Happy New Year ’24, everyone! And at last, my favorite topic for the yearly wrap-up to Top 10 Tuesday: favorite books of 2023. We save the best for the end, and it is so much fun adding those best to Mount TBR. Here’s my list too.
1/ Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin
Phenomenally well-written, terse suspense. Astronomer Vivvy Bouchet also has unsettling psychic insight and gets pulled into looking for a missing girl by cops. Is she a quack or is it real – nobody can make up their mind about it.
2/ Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles
A must read for lovers of noir and black comedies. The philandering Dr. Bickleigh falls in love, this time rather seriously, with Madeleine. He decides to off his wife, and really, it seems to be the “perfect murder” — will he really get away with it?
3/ The Black Spectacles by John Dickson Carr
Carr is the master of bizarre, sinister plot set-ups. Has Marjorie really poisoned all those children in her village in cold blood? The detective don’t want to rely on witnesses, who wear highly subjective lenses aka “black spectacles”…
4 & 5/ The Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig
Standout reads of the year. Phenomenally gothic and creepy, with all the power-mongers in the kingdom hunting down certain cards of sorcery. This duology took me completely by surprise and got me out of my reader’s block. Absolutely mindblowing world-building, plot AND writing.
6/ The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Saaski is a changeling and all the villagers know it. As the superstition and cruelty in her village grows, there is only one way out – she must find a new home for herself. A beautiful book, full of longing for people to belong to and an otherworldly eeriness.
7/ Idylls of the Queen by Phyllis Ann Karr
An obscure but brilliant retelling of the murder of Sir Patrise from Arthurian lore. Is there a crustier grumpier character than Sir Kay in Arthurian lore who could investigate whether Queen Guenevere did it? Full of teeth gnashing villains, old running family feuds and anti-heroic knights.
8/ The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price
Recommended for people who are feeling down on the mojo and want to bring back some zest to life. Well, lists are your friends with this one, but there’s also a lot of self-discovery too.
9/ Selected Shorts: Funny Business (Symphony Space)
These are short humorous pieces written by different authors and narrated by different people. If you are looking for something to play in the background while finishing a tedious chore (don’t ask), then this is the one to get hold of.
10/ Don’t Worry: 48 Zen Lessons on Relieving Anxiety by Shunmyo Masuno
Instant antidote to the chaos around us. One small food-for-thought a week should be enough to calm you down and get you thinking. Highly recommended.
There they are – my favorite books of 2023! What’s your list looking like? Any standout recommendations?
38 replies on “Favorite Books of 2023”
The Power of Fun sounds like a book I need!
Happy New Year!
My Favs of 2023
I’m so glad to see Two Twisted Crowns on here! I loved the first book and just got the second. Hoping to read it soon. Have a wonderful week!!
The Shepherd King sounds like everything I love! Def adding to tbr! Thanks for dropping by my post!
The fact that you have both Rachel Gillig books on your list is high praise!
Night Will Find You looks right up my alley! My TTT: https://www.literacious.com/2024/01/02/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-books-of-2023/
Lovely list, Lex! I hope 2024 full of amazing new reads!
The Moorchild sounds so good.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
The Rachel Gillig series is on my TBR, so glad to see you loved it. Happy New Year!
I really like Eloise Jarvis McGraw, but haven’t read The Moorchild yet. Looks like I need to seek it out!
(My TTT is here for this week.)
Ahh, gotta love Idylls of the Queen. I wrote part of my MA dissertation about it, and I’ve been really tempted to revisit the book again lately.
I really need to get round to Malice Aforethought, too…
Great picks!
Okay, I definitely have to read Night Will Find You, The Idylls of the Queen, and The Moorchild! 🙂
I haven’t heard of any of these but they certainly sound interesting. I hope you have a good reading year.
