Best Romance Books 2023 Novels & Stories

Avery Nash had two lives and one rule. Keep them completely separate. By day she was the captain of the Crestwood University cheer squad and a Business Management student holding onto her scholarship by her fingernails. By night she was Scarlett, masked and wigged and untouchable, dancing at Velvet Underground to cover the gap between what her scholarship paid and what her mother's deadbeat boyfriend kept taking from them. On the night her boyfriend cheated on her with her biggest rival, Avery made one reckless decision. She followed a brooding stranger back to his motel room and gave him the one thing she had been saving. Her virginity. "Take off the mask. I want to see you." He had said. "A little mystery never hurt anyone, did it?" she replied. She slipped out before dawn, telling herself she would never see him again. Then she rang her best friend, Jade's doorbell and he answered the door. Liam Harrington was Jade's new stepbrother, who she hated, the transfer quarterback every girl on campus was already talking about, and the boy sitting three seats away from her in every Business Management lecture. He was also the only person in the world who knew what Avery felt like without her armour on. He just did not know her real face. Now Avery was living three lives at once. The captain, the stripper, and the girl quietly falling for the one man she was absolutely forbidden to want. And the secret that started as one reckless birthday night was growing into something big enough to burn everything she had built.

Trigger Warning: This story contains explicit adult content, hardcore taboo, possessive dynamics, age gap, themes of obsession, control, and heat-driven mating. The “brothers” in this story are not biologically related. ~ Kyle, Hayden, and their hot stepfather, the Alpha of Crimson Pack who married their mother, share a house that was never meant to feel like home. Their stepfather stopped pretending the moment he caught the scent of Kyle’s pheromones. His touches lingered. His stares burned. And then he told them exactly what he wanted: both of them, together, under him. They should have said no. They didn’t. Now Alpha Daddy has them exactly where he wants them: in his room, in his bed, on their knees. And they’re not just letting him take them. They’re begging for it.

Two years after the accident, my husband Derek can no longer touch me. His love hasn't changed. But his body has. He says he wants me happy. He just never said happy with someone else. Then his two best friends move in to help. Luca is all sharp suits and sharper smirks. He looks at me like I am already his. Eli is quiet, intense, his touch lingering a heartbeat too long. I swore to honor my vows. But Derek keeps pushing us together. A dinner meant for two becomes four. A goodnight kiss on my forehead from him. Last night, Luca caught me alone in the kitchen. His hand on my waist. His whisper against my ear. He asked if I was shaking from fear or want. I did not push him away. Now my husband has proposed the unthinkable. He wants me to share myself with them. He wants to watch. Three men under one roof. One forbidden wife. And I am terrified of how much I want to say yes. Shared by My Husband's Best Friends is a steamy first-person forbidden romance with a why choose ending. No cheating. My husband asked for it.

Willow Creed always put her career before any relationships but found that the road to building your career could be a lonely one. When her editor suggests that she write a believable romance story, Willow is at a loss for words, especially since she's so jaded about the topic of romance. After hearing Willow complain to her best friend about her situation with her editor, Reid Grayson proposes that they enter into a fake relationship under two conditions: she attends his brother's wedding as his date to get his family off his back about finding someone special, and they are not to fall in love with one another. Willow knows that she would never fall for the arrogant and rude Reid Grayson, so she agrees. Will both of them be able to keep to the conditions set in place when Reid is hiding a secret that could potentially break her? **This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**

"Every person has their own unique desires, Lexie," he says, his voice low and seductive. "Some are easily satisfied, while others crave more... intense experiences."As he speaks, my mind races with possibilities, each one more exhilarating than the last."Tell me," I urge, my heart pounding in anticipation."Are you sure you want to know?" he teases, his eyes dancing with mischief. "It might be more than you bargained for.""But what if,” I start, locking my eyes with his. “What if I am the one who ends up being on the top?” And my smile becomes wicked.----Lexie meant only to visit her best friend to reorganize her life. It was a simple plan, until her old time crush Noland, her best friend’s dad, showed up. He has unique tastes, but will he be ready for what Lexie has to show him?Surrendering to my Best Friend’s Dad is created by Amelie Bergen, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

