The Best of 2023 – Maggie’s List
I’ve never really liked one-size-fits-all clothing. Sure, it works for knitted items like scarves and hats, but beyond that, these materials are so shapeless they tend to fit relatively few people well. Recently, it feels as though publishers are moving towards one-size-fits-all in books, because I am increasingly reading romances that would, a decade ago, have been classified as women’s fiction with a romantic element, or romantic suspense marketed as a straight mystery. As a result, picking my top ten favorite romances has become a minefield of trying to figure out just what qualifies. The books below all contain romances, although the focus of the story is often split between the mystery/the heroine’s journey of self-discovery and the love story.
Next-Door Nemesis by Alexa Martin
Collins Carter and Nate (Nathaniel) Adams were nearly inseparable during their elementary school years, but high school saw a rift form in their relationship when Nate became popular and essentially ghosted Collins. Now, they once more find themselves living in the same neighborhood, and each is determined to force the other out. Their battle for control of the HOA is hilarious, and their enemies-to-lovers tale is delightful. (Hybrid: Women’s Fiction/Romance)
Buy it at Amazon
Night Will Find You 
by Julie Heaberlin
Vivvy (Vivian) Bouchet is back in her hometown to close her mother’s house after that lady’s demise but finds herself tangled in the resolution of a decades-old mystery with detective Jesse Sharpe. Fascinating characters, an engrossing mystery, and an intriguing love story make this stellar book one of my favorites of the year. (Hybrid: Mystery/Romantic Suspense)
Buy it at Amazon
The Neighbor Favor 
by Kristina Forest
Can a fan ever find true love with their idol? When Lily Greene meets her new neighbor, Nick Brown, she likes him for his good looks, kind personality, and quick wit. Plus, he seems to love books almost as much as she does. Little does she know he also writes and just happens to have penned her favorite novel ever. Will their blossoming romance survive the fallout when Nick finally tells her the truth? It’s a romance novel, so the answer is, of course, yes, and we take a lovely journey with them as they work their way to an HEA.
Buy it at Amazon
The Midnight News
by Jo Baker
Jo Baker’s excellent depiction of wartime London and a murder mystery being solved by reluctant amateur sleuth Lottie Richmond contains an incredibly sweet love story that highlights the healing power of that emotion. Lottie and her hero, both fragile from all the curveballs life has thrown at them, slowly realize that love isn’t always fireworks. Sometimes, it’s the helping hand and shoulder to cry on when you need it the most. (Hybrid: Historical fiction/literary fiction/romance)
Buy it at Amazon
Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig
This isn’t my favorite Willig, and the book does have flaws, but it still contained one of my favorite love stories of the year. Betsy, a nurse during the Cuban war, and Holt, a soldier extraordinaire, have a terrific, sweet romance that is sure to delight fans of the author and earn her a slew of new followers. (Hybrid: Historical fiction/romance)
Buy it at Amazon
Love and Other Flight Delays
by Denise Williams
Ms. Williams is one of my favorite authors, and in this anthology, she provides readers with a lovely look at just what makes her stories so special. My favorite of the tales was easily The Sweetest Connection, but you can decide for yourself which of the three is the best.
Buy it at Amazon
Code Name Edelweiss
by Stephanie Landsem
This inspirational love story is rich in the history of the battle for the American soul fought during the years preceding WWII, when fascism was working to get a foothold in the country. Liesl Weiss and Agent 13 are spies attempting to get information against The Friends of New Germany, the hub of Hitler’s propagandists in Southern California. Their love story is fabulous, but it is the real-life secondary character, Leon Lewis, who makes this story so worth a read. I recommend this to everyone, just for him. (Hybrid: Women’s fiction/Historical fiction/romance)
Buy it at Amazon
The Sound of Light
by Sarah Sundin
Another inspirational centered around WWII-era freedom fighters, this is the tale of Dr. Else Jensen, who uses her work at a lab to hide her clandestine work on a resistance newspaper, and Henrik Ahlefeldt/Hemming Andersen, who rows intelligence and messages from occupied Copenhagen to his contacts across the water in Sweden. I liked how the novel shows there is a hero hidden in all of us if we are just willing to reach deep to find them.
Buy it at Amazon
Kissing Kosher
by Jean Meltzer
You have to be in the mood for super-light to enjoy this love story between Avital Cohen and Ethan Rosenberg-Lippmann, but what are the holidays for if not for some sweetness and light? Rival bakers caught in deeply unlikely situations, Avital and Ethan discover that John Lennon was right and all you need is love – a lot of sugar and cannabis won’t go amiss either. (Hybrid: Women’s fiction/romance)
Buy it at Amazon
The Wings of Poppy Pendelton by Melanie Dobson
A multi-generational inspirational women’s fiction story that follows the lives of three women destined to meet, this is a lovely novel about love, loss, and the ability of women to flourish if they are just given the chance to do so. Containing a sweet love story that takes place in the 1990s, this is one of my most heartfelt reads of the year.
