The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,707 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Hester

Terry Madden Why did I love this book?

I love historical fiction, and this book checked all the boxes. It is set in an interesting time period that jumps from the Salem witch trials to a hundred years later.

The characters drew me in, especially our heroine, Isobel, who believes her synesthesia is a hereditary curse passed on to her from her ancestors, who were witches. When she meets up with Nathaniel Hawthorne, their relationship transforms her in ways both good and bad.

She is complicated and must navigate the societal prison women have lived through historically. I also found it interesting to delve into a community in which descendants of the Salem witches and their accusers still must live together. I love the writing, the characters, and the world. It drew me in and transported me.

By Laurie Lico Albanese,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Named a Most Anticipated Book for Fall by Goodreads • Washington Post • New York Post • BuzzFeed • PopSugar • Business Insider • An October Indie Next List Pick • An October LibraryReads Pick

"A hauntingly beautiful––and imagined––origin story to The Scarlet Letter." ––People

WHO IS THE REAL HESTER PRYNNE?

Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Elder Race

Terry Madden Why did I love this book?

Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Well, take that idea and turn it into a novel. I could not stop reading.

The "wizard" in this low-tech world is a stranded anthropologist from an advanced race of humans who settled on this planet thousands of years before. When the local princess calls upon him to destroy a monster, they build a friendship that changes them both.

I so loved this setup and the way Tchaikovsky unfolded it. It's one of my favorite science fiction reads in a while.

By Adrian Tchaikovsky,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Elder Race as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.

Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.

But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she's an adult (albeit barely) with responsibilities (she tells herself). Although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Observer

Terry Madden Why did I love this book?

I have a long-standing interest in both Simulation Theory and a new theory championed by Robert Lanza, a foremost stem cell researcher, called Biocentrism. This theory has ample scientific evidence to support the idea that reality is a product of consciousness, not the other way around.

In this novel, Lanza reveals his theory in an entertaining and understandable way. The characters explore the tenets of the theory, especially the idea of life after death. If you want your mind to be blown, you should explore Biocentrism. This novel is an excellent introduction to this theory.

By Robert Lanza, Nancy Kress,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER ●  "Mind-bending ... A novel full of life-affirming ideas."—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"The cutting edge of science tipping into something new and marvelous ... a startling, fascinating novel."―KIM STANLEY ROBINSON, New York Times bestselling author 

"Real science and limitless imagination combine in a thrilling story you won't soon forget."―ROBIN COOK, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Coma (and 37 other international bestsellers)

"Brilliant ... A riveting and moving story." ―RHONDA BYRNE, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Secret.

Caro Soames-Watkins, a talented neurosurgeon whose career has been upended by controversy, is jobless, broke, and…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Three Wells of the Sea

By Terry Madden,

Book cover of Three Wells of the Sea

What is my book about?

When English teacher Hugh Cavendish falls into a bottomless pool on Malibu Beach, he is unprepared to return to a world and life he has long forgotten and a woman he never could...

On the other side of the pool, a druid utters a forbidden spell and resurrects her murdered king. But the soul she has summoned from across the well is not the same man she loved and served. Death has changed him, and the only thing he remembers is her.

Together, they must raise an army and retake his throne or lose his kingdom to a power unseen in a thousand years, an immortal who will end the cycle of death and rebirth forever. Can Hugh save his land before death comes for him?

My book recommendation list