★★★★★ A beautifully written character study of a cast of memorable souls that spans 30 years from the end of World War II until the mid-70s.

★★★★★ Perhaps the most-hyped book of 2023 lives up to it, as we follow the journey of a young girl as she attempts to become a dragon rider.

★★★★★ A stand-alone novel unrelated to her "Divide" series, author Dewes elegantly explores immortality, AI, and what it means to be human.

★★★★★ Harrow returns to top form with a genre-blending story of a young woman trying to scrape by in a town haunted by its past and secrets.

★★★★★ A stellar offering from author Harper about a missing woman and a history of complicated relationships among friends in a small town.

★★★★★ Both entertaining and helpful, Duckworth systematically lays out a plethora of evidence for why passion + perseverance = success.

★★★★★ When a young woman goes missing, kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel, her mother makes it her life's mission to bring them to justice.

★★★★★ A thoroughly researched examination of the exploits of Stéphane Breitwieser, the most prolific art thief the world has ever known.

★★★★★ An honest autobiographical account of a showbiz life, infused with humor, self-deprecation and a joie de vivre oozing from every page.

★★★★★ A story of a four tight knit girls at a small college turns dark when it seems they might have been involved with a frat boy's death.

★★★★★ El-Arifi builds on her stellar debut The Final Strife (my #3 book of 2022), and does so both ambitiously and successfully.

★★★★★ An exploration of relationships and friendships in Henry's most mature offering yet, centered on a week-long vacation in Maine.

★★★★★ A mother sees her son commit a murder, and must find out why while stuck in a backwards time loop. Sounds weird, but it works well!

★★★★★ A 1961 coming-of-age story about a boy in rural Minnesota, who is forced to deal with tragedy as he navigates his path to manhood.

★★★★★ It's a love story and a legal thriller, but its authors' deft handling of many tough subjects is what elevates this novel even more.

★★★★★ Following up her excellent debut Group, Tate returns with another memoir, this time focusing on her struggles with female friendship.

★★★★★ The reunion of 2 siblings around a mysterious house is the backdrop for this lyrical beauty of a novel, my favorite of 2022.

★★★★★ An ode to Charles Dickens in the form of a modern retelling of David Copperfield, set in Appalachian Virginia over the last 30+ years.

★★★★★ A land where one’s blood color determines their race is the setting while a secret sect try to infiltrate to infiltrate the government

★★★★★ An exploration of the immigrant experience through the story of 2 high school students of Pakistani descent, growing up in rural CA.