Fiction Favorites | 2023 Edition

Fiction books I read and loved in 2023.

Author

Amanda Reads
December 26, 2023

Last week I wrote about my favorite nonfiction reads of 2023, and I’m continuing this week with my favorite fiction reads.

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

Why I read it: I became a Kate Clayborn fan after reading Love at First for book club, so when Georgie, All Along came out, I had to read it. (And did, within the first week of publication.)

Review #insixwords: A beautiful story about finding yourself.

Recommendation: Clayborn writes very warm and layered contemporary stories, with the romance just one aspect of it. This book is about rediscovering yourself and redefining who you are and who you want to be—and who you want to share your life with. If you’re a contemporary romance fan, you might like this. (Clayborn has another book coming out in March—The Other Side of Disappearing—that is also wonderful and I recommend.)

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

Why I read it: This was a book club read this summer. I’d not read anything by Alexandria Bellefleur, so it’s always fun to try new-to-me authors.

Review #insixwords: Sapphic modern marriage of convenience FTW!

Recommendation: Listen, sometimes you have to accept certain things happen for “romance reasons” in books. Is this setup realistic? No. But it doesn’t need to be. It’s funny, it’s cute, and it’s a little over the top in all the best ways. Plus you get a character who owns a bookstore and anxiety rep!

A Walk in the Park by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Why I read it: I’ve enjoyed Rebekah Weatherspoon’s Cowboys of California series. Also, excuse me. This tagline? “They’ve got one pup of a problem”? HOW COULD I NOT READ IT.

Review #insixwords: Sweet, heartwarming novella with a DOG.

Recommendation: Okay, if it’s not obvious by now, I love the dog aspect of this story. (I also just love dogs in general.) The setup is a bit “romance reasons” but the budding relationship between the two characters as they attempt to co-parent a dog while fighting their growing attraction for each other is so so good. Note that this was originally an Audible original that was released as an ebook.

Capture the Sun by Jessie Mihalik

Why I read it: My notes for this portion was just “JESSIE MILHALIK.” My friend Kelly recommended Jessie Mihalik to me last year when I begged her for sci-fi romance recommendations (pro tip: Kelly knows all the good sci-fi romance). I started with Hunt the Stars, the first in the Starlight’s Shadow series, last year and blew through the rest of her backlist this year while I waited for Capture the Sun (the third in the Starlight’s Shadow series) to come out.

Review #insixwords: Immediately want to reread the series.

Recommendation: If you want sci-fi romance, you should start with Jessie Mihalik. I would recommend starting with Hunt the Stars. Like most romance series, each book in the Starlight’s Shadow series features a different couple and can stand alone, but there is a series arc that makes reading it in order useful. Mihalik is one of the few doing sci-fi romance in traditional publishing and doing it really well. (Most of the sci-fi romance is self/indie-published—and you can look at people like Ruby Dixon to see just how well that’s working.)

Books I’ve Loved & Already Posted About

Yes, they’re worth sharing again!

  • Come As You Are by Jess K Hardy

    • Gen X small town romance!

  • Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

    • Slow burn Gen X romance with demisexual rep

  • Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

    • A delicious fantasy romance with witches.

  • A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane (but also the second book in the Gathering of Dragons series)

    • Dark romance that’s bleak and beautiful with an epic meetup between main characters.

Full book reviews:

Have you read any of these books or authors? What were your favorite reads of 2023?

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