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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,608 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 Let It Snow

C.A. Gray Why did I love this book?

I just love these feel-good chick-lit Christmas stories, all set in Sherwood Forest (as Beth Moran books always are—and while  Sherwood Forest specifically isn’t nostalgic for me, England in general is, as I studied abroad there.)  

The story is quite episodic, but it’s all about relationships and how the main character, Bea, learns who she is, what she wants out of life, and what really matters to her. The romance is also just so sweet and endearing. At the same time, it’s not cheesy; this isn’t a Hallmark movie in book format, as it definitely doesn’t shy away from some of the gritty realities of life.

It just still feels life-affirming and uplifting.  

By Beth Moran,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Let It Snow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER.Curl up with the perfect cosy read and the latest novel by the bestselling author of Just the Way You Are.

'Every day is a perfect day to read this.' Shari Low

After the end of a long-term relationship, local weather girl Bea Armstrong has been avoiding her family, and their inevitable 'I-told-you-sos.' But with Christmas fast approaching, she is finally on her way home to Charis House, the school in Sherwood Forest that her mum and dad run in their old family home. And to top it all off, the insufferable Henry Fairfax - who her…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A Girl Called Samson

C.A. Gray Why did I love this book?

A fantastic, engaging read! I loved it even more when I got to the afterword and found that it was based on a true story.

It’s the story of a woman named Deborah, nicknamed Rob, who dresses as a boy to join the Revolutionary War because she’s passionate about the cause and has nothing else left in her life to live for. While there, she encounters the widower of her best friend, who never met her and so doesn’t know what she looks like. She falls in love with him, but of course, he doesn’t know she’s a woman.  

Rob’s mishaps, adventures, and triumphs are exquisitely written. The love story is a slow burn but extremely well done.

By Amy Harmon,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Girl Called Samson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From New York Times bestselling author Amy Harmon comes the saga of a young woman who dares to chart her own destiny in life and love during the American Revolutionary War.

In 1760, Deborah Samson is born to Puritan parents in Plympton, Massachusetts. When her father abandons the family and her mother is unable to support them, Deborah is bound out as an indentured servant. From that moment on, she yearns for a life of liberation and adventure.

Twenty years later, as the American colonies begin to buckle in their battle for independence, Deborah, impassioned by the cause, disguises herself…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Fingerprints of the Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization

C.A. Gray Why did I love this book?

I picked this up for inspiration for my next book; Graham Hancock has very compelling and entertaining “revisionist” takes on deep history, and this was no exception.

I was especially intrigued by the implications that there was once a very advanced civilization in Antarctica around 5000 years ago. Hancock made a compelling case that it was, essentially, the site of the lost island of Atlantis (though he never used that term that I can recall). He made the case that the demigods who originated in Antarctica eventually made their way to South America and Egypt, where they left behind their “fingerprints” in the form of unparalleled architecture with astrological purposes.

What more could a fantasy author ask for!

By Graham Hancock,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Fingerprints of the Gods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Could the story of mankind be far older than we have previously believed? Using tools as varied as archaeo-astronomy, geology, and computer analysis of ancient myths, Graham Hancock presents a compelling case to suggest that it is.
 
“A fancy piece of historical sleuthing . . . intriguing and entertaining and sturdy enough to give a long pause for thought.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock embarks on a worldwide quest to put together all the pieces of the vast and fascinating jigsaw of mankind’s hidden past. In ancient monuments as far apart as Egypt’s Great Sphinx, the strange Andean…


Plus, check out my book…

Caves of Glass

By C.A. Gray,

Book cover of Caves of Glass

What is my book about?

The illegitimate son of a peasant, Rion of Tryferos, has one remarkable talent: when he plays the lyre, he brings peace to all who hear. He plays for the king, who knows his days on the throne are numbered. What he doesn’t know is that his anointed successor is Rion. 

Princess Genevieve is shunned by all out of fear of her magical gift. When a prophecy foretells that Ginny will ascend the throne, Ginny wonders whether she has any control over her own fate at all or whether everything is predetermined. 

As Rion flees for his life and Ginny struggles against her destiny, in the Caves of Glass,  they find both each other, and themselves.