Last week you got an insight into my bookish year in numbers, today I present you with my 10 favourite reads. All my five-star books are of course included and then there was the difficult choice to pick six books from all those four-star-books. I decided to list the books that I still remember very well at the end of the year, which is always a good sign.
Circe by Madeline Miller
The first book of 2023 that immediately got a place in this top ten. A Greek mythology retelling from the perspective of Circe. A witch, so to speak, who was exiled and welcomes on her island all kinds of other gods and people. Hermes, Pasiphae and the minotaur, Daedalus, Medea and Jason and, of course, Odysseus are featured. One of the best books in the genre.
Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle
A book about the female painter Artemisia Gentileschi who is raped in 17th-century Rome by a friend of her father. Fremantle is my favourite author who normally writes about England. Very highly recommended.
A column of fire – Ken Follett
The third book in the Kingsbridge series, this time set during the Tudor period. No surprise thus that this is my favourite book of the year. The 16th century is the beginning of globalisation. And so this time, the characters are also found elsewhere than Kingsbridge and that is just what I loved about the book. Historical fiction of the highest level this.
The marriage portrait – Maggie ‘O Farrell
This is more literature than historical fiction. The main character Lucrezia De Medici did exist, but we don’t know much about her. It’s a slow-paced book that I didn’t always know what to make of while reading. But I still think about it often so hence it deserves a place in this top ten.
City of vengeance – D.V. Bishop
And actually the sequel ‘The darkest sin’ as well. This historical detective series is my newest discovery in that subgenre. It’s set in 16th century Florence where Cesare Aldo, who works for the secret police – The Otto, has to solve murders and, because of his connections with the Medici family, also comes into contact with some important historical characters. Reads very smoothly. And I might be biased because I went to Florence this year.
The London Séance society – Sarah Penner
A very unexpected favourite. I am not at all into books that deal with the summoning of spirits and I thought the previous Sarah Penner book was okay. But this book kept me reading. I just thought it was a well-constructed story, in which ghosts were thankfully not too heavily involved.
The steel beneath the silk – Patricia Bracewell
The third part in a trilogy about Emma Van Normandy. A series that is among my favourites and while this third book may not be the best part, it still belongs in this top ten. For the fans of Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix (as Emma is also one of the characters there). I hope Bracewell comes with a next novel soon.
Written in my own heart’s blood – Diana Gabaldon
I like big books and I can always find those among the Outlander series. On TV, the 8th season will be the last and is largely based on this book. I found the ending very heartwarming so I hope they stop the TV series there (even though there is a 9th book by now and a 10th is on the way). Gabaldon always tries your patience but I think this series is just too good – I’m a fangirl.
Lamentation – S.J. Sansom
The same fangirling goes for the Matthew Shardlake detective series. In Lamentation, Henry VIII’s sixth wife – Catherine Parr – has got herself into trouble and Matthew must search for a stolen manuscript and a murderer. This book is really cleverly put together again.
The temple of Fortuna – Elodie Harper
Harper has become a star in the book blog community and with reason. I loved her Pompeii trilogy where she narrates the life of prostitute Amara from the first to the last page. In this third book, Amara returns from Rome to Pompeii where her old pimp Felix is trying to extort her. The volcano Vesuvius will also get involved in the story, we all know how that will end…
This were my 10 favourites of 2023! Have you read any of these? What was your favourite book of 2023? I might pick it up this year!
In Another Era 
That’s a great list! I loved Circe and Lamentation and I’m hoping to read The Temple of Fortuna soon. I think my favourite book of 2023 was probably The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
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