2023 Top Books
A completely random and subjective selection of the ten best books I read this year
It’s that time of year when we all sit down and make lists. For some of us it’s a list of our favorite movies or episodes of television. For others it’s the coolest places we traveled or the moments that made us laugh the most. For me, it’s my top ten books.
The exercise of choosing only 10 out of the 150 books I read each year is a bit strange. How do you distill all of that content into one list? For me in order for a book to hit the list, the main criteria is that it needs to stand out. Whether that means I rated the book 5 stars or it made me cry or I feel compelled to scream about it from the rooftop is not the same for each.
I gave a 5 star rating to 25 books this year and had only ten slots but the honorable mentions can be found here.
Without further ado, here is my personal top 10 in the order that I read them!
1. The Street by Ann Petry
I read this book with my book club and it completely blew me away. The writing is amazing and I was hooked from the very first page. Petry is masterful as she wraps you up in the words and the worlds of her characters. I hope more people continue to discover just how good this book is.
2. Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
I think after the intense experience of Ann Petry falling into Kate Clayborn’s capable hands was cathartic. Her books have been hit or miss for me in the past but this one swept me off my feet. I loved reading about Georgie and Levi and their sweet love story. They feel real, genuine and vulnerable. This one has everything I love in a romance novel and then some.
3. The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
It isn’t often that I rate a sequel higher than the first installment in a series but that was just the case here. Everything I enjoyed about the first book was heightened and deepened. I could also see Tasha Suri laying the tracks for what promises to be a stunning conclusion to the series.
4. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
Actually, it would appear rating the second book in a series the highest is a bit of a trend for me this year. To me, this book is a perfect romance novel complete with fully fleshed out compelling characters, a coven of best friends, and conflict. I will be chasing the high of falling in love with this one for quite some time.
5. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
So obviously, Fourth Wing had to be on this list. It is by far the most fun I had reading a book all year. I think I could write a dissertation on why this book was so wildly successful but it boils down to the perfect combination of fantasy and romance. There’s a generation who grew up reading Harry Potter and Twilight and now that we’re adults we want our female fantasy heroines to save the world and have great sex while doing it. Bring on the romantasy trend. We aren’t going anywhere.
6. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles
This is the year I fell in love with queer romance and K.J. Charles has a strong footprint in the historical genre. I loved Band Sinister but to me this one is even stronger because the characters are all so good. Like Joss is a smuggler but he’s got a heart of gold. The setting is also perfection and I was so glad she granted us a bit of a sequel to this one.
7. Chain-Gang, All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
When people ask me what the best book I read this year is I will point them to this title. It is masterful storytelling, devastating writing, and scathing satire all wrapped into one. This book is a powerhouse first novel and it will sit with me in years to come.
8. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
If you loved Red, White, and Royal Blue then this book is definitely for you. It’s not quite a King Arthur retelling but engages with the text in a fun and interesting way. The characters all young, queer, and full of hope for a better world and if you ask me, that’s everything a good King Arthur story stands for. I adored this book so much for it’s heart, the fantastical fun, and the medievalness of it all.
9. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Every since the true crime genre exploded I’ve been waiting for this book. Finally someone who is interested in telling the stories of the victims. Finally someone who is willing to portray serial killers as nothing special murders. Knoll confronts the harsh reality of what being a woman in American culture is like. She refuses to engage with romanticizing crime and I applaud her for that.
10. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
I could not put this book down and that wasn’t just because of its central mystery. I was particularly taken in by the ways in which Boulley lovingly portrays Daunis, a soon-to-be college freshman at a crossroads of her identity. Daunis is a wonderfully drawn character who loves both parts of her ancestry despite never feeling accepted in either community. Her journey to owning her identity and taking her place in her chosen community is a compelling story. Own voices matter.
Other things of note…
I started reading Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series after becoming fully obsessed with Fated Mates. I can’t honestly say I recommend it. There are some rough books in the series with serious consent issues. I’ve only given a handful of them a decent rating but after 18 books, I’m invested.
Romantasy is on the rise and I’d argue here to stay. Fourth Wing was massively successful and now booksellers are paying attention to the genre. But for those SJM girlies out there, we’ve been here all along and we buy books.
The majority of the romance novels I loved this year were either written by queer authors or featured LGBTQ+ characters. I made a promise to myself to read more diversely this year and I think it shows in the romance genre. I am a white cishet woman but that doesn’t mean I can’t fall in love with characters and love stories whose identities are different than my own. So can you!
What were your top books this year?