Jonetta’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2023

38,482

pages read

126

books read

Jonetta

1 like Like

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

528

pages

Average book length in 2023

305

pages

Most Shelved

2,636,654

people also shelved

Least Shelved

159

people also shelved

Jonetta’s average rating for 2023

4.3

Highest Rated on Goodreads

4.25 average

Jonetta’s first review of the year

really liked it

the setup…
Brandi Maxwell is a student at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and an intern at the Simon Van Doren fashion house. Even though she’s working like crazy, Brandi doesn’t look like the mold of the other girls and staff. She wants to be included in Simon’s upcoming Milan trip though and when her star football player and legacy boyfriend Nate Robinson volunteers to reach out to Simon’s it-girl model daughter Taylor for help, it makes a the setup…
Brandi Maxwell is a student at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and an intern at the Simon Van Doren fashion house. Even though she’s working like crazy, Brandi doesn’t look like the mold of the other girls and staff. She wants to be included in Simon’s upcoming Milan trip though and when her star football player and legacy boyfriend Nate Robinson volunteers to reach out to Simon’s it-girl model daughter Taylor for help, it makes a difference. She facilitates a meet with Simon who is impressed but Brandi later overhears Taylor and her friends plotting something sinister. Her life gets forever linked with Taylor’s and not in a good way.

the heart of the story…
I liked Brandi’s heart as she beat incredible odds to end up with that internship. She’s young, an orphan, beautiful and obviously talented but being Black in a world of highly privileged young White women presents unique challenges as well. I admired her relationship with Nate who is following in his famous football father’s legacy but is successful in his own right. Taylor, however, is pretty damaged but is infamous as an influencer, too. She feels entitled to a trust fund her father won’t release until she has a clean drug test, which is more difficult than it sounds given her lifestyle. Their relationship fractured when her mother died and she wants her money now. We see the depths of her depravity masked behind a beautiful veneer that she uses with the public, police and friends and against the unsuspecting Brandi, who is no match for Taylor…until she was.

the narration…
This wasn’t my first experience with both narrators so their stellar performances came as no surprise, one of the reasons I wanted this story on audio. Shayna Small made me believe her as Brandi and Brittany Pressley was delicious as Taylor. If you have a choice, listen to this book!

the bottom line…
This was no ordinary tale of duplicity as it took quite a few bends leading up to a surprise conclusion. I really thought Brandi was no match for Taylor and Nate’s wavering drove me mad. The authors finely portrayed the imbalance between the privileged powerful and those with less means and standing. That power leverage was often subtle but also included those less influenced by it, able to see it through clearer lenses. Brandi sometimes did things that were ill advised but that seemed realistic. One thing was for certain, I was always off balance because despite some predictable paths, that road would suddenly shift off that beaten path. This was one interesting ride and quite the page turner. I got more than I expected in this debut novel and highly recommend the audio version.

Posted on Blue Mood Café ...more

JONETTA’S 2023 BOOKS

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain

it was amazing

it was amazing

it was amazing

A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams

Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

it was amazing

One Night with a Millionaire by Shannyn Schroeder

Murder on Bedford Street by Victoria Thompson

it was amazing

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Beginnings and Ends by Suzanne Brockmann

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon

it was amazing

All That Is Mine I Carry with Me by William Landay

The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle

it was amazing

The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren

A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins

it was amazing

A Walk in the Park by Rebekah Weatherspoon

A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

it was amazing

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

it was amazing

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins

it was amazing

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Jonetta’s last review of the year

really liked it

the setup…
Madeline Martin is the owner of a successful business in upstate New York called The Next Chapter Bookshop. She leads a quiet life, caring for her father who is still recovering from a stroke and enjoying her role in the community. That is until Harley Granger walks into her bookstore a few days before Christmas and threatens to upset her equilibrium. He’s a true crime podcaster and has his sights set on Evan Handy as his next subject. ...more

2023 READING
CHALLENGE

Jonetta read 126 out of 160 books.

79%

What did you read this year?