Mini Book Reviews – May 2023: What To Read & What To Skip

Welcome to my regular round up of mini book reviews for May 2023! This was a mixed bag month, with a few stellar books as well as a few mediocre ones from extremely popular authors. Read on to see which was which!

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 May 2023 mini book reviews.

 

 

Emma of 83rd Street

by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding

I may have found my favorite book of the year so far!! It shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s a retelling of the original queen of romance – Jane Austen. Emma is already my favorite Jane Austen novel, but this fresh and updated retelling was an absolute delight.

Emma goes from regency England to upper class Manhattan in current day. She’s a somewhat adrift rich girl who’s always meddling with her friends and family, but fails to see the love of her life right in front of her nose. This retelling is pitch perfect – keeping enough of the original story of the novel but seamlessly weaving it into the world we all recognize. | 5 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Plus One

by Mazey Eddings

Mazey Eddings continues her streak of fantastic romance novels! As a sucker for books set at weddings, I particularly adored this one! After Indira’s life falls apart, she ends up crashing at her brother’s house and discovers his best friend, and her childhood nemesis is also staying there for a while. Jude is back in the country to celebrate her brother’s wedding, then he’s scheduled to return to his job as a humanitarian doctor.

Little does anyone know, Jude is severely scarred by what he’s seen. He can hardly function, let alone pull himself together enough to celebrate. Indira is the only one who glimpses what’s happening, so she agrees to help him through as his fake date.

Normally the fake dating trope gets old fast, but this was so much more meaningful than what you normally find in romances. Indira and Jude’s relationship was heavily based on her ability to see his needs, encourage him to recognize what was happening and get help. It was so easy to root for this couple! 4 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

 

 

Ugly Love

by Colleen Hoover

Ugly Love is one of the most adored spicy Booktok books, featuring two airline pilots who give in to their attraction in a sex-only arrangement. Neither Tate nor Miles are looking for love, so this set up worked perfectly…for a while. Soon enough, they realize that nothing like this is simple. And love gets messy. 

This relationship was a bit too harsh for my taste. Miles’ treatment of Tate, even though he made his intentions VERY clear, wasn’t fun to read. Colleen Hoover is still a great writer, so it wasn’t a flop, there are just other books of hers I enjoyed so much more! 3.5 | Amazon | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Happy Place

by Emily Henry

I know, I know. Everyone LOVES Emily Henry. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of some of her books but I also think there are other romance writers I connect with more…

Happy Place was boring. There. I said it. This story of a couple who called off their engagement but are forced to pretend in front of their friends for a week-long vacation drags on too long. It’s told in both present day snippets and flashbacks to the development of their relationship.

The miscommunications were slow to be revealed and lacked any sort of emotional punch, so I felt like I was just slogging through. 3.5 Stars | Amazon | Libro.fm

 

 

eBooks:

 

 

The Last Word

by Katy Birchall

This was a total unexpected hit!!  Unlike above, this was a second chance romance I adored! A celebrity journalist fighting for her job is flabbergasted when her new co-worker turns out to be the guy she interned with a decade ago…who broke her heart.

These two polar opposites immediately fall back into bickering, butting heads on almost every decision. Clearly, the passion is still there and Harper starts to understand that her anger over what happened years ago may be misguided.

The writing in this is snappy and engaging! Throw in the celebrity aspect, seeing Harper connect meaningfully with her subjects, and you’ve got a five star romance! | 5 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble