5 Best CLEAN ROMANCE books of 2023 so far (February)
Wanna know the best clean romance books of 2023 so far??! Join me today to see what books I have already enjoyed, which books are still on my to-read list, and which ones were just…meh.
Last month I shared a list of the MOST ANTICIPATED CLEAN ROMANCE BOOKS for January HERE and then I got RIGHT to work reading my way through the list. I didn’t get to EVERY book on my list, but here is a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly of what I read in January…and a little sneak peak of what will be on my nightstand coming up in February!!
I jumped right in to 2023 and read like a CHAMP for the first week or two…then life got crazy, and I slowed down. BUT I did manage to finish 6 books so far this year, so I will TAKE IT!!!
The Enemy Across the Loch and I’m Not Charlotte Lucas
My first finish of 2023 was The Enemy Across the Loch. I talked about this one over HERE, so I won’t go into ALL the details. EXCEPT to say that I have decided to binge read everything I can get my hands on by Kasey Stockton. She writes both modern AND historical fiction, which makes me VERY happy when I need a change. PLUS, her books are just SOOOOO easy to pick up and fall in love with.
WHICH brings me along to my next MUST-READ clean romance…I’m Not Charlotte Lucas…which just released TODAY!! I was lucky enough to be gifted an advanced copy of this one by the publisher, and COULD NOT WAIT to jump in. If you are a Pride and Prejudice fan, THIS ONE IS A MUST!! If you are NOT a Pride and Prejudice fan, then I am not sure we can be friends… just kidding…let me help you out!!
Quick rundown. In Pride and Prejudice (aka one of the best books of ALL TIME!!), the main character is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She has a best buddy named Charlotte Lucas who ends up settling on a husband so that she doesn’t end up an old spinster and a burden on her family.
THIS book is a modern story…no balls or carriages or rules of society in this one, BUT the main character in THIS book is named Charlotte Lucas also. However, the only thing she has in common with the original Charlotte is that she is creeping up on her late 20’s without a husband. Our Charlotte is living in her parents’ attic, NOT using her college degree, working in a dead-end job, drinking ALL THE diet Coke, and not finding the Mr. Darcy of her dreams.
Things to love about this book?? 1. A blind date with a SUPER dreamy main man!! 2. LOTS of Pride and Prejudice sprinkled in. 3. A super fun and relatable imperfect main character. 4. Lots of cute dialogue. 5. Tons of swoon!!
P.S. If you love a good Pride and Prejudice-ISH book, I have a blog post HERE and HERE with LOTS of clean romance book suggestions!!
Esperance
If I had to pick an absolute favorite book of 2023 so far, it would 100 percent be Esperance by Heather Frost. This book has gotten A LOT of attention over on the GRAM, and so I of course got influenced and HAD to see what all of the fuss was about. I got hooked RIGHT into this one!!
The book begins with Amryn (our main character of course) walking down the aisle to be married…AHHHH. NOT Ahhhh though. She is walking down the aisle towards a man she has never even met!!! And then the author drops THIS little bombshell…
If he didn’t discover her secrets and kill her, she just might live long enough to see him die.
–Esperance by Heather Frost
There was no going back after that…I was officially sucked in!!
Sooooo the main gist is that Amryn and Carver, along with six other couples, have had their marriages arranged by the emperor. The 12 newlyweds will then be locked up for a year in Esperance (aka a large fortress complex) in order to learn to work together to create peace for all of the different regions of the empire. I am SUCH a fan of anyone who can seamlessly create an entire new fictional world and then fill it with interesting people…like empaths and assassins and spies…OH MY!!
I loved this book and will be waiting for the 2nd book in the series to release for sure!!
Since I am talking CLEAN romance here though…I should mention that although this book definitely falls under the CLEAN and Young Adult category, I won’t be passing this one off to Emersyn (14). ONLY because there was A LOT of talk about the couples consummating their arranged marriages and plenty of innuendo to go along with it. Totally clean as a whistle for an adult or older teen, But PROBABLY not yet for my Emmy. Just thought I would pass that along since it can be a struggle to find clean romance books for the teens:)
Friend Shipped
I think that THIS is the series I have been looking forward to reading the most. After reading all of the HALLMARK-ish Christmas books over the Holidays, I was in the mood for some more happy endings and the Getting SHIPPED series by Savannah Scott was the perfect fit!!
