FAVORITE FICTION OF 2023
How is your 2024 going so far?
Here are my favorite fiction books of 2023, organized by category. If you’re looking for recommendations, I would start at the top and work your way down; these are roughly in order, starting with overall favorites.
All of these books are linked below, and also on this Amazon Wishlist, on this Bookshop List, and are likely available through Libby or your local library.
What were your favorite books of the past year? Please feel free to comment below to share.
Happy reading!
overall favorites
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
The Girl from Berlin by Ronald Balson
The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson
Amazon | Bookshop
These were my overall favorites of the year.
Lessons in Chemistry really did live up to the hype. The Girl from Berlin and The Girl You Left Behind are both incredible historical fiction (set in WW2 and WW1, respectively). The Guest List is a quick, fun mystery read with a satisfying ending. And, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is another great historical fiction read, about the traveling book women and the “blue people” of the southeast.
RUNNERS UP
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
The Four Winds was so good, and also so sad, and so heavy. For that reason, I really had to gear myself up to read it. It was not a book that I was excited to dive into at night (because I knew what I was getting into), but it was very good. As one friend said, this one might be better for “summer reading,” rather that reading during the dark depths of winter. Mrs. Everything was a great, easy fiction read. The first half of Happiness Falls was amazing, but I found the ending extremely unsatisfying, which is why it’s on the runners-up list rather than the overall favorites list. The writing is beautiful. And, Me Before You is compelling and easy to get lost in. But, along with The Four Winds, not the most uplifting book you will read all year.
EASY READS & OTHER FICTION
L.A. Weather by Maria Amparo Escandon
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson
Amazon | Bookshop
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
These are light fiction books that could be good for a beach vacation or a flight. LA Weather is very “LA,” and is fun if you’re looking for a book with California vibes. Must Love Books is a quick, easy read. I found the main character to be a bit difficult. Love, Theoretically is part of a rising genre of books about women in STEM and contains a very surprising sex scene (!). I didn’t like Daisy Jones and The Six nearly as much as a lot of other people did. One friend shared that she listened to it on audio book and really enjoyed it; I can see this format being a great fit for this book, due to the way it is narrated character-by-character. Everything I Never Told You is by Celeste Ng, the author of Little Fires Everywhere. This one was good, and felt similar in some ways to Happiness Falls. Also similar to Happiness Falls, I found the ending to be a bit unsatisfying.
and, a friendly reminder . . .
Expansive Impact: An Invitation to Lead in Everyday Moments by Sarah Young remains available wherever books are sold. ;)
