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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 Only The Beautiful

Linda Rosen Why did I love this book?

This is another gripping story by Susan Meissner. In this novel, she brings us a piece of women’s history not often spoken of, though so important to remember, with characters alive on the page.

I listened to this captivating story on audio and kept my earbuds in while walking, gardening, cooking, dressing – actually, I never wanted to take them out.

I love a book that has strong, determined female characters and one that brings up issues to discuss. This novel has it all.

By Susan Meissner,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Only The Beautiful as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Best Historical Fiction of Spring Pick by Amazon, PopSugar, AARP, and BookBub!

A heartrending story about a young mother’s fight to keep her daughter, and the terrible injustice that tears them apart, by the USA Today bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War.
 
California, 1938—When she loses her parents in an accident, sixteen-year-old Rosanne is taken in by the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life as the vinedresser’s daughter. She moves into Celine and Truman Calvert’s spacious house with a secret, however—Rosie sees colors when she…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of West with Giraffes

Linda Rosen Why did I love this book?

I enjoy reading a book that draws me into another period of time, and Rutledge’s words and settings did that beautifully.

The story grabbed me on page one and never let go. At times, I stopped to savor the prose and the emotions it conveyed and found myself holding the book close to my heart, staring off into space, thinking.

I love a novel that is based on a true story, and this one is beautifully done. It’s about connections, animal and human, and it will stay with me for a very long time. 

By Lynda Rutledge,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked West with Giraffes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.

"Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes..."

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

Linda Rosen Why did I love this book?

I love a book with family secrets, and Shapiro’s is staggering.

She discovered this shocker through a random DNA test, which many people are doing now, never expecting to have their lives ripped apart from the results. Shapiro’s definitely was.

Her honesty and exquisite prose grabbed my heart. This memoir will make you contemplate your own identity and your belief of what makes one a parent, and what makes a family. As I enjoy doing in my own writing, this story had me exploring what should and should not be kept secret. So many will identify with Dani Shapiro’s story, in one form or another.

By Dani Shapiro,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Inheritance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of Inheritance and host of the hit podcast Family Secrets: a memoir about the staggering family secret uncovered by a genealogy test, an exploration of the urgent ethical questions surrounding fertility treatments and DNA testing, and a profound inquiry of paternity, identity, and love.

“Memoir gold: a profound and exquisitely rendered exploration of identity and the true meaning of family.” —People

In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website to which she had casually submitted her DNA for analysis, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her beloved deceased father…


Plus, check out my book…

The Emerald Necklace

By Linda Rosen,

Book cover of The Emerald Necklace

What is my book about?

It’s 1969. Women are fighting for equality.

Rosalee, an insecure sculptor, and Fran, a best-selling novelist, have their issues. Will their bitter envy of each other and long-held secrets destroy their tenuous friendship? Or will Jill, Rosalee’s granddaughter, and the story behind her emerald necklace bind them together?

A multi-generational novel of friendship and frenemies, envy, and long-held secrets that explores current issues through a historical lens.