I started with Friend SHIPPED and was not disappointed. It was EXACTLY what I expected…a fun rom com with a best-friends-to-more storyline that NEVER gets old!!
The main characters in Friend Shipped, Lexi and Trevor, have been friends for their ENTIRE lives, work in the same office, and even live in adjoining duplexes. BUT of course, they are both too scared to move out of the friend-zone because they don’t want to mess up their friendship. With duel POV, we see them both struggle with their feelings and all of the awkwardness of sharing a wall with your best friend …who you are secretly in love with!!
I am going to jump back into more of the SHIPPED series soon…I will keep you posted!!
The Rose and The Thistle
The Rose and The Thistle by Laura Frantz is another one of those books that is getting ALL the attention from the bookstagram crowd. I love a good Historical Fiction, so I quickly added this one to my to-read list. I actually listened to this one on Audible, since I had some credits burning a hole in my pocket. I only mention that, because I actually had a bit of a hard time finishing it and I really don’t know why…except that maybe it was not a great choice as an audiobook. I normally don’t commit to anything heavy on audiobook…focusing mostly on fun books that I can listen to while folding laundry and walking the dog. AND this book is over 13 hours long on Audible…that is quite the commitment for my ears!!
All that to say, The Rose and The Thistle was a beautifully written book…the author knows what she is doing!! AND it is an incredibly researched historical novel about the Jacobite uprising, which I enjoyed learning more about.
The main gist of the story…
Lady Blythe is forced to leave her home in England because of her father’s Jacobite views and is whisked off to Scotland in the night when her home is attacked. She ends up hiding away at the home of her Godparents in Scotland…who happen to be Protestant…while she is VERY much a Catholic.
All in all, I am glad I didn’t give up on this one halfway through, and I think I will give another Laura Franz book a shot…but this time on my kindle instead!!
The Earl’s Hideaway, NO Girls Allowed
I love Esther Hatch and I think she might be the current queen of writing clean romance books…so I knew that The Earl’s Hideaway, No Girls Allowed was going on the TOP of my to-read list. I have talked about Esther’s books HERE, and HERE, and probably a few more times too:)
Just a disclaimer…this is the 2nd in a series of books. I don’t think you need to read them in order…but WHY NOT just read the first book too!?!? 🙂
This one was JUST as fun as her other books. In it, the Earl tries to escape his meddlesome sisters by agreeing to house-sit/plant-sit for an eccentric old man. THE PROBLEM?? Catherine, who was once a part of society, but who is now working as a governess to help support her sisters and parents, ALSO agrees to house sit.
Did I mention that these two have a past?? Don’t you just LOVE when the characters have a past together? (Insert all the hearty eyes here!!) They grew up together and shared their first kiss LONG ago…before Catherine’s family lost their fortune and Catherine was forced to leave home. BUT NOW…they decide that they can BOTH stay at the house and take care of the plants TOGETHER:) You see where this is going…
Totally cute and who doesn’t love a good scandal?? Ruined reputations…YES PLEASE!!
Soooo what am I reading NEXT?!
On Audible I am currently listening to Fortress of Snow by Melanie Dickerson. You can NEVER go wrong with a Melanie book!! PLUS they are great for listening to…TOTALLY easy to follow and perfectly paced. She is the QUEEN of the fairytale retellings…and her books are SOOOO perfect for teens and moms alike!!
On my Kindle, I am reading The Call of the Sea. I just started, but HOW CAN A BOOK WITH VIKINGS BE BAD?!?!
And for books to actually hold in my hand…I just picked up Holly Black’s newest book The Book of Night. Sometimes I need a break from romance and castles, and Holly Black is one of my FAVORITE YA fantasy authors. I shared a few of my all-time favorite books HERE and HERE…including a few of her books!!
Phew….THERE YOU HAVE IT!! The best clean romance books I have read so far this year!! That got me all excited to go read instead of sit and type!! So let’s call it a night and chat again soon:) –Jessica
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