30 Days, 15 Books: My Personal Ratings & Spicy Scale Revealed! 📚 

Please continue to share your reviews! They're ACTUALLY helpful and normal and not stuffy and formal- does that make sense (despite rhyming 😂)

I've restrained myself for two weeks now, BUT OHMIGAWWWWWD I CANNOT BELIEVE THE ELYSE MYERS IS TALKING ABOUT MY BOOK!!!!!!!!! I screamed at a public event when I was shown this!!!

This is THE GREATEST book review video I've ever watched. It feels like a realistic book review from a friend. The good, the bad, relevant plot information to communicate the vibes, and good explanations of what you liked or disliked. Perfect. 10/10

I know Abby Jimenez and she lives in Minnesota now! :) She started her cupcake store Nadia Cakes in California then opened up two more locations here in Minnesota - and as a fellow Minnesotan I gotta say her references to real places is definitely a fun detail I've loved! :D Love this review video!

Hey, as a an English teacher and regular book reviewer, I must say you are GREAT at this! You mixed in objective critiques with your personal reactions, and you have a good sense of what works and what doesn’t. Never let your past (you said you struggled with reading in school) keep you from enjoying something now. You’re a great reader!

Booktube Elyse is one of the best Elyse’s of all the Elyse’s

Now we need monthly book reviews. Your rating scale is great. Your Emily Henry reviews is so on point, honestly your described exactly how I’ve experienced her books. Immediately added Better than the Movies to my list.

I am HERE for this content! I left social media a couple of years ago, but when I check in a couple of times a year I always go to your Instagram page. I've always been an avid reader and a few years ago I started reading romance when I was low mentally and after I saw someone point out online there's no other genre of book where women definitely get a happy ending. My favourite ones are those that also involve the love and support of community and friendships. I read all sorts and I never thought I'd pick up romance books, but they really do bring me so much joy. I've added your recommendations to my 'want to read' list. ❤

Had to pause the video to say, im SO glad u stopped to have that coffee and didnt listen to urself when u doubted anyone would want to hear this. I am LOVING this!! As a fellow book lover (aka Book Dragon 😂), I was squealing with glee as soon as I saw this title. I love when my fav content creators do book reviews. I could watch you rate books for hours on end. Also, I think your rating scale is GENIUS!! I'm so happy you did this, Elyse! 😍📖😍

Elyse I lovee your bookish content! YASSS to your booktube era!❤😁

Fun fact from Abby about The Friend Zone ending... The Happy Ever After Playlist was actually the first book she wrote and she went back and wrote The Friend Zone and because that storyline happens first, they decided to lead with that as her debut novel! Abby says, "obviously because Sloan's book was already written, certain *ahem* THINGS in The Friend Zone had to happen - because they already did. They happened before I ever wrote one word of Kristen and Josh's love story. The *big thing* in The Friend Zone wasn't done to facilitate Kristen and Josh's HEA or to add drama."

I LOVE your spice scale and rating system!! I also find it absolutely wonderful that you and your husband read these aloud together. And the content warnings are SO HELPFUL.

I LOVE YOUR RATING SYSTEM. The ocd, adhd is working as a superpower in this video. Chef's kiss.

I love that you are finding hobbies that bring you joy from crocheting, film development, painting, and now reading! Glad you are able to share your love for reading with the internet.

Huge Abby Jimenez fan here! No shade for books you didn't care for or didn't finish, they each bring something new to the table and we all react differently. Few things for you: 1. Abby lives in Minnesota now, so that's why she focuses there. :) 2. The audio books are SO GOOD! As a podcaster and producer, you will really appreciate the effort she puts into casting her dual narrators. It's also a great way to have another "first" with your favorite books. You know the plot, but they bring it to life in a new way.

It’s crazy to me how sobjective books are. Normal people is my absolute FAVORITE book on the planet. All of Sally Rooney books for that matter (I’m practically salivating for her forth novel to come out in September) It was quite literally the book that got me into reading BECAUSE of the profound emotional impact that it had on me. It is kinda written to be left up to your interpretation and I see how that can be not everyone’s cup of tea. But it really is about the human experience, finding your way through life, and making your life your own. Connell and Marianne are very different people in so many ways, yet very similar - because they are only human (or normal people lol).

