Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Since this is the first TTt for the new year, it’s time to look back on our favorite reads of 2023. I’ve decided to combine them with my most surprising books of 2023, since the books that surprised me don’t always have to be my favorite. Surprises can also be seen in a negative way unfortunately. Click on the links to read my review.
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros – This is definitely the most surprising book of the year and probably also my favorite! This author never published a fantasy before, so I was a little hesitant at first. Now, I’ve also read the sequel, Iron Flame, and can’t wait for the next book in this series.
- Twisted Love by Ana Huang – I never expected to like this book as much as I did and that was just a pleasant surprise.
- Atalanta by Jennifer Saint – I didn’t review this book, because I simply don’t know how to do it. I was underwhelmed by it since I liked her previous books a lot. Those were solid 5-star reads to me, but this was a little dull and ended up getting 3 stars.
- I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver – I knew I would like this book, but I never expected it to receive the 5-star treatment. I rarely give contemporaries 5 stars, if not ever.
- Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare – In 2022, I was highly disappointed by Chain of Gold. I didn’t even know whether I wanted to continue with the series, but I’m so glad I did! This book was a Shadowhunters novel like I was used to.
- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer – A coincidental discovery that ended up being a delightful surprise.
- The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent – I never expected to enjoy this one so much for several reasons, but it genuinely put my out of my reading slump.
- Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald – I had high hopes and expectations, but this was a major letdown.
- Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score – This book opened the door to small town romances, which I discovered in 2023. Actually, most of the books I’ve read fall in the romance category and that’s slightly new to me.
- The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon – I’ve read another book by this author and I thought that was a bit overhyped. So I went into this adventure with little to no expectations and I had a surprisingly great time!
Well, this was a little harder than I’d anticipated. I’m sure I forgot several books, but I just couldn’t think of anything else. What were your favorite books of the year? Or books that surprised you in one way or another?
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