This year I read more than 30 books. While I enjoyed most of them, some of them stuck with me above all. These books have touched, entertained and surprised me in many ways and so I don’t want to withhold them from you. Therefore, like a true millennial, I created a list of my top 5 favorite books of 2023.

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My Top 5 Favorite Books of 2023

1. Emily Henry – Happy Place

I might be biased as I’m already a huge fan of Emily Henry’s work so I can wholeheartedly recommend any of her books. But there was truly no book this year that I enjoyed reading more than Happy Place. Released in the spring of this year, I can’t begin to describe the hold it had on me. In this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry a couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends.

I did not want the story of Harriet and Wyn to end. The character development is brilliantly executed, the conversations are full of wit and the intertwining themes of long-term relationships and friendships were so relatable that I felt as if I was part of the group. It certainly does not come as a surprise to me that it was voted Goodreads Choice AwardWinner for Best Romance (2023).

If you want to find out for yourself why I consider this my favorite book of 2023, participate in the giveaway and with a little luck you might win my copy of the book.

Synopsis

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college – they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now – for reasons they’re still not discussing – they don’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

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2. Bonnie Garmus – Lessons In Chemistry

I’ve been to many airport bookstores this year and it was impossible to miss this book as every single one of them had it on display. So eventually, some time in July I gave in and bought it on a flight to Spain. I had not heard of Bonnie Garmus before, since Lessons in Chemistry is her debut novel, but she is one talented writer. Within a few pages I was hooked and invested in the story.

The protagonist Elizabeth Zott, a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention, is original, vibrant and gravely misunderstood. While her life takes many unlikely turns of events, such as becoming famous due to being cast as a TV host for a cooking show, she remains true to herself.

Given that the novel is set in the 1960s, Elizabeth regularly faces misogynistic behavior directed at her. However, she triumphs over it through her determined rationality and unwavering feminist beliefs. Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, this novel was one of my favorite reads this year.

Fun fact: An adaptation has recently dropped on Apple TV+ , starring Brie Larson (Marvel) – who has also executive produced the series. I haven’t watched it yet but I definitely will.

Synopsis

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with – of all things – her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

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3. Taylor Jenkins Reid – Daisy Jones & The Six

Taylor Jenkins Reid has been dominating the BookTok charts for the past few years. While I enjoyed all of her books so far, I haven’t been as obsessed with any of them as much as I have with Daisy Jones & The Six. Not only was the book one of my favorite reads this year but the series adaption on Amazon Prime has also been an adoration of mine. Spotify Wrapped can attest to my infatuation since the song “Look At Us Now” by the cast of Daisy Jones & The Six was my top song of 2023 (Taylor Swift’s Cruel Summer was a close second).

The novel details the rise and fall of a fictional ’70s rock band — loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac — and its enigmatic frontwoman Daisy Jones. While the writing style is rather unique and took some getting used to since the story is set up as a fictional oral history of the band, providing multiple points of views, in an interview- like style, it did not stop me from getting deeply invested into the characters. If anything, it might have enhanced the effect. I fell in love with the messy protagonists Daisy and Billy, as well as the weird love triangle including Camilla. Add the dynamic characters of the band into the mix, and you have a gripping, captivating and moving story that is impossible to forget.

Hence, we are lucky that Amazon Studios and Hello Sunshine (Reese Witherspoon’s production company) created a limited series (watch it on Amazon). The cast is perfect and star-studded: Riley Keough (granddaughter of Elvis Presley and stepdaughter to Michael Jackson) plays Daisy Jones, Sam Claflin (Me Before you) plays Billy Dunne, and Camila Morrone plays Billy’s wife, Camila Dunne. Suki Waterhouse (Robert Pattinson’s girlfriend) is also part of the crew. What I love about the cast is that they actually formed a band and recorded the soundtrack for the series. I mean, what better way is there to truly submerge yourself into a story? Go read and watch Daisy Jones & the Six and join me in my obsession.

Synopsis:

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

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4. Gabrielle Zevin – Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Initially, I had no interest in reading a book about video games as I’m not a gamer. However, I stumbled upon the book in a “Little Free Library” and decided to give it a chance. I’m glad I did. The beauty of this book is that while it is telling a story about love, the protagonists are never lovers. Sam and Sadie are simply soulmates who happen to be best friends. However, just because this is merely a platonic relationship does not mean there is no drama involved.

Spanning thirty years and taking place in various locations, Gabrielle Zevin’s novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, offers a unique and unfamiliar narrative. The book explores themes of identity, disability, failure, redemption, and the universal desire to connect and be loved. While it is a love story, it is not one you have read before.

Synopsis

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom.

These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

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5. Elif Shafak – The Island Of Missing Trees

When you enter a bookstore with the hope of finding something, even if you’re not sure what it is, there’s a sense of anticipation that you won’t leave empty-handed. That’s how I came about purchasing Elif Shafak’s The Island of Missing Trees. I was about to go on a trip to Greece and was looking for something “suitable”. A beach read but not a cheesy romantic novel. Well, I still ended up with a love story but not the one you might expect. The book is written from the perspective of several people and one tree, a Ficus carica (fig tree). And while you might think: “A tree? What kind of book is this!?”, I can assure you, it’s worth it.

The Island of Missing Trees by Turkish author Elif Shafak is a poignant and skillfully crafted novel that explores the complexities of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness. Set against the backdrop of the Cyprus conflict, the story delves into themes of belonging, identity, love, trauma, nature, and renewal. These themes resonate strongly, particularly in light of the numerous conflicts that have gripped our attention this year. Shafak’s writing is captivating and beautifully portrays the interconnectedness of these universal aspects of the human experience. And if you have always wanted to read about the perspective of a tree, don’t hesitate to buy a copy of this book.

Synopsis

Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.

Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited – her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.

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Giveaway

You can win my favorite book of the year: Emily Henry – Happy Place by participating in the giveaway. In order to win, you need to:

1. Subscribe to my blog: subscribe here
2. Follow The Blonde Yeti on Instagram: follow here
3. Like and comment on my Instagram post: link
4. Share the post in your Instagram story

If you have fulfilled all four requirements, you will enter the raffle and I will select the winner in a week’s time (December 23, 2023) and ship the book to you!

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I hope you enjoyed my list of favorite books. There were many more titles I could have included but I tried to narrow it down to make it comprehensive. I would love to hear which of the books from the list you have read. What are your favorite books of 2023?

Sincerely, The Blonde Yeti