Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve never read anything quite like Raybearer. From the world building to the plot to the characters, it felt wholly unique from any other fantasy story I’ve experienced. And it was beautiful. Powerful. Fierce. I can’t believe this was a debut novel. I’m honestly in awe.
The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Orbit/Redhook, in exchange for an honest review.
The description for The City of Stardust captivated me as soon as I read it. Here’s what hooked me: “A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family’s curse in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy debut.” There are so many things that grab me in that little synopsis. A “seductive, magical underworld?” Sign me up. “Power-hungry scholars?” Forever and always. Fickle gods and family curses? Yes, please. While I did get all of those things, the story itself didn’t land quite as solidly for me as I had hoped it would. …
My 2023 reading year was a bit of a mixed bag. While I read some truly phenomenal books, I also got bogged down in some that didn’t work for me. This was also the year when I began to take a step back from reviewing quite as much, as have felt myself beginning to burn out for quite a while now. This led me to rereading much more this year, as I didn’t owe those books anything else. I read a solid mix of new releases and backlist books, and I believe this is the year where I saw the most new releases added to my list of favorites. Eight of the twelve books below were published in 2023, with two more having hit shelves the year before. The other two are modern classics that couldn’t be more deserving of the title.
The rules for this list are as follows:
I couldn’t narrow it down to ten. Without further ado, here are my twelve favorite books read in 2023. …
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I received an advance digital copy of this novel from the publisher, Berkley, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I can’t remember the last time I read a 400+ page book in less than 24 hours, but that was exactly my experience with Bride. I was pretty excited when Hazelwood announced her first foray into paranormal romance. And somewhat hesitant. While I thoroughly enjoyed The Love Hypothesis, I haven’t been able to get into any of her work since. I was hopeful that a shift in genre would change things, and I was absolutely correct. Bride had me in its thrall from the very first page. I couldn’t put it down. …
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received an advance digital copy of this novel from the publisher, Tor Books, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think I found my favorite book of the year.
Starling House was my most anticipated book of 2023. Which is saying something, as there were so many excellent books published this year. But Harrow’s debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, is my favorite standalone novel of all time, so my expectations were sky high. Those expectations could have set me up for failure. They didn’t. While the two novels couldn’t be more different, Starling House is just as powerful and beautiful as The Ten Thousand Doors of January. It just has much sharper teeth. …
House of Odysseus by Claire North
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, Orbit Books, in exchange for an honest review.
Ithaca was one of my favorite books of 2022. However, I was thrown at the end of the book when I discovered that, unlike most Greek myth retellings, it was not a standalone novel but the first of a trilogy. I have been eagerly awaiting House of Odysseus since finishing those final pages of Ithaca, and am thrilled to announce that it lived up to its predecessor in every single way. This series follows the story of Penelope during the 20 year absence of her husband, King Odysseus of Ithaca. Ithaca presents this story from the perspective of Hera, Queen of Queens, as she observes what’s going on in Penelope’s life and how those happens overlap with the last days of Clytemnestra, Hera’s darling. House of Odysseus picks up where Ithaca left off, but now from the perspective of Aphrodite as her favorite, Helen, weaves her way back into Penelope’s story. …
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Middle grade novels are one of my favorite things. I love the optimism, the wholesomeness, the knowledge that (more often than not) everything is going to work out in the end. There’s a purity to books written for children that will always resonate with me, no matter how old I get. When I can find an adult novel that delivers those same vibes, I’m beyond excited. And that is exactly what The Wishing Game is, in my opinion: it’s a middle grade novel written for grown-ups. …
Witch King by Martha Wells
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
As soon as it was announced, Witch King immediately intrigued me. I loved the title and the cover and the premise, and while I’ve never read anything from Martha Wells, her Murderbot Diaries series is highly loved and lauded by those I trust. I’m much more of a fantasy reader than a sci-fi reader, so when I saw that she was writing a fantasy, I knew that I wanted to read it as soon as possible. And I’m happy to report that, in spite of those sky-high expectations, I was not disappointed. Witch King is a high-octave quest through a very original world littered with compelling characters, captivating locales, and some deeply disturbing magic and monsters. But, at its core, it is the ultimate story of found family, one of the best I’ve ever read. …
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received an advance digital copy of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
“No two persons ever read the same book or saw the same pictures”
The Writings of Madame Swetchine, 1860
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I’ve read plenty of books that made my heart ache, but very few that made my heart feel seen. There is something remarkably soothing about No Two Persons, this quiet novel told in vignettes. From beginning to end, one thought rang in me, heart, mind, and soul: “Ah. There you are.” I can’t articulate how it made me feel. The feeling it inspired isn’t big or showy, but it’s a feeling I’ve been seeking my entire life. Whatever that feeling may be, I’m incredibly thankful to have experienced it. And I hope other readers will have the same healing, soothing, quiet experience of being seen by what you love. …
The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received an advance digital copy of this novel from the publisher, Orbit/Redhook, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Magician’s Daughter is a book that excited me as soon as I saw the announcement. I love H.G. Parry. Her debut, The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, is one of my favorite standalones of all time. It is a love letter to book lovers, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I have yet to finish reading her Shadow Histories, her incredibly well-researched (but dense) duology, but I was thrilled at the prospect of having another standalone from her. I didn’t love it quite as much as I hoped I would, as there was something about the plot and pacing that didn’t quite compel me to burn my way through the story, but The Magician’s Daughter was an absolute delight to read. …