15 of Our Readers’ Favorite Romance Books of 2023

Classic romance never goes out of style, as our readers proved by making this 1989 Harlequin classic one of the year's most-read titles. Leslie Rothe wants to believe in love, but a career in data research has made her cynical. Her life changes the day she crashes her car into a stranger’s truck. Suddenly, Leslie is stranded in the Rocky Mountains with a man who awakens something unexpected in the deepest depths of her heart. 

Joe Bonner is a mountain man to the core, fiercely protective of his family's legacy. Leslie, who barges into his life unexpectedly, seems made for him. But he soon discovers that Leslie works for a developer who is out to destroy the pristine wilderness that Joe is fighting so hard to save. Can love surpass this difference, or will it tear them apart?

Guy Westrope, Earl of Buckland, was not a gentleman used to encountering opposition to his will. Ladies are typically a little scared of him. Not Miss Hester Lattimer, who is quick-witted and stubborn and oh-so-irresistible. Local ghost stories would not scare Hester from her new house—especially not at Christmas! There's a strange past behind the building but it's her home now. Though her heart told her to trust the mysterious earl, she knew she had to be wary. Is Guy connected to these unusual events, and will getting close to him unwittingly reveal her own scandalous past? This Christmas could be the most shocking ever for both of them.

Our readers love a classic romantic suspense category book. Thread of Revenge, the first entry in the Coldwater Bay Intrigue series, follows Sadie Strand, a marine biologist who returns to her coastal hometown after her best friend dies. She knows it was murder, but searching for evidence almost cost Sadie her life. Abducted, drugged and left for dead on a sinking boat, she was barely rescued in time by Coast Guard Investigative Service special agent Gage Sessions, an old friend. Assigned to protect Sadie, he knows he'll do anything to protect the woman he once loved. Death seems to be around every corner for both of them. Someone will do anything to keep the truth hidden…

Aside from being the bestselling queen of the Argeneau vampires, Lynsay Sands writes delightful historical novels, such as this novella All I Want. All Lady Prudence wants for Christmas is to keep her family out of the poorhouse, which is proving difficult thanks to her father's determination to gamble away what little is left of their savings. She barges into London's most notorious gaming hell to haul her father home, only to come face to face with its mysterious proprietor, Lord Stockton. He doesn't let women into this establishment, even ones as tempting as Pru. With that wicked man in her way, Pru knows she's going to need nothing short of a miracle to save her family. Perhaps this Lord is more willing than he's letting on to help her in her endeavor…

Darby Travers, Viscount Nailbourne, made a vow on the battlefield that he never expected to honor. That's how he finds himself on the doorstep of a young woman, the daughter of his late comrade, and presenting himself as her new ward. This means dealing with Sadie Grace Boxer, the child's aunt and chaperone. She's overprotective, mistrustful, and constantly meddling. Now left to clear up her brother's estate and deal with his death, Sadie Grace must put up with her niece's first season alongside this infuriating stranger. Hiding the truth about her niece while the sophisticated viscount watches her every move proves nearly impossible, especially as Darby begins to thaw her heart and grow closer with each passing day.

Discovering an unconscious woman in a snowdrift, rancher Maddox Thunder Horse vowed to save her life. How she wound up in a remote area of the Badlands was a mystery, but Maddox knew he had to do something to save her. There's something about this woman that rouses protective instincts the Lakota native had thought long-dead. The woman, Katya Ivanov, is on the run. It'd be safer for her savior not to know why she's in danger, but as the two grow closer, her problem quickly becomes his. A killer waits in the shadows for Kat, but now she has a warrior by her side and a chance at a real future.

Finding out she is heir to a vast fortune shocks Caroline Tully, who never expected to find herself in charge of so much money or a mysterious family legacy. Adopted as a baby, she had no idea her background was so shrouded in mystery. But to qualify for the inheritance, she must visit her newfound grandfather's Mississippi home from Christmas to New Year's. Caroline knows nothing about her mother's family … and doesn't realize they can't be trusted. When attempts are made on her life, there's only one man who can protect her: Donovan Cavanaugh. Posing as her fiancé, Don promises to find the would-be killer. But will his protection (and growing love) be enough to keep her alive long enough to claim her fortune?

Tarquin Vale, Earl of Ashcroft, knows women. He's a seasoned rake and world-class seducer, but he's grown weary of easy conquests. He seeks a challenge, but he never could have predicted Diana Carrick. She's brazen in a way that throws even Ashcroft off-guard. He’s never had a woman chase him and demand to be his lover. Intent upon the seduction that will finally free her, Diana has set her sights on the notorious Ashcroft. But she has secrets hidden behind her veil of worldliness. Together, they create magic, but they're playing with fire, and there's no escape from their bonds.

