Hello bookish friends and welcome to the highlight of your bookish year (yeah, I’m not sure about that either…) – it’s the #R3COMM3ND3D2023 After Show Party. I’m mixing things up a little this year and adding an extra special treat to this year’s proceedings. Because this year, I have a fabulous giveaway for you. You can win….yup, you’ve guessed it, a book. Not just any old book though (I can’t believe I typed that, there’s no such thing as ‘just any old book’ 🫣). Stay tuned for more information.

The After Show Party is the annual recap of everything #R3COMM3ND3D where we get to gaze fondly upon the books that were chosen by thirty brilliant bookish types and announce the winner or…*audible gasp*…winners!

Of course, if you’re new to damppebbles you may be wondering what #R3COMM3ND3D is, so allow me to explain. 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.

#R3COMM3ND3D2023 started strong on 1st November with one of my favourite book bloggers, the brilliant David of Blue Book Balloon. Every day throughout the month I welcomed a new guest who brought with them three of their favourite new books, all published in 2023. Eighty-five incredible books were chosen by some of the most knowledgeable and influential bookish folk out there and it was a joy to share their passion and enthusiasm every single day. We had everything from romance to thrillers, from fantasy to dystopian, from contemporary fiction to historical fiction. So many beautiful books were selected, a real feast for the eyes! But wait, the maths doesn’t add up. Thirty multiplied by three is ninety. Which can mean only one thing, a handful of books were selected more than once. Does that mean *gasp* we have one winner, or *gasp* multiple winners…? Bear with me, we will get there. We’ll also get to the giveaway I mentioned in the first paragraph as well 🫠 You’re doing great, lol!

So, let’s gaze upon the beautiful #R3COMM3ND3D2023 covers in all their splendiferous glory. Aren’t they gorgeous?! How many have you read? How many are on your TBR and how many have you added to your reading list since #R3COMM3ND3D2023 started on 1st November?

A thing of beauty, I’m sure you’ll agree! If you took part in #R3COMM3ND3D2023 and the books you chose aren’t here then please get in touch.

You can read all of the individual posts by clicking HERE and scrolling down to 2023 or, if the thought of scrolling feels like a lot of effort, click HERE instead.

But let’s talk winners and find out what the most #R3COMM3ND3D book, or books, of 2023 were. A combination of a much shorter #R3C once again and the high quality of reading material published this year meant that there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for a single book to rise above the rest. So 2023s most #R3COMM3ND3D book is actually FIVE books! I give you our #R3COMM3ND3D2023 winners – the most recommended books of the year!

🏆 Huge congratulations to Killing Jericho by William Hussey (Zaffre), All of Us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan), The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Mantle), The Good Liars by Anita Frank (HQ) and None of This is True by Lisa Jewell (Century) 🏆

Five very deserving titles which I hope you’ll keep an eye out for and add to your reading list at the first opportunity. Hold on a second, would you like to win one of these five books? Then let’s have a giveaway! If you’re based in the UK you could be in with the chance of winning one of these five books in either physical or digital format – whichever works best for you.

More information about how to enter along with the terms and conditions can be found here:

I’m aware google forms don’t work for everyone so if that’s the case, please click this link ➡️ https://forms.gle/c6qqHjnVcHgzkUXV9

Unfortunately, due to postage costs this giveaway is UK only but I hope to run a second giveaway in the New Year for those who live outside the UK.

The biggest of thanks to all of the book bloggers, bookstagrammers, reviewers and authors who took part in #R3COMM3ND3D2023 and whittled their favourite reads down to three (an impossible task, I know!). Thank you for all of the likes, reposts, shares and comments – every single one is always appreciated. I’m hugely grateful for your input and the incredibly kind comments about the feature. Your support means everything to me and I’ll be forever grateful for the love a crazy idea I had seven years ago has received from the book community. Book people really are THE BEST PEOPLE! 💜💜💜