Feature image @pagebypaigebooks
The new year always brings about possibilities, and 2023 is no different. There’s also something so sweet about young love and budding romances. So as 2023 arrives, why not prepare yourself for what’s to come. Go ahead and add these YA romance novels to your must-read New Years’ resolution list.
Still working on your 2022 #TBR pile? Then don’t miss the best YA books of 2022!>>
The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim (1/3)
Zahra Khan might be Bangladeshi royalty, but in Paterson, New Jersey she’s just a girl—and her princess status doesn’t pay bills. To work on financial security, she plans on working long hours to save up for writing courses in college. Enter Harun Emon, a devastatingly handsome, wealthy loof. But when Zahra, following her parent’s wishes, agrees to meet him, it isn’t love at first sight. In fact, it’s a bad match, one that Harun isn’t interested in either. Agreeing to sabotage their parent’s plans, Zahra and Harun begin to make a mess of things, and for once Zahra can focus on what she really wants—like her budding romance with a certain boy from her tea shop.
The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos (1/3)
Cameron Carson and Karla Ortega have secretly been hooking up since the summer. And it was meant to be a summer thing, ending once school started again. Yet what was meant to be a fling amongst coffee shop coworkers turned into a full-on senior-year entanglement. But Karla, student council president, cheerleader, and theater enthusiast, isn’t in a rush to mingle her friends with Cameron’s Geeks and Nerds United club. And new girl Mackenzie Briggs just might change things for Cameron and Karla’s situationship.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert (1/3)
Star football player Bradley Graeme is close to perfect. He’s even coming out on top with all of his classes, except the one he shares with Celine Bangura, his ex-best friend. Celine loves all things conspiracy theories and UFOs. Everyone on her social media loves her content but at school, she’s still too uncool for the popular table. When the two end up on a survival course in the woods, forced to be a team, they’ll have to dig through dirt, mud and their messy past if they want to win a grand prize.
Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett (1/10)
Mahalia Harris wants it all: The perfect sweet sixteen, her crush Siobhan to like her back, and the snide remarks from her white classmates to stop. Since she’s already past sixteen, and there’s no luck with the people around her, Mahalia will have a coming-out party instead, one that celebrates her queerness on her own terms. The idea of this kind of party excites Mahalia so much that she goes a little crazy trying to juggle work and school just to see this come true—but she’ll have her day no matter what.
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis (1/31)
This is a tale of four young Black women discovering love and the courage to live their own lives. Meet the Davenports, one of the few Black wealthy families, and the endless parties, servants and crystal chandeliers inside their house. Olivia, beautiful elder Davenport daughter, is set to get married, that is until she meets a charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight. At the same time Helen, the younger daughter, wants to fix cars more than fall in love. And Amy-Rose, while not a Davenport, is a childhood friend-turned-maid who wants nothing more than to marry John Davenport, Helen’s brother. But Ruby, Olivia’s best friend, also has her sights set on John.
Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant (1/31)
Delilah has her walls up around everyone. She keeps her messy, gooey insides hidden, but her cool and calm behavior has her friends thinking she’s brave enough to sing in a punk band. Reggie, a D&D Dungeon Master, is the exact opposite: he’s confident and he spends his time leading quests and writing essays critiquing the game online. Reggie and Delilah have practically nothing in common, but fate seems to want them together as they keep bumping into each other, first on New Year’s Eve, then Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day.
Then Everything Happens at Once by M.E. Girard (1/31)
Bayless hasn’t had her first kiss yet. For as long as she could remember, she’s been in love with her gorgeous best friend and neighbor, Freddie. If only she looked like the kind of girls he normally dated, she’d have a shot—and the judgmental voices in her head won’t let her forget that. Soon Baylee meets a new online boy Alex and she’s smitten with the funny barista who likes her back. Only Freddie finally makes a move, leaving Baylee stuck with choices to make about love and desire.
