Wondering what new romance book releases you should read this October 2023? I’m listing my top 10 most anticipated new romance books that are definitely going on my TBR list this month that you should read too!
These are the new romance books that catch my eye and with any luck, are the books I hope to add to my best romance novels of 2023 list.
Below you’ll find all the new releases that stand out from the crowd from both traditionally published books and indie authors (including some of my favorite authors) as well as those books that have the most compelling love stories.
For even more new romance book releases to read, don’t miss my upcoming releases page or my previous monthly release book posts.
Happy reading, because life is better with a love story…
*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Troy Frisk was already a baseball legend when he was my age.
Now, he’s Philly’s toughest sports agent, my new representation, and the stranger I accidentally picked up the other night.
I’m a soccer star at the start of my career. Hooking up again with my older, famous agent is a recipe for disaster.
Plus, he’s straight, and I’m not out of the closet. So, I will not tempt fate while my team is on a winning streak, even if the old jock is kind of perfect for me.
A Standalone, Age Gap MM Romance
The Most Anticipated New Romance Books Releasing in October 2023:
The Best Laid Plans
by Karla Sorensen
Grumpy Sunshine Romance
Releasing October 3, 2023
Former Dallas football player Burke Barrett is weathering a lot of changes. He’s retired from football. He’s mourning the loss of his best friend. And now he’s been bequeathed a dilapidated house in northern Michigan he doesn’t want.
To his surprise it comes with a long-legged, blindly optimistic renovation manager with big ideas for Burke’s inheritance. She’s passionate, irritating, and irresistible.
Restoration expert Charlotte Cunningham is used to rough exteriors. This surly client, with his stubbled jaw, towering physique, and inflexible attitude, is worth smoothing over.
The attraction sizzles, and a proposal is in order: a romantic tryst to relieve the tension. No strings attached. A safe bet for both of them since Burke is prepared to renovate, sell, and move on.
A pet project with an end date. Does that go for love too? Burke must decide what he really wants and what he’s willing to risk.
He should know by now that the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.
The grumpy sunshine trope is fast becoming a favorite and I’m so excited to check out this one from Sorensen.
I also love when characters think they can just carry on a tryst without getting their feelings involved – hahahaha! We will see how that goes for these too.
Throne of the Fallen
by Kerri Maniscalco
Fantasy Romance
Releasing October 3, 2023
The Prince of Envy has never claimed to be a saint. But when a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a dangerous game, he knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win and save his falling demon court.
Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way, though none of his meticulous plans prepare him for her, the frustrating artist who ignites his sin like no other.
The trouble with scoundrels and blackguards is that they haven’t a modicum of honor, a fact Miss Camilla Antonius learns after one desperate mistake allows Waverly Green’s most notorious rake to blackmail her.
To avoid a ruinous scandal, Camilla is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Envy, little expecting his game will awaken her true nature.
Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the Underworld—from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm and beyond—while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.
This fantasy romance is a bit of an enigma to me but I’m so excited to see what is afoot that forces Envy and Camilla together.
It also sounds like it will have a bit of mystery and paranormal elements to it so I’m looking forward to checking it out as it will be my first Maniscalco book.
Wreck the Halls
by Tessa Bailey
Christmas Romance
Releasing October 3, 2023
Melody Gallard may be the daughter of music royalty, but her world is far from glamorous. She spends her days restoring old books and avoiding the limelight (one awkward tabloid photo was enough, thanks).
But when a producer offers her a lot of money to reunite her mother’s band on live TV, Mel begins to wonder if it’s time to rattle the cage, shake up her quiet life… and see him again.
The only other person who could wrangle the rock and roll divas.
Beat Dawkins, the lead singer’s son, is Melody’s opposite—the camera loves him, he could charm the pants off anyone, and his mom is not a potential cult leader.
Still, they might have been best friends if not for the legendary feud that broke up the band.
When they met as teenagers, Mel felt an instant spark, but it’s nothing compared to the wild, intense attraction that builds as they embark on a madcap mission to convince their mothers to perform one last show.
