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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,624 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 Sunbearer Trials

Kitty Shields Why did I love this book?

This had everything I love in a great book: myths and magic, a wise-cracking main protagonist, and an unpredictable ending.

Sunbearer Trials is a combo of Percy Jackson, The Hunger Games, and Mexican mythology blended together into this incredible story. The world-building is beautiful and the characters feel so authentic and real. Highly recommend!

By Aiden Thomas,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sunbearer Trials as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where ten semidioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes in this breathtaking, Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the author of the New York Times-bestselling Cemetery Boys.

Only the most powerful and honorable will be chosen.

Teo, the seventeen-year-old trans son of the goddess of birds, isn't worried. As a Jade, it's unlikely he'll be chosen to compete in the Trials, and even if his best friend Niya competes, she's a born-and-bred Gold semidios with unparalleled abilities.

But for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses not one, but…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Girl U Want

Kitty Shields Why did I love this book?

I snorted my wine reading this book, it was so much fun. The Girl U Want is a romance for a woman who has her cake and eats it too.

It’s modern and hilarious. It’s as much about the main protagonist finding herself in the midst of chaos, as it is about going after the person she wants. Reed is excellent in writing nuanced relationships that feel genuine versus Hallmark Christmas movie caricatures. And her dialogue is, hands down, some of the best dialogue out there.

By Elaine Reed,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Sue Douglas has no time for men. At least not any more men. She scored her dream job as a publicist for an up-and-coming rock band, but they're putting her through her paces: The bass player despises her The lead singer lusts for her The band manager dumped a career-ending secret on her The band’s record company is determined to see her fail And if she even stumbles, she could lose everything. In the middle of it all, she meets *the* man. The one she wants in her schedule. He sees the mayhem of her life but refuses to let…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex

Kitty Shields Why did I love this book?

I feel like this book was written for all the middle sisters out there. Joyce Harmon picks up the story of Mary Bennet after Pride and Prejudice ends.

Mary is a book nerd (majorly identified with that!) and not really interested in the marriage mart. We get to know this often-overlooked sister and how she navigates the expectations of a woman in that time period. And then magic enters the fray.

What I loved about this book is the way Harmon seamlessly wove magic into this classic story-world. If you like historical fantasy and re-tellings of classic tales, this is for you.

By Joyce Harmon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mary Bennet and the Bingley Codex as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A magical sequel to Pride and Prejudice.

When the girl who loves books finds a book of magic – anything can happen!

Mary Bennet lives to learn, so she jumps at the chance to visit her sister Jane and catalog the enormous book collection at the Bingleys’ new estate. And it’s in that collection that Mary discovers the mysterious book – ancient, hand-written, bound in a scaly skin, and written in an unknown language.

But then the book changes, and permits her to read it. It is a magical book, and it’s willing to teach her magic! A whole new…


Plus, check out my book…

Stone Heart

By Kitty Shields,

Book cover of Stone Heart

What is my book about?

Some love stories are written in stone.

What if the woman you loved gave her heart to you in the form of a perfect red diamond? And what if you were an absolute imbecile and broke that heart into pieces? Edward, the Marquess of Winchester, doesn’t believe in nonsense and he certainly doesn’t believe that the woman he cast aside six months ago was true to him. But when the death of a famous actress leads him to realize he’s made a grave mistake, Edward sets out across 1790s Europe to save his love, battling jewel thieves, demons, and old family foes along the way. The question remains: can he put the pieces back together and heal a stone heart? 

My book recommendation list