My 10 Top Reads of 2023

I have a love-hate relationship with so many end of year wrap-up posts, but I do want to give a shout out to some books that I really enjoyed this year. I decided to cut it off at ten books to avoid completely overloading the post, but I hope you will find some new books or authors to add to your to-be-read pile. The books mentioned below are not in any particular order.

1. Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse- a Western novel set in a post-apocalyptic-ish setting where angels rule over humans and two sisters much work together to survive and solve a murder.
2. Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire- I love a Wayward Children book, but I especially loved this one. It takes place outside the school and follows a young woman who is forced to grow too fast due to the adults in her life. There’s also a magical store, ala the House of Many Ways.
3. Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom- a nonfiction book about the history of books bound in human skin. If you like Caitlin Doughty’s books or books about death that are socially conscious without being salacious, this one is for you.
4. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone- this was probably the hot book of the year, but I really loved it. Sapphic enemies to lovers between two time agents of opposite sides of a time war changing history and leaving each other puzzle sounds weird, but it was phenomenal.
5. The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw- a horror story with a mute, terrifying mermaid who teams up with a nonbinary plague doctor to survive and save a village of children from monsters with human faces. It’s very much a medical horror story, and I loved it.
6. Yellowface by R. F. Kuang- if you have been on writing Twitter long enough, a lot of what goes on in this book should be familiar to you. A white woman writer steals a dead Asian author’s book, descends into madness, and commits other atrocities along the way. *chef kiss*
7. Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue by Cat Sebastian- two professional baseball players realize they’re more than teammates or bench buddies when one gets injured an the other gets feelings. Very cozy and comforting.
8. Over My Dead Body by Greg Melville- another nonfiction book about the dead, but this time it’s about how cemeteries influence society and how society influences cemeteries. I really loved how much Melville goes into how people of color, the poor, indigenous people, and other marginalized groups are affected even in death.
9. Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir- I never thought I’d be raving about the himbo-ification of a princess, but here we are. Muir turns the princess in a tower trope on its head with a princess who takes matters into her own hands. Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride.
10. She Loves to Cook & She Loves to Eat by Sakaomi Yuzaki- this is a sapphic manga series about two neighbors who bond over their love of cooking and eating. The series is a sweet slow burn as these two navigate friendship and perhaps more. In more recent volumes, we also get more friends and neighbors to add greater depth to the story.