While dealing with rock star shenanigans, a 24-hour film crew, brawling Santas, and mobs of adoring fans, Mel starts to step out of her comfort zone.
With Beat by her side, cheering her on, she’s never felt so understood. But Christmas Eve is fast approaching, and a decades-old scandal is poised to wreck everything—the Steel Birds reunion, their relationships with their mothers, and their newfound love.
I know that December is still months away but I am ready to get into the holiday groove and am loving this mom-band themed Christmas romance book for 2023!
I’m always up for whatever Tessa Bailey creates next and it’s been a while since I read a rock star romance so this is definitely on my TBR list this month!
Check out my book review of Wreck the Halls.
A Holly Jolly Ever After
by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Christmas Romance
Releasing October 10, 2023
Kallum Lieberman is the funny one™. As the arguably lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby!
He’s living his best dad bod life, hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings.
But after an old one-off adult tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a hot Santa biopic for the Hope Channel.
Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career.
But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself—and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?
With decade old Hollywood history between them, Winnie and Kallum are both feeling hesitant about their new situation as costars…especially Winnie who can’t seem to fake on screen pleasure she’s never experienced in real life.
She’s willing to do the pleasure research—for science and artistic authenticity, of course. And there’s no better research partner than her costar, Kallum.
But suddenly, Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface and Winnie might be catching feelings herself.
They say opposites attract, but is this holly jolly ever after really ready for its close-up?
After reading A Merry Little Meet Cute, there was never any question I was going to read whatever Christmas romance Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone cooked up next but this new Christmas romance book sounds too good to be true.
It honestly had me at “pleasure research” because I know that Murphy and Simone are going to make this relationship coach romance both steamy and hilarious 😊.
I will not be missing this book this October and I highly recommend you add it to your TBR list as well.
Hopeless
by Elsie Silver
Fake Relationship Romance
Releasing October 13, 2023
Beau Eaton is the town prince, a handsome military hero with a tortured past. I’m the outcast bartender, a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
He’s thirty-five and all man, and I’m twenty-two and all . . . virgin.
He’s also my fiancé. Correction: my fake fiancé.
We start out as a bet. He doesn’t believe that anyone holds my last name against me. So he offers me his to prove a point.
It’s win-win. He gets a break from his concerned family’s prying, and I get a chance to shed my family’s reputation while I save up to ditch this small town.
He says all I have to do is wear his ring, follow his lead, and pretend I can’t keep my hands off of him in public.
But it’s what happens between us in private that blurs all those carefully drawn lines. It’s what transpires behind closed doors that doesn’t feel like pretending at all.
This engagement was supposed to be for show. This agreement? It has an end date.
He once told me he’d never fall in love. And yet here I am, head over heels for my fake fiancé.
OMG, I cannot get my hands on this book fast enough! I’ve already fallen for this small town and family but I have a feeling Beau might be my favorite.
Throw in a fake relationship romance that sounds AMAZING and I am just so ready for it. This looks like an age gap romance I can totally get behind.
Love Matched
by Laney Hatcher
Historical Romance
Releasing October 19, 2023
There are three things you need to know about Lady Cassandra Fields:
1. Despite being beloved, this diamond of the first water has yet to land a husband.
2. Her bold personality and giving heart help fuel her charitable endeavors.
3. She’s looking for adventure–something beyond ballgowns, drawing rooms, and her ladylike skill with needle and thread.
Thus far, Cassandra’s abysmal luck has kept her from reaching her goals. With no husband and no household, she’s beginning to wonder if she has a future at all.
A surprising encounter with a cunning thief brings more to light than Cassandra is prepared to handle.
But the lady has never backed down from a challenge, and it seems this mystery man might have finally met his match.
When circumstances, once again, threaten Lady Cassandra’s dreams, she must decide if she’s willing to risk her careful plans for the thief who has stolen her heart.
I adore what Laney Hatcher has been doing with Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series. It can’t be easy adapting the storylines into historical romances but she’s taken on the project and I’m loving it.
Love Hacked is one of my favorite romance books of all-time so I’m especially excited to get my hands on this new release this month!
