Powder & Page’s Best Books of 2023

It’s that time of year again where I share my 20 favorite books of 2023. The books selected are rated either 5  or 4.5 stars and you can check out my full review by clicking on the title links!

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Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson – 5 Stars
Tress is an absolute delight of a character, filled with bravery, a marvelous amount of common sense, and a rather on the nose ability to defy tropes. Her adventure is a delightful yet at times harrowing story that has massive appeal for all ages.

The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan – 5 Stars
The blend of investigative elements, action, horror, and politics keeps this entertaining from the very first page all the way until that absolute zinger of an ending!

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty – 5 Stars
Bad ass female pirate captain – check. Magical treasure – check. Beasts of legend – check. This book has it all and is a great set up for many more books of Amina al-Sirafi’s hunt for lost magical artifacts.

Rubicon by J.S. Dewes – 5 Stars
While this might be the cool as hell military sci-fi story I’ve been waiting years for, it’s also a moving story about a grizzled veteran who learns to feel again. 10/10, would make an incredible movie.

The House Witch by Delemhach – 5 Stars
Not only did this book warm my heart, it also made me absolutely cackle with laughter. It’s full of found family, supportive, caring characters and an incredible amount of delicious food.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross – 5 Stars
I absolutely devoured this book and wouldn’t have guessed that I’d love a WW1-era fantasy story to such a degree as I do this one. Divine Rivals is one of the best young adult fantasy stories and also one of the best romantic fantasy stories I’ve ever read.

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford – 5 Stars
I feel like this earns the title of most underrated fantasy book of the year, with fewer than 700 ratings on Goodreads. It was an amazing magical thriller with an astoundingly competent main character and very cool worldbuilding!

The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence – 4.5 Stars
This was a book of discovery and defied expectations that left me longing for the sequel upon closing the final page. Plus, what reader doesn’t love a book about an infinite library between worlds?

The Will of the Many by James Islington – 5 Stars
James Islington did a brilliant job of balancing plot development (the shenanigans and infiltration) alongside the human, emotional portions and this deftly executed balance is what made me love this story to such an intense degree. Highly recommend for fans of Red Rising!

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros – 5 Stars
By far the most popular book I’ve read this year (860,000+ ratings), Fourth Wing has everything that makes for a blockbuster book. I loved the characters, the worldbuilding, dragons(!), and the romance.

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey – 5 Stars
Kushiel’s Dart is a brilliant and heart wrenching epic that totally blew me away and is deserving of the praise from fantasy and romance readers alike. It had beautiful worldbuilding, a cast of characters that were easy to love and hate, and left me wanting more of Phèdre’s story and that of Terre D’Ange as a whole.

The Traitor by Anthony Ryan – 4.5 Stars
If you’re craving an excellent medieval fantasy story that spans the course of years and follows a likable character as he rises from bandit to Lord I’d highly recommend the Covenant of Steel trilogy. 

Labyrinth’s Heart by M.A. Carrick – 4.5 Stars
I’d highly recommend the Rook & Rose series for folks looking for lovable rogues, noble intrigue, a bit of romance, and fantastic fashion choices. An all around satisfying conclusion to a trilogy I’ve greatly enjoyed over the last few years.

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams – 5 Stars
This is honestly one of the most fascinating fantasy worlds I have ever read about and I am so intrigued by everything. It’s like War of the Worlds with giant grubs that devour everything and beetles that eat your eyeballs out and then control your body and the only ones who can defeat them are the vampire elves with their magic tree!

The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft – 5 Stars
This was a delightful rollick of a story featuring everything from creepy talking bird flocks, ghouls, dragons, and even a particularly destructive mandrake golem. Every new page was a treat, made even more enjoyable by the duo of Iz Ann Always Wilby and her tweed garbed husband, Warren (or War for short).

Light Bringer by Pierce Brown – 5 Stars
There were moments of hilarity, heartbreak, and downright badassery. Pierce Brown really knows how to make you feel each of the big moments whether good or bad and that’s what I love so much about these books. Lysander can go straight to hell.

Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald – 5 Stars
This book proved to be just as engagingly plotted as the first and it left me reading late into the night. Yes, this installment is full of emotional turmoil and harmful coping mechanisms, but it’s also full of persistent friendship, death magic, and political turmoil, which I love even more than emotional turmoil.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – 5 Stars
I am so thoroughly charmed by both installments in this series and it’s most definitely one of my favorites now. The relationships are so well done and while the fae are magical and capricious, they are also vicious – a fine combination if you ask me. Put this on your 2024 TBR!

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt – 4.5 Stars
This is the best horror book I’ve ever read. It scared the shit out of me, gave me nightmares, AND had some absolutely gut wrenching moments that left me terrified to turn the next page.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett – 5 Stars
This is an incredible murder mystery set in one of the coolest fantasy worlds I’ve ever been immersed in. There are giant kaiju-like monsters that wade from the sea and cause mass destruction, BUT the main characters have a murder to solve and the beasties can’t stop them.