EJ’s favorite read of 2023
I was thinking recently about asking my IG followers about their favorite book from last year. Not necessarily a book that came out last year or a book that they think is objectively well-written. No, I wanted to ask about a book that they read in 2023 that was the best to them. These were the sparks that spiraled into the bonfire that created this entire blog.
When I ask subjective questions of others—What’s your favorite trope? What genre mashup do you want to read more of? What makes you DNF a book?—I try my best to prep my own answers to those questions. What are my opinions? What do I like or dislike? If you’re thinking, Well, who cares what you think? then I’m afraid that you’re on the wrong site.
Without question, my top read of 2023 was the Off Balance series by Lucia Franco. If you’ve read it, you might know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t read it, you might be thinking, The controversial age-gap sports romance series? That’s your favorite read of 2023?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Now, let me tell you why.
While this may not be a universal truth for all readers, the number one way to get me to love a book is through emotional connection. Whether the connection comes in the form of relatable scenarios, characters, sympathies, etc., if I don’t connect with a book, I won’t love it. I might really like it, but I won’t think about it once it’s over. I won’t cry over the ending. I won’t laugh so loudly that my husband thinks I’m a witch cackling over a cauldron. I need to make a connection.
For anyone who hasn’t read Off Balance, the only things you need to know to follow along here are that the female main character and her gymnastics coach engage in a May-December, toxic, chaotic, and all-around messy emotional and sexual relationship over the course of five books. Roughly 1,500 pages of angst and feelings. If you’re still wondering how this is could possibly be my favorite read of the year, buckle up because we about to deep dive.
Almost a decade ago, I was younger, infinitely more naïve, and just like our main character in Off Balance, I got myself into a messy relationship*. While my situation didn’t come with nearly as many of the moral dilemmas as Franco’s characters experienced (no significant age gaps or professional boundary-breaking for me), the internal dynamics of the relationship were so similar that it felt like the author had tapped into my brain and stolen my memories. All those times I felt vulnerable and disregarded by a partner who was physically present but emotionally unavailable. Those countless times when it felt as if one moment we were dating and the next we were barely acquaintances. The heightened desperation of youth where every slight or offense is a stab to the heart. Lucia Franco couldn’t have written my past relationship better even if she’d lived it.
Reading Off Balance was akin to watching an artist paint a masterpiece using the blood and tears of my younger self. It was like traveling back in time to visit a different version of myself. That these books, by an author I’ve never met, could echo my emotions back to me with such precision and clarity is nothing less than magic.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that Off Balance was often difficult to read. Facing your feelings in plain English for anyone to see isn’t a pleasant experience. It was heavy. It brought up sadness, regret, nostalgia, and relief. But how could a book that elicited such a deep response from me ever be anything less than phenomenal? How could it not be the best thing I read all year?
Which brings me to a bit of advice that I want to leave for writers. If you’ve stuck with me this far and you’re thinking, Wow, I hope someone cries over my book one day, let me make two suggestions.
The first is that if you want to write something that readers will love, not just like, your writing needs to have emotional depth. You need to give readers something to connect with. It doesn’t have to be pain or trauma. It could be joy, confusion, or yearning. But if you want to elicit emotions, you need to put in emotions. You get out what you put in.
Second, you must remember that the people who have already read, rated, and reviewed your book might not be your readers. Your readers are your ideal market. The people that you’re writing this book for. They aren’t the ones that you’ll have to convince to laugh at your jokes or cry over your character’s deaths. Your readers are the specific niche who will understand and adore your book without prompting. I am the ideal reader for Off Balance. While it’s great for Lucia Franco that I found her series and am rambling about it online, this didn’t happen overnight. The first book in the series was released in 2016 and I didn’t read any of them until 2023. If you’re feeling frustrated over a lack of traction in sales, social media, or other metrics, remember that you may not have found your readers yet.
Keep searching, we’re out here.
And if you felt a connection with a book this year, don’t keep it a secret!
*If you know me in real life and you’re wondering who I’m talking about, don’t worry about it. Pretend you never read this.
