The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,708 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Mad Honey

Rick R. Reed Why did I love this book?

It's a difficult balance, writing a novel that touches both the mind and the heart. But Mad Honey does so, delivering a plausible and poignant story that makes us think, challenges our perceptions, and, at the same time, affects us deeply emotionally.

With all that said, this is also a book that's, quite simply, a damn good read. It was one of those rare things for me, a book I simply couldn't put down and, at the same time, never wanting it to end. I was that invested in the characters. 

Mad Honey was my introduction to both of these authors, and I can make no better recommendation than to say I will be seeking out more of their work--a lot more of their work.

By Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Mad Honey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Alternatingly heart-pounding and heartbreaking. This collaboration between two best-selling authors seamlessly weaves together Olivia and Lily’s journeys, creating a provocative exploration of the strength that love and acceptance require.”—The Washington Post
 
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • PEOPLE’S BOOK OF THE WEEK • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising their beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined that she would end up…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Holly

Rick R. Reed Why did I love this book?

The Master rarely fails to provide an absorbing, entertaining, suspenseful, and character-driven read. Holly is no exception.

Taking one of the most fascinating and conflicted characters from the Outsider series and setting her down in a COVID-infested world and on the scent of very real-life cannibal killers, this is one that could keep you up all night reading the whole thing in one sitting.

But you'd have to be a speed reader because King doesn't move too far from his love for longer tomes. But it doesn't matter how long the book is. You'll be gripped from the very first page.

I'm so impressed with King (I always have been). I believe he's in his mid-70s now, and his talent, in my opinion, has only increased over the years. He shows no signs of slowing down, and for that, I'm grateful.

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” —BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of My Sweet Angel: The True Story of Lacey Spears, the Seemingly Perfect Mother Who Murdered Her Son in Cold Blood

Rick R. Reed Why did I love this book?

My Sweet Angel is a very difficult-to-read account of a mother afflicted with Munchausen by proxy syndrome, slowly torturing and finally murdering her five-year-old son.

Despite the disturbing and often heartbreaking subject matter, this true-crime account was very well done--well-written, well-researched, and never sensationalized.

I devoured the book in a few days because it was so intriguing and disturbing--truly an emotional and thought-provoking read. I still don't understand how atrocities like this can occur, but Glatt managed to shine a sympathetic light on the events surrounding this tragedy. This is highly recommended read.

By John Glatt,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Chilling." ―People magazine

“My Sweet Angel is the product of author John Glatt’s 18 months researching Spears' life story in almost forensic detail. . . . Glatt lays out the chilling picture of a troubled mother driven to kill her child.” ―NY Daily News

Lacey Spears made international headlines in January 2015 when she was charged with the “depraved mind” murder of her five-year-old son Garnett. Prosecutors alleged that the 27-year old mother had poisoned him with high concentrations of salt through his stomach tube.

To the outside world Lacey had seemed like the perfect mother, regularly posting dramatic updates…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Silence of the Missing

By Rick R. Reed,

Book cover of Silence of the Missing

What is my book about?

In 1986, thirteen-year-old Jeb Kleber vanished during his small town’s Fourth of July fireworks. His mysterious disappearance left his first love, Sammy Blake, grieving for years.

Flash forward to the present day. A now middle-aged Sam Blake has a comfortable and predictable life with his husband Marc in Chicago. All that changes when a stranger arrives at Sam’s door, claiming to be the missing Jeb Kleber. The stranger knows things he couldn’t possibly know—including the hidden love the boys shared during the summer of ’86. 

Could this be the real Jeb Kleber, missing for thirty-seven years? If not, who is this mysterious stranger? And what does he want after all this time? His appearance plunges Sam’s life into a nightmare of questionable identity, long-buried secrets, and perhaps even murder.