Favorite Books of 2023
Now onto the books! Hope something catches your eye. They’re not in any particular order as far as ranking goes. I am not the most eloquent of reviewers; after I read a book once I rarely remember the details, only how it made me feel, so this is not going to be… coherent? Mainly vibes. If it seems like there are a lot of recommendations, it’s because I read a lot this year. Enjoy!!
Traditionally Published Faves
Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney - absolutely lush worldbuilding, incredible characters (the MC’s name is Miscellaneous Stones and I LOVE HER!), death and necromancy magic, shitty birth family vs loving FOUND FAMILY, queer (main romance is f/nb), ending that surprised me! Also this book is L O N G and it DESERVES to be L O N G so it can really hammer you with its nuanced and deep themes/messaging.
Witch King by Martha Wells - look, I absolutely love a book that goes back and forth between two different time periods, one of them eventually leading up to the other. I am just a sucker for that specific tension build. This book is pretty much flawless??? Excellent worldbuilding that is just kind there rather than explained to you directly, vibrant, loveable characters, fantastic relationships with plenty of incredible banter.
A Furious Sky: A Five-Hundred Year History of America's Hurricanes by Eric J. Dolin - I don’t know what else to say other than: I really like learning about hurricanes, natural disasters, volcanoes, extreme weather, etc. and if you do too, this is a GREAT book! I read like four hurricane books this summer while packing Kickstarter orders and this was my favorite of them.
Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay - this might be one of my top three nonfiction books of all time and I read a LOT of nonfiction. I wish I’d found this book during my initial research for The Thread That Binds, but it’s still helping me a lot with the worldbuilding for how Illumination works. Are you an artist? Do you like paint? Ever wondered where old, original natural pigments come from and how they intertwine with history and land? Victoria Finlay has an engaging voice and is a fantastic investigator digging up all sorts of fascinating details in her research.
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach - Mary Roach is a well known pop-science nonfiction writer and her books never disappoint me. It’s definitely on the lighter side of information density compared to the above book by Victoria Finlay, but sometimes that’s what you’re in the mood for. This book about the intersection of humans, wildlife, and human law is at once hilarious and sobering. If you are extremely sensitive to the topic of animal death, I don’t suggest you read it, but it is an illuminating and respectful look at the matter.
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal - I read this book in one single sitting in one single day. I literally haven’t done that in YEARS, possibly in the last DECADE. This new adult novel (the characters are early college age/late teens) is at once hilarious and heartfelt and a little heartbreaking and as a disabled person I felt SO SEEN and also SO ENCOURAGED by everything the characters go through. I want to assure you that it goes beyond just using being a werewolf as a metaphor for chronic illness—the narrating main character has a regular, real chronic illness herself and the take is well done. It’s also fantastically friendship-focused rather than romantic, which I like seeing more of. The characters in this book are online-turned-IRL friends and their online convos and such feel so real. PLEASE READ!!
Self Published/Small Press Faves
The Bookshop and the Barbarian by Morgan Stang - very cute and cozy! It’s basically what it says on the tin: a woman buys an old bookshop in a small town (in a magical secondary world) and ends up hiring a local barbarian woman as help. They fall in love, struggle with their personal pasts, and with local landlords. Apparently the author usually writes much darker stuff, but I thought this venture was well done.
Chosen. Again. by J. Emery - Full disclaimer, J. is one of my internet writer friends so I am biased. This book has been out for some time but I hadn’t gotten around to it. It’s about a former Chosen One who after many years is taken back to the magical world she once had an adventure in—and discovers that things didn’t end happily ever after. This book’s deconstruction and continuation of the Chosen One trope and related tropes is fantastic. J is so good at making interesting characters and just setting up a really SOLID story that keeps you interested from start to finish and feels really satisfying. With a good dose of dry/dark humor thrown in!
Hugs & Quiches by Candace Harper - Again, Candace is in my internet writer circle so: bias. I have told many people about this book, which I bought like THREE YEARS AGO and then let it sit on my Kindle, as things do! Which is a shame because the premise “Two women chefs fall in love while contestants on a TV cooking show contest” is really all you need to convince people to read it. This f/f rivals-to-lovers is sweet and steamy, with main characters who are firmly in adulthood and feel relatable to me as a 30-something. Also if you like shows like Chopped or Iron Chef……you’ll like this!
Awakenings by Claudie Arsenault - This one is like double cheating because a) it wasn’t actually out yet in 2023, and I read it because b) Claudie is a very good friend of mine, and so I got to be one of her beta readers. I promoted the Kickstarter she had for the first three books in this cozy adventure fantasy series a while back, and here I am promoting the first book again now that it’s on sale! Do you like DnD? Do you like cozy fantasy but also a little bit of fighting action and training montages? Do you like board games and banter? Looking for not one but TWO aroace nonbinary main characters??? It’s officially out now!
Well, there you have it! I hope you check some of these out! If you already read and enjoyed some of the same books, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. I’d also love to hear your own recommendations.
