Top 23 Reads of 2023

Instead of ranking my top ten books for 2023, I decided to share my top 23 books of the year. These are books I read in 2023, not books published in 2023. I did not assign them specific ranks, I’m just listing them in the order that I read them.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Date Finished: 1/7/23

I’m sure this is on many lists this year. This is one book that actually lives up to the hype.

The Tudors In Love: The Courtly Code Behind the Last Medieval Dynasty by Sarah Gristwood

Date Finished: 1/17/23

A nonfiction look at the Tudors through the lense of contemporary views of romance and how they impacted history.

School Trip (New Kid bk. 3) by Jerry Craft

Date Finished: 2/18/23

I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, but I love this series. It handles difficult complex racial issues with sensitivity and humor. I love how the characters have evolved in this book and characters get called out on their actions.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Date Finished: 3/24/23

I know this is an older one, but I read it with a class this year, it was so funny.

Fox Point’s Own Gemma Hopper by Brie Spangler

Date Finished: 3/29/23

I can’t believe I have two graphic novels on my list. Gemma is a baseball prodigy who is holding her family together after her mother leaves. The book captures the dynamics of teenage friendships perfectly.

Heartbreak Creek by Kaki Warner

Date Finished: 4/8/23

I love a good historical romance, and love the mail order bride trope because you get to see the whole relationship evolve and really get to know the characters.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Date Finished: 4/30/23

This is another one that had been on my shelf for a while. Wonderful start to another great romantacy series by Sarah J. Maas.

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliviera

Date Read: 5/10/23

This is the story of a midwife turned surgeon during The Civil War.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Date Finished: 6/2/23

This book celebrate the power of books and how they connect a diverse group of people.

Carrie Soto is Back by Tara Reid Jenkins

Date Finished: 6/28/23

When retired tennis star Carrie Soto’s record is in jeopardy, she decides to make a comeback. Carrie is not really likable, but she is a fascinating character.

Exiles by Jane Harper

Date Finished: 7/8/23

This was another twisty mystery by Jane Harper and a great ending for the Aaron Falk series.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Date Finished: 7/15/23

This is the perfect summer read. It’s a fun enemies to lvoers romance set in Hawaii.

A Kiss for Midwinter by Courtney Milan

Date Read: 8/13/23

This is a holiday novella in the Brothers Sinister series. I always forget how much I love this series. Milan writes some of the best bantor in historical romance.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jess Q. Sutanto

This is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.

Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith and Braving the Storms of Life by Randy Travis

Date finished: 9/4/23

This was an inspirational memoir about one of my favorite singers.

Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon.

Date Finished 10/4/23

The Outlander series dipped for me in the middle, but the last few have gone back to the glory of the early books.

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

Date Finished: 10/17/23

Jeannette Walls knows how to write strong, interesting women. This is the story of a woman who inherits her father’s bootlegging empire.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

Date Finished: 11/2/23

I have loved everything that I’ve read by Lisa See. This one might be my favorite. I found the history of Eastern medicine fascinating.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Date Finished: 11/5/23

Great for any fan of fairytales.

The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson

Date Finished: 11/27/23

As the title, implies this is the sequel to The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek. Personally, I felt the sequel was better.

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory

Date Finished: 12/3/23

This was a contemporary spin on Beauty and the Beast with a spoiled celebrity and a book editor helping with his memoir.

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

Date Read 12/17/23

This book set during WWII features a cooking competition using rations. It’s unusually uplifting for the setting.

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

Date Finished: 12/24/23

This WWII novel shows the power of books even during the worst times.

January 8, 2024

My Favorite Read of December 2023

Goodreads Synopsis

Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest–and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.

For a young widow, it’s a chance to pay off her husband’s debts and keep a roof over her children’s heads. For a kitchen maid, it’s a chance to leave servitude and find freedom. For a lady of the manor, it’s a chance to escape her wealthy husband’s increasingly hostile behavior. And for a trained chef, it’s a chance to challenge the men at the top of her profession.

These four women are giving the competition their all–even if that sometimes means bending the rules. But with so much at stake, will the contest that aims to bring the community together only serve to break it apart?

Reasons I loved the book

It’s no secret that I love WWII fiction, but there were a few things that made this one stand out:

While the characters experience a lot of hardship, as a whole this was a feel-good story
The focus was on the women’s friendship, not a romance
It has recipes!

