My Top 5 Books of 2023! 📚

Hi everyone! Welcome to my lil corner of the internet, I’m glad you’re here 💗. First of all, thank you so much for all of the support on my last post where I announced I’m using my Instagram for all things books from now on, it means a lot and I appreciate it. Now, I can’t tell you how many of these bookish videos related to last year I have watched on YouTube! It’s crazy and I’ve come away with a load of book recommendations for this year too 😅. It’s just so much fun learning what books people enjoyed last year so I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and share my favourites with you! ✨️

In 2023 I rediscovered the library and read 60 books which is a lot for me considering I was in a huge rut before that so yay! 👏 I keep a bookmark that allows me to list what books I’ve read so all I have to do is look back on that to pick my favourites! It was hard to whittle down the list to 5 main books so at the very end I have a longlist of 10 more books that almost made it. I’m going to list the books in chronological order so the order that I read them in, lets jump right in! Starting with….

The Prince and the Dressmaker

By Jen Wang

Paris, at the dawn of the modern age:

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride—or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia—the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances—one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family.

This is something I want to read over and over again, it’s just such a lighthearted book and I love it!

The Sad Ghost Club

By Lize Meddings

‘I know exactly what you mean.’

Six simple words, and suddenly Sam doesn’t feel so alone.

A heart-warming series about friendship, compassion and finding your kindred spirits.

This is the story of one of those days – a day so bad you can barely get out of bed, when it’s a struggle to leave the house, and when you do, you wish you hadn’t. But even the worst of days can surprise you. When one sad ghost, alone at a crowded party, spies another sad ghost across the room, they decide to leave together. What happens next changes everything.

Because that night they start the The Sad Ghost Club – a secret society for the anxious and alone, a club for people who think they don’t belong.

This series of books was so incredibly beautiful and relatable too!

Such a Good Liar

By Sue Wallman

She’s faking her way into the most exclusive social circles for revenge. But how long can her lies hold up?
Seventeen-year-old Lydia Cornwallis has arrived on a remote island populated only by wealthy families and their staff. She quickly finds acceptance, even adoration, from the close-knit families that rule the island. But a storm is coming, and all routes to the mainland are cut off.

But thank goodness the Harrington sisters made it in time, because Lydia simply can’t wait to meet them.

That’s because Lydia’s not really Lydia Cornwallis.

And the Harringtons have hell to pay for what they’ve done.

Lydia will need to draw on epic nerve, quicksilver adaptability and sly cunning in maintaining her cover and exacting murderous revenge. And when she meets someone new on the island and starts to develop real feelings, can that connection survive when nothing else is real?

This was one hell of a story and even though the ending was rather abrupt and not as I’d expected I still really enjoyed it!

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali

By Sabina Khan

Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that impossible to do. She rolls her eyes when they blatantly favour her brother and saves her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about.

If she can just hold out another few months, Rukhsana will be out of her familial home and away from her parents’ ever-watchful eyes at Caltech, a place where she thinks she can finally be herself. But when she is caught kissing her girlfriend Ariana, her devastated parents take Rukhsana to Bangladesh, where everything she had been planning is out of reach.

There, immersed in a world of tradition and arranged marriages, Rukhsana finds the perspective she’s been looking for in her grandmother’s old diary. The only question left for her to answer is: Can she fight for the life she wants without losing her family in the process?

This book was a whirlwind that I gladly got caught up in! I really felt like I was Rukhsana as I read along and it was easy to put myself in her place, getting lost in the story.

It’s Behind You

By Kathryn Foxfield

Welcome to the reality game show that’ll scare you to death! Have you got what it takes to last the night?

Five contestants must sit tight through the night in dark and dangerous Umber Gorge caves, haunted by a ghost called the Puckered Maiden. But is it the malevolent spirit they should fear… or each other?

As the production crew ramps up the frights, secrets start to be revealed… these teenagers have hidden motives for taking part in It’s Behind You! and could some of them be… murder?

This has got to have been my favourite book of the year by far!! I cannot recommend it enough, its just so good!! Kathryn Foxfield has fast become one of my favourite authors alongside Sabina Khan, they’re both just so amazing at creating a world to fall into and these books are no exception!

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Here is the longlist of some extra books that almost made it to the top 5:

• She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
• Changeling by Molly Harper
• This Is How You Fall In Love by Anika Hussain
• Drama by Raina Telgemeier
• Nimona by ND Stevenson
• Girl (In Real Life) by Tamsin Winter
• Friend Me by Sheila M. Averbuch
• Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan
• Sheets by Brenna Thummler
• Last One To Die by Cynthia Murphy

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And there we have it! 2023 was one heck of a year for reading! Are there any books on the list that you’ve read or would like to read? Let me know in the comments!

I’ll be off on my way now but until next week, stay safe, take care and buh-bye! 👋✨️💗