I read 88 books in 2023. And of those 88, I would like to highlight 24 of them (don’t worry, 21 of those are in 3 series).

Bridgerton: When He Was Wicked, It’s in His Kiss, On the Way to the Wedding

I finished the final three books of the Bridgerton series at the start of 2023. They were the perfect way to end the series. Julia Quinn got bolder with the three younger Bridgertons, and it paid off. Francesca is a widow who is fighting her feelings for her deceased husband’s cousin. Hyacinth is an independent woman who doesn’t want to fall in love, so when Lady Danbury’s grandson catches her eye, she doesn’t know what to do. And Gregory… Gregory, Gregory, he’s going to go after a young woman promised to someone else. Hyacinth’s and Gregory’s stories had action and danger that I loved. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses – A Court of Silver Flames

When your editor recommends a book to help with your writing, you follow through. When I finished the first draft of Bondwitch: Hybrid, I asked my editor for advice on a specific plot point. She recommended I read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and the subsequent novels. I have never gobbled up a series so quickly. And a quick paragraph won’t do the series justice. Lucky for you, I already have a detailed analysis for each book right here on the blog. Check them out:

ACOTAR: Beauty and the Beast Meets the Goblet of Fire

Mist and Fury: A Perfect Redemption

Wings and Ruin: The Cost of War

Frost and Starlight: Diversity in Healing

Silver Flames: Overcoming Toxicity

I will say overall, the world building is superb; and Sarah J. Maas gives JK Rowling a run for her money when it comes to morally gray characters. Everyone is flawed. Everyone makes astronomical mistakes. Everyone lies and cheats and steals. And almost everyone earns their redemption. 

Warriors of Sangrin

This series I also wrote a deeper post on. This is a SciFi Romance series by Nancey Cummings. In this world, Earth was invaded by alien invaders called Suhlik. The Suhlik’s enemies, Mahdfel come to Earth’s aid… for a price. That price is in the form of brides as Mahdfel only produce sons, so they must mate with females from other planets. There are 11 stories in the main line and 3 side stories, so far. This series opened me up to alien romances, and I’m addicted. 

The Alpha and Her Hunter

The is one of the best fated mate, werewolf stories I have ever read. The author, Lauren Rutherford, created a unique world building that worked so beautifully. Female werewolves are bigger, stronger, and the leaders of the packs. Hunters have their own powers that differentiate them from regular humans. And if you haven’t figured it out from the title, we have a Romeo and Juliet story going on. Forbidden love. My favorite trope. A female werewolf and a male hunter fall in love, and have to fight their families to be together. It ends on a cliffhanger, and I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel.   

The King’s Curse

This was the final Plantagenet/Tudor book left for me to read by Philippa Gregory. It’s Margaret Pole’s turn to tell her story, and I’d venture to say that this is one of Gregory’s longer books in respect to how much time is covered (it’s still her typical 600-page novel). We jump into Margaret’s story around the time that Princess Katherine from Spain is arriving to marry Arthur, following her life to the day Margaret was executed. Her execution was confusing to the court and historians. Catherine Howard had recently been executed for adultery, and Margaret had not been close to being involved in that. The most probable reason is that Henry still felt threatened by her and her sons since they were the remaining York family, and could distantly claim the throne. I really enjoyed learning about Margaret’s life through Gregory’s historical fiction. She’s always been a side character with few notable moments in the other novels, and with The King’s Curse she gets to take center stage. I loved seeing a human side to her, rather than the perfect ally to Katherine and Mary that she is usually depicted as. Though she did stay loyal to Henry’s first family, she still had her own trials that she had to focus on and make difficult decisions to protect her name, family, and property. And now, it’s the end of an era. 15 years, and I’ve finally read about the main Plantagenet and Tudor women.  

The Lycan Prince’s Huntress

This is the the prequel to a fated-mate-werewolf romance called Prince Reagan. In some omegaverse world building, there is a shifter called a lycan. Lycans are a more powerful version of werewolves. Depending on the author and their imagination, lycans can walk on their hindlegs in their wolf form (I kind of imagine Remus Lupin from Harry Potter, but more muscular), they live longer (or are full on immortal), they are the royal pack/family that regular werewolf packs have to bow down to, etc. The Lycan Prince’s Huntress can be found on the reading app Dreame. In this story, the FMC is the daughter of the head hunter; and their clan hunts werewolves and lycans. The MMC is the crowned prince of the Lycan Kingdom. And these two are fated mates. Forbidden love, enemies to lovers, Romeo and Juliet. And since those are my favorite tropes, I lapped this story right up. Also, it was an added bonus that the FMC wasn’t a sniveling weakling who becomes a jellied donut in the presence of her mate. 

And those were my favorite books I read last year. What are your favorite books from 2023? Let me know in the comments!