Check out the rest of my favorite books of the year here

January 1, 2024

My Favorite Read of November 2023

Goodreads synopsis:

The latest historical novel from New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China—perfect for fans of See’s classic Snowflower and the Secret Fan and The Island of Sea Women.

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.

Reasons I loved this book:

Though fictionalized, Yunxian is a real person with a fascinating life
It was interesting learning about early easter medicine
Lisa See is a master at writing female relationships

December 3, 2023

My Favorite Read of October 2023

A little late this month, but I’m excited to share this one.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A riveting new novel about an indomitable young woman in Virginia during Prohibition.

Most folk thought Sallie Kincaid was a nobody who’d amount to nothing. Sallie had other plans.

Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of comfort and privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke has remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father’s daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother’s son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out.

Nine years later, she returns, determined to reclaim her place in the family. That’s a lot more complicated than Sallie expected, and she enters a world of conflict and lawlessness. Sallie confronts the secrets and scandals that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger.

You will fall in love with Sallie Kincaid, a feisty and fearless, terrified and damaged young woman who refuses to be corralled.

Reasons I loved this book:

Walls is always good at writing strong female portraits, through fiction and memoir. Sallie is a woman before her time who survives in a man’s world.
I read a lot of books set in WWI or WWII, but haven’t read as much in the years between. It was an interesting time because the world is at a precipice of change. Women are still very oppressed, but are starting to gain power.
The characters are complex and the reader’s perception changes as Sallie matures and evolves as a character.

November 6, 2023

My Favorite Read of September 2023

Goodreads Synopsis:

A riveting tale of unfathomable success great joy deep pain, and redemption that can come only from above. From a working-class background in North Carolina to a job as a cook and club singer in Nashville to his “overnight success” with his smash 1986 album Storms of Life–which launched the neotraditional movement in country music–Randy’s first three decades are a true rags-to-riches story. But in 2009, this seemingly charmed life began a downward spiral. His marriage dissolved, he discovered that his finances had unraveled, and his struggles with anger led to alcohol abuse, public embarrassment, and even police arrest in 2012.

Then, just as he was putting his life back together, Randy suffered a devastating viral cardiomyopathy that led to a massive stroke which he was not expected to survive. Yet he not only survived but also learned to walk again and, in 2016, accepted his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame by singing the hymn that explains his life today: “Amazing Grace.”

Filled with never-before-told stories, Forever and Ever, Amen is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at dizzying success and the miraculous road to restoration.

Reasons I loved this book:

I have been a Randy Travis fan from the beginning of his career, and there was so much I didn’t know about him.
It’s an inspirational story of strength and survival.
You get to see Randy’s sense of humor and a side of his personality the public doesn’t always show.
It’s a piece of country music history.

October 1, 2023

Throw Back Thursday

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

Today’s book: Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: February 14, 2012

Date read: August 23, 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

I’m not your average hero. I actually wasn’t your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with the curse. And the frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn’t a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I’ve ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Keys.

Don’t believe me? I didn’t believe it either. But you’ll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got CLOAKED.

My Thoughts:

Alex Flinn does it again. She has a knack for taking classic fairy tales and putting them in a modern, entertaining setting. The nice thing about this book is that she chose some more obscure fairy tales that might not be familiar to the reader. My only criticism is that she tries to mix so many stories together that the plot doesn’t always flow. But, overall, it gives everything I want in a YA fantasy: humor, a valuable life lesson and a happy ending.

September 28, 2023

Throw Back Thursday: 9/20/23

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

This week’s book: The Luxe by Anna Godberson

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: November 20, 2007

Date Read: February 28, 2010

Goodreads Synopsis:

Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn. Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups. This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan’s social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City’s elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone–from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud–threatens Elizabeth’s and Diana’s golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city’s gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan’s most celebrated daughter disappear… In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

My Thoughts:

The Luxe series is filled with drama, romance, glamour, and scandal set at the turn of the 20th century. I was immediately drawn into the story. I love the contrast between all the characters’ beautiful facades that hide their secrets. If I were to pick up this book for the first time now, I would assume that it was inspired by Downton Abbey, but it was written before the show. This is a YA novel, but I would recommend it to any Downton Abbey lover.

September 21, 2023

Middle Grade Book Review: Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with and advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Dogtown

Authors: Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko

Illustrator: Wallace West

Publisher: MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group

Publication Date: September 19, 2023

Description:

Dogtown is a shelter for stray dogs, misbehaving dogs, and discarded robot dogs, whose owners have outgrown them.