My best friend offered me a place to heal from my cheating mate. She didn't realize she was handing me straight to her father. *** "What are you doing in my room without knocking?" he growled, his voice a low vibration that seemed to rattle my very bones. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating off his skin. "I'm sorry, Alpha..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "I-I lost my way." He tilted his head, a dark, predatory smirk tugging at his lips. "No. From now on, you call me Daddy, I can see exactly how much you want to." He pulled me flush against him, dragging his nose along the curve of my cheek. I shivered, my knees threatening to give way in his iron grip. My graduation day was supposed to be the best day of my life, but instead, I caught my mate with the campus beauty. When I confronted him, he didn't even offer an apology. He just looked at me with cold eyes and told me I was "just an omega." An Alpha wolf like him would never settle for someone like me. I was shattered, and to help me forget the heartbreak, my best friend took me home with her. What I didn't expect was to end up in her father's room. Seeing him like that, bare-chested and powerful sent a shock through my system. When he realized it was me, he gave me an order. I knew I was supposed to run back, I knew I wasn't supposed to be in his room in the first place, but instead, I knelt down to obey him, and in that moment, I didn't care about the consequences. I didn't care what would happen if my best friend caught us. I only wanted him.

“I know you want me. Petals.” His husky voice broke the silence in the room. “And I want you too.” My excitement spiked up as he ripped off my nightwear and did the same with his clothes exposing his well-built body. We were naked now, and his scrutinizing gaze made my heart race with anticipation. It was as if my mind had gained complete control of my body even as I willed myself to stay in control, it wasn’t working. “Uncle Ivor. This can't… you know Dad will–” I tried one more time, still in shock that this was happening. “This will stay between us. It will be our little secret, petals.” He whispered again, climbing the bed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Every girl has that time when they crushed on that one person they shouldn’t crush on and couldn't have, and it was quite the same for Renee Morse, especially when that harmless crush turned into something as endearing as obsession. She always dreamed about herself in the strong arms of her godfather and her dad’s best friend, Ivor Walker. His voice alone is enough to make her knees weak and nipples erect. Her body aches for him, her fantasies of him leaving her trembling, and her desires unrelenting. When her parents moved away for work and she had to spend her holiday with him, she took it as a sign from the universe and decided to seduce him until he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She succeeded, but little did she know that forbidden relationships always bring havoc and nothing is as simple as she thought. With enemies lurking and secrets from Ivor's past resurfacing, how long can they keep their relationship hidden? Will their love last the test of time, or will they drift apart?

Once upon a time, a lion saved a girl. His little cinnamon girl. That lion grew up into a prince. Dark, bitter, and so beautiful that it hurt to look at him. But underneath it all, the girl saw the man. She saw his hunger for love and affection, and she had plenty to give. I was that girl. I fell in love, even though he told me not to. I gave him everything, because that was who I was. I was determined to show him the light in this world, and his smiles were what I lived for. He was my art, my melody, my muse. We were beautiful together. So I gave and gave, all to my bitter prince. Until I had nothing left to give. Until he left me empty. No one warned me love would push me into darkness so cold, it’d tear me apart. To survive, I’d have to kill the cinnamon girl and become someone else. Someone I didn’t recognize.

His face was inches from mine. His breath ghosted over my lips—warm, whiskey-scented from dinner and my body remembered him instantly: the way he’d pinned my wrists, the slow grind of his hips, the filthy things he’d growled in my ear while I came apart beneath him. He leaned in. I felt the pull—like gravity, like hunger. My lips parted on instinct. Just one more inch and we’d be kissing again, messy and desperate, right here in his car like teenagers who couldn’t wait. But reality crashed in. I jerked back, pressing myself against the door. “We can’t.” His jaw ticked. “Why not?” "Because I practically raised you.” My voice shook. “Because your mom is my best friend and I'm way older than you..." "I don't care" he bit out, shocking me even further. "I’ve wanted you since I was old enough to know what wanting meant. And don’t pretend like you don't feel something too." Sophie helped raise him. She was there for homework, school runs, and the lonely years when his parents were too busy. To her, he was just her best friend’s son. Years later, she catches her husband cheating on their anniversary and loses her unborn child due to the shock, Sophie spends the night with a stranger that she never expects to see again. But the stranger is Antonio — the boy she once helped raise. Now he’s all grown up. Powerful. Successful. And off limits. She manages to escape from him — so she thinks — until days later, she gets hired in a fashion company where Antonio is the CEO.

Betrayed on the altar by her fiancé and family, Zolandria finds herself held captive by a Mafia Lord, Lucien Dravik, through a deal she accepted under duress. She wants revenge on her family, but not a bloody one. ***** Lucien is a 35-year-old hidden mafia Lord who's popularly known to be one of New York's successful CEOs. At a young age, his family was murdered by the Azaeres family. Now he's out for blood, and Zolandria is his perfect pawn in this game of chess. He despises the family, but what happens when he has one under his roof? Will Zolandria help Lucien? Will the desire for revenge get tested? Read on to enjoy the love-hate drama that unfolds.