It’s that time of year! You know the one. Where I have to somehow narrow 170 books down to, like, a couple dozen to present you with my favorite reads from the past year.
Nothing like providing me with Herculean feats, right? I’m pretty sure I should get, like, demigod powers after this. Just saying.
Needless to say, I’ve read more fantastic books than I can list here. But also, you should definitely read all of these. Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for any harm this list might cause to your TBR. (But you’re welcome.)
This is always one of the hardest posts to make each year, for several reasons. One, I have the memory of a goldfish, and as I look back at my Goodreads list, I inevitably have to remind myself about way too many of the books. Two, picking favorites is just hard. And frankly, I’m just a teensy bit bitter that I’m being forced to do so, because obviously, you should just go read them all. That’s not asking too much, is it?
Middle Grade Reads
Cursed Princess Club
Meet Gwendolyn – living proof that princesses don’t always have it all. See, although she lives in a castle and her father is the King, Gwendolyn isn’t like a movie princess, or even a fairly-tale princess. She’s got a big heart, but isn’t particularly attractive and doesn’t have a Disney-quality singing voice. But one night, she accidentally stumbles upon the twisted world of the Cursed Princess Club, and her life will never be the same. Hexed and cast out, the ladies of the club are just the people Gwendolyn needs to show her that just because she doesn’t “fit the mold” does not mean she’s any less of a princess.
💖 Super heartwarming story about learning to love yourself
👸 Cursed princesses making the best of life and learning from each other
👨👧👧 Super healthy sibling bonds, full of support and love
😂 Lots of silly humor and funny situations
✏️ Graphic novel with a very pretty art style
👥 Squads that is so easy to fall in love with
Answers in the Pages
When Donovan left his copy of The Adventurers on the kitchen counter, he didn’t think his mom would read it–much less have a problem with it. It’s just an adventure novel about two characters trying to stop an evil genius…right?
But soon the entire town is freaking out about whether the book’s main characters are gay, Donovan’s mom is trying to get the book removed from the school curriculum, and Donovan is caught in the middle.
Donovan doesn’t really know if the two boys fall in love at the end or not–but he does know this: even if they do, it shouldn’t matter. The book should not be banned from school.
Interweaving three connected storylines, David Levithan delivers a bold, fun, and timely story about taking action (whether it’s against book censors or deadly alligators…), being brave, and standing up for what’s right.
📚 Very thoughtful commentary on the nature of book challenges
📕 Super nuanced, thoughtful take on how to disagree
🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+, with boys exploring their feelings
🐢 Three connected stories with a very satisfying payoff
Young Adult Reads
The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic
Desperate to pay for college, Bridger Whitt is willing to overlook the peculiarities of his new job—entering via the roof, the weird stacks of old books and even older scrolls, the seemingly incorporeal voices he hears from time to time—but its pretty hard to ignore being pulled under Lake Michigan by… mermaids? Worse yet, this happens in front of his new crush, Leo, the dreamy football star who just moved to town. Fantastic. When he discovers his eccentric employer Pavel Chudinov is an intermediary between the human world and its myths, Bridger is plunged into a world of pixies, werewolves, and Sasquatch. The realm of myths and magic is growing increasingly unstable, and it is up to Bridger to ascertain the cause of the chaos, eliminate the problem, and help his boss keep the real world from finding the world of myths.
🏳️🌈 Very cute M/M queer romance between cinnamon roles
🦄 Supernatural creatures run amok
📋 The coolest job you’ll be glad you don’t actually have
👥 A really cute squad that you’ll definitely want to be a part of
Imogen, Obviously
Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.
She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. And then there’s Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.
Imogen’s thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she’s finally visiting Lili on campus, she’s bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen’s all in.
Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.
Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she’s told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.
Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .
🏳️⚧️ LGBTQ+ F/F romance and bi representation
🏳️🌈 Healthy journey of self-discovery and questioning
🫂 Super supportive friends and family
💔 Lots of teen drama and turmoil
Spell Bound
Edison Rooker isn’t sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn’t have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn’t even have magic. But he does have a plan—to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed. Antonia is…intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name—Rook—both of which he’s happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia’s rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn’t so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, Rook minds less and less. But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook’s Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back…or face losing their magic forever.
🏳️🌈 M/M queer romantasy with non-binary rep
💘 Enemies-to-lovers
🔮 Really cool paranormal world filled with magic
📱 Technology meets magic with some unexpected consequences
💥Lots of adorable sarcastic banter
Mysteries of Thorn Manor
In this sequel novella to Sorcery of Thorns, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas must unravel the magical trap keeping them inside Thorn Manor in time for their Midwinter Ball!
