Tag: Emily Botrous

What were the top ten books you read in 2023?

Bookish Question #309 | What were the top ten books you read in 2023?

We’re almost at the end of 2023, and I must be getting older because I am sure the years are going faster. Yet again, I’ve read a lot of books (and published one, which was a first!). Some were excellent, some were fun but forgettable, and some were unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

But today it’s time to share the books I enjoyed most in 2023. Most are contemporary Christian fiction, because that’s the genre I read most. But one is Biblical fiction (Plagues and Papyrus), one is multi-timeline (In This Moment), and one is perhaps more women’s fiction than romance (The Words We Lost).

So here’s my list, most of which I have already reviewed or featured on the blog:

  1. With All my Heart by Emily Dana Botrous
  2. Now or Never by Emily Conrad
  3. The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese
  4. Plagues and Papyrus by Christine Dillon
  5. Where Our Hearts Lie by Jenny Glazebrook
  6. His Runaway Crush by Heather Gray
  7. The Billionaire’s Teacher by Elizabeth Maddrey
  8. In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer
  9. In Spite of Ourselves by Jennifer Rodewald
  10. Dedicated to the One I Love by Beth K Vogt

What were the top five (or ten) books you read in 2023?

What debut novels or authors have you discovered this year?

Bookish Question #306 | What debut novels or authors have you discovered this year?

There are two kinds of debut novels–the debut novels that just released (like mine, Always By My Side), and the debut novels from favourite authors that I read years after release.

I’ll share a couple of favourites from both categories: I’ve read and enjoyed all of Janet W Ferguson’s Coastal Hearts novels. I love the location, and I love the way Janet writes about broken people coming to faith in a natural and organic way. But I’d never read her first series, Southern Sweethearts. I just finished Leaving Oxford, and it was brilliant (possibly even more brilliant because I accidentally read the second book in the series first, Going Up South).

I also discovered Emily Botrous, and read my way through her Scripted Love series, starting with With Love, Melody. This was a fun series with a unique twist: couple found love through the written word.

The best debut novel I read this year was The Upwelling by Australian author Lystra Rose was brilliant. It was difficult to read at times (it’s a real good-vs-evil story, so parts of the story are had to read). The Upwelling has been shortlisted for and/or won several prestigious Australian book awards, and each nomination is well deserved.

Heart in the Clouds is by another Australian author, Jennifer Mistmorgan. It’s an excellent World War II story that reminded me of the challenges our grandparents faced during the war years, and helps explain some of their issues and idiosyncrasies.

I also enjoyed Julia Monroe Begins Again by Rebekah Millet is an excellent second-chance romance featuring an older couple.

I don’t know if I can claim to have “discovered” my own debut, Always By My Side, but I certainly discovered that yes, I can write and publish a novel.

What about you? What debut novels or authors have you discovered this year?