Washington Post 10 Best Books Of 2023

On the fifth anniversary of my marriage to Vicente Buckley, he violated my trust by sleeping with my best friend Kinsley Gilmore, on our bed. Through the camera, my son Jamie Buckley's childish voice sounded. "Kinsley, I'll keep watch at the door. I won't let my mom come in!" As if rewarding him, Kinsley pecked Vicente and suggested, "Your son is great. Don't you think about having another child with Patricia?" Vicente responded by covering her face with a pillow, saying, "The scar on her belly disgusts me."

The first thing I do after being reborn is dump my devoted boyfriend and immediately say yes to the obsessive man's pursuit. In my past life, my so-called best friend, Sarah Cole, bound herself to an app that could transfer all of my boyfriend's love for me to her. My boyfriend was Luke Spencer. The golden roses he prepared for me ended up with her. The hotel he bought for me suddenly had her name on the deed. The way he looked at me shifted from fierce desire to cold disdain, but when he turned to her, his eyes overflowed with the tenderness I once knew so well. When I cried and demanded to know why Luke had changed, he just looked at me with disgust as he spat, "We broke up a long time ago. Leave my girlfriend alone!" On my birthday, Sarah went live online, flaunting how Luke had rented out the entire amusement park for her. Fireworks lit up the sky behind her in a blaze of color. And me? They worked together to have me thrown into a mental hospital. They called me a crazy woman obsessed with someone who never loved me back, and in endless rounds of electroshock therapy and forced medication, I died in despair. When I open my eyes again, I'm reborn. This time, I no longer feel anything real for my ex-boyfriend. Instead, I play along with Ethan Grant. I find it funny when Sarah opens the app again, siphoning away every drop of Ethan's overwhelming love. I really want to know if she can handle it.

My husband and his twin brother get into an accident during a test drive. To protect his older brother, my husband is thrown from the car and dies on the spot. Hearing the news of his death, I, four months pregnant, collapse in tears outside the hospital morgue. When I come to, I overhear my sister-in-law, Gloria Quinn’s voice outside the door. "Mason, are you sure Celine won't find out about this?" Mason? Isn't that my husband, who died in the crash? A familiar male voice replies, "Gloria, you're the one I truly love. If I hadn't mistaken Celine for you that drunken night, I'd never have let you end up with Jason. Celine loves me so much and is carrying my child. "If I take on Jason's identity and look after her, I swear she'll never leave me. Then, all her family's money will be ours." I smirk coldly as I listen to their conversation. He cheats on me, yet expects me to keep his child? Since he's already "dead", he's lost everything.

I'm Sophie Gould, the only daughter of the wealthiest man in Arberton. My mother doesn't like me, though. She treats her niece, Tanya Hall, like her own and allows her to take over my identity. At a banquet where all affluent families are gathered, Tanya takes my seat before I can. Then, she says in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "You wouldn't even be here if not for Mom wanting me to show you around so you can expand your horizons, Sophie. "Remember this—you might not be a member of the Gould family, but your actions are linked to us. Don't disgrace us." In the past, I would've stood there with my eyes red, at a loss for what to do. It was too bad I'd been reborn. I smile icily at Tanya and kick her off my throne. "I should've expected this of an impostor. To think an insignificant banquet like this is enough to make you act so obnoxiously! And did you say you're part of the Gould family? You have no idea the sort of trouble you'll be getting yourself into!"

Ikakasal na ang pinakapopular na babae sa amin noong high school. Inimbitahan niya ang lahat sa aming klase para sa kaniyang kasal. Gusto kong kumilos na parang hindi ko nakita ang message na ipinadala niya sa akin pero walang tigil niya akong tinag sa group chat. “Nagkunwari kang mayaman gaya ko noong high school, pero hindi kita masisisi sa ginawa mo. Sa totoo lang, iniimbitahan kita sa kasal ko bukas para makita mo kung paano maging isang tunay na mayaman.” Agad na nagsalita ang iba naming mga kaklase. “Napakabait mo talaga, Haley. Kaya hindi na ako magtataka kung paano mo nagawang pakasalan ang isang miyembro ng pamilya Baumer. Hindi ako makapaniwala na mapapatawad mo ang isang materialistic na kagaya ni Emma!” “Ano ba ang deserve ng isang kagaya ni Emma Larkin para makaattend sa kasal ni Haley? Masyado siyang mayabang.” Habang tumitindi ang mga pangiinsulto, umabante si Haley Stockwell para mapanatili ang kapayapaan sa chat. “Sige na, kalimutan na natin ang mga hindi maganda nating nakaraan. Hindi na ako naaapektuhan sa mga ito dahil masyado nang matagal mula noong mangyari ang mga iyon. Anyway, huwag na tayong maghinanakit kay Emma dahil masyado na itong mahirap at pangit.” Walang tigil na umulan ang mga papuri sa kaniya ng lahat sa group chat habang tinatawag siya ng ilan sa amin na mabait at inosente. Napasinghal ako sa aking nakita. Si Haley ang babaeng nagkukunwaring mayaman sa amin—ako ang tunay na tagapagmana ng isang mayamang pamilya pero pinalabas pa rin niya na sinungaling ako. Ginawa niya akong target ng mga pangiinsulto ng lahat. Tiningnan ko ang digital wedding invitation para makitang gaganapin sa aking villa ang kaniyang kasal. Mukha ring pamilyar ang kaniyang groom—hindi ba’t ito ang driver ng aking asawa? Ngumiti ako nang maisip ko ang mangyayari. Sumagot ako sa chat ng, “Sige! Kailangan kong umattend ng kasal mo!”