Elisabeth Scrivener is finally settling into her new life with sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn. Now that their demon companion Silas has returned, so has scrutiny from nosy reporters hungry for gossip about the city’s most powerful sorcerer and the librarian who stole his heart. But something strange is afoot at Thorn Manor: the estate’s wards, which are meant to keep their home safe, are acting up and forcibly trapping the Manor’s occupants inside. Surely it must be a coincidence that this happened just as Nathaniel and Elisabeth started getting closer to one another…
With no access to the outside world, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas – along with their new maid Mercy – will have to work together to discover the source of the magic behind the malfunctioning wards before they’re due to host the city’s Midwinter Ball. Not an easy task when the house is filled with unexpected secrets, and all Elisabeth can think about is kissing Nathaniel in peace. But when it becomes clear that the house, influenced by the magic of Nathaniel’s ancestors, requires a price for its obedience, Elisabeth and Nathaniel will have to lean on their connection like never before to set things right.
🍃Continuation of A Sorcery of Thorns, featuring the cast you’ve come to know and love
💗 Very cute continuation of the romance between Elisabeth and Nathaniel
💀 Silas. Just . . . Silas. Is that not enough?!
🤬 All sorts of sarcasm and banter!
🧙 Hilarious magical hijinks
Adult Reads
Legends & 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.
If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.
But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.
🏳️🌈 Very cute F/F slow-burn romantasy
☕️ Slice of life surrounding my favorite beverage: coffee
👥 Utterly adorable squad that comes together
⚒️ Overcoming hardships
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
What would you change if you could go back in time?
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.
In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer’s, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.
But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .
Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s beautiful, moving story explores the age-old question: what would you change if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?
💝Heartwarming, feel-good slice-of-life story
😭 Tearjerker, but in a good way
👥 Found family and supportive friends
☕️ A coffee shop that provides exactly what you need
⌛ Time travel in a unique, heartfelt way
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).
But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.
Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.
🔎 Lonely, nosy auntie who decides to play detective and solve a mystery
👥 Super cute and supportive found family forced together
❓Interesting murder mystery that needs to be solved
💥 Lots of sarcasm and banter
Nettle & Bone
After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra’s family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.
🏰 Retelling of fairy tales and subverting common tropes and expectations
👩Strong women determined to carve their own place in the world
👥 Strong female friendships and bonds
☠️ Super adorable bone dog
🍃 Dark world full of magic and murder
The Only One Left
At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a ropeNow reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy lifeIt’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.
“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not deadAs Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.
👀 Spooky horror that will have you questioning everything
☠️ Very creepy murder rhyme
💥 Trust no one. Everyone lies!
🏠 Creepy old house with lots of secrets
In the Lives of Puppets
In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots–fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.
The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.
When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.
Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?
🏳️🌈 Asexual romance filled with lots of platonic relationships and found family
🏰 Sci-fi retelling of Pinocchio . . . with robots!
😂 Tons of humor and banter
👥 A squad that will absolutely steal your heart
Assistant to the Villain
ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.
With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.
But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain—and his entire nefarious empire—out.
Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.
After all, a good job is hard to find.
🥷 A villain that you will absolutely fall in love with
☠️ A job that comes with plenty of risks, but which I actually kind of want?
👥 A squad, banter, and lots of witty humor
💖 Adorable, ill-advised romance
Starter Villain
Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.
Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.
Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.
But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.
It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.
In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.
🥷 One heck of an inheritance . . . namely, a villainous empire
🐱 Adorable fluffer sidekicks
👥 Banter and sarcasm
💥 Lots of plot twists and turns
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn. We surround ourselves with people who agree with our conclusions, when we should be gravitating toward those who challenge our thought process. The result is that our beliefs get brittle long before our bones. We think too much like preachers defending our sacred beliefs, prosecutors proving the other side wrong, and politicians campaigning for approval–and too little like scientists searching for truth. Intelligence is no cure, and it can even be a curse: being good at thinking can make us worse at rethinking. The brighter we are, the blinder to our own limitations we can become.
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert on opening other people’s minds–and our own. As Wharton’s top-rated professor and the bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, he makes it one of his guiding principles to argue like he’s right but listen like he’s wrong. With bold ideas and rigorous evidence, he investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, bring nuance to charged conversations, and build schools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners. You’ll learn how an international debate champion wins arguments, a Black musician persuades white supremacists to abandon hate, a vaccine whisperer convinces concerned parents to immunize their children, and Adam has coaxed Yankees fans to root for the Red Sox. Think Again reveals that we don’t have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. It’s an invitation to let go of views that are no longer serving us well and prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.
