favorite books read in 2023

I decided to get a start on this early this year, since post my 2022 faves lasted me months to do. These are some of my favorite posts to make every year. While the year is not finished yet, as of November 28th, I have read 92 books. That's pretty good, considering my goal was 85! And while I have read some books that were not my cup of tea at all, I have also read some amazing books this year! Today, I'm going to share with you some of my favorite books read in 2023. As of now there are 25 on my list, so this will for sure be broken up into multiple parts. Let's jump into it though!

please note that anything with an asterisk (*) was an ARC I received. It didn't change my opinion of the book, but mentioning it for transparency's sake.

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberly & Austin Siegemund-Broka

“...sometimes relationships don't die. They just don't grow. Kept from sunlight, from nourishment, they never flourish.”

-Emily Wibberly& Austin Siegemund-Broka

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Literary Fiction

My Rating: ★★★★

I read this book at the beginning of this year, and I was shocked by how much I loved it. The writing was so beautiful, kind of Emily Henry vibes. It was a romance, but it read like a literature fiction novel. They used to be a strong co-writing team, best sellers across the charts, but something happened that made them end their partnership on bad terms. Something that was never divulged to the public. They haven't spoken to each other since, and weren't planning to, except for the fact that they have to write one more book together, because of their contract.

And from there, they're forced to reunite. The last thing they expected to happen was to stay at the same house where they wrote their last book. They both try to finish the manuscript as quickly as possible, only to realize that the passion and prose of writing this romance novel is not only bringing them closer, it's making them work through the reasons they've hated each other for the past three years. This story was told in dual-timelines, and it was such a great story. It kind of has Beach Read vibes, but not really. The characters just felt so real and well developed. I haven't read much else from these two writers, but I think 2024 will be the year to do so. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book!

The Folk of the Air Trilogy by Holly Black (Reread)

“Come home and shout at me. Come home and fight with me. Come home and break my heart, if you must.”

Holly Black, Queen of Nothing

I'm not going to say too much about this, because it was a reread, but I wanted to put this back on the list, so you guys know that I'm still with this series a whole year later. I actually read this book in 2022, and put this on my favorites list as well!

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

“Those are the four most beautiful words in the English language. You can go now.”

Freida McFadden, The Housemaid

Genre: Mystery / Suspense / Psychological Thriller

My Rating: ★★★★

I know everyone and their mother has talked about this book, and while I've reviewed it on my Bookstagram (honestly, all of these books have more in depth reviews on my bookstagram), this book still deserves to make the list.

I don't know why, but I feel like it's really difficult for me to rate a thriller highly. Firstly it has to be well written, it has to have a fun plot line, but it also has to make sense. I don't like thrillers that give you too many plot twists that don't really make sense or it feels like they came out of left field. I want the thrillers to be properly placed for the most dramatic effect. And even though this book was a little bit predictable, I really enjoyed it! This story follows Millie who was a recent parolee looking for a job. Then she finds one as a live-in nanny. And while she's keeping secrets about her time in jail, it seems like there are also some big secrets being kept about this family.

I'm telling you, this was a page turner for sure, and I highly recommend!

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center*

“But I find the antidote to that is just keeping a sense of humor. And staying humble. And laughing a lot. And doubling down on smiling. We’re all just muddling through, after all. We’re all just doing the best we can. We’re all struggling with our struggles. Nobody has the answers. And everybody, deep down, is a little bit lost.”

KAtherine Center, Hello Stranger

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

My Rating: ★★★★

This was an ARC I received, and after reading The Bodyguard by her, I could not have been more excited to get this! I read this book in a day. It was that good. The story follows Sadie who is the definition of a starving artist. After having a seizure in the middle of the road, she’s taken to the hospital where she finds out she has to get brain surgery. The surgery goes perfectly…or so they thought. She soon realizes that she becomes face blind (she can no longer look at faces and recognize who they belong to). The story then follows to see how she learns to adapt to no longer recognizing people.
I will say the story starts off a little slow, getting to know Sadie and her backstory, but maybe at about the 10-15% mark it really picks up. I could not read it fast enough. One thing I really loved was her friend dynamic with Sue and Sue’s family. Especially considering how terrible her family life was. There’s a lot self-discovery (one of my favorite things that stories can really create depth with characters). And the way the romance is intertwined is perfect. I could not love the romantic interest more. He was perfect in every way.

I will say that if you're going into this thinking it's a romance, you may feel a little disappointed. While there is a romance subplot, it's definitely not the focal point of the story. I highly recommend this book.

Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

“People spend their whole lives complaining about things they’re unwilling to change. At a certain point, either pluck up the courage or shut up.”

Elle Kennedy, Good Girl Complex

Genre:

My Rating: ★★★★

At the time, I wanted to read something easy, that I knew I was going to enjoy. I have read a lot of her hockey books throughout the years, and have always enjoyed them. They tend to be easy reads, with lots of comedic relief, fun banter, and also touches on more difficult conversations. Plus most of her books in series have this really fun friendship group. Out of all her books, I might have liked it better, because it didn’t center around a college campus.
This story follows Mac and Cooper. Mac comes from a wealthy family, and has always did everything her parents expected of her. From dating the guy they wanted her to, to attending a college she has zero interest in going to. But from the moment she meant Cooper she realized how mapped out her life really was, and decided to change that. Cooper on the other hand has never been handed anything in his life. And when a rich snobby guy gets him fired from his job, he decides to plot revenge. When he finds out the guy, who he had caught trying to make out with his co-worker, has a girlfriend, he decides he’s going to steal his girl from under his nose. What he didn’t expect was genuinely like Mac, which makes this tricky. How could he admit to her that meeting her was originally all part of a revenge plot.
It was a story is fast paced, and all I wanted to do was keep reading. I loved reading both perspectives, and also enjoyed getting to know the main and side characters a like. I think my least favorite thing about this book, which was what made it teeter between 4 stars and 3.75 stars is the fact that cheating does happen, which is something I really don't like. I’ve always enjoyed Elle Kennedy’s writing style, and this 100% got me out of my reading funk at the time. I enjoyed this book a lot, and recommend it!

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So these are the first 7 books that were some of my favorites in 2023! I'm going to try to finish this by the end of the year, but if not, that's okay too. I'm pretty happy to get a jump on this post early (at least early compared to last year). Let me know some of your favorite reads of the year? I would love to either add them to my TBR or bump them up on my TBR list. Chat soon xxx