Mini Book Reviews – January 2023
Mini Book Reviews – January 2023: What To Read & What To Skip
Welcome to my regular round up of mini book reviews for January 2023! This month was a bit of a dud to start, but is finishing up with some fantastic books. Keep an eye out next month for when I share those 5 star reads!
In my list of mini book reviews, I include everything I’ve read recently that I finished. I like to share both my five star reads and any misses to help you get a better idea of what you should read or might want to skip.
As always, I love to hear if you agree or disagree with my ratings! Let me know in the comments what you thought of my January 2023 mini book reviews.
*Disclosure – I earn a small commission for any items purchased through the links above at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my book blog!!
If you’d like to also support indie bookstores, please use Bookshop.org!!
Mini Book Reviews – January 2023
Physical Books:
Rivals
by Katharine McGee
Rivals is the third book in the American Royals series – a trilogy that reimagines America with a royal family. The books follow the lives of the young royals as they navigate relationships, school, and politics as Princes and Princesses.
I adore this whole series and was thrilled to discover the third book holds up that expectation. I don’t want to give any plot away in case you want to start from the beginning, so I won’t go into details. But all the characters are unique in their own way and the rotating vantage points are what make this story so enjoyable.
4.5 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
Highly Suspicious & Unfairly Cute
by Talia Hibbert
A BIPOC YA romance by one of the best romance authors out there! Longtime rivals (and long-ago former friends) Bradley and Celine end up working together in an outdoor survival course with high stakes. Celine signed up as a chance to network with her idol and earn a mentorship. Brad signed up mostly to annoy Celine…and maybe win a full college scholarship.
Over the course of their training and back at school, Celine and Brad fall back into the friendship they formally knew. They also can’t deny feelings aren’t stronger this time around!
It was adorable reading their banter and how they got each other riled up. Plus I loved the slow burn as they started to cross the friendship line into something more.
4 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
A Cosmic Kind of Love
by Samantha Young
I received this as part of my Hushbug Book Box subscription! It hadn’t been on my radar before so I was excited to dive into a new-to-me author. An astronaut and an event planner start out with the weirdest of meetings – she accidentally stumbles on videos he sent from space…and she responds with videos of her own that she thinks aren’t being seen by anyone.
When they finally meet in person, there’s an undeniable bond from their previous “interactions”. Relationships are never completely smooth sailing, though. While the premise of this was captivating, there was a little missing from the story. Parts of the plot felt too contrived and I had some trouble getting fully invested in these two. It was still enjoyable overall, though!
3.5 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
Save For Later!
AudioBooks:
As always, I recommend using Libro.fm if you’re an audiobook listener!! Libro.fm directly supports indie bookstores, but costs the same as Amazon’s Audible! You can get 2 audiobooks for only $15 with my link and code CHOOSEINDIE.
Finding Christmas
by Karen Schaler
Karen is best known for writing The Christmas Prince series of movies on Netflix (which are so cheesy but great) so I wanted to give her latest Christmas novel a shot.
It’s everything you expect from a Hallmark/Netflix Christmas movie in book form! Quaint small town, mishaps leading to meet cutes, and a happy ever after for the Christmas loving couple. While this isn’t fantastic writing, it was a very enjoyable listen on audio and just the type of feel good, fun story I expected.
eBooks:
A Not So Meet Cute
by Meghan Quinn
Meghan Quinn is one of the best romance writers regularly available on Kindle Unlimited for free! You can count on her for a great story and spicy scenes!
In a wild turn of events, a woman searching for a billionaire and a billionaire searching for a fake fiancee end up on the same sidewalk and strike up a deal. Huxley is trying to land a huge real estate deal, but makes an idiotic statement in an attempt to relate to his target. Lottie is at her wits end after being fired by a toxic friend and figures it’s easier to just marry a rich guy. When they meet, they hit it off immediately and she agrees to pose as his fiancee.
These two are both strong personalities so their connection was intense!! While it certainly isn’t a thoughtful, meaningful romance, this was exactly the fun romp I hoped it would be!
If you like steamy reads, this one made my list of Booktok’s must read spicy books!
4 Stars | Amazon
How’s your reading year starting off?
For more mini book reviews, check out What I Read in December 2022!
I don’t typically read romance novels but I read two in the last month. They were hits for me so I may just have to keep a few on my reading list for when I need something different. I know you always have good recommendations!