For this year’s annual round up book post, instead of doing the most popular posts, I thought that I would dive into my top 10 books of 2023. You may have seen some of them on the blog, but not all. Some fall outside of my regular book parameters, but I loved them enough that I wanted to share them with you. (Also, not all of these were released in 2023- some were released in the years prior.) These are my top 10 books of 2023!
My Top 10 Books of 2023
I’ve linked each book on GoodReads, and also shared my own review if I’ve posted it! (If I haven’t posted a review- never fear, I’ve included one here.)
10. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, Jesse Q. Sutanto
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.
Review:
This is a contemporary mystery that I read this summer, and I thought it was brilliant. I always love Sutanto’s writings, and this is no exception. We have a strong mystery, a beloved amateur sleuth, and a hefty dose of humour that brings needed levity to what would otherwise be quite a sad novel.
9. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Heather Fawcett
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.
Review:
I just finished this novel before Christmas and it was nothing like I was expecting. While I thought I would mildly enjoy it, it turns out that I could not put this book down. Framing the hunt for supernatural creatures as a scientific study but a Cambridge academic in the Edwardian period? Brilliant. Fawcett balanced introducing new information (at least, new to the reader) with advancing the story perfectly, and also made us fall in love with multiple characters. Plus, there were a few twists and turns I absolutely did not see coming! (We’ve got a sequel coming in early 2024.)
8. A Novel Disguise, Samantha Larsen
When Miss Tiffany Woodall assumes the identity of her half-brother after his death, she realizes she isn’t the only one with a secret to hide in this historical series debut, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Sherry Thomas.
1784 London. Miss Tiffany Woodall didn’t murder her half-brother, but she did bury him in the back garden so that she could keep her cottage. Now, the confirmed spinster has to pretend to be Uriah and fulfill his duties as the Duke of Beaufort’s librarian while searching Astwell Palace for Uriah’s missing diamond pin, the only thing of value they own. Her ruse is almost up when she is discovered by Mr. Samir Lathrop, the local bookseller, who tries to save her from drowning while she’s actually just washing up in a lake after burying her brother.
Her plan is going by the book, until the rector proposes marriage and she starts to develop feelings for Mr. Lathrop. But when her childhood friend, Tess, comes to visit, Tiffany quickly realizes her secret isn’t the only one hidden within these walls. The body of a servant is found, along with a collection of stolen items, and someone else grows mysteriously ill. Can Tiffany solve these mysteries without her own disguise being discovered? If not, she’ll lose her cottage and possibly her life.
Review:
You can find my full review of A Novel Disguise here! A brilliant Georgian mystery with a strong female protagonist anchored around books? Absolutely.
7. The Silence of Bones, June Hur
1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.
As they delve deeper into the dead woman’s secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.
But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.
Review:
Once again, I cannot stop raving about June Hur’s novels. This is a historical mystery set in the early nineteenth century in what we now know as Korea. It is a darker story, as we are following a murder and the resulting dangerous situations, but I think it only helps to build the story. This is technically a young adult novel, but I think that it straddles YA and adult fiction- it would appeal to many ages. And as an historian, I love that Hur has clearly done a great deal of research for her books.
6. The Royal Wardrobe, Rosie Harte
Peek into the wardrobes of history’s most fashionable royals
Why did women wear such heavy and uncomfortable skirts in the Elizabethan era?
What the hell happened to Charles II’s pubic hair wig?
How did Princess Diana’s revenge dress become so iconic?
Fashion for the royal family has long been one of their most powerful weapons. Every item of their clothing is imbued with meaning, history and majesty, telling a complex tale of the individuals who wore them and the houses they represented.
From the draping of a fabric to the arrangements of jewels, the clothing worn by royals is anything but coincidental. King at just nine years old, Edward VI’s clothes were padded to make him seem stronger and more manly; and the ever-conscious Elizabeth II insisted her coronation gown include all the representative flora of the commonwealth nations, and not just that of the United Kingdom. Yet reigning monarchs are not the only ones whose fashion sensibilities could mean make or break for the crown.
Original and enlightening, Rosie Harte’s complete history delicately weaves together the fashion faux pas and Vogue -worthy triumphs that chart the history of our royals from the Tudors to the Victorians right through to King Charles III and our twenty-first-century royal family. Travelling far beyond the bounds of the court, The Royal Wardrobe reveals the economic, social and political consequences of royal apparel, be it breeches, tiara, wig or waistcoat.
Review:
You can find my full review of The Royal Wardrobe here! We have six centuries of royal fashion history to help explain what we see in those portraits, and why royal fashion has always been an important topic.
