Every month I write a quick and short article on the top five most-read articles that I posted in the last month. This doesn’t just highlight the top five but also puts them in order.
Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product.
I do this for a couple of reasons: firstly so that you can see what articles have done well and, if you’re interested, have a look for yourself. This would also be beneficial for any other bloggers out there looking to post to their blogs they might be able to pick up some ideas.
The other reason I write these every month is to see what is working and what is not working on my blog. At the end of the year I’m going to post a round-up of these but also a round-up of every single post I’ve posted ever (as these lists only include those from that month).
The list below then includes the five top articles with summaries taken directly from the articles themselves. Where there are books to be bought, I’ve included a link to go and buy the book if you want. And for every article, there’s a link to go and read the full article.
So here are the top five most read articles on my blog that I posted in November 2023.
5. Year One by Nora Roberts book review
“A week ago I hadn’t heard of Nora Roberts and definitely not Year One. However, I now find myself very interested to not only carry on this series but explore much more of Roberts’ books. Year One is a post-apocalyptic book that focuses brilliantly on the lives and stories of human beings and their attempts to remain human when it seems humanity may be lost. Did I like the random fantasy elements? I’m not sure and I’ll let book two decide that but I mostly certainly liked almost everything else about Year One!”
Read my full review | Buy a copy of the book
4. The most-read articles on my blog in October 2023
“I always love to see an article at the top of my most-read list that isn’t a book review as it means an original idea I had actually came into fruition. Now, in this instance I wrote that with a caveat that I had actually seen someone do this on TikTok – though my list ended up coming out slightly different to theirs as it was more recent.
It’s also great to see that my review for The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels featured on the list as it is one of my favourite books of the year and this has been felt when I posted it to social.”
3. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros book review
“Iron Flame does everything a sequel should – it expands the world, introduces new characters and gives you enough reason to carry on reading the forthcoming books in the series. The pacing of the plot is a little questionable and unfortunately it ends up feeling a bit like a filler book for the rest of the series but it does just do enough to keep my interest peaked and have me wanting to read the third book.
If you enjoyed Fourth Wing, you’ll likely find enough here to enjoy Iron Flame too. If you were hoping for one of those sequels that grows your expectations of what this series could be, you may come away a little deflated. I enjoyed it, I did. It just has a lot more to give.”
Read my full review | Buy a copy of the book
2. The four books I read in October and what I thought of them
“October was a great month for reading to be honest. I was a massive fan of The Return of the Knights by Gregory Kontaxis – a promising new author in the fantasy genre with a strong debut.
There was obviously the transcendent The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien which is without a doubt one of the greatest works of fantasy fiction ever written.
And then The Housemaid was a surprise hit for me too. I can’t honestly remember the last time I was that into a thriller as I was The Housemaid.
Unfortunately Babel wasn’t quite the absolute banger I was hoping it was going to be based on the comments I’d seen for it on social media. But I still enjoyed it.
If I had to pick, I’d say my favourite book of the month was The Return of the King but The Housemaid was a close second!”
1. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros book review
“Fourth Wing was billed to me as one of the biggest YA fantasy books of our generation. There is a big band of great characters, there is an established and interesting fantasy setting and it has a plot that will keep you reading. The book is completely ruined by the “smut” Yarros has put in as it doesn’t add to the story or the characters at all and there is absolutely no “romance” here, simply very shallow lust.
I am a huge fantasy fan and this isn’t adult fantasy, it’s very much young adult but with crude moments. If you enjoy high fantasy such Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings or The Stormlight Archive, this may not be the sort of fantasy you’re looking for, but if you’re a fan of Sarah J Maas’ similar work then you could well find yourself enjoying this book a lot.
It’s a good book, at times a great book, it just doesn’t quite deserve the enormous praise and hype it’s received.”
Read my full review | Buy a copy of the book
In summary
I’m not surprised at all to see the two Rebecca Yarros books high up on this list. Fourth Wing was an internet sensation and then the second was a big deal too. As you can see, people read these round-up articles quite a bit. Recently, they’ve been featuring on these most-read lists quite often.
If you’re a blogger, let me know what articles work well for you or which of the articles above you might want to steal.
Feel free to comment below or find me on all social platforms @lukesblog1.
