise by Oliver K. Langmede
  • A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske
  • Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
  • Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long
  • The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
  • Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
  • The Hades Saga (Books 1 – 3) by Scarlett St. Clair
  • The Blood Gift Duology by N.E. Davenport
  • Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro
  • The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper
  • Bunny by Mona Awad
  • Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
  • The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
  • The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
  • The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
  • The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
  • The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Ohsiro
  • Pew by Catherine Lacey
  • Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
  • Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
  • Tell Me I’m Worthless by Allison Rumfitt
  • Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid
  • She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker – Chan
  • Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
  • Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
  • Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer
  • A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
  • The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
  • Jawbone by Monica Ojeda
  • Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
  • A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
  • Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno – Garcia
  • Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
  • Shadows of the Dark Realm by Tyler Edwards

Movies

  • John Wick: Chapter 4 (dir. Chad Stahelski)
  • Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (dir. John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (dir. James Gunn)
  • The Little Mermaid (2023) (dir. Rob Marshall)
  • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (dir. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson)
  • Barbie (dir. Greta Gerwig)
  • Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (dir. Sam Wrench)
  • Five Nights an Freddy’s (dir. Emma Tammi)
  • The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (dir. Francis Lawrence)

TV Shows

  • The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
  • The Witcher: Season 3 (Netflix)
  • Castlevania: Nocturne: Season 1 (Netflix)
  • Good Omens: Season 2 (Prime Video)
  • Our Flag Means Death: Season 2 (Max)
  • Loki: Season 2 (Disney +)
  • Ahsoka: Season 1 (Disney +)
  • What We Do in the Shadows: Season 5 (Hulu)
  • The Last of Us: Season 1 (Max)
  • The Mandalorian: Season 3 (Disney +)

Music

  • This Is Why by Paramore (album)
  • labour by Paris Paloma (single)
  • Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard? by Lana Del Rey (album)
  • So Much (for) Stardust by Fall Out Boy (album)
  • Daylight by David Kushner (single)
  • – by Ed Sheeran (album)
  • Take Me Back to Eden by Sleep Token (album)
  • Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift (album)
  • Unreal Unearth by Cozier (album)
  • The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitski (album)
  • Autumn Variations by Ed Sheeran (album)
  • the rest by boy genius (album)
  • 1989 (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift (album)
  • The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Music Inspired By) by Various Artists (album)
  • the record by boygenius (album)
  • Dead Man by David Kushner (single)
  • GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo (album)
  • Barbie: The Album by Various Artists. (album)
  • Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) by Noah Kahan (album)

Posted on by bookreviews628

All we can do is make the best of the future: Reviewing One Desert Night by Ricky Hurlich

Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the holidays. I promise I am still here. I am just slowing down a bit at the end of the year. My last post of the year will probably be my annual favorites list and then the new year will be a fresh start with plenty of books to read. This particular review, though, is very exciting because it is by another indie author. I want to give a huge shoutout to Ricky for reaching out to me and asking me to review his unpublished novella. I will list all of his socials at the end of this review so make sure to send him some love. Now, let’s talk about One Desert Night.

Content Warning: Semi-Graphic Depictions of a Car Accident, Some Discussion of Mental Health Issues and Self-Harm

Jack is on a journey. At the end of everything, in an impossible realm where time and space blur together, Jack is seeking answers to impossible questions. Along the way, he meets a stranger who serves as his guide through the universe. Despite the beauty of everything, there is also the one answer Jack never knew he wanted. Jack realizes, though, that he will have to face the truth and his impact on the lives of others.

One Desert Night was a wonderfully atmospheric story with plenty of introspection and philosophical musings. Ricky Hurlich has done an excellent job eloquently telling the story of one man’s journey to self-discovery. My personal favorite aspect of the story was how the different plot points with different characters became connected towards the end. I was guessing all the way to the end and wanted answers the entire time. It is easy to tell that a lot of care and love went into crafting the message of this story. I can’t wait to see more from Ricky in the future and hope that he’s able to share his work with all of you as he has done with me.

Instagram: RHurlich

Facebook: Ricky Hurlich