Buy it at Amazon
So there they are – my top romance (romantic?) reads of 2023, with two-thirds of them qualifying as hybrids of two different genres. How many of your 2023 reads would not fit firmly in one genre or another? And are you enjoying this trend towards more genre-blending reads?
The Martin and the Williams are both on my TBR! Hopefully I get a chance to read them soon. Thanks for a great list!
Hope you enjoy them.
I’ve read the Baker, Willig and Heaberlin books (the last on your recommendation). Off to check out the Sundin book. Good list!
Hope you enjoy the Sundin I found it quite good.
I like the idea of several genres being combined, as a fan of manga, webtoon and Japanese and Korean romance novels I am used to many genres being combined with romance and it is not always a strict 50/50 proportion or just as a setting for the love story.
By the way, Poppy’s wings do not have a review yet.
We have a review in the system but it hasn’t been published yer. As soon as it is, the link will work.
I love having stories that have multiple layers as well, but it can be difficult to judge just what qualifies as a romance for lists such as these as a result. A good example is Night Will Find You. I loved the romance there, but it definitely wasn’t the focus of the story, and I know some people hate when that doesn’t happen.
I haven’t read any of these but I really enjoy seeing the reviewers’ lists. I have always liked mystery novels that have a romance in them (not the same thing as romantic suspense, which I have liked too but maybe a little less). Several of the books on your list intrigue me. Thanks for the list!
It was, INHO, a great year for mysteries with a bit of romance in them! I’ll have several others on my list.
Looking forward to your list! I love those books.
If you like mysteries with romance definitely give Night Will Find You a go. Quite a few people I’ve recommended that to have loved it.
I second that rec!
I have not read a single book on your list Maggie! I’m kind of shocked at that. Several of them sound fabulous, though, so I think (as is usual this time of year) I’ve got a whole bunch of great reading coming up in the new year.
Re: the “merging” of book genres. Written by gifted writers and containing at least one HEA, I love them and say more please. They make for more interesting reads, IMO. Lauren Willig’s earliest series (starting with the Pink Carnation) is a great example of this, as is Mhairi McFarlane’s standalone titles/work.
I LOVE both Willig and McFarlane. Two of my absolute favorite writers. And I agree hybrids make more interesting reads. The only issue is when it comes down to qualifying the book – for example I loved the Captain Biscuits romance in Band of Sisters but technically it is only about ten pages in a rather long book. But it was the quality of the interactions that stuck with me. Willig really convinced me that these two had fallen in love in those captured moments. I would call the book historical fiction with a great romance, not a romance novel, though.
Good picks! I liked the Willig a little more than you, but it didn’t have enough oomph to make my top ten; The Meltzer, Williams, Forest and Martin are all excellent, and I’m kind of mixed on Dobson’s work so I’m intrigued as to how I’m going to react to it.
Dobson can be hit or miss for me, too. I liked this one, but I have disliked several of hers. I would recommend the Landsem over the Dobson as it was my very favorite book of the year.
Oh exactly, I’ve given her B’s and C’s because her output’s uneven. And I’ll give the Landsem a try!
Maggie, I have to thank you for the recommendation for Code Name Edelweiss. I read it and was so fascinated by this untold piece of American history that I picked it for my book club. They loved it, and we had a great discussion. I went down the internet rabbit hole on this one, learning more about Leon Lewis and his group of civilian spies. The leads are modeled after real people, and Landsem does a great job of capturing the unease and danger of trying to be an amateur spy amidst very dangerous people.
I am going to suggest it to my book club. It really sounds fabulous.
When I was researching Leon Lewis, I found out that he is featured in an episode of Rachel Maddow’s podcast series, Ultra. Then I started listening to that series, and found out about even more Nazi collaborators here in the US working to build support for Hitler and to keep us out of the war. And now she has a book out on the topic, and Steven Spielberg is going to make a movie about this time period based on Ultra. Lots of similarities to some of the things going on today.
First, I am so glad you and your book club loved Code Name Edelweiss. I keep checking to see if Landsem has book two out yet and a quick glance at her website and Amazon would indicate she does not. I hope it comes out SOON as it is probably my most eagerly anticipated read. She does have some great book recommends on her blog and also a fascinating article on Orson Wells, War of the Worlds, and the “panic” caused by the remarkable radio program he did.
I did not know about Maddow’s podcast series or book on the topic but I’m going to read/listen to all of that. It amazes me how much history I have learned from books that was never discussed in a classroom. IMO, Leon Lewis should be talked about in schools. Everything he did is remarkable and he is a true hero.
I thoroughly enjoyed NIGHT WILL FIND YOU—which I read after reading your excellent review!
Me too!! It’s such a fun book.
So glad you both liked it.