Upcoming book releases: 2023 anticipates thrilling new reading material

2023 is set to be an exciting year for readers with many authors continuing or wrapping up their current series. Here is a guide for what to expect through November of 2023.

April

Kaitlyn Hill released her debut novel “Love From Scratch” early last year, and has a new novel coming April 4. “Not Here to Stay Friends” is about childhood best friends reconnecting, and working together on the set of a television show similar to “The Bachelor.” This book is expected to be a friends-to-lovers book, however it seems like there also might be a love triangle.

Next up is “Happy Place” by Emily Henry (“Beach Read”). What could go wrong when a couple that has been broken up for six months has to act like they are still together? Harriet and Wyn have not told their friends they are no longer together and they still agree to go on their annual trip with them. They have to pretend to still be in love for the entire trip. This book will have the fake-dating trope, as well as what seems like a second chance romance. 

May

“Practice Makes Perfect” by Sarah Adams (“When in Rome”) will be out on May 2. Annie wants help transforming herself into an interesting, flirty person and she enlists Will, a typical bad-boy to help her out. Will does not want Annie to change, but he agrees to help her out. This book seems like it is going to have the fake-dating trope, as well as friends-to-lovers. 

June

Tessa Bailey (“Fix Her Up”) released “Secretly Yours” in February of this year, and it is the first book in this series. The second book, “Unfortunately Yours” comes out on June 7. This will follow two characters that were in the first book, Natalie and August. They decide to get married so they can both get what they need: money. These two characters strongly dislike each other by the end of “Secretly Yours” so this will likely include the enemies-to-lovers trope, as well as a marriage of convenience.

Ali Hazelwood (“Love on the Brain”) has two books coming out this year. The first is “Love, Theoretically,” and it will be out on June 13. All of her books focus on women in STEM and they always have a grumpy male scientist as the love interest. This book seems like it is going to be extremely similar to Hazelwood’s debut novel, “The Love Hypothesis.” It will be interesting to see if she is able to do something different with this book, or if it will be too similar to be enjoyable.

Kasie West (“Sunkissed”) has a book titled “Borrow My Heart” coming out also on June 13. All of West’s books are in the young adult genre, but they are enjoyable for any age. West is known for writing wholesome young adult romance books. This book has the fake-dating trope and seems like it will have her usual loveable characters. 

July

Elle Kennedy (“The Deal”) will be wrapping up her “Avalon Bay” series with “The Summer Girl” on July 18. This book is going to be focusing more on side characters that appeared throughout the first two books in the series. It will be interesting to see if Kennedy is able to write a story set in Avalon Bay that does not have to do with the two twin brothers she has been focusing on.

Chloe Gong (“These Violent Delights”) is set to release three books in 2023. Her first book of the year, “Last Violent Call,” came out in February. Coming on July 25 is her debut into the adult fantasy genre, “Immortal Longings.” This book is going to be an Mark Antony and Cleopatra retelling. Gong has shown time and time again that she excels at writing Shakespeare retellings, so this one will likely be no different.

August

Ally Carter is an author who has written in both the young adult and middle school genres, but she will release her new novel into the adult romance genre on Aug. 8. “The Blonde Identity” is about a woman who wakes up with amnesia, having no idea where she is or who she is. However, her twin sister is wanted by the CIA and they all think this woman is her sister. The only one who knows she isn’t her sister is a grumpy agent who agrees to help her stay hidden. And what better way to stay hidden than to pretend to be a newlywed couple on their honeymoon?

For anyone who misses the Hawthorne brothers after Jennifer Lynn Barnes wrapped up “The Inheritance Games” series, she has more coming. “The Brothers Hawthrone” is set to come out on Aug. 29, and will focus on Grayson as the main character. It will be interesting to see how Barnes continues on in this world from a new point of view. 

September

Starting out the month of September is Elena Armas (“The Spanish Love Deception”) with “The Long Game.” This book comes out on Sept. 5 and seems like it is going to be hilarious. Adalyn has her life together and she has her routine that she does every day. But this routine is interrupted when her father sends her to help a struggling soccer team in North Carolina. She has no idea what to do and tries to enlist the help of Cameron, a goalkeeping prodigy. However, after an awkward first encounter, Cameron wants nothing to do with Adalyn.

Chloe Gong’s third and final book of 2023 will come out Sept. 26. “Foul Heart Huntsman” will conclude her duology, and conclude her writing in the “Secrets of Shanghai” universe. “Foul Lady Fortune” left off on a painful ending, and left much to be resolved. “Foul Heart Huntsman” is sure to be filled with action right from the start.  

October

Kerri Manascalco (“Stalking Jack the Ripper”) finished her “Kingdom of the Wicked” series last year, but announced a spin-off coming this year. “Throne Of The Fallen” is coming on Oct. 3 and will follow Envy as the main character. Envy was a huge side character in the “Kingdom of the Wicked” series, so readers are excited to see him in the spotlight.

Another book coming on Oct. 3 is “Wreck the Halls” by Tessa Bailey. This will be her third book in 2023. This book is set to be a holiday rom-com so it will give people something to look forward to as it gets closer to the holidays. 

Stephanie Garber will be releasing the series finale to “Once Upon a Broken Heart” on Oct. 24 with “A Curse for True Love.” The second book in the series, “The Ballad of Never After,” left readers with a huge cliffhanger. This finale is expected to be action packed and (hopefully) full of romance.

November

Alex Aster (“Lightlark”) just announced the second book in her debut series. “Nightbane” will be out on Nov. 7, but she has not yet released the synopsis of this book. Readers were left shocked at the end of “Lighlark” so this book is likely going to be filled with just as much action and betrayal.

“Check & Mate” by Ali Hazelwood (“The Love Hypothesis”) will also be out on Nov. 7. This is Hazelwood’s debut into the young and new adult genre. She originally said the book is young adult, however the characters are 19 and 20, which pushes them more toward new adults. If this book is anything like her other books, it will be hilarious and filled with fun banter between the characters. 

Image from Kerri Manascalco via Twitter