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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,627 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of She Who Became the Sun

Cordia Pearson Why did I love this book?

I loved this book for the language, for the mastery with which the author turned the subjugation of women upside-down, and for how the least among us can become the brick over which a society falls upon its face. 

Were Shakespeare alive, he would adore the power that Shelley Parker-Chan takes humanity through the wringer of ambition, need, and love, then kicks their expectations out from under them.

By Shelley Parker-Chan,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked She Who Became the Sun as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

British Fantasy Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Two-time Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist

"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister

She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.

To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything

“I refuse to be nothing…”

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…

In…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Gideon the Ninth

Cordia Pearson Why did I love this book?

The oh-so-many blurts of “No, she won’t” moments before she did. The howls of laughter at Tamysyn’s outrageousness. The amazing, vivid, ingenious worldbuilding. 

The prying at where is she going with this? The action, the innuendo, the voice. The gender-bending freak show enculturation built up at a near epic levels. I cannot remember the last time a book entertained and intrigued me on so many levels.

By Tamsyn Muir,

Why should I read it?

21 authors picked Gideon the Ninth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

15+ pages of new, original content, including a glossary of terms, in-universe writings, and more!

A USA Today Best-Selling Novel!

"Unlike anything I've ever read. " --V.E. Schwab

"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!" --Charles Stross

"Brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through." --NPR

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A Sky Beyond the Storm

Cordia Pearson Why did I love this book?

As a series culmination, Sabaa Tahir drove to the end fearlessly and with great panache.

Though classified as YA, the issues Sabaa addressed were enlarged thanks to bypassing a “me-me-me” focus. Instead, she dug into the heart of injustice and gave her readers a ‘we-can-all-do-what’s-right ending. Beyond that, this chick can write!

By Sabaa Tahir,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Sky Beyond the Storm 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?

Prepare for the jaw-dropping finale of Sabaa Tahir's beloved New York Times bestselling An Ember in the Ashes fantasy series, and discover: Who will survive the storm?

Picking up just a few months after A Reaper at the Gates left off...

The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike…


Plus, check out my book…

Iridesce

By Cordia Pearson,

Book cover of Iridesce

What is my book about?

Two fathers, two countries, and no place to call home. Life is one goddamned battle after another when your skin and eyes are the 'wrong' color. What's kept me alive is the birthmark for which I was abandoned, a Luna moth, the symbol of the Mother Goddess, with its alarming potential for magic.

In a moon, I turn seventeen and will serve the fierce warrior who found and named me Thea. This alone will grant me citizenship and hopefully end the hatred heaped upon me.

A warrior-magic of another tribe swears we've loved each other over many lifetimes. Rather than kill those whose blood I may share, he sees me fulfilling the life my birthmark protends. Are honor, magic, and love possible?