One of my favorite things to do is to read a book. I read roughly 50 books in 2023 and have put together my top ten favorite reads of the year. When I was little, my mom says she would sit and read me a stack of books higher than the chair every night. I was an only child for 4-years, so that probably only happened until my brother was born. Also, my mom is super mom! The last couple of years I have not wanted to read about heavy topics and I have been drawn to more lighthearted books. I think being a mom of a 4-year old has me feeling pretty tired. I generally want to relax into my books at night and not have to work at being entertained.

Not all of these books were published in 2023, but I read them this year. There may be some books I read during the year with more polished writing and maybe were technically more literary, but these were the books I enjoyed the most! What surprised me most this year is that apparently I am into sci-fi fantasy dragon-fairy love books. If you would have asked me if I liked fantasy books before, I would have told you they were my least favorite genre. However, there are so many good sci-fi series out there right now and I apparently love them!

My Top Ten of 2023:

Project Hail Mary // Hello Beautiful // Tell Me Everything // Fourth Wing // Remarkable Bright Creatures // Crescent City // Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow // Part of Your World // Tom Lake // The Measure

My Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reads of 2023

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir was the first book I finished in 2023 and I absolutely loved it! Of my top ten favorite books I read in 2023, this may have been my favorite. I don’t even know why I decided to pick it up since it is not the type of book I gravitate to, but I was engrossed from the start. I have read they are making it into a movie with Ryan Gosling and I hope that is true!

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros was my real intro to fantasy and boy did I love it. Who wouldn’t love a story about friends, enemies and their dragons. Mid-year I started seeing so many people posting about this book and saying that they were staying up all night reading it. It became so popular so fast that I couldn’t even buy a copy from my local store or even Amazon! Once I got my hands on it, I stayed up for a couple nights in a row and finished it fast. I then pressured friends and family to read it so they could also become obsessed with dragon fantasy.

I am a sucker for a special edition. So in November when the second book in this series came out, you know I pre-ordered and was waiting at my door for it to arrive. The third book is supposedly scheduled to come out at the end of 2024. I am already looking forward to cozying up with what I assume will be another special edition.

House of Sky and Breath – A Crescent City Novel by Sarah J Mass solidified my love of fantasy and was how I closed out 2023. I ignored my 4-year old and let her watch TV all day like any good mother would so I could finish this book! It was my first Sarah J Mass book and I have been told I should have read the ACOTAR series first, but this really hooked me.

This is SJM’s latest series and so far only two books are out. The third in the series is coming out at the end of this month. After reading this first book, my friend told me I could not read the second book before reading the ACOTAR series, so I started that as quickly as possible and read 4 of the 5 books in that series and am almost caught up! I could write a whole other post about that series. No need to mention I have become so obsessed that I have started watching Tik Tok fan fiction videos about the characters. Don’t judge.

My Favorite Celebrity Autobiography of 2023

Minka Kelly’s book Tell Me Everything was so unexpected in the best way. I saw her as a beautiful actress who probably had an easy life, but her story has been anything but. She really told her story in a beautiful way and her life was not as I expected. I listened to this book on Audible. The author reads the audio version so it was very interesting to hear this in her voice. Some parts were difficult to hear, but I really loved this book overall.

My Favorite Fiction Books of 2023

The Measure by Nikki Erlick was another unexpected find. This book has a very different premise than your usual read and it would be fantastic as a book club selection. It really made me think about my life and how I wanted to live it. It stayed with me afterwards and I still think back on it even after finishing it 6-months ago.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano was one of the more heavy feeling books I read this year. A really beautifully written book that is like a modern homage to Little Women.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt was such a beautiful book. An octopus is a main character in this book, but do not let that throw you off. It’s so touching and even with a subject that seems to be on the sad side, this is a heartwarming book.

I read four Abby Jimenez books toward the latter half of 2023 and Part of Your World was my favorite – although truth be told, I really liked them all. This is a well written rom-com and has a cute meet-cute premise. Jimenez revisits characters in all her books; so if you have read any of her other books, it will be fun for you to read Part of Your World. I cannot wait for her next book to come out.

Truthfully, I think I only started Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin because nothing else on my list was available. Not because I didn’t think it would be good, but remember I am on my light and breezy kick. I am so glad I picked it up! An unusual premise that kept me reading.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett seemed like one of the must reads in 2023 and after reading I can see why. Told by the narrator looking back 20-years it is a coming of age hopeful story that I loved reading.

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