Best Romance Books of 2023

Meta-analysis of 20 'Best of 2023' romance book lists to determine which books appeared on the most lists and can be named the 'best of the best'. The final list includes 12 books that appeared on 4 or more of the lists. Published September 7, 2024. Learn more about the methodology.

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Best Romance Books of 2023

September 7, 2024

Every year I get overwhelmed by the plethora of year-end romance book lists that get published. When brainstorming my vision for Romancing the Data, the first idea I had was to analyze all of the existing year-end lists to see which books came out on topβ€”a 'best of the best' list.

As such, I present to you the Best of the Best Romance Books of 2023: my meta-analysis of 20 year-end romance book lists to find out which books appeared on the most lists.

Note: This list has been compiled based on research and should not be considered my own personal recommendations or endorsements.

Best Romance Books of 2023

The List – Best 12

Based on my analysis, 12 books rose to the top and appeared on 4 or more best-of-the-year lists. Given that there are numerous ties on the list, I've ranked the tied groups in descending alphabetical order by title for the sake of simplicity.

Here is the full list!

  1. Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (9 lists)
  2. Happy Place by Emily Henry (8 lists)
  3. Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon (6 lists)
  4. Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood (6 lists)
  5. Ana MarΓ­a and the Fox by Liana Del la Rosa (5 lists)
  6. Knockout by Sarah MacLean (5 lists)
  7. The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (5 lists)
  8. The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren (5 lists)
  9. The Long Game by Elena Armas (4 lists)
  10. Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams (4 lists)
  11. Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score (4 lists)
  12. Wildfire by Hannah Grace (4 lists)

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Frequestly Asked Questions

Hello! πŸ‘‹

Hi, I'm Lady Jane, a Romance Book Data Analyst. I combine my love of romance books and spreadsheets by creating charts, graphs, lists and rankings, all about romance! Follow me on Instagram to learn more. 

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