My Favorite Romances of 2023
Here are my 15 favorite romance reads of the year. I give them to you in no particular order. I loved these books so much. All were published either at the end of 2022 or in 2023. All of these had stories that pulled me in and great characters. Most of these books were independently published. What were some of your favorites of the year?
six-ty for-ty rule (noun): a deal you make with your pain-in-the-butt client, when hating him starts to feel a little too good.
Jude Holland has slogged it for years at a chance to land a coveted job designing the city’s most breathtaking restaurants and nightclubs. And when a spot opens up on her firm’s design team, her boss makes her a deal: design Theo Jordan—the firm’s biggest client—a new restaurant, convince him to renew his contract with the company, and the job is hers.
If only he’d play along.
Theo is infamous for three very specific things: he’s a hot-shot young chef-turned-restaurateur, a thorn-in-your-side client, and the kind of attractive that makes you wonder which kind of psychedelics the great maker was taking, when he created him. Not that Jude notices. She’s too busy sticking to the plan, and it helps that he’s a total ass, anyway.
That is, until a steamy business trip leads to a very different deal between these enemies, who suddenly can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Sixty percent of the time, they’d indulge those funny, fluttering feelings that seem to manifest whenever they’re together. The rest of the time? They’d be nothing but professional.
It doesn’t take Theo long to realize that’s easier said than done. But with a restaurant launch and a dream promotion on the line—not to mention a workplace rival hell-bent on ruining her career—Theo only has a handful of weeks to convince Jude to make that sixty percent full-time.
The Sixty/Forty Rule is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers workplace romance between a sunshine commercial designer and her grumpy client. It has a healthy dose of spice and a happily ever after. It is the first book in the Sunset Landing series of standalone reads.
Goodreads Average: 3.88
Independently Published
A longtime good girl and unapologetic bad boy score the love of their life when they least expect to in this swoony, slow-burn sports romance.
Ziggy Bergman is tired of being underestimated. Sure, she’s the youngest player on the National Soccer team and the baby of the family, but that doesn’t mean she still deserves to be treated like a kid. It’s time for her angelic image to get a makeover. What better way to do that than hanging out with trouble incarnate and her brother’s best friend, Sebastian Gauthier?
Sebastian has hit rock bottom. His hockey career and sponsorships are in jeopardy of ending if something doesn’t give. Seb’s not willing to actually change his destructive ways, but he’s happy to pretend he’s a reformed reprobate by faking a friendship for publicity with sweet, shy Ziggy Bergman.
When faking starts to feel real, Ziggy and Seb discover an unexpected friendship they’re happy to hold on to. At least, until their once-fake friendship becomes the most loving, empowering relationship they’ve ever known, and the end goal—for both of them—changes.
Goodreads Average: 4.09
First, Independently Published in 2023 and traditionally published by Berkley in 2023
My review of If Only You.
What early readers are saying about Wish Lists and Road Trips:
‘I read this while I was on a mini holiday with my best friend – with whom we used to go on cruise ship vacations – and this book found me at the right time, in the best of moods. . . Cute, funny, sunny and emotional.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ NetGalley review
‘Let me start by saying I LOVED THIS BOOK SO FREAKING MUCH!! . . . The characters growth was beautiful to watch, and their journey together was so much fun. I loved this opposites attract and strangers to lovers story.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ NetGalley review
‘This was a big hug in a book – romantic, relatable, and wonderful reminder that being exactly who you are is enough.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ NetGalley review
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Two stranded travellers. One unexpected journey.
Makeup artist Brit Donovan wants one to prove to her overbearing family that she can be independent. After breaking off her engagement to her cheating ex, she sets off on her honeymoon cruise alone to recharge before opening her own studio.
Nick Callaway isn’t on a pleasure trip. Armed with his brother’s ashes and a list of places, he’s on a mission to fulfill a dying wish. Burdened with survivor’s guilt and on a countdown to get home in time to help his family’s company, the only thing he wants is to get this trip over with.
When they’re both stranded in Costa Rica after missing their cruise ship, Nick and Brit team up to make their way back to the US. Complete opposites, their initial frustration – heightened by the obstacles of grounded flights and delayed trains – gives way to a searing attraction, and the feeling this may be a journey that neither will want to end.
Goodreads Average: 3.91
Headline Eternal Pub.
“Charming, swoony, and utterly unputdownable. I LOVE this book!”
—LYNN PAINTER, New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies
A laugh-out-loud rom-com about learning to embrace living outside your comfort zone.
As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—the humiliation is a wake-up call. She decides she needs to change, and what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?
Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Logan is audacious and filterless, making him Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm—and in their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.
Alexis is bewildered until breaking news hits: pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. It turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot politician challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious images are poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: to squash the scandal, he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?
Goodreads Average: 3.84
Graydon House Pub.
Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal―he’ll be more social if she does the same―she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.
Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.
Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.
When they finally meet face to face―after a rocky, shocking start―the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.
Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?
Goodreads Average: 3.96
Montlake Pub.
One bump. Two strangers. Three days to fall in love.
Tessie Truelove has spent her entire life avoiding. . .well, true love. And why wouldn’t she? Her dog ran off, her father left to go get cigarettes and never came back, and her mother passed away years ago. Instead, Tessie, a celebrity interior designer, clings to her to-do lists and her Pantone colors and her toxic job to avoid more heartbreak.
But after too much whiskey and a wild night with a rugged stranger has her seeing two little pink lines, she vows to do motherhood all by herself. After all, it might be her one shot at true love.
Nothing will interrupt her plans. Not even Solomon Wilder—her muscled, bearded, brooding baby daddy—who stomps his way into her perfectly planned babymoon after learning about her pregnancy.
Stuck together in paradise, the two strike a deal: spend three days together to figure out how to raise their son.
Complete opposites, they have nothing in common except the bump between them. Tessie has her glamorous career in LA, and Solomon has his wild life in Alaska. Yet as the babymoon takes a turn for the steamy and Solomon breaks through the emotional walls Tessie’s spent years guarding, she starts to wonder if she and this gruff, flannel-wearing mountain man might be meant to do more than just share a baby—they might be meant to share a heart.
Goodreads Average: 3.81
Independently Published
The ultimate summer nostalgia read, about an engaged woman who comes face to face with her first love who she hasn’t seen in fourteen years, but who she spent every summer with from age five to seventeen when he broke her heart, calling into question everything she thought she knew about their love story, and herself.
Beach Rules:
Do take long walks on the sand.
Do put an umbrella in every cocktail.
Do NOT run into your first love.
Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?
Yet being back at this beach, hearing notes from Wyatt’s guitar float across the night air from next door as if no time has passed—Sam’s memories come flooding back: the feel of Wyatt’s skin on hers, their nights in the treehouse, and the truth behind their split. Sam remembers who she used to be, and as Wyatt reenters her life their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice.
Goodreads Average: 3.81
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Pub.
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Romance (2023)
Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.
The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.
Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.
Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?
Goodreads Average: 4.16
Berkley Pub.
Journalist Margaret loves her job, writing important stories about the impact of government decisions on day-to-day lives for a respected newspaper in Johannesburg. There’s only one her co-worker, Jagger Villain. Is that even his real name? she often wonders. Jagger spends his days writing fluff pieces on everything from the worst-rated barber in Johannesburg to speed dating to male sex toys. To make matters worse, they share a cubicle and a desk, and every day he finds new ways to drive her to distraction. She needs a vacation!
Thankfully the upcoming company quiz night has the perfect first a deluxe trip to a resort in Zanzibar. It will be the perfect escape for Margaret and her mother after a difficult year dealing with the death of her father and divorce. Margaret’s never met a quiz night she can’t win, but then she’s never competed against Jagger. That’s when the unthinkable happens. They tie. They both win. They both get to go to Zanzibar.
It’s bad enough that Margaret has to be on the same island as Jagger, but at least she has her widowed mother with her to help her avoid her co-worker and whoever he brings. However, Jagger’s plus one isn’t what she expected. It’s not some girl of the moment, it’s his father, which shakes up her opinion of him . . . at least a bit. And that’s when the entire situation goes from farce to horror their parents fall in love and decide to get married.
Suddenly Margaret and Jagger go from co-workers who dislike each other (but also ‘accidentally’ had sex one night,) to step siblings who dislike each other (but also ‘accidentally’ had sex one night!). But maybe they don’t dislike each other as much as they initially thought they did?
Goodreads Average: 3.59
Wattpad Books Pub and Headline Eternal Pub.
Pretending to date my rich, sexy, and caring friend Gabriel could grant us the deal of a lifetime… or ruin my chances of ever running my family’s company.
Gabe is handsome and surprisingly down to earth for a billionaire. Teaming up with him for a massive project shouldn’t have required us to fake a relationship.
My machista Latine family is to blame for forcing us into it. They think my goal should be to settle down and make babies, not run a corporation.
But I won’t let anything come between me and my career plans…
Until Gabe becomes my refuge. We blur the lines and break the rules. He surprises me by taking control when no one else is around, and knows exactly what to do with my curves.
Yet our deal has a deadline and our breakup is imminent.
I can’t let my family think they were right and he’s my future. Do I risk my goals for the sake of my heart?
Yours, For Now is a slow burn, cozy, dual POV romance, with a strong Latina MFC and a billionaire Latino MMC. This Fake Relationship trope story includes plus size and queer representation, and open door spice.
Goodreads Average: 4.16
Independently Published
Katie Collins has barely ever left her tiny Irish village of Ennisbawn. Why would she? With its tightknit community, friendly local pub, surrounded by rolling hills and perfectly mysterious forests, it’s a place of peaceful beauty.
