The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,707 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Rose Code

Elisabeth M. Lee Why did I love this book?

This book was an escapist read for me after many heavy non-fiction tomes, but it was as detailed in facts as any history book.

I was easily swept into the story of three intelligent women working as code breakers at Bletchley Park, England, during World War II.

The three friends, Osla, Beth, and Mab, are not always fair to each other or themselves, but their work and the need to keep it secret binds them together, and an added mystery to solve that eventually breaks the group apart.

Based on actual events and people, it was hard to put down as the characters and the history were so fascinating. I listened to the audiobook, and Saskia Maarleveld was an excellent narrator.

By Kate Quinn,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Rose Code as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over.

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything-beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses-but she burns to…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I

Elisabeth M. Lee Why did I love this book?

I have been on a World War I reading binge lately. Some of it was for research, so when I came across this book, I was hooked.

The horror of the new mechanized war left unbelievable facial wounds on many of the survivors of the trenches. The only benefit was the birth of plastic surgery, which had no choice but to advance quickly. The British surgeon Dr. Gillies and his compatriots in France and the US did their best to reconstruct the devastation left by the war.

There are graphic descriptions of surgeries and photos, but most memorable were the individual stories of the soldier's lives and the doctors, failing and succeeding in equal measure but never giving up on their patients.

This book is thoroughly engaging and unforgettable.

By Lindsey Fitzharris,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Facemaker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New York Times Bestseller
Finalist for the 2022 Kirkus Prize

"Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park." —Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile

Lindsey Fitzharris, the award-winning author of The Butchering Art, presents the compelling, true story of a visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War’s injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgery.

From the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: humankind’s military technology had wildly surpassed its…


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Young PRB: A Novel of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

By Elisabeth M. Lee,

Book cover of Young PRB: A Novel of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

What is my book about?

Can seven young art students at the Royal Academy of Art in London start a revolution? It seems unlikely, but with that self-confidence of youth, they intend to try. The art of the establishment is boring and repetitive. They can do better. Their first exhibition pieces slip under the radar of the critics and the Academy elites, and they take heart.

By their second exhibition, word is out that there are subversives in the hallowed halls of the Royal Academy. The critics and the Academicians are ready to tear them down. How could a handful of students cause such a fuss that led to Charles Dickens and John Ruskin taking opposite sides in the press?

Can their revolution and their friendship survive?