Welcome to the Love Bytes Reviewers’ Best of 2023
Another year has passed in which books have brought all of us a much needed escape and sense of comfort. Our Love Bytes team reviewed approximately 1,300 LGBTQ+ books in 2023, from contemporary romance to fantasy, paranormal, historical, adventure, mystery, comedy and everything in between. Each day for the next few weeks, we will feature one of our reviewers’ top picks from books and audiobooks published in 2023. These lists highlight how diverse our tastes in reading are, and offer something for everyone. With thousands of fantastic new books each year, written by hundreds of creative and talented authors, it’s so difficult to narrow our lists down. We all have many favorite authors not featured here and wish we could acknowledge them all.
Ro’s 2023 Favorites
French Fancy (The Model Agency #2) by Lily Morton
The Model Agency series is one of my all-time favorites, and Pip is one of my favorite characters. As the blurb says, he’s the twinkiest twink in all of London. But when he gets sick with pneumonia and his boss, Jonas, sends him to recuperate at his family home in the south of France he gets to meet Olivier, Jonas’s brother. I loved how we got to see Pip outside the office and away from the other couples, while still getting to catch up with all of them. Dean is my all-time favorite character and we get to revisit him and Jonas, even Mal. It’s a
fabulous addition to the series, as would be expected from Pippen!
The Storm Boys Series by N.R. Walker
This is a three-book series (plus a prequel) focusing on Tully and Jeremiah. Both are storm chasers but for incredibly different reasons.
Sometimes Jeremiah’s story makes you want to cry. The series includes Second Chance at First Love (prequel), Outrun the Rain, Into the Tempest, and Touch the Lightening. It is better to read the whole
series, in order, to truly appreciate these men, where they live, and those around them.
Confetti Hearts (Hitched #1) by Lily Morton
I loved how Joe came to understand his worth in this book. Joe and Lachlan meet at a wedding where Joe is a planner, and they end up marrying themselves! It has the Lily Morton humor I love so much but
also flawed characters. Lachlan himself admits to not being the greatest husband but I adored how he tries to make up for it all. I can’t wait for the next in this series.
The 12 Kittens of Christmas by Amy Lane
Amy Lane’s Christmas stories consistently rank among my favorites, and this one is no different. Between Killian’s kindness hidden deep and Lewis’s outright joy of being with him, the book was already sweet on
its own. But add in Moose and Squirrel, Boris and Natasha, and a host of lovely side characters, and it is a holiday story to enjoy truly. Be aware it’s pretty instant love here. They are only together for a few days when Lewis is planning weddings in his head. I was okay with it, holiday magic and all.
Weddings, Christmas, and Such: Holiday Stories from Granby by Amy Lane
This was one of my last books of 2023 and a great way to end the year. Revisiting beloved Granby characters and getting a whole new Granby story? The best! I revisited Jeremy and Aidan, Ben and Craw, Ariadne,
Rory and Persy, and even got to see Johnny and Stanley. Falling in love with new Granby characters Pippen and Gideon was a holiday gift.