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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,639 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

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My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Godmother's Secret

Anna Belfrage Why did I love this book?

Ms. St John paints with words, and from the pages rise images of medieval London, complete with smoky haze, loud and dangerous crowds, and dark alleys. The Thames ebbs and flows, and over it all looms the Tower, so central to this story. It is like being totally submerged in the past, and it is even more impressive how Ms. St John manages to breathe such new life into the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.

I just couldn’t put this down, utterly captivated by Elysabeth’s story and Ms. St John’s beautiful prose.  

By Elizabeth St John,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Godmother's Secret as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If you knew the fate of the Princes in the Tower would you tell? Or forever keep the secret?May 1483: The Tower of London. When King Edward IV dies and Lady Elysabeth Scrope delivers her young godson, Edward V, into the Tower of London to prepare for his coronation, she is engulfed in political turmoil. Within months, the prince and his brother have disappeared, Richard III is declared king, and Elysabeth’s sister Margaret Beaufort conspires with her son Henry Tudor to invade England and claim the throne.

Desperate to protect her godson, Elysabeth battles the intrigue, betrayal and power of…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Needle of Avocation

Anna Belfrage Why did I love this book?

I wasn’t prepared to be so totally engaged by Mr Baker’s cast of characters. Despite being set in the distant past, his people are so relatable, helped along by forceful prose and dialogue. I laughed a lot. I groaned and cried a bit. For anyone wanting to discover the fascinating world of Anglo-Saxon England, this is a must-read!

By G. M. Baker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Needle of Avocation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hilda is the second sister, the plain one, the overlooked, the put upon. She is also the finest needlewoman in Northumbria, though she distrusts anyone who tells her so. Her mother, Edith, was born a slave and seduced and married a thegn's son, a fact which embarrasses Hilda greatly.
Edith has tricked the local ealdorman into betrothing his only son and heir, Anfaeld, to Hilda, an arrangement unwelcome to everyone but Edith, and particularly to Hilda who would rather retire to a nunnery and spend her life in embroidery.
It is Hilda’s right to refuse the marriage, but the future…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Morgue to Love

Anna Belfrage Why did I love this book?

Wow! Double wow! This book is one of the best romances I've ever read (I read a LOT of romance. Like 2-3 books a week). It is amazing because Soula and Waylon spring to immediate life, and you're immediately rooting for this fencing pathologist and the DIY cop.

An engaging, unputdownable read. 

By Megan Montgomery,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Morgue to Love as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dr. Smythe is the youngest (and for my money, the prettiest) Medical Examiner in Nashville, Tennessee, only I didn't know it last night when she was between my legs and just Soula.

This morning, we meet again as our careers cross paths and if I wasn't concentrating on not spilling my guts from the nasty fumes of this D.O.A., it'd be awkward as hell.

Our eyes meet over the autopsy table...
...ahem...
...cough...
...the autopsy table absolutely covered in melted, gooey human remains that are long past recognizable.

I open my mouth to speak. The name, Soula, is right there…


Plus, check out my book…

Book cover of Times of Turmoil

What is my book about?

It is 1718. Duncan Melville and his time traveler wife, Erin, want to build a peaceful existence for themselves and their twin daughters. Difficult to do, when they are beleaguered by enemies.

Erin is not about to stand to the side and watch a child being abused—which is how she makes deadly enemies of the Nelson family. Then there’s Armand Joseph Chardon, determined to revenge himself on Duncan—and his wife—for perceived wrongs. Plus, their safety is constantly threatened as Erin is a woman of colour in a time and place where that could mean ostracism, enslavement or even death.

Will Duncan and Erin ever achieve their simple wish – to live and love free from fear of those who wish to destroy them?