goodreads most read books of 2023 #1-5: colleen hoover, taylor jenkins reid and jennette mccurdy

I legitimately cannot believe I didn’t mention that the letters to Ellen come back in It Starts With Us. I was FLABBERGASTED.
Join my book club on Fable! fable.co/club/reading-into-it-with-marines-559240254269
Goodeads Most Read of 2023 So Far: www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2607-the-40-most-read-books-of-the-2023-goodreads-reading-challenge-so-far
Timestamps:
0:00 - 1:58 Intro and Parameters
1:59 - 9:23 It Ends With Us and It Starts With Us (with spoilers)
9:24 - 11:22 I'm Glad My Mom Died (spoiler-free)
11:23 - 15:01 Book Mail and Book Club
15:02 - 18:00 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (spoiler-free)
18:01 - 20:39 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (with spoilers)
20:40 - 23:38 Daisy Jones and the Six (with spoilers)
23:39 - 25:22 Final Ratings and Impressions
25:23 - 28:31 Outro and Character Jail TikTok
All spoilers are vague
Books Mentioned:
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/27362503
cw: booktriggerwarnings.com/index.php?title=It_Ends_with_Us_by_Colleen_Hoover
Review: www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8LxtN1W/
It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/60393672-it-starts-with-us
cw: triggerwarningdatabase.com/2022/11/05/it-starts-with-us-by-colleen-hoover/
Slammed Review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3iWoI2Gmc6faKs
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jannette McCurdy
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/59364173-i-m-glad-my-mom-died
cw: triggerwarningdatabase.com/2022/11/20/im-glad-my-mom-died-by-jennette-mccurdy/
Audiobook provided by Libro.fm
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/32620332-the-seven-husbands-of-evelyn-hugo
cw: booktriggerwarnings.com/The_Seven_Husbands_of_Evelyn_Hugo_by_Taylor_Jenkins_Reid
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/40597810-daisy-jones-the-six
cw: booktriggerwarnings.com/Daisy_Jones_%26_The_Six_by_Taylor_Jenkins_Reid
Snark Squad Pod: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYDQmppmgdh8m9E
Book Mail:
The Odds by Lindsay Puckett: www.goodreads.com/book/show/63898993-the-odds
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo: www.goodreads.com/book/show/62949033-family-lore
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas: www.goodreads.com/book/show/63892214-vampires-of-el-norte
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[@Laf631]

I really enjoyed McCurdy's memoir, and it's possibly easier to read with not being an iCarly fan (it was on after I aged out of that kind of TV show) because she was so deeply unhappy while she was in it. The quiet horror of her matter-of-fact storytelling about objectively terrible events was something else. I hope she's enjoying her success as a writer, considering that's what she's really wanted all along.

[@sarahpowell6617]

Your characters to jail list? Flawless. No notes.

[@mynameismarines]

I worked hard on it 😌

[@ileneglenn845]

Jennette McCurdys narration made the audio book. Hearing her story directly from her made it very impactful. I don’t think reading it would have hit me the same way as listening did.

[@beebacchusvines7642]

I'm comfortable in giving up both Colleen Hoover and Taylor Jenkins Reid. The mix reviews are enough for me to pass. Life is too short, right? :D

[@moustik31]

Absolutely. I tried them both and neither are for me (for different reasons).

[@LisaVD92]

Hard pass on anything CoHo, but your sacrifice is appreciated. 😂 and YES! Gale should go to jail! (After being tried for war crimes in The Hague.) "it started with the neighbourhood cat vibes" had me in stitches.

[@debbiegreen6706]

It’s because of you, and A Clockwork Reader, that I have never read a single Colleen Hoover book. I am grateful 😂

[@giantcupofcoffee]

I think in Evelyn Hugo, she only used Evelyn’s Cuban identity to riff on Rita Hayworth before spinning off into a riff on Liz Taylor. In Daisy Jones, I just think the unreliable narration didn’t work well, and I think it’s weird that no one calls out that both of these books basically have the same twist (the interviewer is someone’s daughter).

[@JoshsBookishVoyage]

I love the inclusion of yourself as one of the covers in the thumbnail. Very clever

[@mynameismarines]

lol thank you for noticing 😂

[@anix670]

​@@mynameismarinessaw it too, nice!

[@sonrisa7237]

I JUST picked up The Hacienda after running into the vampires of el norte while looking for more Latino vampire stories. Can't wait to get through them both

[@HeatherB81]

Your laugh is EVERYTHING! ❤ And also, I bet you are an amazing friend.

[@taylorgayhart9497]

The end of Daisy Jones PISSES ME OFF!!! I *hate* the trope of the self sacrificing wife who knows all along her husband loved someone else, and the fact that it was their daughter makes all those interviews weird, like who would tell their daughter some of the things they did? It was all unnecessary.

[@scroogemcduckrich9705]

FINALLY. You really neglect your youtube fanatics 😂😂😂

[@mynameismarines]

I'm here, I'm here!

[@jaimebarajas-hernandez6045]

Marines, you are brilliant thank you for helping me shift my thinking!

