Looking for a love story to get lost in? Whether you gravitate towards emotional romances, hilarious meet-cutes or steamy moments to read after dark, we have you covered.
Check out some of our must-read romance books for 2023.
Happy Place by Emily Henry (April)
The new fake-dating, second-chance romance novel from the TikTok sensation and Sunday Times bestselling author of Beach Read and Book Lovers will sweep you off your feet.
Mini review
- Book rating: ★★★★☆
- Spice rating: 2/5
- Out now where all good books are sold
When Harriet heads to her best friend’s cottage for their annual friends’ trip, she doesn’t expect to find her ex-fiancé Wyn sitting in the kitchen. But given no one knows they’ve broken up, what’s a girl to do but pretend to still be in love with her ex? Cue long looks, awkward moments, heartbreaking confessions, and swoony one-liners.
I adored this book where characters fail hard and love deeply. Slightly heavier in tone than her previous books, Happy Place will have you in your feels from start to end. The story leans into themes of friendship, grief, second chances, and self-acceptance to add depth, and Henry does a wonderful job of creating characters that feel relatable. Both Harriet and Wyn are sweethearts and it’s hard not to be charmed by their romance and personal growth. I constantly found myself either on the verge of tears or with a cheesy grin while I read this and I loved the way Henry used dual timelines to build up this emotional journey. With witty banter, sweet spice, a charming romance, and a friend group you want to be a part of, Happy Place is the definition of a feel-good read. Highly recommend it to anyone looking to read a character-driven love story with a found family arc.
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Book synopsis
Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple – they go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Every year for the past decade, they have left behind their lives to drink far too much wine and soak up the sea air with their favourite people in the world. Except this year, they are lying through their teeth. Harriet and Wyn broke up six months ago. And they still haven’t told anyone.
This is the last time they’ll all be together here. The cottage is for sale, and since they can’t bear to break their best friends’ hearts, they’ll fake it for one more week. But how can you pretend to be in love – and get away with it – in front of the people who know you best?
Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood (June)
Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom.
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The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.
Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig – until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favourite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.
Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?
Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey (June)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey returns with the hilarious follow-up to Secretly Yours, in which a down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can’t stand … only to discover there’s a fine line between love and hate.
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After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember. But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him – and kiss him, in equal measure.
August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn’t know jack about making wine. He’s determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy’s legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around … and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door.
Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways – assuming they make it out alive.
Still need a little more inspo?
If you’re looking for a regency era romance, something with LGBTQIA+ rep or a small town setting, here are four other romance books we’re highly anticipating.
Charlie, Love and Cliches by Ella Maise (May)
Charlie might work at her dad’s company but that doesn’t make her life easy. She’s the kind of person who always goes the extra mile for a client, remembers colleagues’ birthdays, and arranges the cake. And yet her dad still favours her sister. So Charlie shouldn’t be surprised when her dad brings someone in to manage her and the team. But what does surprise her is that the new boss is her guy. The man who she went out with years ago and could never stop thinking about. Charlie wants to hide under the desk … but then she realises she doesn’t have to. Because William doesn’t seem to remember her at all.
Queen Charlotte (Bridgerton) by Julia Quinn (May)
In 1761, on a sunny day in September, a King and Queen met for the very first time. They were married within hours.
Born a German Princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was beautiful, headstrong, and fiercely intelligent … not precisely the attributes the British Court had been seeking in a spouse for the young King George III. But her fire and independence were exactly what she needed because George had secrets … secrets with the potential to shake the very foundations of the monarchy.
Thrust into her new role as a royal, Charlotte must learn to navigate the intricate politics of the court … all the while guarding her heart, because she is falling in love with the King, even as he pushes her away. Above all, she must learn to rule and to understand that she has been given the power to remake society. She must fight – for herself, for her husband, and for all her new subjects who look to her for guidance and grace. For she will never be just Charlotte again. She must instead fulfill her destiny … as Queen.
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams (May)
How hard can it be to find the perfect match?
Florist Annie Walker is determined to find someone who complements her life. But after overhearing her latest date describe her as ‘so unbelievably boring’, Annie wonders if the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favourite romance movies? Maybe she only needs some practice … and Annie has the perfect tutor in mind.
Sexy and tattooed Will Griffin is temporarily back in Rome, Kentucky, providing security for pop-star Amelia Rose in the build-up to her wedding to Annie’s brother. He also has his own agenda: stay away from Annie Walker and any attachments to this sleepy town, which becomes difficult when she enlists him to help fix her love life.
Amid steamy practice dates and strictly ‘educational’ tutoring lessons, the lines of their friendship blur and Annie reconsiders what her ‘dream guy’ might look like. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect – it just needs to be real.
Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake (October)
Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love.
And she’s happy for all of them, truly. So what if she misses her friends and family, who are busy with their perfectly paired partners. At least she has her brand-new career writing romance novels (the irony), right?
Wrong. She is completely out of ideas after having spent all of her romantic energy on her debut.
Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as usual, Iris goes to a Portland bar. But a night of dancing with a sexy stranger named Stefania turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life (vomit and crying are regretfully involved).
To get her mind off everything, Iris tries out for a local play only to come face-to-face with Stefania – or, Stevie, her real name. When Stevie desperately asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend, Iris is shocked but goes along with it in a bid to get her creative juices flowing.
As the two women play the part of a couple, they turn into a constant state of hot-and-bothered and soon it just comes down to who will make the real first move …
Happy reading x
This article includes a sponsored mention from Penguin Books New Zealand.
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Written by Monique Renee
Usually barefoot and deep in wanderlust mode, Mon loves binging Netflix, cuddling babies and stalking through IG looking for boho decor inspo and new books to read. You’ll usually find her on holiday, planning a holiday or thinking about holidays.
Favourite Instagram to follow: @the_female_lead
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