The 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards WINNERS
The Goodreads Choice Awards Winners have been announced and we couldn’t be happier for the winners! and their opening round is officially open for voting. Even though MBC covers Science Fiction and Fantasy, we love to see books in other genres win!
Some of the books we have read have won and some books we have chosen for next year have won as well! If you haven’t read the books listed below, then it’s time to add them to your TBR for next year! All the books that have been nominated have made an impact this year! We can’t wait to read some of them as a community.
BEST FICTION 2023
R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface was the most talked about Fiction all year long. It was on every month’s list as people continued to pick it up and read it. She has become a notable writer and this was also a Reese Witherspoon book club pick.
Yellowface got a whopping 200,722 votes with Anna Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful coming in second place with 60,171 votes. Yellowface received more than double the votes over Napolitano. Coming in third place was Meg Shaffer’s The Wishing Game with 57,702 votes.
Best Historical Fiction
Not only did Emilia Hart win Best Historical Fiction, she also won Best Debut Novel of 2023.
This came in first with 62,211 votes and Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water garnered 46,581 votes coming in second. Lisa See’s Lady Tan’s Circle of Women came in third only off by 10,000 votes with 35,411.
Best Mystery & Thriller of 2023
Out of all the Mystery/Thrillers this year, The Housemaid’s Secret by Frieda McFadden accompanied me on my travels this summer. After reading the first novel before my trip, I immediately had to finish the duo-logy. McFadden expertly adds the twists when necessary without it feeling forced and sends out main character Millie on a downward spiral in both novels.
This second instalment received 86,468 votes and None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell came in at a close second with 73,187 votes with Riley Sager’s The Only One Left coming in third with 63,021 votes.
BEST ROMANCE OF 2023
Happy Place by Emily Henry was the bright spot this year for romance. The entire MBC staff has read one or more books by Henry and she has easily become one of our favourite romance writers.
This is her third straight victory in the category and she has only published four romances in total.
She brought in 157,687 votes while Ali Hazelwood’s Love, Theoretically came in second with 96,439 votes and Abby Jimenez came in third with Yours Truly at 57,086 votes.
Check out her other books here.
BEST ROMANTASY OF 2023
It comes as no surprise that Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros has won Best Romantasy for 2023! The book garnered almost 400,000 votes on GoodReads, which is an insane number considering how much the other nominees got.
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer came in second with 33,665 votes and The Ashes and the Star Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent came in third place with 29,127 votes. It has been a wonderful year for Romantasy readers and if you haven’t read these books, then add them to your TBR.
Book Chat: Fourth Wing
Best Fantasy of 2023
Leigh Bardugo is one of Maude Garrett’s favourite authors, so it comes as no surprise that Bardugo comes out on top once again. The first instalment Ninth House won Best Fantasy in 2019, so it’s only fitting that the sequel wins this year.
Hell Bent by Bardugo brought in 75,800 votes while Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (another favourite read of mine this year) came in with 57,818 votes. And Samantha Shannon’s thick follow-up to Priory of the Orange Tree, A Day of Fallen Night came in third with 39,708 votes.
Best HORROR of 2023
The Horror King strikes again and lands on top with Holly winning. This novel has a fan-favourite returns with Holly Gibney as he pits her against two depraved antagonists. This brought in 77,993 votes, while How To Sell A Haunted House by Gradi Hendrix (which is overhyped in my honest opinion) received 47,851 votes and T. Kingfisher comes in third with 22,580 votes for A House With Good Bones.
Best Young Adult Fantasy 2023
We are overjoyed that Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross has won Best Young Adult Fantasy for 2023.
Divine Rivals received 117,671 votes with A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber coming in second with 57,204 votes and Holly Black’s The Stolen Heir coming in third with 52,089 votes.
We are always looking ahead at 2024, and MBC has chosen Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross for the book club pick in February 2024. Whether you’ve already read the book and you’re waiting for the second instalment, or you want to give it a go, come and join our book club and become a member today!
Best Science Fiction 2023
After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune for book club, Maude has chosen its sequel Somewhere Beyond the Sea as our book club pick for November!
In the Lives of Puppets won Best Science Fiction with 57,535 votes and our good friend Pierce Brown’s Light Bringer came in second with 46,836 votes. So close, Howlers!! Coming in third is John Scalzi’s Starter Villain which got 31,102 votes.
Have you read any of the books listed above? If you have, let us know which one is your favourite! If you have any recommendations drop them in the comments below.
If you want a fun space to discuss your favourite novels, come join our Discord and become a Patreon member for other great book club perks.