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you for watching and for the kind words!

[@paulaatwood5198]

Love your reviews and deep dives and text based examples of why you are rating things the way you are! Also strong agree on no CoHo

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and always happy to find another no CoHo person ♥️

[@asteria7577]

Omggggg thank you for talking about how Taylor Jenkins Reid's portrayal of women of colour!! You're literally the first booktuber I've seen talk about it. I don't get why no one sees the issues 😅

[@Frea_]

I believe Jesse on KZbin has a video about the problematic things in Evelyn Hugo as well

[@asteria7577]

@@Frea_ oh thanks, I'll look them up!

[@cfbg]

You probably think every latino is “brown,” don’t you?

[@asteria7577]

@@cfbg how did you come to that conclusion?

[@cfbg]

@@asteria7577you call every latina a “person of colour,” that’s how.

[@eleonora.r]

I apprecciate your criticism so much and it confirms the ideas I have about these books 💕

[@WildeBookGarden]

"we love a little book mail after emotional devastation" 🤣😅 Vampires of El Norte is one I'm so curious about, I hope it's good!!

[@esolofoni]

Marines, your reviews give me life, I love that we agree on so many things regarding popular books! It's hard to find people with similar tastes!

[@BellsBarbosa]

I'm glad you posted, I missed your videos. The white look slapped, you look great!

[@iammehowru]

I just love your laugh! Also your thoughts on books haha, but your great laugh keeps me coming back ❤

[@keltavuokko]

I loved Daisy Jones and The Six, and interestingly particularly because of some of the things you said - that on second reading, knowing the twist, you can re-interpret almost what people said in the interviews. So even though the twist wasn't needed, I appreciate it nonetheless.

[@mynameismarines]

I get that! I just think it puts a really gross spin on a lot of what people were sharing with this woman? Like her mother is dead, why are you guys saying these things....!!!! 😭

[@lisapetrilli9929]

I’ve read Verity and Reminders of him by Coleen Hoover. I liked reminders of him and hated Verity. Her plots remind me of Lifetime movies and that makes it unlikely that I will ever read one if her novels again. I now have to reread both Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones.

[@themusicsnob]

Ooh I am excited to eventually hear your thoughts on Family Lore because I have noticed the same thing you mentioned about positive reviewers trying to get ahead of the negativity curve with that book. I am still really excited to pick it up 😊

[@TheReadingKrisis]

The thumbnail is sending me :D It's brilliant! I think not knowing a lot about McCurdy's story before reading only makes it better, especially since after reading it I cannot look at iCarly the same again. Also great idea for the video, but I would have given up on the first CoHo on the list TBH

[@asdfghjklasdfghjkl321]

Okay but no same with BOTM like I've been skipping but then all of a sudden I was literally interested in 3 books this month from them 😭 For what it's worth I even made a freaking 2hrs and a half KZbin video basically saying that they're not as diverse as they claim to be and that they also have massive transparency issues 🙃

[@jenm3577]

i also chose the vampires of el norte this month!! i’m so excited to read it

[@cblanio]

I remember telling someone that I don't like how Jenkins Reid does Latine women and I had so many people coming out "weeeeell, I wasn't offended~" like cool? I didn't say don't read her or she's terrible, just that if you do feel uneasy about the writing theirs likely a reason

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

Yes Jeannette’s memoir is so good 🥹

[@mariam19554]

I read Evelyn Hugo but just felt uncomfortable throughout it, and not in the "it's good to get out of your comfort zone and face uncomfortable truths" but more like "how are these characters people of colour and LGBTQ but act nothing like it?" Being an immigrant in such a straight, white industry would definitely leave a strong impression on you but I felt little of it with Evelyn. I was honestly expecting more from this book.

[@zainabreads4382]

hey would u ever considering reading haunting adeline?

[@mynameismarines]

Yes lmao. I was going to do that as my next hate read, but I’m doing Pucking Around first and then Haunting Adeline.

[@zainabreads4382]

@@mynameismarines omg i cant wait. bc haunting adeline is... a lot. altho its addicting to read. def more problematic than colleen hoover. but at least theres trigger warnings lol

[@WildeBookGarden]

also I've never read The Hunger Games but I so understand that vibe of 'okay everyone in this book was varying degrees of terrible but some of you were overachievers' 🤨

[@theo278]

I've only read verity by coho and i dnfed bc she wrote a super ableist story and called a mentally disabled character a broken egg w nothing inside 😭

[@supuchan]

As always, great discussion about popular books. I know I'll never read CoHo, she just doesn't seem like an author for me. I loved Evelyn Hugo back in the day but don't know how I would feel on reread. I guess it just resonated with me, because I'm bi as well. DNFd Daisy Jones because I didn't care about the characters though. And I want to read I'm glad my mom died at some point

[@angryotter9129]

I really enjoyed Evelyn Hugo…until that car crash. The moment that happened, I knew exactly where the book was going. All TJR would have had to do was give some level of consideration to that man and his daughter. But no. That whole plot twist basically demoted the journalist and turned her into a set piece, not to mention the treatment of the father. It left me with a really gross feeling.