Please please please please please do these every month! I love to hear you talk about books. Literally my favorite thing to watch on you tube right now is you talk about books. More please. 😊

To quote Brea and Mallory: If a book does not bring you joy: Dump! That! Book! ...

Agree with everyone recommending Rainbow Rowell. If you want to give Beth O’Leary another shot her first book “The Flatshare” is one of my favorites. I read spicier than you do, but I think Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series is probably in the 2.5-3 range. My favorite is the second book “Pretty Face”.

DO NOT STOP! Loved, loved, loved your reviews…kept saying “yes! exactly!”. I’m off to two of the books you recommended as I hadn’t yet found them before you. I can’t wait to see what you find next.

so wonderful to watch someone talk about books like a normal person - not constantly apologizing for not liking certain things or trying to write weirdly formal reviews. love it, and love that you're enjoying your newfound (re-found?) interest in reading! ❤

You HAVE to read Rainbow Rowell. All of her books are either in Omaha Nebraska or have mention of it. She lives there too. Most of her books are YA, but she has a new adult book coming out in July. Her characters are chefs kiss.

I'm so glad we are getting long form content from you and I love that you don't stay in one lane, we've had photography, crochet, art, lifestyle and now booktube content (and more I'm sure). I'm here for all of it. I mainly watch booktube content and I would never watch someone talk about romance books, I would never read a romance book but I still loved watching you review them. I could watch you do a review of the phone book tbh. Now I'm just excited for you to become obsessed with fishkeeping because that's a huge area for you to fully immerse yourself in with lots of things to learn and they're beautiful and great for your mental health. Anyways, even if not, any long form content from you is just gold!

There was a book I read called The Geography of You and Me and it’s a really sweet, fun, romance book. It’s not spicy at all (it’s about teenagers) and there’s a lot of travel involved (obviously) which I thought was super fun to read about in the midst of this love story. It’s kind of simple I guess but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

I give you 10 points for originality, pacing, themes, etc. thank you for including spice ratings and having a formula for your rating. One of my new fav videos and I hope you continue to share your reading journey whether it’s 10 books or 1!

Not me screenshotting your rating for every book to refer back to later 😂 I've just gotten into reading this year and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS. So much. I love your rating system too, and definitely appreciate your breakdown of the spiciness scale. We have similar preferences for spice/non-spice so your ratings are super helpful! My rating for this video: 10/10. Please keep doing these!!!

This professional-esque consumer breakdown is SO valuable, especially as I embark on writing a book myself. Thank you, thank you! Also, if you ever want to explore some fantasy with the most incredible world building and character development, I highly HIGHLY recommend Brandon Sanderson. 💕

Elyse! So glad to see your face! And...I am so happy you are feeling joy with coming back to reading! I'm a voracious reader and when a former reader returns I am at my happiest❤. My dtr loves Abby and Emily Henry books...and she is a so-so former reader that has started back up❤ Love your format and am now going in search of your June book reviews. Keep up the great work!

The best part about The Happy Ever After Playlist is the actual playlist that goes along with the book in the chapter titles. Listening along to the songs as you read truly truly sets the mood of the book. It's one of my all time favorite books, and I put that playlist on regularly and love every second of it because it feels like you're experiencing the book again just by listening to the music. Cannot recommend that book and playlist combo enough!!

Amazing. I’m here for every SINGLE BIT OF THIS. Also, greatest line ever: “that. Is. For. My. Therapist.” Thank you so much for normalizing therapy and making it such a great part of life!!