Chance, a real dog, has been in Dogtown since her owners unwittingly left her with irresponsible dog-sitters who skipped town.

Metal Head is a robot dog who dreams of being back in a real home.

And Mouse is a mouse who has the run of Dogtown, pilfering kibble, and performing clever feats to protect the dogs he loves.

When Chance and Metal Head embark on an adventure to find their forever homes, there is danger, cheese sandwiches, a charging station, and some unexpected kindnesses along the way.

My Thoughts:

Al Capone Does My Shirts and The One and Only Ivan are two of my favorite middle grade books. So, when I saw that the authors were collaborating, I had to have the book. But, I love the other books so much that I worried it might be a disappointment. I shouldn’t have doubted Applegate and Choldenko. This is one of the sweetest, cutest, funniest middle grade books I’ve read.

Like the Ivan series, the book is told in first point of view from an animal’s perspective, a dog named Chance. Chance is stuck in Dogtown, a shelter for both real and electronic dogs, after his owners leave him with an irresponsible dog-sitter and he is in an accident. Every dog there is hoping to find their forever home. But one dog, Metal Head, is determined to break out. Chance doesn’t usually like robot dogs, but he and Metal Head form a friendship as they go on an adventure.

I love the clever way she describes things focused on smell and how the dogs have a “group wag” to celebrate. Dogtown has a warm message friendship and using your heart. This book will pull on your heartstrings while making you laugh. The authors also include hints at the end about helping shelter dogs other than just adopting them. This is sure to be another classic added to these authors’ stellar lists.

September 18, 2023

Throwback Thursday Book Review: 9/10/23

Welcome to my weekly post where I look back at some of my four and five star reads before I started Nicole’s Nook.

This week’s book: Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange

Publisher: Berkely

Publication Date: August 31, 2006

Goodreads Synopsis:

Relive Jane Austen’s Emma – from Mr. Knightley’s point of view.

Between managing his estate and visiting his brother in London, Mr. Knightley is both exasperated and amused by his irresistibly beautiful, outrageously mischievous neighbor, Emma Woodhouse, whose misguided attempts at matchmaking are wreaking havoc in the village of Highbury.

But when a handsome newcomer arrives and catches Emma’s attention, Mr. Knightley is shocked by his reaction. Amusement gives way to another emotion entirely-for his unreasonable dislike of the handsome newcomer seems suspiciously like jealousy.

My Thoughts:

Usually I give my date read but this one is so far back, that I hadn’t started tracking my reading on goodreads yet. As the title implies, this one retells the story of Emma from Mr. Knightley’s perspective. I enjoy this entire series by Amanda Grange. But, this is my favorite. I just love how it’s so obvious to the reader that Mr. Knightly is in love with Emma (and not because of the original story), yet he is oblivious to his own feelings. I enjoyed seeing that side of Mr. Knightley.

September 14, 2023

New Picture Book Review: Tango Red Riding Hood by Rachel S. Hobbs

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC ebook of Tango Red Riding Hood in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Tango Red Riding Hood

Author: Rachel S. Hobbs

Illustrator: Carolina Vazquez

Publisher: Gnome Road Publishing

Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Description

In this modern interpretation of a classic fairytale, readers tango along with Moni as she sways to the music that follows her through the woods. In a clearing, Moni stumbles upon Lobo . . . playing a bandoneón? Moni can’t help from tap-tap-tapping to the tune, but when the music ends, Moni’s pace turns from tango to milonga after Lobo says he ate Abuela. Readers are certain to be both surprised and relieved when they learn Abuela is alive and well, and waiting on another guest – her amigo, Lobo.

With a humorous twist that highlights a misunderstanding in two languages, Tango Red Riding Hood delivers a fresh take on the original story’s theme and beloved characters. Bold, bright illustrations capture the magic and mood of each scene, inviting readers to savor every step of Moni’s adventure.

My Thoughts

This was such a unique retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. I love fairy tale retellings, but Little Red Riding Hood has never been one of my favorites. Who can’t tell the difference between their grandmother and a wolf?I love the twist in this story that turns out to be a misunderstanding as a result of the wolf learning a new language. This is a delightful bilingual book. Kids will love the dancing and fun twist. English speakers will learn new Spanish words and bilinguaul children will love the mix of English and Spanish.

Purchasing link

September 11, 2023