[@INKH3ArT3D]

CoHo really isn’t for me. KrimsonRogue said it well when he said CoHo writes thrillers from the perspective of a romance- but badly. IGMMD was such a great audiobook. Hearing Jeanette tell her own story added a level of grit, especially in the passages that were more hopeful and aspirational. I read Daisy Jones last month and I hated all the characters but found it enjoyable- except for the end.

[@onarosebeam]

his new video! "she writes guys who get the girl when they deserve to get the chair"

[@theotherveronica]

i’ve read a whopping 6 of the books on the goodreads list 😂 (DNF’d 1). i’ve learned that i’m quite averse to really popular books. especially if those books are not recommended by really serious readers- so many of the books on the top list are books for casual readers. however, of the ones i’ve read on the list, most were good! ACOTAR and Colleen Hoover are simply way too hyped for me to even consider. i already hate them just for their popularity (that being said i did read Verity last year before CoHo really took off in such a massive way. i liked it fine but it’s also a bit of a different genre than her others)

[@tinyprettymoon]

I don’t mean to be rude, but I wanted to let you know that you spelled Jennette’s name wrong in the title

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you!

[@ohladysamantha]

The twist in Daisy Jones is so unnecessary. I don't love the open ending because of other readers' opinions on the relationships in that book. Like, yes Billy and Daisy are soulmates but had they been together - they would have either ended up in the "27 club" or in jail like... Camilla and Billy is the only logical pairing. And I feel like some people miss how much Billy embodies toxic masculinity because they are so caught up in the Billy/Daisy of it all.... like they are both not good people and addicts and just a MESS. Honestly, there are times when, reflecting on the story, I'm like, yes Billy and Camilla is the better relationship but I want Camilla to be FREE. Can't wait to see you continue with this project!

[@theotherveronica]

i agree with all of your takes- this isn’t the first time that i’ve rooted for two characters to end up together not because i like them and they deserve happiness but because they both suck and deserve each other 😂that’s one thing i did like about the story. that it was so messy and the characters were imperfect. it felt very true to the fact that so many of the celebrities we idolize are effed up people. but i also don’t mind reading books where i hate the characters (as long as that is the intent and i think it was on this one.

[@BritneyT.]

🧡

[@lz7926]

🖤

[@thefriesofLockeLamora]

Lily Bloom? Seriously?

[@iammehowru]

Lily BLOSSOM Bloom. The Florist... 😂

[@victoriap1561]

oh yeah the latina character in carrie soto, they didn't even bother to give her dad the correct accent in the audiobook, it was so distracting.. Evidence of the affair is my favourite TJR

[@cadence99]

TJR has some IFFY patterns to say the least

[@TheGoofy1932]

CoHo and Taylor Jenkins Reid are like SJM, Clare and Armentrount permanently removed from my reading list. 🤨 I have a very firm 3 strikes and you're Out policy. 😏 And let's just say they're firmly Off the Field. 😂

[@asdfghjklasdfghjkl321]

What I find a bit disheartening is that I've seen other bipoc individuals, not Latine to be fair I suppose, not say anything about the bad portrayal of Latine characters in TJR, which I feel like is kinda representative of how people in publishing just don't care about Latine individuals. I mean I think of fantasy and science fiction and how you can easily find authors who are white in that genre, and even for Black and Asian authors in fantasy and science fiction, but for Latine authors the choices are so limiting that I basically have read or at least own almost all SFF books from Latine authors 🙃

[@TamikaMichelle]

I've only read one Colleen Hoover but it was a thriller and I enjoyed it not an actual romance but I ain't like it enough to want to read all her works. Also love SJM and please read something else 😂. Taylor Jenkins Reid is straight and other books exist.

[@mynameismarines]

Verity is on this list too so I'll be trying that one soon. I am not hopeful 😂

[@TheGoofy1932]

Christian Grey is 100% the Killer. He's a Lifetime Movie waiting to happen. Do I need to add bad to the Lifetime Movie thing or do we just all assume that now? 😉

[@shineonsunfish]

I never read Evelyn Hugo but I’m guessing by your description that a similar twist was used EXTREMELY WELL in “By The Way Meet Vera Stark” by Lynn Nottage (it’s a play.). It seems like a really weird choice for a white author to write (I’m white.). I’m all for representation but I don’t think white people are qualified to write about nonwhite experiences with explicitly racial issues… :/

[@scroogemcduckrich9705]

26:37 All of the white people 😂😂😂😂

[@BritneyT.]

Another character that should be in jail: the white mom from Little Fires Everywhere. Spoilers: Stalking someone because she just didn't like that they were different is something that hot home for me, and also made me so mad. The other mom QUITE LITERALLY did nothing wrong, and you wanted to expose her off of vibes??? Jail.

[@Gunsla]

One thing I got from I’m Glad My Mom Died is that Jennette McCurdy came off as not a very nice person. I understand the trauma she endured but I couldn’t excuse the way she herself treated others.