5. The Library of the Dead, T.L. Huchu
When a child goes missing in Edinburgh’s darkest streets, young Ropa investigates. She’ll need to call on Zimbabwean magic as well as her Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. But as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted?
When ghosts talk, she will listen…
Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to the living. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children–leaving them husks, empty of joy and life. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will change her world.
She’ll dice with death (not part of her life plan…), discovering an occult library and a taste for hidden magic. She’ll also experience dark times. For Edinburgh hides a wealth of secrets, and Ropa’s gonna hunt them all down.
Review:
You can find my Book Bite on The Library of the Dead here! This is like the Rivers of London series if it was based around a teenage girl and was set in the historic parts of Edinburgh. (Not to mention, the second and third books are also fantastic.)
4. Threads That Bind, Kika Hatzopoulou
Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. The Ora sisters are no exception. Io, the youngest, uses her Fate-born abilities as a private investigator in the half-sunken city of Alante.
But her latest job leads her to a horrific discovery: somebody is abducting women, maiming their life-threads, and setting the resulting wraiths loose in the city to kill. To find the culprit, she must work alongside Edei Rhuna, the right hand of the infamous Mob Queen—and the boy with whom she shares a rare fate-thread linking them as soul mates before they’ve even met.
But the investigation turns personal when Io’s estranged oldest sister turns up on the arm of her best suspect. Amid unveiled secrets from her past and her growing feelings for Edei, Io must follow clues through the city’s darkest corners and unearth a conspiracy that involves some of the city’s most powerful players—before destruction comes to her own doorstep.
Review:
You can find my full review of Threads That Bind here! A retelling of Greek mythology that is not only “the story from the female POV”? Sign me up. (Not that I do not enjoy mythological retellings from a different perspective, but the same story but told by the women is now being used by authors everywhere and done to varying degrees of success.)
3. The Porcelain Moon, Janie Chang
France, 1918. In the final days of the First World War, a young Chinese woman, Pauline Deng, runs away from her uncle’s home in Paris to evade a marriage being arranged for her in Shanghai. To prevent the union, she needs the help of her cousin Theo, who is working as a translator for the Chinese Labour Corps in the French countryside. In the town of Noyelles-sur-Mer, Camille Roussel is planning her escape from an abusive marriage, and to end a love affair that can no longer continue. When Camille offers Pauline a room for her stay, the two women become friends. But it’s not long before Pauline uncovers a perilous secret that Camille has been hiding from her. As their dangerous situation escalates, the two women are forced to make a terrible decision that will bind them together for the rest of their lives.
Set against the little-known history of the 140,000 Chinese workers brought to Europe as non-combatant labor during WWI, The Porcelain Moon is a tale of forbidden love, identity and belonging, and what we are willing to risk for freedom.
Review:
You can find my Book Bite on The Porcelain Moon here! This is a WWI historical fiction novel that explores a long-forgotten group in this heartbreaking story.
2. The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse – Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena – Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
Review:
I am years and years behind the times, but I only started reading the Percy Jackson books in July of 2023, and I am sad to say I have been missing out. Although these are written for a younger audience, I have not been able to put them down. Riordan is a great author who builds a strong story, has clearly done his research on multiple mythologies, and I love that he is willing to change and evolve as an author (and take his work along with it). Since the middle of July, I have read all five Percy Jackson books, all five Heroes of Olympus books, all three Magnus Chase books, and I am now on the second book in the Trials of Apollo series. Whether or not you have watched the movies or plan on watching the new show, I would recommend these to almost everyone.
1. Murder Your Employer: The McMaster’s Guide to Homicide, Rupert Holmes
A devilish thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a luxurious, clandestine college dedicated to the fine art of murder where earnest students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim.
Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live.
Prepare for an education you’ll never forget. A delightful mix of witty wordplay, breathtaking twists and genuine intrigue, Murder Your Employer will gain you admission into a wholly original world, cocooned within the most entertaining book about well-intentioned would-be murderers you’ll ever read.
Review:
You can find my Book Bite on Murder Your Employer here! If I had to choose only one book to represent my 2023 reading life, Murder Your Employer would be that book. The audiobook is amazing- Neil Patrick Harris’ narration could not be better. And after rereading the book itself, it was no less enjoyable in book form. It is humorous, it is just dark enough to make you think, it is wildly creative, and I cannot wait for the sequel in 2024.
Have you read any of my top 10 books of 2023? What was the best book that you read this past year?
Cheers,
The Historian
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