15 Romance Novels That Bewitched Me, Body And Soul This Year

From Emily Henry's 'Happy Place' to Katee Robert's 'Dark Olympus' series, I laughed, I cried, and I fell even more in love with romance novels in 2023.

Is there anything better in the world than getting cozy with a steamy drink and an even steamier book? No, I really don't think so — which is why I read over 100 romance novels in 2023.

There were so many excellent options this year, but I found myself recommending the same few books to friends because they were the best of the best. And because BuzzFeed readers are, in a way, my friends, here are my 15 favorite romance novels of the year!

I hope you love them as much as I did!

1. The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Gallery Books

There's nothing I love more than when a romance novel winks at the audience and gushes about how awesome romance novels are. The True Love Experiment takes it a step further: Felicity "Fizzy" Chen, a romance novelist with no love life to speak of (by choice), agrees to star in a new reality dating show created by Connor Prince, a man who looks down on the romance genre. The show casts potential love interests as different romance archetypes (cinnamon roll, Mr. Darcy, the one that got away, etc.) — but, surprise! Fizzy can't help her attraction to the "Prince" behind the camera.

You might remember Fizzy as a character in The Soulmate Equation, which was my favorite Christina Lauren book until The True Love Experiment. I laughed, I cried, and I fell even more in love with romance novels. This book is a love letter to the genre, and I didn't want it to end.

Buy it on Bookshop!

2. Even If the Sky Is Falling by Taj McCoy, Lane Clarke, Farah Heron, Charish Reid, Sarah Smith, and Denise Williams

Canary Street Press

This collection of short stories revolves around a really fun and creative premise. In the near future, someone accidentally sets off NASA's meteor warning system, which sends a phone alert to everyone in the US telling them to take cover. Naturally, people look for companionship when they think the world is ending, and we get to follow six couples as they confront existential questions about life...and fall in love:

—A second chance romance between two NASA specialists who are stuck in a bunker together on the mission that accidentally sets off the alert system.

—Competing curry-based food stall owners who are childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers who have a chance to mend their families' generations-old grudges.

—A queer enemies-to-lovers story between two Black law students forced to settle their differences while stuck in their university's library.

—An extremely shy professor finally asks out the hunky bookstore owner she's been crushing on mere seconds before the emergency alert goes off.

—A songwriter and her new contractor hunker down for an extremely steamy shelter-in-place.

—Former college rivals return to campus for an award ceremony but end up alone in their old academic building, left to work out their old grievances and discover new love.

Buy it on Bookshop!

3. Reckless by Elsie Silver

Bloom Books

Ever since Elsie Silver emerged on the scene a few years ago, she's gained a bit of a cult following — and with good reason. Reckless is the fourth book in her Chestnut Springs series, and it is, as the French say, a tour de fucks. It follows the love story between bull-rider Theo Silva (protégé of Rhett Eaton) and Winter Hamilton (older sister of Rhett's wife, Summer Hamilton). The two share one steamy night together and must figure out how to live with the complex consequences. It's an absolutely adorable small town romance with all the steam and laugh-out-loud moments that Elsie Silver is known for.

Read for free on Kindle Unlimited!

4. Love Interest by Clare Gilmore

St. Martin's Griffin

Love Interest is a sparkling debut novel that fans of The Hating Game and Book Lovers will absolutely adore. This book follows a workplace romance between finance expert Casey Maitland and Alex Harrison, the board chairman's son who was hired for the job she applied for. The chemistry between these two is sizzling, and their emerging love story feels so natural. This is such an exceptional debut novel, and I can't wait to see what Clare Gilmore writes next.

Buy it on Bookshop!

5. Radiant Sin by Katee Robert

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Katee Robert's Dark Olympus series is like if Scandal was set on Mt. Olympus. It is dramatic, highly addictive, and occasionally ridiculous in the absolute best way. Radiant Sin is the fourth book in the series and follows the love story between Apollo and his assistant, Cassandra. Coming from a disgraced Olympus family, Cassandra is guarded and determined to leave Olympus; she's the grumpy to Apollo's sunshine. When the pair spend a week at Minos's secluded country home for a party, and party guests start to go missing, Cassandra realizes her heart isn't the only thing in danger.

Buy it on Bookshop!

6. Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Cruel Seduction takes place in the aftermath of Minos's deadly party in Radiant Sin. In this reimagining of the romance between Aphrodite and Hephaestus, the two political enemies each attempt to make the other miserable in their arranged marriage, using Adonis and Pandora as pawns in their political and sexual games. But Olympus is becoming more deadly by the day, and the four lovers realize they can only trust each other.

Both Dark Olympus books on this list work as standalone novels, but they're even better if you read the first three books in the series first!

Buy it on Bookshop!

7. Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Random House

Romantic Comedy follows Sally Milz, a writer at SNL-esque comedy variety show, The Night Owl, who writes a sketch for host Noah Brewster about how gorgeous, glamorous women who host The Night Owl keep entering romantic relationships with male writers on the show, but that would never happen if the genders were reversed. Plot twist: Sally and Noah fall in love. The book takes place over several years and employs Curtis Sittenfeld's signature wit and biting commentary to excellent effect. 

As a side note, Romantic Comedy was spotlighted by Reese's Book Club because women's stories matter.

Buy it on Bookshop!

8. Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova

Hyperion Avenue

Kiss the Girl is the latest installment in the charming Meant to Be series, which updates classic Disney princess stories in romance novel form. This book follows Ariel del Mar, the youngest of seven sisters in the retired pop group Siren Seven. She's always been stuck under her father's control, both at home and professionally (he owns the massive label Atlantica Records). One night, Ariel sneaks out of her Manhattan penthouse to see Eric Reyes's band, Starr Crossed, and stops a thief from stealing his guitar. Eric doesn't recognize Ariel and asks her to go on tour with the band. Longing, hi-jinx, betrayal, and true love ensue.

The Little Mermaid was never one of my favorite Disney movies, but I'm obsessed with this retelling. It handles the topic of controlling and abusive parents incredibly well, and also nods to the public conversation of how Ursula might not be quite as villainous as she's portrayed in the movie.

Buy it on Bookshop!

9. Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah Adler

Berkley

Mrs. Nash's Ashes follows Millicent Watts-Cohen's journey from Washington, DC to the Florida Keys in an attempt to deliver the ashes of Mrs. Nash, Millie's elderly and recently deceased friend and roommate, to her former lover, Elsie. That would be a simple enough mission if all the planes weren't grounded, forcing Millie to roadtrip down to Key West with her terrible ex's rival, Hollis Hollenbeck. Elsie is in hospice, and the clock is ticking — so naturally, Millie and Hollis are delayed several times along the way. Oh, and Hollis doesn't believe in true love. (Or does he?)

This book was a true rom-com with so many laugh out loud moments along the way, and it balanced the humor and sadness in a way that felt so natural. Sarah Adler's writing about love and grief feels like a hug, and I couldn't possibly recommend this book more highly.

Buy it on Bookshop!

10. Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura

Berkley

Jo Segura's debut novel is like if Indiana Jones was a love story. Mexican archaeologist Dr. Socorro "Corrie" Mejia is given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to search for the burial site of an Aztec warrior who may also be her ancestor. The only catch? The dig is run by her academic and professional nemesis, Dr. Ford Matthews. Unlike many enemies-to-lovers stories, the pair's rivalry is well-founded and not based entirely on misunderstandings, which makes it that much more satisfying when the two finally get together. This book is steamy and suspenseful. I couldn't put it down.

Buy it on Bookshop!

11. Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea

Mindy's Book Studio

In Woke Up Like This, Amy Lea asks the time-honored question: What would happen if you and your high school nemesis bonked your heads while decorating the gym for prom...and you woke up in your 20s engaged to that very same nemesis? OK, I'm mostly joking about the "time-honored" part, but this book is definitely reminiscent of 13 Going on 30 in the absolute best way. It's an adorable story with an ending that feels both inevitable and well-earned — and I'll admit that I cried more than once.

Lea explores very adult concepts through a very teenage lens: close friendships drifting apart over time, complicated family dynamics, grief and loss, and the radical idea that maybe the world isn't black and white. Of all the books I read in 2023, Woke Up Like This stands out in all the best ways.

Read for free on Kindle Unlimited!

12. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

Sourcebooks Casablanca

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is the first of two books in the Doomsday series that came out this year, and they're both excellent. Set in southern England's Romney Marsh in 1810, this book follows the queer romance that develops between the rule-abiding Sir Gareth Inglis and Joss Doomsday, the leader of his family's smuggling ring. Things get dangerous for the pair when they realize Gareth's deceased father was caught up in some sticky — and possibly treasonous — activity. KJ Charles is a dazzling storyteller, and I was caught up in the mystery and love story in equal measure.

Buy it on Bookshop!

13. On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe

St. Martin's Griffin

On the Plus Side is about a fat woman who is nominated for a Queer Eye-esque reality show made by and for people with larger bodies. Everly Winters feels like she has to hide herself from the world, but that all changes when her workplace crush nominates her for the show On the Plus Side, and Everly slowly falls in love with the cameraman, Logan Samuel.

Jenny L. Howe knows "fat" isn't a dirty word and doesn't shy away from using it. She writes an excellent strong female lead who is proud of her body but still has to deal with the ignorance and fatphobia of others (like her own mother). The romance is adorable, and the way Howe handles the topic of unethical practices in reality TV is wildly compelling.

This book will be published on December 26.

Pre-order it on Bookshop!

14. Happy Place by Emily Henry

Berkley

Emily Henry stuns in her latest book about friendship, loss, and second chances. Happy Place takes place over the course of one tense weekend in Maine, in which people-pleasing Harriet and affable Wyn must pretend to be a couple (despite recently breaking up) to keep their friends happy. In a series of flashbacks interspersed between the modern timeline, we see how the pair fell in love and why they called off their engagement. This is a romance, so there's a guaranteed happily ever after, but their path to reconciliation is where the real story lies. The characters were all flawed in very real ways, and watching the conflict between the six friends reach a boiling point and ultimately resolve was almost as satisfying as the romance between Harriet and Wyn.

Buy it on Bookshop!

15. Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

Avon

Wreck the Halls is the perfect festive read for this holiday season — or any time of year! It follows the love story between Melody Gallard and Beat Dawkins, the children of famous feminist rock duo Steel Birds, which broke up in a spectacular fashion and left Melody and Beat's mothers with lifelong grudges. The two come together to star in an in-real-time reality show, which follows their attempts to reunite their mothers for a Christmas Eve rock show in NYC.

Tessa Bailey is known for her steam and dirty talk, and this book doesn't disappoint. Wreck the Halls will leave you on edge until the satisfying conclusion. (Edging. There's a lot of edging. Happy holidays!)

Buy it on Bookshop!

Which romance novels did you enjoy the most in 2023? Share them in the comments! 📚💘