Mini Reviews (part thirteen)

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my first round-up of my 2023 non-podcast reads.

It was a slow start to the year but things picked up half-way through January when I reached for my trusty romances - they rarely disappoint and are usually an easy, quick read.

Three Swedish Mountain Men

This was a steamy romance featuring Daisy and the three Swedish men who save her from a blizzard - Riven, Eli and Cole. Don't worry - everyone speaks perfect English, otherwise how could the romance happen?

This was mostly enjoyable, although I found most of the characters to be very one-dimensional - especially Cole, who was mean to the point of being rude for no apparent reason except that this was his only personality trait.

The steamy scenes were well written but I would have liked there to be more of an exploration of Daisy's feelings about embarking on a polyamorous relationship within days of meeting these men.

Rating: 4/5

A Merry Little Meet Cute

This had a really interesting premise but it wasn't perfect in the execution.

I get that this was supposed to be about the making of a cheesy Hallmark-style Christmas movie and about how society views plus-sized actors (in particular women) but I felt like I was constantly being hit over the head with these elements - everything in the town was Christmas themed (down to the soap and lube) and the main FMC was referred to as fat at least once per chapter. It was a bit much.

I would have preferred a more mature exploration of Nolan's relationship with his mother and sister. I also found the level of spice to be much lower than I was expecting considering one of the main characters is an adult film star.

I liked it overall, but it dragged a bit and the third-act break-up was fully predictable, as was the resolution.

Rating: 4/5

Exes and O’s (The Influencers #2)

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Set On You before it was released last year, which I enjoyed a lot and so was really looking forward to the sequel ... and I loved it!

This book feels like an homage to bookworms and romance lovers everywhere. I felt seen and represented and I could relate to Tara on so many levels.

The dialogue was super funny, I loved the banter between Tara and Trevor, her firefighter roommate. It was great to see characters from book 1 being featured again, even though I preferred Crystal in her own book more. I thought the development of the central relationship was realistic and worked really well, for me.

This was just all around a great read - it was a cheesy romance that had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions.

For more of my thoughts on this book, check out my guest episode on The Bookish Banter Podcast!

Rating: 5/5

The Man I Never Met

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not at all what I expected ... in a good way.

I expected a light-hearted romantic comedy about a long-distance relationship full of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. While there were funny scenes and a lot of the dialogue was quippy, I'm not sure I would call this a comedy as the main element keeping Hannah and Davey apart is his cancer diagnosis, an extremely serious topic with which the author has personal experience.

I liked both Davey and Hannah - I think Hannah was very relatable, for most of the book she didn't have everything in life figured out and was more-or-less happy to just go with the flow, often to her own detriment. It was nice to see how she matured as the story progressed. I also thought the supporting cast of characters were well developed - everyone who should be likeable, was likeable, and those who weren't supposed to be, were not. I would have liked to see more of Davey's parents.

I didn't really like the writing style at the beginning - it is written in the first person, primarily from Hannah's point of view with some chapters later on from Davey's - and the first few chapters reads like the diary entries of a teenager. It got better though.

Overall, I had a good time reading this. It was nice to revisit London, but to also see the characters in other environments and how differently they behaved.

Rating: 4/5

Tools of Engagement (Hot and Hammered #3)

I generally have a good time with Tessa Bailey's books but this has been perhaps my least favourite so far, but still worthy of 4 stars from me.

I wasn't the biggest Bethany fan in the previous books, but she grew on me. I thought Wes was extremely mature for his age, perhaps a bit TOO mature to be fully believable. I liked them as a couple but I think their romance was a bit too drawn out - this was much more slow-burn than her other books and then extremely rushed at the end.

Stephen is still deplorable, I hope we don't get a book about him and his wife.

Rating: 4/5

Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with my ratings? Let me know in the comments below, via e-mail or DM us on Instagram - we love to hear from you!

Until next time, keep reading!

Lucia