Our Favorite Books of 2023

 

Baby, it's cold outside!  I'm pretty sure that I'll be hunkering down today in front of the fire with the Mister and my book.  The Chef made beef stew which makes the house smell so good.

As many of you have noticed, I was MIA this week.  The Mister and I were on location.  It was a team-building excursion for the Preppy Empty Nester personnel.  I took my one and only Employee of the Month to the land of sunshine and tequila.  No worries... I took lots of nonincriminating photos, which I will share next week.

Without further adieu, here is a list of our favorite books of 2023.

Amazon

One of my favorite authors has done it again.  I absolutely loved this book about family ties.  There were so many bittersweet moments that brought me to tears. 

Amazon

In my humble opinion, I think this is Hannah's best.  It centers around the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War - the women who worked as nurses and medics. This one tore my heart out.

This debuts in February.

Amazon

This is such a beautiful story about a children's author who poses a challenge to his most loyal fans. This story is magical and full of hope.

I've given this one as a gift.

Amazon

Oh, how I love a book with a quirky, lovable character. Sally Diamond will stay in my heart for a very long time.

Amazon

If anyone ever told me that I would read a book about an octopus named Marcellus, I would never believe it.  This beautiful story gave me a few smiles and some tears. 

Amazon

First of all, I need to clarify something.  No, that is not me on the cover.  I am a huge fan of Beatriz Williams, and she hit it out of the ballpark with this one. I don't usually appreciate dual timelines, but this one is seamless.  The only bad news is that it doesn't come out until June.

Amazon

I could not put this one down.  If you relish a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, this book is for you.

 

Amazon

I've read a lot of Lisa Jewell's books, some good and some that did not appeal to me.  This one is one of her best.  I was pulled in by the intriguing story and flawed characters.

Amazon

When I was young, my parents took me to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes and the movie, Charade. At 5 years old, I wanted to marry Cary Grant and become a Rockette. Spoiler alert: neither of my wishes came true.  This is another beautifully written novel about a woman who aspires to be a Rockette in the 1950s. I danced right through the pages.

Amazon

I highly recommend listening to this mystery with the incomparable Molly Gray at the reins.  Not only is Molly an impeccable maid and a stickler for etiquette, but she is also a cunning sleuth.  I look forward to reading many more mysteries with Molly at the helm.

Amazon

Two murdered spouses, one grieving widow, and one Senator.  A true page-turner that kept me guessing.  Liv Constantine, you've done it again.

Amazon

I loved this story about family secrets and unanswered questions. It takes place on the Cape. The characters were so real and well-constructed that they practically jumped off the pages.

Amazon

The first thing I did when I finished this spine-tingling thriller was to hop over to Amazon and buy every book written by Alex Finlay. The story revolves around a girl who goes missing after being with her boyfriend, who was beaten up and knocked out.

Amazon

Maybe my best book of the year! 

Maggie, a former spy, retires to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, only to find a community of like-minded residents.  But when a message from former foes lets her know they haven’t forgotten her, she turns to her local circle of old friends

 

 Amazon

A thriller with so many twists and turns, with centuries of forged paintings in the Vatican Museum and clues to solve this puzzle discovered in a very the composition of a very special melody

 

 

Amazon

When a man’s body is discovered in a Swiss glacier thirty years after he went missing, his son, Foster Treherne, hopes he’ll finally have closure on what happened to the father he never met. But then the autopsy reveals signs of a struggle, and what was assumed to be a tragic accident suddenly looks more sinister.

 

 

Amazon

Simon Shaw is 42 and freshly divorced. As he surveys the desolation of his former home in the wake of his ex-wife, he yearns for a life free of complications. But somehow, a short break in the warm, seductive air of Provence quickly turns into an entertaining novel of escape, romance, and adventure

 Amazon

A true life story of 26 Army nurses and medics-part of the 807th Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron-boarded a cargo plane for transport in November 1943; they never anticipated the crash landing in Nazi-occupied Albania that would lead to their months-long struggle for survival.

Amazon

This biographical fiction is the story of illustrious American financier J. P. Morgan's renowned personal librarian, Belle de Costa Greene, who became one of the most powerful women in New York in spite of her personal most kept secret.

 

 

Amazon

From best-selling author of Lost in Translation and A Cup of Light, Nicole Mones discovers the secrets and beauty of China through its culture and world of food rooted in centuries of history and philosophy

 

 

Amazon

This is a true account of a young woman who went straight from her college sorority to the CIA, where she hunted terrorists and overcame sexism and the trials of politics.  This novel follows the author from USC through North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. It is a wonderful read that you don’t want to end!

 

 Amazon

As a series of book thefts shakes the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women whose paths are willed to cross where each is destined to pick up the pieces. Moving from 1913 to 1993, this novel highlights the life of the two women and the hidden beauty and mystery of an iconic landmark

 

 

 Amazon

In The Things We Cannot Say, Kelly Rimmer  weaves together the narratives of Alina, a young woman struggling to survive the Second World War in Poland, and Alice, a mother, and wife juggling the intergenerational complexities of the modern family as Alice undertakes a journey to uncover the secrets of her dying grandmother's past

 

Amazon 

A novel inspired by true events and told from the perspective of a German who opposed the Nazis. It is set in the Black Forest, Germany, in 1943, where Franka Gerber is living alone in an isolated cabin.  An inspiring story of trust and survival.

   

 Amazon

A multi-generational story of a Jewish family separated by WWII and an inheritance and a link of their treasured past that will bring them back together

 

 Amazon

The author of The Boy in Striped Pajamas is a novel.  All the Broken Places chronicles a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, where she denied her own complicity and now is presented with an opportunity to come face to face and overcome the weight of her guilt.

Now it's your turn... what was your favorite book of 2023? Leave me a comment.

Tuckernuck

Dudley Stephens

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AT

AT

AT

Love this color.

JCF

JC

Veronica Beard

Veronica Beard

Chico's

Chico's

Chico's

WHBM

BR

Sale on Sale!

BR

Macy's

Loft

Loft

I can never pass up a ruffle collar.

I ordered this one.

Loft

MK

Sale on sale!

MK

Sale on sale!

Amazon

I bought my second Marmot puffer last year, and it is the warmest coat I have ever owned.