YES! Pleeeaaase keep doing these! I only just realized you are still posting on RU-vid and I am THRILLED! ...but now playing catch-up. Sorry in advance for geeking out a bit... Learning that you like the enemies-to-lovers side of romcom, you'd probably love The UnHoneymooners. It's an adorable, fun read (from just a couple years ago) that hits all of the things you mentioned loving in the earlier reviews, and just keeps you wanting to read "one more chapter!" before putting it down (good luck with that). It can be predictable at times (at least for me), but in the best way because it didn't bore me at all. Let me know what you think! Also... are you on Goodreads, because I'd love to connect there! I am a HUGE fan of thrillers, so I'm definitely intrigued by the fact that you typically don't. They're my JAM! I'm a firm believer that you've just gotta read the right ones to get into it. Now I'm curious of your thoughts on Fantasy/SciFi books because there are whole ranges of each but there are some INCREDIBLE ones. I have SO many books to recommend, but I'll slow down. Can't wait to hear what you read next and LOVE your scoring scale.

This video is a breath of fresh air! Don't get me wrong-I love my other booktuber girlies, but they don't go this in-depth. It inspires me to think a littleee more critically about what I am reading even if it is a cute, fun romance. I hope you keep posting these💖

Don’t second guess yourself! I’m a former author and I miss reading, especially spicy books - as much as I used to. But I really have no idea where to start these days, so this is useful! And entertaining 😁

This is exactly what I’ve been unknowingly wanting oh so badly! I Love this! So: here’s a preemptive thank you, Elyse, as we, the people, trust you babe. 🥰👍👍 + your silent reaction was: everything….

I saw you had mentioned Yours Truly in another video and I was waiting for it to be available at my library. I just got it on Monday and read it in two days…well 6 hours split between two days! I loved it soo much I couldn’t put it down! I laughed out loud, I cried, I giggled. It was everything. Now, I’m reading The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest. Just getting into it, but it’s good so far! It’s giving You’ve Got Mail vibes where she writes an email to her fav author and he writes back…then later he discovers that she is his neighbor but doesn’t tell her it’s him because he used a pen name for his book. (I didn’t give anything away, it says as much on the back cover description) Love your review! I’ll be adding more books to my list!

I just finished Behind Her Eyes based on your recommendation. Oh. My. God. You're reaction video is exactly how I feel right now. Thrillers aren't my usual books to read either but I'm so glad I read it!! Thanks for the spoiler free review!!

The way you review books is SOOO satisfying!

@elyse_myers Elyseeee this video was SO GOOD from the scales to the captions (I'm at work on my break and didn't bring headphones) adding something in the water to my basket! Please add Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus to your list! P.s the AMOUNT of books you read as a married mom of 2 is incredible! This was such a good video 👍

I listen to a lot of book review channels and I don’t think I can anymore because your review videos are everything I need and more. I will refresh your page every day for the next months review video

This is my favorite thing ever!!! I want to hear everything you think and feel about every book you ever read! I literally stopped what i was doing to watch this! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Omg my favorite content creator and my favorite hobby combined! I am going to be late to work now!

I’m not a reader for funsies, mostly because every time I try to read, I fall asleep in approximately 2 minutes. So I don’t know what is typical, but this seems like a lot of books to read in a month! I enjoy your reviews and the scales that you used.

First of all, I LOVE these book reviews!!! Please keep doing these deep dives on your hobbies and things you love, because they are such a joy to watch.

Oh my goodness Elyse you’re so amazing at reviewing books!!! Your scales are so easy to follow and helpful. You’re so clear and peaceful to listen to 😊

I want so many more of these!!! My friends and I that have a summer book club, we were just talking about what our summer picks should be. I sent this to everyone! We definitely want to hear this content!

This makes me so happy 💕 I truly believe reading is for everyone, you just need to find your books and the way you like to read. Books are life ✨️

I haven’t read a single book this year but I clicked this so fast and I’m enjoying every second of it.

I love that you guys felt connected to Part of Your World because I felt like my husband and I were similar to the characters in Yours Truly! Abby Jimenez is QUEEN.

I really do watch everything you post straight away. Cookie reviews, book reviews, learning how to develop photo’s (which I’ll never do), agorapobia exposures (which I do… do) keep it coming 😂❤️

I’ve been dyyyyying for you to breakdown what you’ve been reading!! I’ve been trying to screenshot which books you’ve mentioned in other videos. 😂

I was eyeing Better Than the Movies the whole first half of the video and when you said "this next one is one of my favorites" and then picked it up i audibly squeeled!! I LOVE THAT BOOK and im so happy you loved it too!!!!!!

