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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,624 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Happy Place

Amy Watson Why did I love this book?

While I am usually not a fan of second-chance romances, I am a fan of Emily Henry. I went into this one leery, though. Emily Henry worked her magic again. I should have known better than to doubt her. Harriet and Wyn’s story had me literally weeping for the entire second half of the book.

I was such a mess over them that I had to leave the room so I could break down in private. This book manages to break your heart, then slowly piece the whole thing back together, bigger and fuller than it was before. 

By Emily Henry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Happy Place as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'At turns hilarious and wise, another knockout from the champ' Taylor Jenkins Reid, DAISY JONES AND THE SIX
'One of my favourite authors' Colleen Hoover, IT ENDS WITH US
'Smart, sunny, sexy and also a gorgeous story of female friendship' Beth O'Leary, THE FLATSHARE

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Two exes. One pact.
Could this holiday change everything?

Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple - they go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.

Every year, they take a holiday from their lives to drink far too much wine with their favourite people in the world.

Except…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Romantic Comedy

Amy Watson Why did I love this book?

For the last couple of years, I have had one rule: no books about Covid! So, it was a good thing going in that I had no idea what to expect from this book going in. The main character, Sally Milz, is a lot like you and me, only a lot funnier.

She has a fear of commitment and a dump truck full of insecurities. One of those insecurities is that she’s not good enough to date one of the guest hosts on her comedy show, even if he’s openly flirting. Even if they have all the chemistry, he’s too good for her. At least, that’s what she thinks.

Years later, Covid happened, and he sent her an email. And they still have all the chemistry, and he’s still flirting with her. Only this time, she flirts back.

I won’t give the rest away, but if you don’t finish this book in absolute love with Sally and Noah, then you’re some sort of unfeeling cyborg person who never had a crush on a pop star and doesn’t think women can be funny. 

By Curtis Sittenfeld,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Romantic Comedy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The True Love Experiment

Amy Watson Why did I love this book?

There's a pattern to books I love: they make me laugh, they make me cry, and the female lead is a little bit of a mess. Enter Fizzy, a romance writer who's never been in love until she meets Connor Prince, the documentary filmmaker who's been tasked with directing a dating reality show with Fizzy as his lead.

Christina Lauren's books are a little hit or miss with me, but they definitely hit with this one. Every moment of the book is so clearly defined as you read that it's sort of like watching your own mental television show as you read.

The characters suck you in with their accessibility and warmth, then keep you there because you are so invested in their happily ever after that you just have to see it. And this ending is perfect and doesn't let you down even with the highest of expectations.

By Christina Lauren,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The True Love Experiment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sparks fly when a romance writer and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the ultimate Hollywood love story—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script—from the “divine” (Jodi Picoult) New York Times bestselling authors of The Soulmate Equation and The Unhoneymooners.

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.

Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in…


Plus, check out my book…

Closer to Okay

By Amy Watson,

Book cover of Closer to Okay

What is my book about?

Weaving culinary delights with an honest, appraising look at how we deal with the world when it becomes too much, Closer to Okay is the comfort food we all need in these, well, crazy times.

Kyle Davies is doing fine. She has her routine, after all, ingrained in her from years of working as a baker: wake up, make breakfast, prep the dough, make lunch, work the dough, make dinner, bake dessert, go to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's a good routine. Comforting.

Almost enough to help her forget the scars on her wrist, still healing from when she slit it a few weeks ago, that she lost her job at the bakery when she checked herself in as an inpatient at Hope House.