Emergency Contact
by Lauren Layne and Anthony Ledonne
Second Chance Romance
Releasing October 24, 2023
Katherine, an ambitious NYC attorney, gets diagnosed with a concussion and must be monitored for 48 hours to make sure it doesn’t get worse.
Unfortunately, she forgot to update her emergency contact so the person they call is her ex-husband, Tom.
Unable to be left alone, Katherine reluctantly agrees to travel to Chicago with Tom for the holidays.
But thanks to a blizzard, what should have been a quick plane ride turns into an antagonistic overnight misadventure that stirs up old feelings even as Tom prepares to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve.
Consider me completely intrigued that Lauren Layne is partnering up with her husband to write a Christmas romance book!
It’s been way too long since I read a Layne book, and I’m totally loving the set-up of this romance that is sure to have a lot of great banter between the exes!
If you’re looking for a second chance romance to read this October, check out Emergency Contact.
Watch Your Mouth
by Kandi Steiner
Hockey Romance
Releasing October 27, 2023
Watch Your Mouth is book two in the Kings of the Ice series: a series of interconnected standalones following a team of professional hockey players and the women who bring them to their knees.
There isn’t even a book blurb out yet and I’m still adding this book to my most anticipated new romance book list- ha!
That’s because I adore hockey romance books and really fell for the players in her Kings of the Ice series in her first release, Meet Your Match. Bring it on!
A Fire in the Flesh
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Fantasy Romance
Releasing October 31, 2023
The only thing that can save the realms now is the one thing more powerful than the Fates.
After a startling betrayal ends with both Sera and the dangerously seductive ruler of the Shadowlands she has fallen madly in love with being held captive by the false King of the Gods, there is only one thing that can free Nyktos and prevent the forces of the Shadowlands from invading Dalos and igniting a War of Primals.
Convincing Kolis won’t be easy, though – not even with a lifetime of training. While his most favored Revenant is insistent that she is nothing more than a lie, Kolis’s erratic nature and twisted sense of honor leave her shaken to the core, and nothing could’ve prepared her for the cruelty of his Court or the shocking truths revealed.
The revelations not only upend what she has understood about her duty and the very creation of the realms but also draw into question exactly what the true threat is. However, surviving Kolis is only one part of the battle.
The Ascension is upon her, and Sera is out of time.
But Nyktos will do anything to keep Sera alive and give her the life she deserves. He’ll even risk the utter destruction of the realms, and that’s exactly what will happen if he doesn’t Ascend as the Primal of Life.
Yet despite his desperate determination, their destinies may be out of their hands.
But there is that foreseen unexpected thread—the unpredictable, unknown, and unwritten. The only thing more powerful than the Fates…
YES! The Flesh and Fire series continues this month with this new release and I’m so excited to get more Nyktos and Sera.
You know Armentrout is going to pack a lot into this book even though another is coming after to conclude the series. I cannot wait.
The Graham Effect
by Elle Kennedy
Hockey Romance
Releasing October 31, 2023
Gigi Graham has exactly three goals: qualify for the women’s national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father’s shadow.
So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine–a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder.
Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude…and hot as hell. But he’s still the enemy.
Briar’s new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men’s team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another’s guts.
To make matters worse, the summer coaching spot he’s angling for with the legendary Garrett Graham is out of reach after he makes the worst possible first impression on his hero.
So, really, this compromise with Gigi is win-win. He helps her make the national team, she puts in a good word with her dad.
The only potential snag? This bone-deep, body-numbing, mind-spinning chemistry they’re trying to ignore. It’s a dangerous game they’re playing, but the risks just might be worth it.
I know I’m not alone in my excitement that Kennedy is crafting new hockey romance books with the younger generation of those we love from the Off Campus series!
Not only that, but she’s giving us Graham’s daughter who also plays hockey. I really hope my expectations aren’t too high and that it becomes one of the best romance books of 2023.
What new romance book are YOU most excited to read this October 2023? Share in the comments below!
Related Book Lists:
- Most Anticipated New Romance Books Releasing in 2023
- Upcoming New Romance Books List
- Top 10 New Romance Books Coming September 2023
- New Romance Book Releases for August 2023
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