Top Ten Tuesday – Best Books of 2023!

Posted by Kay on January 2, 2024 12:41 pm in Book talk | 7 comments

I usually wait for around June to select my top 10 from the previous year, as I appreciate the time if gives me to think back on my reading and see what stuck with me. However, I think I’ll be quite busy this June, as I am currently pregnant and, if all goes well, we’ll have a little boy joining us this spring! (yes, this is me announcing it here, finally!)

So here we go!

I read 178 books in 2023, which I am quite happy with. I enjoyed a lot of the books I read, but here are the ones that stand out to me now :

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Top 10 Books I read in 2023

Happy Place by Emily Henry : I really enjoyed Emily Henry’s newest romance. Even though I agree with a lot of the criticism, I can’t deny I had a great time with it from start to finish. Book Lovers is still my favorite of hers though!

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center : This one was just a lot of fun. It read like a romcom with never one boring moment.

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood : Ali Hazelwood is definitely one of my favorite romance authors, and Love, Theoretically is maybe my favorite of hers. Her formula always works for me and I particularly liked Elsie and Jack’s chemistry. (Also, an honorable mention for Check & Mate, which I also enjoyed quite a lot!)

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin : I first listened to this one and loved it so much I ended up buying a hardcover copy too. It was a bit of an emotional ride but one I am so glad I went on.

What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo : This one is a bit more personal. As someone who also deals with CPTSD, I appreciated the book in itself but it was also surprisingly helpful.

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy : I don’t know how to recommend this one! The Other Side of Night is the type of experience that is much more fun if you go in knowing nothing, but it also means that it might go in a direction readers are not prepared for and do not enjoy. I understand why the rating is so low, but for me it worked perfectly, it was exactly the type of twists and themes I love.

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue : This was my last book of 2023, and what a read! I loved both the story and the writing, and now I am eager to read more by Emma Donoghue. If you have a recommendation, please let me know!

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent : I read the complete Crowns of Nyaxia series this year, but the novella was definitely my favorite part of the series (though I had a good time through all of it). I enjoyed the characters and their romance, loved the story and thought the shorter length was just perfect.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty : This was so much fun! I feel like this one reinvigorated my love and my need for fantasy novels full of adventure. Amina was an excellent main character and the writing hooked me from the start. I wish I could already read more stories from this world!

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers : This was lovely! I read both Monk and Robot novellas this year and it was such a pleasant, heartwarming time. Now I need to catch up with Becky Chambers’ previous books.