Five favourite books of 2023

This blog doesn’t have to be all design and tips, I also love to share some fun parts of my hobbies. One of my favourite things to do is read, to fall into another world for a moment and embark in adventure.

I’ve read a fair chunk of different stories this year and out of the 50 books I read here are five of my personal favourites. A few are from favourite authors, the others are brand new and quite a surprise. In no particular order…

The No-show by Beth O’Leary

Siobhan is a quick-tempered life coach with way too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being treated as just one of the guys on the job. Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer for the local charity shop with zero sense of self-worth.

These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: They've all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up--Valentine's Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they've all been stood up by the same man.

If you’ve followed me for a while and taken any notice of the authors I enjoy then it’ll be no surprise to you another Beth O’Leary book is on my list. After reading the ARC of The Flat-share all those years ago I have read anything Beth puts out, and usually I love them! The No-show was no different.

I have to say, at first I wasn’t so sure. The story felt a little slow-paced and I wasn’t a big fan of jumping between the three ladies perspectives. You’re lead to believe one thing for the majority of the story but then the story changes to be more serious. However, the book as a whole I did enjoy and I still rated it five stars, but I’d recommend her other books over this one personally.

I have yet to get to her latest book from September 2023 but watch this space, it’ll probably be on my top books of 2024 knowing me…

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

David invites Stevie and her friends to join him for study abroad, and his new friend Izzy introduces her to a double-murder cold case. In 1995, nine friends from Cambridge University went to a country house and played a drunken game of hide-and-seek. Two were found in the woodshed the next day, murdered with an ax. Seven suspects. Two murders. One killer still playing a deadly game.

It’s not often that the fifth book in a series still nails that five star rating, but this is one of them. Nine Liars is the fifth book in the Truly Devious series which follows true crime fan Stevie on her years at boarding school which just so happens to coincide with some murders on campus. Five books in and I’m still hooked!

This time we’ve gone overseas but our favourite characters are still with us and as enjoyable as ever. It deviates slightly from the sole focus being on Stevie and the crime story that the previous books have done, this time we get more about Stevie and her relationships which might not be for everyone but I enjoyed the more 50/50 approach.

The original trilogy are still the best, but these two extras I’m here for. I’m all for more Stevie Bell.

Legends and Lattes

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

I am a fantasy gal, no lie. But I’m usually a magic and fae and dragons sort of fantasy gal… not orcs and succubi and ratkin. So I wasn’t sure going into this if I was going to like it, but I in fact loved it!

The bookworld describe it as ‘high fantasy with low stakes’ and that’s exactly what it is. A cosy relaxing tale set in a fantasy world but without super intense quests and battles. This feels like a book you should read in a coffee shop on a rainy day. Heartwarming slice of life, not a whole lot of action if that’s your thing, but definitely enough there to pull you through the book. Just a super fun read!

I’ve also since finished the second book, a prequel, which was just as great!

Fourth Wing

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away... because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

Unless you haven’t been on the internet in 2023 you’ve probably heard of Fourth Wing. It took the internet and the book world by storm. I jumped in on the idea of dragons and school-esque vibes, plus all the hype I can’t lie.

I really enjoyed it. It lived up to the hype for me. However I read it via audiobook so I didn’t notice the quality of writing as much as I would reading it physically. The storyline gets you hooked, the characters made you love them, the sarcastic comments from dragons. Five stars. The plot is rather standard romantasy, it’s very obvious what’s going to happen nine times out of ten, and there’s nothing really new in terms of plot… but I like a bit of cheesy and cliche in a romance.

I must say I have recently read the sequel, Iron Flame, and that was incredibly disappointing, which you may have heard as the entirety of the internet has discussed it. The writing was worse, the plot was lacking, the characters fell flat, and it could’ve been 200 pages shorter. So be sure going into Fourth Wing that if you want to continue the second is average to say the least.

The Secret Life of Bees

Lily has grown up believing she accidentally killed her mother when she was four. She not only has her own memory of holding the gun, but her father's account of the event. Now fourteen, she yearns for her mother, and for forgiveness. Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her father, she has only one friend: Rosaleen, a black servant whose sharp exterior hides a tender heart.

South Carolina in the sixties is a place where segregation is still considered a cause worth fighting for. When racial tension explodes one summer afternoon, and Rosaleen is arrested and beaten, Lily is compelled to act.

Now I don’t usually like to include rereads in my favourite summaries because well they’re rereads and have been out for a while. BUT, I recently reread The Secret Life of Bees which I would usually say is one of my top three books of all time. It’s been a few years since I’ve reread it and I just wanted to double check it was still a fave ya know?

And if you haven’t guessed - it still is! It’s not even a book I would usually read, it’s just one I read as a teenager as my mum had a copy and loved ever since. It’s well-written, covers some hard but important topics, all through lovely well developed characters. It’s a coming-of-age story that gives you sadness, love, humour, and hope. Definitely isn’t for everyone but I highly recommend giving it a go.

What was your favourite book of 2023? You’ll have to share so I can put it on my list!