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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,641 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

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My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A House with Good Bones

Katie Marie Why did I love this book?

This book hooked me before I even picked it up. The cover art alone was enough, this book is beautiful. 

I saw it on the table at my local bookshop and went straight to it. 

Once I started reading, I quickly realized this book was beautiful inside and out. To say I devoured this book is an understatement. I’m officially addicted to this writer now. 

The main character was instantly likable and fun. The atmosphere was spot on, cozy but creepy. The family drama mixed with the supernatural mystery was captivating and ultimately the ending was satisfying.

By T. Kingfisher,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A House with Good Bones as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2023

A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.

"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Fairy Tale

Katie Marie Why did I love this book?

I’m a big fan of Stephen King so when I saw he was writing what I nicknamed Narnia for grown-ups I was very excited and this book did not disappoint. 

King is a master of the slow-burn character build up, and when the time came, I was almost disappointed to be leaving his version of the ‘real world’ in favor of exploring the fantastical. The relationship between our main characters was is well crafted and I was so invested that it wasn’t until Charlie started getting curious about the Shed and the Money that I even remembered we were building to something fantastical. 

Also, Radar is the goodest doggo.

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Fairy Tale as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A #1 New York Times Bestseller and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice!

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours.

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of All the Dead Lie Down

Katie Marie Why did I love this book?

I picked up this book when my partner and I went to visit the British Library in London as part of our 10-year anniversary long weekend.

We went back to the hotel after the visit and I decided while we were relaxing before heading out to dinner and the theatre (something I was very much looking forward to) to pick up the book and read a few pages. Well, next thing I know is he’s shaking my shoulder telling me I might want to start getting ready as we were supposed to be leaving in a few minutes. 

I disappeared into this book, the atmosphere is captivating, the cozy gothic is always a favorite of mine and this ticked all my boxes. Wonderful characters, a well-crafted setting, a great atmosphere, and of course an enchanting plot.

By Kyrie McCauley,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked All the Dead Lie Down as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

The Haunting of Bly Manor meets House of Salt and Sorrows in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s contemporary YA gothic romance about a dark family lineage, the ghosts of grief, and the lines we’ll cross for love.

The Sleeping House was very much awake . . .

Days after a tragedy leaves Marin Blythe alone in the world, she receives a surprising invitation from Alice Lovelace—an acclaimed horror writer and childhood friend of Marin’s mother. Alice offers her a nanny position at Lovelace House, the family’s coastal Maine estate.

Marin accepts and soon finds herself minding Alice’s peculiar girls. Thea buries…


Plus, check out my book…

Book cover of A Man in Winter

What is my book about?

Arthur, whose life was devastated by the brutal murder of his wife, must come to terms with his diagnosis of dementia. He moves into a new home at a retirement community, and shortly after, has his life turned upside down again when his wife’s ghost visits him and sends him on a quest to find her killer so her spirit can move on. With his family and his doctor concerned that his dementia is advancing, will he be able to solve the murder before his independence is permanently restricted?

A Man in Winter examines the horrors of isolation, dementia, loss, and the ghosts that come back to haunt us.