(a very delayed): top 10 reads of 2023.

Hello and Happy (almost) New Year of 2025! 😅 I have had QUITE the ✨eventful✨ 2023 AND 2024. I met my husband, got married, got a promotion, and kept myself busy enough with life happenings that I didn’t make the time to blog. But, I’ve just mapped out my goals for 2025, and getting back to blogging is one of them.

So, without further ado (and in no particular order), I present to you my top 10, 5-star reads of 2023:

1.) Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson (Book #6 of the Truly Devious Series)
Okay, hear me out. Every series has its ups and downs, but for some reason, the Truly Devious/Stevie Bell series from Maureen Johnson has a chokehold on me and i can never 👏🏼 put 👏🏼 them 👏🏼 down 👏🏼. So, it’s no shock i cruised through book #6, Nine Liars. I was very off on how I thought things were going to go down, I lovedddd exploring the UK with Stevie and her pals, and like the others in the series, I enjoyed it enough to give it 5 starts because I adore Stevie and I adore this series too much. 🔍🧡

Anyway, i think it’s still up for debate if these books are rly “YA” books, HOWEVER, if you haven’t read the Truly Devious series, request book #1, Truly Devious (and book #2, bc you’ll breeze through #1). Keep me posted. 🤞🏼

2.) Glucose Revolution: The life-changing power of balancing your blood sugar - Jess Inchauspe
Glucose levels and monitoring blood sugar has been on people’s radar in the last year or two, and after hearing a few podcasts with Jess, i decided to pick up her book and her hacks really have changed so much about my lifestyle. Our glucose levels are tied to SO MUCH about our wellness, and the way she shares the science of blood sugar and glucose spikes tied with her EASY (both to remember and to implement) hacks for keeping your glucose curves as low as possible, this book is beneficial for anyone! I highly recommend this book and following her on insta @glucosegoddess 👏🏼

3.) Fighting Forward - Hannah Brencher
If you’ve followed my booksta/blog for long, you know i’ve been a LONG time fan of Hannah Brencher from her “If you find this letter” days. You may also recall I was on the book launch team for this book. It came out a few years ago, but my oh my, these words hold true, no matter the time. I said it then, and I’ll say it now: this book is the version of the perfect jean jacket in your capsule wardrobe. It’s essential. It’s got something for you. It’s encouraging, it’s transformative and reading it is like having coffee with an old, kindred friend.

4.) Codependent No More - Melody Beattie
This isn’t my usual book recommendation, however, this is a great book and it came to me in the perfect time in the best way. If you struggle with any sort of codependency (or even wonder if you might), this book will be a helpful tool for you on your journey back to yourself. It opened my eyes to so much and has helped me grow immensely. I had a layman’s understanding of codependency, but I didn’t understand the behaviors, the impact or the cause and this book helped me explore each of those and how to forge a path forward to set you free! 🫶🏼

5.) Good boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving others without losing the best of who you are - Lysa Terkeurst
Next up in books that aren’t my usual rec’s but are great — this book. Yes yes yes. In conjunction with working on codependency in my own life, I’ve been deep diving more into one of the antidotes for it: boundaries. I loved this book because it holds a deep spiritual framework about what they are, when you need them, why you need them, how to set them, plus how to honor God when setting them, holding them, and overall, it has some really tangible truths to hold onto. I’m a huge fan of Lysa Terkeurst and grabbing this book at the library solely based on the title ended up being a huge blessing and stepping stone for me! highly recommend to anyone. 👌🏼

6.) Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High - Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
I loved this book so much. I lead a book club for this book in addition to reading it with my husband and it was seriously so good! I highlyyy recommend this book to anyone who wants to better their communication skills. Let’s face it — many conversations that we have are crucial and these days, the stakes of those conversations can feel really high. This book has so so many tangible tools and tips to help you have good conversations when they matter the most while maintaining safety and getting to the heart of things. I recommend both the book and/or the audiobook for anyone — personally and/or professionally.

7.) The Maid - Nita Prose
One of my favorite podcasts made this their November book club book and I devoured it in 3 days. This is a quirky, clean mystery (in that there’s no spicy scenes, minimal poor language/violence, etc) featuring Molly, a 20-something maid with a passion for restoring rooms “to a state of perfection!”, at the center of the happenings in the Regency Grand hotel. As a maid, Molly is privy to noticing lots of things others don’t, simply because no one really cares about the maids, but the maids are the heartbeat of a hotel. I loved this book, the storyline, Molly + the supporting characters and the flow of the book. I love Molly’s quest for truth, her unabashed tendency to speak it, notice it and just her quirky tendencies, she is really neurodiverse and I loved her. 📕🔍
p.s. i listened to a lot of this book via audiobook and it was gooood (the narrators voice was 👌🏼).

8.) The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer
Wowowow, I couldn’t put it down as soon as I started it. Two of my pals and I started a small lil’ book club and this was the first pick! Full of whimsy, heart and adventure, this book is like Willy Wonka vibes but for books! The characters are great, the imagery is exciting and jack masterson gave me Bob Goff vibes. through and through, this is a five star read from me! 📚🎈

9.) Counting the Cost: A memoir - Jill Duggar
I grew up watching the Duggar family and I’ve followed some of the sisters in the last handful of years. I’ve also nurtured a healthy curiosity about their family dynamics for a long time. Earlier this year i heard Jinger speak on a podcast about Bill Gothard and his legalistic, unbiblical teaching its impact on her (her book is in my queue). When i saw Jill put out a memoir, I wanted to read it! It’s VERY well written, full of inside looks and stories and also is really honest about her dynamics and struggles with her parents, what went on with her brother josh, where she stands now and so much in between. It’s tragic in parts (as some memoirs are) but it’s also full of hope, strength and deep-rooted faith. I loved it.

10.) Bittersweet: Thoughts on change, grace and learning the hard way - Shauna Niequist
I am counting this as a 2023 read, because I read all but 3 chapters the final week of 2023. I’ve adored Shauna Niequist’s writing for about 10 years and rereading this book was like catching up with an old friend over coffee. These words were exactly what I needed during my own bittersweet season and they’re just so good. I’m gonna focus more on re-reading books I love in 2024 in the same way I’m happy to rewatch a movie or listen to a song on repeat. I highly recommend this book and revisiting some of your old favorites, too!

Alright, that’s it, y’all! Thos’re my top reads from 2023. I’ve got some AMAZING books will be on my 5-star reads for 2024, so stay tuned for them.

Have you read any of the ones posted above? I’ll also be posting some gift guides and some of the books I’ve got queued up for 2025 soon, but in the meantime, I’d love to know which books pulled at your bookish heart strings this year!

Happy reading!
-kaylee