Running Fire is the eighth title in New York Times bestselling writer Lindsay McKenna's Shadow Warriors series, which focuses on a group of Marines in the midst of dangerous situations. Here, Chief Warrant Officer and pilot Leah Mackenzie are assigned to the Shadow Squadron in a troubled region of Afghanistan. Her task is to retrieve a team of stranded SEALs, which she has a bad feeling about. Her worries come true when enemy fire hits their helicopter. 

SEAL Kell Ballard's goal was to get the injured pilot out of harm's way and find shelter deep in the labyrinth of caves. However, they grow close in the midst of absolute chaos, and they'll need to stay strong as they uncover an enemy within their own ranks.

We don't blame our readers for loving a classic historical category romance, especially one with a Christmas theme! Plain, sensible Rose Parker is a self-proclaimed wallflower, but she's always dreamed of dancing with Captain Harry St George. After returning home from the battlefield, Harry is a different man, and the shy Rose suddenly intrigues him more than he could have expected. But he must marry a rich bride to save his mortgaged estates, and Rose is no heiress. Will the magic of a mistletoe kiss save the day?

Under her own name and pseudonyms, Heather Graham has dominated the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists with her romances that span various subgenres, such as historical, suspense, category, and paranormal. Emerald Embrace, first published under the name Shannon Drake, takes the action to the Scottish Highlands. 

After her friend's mysterious death, Martise St. James heads north to find some answers, and and to bring home the legendary St. James emerald. But once she encounters the darkly handsome Lord Creegan, things take an unexpected turn. The handsome but enigmatic widower has captured her heart but can she trust him? And can she survive the Highlands as others hunt her down to get their hands on the emerald…

Mary Hart Perry is a pen name for Kathryn Kimball Johnson, under which she wrote romantic Victorian thrillers full of daring, passion, and period details. Seducing the Princess was inspired by the life of Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter Beatrice. Shy and dutiful, Beatrice believes she will die a spinster, but then she meets Henry Battenberg, a dashing nobleman from the Continent who matches wits with the aging Victoria and risks his life and liberty to woo Bea. But Henry isn't the only man interested in being welcomed into Beatrice's bed. 

Bea finds herself embroiled in a plot hatched by her nephew, the future last Emperor of Germany, to be seduced into ruin. Now, she must fight to save herself, her family, and even the fate of Britain.

Our readers loved this slice of classic '80s romance from Elizabeth Lowell. Reba Farrall was lost until a kindly old gentleman took her under his wing and helped her to heal from her troubles. Now that her dearest friend has passed on, she must pick up the pieces and find a new path forward, one that leads to a California gem mine. Into her life bursts Chance Walker, a daring adventurer with a hunger for diamonds. He roams the Earth looking for his bounty, and in the blistering heat of Death Valley, he hopes to find his jackpot. He doesn't expect to find Reba or to become her savior as shadowy forces target her.

A trio of category romance favorites combined forces with this collection of Regency titles centered on the Fitzmanning family that landed a Rita Award nomination. 

"Justine and the Noble Viscount" by Diane Gaston follows the brooding Gerald Brenner, who has found has found himself an unwitting position as guardian to the unconventional and newly orphaned Fitzmannings. The major upside of this is Justine, the family's illegitimate daughter. 

Deb Marlowe's "Annalise and the Scandalous Rake" sees Ned Milford, a house party guests of the Fitzmannings, fall for the wallflower Annalise Fitzmanning. But how close should they become when his reason for being at Welbourne Manor would prompt a society scandal, not a society marriage? 

Amanda McCabe's "Charlotte and the Wicked Lord" centers on the youngest Fitzmanning girl, Charlotte, an independent spirit who wants to ensnare the handsome Lord Andrew Bassington. He's looking for an eminently proper bride, but the free-spirited Drew cannot help but enthral him.

Regency romance favorite Stephanie Laurens's 2001 duo of romances captured our readers' hearts this year. In the first story, "Tangled Reins", Miss Dorothea Darent finds herself entangled with the Marquis of Hazelmere. He's a captivating rogue but also a total scoundrel with a terrible reputation. And he's set his sights on her. She must decide whether to take a chance on this cad or commit to her plan to remain a respectable spinster. 

In "Faie Juno", the Earl of Merton suddenly finds himself playing the knight in shining armor to a damsel in distress. This beautiful lady instantly captures his heart, to the point where he wonders if it's time to give up his life as a societal rogue. But then she flees the scene without revealing her name. Merton won't give up so easily, though, and chases after her.