I just started watching your book reviews and I'm obsessed! Please don't second guess yourself. You are fantastic!

This is so timely!! I had gone yearssss without reading, but the other day my boyfriend handed me a comic book that I couldn’t put down. Now I actually WANT to read more but I have no idea where to start. I got so excited when I saw this thumbnail!

I normally watch your short form content, but this is absolutely my fav video of yours!! Book videos are my love and your spice scale made me laugh out loud

Love this! Your rating scale makes so much sense, and actually means something which I really appreciate. Some of my favorite books that made me feel things are by Fredrik Backman. I have only read 'My grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry', 'A man called Ove', and 'Anxious people'. Loved them so much. Though 'Anxious people' was hard to follow at times.

This video was a perfect example of my belief that we can be objective about subjective reality. If you like salty and someone tells you a thing is not salty, then you have a better idea of whether you will like it than if they just say it is sooo good. Appreciated the overviews without spoilers as well. And seriously impressed by the rating scale as well as the number of books read!

Anyone else hit the like button immediately when starting an Elyse video? I already know I'm going to like it even before I've heard a word. ❤

Abby Jimenez brought me to your youtube page! Just for the summer was my favorite, I think because I relate to her story so much, made me realize my own trauma and brought up conversations with my therapist that i haven’t had before even after years of therapy. That’s why I love Abby Jimenez so much ❤ she goes deep on hard topics and does it in a very responsible and realistic way and describing attachment styles that come as a consequence.

You aren't broken and I loved your reviews! I have a lot of opposite ratings on many of the books but I still loved hearing your take! Books are personal and all our brains are made differently (thank goodness) and I loved hearing your reading journey! 💛 Keep going!

Elyse we love this!!! Welcome to the book community 😍

Two things: 1. I love your book reviews… I need more recs 2. Your hair looks AMAZING in this video!!

This is incredible and I really appreciated the rating system because I feel bamboozled by some reviews! I’ve read two of the books you reviewed and could totally see how you came to that rating based on your system! Thank you a million!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue to make book content!!!! I love this and I love how chill and honest you are. A lot of other book videos I see are sooo fluffy and cloying and exaggerated. I love this. You're so calm and I love your vibe. I feel like we're hanging out over coffee!

i’m totally not interested in this sort of genre of book but i still love hearing you talk about them!!! keep up the good work!

This is the start of your book club! Keep it coming!

You in a reading era is all I never knew I needed, love it

Pls keep making these, you’re not a fraud! You’re introducing me to so many new books I love❤

I love everything about this. Please keep making book reviews!

I care Elyse 🥳🎉 Thank you for posting this and sharing your thoughts! I’ve been having a hard time actually reading so I love hearing your synopsis and opinions on the books.

I’m mostly online for bookstagram, booktok, booktube, and your videos. So when I saw that my faves were combined in this video, it was the dopamine boost of a life time. 😁 I love that you loved Behind Her Eyes! One of my favorites of all time! The show was really good too.

im glad you didnt listen to the insecurity that no one cares! i love this content and your effort is so appreciated!! thank you!!

This is so great! Absolutely love the rating system, so helpful! A few books I would recommend, especially if you want to try out some new genres: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (fantasy with a bit of romance but no spice) The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (a bit of time bending fantasy but surprisingly not hard to follow) Northanger Abbey (a classic obviously and my favorite Jane Austen that I rarely hear people talk about) Can’t wait to see more reviews!

We love everything you do here!

I couldn’t love this more! I actually took notes!

My second time watching this. I'm a retired English teacher and I love your reviews❤️ your command of vocabulary and the writing process is phenomenal.

Hi Elyse! I wanted to give you a book recommendation based on why you liked love hypothesis!! The kiss quotient by Helen hoang (and all Helen hoang books for that matter) feature an autistic main lead. All of the books are so good and definitely worth reading! ❤

I love that you’re making book content 😻

Love the jazzy background music!!

I really enjoyed hearing your take on these books. I love sharing books, so as a couple of recommendations: - The Hating Game > fantastic for enemies to lovers - The Midnight Library > not really a romance, I am also a pretty empathetic person and it gave me A LOT of feelings but also was uplifting, the beginning can be a little rough at first but worth it overall.

