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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,608 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

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My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of A Lady Awakened: Blackshear Family

Katherine Grant Why did I love this book?

I love nothing more than a character with solid principles who spends the book testing those ideals against reality.

In A Lady Awakened, Martha Russell has a very rigid view of the world. In particular, she considers sexual intercourse a biological act rather than one of pleasure. This attitude is tested when she realizes she needs to conceive a baby fast to protect the village from her late husband’s lecherous brother.

Martha invites the neighborhood rogue to help her pull off the scheme. Yet because Martha is so rigid in her thinking, it takes most of the book for her to change her view. Meanwhile, her partner Theo grows as a character, too. Together, they bring out the best in each other, which is the best kind of romance, in my opinion.

By Cecilia Grant,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Lady Awakened as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fans of Eloisa James, Sherry Thomas, Courtney Milan and Grace Burrowes will adore Cecilia Grant's emotionally rich and deeply passionate Regency romance.

Newly widowed and desperate to protect her estate from her malevolent brother-in-law, Martha Russell conceives a daring plan. Or rather, a daring plan to conceive. If she has an heir on the way, her future will be secured. Forsaking all she knows of propriety, Martha approaches her neighbor, a London exile with a wicked reputation, and offers a strictly business proposition: a month of illicit interludes...for a fee. Theophilus Mirkwood ought to be insulted. But how can he…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Glory and the Master of Shadows

Katherine Grant Why did I love this book?

The Regency romance genre is still in its early years of ethnically diverse characters, so I’m always thrilled to find books that break the mold of the white British aristocrat – while still delivering really fun reads.

Glory and the Master of Shadows does just that. At its core, it is everything we love about a historical romance: the heroine rebels against the role society has assigned her, our couple has to work together to thwart a bad guy, and throughout, the sexual tension keeps on ratcheting up.

Layered on top of those lovely bones are characters who struggle with what it means to be Chinese or biracial in British society. Oh, and the scene that stopped me in my tracks? When meditative breathing turns sexy…

By Grace Callaway,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Glory and the Master of Shadows as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don't miss this thrilling new historical romance by USA Today Bestseller Grace Callaway! Set during the Opium Wars, this steamy and spellbinding Charlie’s Angels meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon romance will leave you breathless...

Their love is forbidden…and irresistible.

The daughter of a half-Chinese duke and a lady fossil hunter, Lady Glory Cavendish is a free-spirited campaigner for justice. She belongs to a secret society of lady detectives whose goal is to help women in need. During her latest case involving a dastardly dognapping, Glory crosses paths with the handsome and mysterious Wei Chen, a master of fighting and healing…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Marquess Makes His Move

Katherine Grant Why did I love this book?

An aristocrat who thinks he can pose as a servant. A heroine who secretly runs the family business. Arabic identities, class differences, and, oh yeah, forced proximity.

I loved both protagonists, especially the chemistry that jumped off the page.It is my favorite kind of romance because it is effortlessly escapist, yet it manages to illuminate some of the ways marginalized identities intersect to impact everyone in society.

By Diana Quincy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Marquess Makes His Move as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Diana Quincy returns with the newest novel in the Clandestine Affairs series with a steamy romance about a half-Arab marquess seeking revenge on-and falling for-London's most famous mapmaker.

The new footman doesn't seem to know his place...

London's most renowned mapmaker is a woman...but nobody knows it. If anyone discovers that Rose Fleming is the power and talent behind the family business, the scandal could ruin them. Rose's secret is tested by the arrival of a handsome new footman who shows far too much interest in his new mistress. Rose battles an intense attraction to the enigmatic servant, but maintaining…


Plus, check out my book…

The Viscount Without Virtue

By Katherine Grant,

Book cover of The Viscount Without Virtue

What is my book about?

At Northfield Hall, not everything is as it seems. Max Hainsworth is there undercover as a carpenter to write an expose on the estate, famous for its radical choice to welcome anyone and share all profits with its laborers.

Ellen Preston, lady of the manor, can tell that Max isn’t a carpenter, but she would never guess he is a viscount – and one of Northfield Hall’s political enemies.

When Ellen discovers Max’s true identity, she has to decide: does she throw him out or show him why Northfield Hall is exactly what it claims to be? And whichever she chooses, can she do it without falling in love with him?