The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,705 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of This Is How You Lose the Time War

Kel O'Connor Why did I love this book?

I am a life-long bibliophile but I have never read anything like this book! It’s almost poetry. It could be a sci-fi tale or a romance but it is so much more. I don’t want to spoil it for a new reader with too many details. I will say it has a happy ending. It’s a quick read that will make you in awe of the human spirit, even when a character isn’t 100% human.

By Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone,

Why should I read it?

17 authors picked This Is How You Lose the Time War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF The Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella, the Reddit Stabby Award for Best Novella AND The British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novella

SHORTLISTED FOR
2020 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award
The Ray Bradbury Prize
Kitschies Red Tentacle Award
Kitschies Inky Tentacle
Brave New Words Award

'A fireworks display from two very talented storytellers' Madeline Miller, author of Circe

Co-written by two award-winning writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Meddling Kids

Kel O'Connor Why did I love this book?

This was another quirky book I stumbled upon. I do want to stress it is firmly in the horror genre. Think Scooby Doo meet Cthulhu. The author pulls it off, as skeptical as I was being a childhood fan of the cartoon. The gang is older, with more personal issues stemming from the summer they solved crimes. When I hit the last page, I laughed with glee. 

By Edgar Cantero,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A nostalgic and subversive trip rife with sly nods to H. P. Lovecraft and pop culture, in the vein of It and Stranger Things.

An exuberant and wickedly entertaining celebration of horror, love, friendship, and many-tentacled, interdimensional demon spawn. SUMMER 1977. The Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in Oregon's Zoinx River Valley) solved their final mystery and unmasked the elusive Sleepy Lake monster-another low-life fortune hunter trying to get his dirty hands on the legendary riches hidden in Deboen Mansion. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Neon Gods

Kel O'Connor Why did I love this book?

Steamy and inventive twist on Hades and Persephone story. This starts off her Dark Olympus series that is so original and well-written. Just be aware, these books are spicy!

By Katee Robert,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Neon Gods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

He was supposed to be a myth. But from the moment I crossed the River Styx and fell under his dark spell...he was, quite simply, mine.

*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Hades and Persephone that's as sinful as it is sweet.*

Society darling Persephone Dimitriou plans to flee the ultra-modern city of Olympus and start over far from the backstabbing politics of the Thirteen Houses. But all that's ripped away when her mother ambushes her with an engagement to Zeus, the dangerous power behind their glittering city's dark facade.

With no options left, Persephone flees to the forbidden undercity…


Plus, check out my book…

Delayed Redemption

By Kel O'Connor,

Book cover of Delayed Redemption

What is my book about?

Reunited by a dark twist of fate, they find treachery and betrayal lurking in every corner. Can they piece together the clues before their time and luck run out?

Mateo will do anything to escape his former life of crime. One last undercover assignment for DAG will ensure his freedom and put a major drug dealer out of business. But when things go sideways, he must choose between his op and the only person who ever believed in him.

Janey clawed her way out of an abusive home to make a safe, and better, life for herself. But when a gang kidnaps her to get to her brother, she’s thrust back into a dangerous world. More devastating though, is discovering that Mateo, her teenage crush, is still involved with the gang. She’s torn between trusting him to save her and living out her long-ago fantasies about the one who got away.

Janey and Mateo give into their feelings before all manner of secrets come to light. Can they work through their issues while searching for the last piece of the puzzle Mateo needs to be free? Or is it one betrayal too many to be overcome?

Meanwhile, the mole continues to endanger ops and personnel at DAG. Can they discover who is undermining their mission before anyone else gets hurt?

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