Mini Book Reviews – September 2025
Mini Book Reviews – September 2025: What To Read & What To Skip
Welcome to my regular round up of mini book reviews of what I’ve read this past month! September was a solid month full of a variety of 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 September 2025 mini book reviews.
*Disclosure – I earn a small commission for any items purchased through the links below at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my book blog!!
Mini Book Reviews – September 2025
Physical Books:
The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
I’m kicking off this month’s review roundup with an unexpected hit from a new to me author! I was on the hunt for a fast-paced, intense thriller and this is delivering! Six former coworkers are gathered together for a dinner party after not seeing each other for years. What starts out awkward, but innocent turns into a dangerous situation when they’re taken hostage and people start dying.
Their attackers are looking for a secret to be revealed from the summer they spent together working on a dating app, but their side project developing a test that could identify a psychopath could be the true culprit. Now they must give up the secret or continue voting to determine who’s going to die next…
The tension keeps developing as we jump back and forth between present day and the past, while the events of that summer are slowly revealed! There’s enough action alongside the story development to keep my attention locked in on this thriller. 5 Stars | Buy From Amazon
Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey
I had a blast reading this sports romance and I’m obsessed with the softball hearts on the sprayed edges! I don’t know how Tessa keeps writing books in this series that get better and better but this one may be my new favorite!? Robbie meets Skylar when his hockey teammates face off against a group of baseball players and let’s just say they don’t get off to a good start.
But Skylar needs help getting the attention of her crush, her brother’s best friend, so she brings Robbie along to an annual family competition to give her advice and pretend to be her boyfriend to make the guy jealous. It’s classic Tessa, with all sorts of sarcastic banter and a man who is down BAD for his girl. Robbie tries to keep his distance but falls hard and fast. It was a little ridiculous that Robbie went from the biggest player in the league to being ready to settle down with one girl in a matter of weeks, but I loved going along with it anyway
Grab this deluxe edition now while you still can! | Buy From Amazon
If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair
This book is such an unexpected delight! I’ve been laughing the whole way through! If All Else Sails is a contemporary romance with an injured hockey player and his best friend’s sister who was manipulated into helping him recover.
Josie thought she was meeting her brother for a summer vacation and instead finds herself at the derelict coastal home of Wyatt, the grumpiest man in existence. She and Wyatt reluctantly agree to her brother’s schemes…and when she finds out he needs help fulfilling a sailing trip to scatter his uncle’s ashes, she actually wants to go.
These two are so entertaining – Wyatt is terrible with words and Josie doesn’t put up with anything! It’s also got plenty of meaningful moments, that bring some depth to this unexpected partners story. 4 Stars | Buy From Amazon
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 TWO audiobooks for only $15 with my link and code CHOOSEINDIE.
The Honeycrisp Inn by Valerie Bowman
If you’re looking for a cozy, fall themed romance, this book is it! It’s full of autumnal activities and literally is focused on a fall festival, but the writing and the romance are top notch too!
This has a lot of classic tropes, but it still feels fresh. A city girl gets fired and returns home to her parents inn to help plan a fall festival at the orchard next door. Ellie finds a warm welcome from everyone but her former childhood friend, and now part owner of the orchard, Aiden. He’s not convinced that she’s going to stay and see this through, but she slowly wins him over with her event planning skills and unexpected (even to her) devotion to this project. | 4.5 Stars | Buy From Amazon
The Blonde Who Came In From The Cold by Ally Carter
I only gave this book 3 stars BUT I think listening to it on audio was part of the reason it was a lower rating. This is a second, third, and more chance romance scenario where two CIA agents flit in and out of each other’s lives over the course of ten years. Part of this book takes place in current day where our two main characters find themselves kidnapped and ultimately trying to escape together. The rest of the book is flashbacks throughout the prior ten years.
As a result, it was a bit hard to follow which time period we were in on audio. In present day, they visited some of the same places which confused me even more. I think this is worth giving a shot if you like the concept, I’d just recommend reading a physical or eBook version! | 3 Stars | Buy From Amazon
eBooks:
The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison
Wow – I was not expecting to end up sobbing my way through the end of this book!! I thought it was a fun, little time travel / dual timelines romance. And it definitely was, but it was also a deep look at grief and how we carry that with us throughout our lives. Meg is a lead actress on a popular TV show, but as she faces down more demands from the network and rumors this is the final season, she gets the itch to get away from everything and books to the town in Ireland where she and her late childhood friend always dreamed of moving.
However, when she gets there she steps into an alternate reality where everyone knows her and believes she’s lived there since college. A timeline in which her friend is also alive and well. Meg is no longer famous, but slowly sees this as a second chance, one she can fully appreciate after understanding the downside of being a celebrity, what she thought she always wanted. As time passes, Meg realizes how much Aimee’s death had affected her life choices, but deep down she realizes she can’t stay here forever.
This book was both lighthearted, comical, and incredibly moving. It walked that line between a romance and a story about female friendships so well. A must read! 5 Stars | Buy From Amazon
For more mini book reviews, check out What I Read in August 2025!