The Cartographers by Amy Zhang (1/31)
Ocean Wu has always thought she needed to succeed at it all. After battling depression, she moved to New York City to start a new life at a prestigious university. Only that didn’t help her emotionally so she decided to defer from school, without telling her mother, at least until she can figure things out. Once deferred she finds roommates Georgie and Tashya and then a job tutoring. On a late-night subway ride, she meets a boy, Constantine Brave. The possibility of love might be in the air . . . but could her new life come crumbling down once she goes home for Thanksgiving and she has to face her mother?
This Is How You Fall in Love by Anika Hussain (2/2)
Zara and Adnan are just friends. So it would be a bad idea for them to pretend to date each other. But when Adam begs her to do so, needing to cover up his new top-secret relationship, Zara is hesitant until she sees how the idea of her with Adam makes her parents happy. Wanting to keep her parents from arguing at least for a little while, Zara agrees. But faking a relationship isn’t as easy as she imagined, especially coming from someone who loves love as much as she does. Add a new boy into the mix and things get more complicated than ever.
Out of Character by Jenna Miller (2/7)
Seventeen-year-old Cass Williams would easily describe herself as fat, queer, and obsessed with the Tide Wars books, but she won’t admit that she’s Captain Aresha of the Tide Wars roleplay community. This community is her haven to escape things, like the stress of dating cool girl Taylor Cooper or her mother who left her. But her secret addiction is starting to have real-world problems, like her grades slipping and distance from her girlfriend. With the lies piling up, can Cass keep her virtual world and the real one separate?
This One’s for You by Kate Sweeney (2/7)
Former best friends Cass and Syd have two separate plans after graduation: Syd has an internship at a historic music venue, while Cass heads for college with hopes to be an engineer. Cass also secretly loves music. He plays at different stations, loving how it connects him to his mother who died when he was one. And when Syd sees Cass playing everything begins to change. On a whim, following their love of music, they make a break for it, going on a cross country journey where along the way they’ll reconcile their old friendship and grow closer than they realized.
Always the Almost by Edward Underhill (2/14)
Miles Jacobson has two New Year’s resolutions: get Shane McIntyre, his ex-boyfriend back and beat his arch-nemesis in their classical piano competition. But two weeks after Miles came out as trans, Shane ghosted him, and has ignored him ever since. Mile’s music lessons aren’t going according to plan either with his new piano instructor. But as luck would have it a new boy, Eric Mendez, arrives in town, a proud queer cartoonist from Seattle, who takes a liking to Miles. Soon the two grow so close they even fake a relationship to get into parties but when a real kiss comes out of it, can Miles keep his confidence up to keep Eric for good?
Last Chance Dance by Lakita Wilson (2/21)
Leila just got dumped. Her boyfriend of four years broke up with her before graduation, and with the Last Chance Dance right around the corner. The dance gives all students one last shot at love before the year ends and Leila is determined to find someone before she graduates. All she needs to do is submit potential crushes to the dance committee and wait for someone to match with her. And just like that, she’ll have a new boyfriend—but to her surprise, all three of her crushes chose her back, including her chemistry partner. Now Leila must decide who she truly wants to be with before the dance and graduation.
If I Can Give You That by Michael Gray Bulla (2/28)
Gael’s life is quiet, and he likes it that way. He’s used to being alone. He has an estranged father and a depressed mother whom he cares for, and he has to navigate being a transgender boy at a conservative Tennessean high school. So, when his best friend suggests he attends a support group, Gael doesn’t plan on saying much. During the meeting, he meets Declan who welcomes Gael into a new circle of friends. But with everything going on in his life can he risk letting the walls of his heart down for Declan?
Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia (3/21)
If it’s freedom or Lis, her sister, the decision for Lucha Moya is an easy one. But the price she’ll pay to protect her sister might be her ending. As the older sister with an absent mom, it’s her sole duty to care for her little sister. And when the two decide to venture into the world alone, they find themselves in a dangerous forest where Lucha must come to terms with the power that courses through her veins and learn to control it if she and her sister will ever make it out alive.
