Welcome to the Love Bytes Reviewers’ Best of 2025
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 1,000 LGBTQ+ books in 2025, from contemporary romance to fantasy, paranormal, historical, adventure, mystery, comedy, and everything in between. Each day for the next weeks, we will feature one of our reviewers’ top picks from books and audiobooks published in 2025. 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.
“Jen’s” favorites
Smokescreen and Facade (Knight & Daywalker 1 & 2) – Sam Burns Buy Link
So much to love about this series. It is a unique paranormal with fabulous characters and an interesting and engaging storyline.
Highly recommend.
Bittersweet Revenge (Sins of the Father) – Riley Hart Buy Link
Dark mafia – son of the mafia king and his circle of close friends/family) with a side of revenge – not the same old mafia story.
Beautiful Liar (Arcadia U) – Roxas Winter Buy Link
Dark mafia – children of the mafia in a university of neutral ground for mafia kids. This is the continuation of the story.
Highly recommend reading this as well as the prior story.
Review Link
Kiss a Villian (No Mercy) – Mia Darling Buy Link
Another mafia story that is a bit unique. This one is captivating and book 1 of a duet. Highly anticipating the conclusion.
Review Link
Unhinged Little Angel (Mafia Bound) K.M. Neuhold Buy Link
Fabulous mafia group of characters and I loved this installment. Men who must keep up appearances but find those they can trust to give themselves to while not ever coming across as mushy or cheesy.
Cassius: Gay Vampire Mafia Romance – J. Tomala Buy Link
Delicious but gritty vampire story with interesting dynamics and an engaging storyline.
Bratva’s Intern and Bratva’s Vow (Bratva’s Undoing 1 & 2) Gianni Holmes Buy Link
Amazing chemistry with mystery and suspense. Can’t wait for the conclusion of this story.
Broken Highway (Cult Boys) – Logan Rivers Buy Link
Cult escapees on the run – lots of great chemistry, even though toxic at times, which leads to much more as these characters work through their respective issues.
Review Link
Claim of Blood (Bonds of Blood) – Mira LaFontaine Buy Link
Shifters, witches and vampires, oh my! This is a very interesting and creative paranormal world that sucks you right in. Excited for the follow up installment.
Review Link
Assisting the Alpha (Soldati Security) – Finn Walton Buy Link
Fabulous paranormal series where various species are figuring out how to coexist. Love the twists and turns and cannot wait to see what comes next.
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