8 Must-Read Books That Went Under the Radar Last Year

Despite this 2023 release being a Book Riot favourite — and one of my personal faves — it’s still mostly gone mostly under the radar. It’s a collection of love letters, addressed to people ranging from celebrating other trans women to trying to reach out to intensely transphobic and racist people. It comes from, as she describes it, her attempt to “embrace the revolutionary belief that every human being — no matter how hateful or horrible — is intrinsically sacred.” Between each letter are instructions, ranging from simple to more elaborate ways to embody the letter that came before. For example, write a list of ways you can support the transfem people in your life. Or, go into the woods, lie down, and cover yourself in leaves. Reading this 2023 release will improve your 2024.

This steamy novel shattered any misconceptions I had of historical romance being stuffy. Manuela has vowed to spend the summer before she gets married — to a wealthy man she has no feelings for — having a debaucherous adventure in Paris. Cora wants to buy her land, so she agrees with the condition that Cora shows her the sapphic side of 1889 Paris. They can’t seem to keep this business arrangement purely professional, though. This 2023 romance is such a fun read, and it should have so many more readers.

Here’s another 2023 release that is a perfect pick for October! Boys Weekend is a satirical horror graphic novel about Sammie, a trans feminine person who is invited to the bachelor party of an old friend as the “best man.” While there, Mattie seems to be the only one concerned about the cult sacrificing people. It’s a quick, fun read that you can definitely squeeze in before October ends.

Honestly, this one is so good that it makes me a little mad that more people haven’t read it. It’s a 2023 YA novel with a supernatural twist, told non-linearly. This is a heartbreaking story, but with hopeful notes, that is drawn from Oshiro’s own experiences and the experiences of so many others, especially queer kids of colour. Check out the trigger warnings before picking this up, because it is very focused on racism, queerphobia, child abuse, and religious abuse. I went into this with high expectations and it definitely lived up to them.

Books in translation often don’t get the same marketing budgets, which means they can go under the radar. This collection, translated into English in 2023, focuses on women’s perspectives and is told in a range of genres. Book Rioter Pierce Alquist says, “Perceptive and subversive, the stories in At Night He Lifts Weights vary in tone and genre, but each is singularly captivating, swirling around themes of loss — ecological destruction, loneliness, and death. Each has a subtle illusion of calm that conceals what lies below in the unnerving depths.”

Here’s another 2023 release that I was surprised didn’t have more Goodreads ratings. Maybe it’s the TikTok bubble I’m in, or hopefully the people reading this title are just on StoryGraph instead. When Maddie finds out her queer punk band’s venue is being demolished for an electromagnetic hyperway through Houston’s Eighth Ward, she joins the anti-capitalist fight to Defend the Eighth — and learns how she’s contributed to racism in the area as a white gentrifier. I’ve heard multiple people say this book kept them up until three in the morning and left them in tears.