My Five Favourite December 2023 Reads

Life events this month meant December was a slow reading month. I only managed seven books which didn’t make choosing the five I liked best particulatly easy. Links from each title will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads. (I’m behind with reviews as well.)

You can find a list of all the books I read in 2023 here.  My round-up of my favourite books of 2023 will be published tomorrow as part of Top Ten Tuesday.

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My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Zaffre for providing me with digital review copies via NetGalley.


The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (Transworld) – A sweeping and emotional story of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity, with welcome touches of humour along the way.

Perfume River by Robert Olen Butler (Gallic Books) – An accomplished and insightful family drama exploring how personal choices resonate down the generations.

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (Hodder & Stoughton) – A moving, powerful and immersive story about a Malaysian family living through the Second World War.

Munich Wolf by Rory Clements (Zaffre) – Compelling thriller set in 1930s Munich in which Detective Sebastian Wolff must walk the thin line between doing his job and falling foul of the Nazi party he despises.

The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller (Sceptre) – A quietly powerful story about a man struggling to come to terms with events of the past.

What were the best books you read last month? Have you read any of my picks?

My Five Favourite Reads (11)

My Week in Books – 31st December 2023

MyWeekinBooksOn What Cathy Read Next last week

The German MessengerTuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was The Ten Most Recent Additions To My Bookshelf.   

Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading. 

Saturday – I published my review of The German Messenger by David Malcolm.


New arrivals

Santa does not stop here anymore…


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading


Planned posts

  • Book Review: Back Trouble by Clare Chambers
  • Book Review: Perfume River by Robert Olen Butler
  • Book Review: Munich Wolf by Rory Clements
  • Book Review: The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller