Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday involved listing your favourite book covers in the colours of your country’s flag.  While this was an interesting idea, I had already decided in advance of seeing this topic that I would take this opportunity to celebrate the fact that we are already into the second half of 2023 by highlight some amazing books from the first half of the year.

2023 has already proven to be a pretty fantastic year for books, and I have already read some incredible 2023 releases, including impressive standalone books, amazing new entries in established series and fantastic debuts.  Because of this, I thought that I would take the time to work out what my top ten favourite books from the first half of 2023 were.  To be eligible, a book had to be released in the first half of this year in some form.  I have also excluded any books released during this period that I have not so far read, although a couple of releases I have my eye on might have appeared on this list if I had read them in time.

Coming up with this list proved to be a rather bigger task than I originally intended, as I ended up amassing nearly 20 releases, all of which I consider to be some pretty outstanding reads.  I was eventually able to whittle this down to an acceptable Top Ten list, although I did include my typical generous honourable mentions section.  I am rather happy with how this list turned out, although I am surprised at some of the great recent books that ended up being excluded.  Still, the entries below represent what I considered to be some of the best books from the first half of 2023, and I would strongly recommend each and every one of them. 

Honourable Mentions:

The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien De Castell

An ultra-fun, ultra-violent fantasy read that pitted a group of amoral mercenary mages against the worst the world had to throw at them.  A highly entertaining read.

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Fatal Legacy by Lindsey Davis

Another excellent addition to Davis’ long-running Flavia Albia historical murder mystery series. Fatal Legacy featured another compelling case, this time based around an extensive family feud in ancient Rome and is well worth the read.

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Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman

Veteran crime fiction author Jonathan Kellerman delivered another brilliant entry to his iconic Alex Delaware series this year with the fantastic and clever Unnatural History.  A powerful and well-written crime fiction read with a clever solution behind it, this was an amazing addition to the series.

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Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow

One of my favourite historical fiction authors, Simon Scarrow, delivered an amazing sequel to his previous World War II thriller, Blackout, with the impressive Dead of Night.  Set in Nazi controlled Berlin, Dead of Night had a unique and historically powerful narrative, and this proves to be quite the memorable novel.

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Top Ten List (no particular order):

The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

Acclaimed author Mark Lawrence produced one of his best fantasy books ever with the outstanding and epic, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn.  Set in a massive fantasy library, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn contains a complex and twist-laded narrative that had me hooked from the very beginning.  Lawrence really outdid himself with The Book That Wouldn’t Burn and this is such an incredible read.

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Burner by Mark Greaney

I always make sure to check out the new Gray Man novel by top thriller author Mark Greaney each year and I am never disappointed, especially with the latest book Burner.  Burner was a hyper-intense and action packed read that didn’t stop once during its entire run.  Perfectly exploring contemporary history and tying it into ongoing storylines, Burner was a particularly strong addition to the already great Gray Man series and it comes very highly recommended.

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Usagi Yojimbo: The Green Dragon by Stan Sakai

Unsurprisingly, I had to include the new Usagi Yojimbo comic in this list, as it still one of my all-time favourite comic series.  Despite the series’ age, Stan Sakai is still pumping out some outstanding stories, and The Green Dragon was a pretty amazing addition to the series.  Following the titular rabbit ronin as he journeys through his version of Feudal Japan, The Green Dragon featured three amazing stories, each one perfectly showcasing the complex characters and Sakai’s striking art style.  Another masterful entry in this amazing series, I loved The Green Dragon and I’m hoping to get a proper review up for it soon.

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Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry

One of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry, continued to explore the dark fantasy genre in a big way with his violent and captivating novel, Son of the Poison Rose.  The epic sequel to Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Son of the Poison Rose continues to follow the adventure of a doomed and damned protagonist, desperate for revenge, while also cleverly expanding Maberry’s awesome new fantasy realm.  Brutal, uncompromising, but utterly addictive, Son of the Poison Rose was another incredible book from Maberry and I had an exceptional time reading it.

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Battle Song by Ian Ross

A new author I tried out in the first half of 2023 was historical fiction author Ian Ross, who presented a cool medieval adventure story.  Battle Song was an outstanding read, that saw a naïve squire follow a cynical knight through tournaments, politics and civil war, in a deeply entertaining and powerful story.  Set amongst a unique period of English history, I got pretty damn hooked on Battle Song and I was really impressed with his style, fun characters, and awesome action sequences.  A very exciting novel that all fans of historical fiction will enjoy, Battle Song is really worth checking out.

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The Will of the Many by James Islington

Easily one of the best books I have read so far this year was the outstanding fantasy novel, The Will of the Many by Australian author James Islington.  An addictive and inventive read set primarily in a magical school (one of my favourite fantasy settings), The Will of the Many follows a rebellious student with secrets who is dragged into multiple conspiracies.  Featuring a bold new universe, a complex story, and some great characters, The Will of the Many was a joy to read from start to finish and I cannot recommend it enough, especially those looking for a new series to dive into.

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The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks

I had to include at least one Warhammer 40,000 novel on this list and few new books from this franchise impressed me as much this year as The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks.  Brooks, whose work I previously enjoyed with Warboss and Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom, produced one of his strongest books yet with The Lion: Son of the Forest.  Following the return of an iconic character from the franchise lore, The Lion: Son of the Forest was a powerful and action-packed read that told a great story of return, redemption and revenge.  A must-read for all Warhammer 40,000 fans, The Lion: Son of the Forest was an outstanding book and Brooks is proving to be one the best rising authors in the franchise.

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Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner

Following on from the success of her first novel, Her Perfect Twin (one of my favourite debuts of 2022), Sarah Bonner released another awesome thriller this year with Her Sweet Revenge.  Following a grieving protagonist who wants revenge for her best friend’s murder, Her Sweet Revenge is fantastic series of twists, turns and clever reveals, all of which is so damn fun to read.  I loved this great second book from Bonner and I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

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City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I’m slightly cheating by including City of Last Chances here because it was initially released in 2022.  However, the version I managed to get didn’t come out in Australia until earlier this year, so I’m counting it for this list.  It helps that City of Last Chances was an exceptional and highly inventive fantasy read that blew me away with its scope, cleverness and complex characters.  Featuring a very distinctive and fun style, City of Last Chances was a particularly amazing book from Adrian Tchaikovsky (Ogres and Day of Ascension), and I had an outstanding time diving into this cool and memorable setting.  An epic read that comes very, very highly recommended.

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The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry

The final book I want to highlight on this list is the awesome Cotton Malone thriller, The Last Kingdom, by veteran author Steve Berry.  Set around a unique conspiracy from Bavaria, The Last Kingdom is an outstanding combination of modern-day thriller and an impressive dive into Bavaria’s complex past.  I have so much love for Berry’s outstanding ability to weave together a fantastic historical conspiracy, and this was probably one of the better entries in the Cotton Malone series that I have had the pleasure of reading.

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Well, that’s the end of this latest list.  As you can see, I have already read some amazing and epic books so far in 2023 and we are only halfway through the year.  I am pretty happy with how this list turned out, and it will be interesting to see which of these books ends up being amongst my top reads of the year.  All the novels above come very highly recommended, and you are guaranteed to have a wonderful time reading them.  Let me know what your favourite releases for the first half of the year are in the comments below and make sure to check out my two most anticipated reads lists (fantasy and science fiction and other), as well as which of the above books you liked the most.