Top 5 Anticipated Reads (Q1) // 2023

Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Meeghan Reads.

First of all, if these covers aren’t enough to get me excited, the summaries seals the deal! I have a feeling that 2023 is going to be a great reading year…and I can’t wait to get started! Here are five books that I’m especially looking forward to.

Spare by Prince Harry – If you’ve been around this space for long, you know that I generally despise all things rich, famous, and celebrity. But there’s just something about the Royals that absolutely fascinates me. I think it’s a bit of their mysteriousness and the fact that anything that happens behind closed doors is very secretive. So a tell-all book written by one of the princes (even if he is “just the Spare”) is too hard for me to resist! I pre-ordered my copy and stalked the mailman all day. I’m about halfway through and when I tell you my jaw has mostly been on the ground at all the revelations Prince Harry drops, I’m not lying! Publish date: January 10, 2023.

A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò – Set in Nigeria, this is a story of the haves and the have-nots. That alone intrigues me! I also loved Adébáyò’s first novel, Stay With Me, so much. She has a talent for pulling at the reader’s emotional heartstrings…and those just happen to be my favorite kinds of books. Publish date: February 7, 2023.

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai – I absolutely loved Makkai’s previous book, The Great Believers. Not only the story itself, but Makkai’s stunning storytelling and impactfully crafted sentences. In this one, Bodie Kane has a dark past; her roommate while at boarding school was murdered. When she returns to the school, she is drawn to the flaws of the case and she quickly finds herself right back in the past. I love the mystery element of this one as well as what promises to be a flawed character looking for healing and possibly some redemption. Publish date: February 21, 2023.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano – Admittedly, this is the book on this list that makes me the most nervous. I wasn’t head-over-heels about her debut novel, Dear Edward, so I’m not sure how this one will work for me. (Dear Edward was good enough that Napolitano deserves another chance.) I’m excited for the sports angle that is included along with themes of tragedy, lost love, and redemption. And with total Ask Again, Yes vibes, I think this one may be a good fit for me! Publish date: March 14, 2023.

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum – I was absolutely in awe of Rum’s debut novel, A Woman Is No Man. Her writing talent jumped off the pages with her characters and storytelling abilities. She instantly became an author I wanted more from, so I cannot wait for Evil Eye! It sounds like we will once again pursue themes of Palestinian-American women, their place within society, and exploring how our pasts inevitably affect our futures. Publish date: March 28, 2023.