📖 Very informative nonfiction, perfect for leaders of all kinds
👁 Challenges you to question what you know and have a new perspective
✍️ Easy to read, understand, and put into action
✨ Altogether, a super inspiring work!
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.
I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.
Who was it?
Let’s get started.
🔍 True to the title, everyone has killed someone . . . but it’s not what you think
❓Murder mystery that needs to be solved
💢 Lots of tense family dynamics
💥 Slow-burn mystery that keeps you guessing
Manga/Manhwa
Ao Haru Ride
In high school, Futaba gets a second chance with her first love, Kou.
Futaba Yoshioka thought all boys were loud and obnoxious until she met Kou Tanaka in junior high. But as soon as she realized she really liked him, he had already moved away because of family issues. Now in high school, she meets Kou again, but is he still the same boy she fell in love with?
💞 Super cute, wholesome high school romance
💔 High school drama, heartbreak, and will they/won’t they
👥 Very cute squad and friendships
🌺 Cozy slice of life
Solo Leveling
Known as the the Weakest Hunter of All Mankind, E-rank hunter Jinwoo Sung’s contribution to raids amounts to trying not to get killed. Unfortunately, between his mother’s hospital bills, his sister’s tuition, and his own lack of job prospects, he has no choice but to continue to put his life on the line. So when an opportunity arises for a bigger payout, he takes it…only to come face-to-face with a being whose power outranks anything he’s ever seen! With the party leader missing an arm and the only healer a quivering mess, can Jinwoo somehow find them a way out?
✨ Super cool, tough hero that kicks butt and takes names
✍️ Gorgeous, breathtaking artwork that makes it a pleasure to read
💥 Fast-paced, action-packed plot
Spy x Family
Master spy Twilight is the best at what he does when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions in the name of a better world. But when he receives the ultimate impossible assignment—get married and have a kid—he may finally be in over his head!
Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a telepath!
💕 Wholesome, adorable slice-of-life story
💥 A whole host of tough but lovable characters
🔎 Ridiculously adorable and utterly hilarious scenarios
👥 Found family that’s too cute not to root for
Overgeared
Youngwoo Shin is a deadbeat in real life, working odd jobs to fuel his video game addiction. But inside the VR game Satisfy, he becomes Grid the Warrior…who is also painfully ordinary. Everything changes when he discovers the tome of a legendary blacksmith. Who needs skills when you have god-tier items…right?
✨ Utterly hopeless protagonist just trying to do his best
😂 Funny, ridiculous scenarios that’ll keep you guessing
💥 Tons of action, adventure, and fighting
✍️ Very pretty art style that’s a joy to read
What are some of your favorite reads from 2023 that I should definitely add to my reading list?
I love the way you broke up your list, and even though we don’t share any favorites, I really want to read The Only One Left and Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone. I hope your 2024 reading is just as good!
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…The Friday Face-Off: REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES
Thanks! I think you’ll really enjoy The Only One Left, honestly. Definitely seems like it’d be right up your alley!
So many good picks on this list. I loved Before the Coffe Gets Cold and Legends & Lattes. Cursed Princess Club is one of my favorite current webtoons. The story is so entertaining.
It is! I’ve been debating on whether to get on webtoons and read ahead of where the books are, but I’m also kind of enjoying looking forward to the books as they release. So I’m torn. I’ll probably cave, because I’m a weak, weak bookwyrm (and also curious about what happens next).
Iabsolutely Loved vera wong too!!
Everyone in my family had killed someone & before the coffee gets cold are still on my llist- hoping to read soon!
I think it’s really hard not to fall for Vera. She’s such a charming character (in her own way). Oooh, I hope you get to read them soon, and I hope you enjoy! Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a series, and I’m on the last book now, but I’ve really enjoyed them all so far. 🙂
Some of these I’ve already read and loved, and others are on my TBR, but Cursed Princess Club is new to me and looks adorable! I’ve put a hold on it at my library so that I can enjoy it soon, too. 🙂
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Books from the Backlog #6
It is so freaking adorable! Definitely a good one if you want something kind of cozy, wholesome, and funny. I hope you get to read it soon. 😀
NETTLE & BONE was top read of 2023 for me as well! This year I want to read more horror – I might have to finally try Riley Sager. RF Kuang’s BABEL was another favourite of mine which I read last year.
Jenna @ Falling Letters recently posted…Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka [Family Reads]
YES, definitely try Riley Sager if you’re looking for good horror! I haven’t given Babel a try yet, but I definitely want to!
Vera Wong sounds really cute. I’ll have to look that up.
Annemieke @ A Dance with Books recently posted…Ten Books Under a 180 Pages | Top Ten Tuesday 418
It is! I think you’d enjoy it. A quite funny, heartwarming book.