She was meant to sell books. Not steal a billionaire’s broken heart. Julian Blackwood is a man of power, wealth, and secrets—his name synonymous with control and cold precision. Since the death of his wife, he’s locked love away and drowned his pain in one-night distractions. No strings. No vulnerability. No heart. Then he walks into a small, struggling bookstore—and meets her. Lena Carter is soft-spoken and stubborn, running a little shop that smells like vanilla and paperbacks, where his daughter finds comfort... and where he begins to unravel. Her kindness disarms him. Her touch ignites something wild. And her innocence? It drives him insane. He tells himself it’s wrong. He’s too broken. Too dangerous. But temptation doesn't ask for permission. And once their lips meet, there’s no going back. He’s the fire she never meant to play with. She’s the quiet he never knew he craved. Together, they’ll burn down every rule they thought they had.

My best friend passed away from postpartum hemorrhage. Ethan said he didn't want his child to grow up without a mother. To repay my best friend for saving my life years ago, I became the child's mother. I gave up my career and ambitions, willingly becoming a full-time housewife. For seven years, I cared for both father and son as if it were my life's mission. Yet, he always remained distant, his tenderness surfacing only in the quiet intensity of late nights. Afterward, he would hand me a few birth control pills. On New Year's Eve, my throat felt strange. I swallowed the pills, only to immediately vomit them all out. Ethan was furious and accused me of harboring ulterior motives. As punishment, he locked me outside on the open balcony in the rain. Our son came running with an umbrella in hand. But he walked past me without a glance and handed it to the housekeeper who was heading out. In that moment, I made up my mind—I would leave.

"Make sure you wipe the counter," I remind him while wearing my panties. "With my tongue?" "Sure, if you wipe again with disinfectant after that." "Awww my little girl all grown up, using the word disinfectant and all. Bet you're getting deflowered any day now!" I smack his head while he laughs, thinking it's funny to keep on teasing me since last week. "I hope his willy isn't as big as mine," okay what now, "so he won't hurt your flower." I wanted to be mad at him, I do, but I laugh instead, stupid Toffer and his little boy talk. *** 30 year old Nina is confused with her hopeless love life. While her best friend pleasures women in the next room, she remains in her space keeping her virginity in-tact, wondering if she’s meant to be with her first love or she needs to move on to find her true soulmate. It takes my first love to end my dating strike. But will it take my first love to end my virginity?

When Elena decides to surprise her boyfriend Jason on his birthday, things take an unexpected turn. In the darkness, she mistakes her best friend Asher for Jason, and they share a passionate night. But the truth comes to light, and Elena is left to grapple with the consequences of her actions. Lost in the guilt of sleeping with her best friend who was friend’s boyfriend, what happens when she finds out that her bestie is her mate and accepts her fate? As Elena navigates the complex web of relationships and emotions, she must confront the guilt and shame that threaten to consume her? Dive into this steamy and emotional rollercoaster. Read for more.

It all started with jealousy. Becca, a possessive woman who wants to take everything from her twin sister, Marga. Her insane jealousy reached its worst point after Marga's marriage with Aldous, an Alpha king whom Becca admired most. Her indiviousness leads her to take an evil plan against Marga through the help of an ugly omega, Farcas who asked for her virginity to grant her wish. Thinking that Marga was dead already, she disguised as the Luna Queen and spent Kong years with Aldous. But, Marga returned for a revenge, this time, she made sure that Becca will suffer the weight of her deeds.