Every Book I Read in 2023 Ranked

Hey guys! I hope you all had a good new year! This post is a little different than most of mine. Today we’re going to take a look at every one of the 58 books I read in 2023 and ranking them. I’ll also include a short explanation for why I put them in the place they are. And of course, we’ll be starting with the worst and working our way up because that’s more dramatic. This post is going to be pretty long, so without further ado, let’s just get into it!

58. The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks This was the only book I rated one star this year and I can confidently say it was the worst I’ve ever read. It was really gross and mildly disturbing.

57. Maids by Katie Skelly This book was also overly gory for really no reason.
58. Darling by K. Ancrum This book turned the cute children’s story of Peter Pan into an unsettling story of a child predator. Need I say more?
59. If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin Honestly, I probably overreacted by giving this book such a low rating (it should probably be 2 stars) but the ending made me so mad and it seemed like the whole book was kind of pointless.
60. Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt This book was sweet but the ending just kind of made the whole book feel a bit meaningless.

53. Paper Hearts by Ali Novak This is a cute romance about a girl falling for a member of a famous boy band but then the plot goes totally off the rails half way through and turns into a manhunt for no reason.
54. Land of Broken Promises by Jane Kuo This was the first ARC I read for TYWI so I appreciate it for that but I just wasn’t a fan of Kuo’s style of poetry.
55. Tessa and Weston: The Best Christmas Ever by Abbie Emmons This book is the sequel to 100 Days of Sunlight which you’ll see further down on this list but this one just read very ablest and kind of ruined the first book for me too.
56. Echoes of Us by Kat Zhang This was the final book in The Hybrid Chronicles trilogy (the second book is one place above it) and honestly the cast of characters was too great and I didn’t care that much so I was pretty lost for the majority of this book.
57. Once We Were by Kat Zhang Although I liked this better than Echoes of Us and it ended up being my favorite 2 star read of the year, it was still very much a 2 star read—the pacing was off, the plot was slow yet still confusing, and I had trouble distinguishing between different characters.

48. Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given I’m a feminist, but this feminist self-help book was not my cup of tea. It gave hate-all-men vibes very strongly and I just didn’t really enjoy reading it.
49. Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller Honestly, I barely remember anything about this book, except I’m pretty sure I liked it marginally more than the first book in this trilogy, Daughter of the Pirate King.
50. The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak This book was better than it’s sequel, Paper Hearts, but it still fell pretty flat. I mean, the main character’s sister was dying and I still didn’t like her, which I feel like is a bad sign.
51. Kiss Now, Lie Later by C.W. Farnsworth This book was a cute forbidden lovers romance but it was pretty generic and not much about it stood out.
52. Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake This was another ARC read for TYWI and I did enjoy it, however the romance wasn’t really fleshed out at all. This made the whole plot kind of fall flat since this relationship was a very integral part of the storyline.
53. Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth This book follows a girl who starts a “nonprofit” solving her classmates problems. It was cute, but like super unrealistic and the plot didn’t seem very cohesive.

42. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt I thought this book was very cute and fantastical, however I couldn’t get past the age gap between Jesse and Winnie.
43. Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz This book follows two teens with chronic illnesses who fall in love. It was cute, but I didn’t think the main characters had much chemistry at all.
44. Game by Barry Lyga This is the sequel to I Hunt Killers, which will be later on the list. It was good, but I had trouble following the plot.
45. The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed This book, which I also read as an ARC, is a classic will-reading-turned-treasure-hunt story, but not much about it stood out.

38. I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman This book is the lowest ranked Alice Oseman book on the list. The plot was just kind of underwhelming.
39. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon This book, which follows a girl who can’t leave her house do to her Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, was really good until the ending, which seemed far too convenient and not quite believable.
40. Notes from My Captivity by Kathy Parks This book follows a girl who gets kidnapped by a mystical family who lives in the Siberian wilderness, yet somehow managed to be kind of boring.
41. The Balter of Ashton Harper by Millie Florence This book, which I read as an ARC, was a cute book about magic and dancing, however, the plot was a bit too slow.
42. Loveless by Alice Oseman This book was a really cute story about a girl coming to terms with being asexual. The plot wasn’t outstanding, but it was a sweet read.
43. Heartstopper: Volume 2 by Alice Oseman This book is the volume where Nick and Charlie actually get together, which was super fun to read about.
44. Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman Reading about Nick and Charlie’s trip to Paris was super cool, although honestly volumes 2 and 3 kind of blend together in my memory.
45. The Thing With Feathers by McCall Hoyle This book was a cute romance, but it was just kind of missing something.
46. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston This book obviously needs no introduction. I did find it super cute, however, I wish there had been less of a focus on Alex and Henry’s physical relationship and more of one on their emotional relationship.
47. The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams This book is an absolutely adorable romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.
48. 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons This book was so sweet and I remember reading it on my bus ride to Disney World last year and really enjoying it. However, the ending kind of fell flat.

