It is that time again to look back on another great year of literature and pick out the top reads that will continue for years to come.
This is not just another best books of 2023 list – these are the Fully Booked contributing writers team picks. Meet Angela, Emily, Meaghan, Farisha, and Georgia – the authors behind Fully Booked and literature lovers alike. Here is our round-up of the best books we read this year, from our reading list to yours.
Our goal is to always share the magic of books far and wide, and this list is particularly near and dear to our hearts.
Check out the best books of 2023 from our perspective, ranging across genres, interests, and themes. May your new year be filled with many more intriguing reads, we can’t wait for the books to come.
Note
We’ve asked everyone on our team to submit their favorite and most liked books of the year, which were published in 2023. Each member selected the best books that they’ve read this year and contributed to the list, with a short summary and why they liked it. The list is in no particular order and the GoodReads rating is beside each book.
10. How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (3.7 GR rating)
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Sometimes family secrets can feel like a mystery, but Grady Hendrix takes that theme to the next level, something that he mentioned in his interview with us. The narrator Louise inherits her family’s home in San Francisco, only to find it to be haunted by the ghosts of her family’s past – that may also hold clues to their sudden deaths.
Greif and loss can feel disorienting, Hendrix captures these emotions in the form of a haunting story about family secrets, and facing the truth.
Why Angela (writer) loved it: a family drama mixed with paranormal entities in puppet form made me love this novel. It’s got a great eerie and suspenseful atmosphere for horror lovers.
9. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood (4 GR rating)
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Ali Hazelwood strikes again with another TikTok viral, slow-burn romance novel with thick character development. Mallory left the world of professional chess after the downfall of her family, and against her good judgment decides to go back for one more game, not expecting to beat the reigning champ Nolan Sawyer. As the door to the chess world opens for her once more, she must reconcile all the parts of her that adore the fame, competition, and flirtation but fear the consequences.
Why Angela (contributor) loved it: I’m a fan of slow-burn and intimate romances. Hazelwood portrays the struggle of female chess players to perfection.
8. The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw (3.6 GR rating)
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The unlikely pair you never knew you wanted to see in a horror-thriller romance novel: an evil mermaid and a doctor. This is no The Little Mermaid story, as the protagonist is neither evil nor good, simply representative of what real mermaids are. She and the doctor go on a bloody adventure, please be warned there is a lot of gore amidst an unlikely romance.
Our contributor Emily’s written a full-on detailed review of The Salt Grows Heavy if you want more information on it.
Add this to your reading list if you love thrillers and horror.
Why Emily (contributor) loved it: Even though it’s a retelling of a popular fairy tale, I loved this dark and raw take on a classic.
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7. Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer (3.8 GR rating)
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What defines a monster and how can fans reconcile with the guilt of their creators? Claire Dederer has many questions to raise about fictional and societal monsters, separating artists from their art and diving into the psychology of romanticizing monsters.
The book reads as part memoir and part deep dive into why we consume art, how the creator influences the story, and if that is ethical – or not.
Why Emily (contributor) loved it: This work of criticism brilliantly points out the dichotomy between loving art and criticizing the artist behind the work.
6. The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon (3.9 GR rating)
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The average person’s worst nightmare is being captured by a serial killer but in The Quiet Tenant, Clemence Michallon twists the expected plot. A woman is kidnapped but forced to live with her captor and his daughter, who has no idea who he is. It becomes apparent that no one in the community knows who he is, as the protagonist is swept into a surreal new life. This is a must-read for any true crime fans!
Why Meaghan (content manager) loved it: This is the most tense I’ve felt during a reading experience in a hot minute. If you’re a fan of true crime, Michallon hits the nail on the head and creates vastly layered female characters to boot.
5. Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (4.1 GR rating)
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This anthology celebrates Indigenous people, with stories by Indigenous writers that have been influenced by tales passed down through generations in their communities. You can expect dark fictional characters from witches, ghosts, and monsters, but all wound around ideas of revenge, redemption, the power of communities, and generational pride.
In many Indigenous communities, whistling at night is a tabu to avoid an encounter with evil, but in this book, Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr invite you to see what happens if you do.
Why Meaghan (content manager) loved it: A fascinating journey into indigenous folklore, with a collection of stories that ties the line between fantastical and outright unsettling.
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4. The September House by Carissa Orlando (3.9 GR rating)
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What is living in a haunted house compared to living in an abusive marriage? Are they not the same?
Carissa Orlando investigates these prime questions in her book, The September House. Margaret and Hal finally buy a home, but it happens to turn into a haunted house every September. While the descriptions of the book seem witty and comical in the beginning, the plot moves into deeper discussions about why a person would stay in a situation that is bad for them and the characters begin to struggle to understand reality from fantasy.
Why Meaghan (content manager) loved it: If you think this is just a simple haunted house story, think again. The family dynamic in and of itself is worth the read.
3. Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang (3.8 GR rating)
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This book is about the ultimate anti-hero of literature: one who steals a dead girl’s manuscript. The anti-hero is June and the dead girl is a best-selling author, Athena. June decides to publish Athena’s manuscript under her name, and one of the many problems is that the book is about Asian Americans, and June does not belong to that group.
Despite her rise to fame, she deals with social scrutiny and becomes haunted by Athena’s ghost. This thrilling read pushes the protagonist to her limits, expecting as she self-fulfills her own nightmare story.
Why Farisha (contributor) loved it: The intrigue and suspense in following the protagonist’s dishonest actions make this a perfectly balanced read. The additional insight into the world of publishing is just the cherry on top.
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2. The Women In Me by Britney Spears (4 GR rating)
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Britney Spears has been under media scrutiny her entire career, and despite the mass amount of surveillance in her life, the world watched as she lived under a conservatorship for 13 years. She was told she was too unwell to make her own decisions, but if she was so unwell why was she forced to tour, record songs, and make public appearances?
These questions and more are unveiled in Spears’ memoir, from her childhood growing up in the South, how her family’s problems contributed to the conservatorship and the fight for freedom in every stage of her career. Reading this memoir is like an anthology of pop culture over the last 20 years, and dissects issues within pop culture including media ethics and sexism in the music industry.
Why Georgia (contributor) loved it: A well-written and exciting look into the life of one of pop culture’s biggest icons. Spears opens up about her decisions to live under the conservatorship, being a mom, and the eventual journey to her freedom. Amidst the roller coaster of events, you might find you have more in common with the icon than you think.
1. Bottoms Up And The Devil Laughs by Kerry Howley (3.9 GR rating)
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In 2007, 25-year-old Kerry Howley was interrogated by the FBI for hours on end until she confessed to leaking top-secret NSA information. For four years, she sat in prison, and as she is regaining her life back, she is ready to share her story.
Kerry Howley is one of the writers telling the story, a harrowing tale of how one young woman trusted the wrong people with information that fell in her lap and changed history. This gripping non-fiction story will have you questioning the role of government and society.
Why Georgia (contributor) loved it: Kerry Howley strikes again, writing an engaging book that reads like a mystery and tells the story of a young woman trying to do the right thing, and going up against the wrong people: the FBI.
*Disclosure: We only recommend books that we love and would read ourselves. This post contains affiliate links, as we are part of the Amazon Services LCC Associate Program and others, which may earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