It wasn’t Rachel’s duo (as you feature here), but I saw someone else mention a Gothic novel they loved in 2023, and as that’s a genre I rarely read, I’m wondering if I might enjoy trying one or two. I have liked some gothic period films, so maybe the right book would be entertaining, too! 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting my website today. Hope you discover lots of great reads in this coming year!
Ooh, these look great! Night Will Find You sounds like it might be a thriller I can enjoy, as long as I’m in the right mood for a thriller. I’ll have to add it to my list. Happy reading in 2024!
Here’s my TTT post this week.
A lot of these sound so good. I’m glad you enjoyed them as much as you did. I’ll definitely be adding a few of these to my TBR. 😀 Happy New Year! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
As you know, I loved Night Will Find you too! I have The Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig on my list. My daughter loved it, too! Great list and thanks for visiting my TTT!
There is a lot of variety here. I haven’t read much by John Dickson Carr and The Black Spectacles sounds like a good one to try. I read Malice Aforethought a few years ago and it was very dark. I am glad you found a pair of fantasy novels to get you out of your reader’s block.
TracyK @ Bitter Tea and Mystery
A psychic astronomer sounds unexpected!
The Power of Fun intrigues me. It seems easier than it actually is these days.
I like how The Power of Fun looks! I think it is something that resonates with all of us.
Tedious chore or not, I feel like I need to find a copy of Funny Business right now! May you have a fun-filled 2024!
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/my-twelve-favorite-reads-of-2023/
The only one of these that I’ve read is Night Will Find You, but I did really like that one. 😀
Happy New Year!!!
Night Will Find You sounds excellent. Idylls sounds like one I’d like as well. After reading the premise I need to get it! The Black Spectacles sounds great too, and as usual with the British Crime series, that cover is phenomenal.
Thank you for your comments as well. I’m having fun with the names. Tantalus came from somewhere, I googled it and apparently there’s a Tantalus in Star trek so maybe I unconsciously pulled from that. Also psi stuff… I’ve always loved that and it feels like a lot of modern SF isn’t really exploring that??
I’m not very fun, so maybe I should read THE POWER OF FUN! Ha ha.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
These look great! 2023 wasn’t the best reading year for me but I’m looking forward to 2024 being better. Happy reading!
Here’s my my Top Ten Tuesday
I have read a couple of books by Julia Heaberlin, but not Night Will Find You. I need to add that one to my wish list. The Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig sounds wonderful! Another two that need to go on my wish list. I’ll have to check out Don’t Worry also. This is a great list! Thank you for sharing.
I just finished One Dark Window and really liked it. I’m very excited to read the sequel hopefully this month.
I need to read. The Shepherd King next autumn, I read amazing reviews and love the vibes
What a great list! Selected Shorts and The Shepherd King caught my eye this week. Wishing you a 2024 filled with good books and happiness.
The Black Spectacles sounds intriguing! I have the Julia Heaberlin book on my TBR. Glad it made your list of favorites!
The Power of Fun is a book I need in my life. I’m glad you found so many favorites!
So many of these are new to me, but I have to agree with you on the Shepherd King duology. Those books blew my mind! Great list, and I’m going to be forced to check out a bunch of these now.
It’s odd, I thought I was the very first person to comment and I know it wasn’t my imagination because I put Night Will Find You on hold at the library and commented that the John Dickson Carr book I read in December was very tedious. I longed for it to end but I hate not finishing a book.
I think I read Eloise McGraw too young and I need to try her books again.
Happy New Year!
These are all new-to-me. I think I need to pick up a copy of “Don’t Worry”. I could really use that right now. 😀
I’ve not read any of these, but Night Will Find You looks like it would be right up my alley, so I definitely need to check it out!
Happy New Year
Hope 2024 is a good one for you.
I love your list although I confess I haven’t read any of those books – the Rachel Gillig books were definitely on my wishlist though.
Lynn 😀
A great looking list. I haven’t heard of many of these
This Japanese book sounds really good!
https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/01/01/year-of-reading-2023-part-1-my-top-26-books/