27. No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg This is a collection of speeches by Greta Thunberg, which were very interesting, but also got quite repetitive.
28. Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton This memoir by Tom Felton was interesting, but also kind of boring at times.
29. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall This book was a super cute romance, however the ending was just kind of all over the place honestly.
30. Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle This book was a super cool graphic novel about teen girls who turned into werewolves, but the ending felt a bit too convenient.
31. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga This book follows the son of a notorious serial killer who is hunting yet another serial killer. It was super interesting and I really enjoyed reading it.
32. The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven This book was so empowering and the message of how society always blames the woman was so powerful, even if the story felt a bit overly long.
33. Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman This graphic novel series is so cute. There’s really nothing more to say about it.
34. Heartstopper: Volume 4 by Alice Oseman This is my favorite book in The Heartstopper series. It’s so cute and I love the emphasis on mental health.
35. Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol This book was a super cool graphic novel about a girl who meets a ghost when she falls down a well. It’s unsettling, surprising, and a really fun fall read.
36. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen This book was such a sweet romance that sent a powerful message. What more could you want?
37. The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen This was the final ARC I read this year and it’s a really cool story about two witches in seventeenth-century Norway.
38. The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes This book is a heartwarming tale about a girl coming to terms with her sexuality while also attending Catholic School.
39. A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid This was my favorite ARC of the year. It’s feminist, fantastical, and it brought me to tears—something a book basically never does.
40. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston This book follows a girl who is trying to hunt down her academic rival, who she definitely doesn’t have a crush on. What more could you want?
41. Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire This book is the sequel to Every Heart a Doorway, which is later on the list, and while I still really liked it, I just really wished it was a bit longer.
42. Caraval by Stephanie Garber This was a really good fantasy… at least I think. I can’t really remember anything about it, which is a shame because I do remember that I really liked it.
43. The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews This book is so cute and is like literally the definition of found family. It’s so heartwarming and cute.

10. Popular by Maya Van Wagenen This memoir about a middle school girl following a popularity guide from the 1950s is heartwarming, funny, sweet, and is honestly just a great read.
11. Ophelia After All by Raquel Marie Guys, Ophelia is one of my favorite characters of all time. That’s it. That’s all I have to say.
12. Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter This book follows a girl who is obsessed with rom-coms who needs the help of her rival to have her fairy tale romance. (Yes, it is as cute as it sounds.)
13. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid This book was so emotional and I ate it up. It’s insanely good. Just go read it. Now.

6. Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall This book follows a girl with agoraphobia falling in love for the first time with the boy next door. It’s cute, moving, and I ate it up.
7. Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway This book is about a boy who was kidnapped by his father as a kid and the girl he left behind. It’s was so cute and emotional and I just absolutely loved it.
8. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden Does this book have any right to be this high up on this list? Probably not. However, I am unapologetically obsessed with The Princess Bride and this memoir of the making of the movie was everything I was hoping for and more.
9. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire This book is insanely stunning. It’s so fairy-tale-like and whimsical, I just absolutely love it. It tells the story of children who traveled to magical realms and were spit back into their own worlds and it is just as fantastical and wondrous as it sounds.
10. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo These top two books shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. My adoration for this duology hasn’t exactly been subtle. Six of Crows tells the story of six convicts who go on the heist of a lifetime and it’s perfect. Like, after reading it, I was certain it was going to be my favorite book of the year. But then, I read Crooked Kingdom.
11. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo I didn’t think a better book than Six of Crows could be written, but then I ended up likely Crooked Kingdom even more. It’s so emotional and you get to know the main characters so well. It’s just so stunning all the way through. It’s easily the best book I’ve read this year, and I can’t wait to read King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo in 2024.

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I hope you enjoyed seeing what I thought about my 2023 reads. Feel free to let me know everything I rated incorrectly and what not in the comments. As always, I hope this post finds you well and you have a great day!