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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 The Map Colorist

Linda Ulleseit Why did I love this book?

Delve into Amsterdam in 1660, a time period I wasn’t familiar with. The detailed descriptions place you right there as you meet Anneke, a young lady with ambition to a man’s field—cartography. She wants to be more than just a colorist. Anneke wants to draw her own map and include it in Blaeu’s Atlas Maior.

Just as crucial to Anneke’s story is her mother, whose own artistic ambitions were thwarted. She’s very proud of her daughter. In fact, her own ambition inspires her daughter. However, her father won’t admit to either his wife or daughter’s talent since his career is less than stellar. Family secrets are discovered as the novel progresses.

By Rebecca D'Harlingue,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In 1660, Amsterdam is the trading and map-printing capital of the world. Anneke van Brug is one of the colorists paid to enhance black-and-white maps for a growing number of collectors. Her artistic talent brings her to the attention of the Blaeu printing house, and she begins to color for a rich merchant, Willem de Groot. But Anneke is not content to simply embellish the work of others; she longs to create maps of her own. Cartography, however, is the domain of men-so it is in secret that she borrows the notes her father made on a trip to Africa…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A Viscount's Vengeance

Linda Ulleseit Why did I love this book?

This is the fourth book in the When the Blood is Up series, and it’s my favorite.

No one, including the reader, expects the marriage of Pearl Arthur and Lord Andrepont to be a bed of roses, but everyone is rooting for them!

Pearl is finally coming into her own, and she deserves a marriage full of love. Lord Andrepont lives in constant fear of turning into his father. He needs a woman’s love to understand he’s his own man. Both have their secrets, and they hardly know each other. In fact, Pearl has barely said a word to James before they are married. Did I mention there’s also women boxing?

By Edie Cay,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Viscount's Vengeance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A brooding viscount carries the weight of his dead father's misdeeds. An unassuming young woman who knows more than she lets on. A marriage of convenience that comes to blows in the boxing ring.


One morning, for reasons of his own, Lord Andrepont proposes marriage to the first eligible woman he sees: Miss Pearl Arthur, the younger sister of his good friend, the prizefighter John Arthur. She's barely said a word in his presence, but of course she'll accept: he's everything women like her dream about: wealthy, titled, handsome. The marriage will be easy-he'll go his way, and she'll go…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Hobby Shop on Barnaby Street: A Heartwarming WW2 Historical Romance

Linda Ulleseit Why did I love this book?

I like stories of everyday people dealing with WWII, and this is it. London during the Blitz is a difficult place to find love, but Maisie and Cal are trying.

The book is well-researched and well-written, making readers feel the daily struggle of staying safe and the terror of night raids. I loved the hobby shop and would've liked to have seen more of the stock and customers, but the main characters are compelling enough that you root for them from page one.

Clever of the author to tease the reader at the end...no spoilers! This is the first in a series, and I can't wait for the next novel to come out!

By Jillianne Hamilton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hobby Shop on Barnaby Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A forbidden wartime romance begins just as German planes fill the skies over London in 1940. A playful and heartfelt read perfect for fans of Dear. Mrs. Bird, The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, and The Last Bookshop in London.

When Maisie Beckett arrives to work at her brother’s hobby shop while he’s serving in the war, she soon discovers it’s in financial ruin. She also finds London preparing for an impending Nazi invasion. Determined to keep the shop open and prove herself to her parents, Maisie moonlights as a pinup photographer to pad the shop’s till while the shop’s co-owner, Cal…


Plus, check out my book…

Book cover of The River Remembers

What is my book about?

Samantha Lockwood, Day Sets, and Harriet Robinson come to Fort Snelling from very different backgrounds. It’s 1835, the world is changing fast, and they are all struggling to keep up.

After she refuses another suitor he’s chosen for her, Samantha’s father banishes her to live in the territory with her brother. Day Sets demands that her white husband create a school to educate their daughter. Harriet’s life in the territory is more like that of a free person than anywhere she’s lived.

As their cultures collide, each of these three women must find a way to direct her own future and leave a legacy for her children.

My 2-year-old's favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Little Blue Truck Board Book

Linda Ulleseit Why did they love this book?

He is obsessed with trucks and sounds right now. This one features Blue, the truck, getting stuck in the mud. He asks all the animals to help him. My grandson likes all the animals and sounds in this one, and when the dump truck goes, “Honk!” And he learns why it’s important to be nice to animals!

By Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Little Blue Truck Board Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Beep! Beep! Meet Blue! Filled with truck sounds and animal noises, Little Blue Truck is a rollicking homage to the power of friendship and the rewards of helping others.

A muddy country road is no match for this little pick-up—that is, until he gets stuck while pushing a dump truck out of the muck.

Luckily, Blue has made a pack of farm animal friends along his route. And they're willing to do whatever it takes to get their pal back on the road.

Little Blue Truck is a joyful cacophony of animal and truck sounds that will have youngsters beeping…


My 2-year-old's 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

Linda Ulleseit Why did they love this book?

In this toddler classic, each truck from the construction site finishes its work for the day and goes to sleep. 

Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer, and Excavator turn off their engines, rest their wheels, and drift to sleep in gently rhyming text. My grandson puts his finger to his lips and says, “Shhhh” to each one.

By Sherri Duskey Rinke, Tom Lichtenheld (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times bestselling children's book now available in board book!

An unabridged board book for kids version of the bestselling, best-beloved hardcover, perfect for small hands! Even the roughest, toughest readers will want to turn off their engines, rest their wheels, and drift to sleep with this sweet and soothing story. Vibrant illustrations and gentle rhyming text make this construction book for kids a surefire bedtime favorite for truck-crazy kids everywhere.

Can't get enough of these tough trucks? The long-awaited sequel to this bestselling book series, Mighty, Mighty, Construction Site, is now available for preorder!


My 2-year-old's 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Diggersaurs

Linda Ulleseit Why did they love this book?

This is a perfect book for a little boy transferring his dinosaur obsession to trucks because the vehicles here are part dinosaur and part truck!

Scooperaurus, Dumpersaurus, and their friends, together with rip-roaring sound effects, are pretty cool. Even better, there are two more books in this series.

By Michael Whaite,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Bigger than a digger...hungrier than a dinosaur...it's a DIGGERSAUR! This rhyming mash-up of dinosaurs and trucks will delight dino fanatics and construction fans alike.

A dozen dinosaur trucks crunch, scrape, chomp, and rumble through this book as they work on roads and construction sites. Little dinosaur fans will love the inventive names--SCOOPERSAURUS! DUMPERSAURUS!--and rip-roaring sound effects as they count each new Jurassic giant, up to twelve. Whether they are building or demolishing, these helpful Diggersaurs are the coolest things in town!


Explore all books for 2-year-olds