Your insights and some of the points you made (the too witty conversations, the flashbacks) were so relatable. Great reviews.

I absolutely love this! Thank you for the recommendations and your thorough reviews! Im going to check out some new authors now!

dude I'M excited! i'm autistic and book are my special interest, so this feels like MY video (also the spicy scale being on a pepper spectrum is EVERYTHING to me)

Love your book reviews! Kinda broke my heart hearing you talk about Emily Henry as she is my absolute favorite author :,) appreciate your honesty!

It’s so cool that you know Abby! I just finished Yours Truly and I was blown away ❤😊

You are literally incredible at this. Thank you for including the emotional reactions with such thoughtful high level commentary! I'm obsessed

Wow. Just finished reading “better than the movies” per your recommendation and it might be my favorite book this year and probably Top 5 all time favorite. Thank you so much for your book reviews. ❤

Love what you said about Emily Henry's language. Her banter often reminds me of Gilmore Girls which is also very unrealistic in real life! I am not good at analyzing anything so I have thought this but definitely couldn't put it into words!!

Hey, now, friend! I'm gonna interrupt you right here - you're exactly the kind of person who I want to hear your thoughts about books! People who are passionate and engaged, who can explain WHY and WHAT they liked/didn't like are easy to connect with! Well done assessments, as always, Elyse! Love the work you put into these reviews. It didn't go unnoticed!

I AM OBSESSED WITH “Better Than The Movies” 😭 is so sweet!! Also, you should read “Beach Read” by Emily Henry, enemies to lovers just like you like it and is her best book by farrr! 💛 Please make more of these videoss

LOVE the spice scale and the detail of these reviews! Feels very wholistic. Would love if you kept doing more reviews!! AND I can’t believe you read this many books in one month!! NICE.

Omg!!! I found you. I missed seeing ur content soooooo much!!! Glad your still on youtube!!! ❤❤❤❤

Elyse, I am so serious when I say I have never cared about a video of yours more. (Probably not accurate, but you know what I'm saying.) I LOVE reading, and you're the reason I got into Abby Jimenez books. Glad you're checking out Emily Henry. I always say I feel like she writes the same book over and over again, but I'm not mad at it lol. Funny Story is my favorite of hers. I also wasn't the biggest fan of Happy Place. There's a specific whimsy and playfulness in her other books that I felt Happy Place lacked. Please post more of these! They're super helpful and fun.

YES!!! First off - I absolutely love the way you go about your reviews. I also wanted to say I agree completely with your reviews for Part of Your World, Your Truly, and Just for the Summer. I also read Yours Truly first, not realizing it was technically second in a series. I am slightly upset with myself because I allowed myself to have very high expectations for Just for the Summer and I did not enjoy it nearly as much as the other two..

There’s a sequel to Better Than the Movies coming out this fall. Nothing Like the Movies. I’m so stoked! Also, I love your spice rating system. It’s awesome and please keep the book reviews coming! ❤

Pausing between Abby Jimenez and Emily Henry when you doubt yourself to say I WANT TO HEAR THIS! I also read Yours Truly before Part of Your World and had similar reactions, so knowing the rest of your recs is great for me when I don't know which of the pretty covers *I* will actually like, especially as someone who also likes to read lower on the spicy scale! Keep doing what you're doing, you're doing great

I read the two books in Part of Your World Series based on your post on Yours Truly. I’m so glad I did! I love this video. Keep ‘em coming. 😊

Is there anything Elyse can't do? I love listening to her talk. This was such an enjoyable video. I added so many books to my wish list. I can't wait for your next video like this!

If you want to give Beth O’Leary another try, I recommend the Flatshare. I’ve read three of her books and it is by far my favorite. I read it years ago and still remember the details about it today (which says a lot when you read 1-2 books a week and it still stands out)

You’re so good at reviewing books! It’s like listening to a trusted friend talk about books. Please do more if you can!

No, but the numerical ratings and spice scale is actually so helpful. 😭 Please continue!