2023 In Books

I read WAY too many books to give you a run-down of everything I read in a year, but I can give you my favorite first-time reads and share my Goodreads stats. By each book I will put a brief snippet of a review and you can click the book to see my whole review. In the case of series, I will link the review of the first book.

(I picked the books I rated 5 or 4 stars and read for the first time.)

• Daican's Heir by Jaye L. Knight - I waited so long for the conclusion of this series and it was SO GOOD!!
  
• The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery - A delightful book that I wish I'd read sooner. If you like darling old books you’ll want to read this one.
• The Timeless series by Gabrielle Meyer - It's not all out yet but you don't have terrible cliffhangers; more like excitement to learn what comes next. These are some of the best time-slip books I've ever read! I will own them one day.
• The Orchard House Bed & Breakfast series by Heidi Chiavaroli - This series is influenced by Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, which is one of my favorite classic books. I have not yet read the whole series, (because the library doesn't have them all yet), but so far I'm liking what I've read.
• The Accidental Cases of Emily Abbot series by Perry Elisabeth Kirkpatrick - I finally read this series and it's so fun!! I bought the books three or four at a time and was equal parts sad and thrilled to discover that there are more books! Thrilled because these books are so much fun and sad because she doesn't seem to be working on the next set very quickly.
  
• Cold Pursuit by Nancy Mehl - Such a good book but a TERRIBLE cliffhanger! I loved the book but you will definitely want to wait until at least book two is out.
  
• A Beautiful Disguise by Roseanna M. White - Ahh, Roseanna. Another beautiful and delightful book! This one is kind of a crazy idea but she pulls it off!
  
• Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble - I'm a big Colleen Coble fan but this is one of the best books she's written in the last few years. This stand-alone book is one that I would read again and I recommend, especially if you want to try Colleen Coble and don't want to dive into a series.
  
• The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin - This was one of the most beautiful books I read in 2023. There was something so sweet, so touching, in this story. It just kind of sank inside and sat with me.
  
• The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron - Wow. She’s done it again. Kristy Cambron somehow writes books that break my heart but the story is so good that I come back again and again. Deep, poignant, and real, her stories capture me and this one is no exception.
  
• Double Take by Lynette Eason - This was an amazing book! I was captivated right off the bat and could hardly put it down! It kind of freaked me out, to be honest, but it was worth it! Lynette Eason is a genius!
  
• The Wings of Poppy Pendleton by Melody Dobson - WOW!!!!! I really didn't have expectations going in but this exceeded anything I could have imagined. I was trying to figure things out and could not. This book is mysterious and... I'm not sure what the right word is. It's not sad or depressing, but it's not light either. It's just really good!!!
  
• Elven Alliance series by Tara Grayce - This is a fascinating concept of a book/series. The characters are wonderful and relatable, there are amazing lessons that clearly come from Christianity but it is not explicitly mentioned at all and I think there was only one book with a cliffhanger!!!
  

Honorable Mention:  Chestnut Academy series  by Olivia Jarmusch. I have to mention this series for young girls that Livy released this year. If you have a little girl who is horse-crazy and you are looking for some good books for her to read, you need to get this series!


Have you heard of or read any of these? Are you planning to read any this year after learning about them?