Never Vacation with Your Ex by Emily Wibberley (4/4)
Seventeen-year-old Kaylee Jordan is her high school’s all-star volleyball player. Everyone around her is watching hoping she’ll go pro and follow in her mother’s footsteps. To make matters worse, she just unceremoniously dumped her boyfriend, Dean, days before their families were to spend the summer together. Trying not to turn their summer into a total disaster, Kaylee takes Dean through her rules on how to get over an ex, but as their summer goes on, Kaylee finds herself falling for Dean all over again.
Queen Bee by Amalie Howard (4/4)
When your best friend drops you for the son of a duke, things are pretty bad, at least that’s how Lady Ela Dalvi sees it. After the scandal with Poppy, her ex friend, Ela became a disgrace. Now three years later, Ela wants revenge. Poppy is swiftly joining their high society leaving her to wither away in the English countryside. But with a new disguise Ela becomes a mysterious heiress, infiltrating London’s elite, and when an old flame returns, she’ll need to determine if revenge is worth a second chance at love.
They Hate Each Other by Amanda Woody (5/9)
Just like oil never mixed well with water, neither does Jonah Collins and Dylan Ramírez. But a fake dating ploy will change all of that. When a rumor goes around that their disdain for one another is actually love. So to break the rumors and end their “relationship,” the two agree to become a couple, have a massive fight and end it for all the school to see. Things don’t go as planned because soon they discover that loving your enemy is easier than they thought.
Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon (5/30)
Sixteen-year-old Bethany Greene is a late-bloomer, though her confidence would say otherwise. She’s never been kissed, let alone had a first boyfriend. But when her crush turns her down and she runs out of options for homecoming, Jacob, her best friend’s boyfriend, agrees to take her. Things get trickier for Bethany when Saylor dumps Jacob, leaving him completely single. Wanting to practice having a date and being in a relationship, Bethany and Jacob pretend to be a couple, gaining the attention of other potential suitors for Bethany. Yet what if her perfect match truly is Jacob?
Always Isn’t Forever by J.C. Cervantes (6/6)
Ruby Armenta and Hart Augusto were best friends, and soul mates until Hart tragically drowned before their senior year. But with the help of magic and some divine intervention, Hart’s soul gets another chance. To accept, Hart will have to agree to live inside the body of a local bad boy Jameson. When he lands into his new body, he quickly realizes winning Ruby back as Jameson is harder than he imagined. Since he can’t tell her his true identity, Hart will have to work fast because the more time he spends as Jameson the more he loses his original memories as Hart.
The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar (6/6)
Shireen Malik is still working through her break with her ex-girlfriend, Chris. The news that she’s gotten into a new televised baking competition show may help distract her. If she wins the money and the attention will help her parents’ beloved donut shop. When Shireen shows up, and Chris is also a contestant, and Niamh, a new contestant, becomes extra friendly, things begin to heat up in and out of the kitchen.
Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler (6/13)
Natalya Fox has a choice to make — stay home with her dad and her crush or spend her summer with her estranged mother in LA. Since she couldn’t decide, her summer is split into interchanging timelines where she works out her issues with her mom, explores the city, and determines her future, while going for the girl she always wanted. The other timeline is where she makes a move on the guy she never expected to come.
The Prince and the Apocalypse by Kara McDowell (7/11)
It took Wren Wheeler flying five thousand miles across the ocean to discover she’s a terrible traveler. She can’t seem to get anything on her itinerary for her senior-trip to London right. When she’s meant to have her final breakfast, she runs into Prince Theo, who’s on the run from his controlling mother. Helping him escape, Theo offers to return the favor. With a canceled flight and the world ending in days, Wren and Theo travel across Europe bonding before their time runs out.
Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings (8/15)
Tilly Twomley is ready for a fresh start. Working as her sister’s intern isn’t how she imagined spending her summer, but the tour around Europe is just the change she wanted. Oliver Clark may not be able to form relationships with others because of his autism, but he has all that he needs. When Oliver and Tilly meet, they may have started as opposites, but soon they’ll spend the summer learning that opposites attract.
Don’t miss all of the most anticipated YA books coming out in 2023>>
Leave A Comment