Or it was peaceful. Until Callum Dempsey turned up. A hot-shot (and, Katie has to admit, hot is annoyingly apt for him…) developer with zero eye for beauty or charm, in spite of his chiselled jaw. He’s not only building some hideous hotel just outside the village, but now he’s also planning to knock down Ennisbawn’s only remaining pub, to make way for a good view from the golf course.
It’s the final blow to the village and the last straw for Katie, who refuses to see her home disappear. Not to mention that the pub is the last connection to her parents, who had met at Ennisbawn’s once-famous matchmaking festival, both throwing coins into the wishing well that sits in the pub garden.
In an instant, Katie knows what to do. She’s going to uncover the now disused wishing well, she’s going to revive the matchmaking festival, and she’s going to single-handedly bring the town back to life again.
She might even help her two best friends find love as well. Since, heck, what’s another project when you’re taking on the world’s hottest, evilest man?
But what Ireland’s newest matchmaker doesn’t know is that even when someone’s really not your type on paper, love might be a little bit more than just a formula…
Goodreads Average: 3.75
Bookouture Pub.
I need a nanny, but I may need her more.
I know about my reputation as Never Harbor’s secluded single dad. But I have everything I need: my imaginative son, my dog, and our remodeled cottage by the sea.
That is, until my nanny quits.
My brother’s ex-fiancee, Wendy Darling, is an elementary school teacher with a free summer. The last thing I need is to get tangled in his mess, but my family thinks she’s a perfect fit for the job. Turns out, she fits in better than I could have imagined.
Wendy is nothing like I expected. She’s kind and adventurous, with a beautiful laugh that washes my worst nightmares away. She pushes past my silence and sees more of my true self than anyone has in years. And my six-year-old son is falling for her just as quickly.
Being with Wendy can never happen. Not when my younger brother is her ex-fiance. Not when she’s so close to our family. Not when our small coastal town gossips the way that it does.
But after so long in the dark, Wendy makes me feel something. Falling for her feels a lot like flying instead.
I know happy endings only belong in fairy tales, but I’m close to stealing one for myself.
Goodreads Average: 4.25
Independently Published
Claire Ashford has always led a careful life—her family didn’t nickname her Claireful for nothing. But after ending a relationship that was equal parts safe and unfulfilling, she recognizes just how much her caution has cost her and dedicates herself to leaving her Claireful ways behind. Her first chance to take a risk comes with a job opportunity in San Francisco. It’s a fresh start she can’t—and doesn’t want to—refuse.
Her second chance? That appears on her last night in Portland in the form of a gorgeous attendee at the holiday party where she’s bartending. Lingering glances turn into a chemistry-filled exchange, and by the end of the night Claire knows exactly what she wants: one night and no strings with Connor Stella. It’ll be one last hot memory to close her chapter in this city.
But the weather has other plans: a winter storm grounds all flights for the weekend, Claire’s included, and suddenly one night turns into an entire weekend. It would be a true inconvenience if Claire and Connor weren’t already forging an electric connection. Instead, three nights cooped up in Connor’s apartment together is the gift that keeps on giving. The only real inconvenience is that she’s starting to get attached to the gorgeous stranger who feels more familiar than anyone she’s ever met.
Claire’s new adventure is on the other side of PDX’s de-iced runways, but her biggest—and most worth—risk might be opening her heart up to the man she’s leaving behind.
Goodreads Average: 4.24
Independently Published.
This steamy, one bed romantic comedy will bring all the laughs while making your cheeks blush at the same time. Sometimes the quietest are the most . . . vocal . . .
Word to the wise, never become roommates with a girl you’ve been pining over for the better part of a year.
You’re probably wondering why I would do such a thing? Well, I didn’t.
It was my teammates.
The moment they found out Blakely White was single, they took it upon themselves to play cupid and instruct me on how I should win her over.
Don’t wear a shirt around her.
Make her dinner.
Lightly touch her shoulder when you say goodbye.
I’m so flustered, so overwhelmed, so madly in love with this woman who barely notices me, that I lose control of the situation and make one huge mistake: I offer to be her fake date for a wedding so she can make her ex jealous.
That means, for one whole night I get a free pass with her. I get to hold her, dance with her, kiss her…stare at her from across the room like she’s my entire world because she has been for months now.
But when the night comes to an end, I’m faced with two options: bring her back to my bedroom and show her how I really feel, or let her walk away, succumbing to the fact that I very well might not be her type.
Goodreads Average: 4.37
Independently Published.
Honorable Mention:
Goodreads Average: 4.32
Independently Published then Traditionally Published by Simon and Schuster Canada
Have you read any of my favorites? Are you planning to? I want to make a resolution to read more diversely next year. I did read books by BIPOC authors but not enough. What are some of your reading resolutions for 2024? Lots of love. Happy New Year!