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Petrik’s Top 19 Books of the Year! (2023)

Petrik’s Top 19 Books of the Year! (2023)

Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read so far this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2023)

Between 1st January 2023 and 31st December 2023, I read 80 books + 177 manga/manhwa volumes (76.8k pages).

Please read this first. There will be three rules I set in this list for me to give appreciation to more authors rather than having only a few authors hoarding this list. These rules allow me to highlight more authors, and at the same time, I’ll also be able to include both new and older books (many of them still need attention) that I read this year.

  • Rereads aren’t included.
  • One book per series.
  • The books listed here are not all exclusively published this year; the list consists of the top books I read for the first time this year. Non-2023 published books on this list will have their first date of publication included.

Do note that although there’s a rank to this list, I HIGHLY recommend every book/series listed below because I loved all of them immensely, and they received a rating of 4.5 or 5 out of 5 stars from me. Honorable mentions are for two best novellas and two short stories I read this year. Without further ado, here are the top 15 (or 19) books I’ve read this year! (All full reviews of the books listed can be found on Novel Notions and my Goodreads page.)

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Book Review: Kingdoms of Death (The Sun Eater, #4) by Christopher Ruocchio

Book Review: Kingdoms of Death (The Sun Eater, #4) by Christopher Ruocchio

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Kingdoms of Death.

ARC provided by the publisher—DAW Books—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by Kieran Yanner

Kingdoms of Death by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #4 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Word Count: 200,000 words

Pages: 544 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 8th March 2022 by DAW Books (US) & Head of Zeus (UK)


Ruocchio gets what I love to read in science fantasy. Every book in The Sun Eater series has become one of my favorite books of all time, and Kingdoms of Death is not an exception to this claim.

“Art, great art, serves as a reminder of invisible things and of their manifestation in things visible.”

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Book Review: Demon in White (The Sun Eater, #3) by Christopher Ruocchio

Book Review: Demon in White (The Sun Eater, #3) by Christopher Ruocchio

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Demon in White.

Cover art illustrated by Kieran Yanner

Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #3 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Word Count: 295,000 words

Pages: 784 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 28th July 2020 by DAW Books (US) & Gollancz (UK)


An absolute masterpiece. Demon in White is a genuinely epic space opera fantasy at its paramount shape.

“Silence… The great empire of silence: higher than all stars, deeper than the kingdom of death! It alone is great; all else is small.”

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Book Review: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book Review: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review of The Tainted Cup.

ARC provided by the publisher—Del Rey Books—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art designed by Will Staehle

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Shadow of the Leviathan (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, Murder Mystery, High Fantasy

Pages: 432 pages (Kindle edition)

Publish date: 6th February 2024 by Del Rey (US) & Hodder (UK)


The Tainted Cup is a compelling and rewarding murder mystery in a high fantasy setting redolent of Attack on Titan and The Last of Us.

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Book Review: The Silverblood Promise (The Last Legacy, #1) by James Logan

Book Review: The Silverblood Promise (The Last Legacy, #1) by James Logan

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on The Silverblood Promise.

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by Jeff Brown

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Last Legacy (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Word Count: 163,000 words

Pages: 544 pages (eBook edition)

Published: 25th April 2024 by Jo Fletcher (UK) & 7th May 2024 by Tor Books (US)


Next year is not even here yet, but the potential of The Silverblood Promise becoming, at least, one of the best fantasy debuts of 2024 is guaranteed.

“You can’t escape the past, Lukan. It’s our lifelong companion, always at our side.”

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Book Review: The Mirror’s Truth (Manifest Delusions, #2) by Michael R. Fletcher

Book Review: The Mirror’s Truth (Manifest Delusions, #2) by Michael R. Fletcher

This is a repost of a review I wrote in August 2017.

Cover art illustrated by John Anthony Di Giovanni

The Mirror’s Truth by Michael R. Fletcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Manifest Delusions (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 375 pages

Published: 28th November 2016 by Michael R. Fletcher (Self-Published)


This is why I love grimdark fantasy. The Mirror’s Truth is grimdark fantasy at its best and it deserves only the highest of praise from me.

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Book Review: Howling Dark (The Sun Eater, #2) by Christopher Ruocchio

Book Review: Howling Dark (The Sun Eater, #2) by Christopher Ruocchio

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Howling Dark.

Cover art illustrated by Kieran Yanner

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #2 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Word Count: 264,000 words

Pages: 679 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 16th July 2019 by DAW Books


Philosophical, bizarre, sprawling, and epic. Howling Dark outshined the already stunning Empire of Silence.

“The poets say that one’s fears grow less with trial, that we become men without fear if tried enough. I have not found it to be so. Rather, on each occasion we are tested, we become stronger than our fears. It is all we can do. Must do. Lest we perish for our failings.”

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Book Review: The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

Book Review: The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Cosmere

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Word Count: 129,000 words

Pages: 416 pages (Paperback)

Published: 14th January 2020 by Del Rey Books


The Vanished Birds is a beautiful, heartfelt, and tense standalone space opera story about kindness, choices, love, pain, ambition, and found family.

“Geniuses are born all the time, but kindness is rarer, these days especially. The world could use more kindness.”

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Book Review: Empire of Silence (Sun Eater, #1) by Christopher Ruocchio

Book Review: Empire of Silence (Sun Eater, #1) by Christopher Ruocchio

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Empire of Silence.

Cover art illustrated by Sam Weber

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #1 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Pages: 612 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 3rd July 2018 by DAW Books


This was an absolutely stunning, ambitious, and well-written debut novel. From the first page to the last, Empire of Silence is an unputdownable new addition to my list of favorite books.

“It is a mistake to believe we must know a thing to be influenced by it. It is a mistake to believe the thing must even be real.”

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Book Review: Esrahaddon (The Rise and Fall, #3) by Michael J. Sullivan

Book Review: Esrahaddon (The Rise and Fall, #3) by Michael J. Sullivan

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by Marc Simonetti

Esrahaddon by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Rise and Fall (Book #3 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 936 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 15th August 2023 by Riyria Enterprises (Self-published)


Esrahaddon is an incredible novel 15 years in the making. Fans of Riyria and Legends of the First Empire will be thrilled to read this.

“With education comes understanding. With understanding, wisdom. With wisdom comes control. With control, peace.”

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