Hello bookish friends and a very warm welcome to damppebbles on this, the final Wednesday of November 2023. We have only two days left of this year’s #R3COMM3ND3D and what a stonking year it’s been. We’ve had romance novels, crime fiction, horror, literary fiction, historical fiction, thrillers and a cozy fantasy novel with one of the best covers of the year. I haven’t listed everything but if you would like to see the books that have been recommended so far, hit this link ➡️ #R3COMM3ND3D2023 ROUND-UP. As things currently stand, we’ve had eighty books recommended with four books receiving more than one vote putting them in contention for the top spot and the crown. Let’s see if that’s the case after my guest today reveals their top three books of the year…

At the start of the week I promised you that the final four days of #R3COMM3ND3D2023 would feature some of my all-time favourite bloggers. On the penultimate day of #R3C23, I am over the moon to welcome one of the first bloggers I started following way back when, mere weeks after taking the plunge and starting this blog (nearly eight years ago now!), it’s the fabulous Sarah Hardy of bytheletterbookreviews. I love Sarah’s blog, I really enjoy her reviews and always trust what Sarah has to say about the gorgeous books she features. If you’re an avid reader and you’re not following Sarah’s blog, then you really are doing it all wrong.

So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2023? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers, reviewers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2023. To make things interesting there are a couple of teeny, tiny rules; 1) the book must have FIRST been published in 2023 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. See, it wasn’t too painful. I just like to keep you lovely people on your toes 😉

Without further ado, here are the three books Sarah recommends…

The Mother by T.M. Logan
Even though the author has been on my radar for a while, I didn’t start reading his books until this year, of which I have now devoured them all. I highly recommend all of his novels but The Mother, his latest, is the one that jumped out in my mind. It had me literally glued to my Kindle and the twists, just wow!
Sarah’s Review of The Mother

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
A lot of my reading friends had been raving about this book and to be honest, anything that has books in the title usually has me wanting to read it. It does tackle some tough topics, one being domestic violence, but overall it was an uplifting story with a touch of magic up it’s sleeves. If you are a booklover, this truly is a must read as the author captures the true meaning of books and why readers love them so much.
Sarah’s Review of The Lost Bookshop

The Book-Lovers’ Retreat by Heidi Swain
Again, it was having book in the title that drew me to this one. It’s one of those stories that you want everyone to pick up and read and that you would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It has everything you would expect in this genre and more! The story centres around friends who stay in a cottage that was used in the filming of an adaption of a book. I mean who wouldn’t want to do that? It ticked all the boxes for me and loved the mix of emotions it had me going through.
Sarah’s Review of The Book-Lovers’ Retreat

Thank you so much, Sarah. Three utterly gorgeous books. I have The Mother on the terrifying TBR so will move that one to the top right away!

About Sarah Hardy:
Hi I’m Sarah, an avid reader and book blogger who likes to share the book love. I’m also a freelance publicist at Bookouture.

Sarah’s Blog and Social Media Links:
| bytheletterbookreviews | X (formerly Twitter) @sarahhardy681 | Facebook | Instagram @sarahs_bookishlife | Bluesky @sarahsbookishlife.bsky.social |

Sadly submissions for #R3COMM3D3D2023 are now closed. Shortly after the last post I will be inviting you to attend the virtual after-show party, which should be lots of fun. We’ll get to gaze upon the marvellous and majestic beauty of 2023’s books and also crown 2023’s winner, if we have one (they’re all winners, right?). Until then stay tuned as we have lots more bookish gorgeousness heading your way.