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.
Cheryl K’s 2023 Favorites
I hope you all enjoy some of my favorite reads and listens from 2023. I definitely had a love for the paranormal this year.
When a Man Loves an Alien (Tentacular Tales #3) by Chloe Archer
Human, Alien love story, Tentacles… Did I mention tentacles… Pop culture references galore. Well thought out storylines and characters. Prose that is so funny. Hot sexy times-did I mention tentacles….
The Undead Detective Agency Series by Shelby Rhodes
Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves and Humans “Oh My”
Funny, Sarcastic, and Heart wrenching. All around great storylines, that create story lines full of intrigue and action.
Paranormal, ghostly drag queen, mm romance, mystery. What more could you ask for… Oh did I mention there is some seriously hot sexy times. I seriously love this series by Vawn Cassidy. It’s a fresh take on paranormal stories. A dead drag queen helps solve the mysterious deaths of the ghosts that come to visit Tristan. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
Second Sight Series by K.C. Wells
Book 1 & 2 more murder mysteries and ghost interaction. Hot sexy times. Wonderfully written procedurals with a twist. The mysteries are well developed, and her characters are full of depth and hot to boot.
The Last Mortals Series by Silvana Falcon
I loved this intriguing idea that humans are not the dominant species on the planet, yet their existence saves their fated mates. This whole series was so well written and the enemies to lover’s trope is always a favorite of mine.
The FBI Files Series: A Thousand Vermillion Stars (#3), Life on Mars (#4), and A Clown Car Full of Sovereigns (#5) by Patricia Logan
Her newest LEO stories, intriguing plots and the best book titles. I love this series, it’s got a seriously gritty, dark edge to it. The different types of cases she covers in these books is just mind blowing. Oh and the sexy times are pretty good too.
Valor and Doyle Series: Books 4-7 By Nicky James
Tight well written mysteries-enemies to friends to lovers…
I loved the multi book story arc and then the happily ever after for Valor and Doyle. The Wedding book brought out the absolute best in all the writing and characters.
The God’s Eye Audiobook (Lancaster’s Luck #3) by Anna Butler
Steampunk done right. Gary Furlong brought this story to life with his diverse character voice selections and his nuanced cadence.
Redemption Ridge Series by Aimee Nicole Walker
This series is grand! ALL the characters are grand!! The BDSM world is grand! The writing is grand!!
You understand a must-read series!
War of the Wicked (Lucifer’s Landing #1) by Davidson King
Dark Mafia romance, opposites attract, new series from Davidson King. Action packed story that incorporates a fantastic love story. Looking forward to the next book in this series coming out.