This month I decided to let my moods dictate the books I picked up. Also, I decided to add it to my goal that each month I would read or listen to at least one nonfiction book. So this month’s reads are a little bit of everything from romance to fantasy, to nonfiction, I am willing to bet there is something for everyone in this mix!
As you follow along with my monthly bookshelf, I will be sharing my reviews and ratings.
1 star: Did not like it
2 stars: It was okay
3 stars: Liked it
4 stars: Really liked it
5 stars: It was amazing
I hope that you are inspired by the books that I share and form your own opinions. Let me know what you think, do you have any suggestions on what I should read next? You can follow me on Goodreads or head over to Hunkiedorië’s Amazon storefront to get your own copies and read along. Like what you see here, be sure to check out Hunkiedorië’s bookshelf posts as well.
Click here to find my full 2023 Reading List on Amazon
*Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What I’ve read so far:
Disclaimer: there may be a few spoilers; if you read on, you have been warned.
Mighty Miley’s February Bookshelf 2023
Mighty Miley’s March Bookshelf 2023
And now…may I present…
Mighty Miley’s April 2023 Bookshelf:
It Starts with Us
by Colleen Hoover
Media: Paperback | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Tags: Second Chance Romance, Long Lost Family, Happily Ever After
Before It Ends with Us, it started with Atlas. Colleen Hoover tells fan favorite Atlas’s side of the story and shares what comes next in this long-anticipated sequel to the “glorious and touching” (USA TODAY) #1 New York Times bestseller It Ends with Us.
Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil co-parenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that, for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.
But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.
Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the “gripping, pulse-pounding” (Sarah Pekkanen, author of Perfect Neighbors) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off. Revealing more about Atlas’s past and following Lily as she embraces a second chance at true love while navigating a jealous ex-husband, it proves that “no one delivers an emotional read like Colleen Hoover” (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author).
Mighty Miley Review: This book was decent, but it was honestly a bit of a letdown for me after how much I enjoyed It Ends with Us. This sequel just didn’t feel necessary to me. But If It Ends with Us was too heavy for your tastes, this is a much lighter-hearted book with the same great characters.
Court of the Vampire Queen
by Katee Robert
Media: Paperback | Genre: Fantasy Romance | Tags: Vampire, Reverse Harem, Spicy
Three Powerfully Alluring Vampire Men. And One Queen to Rule Them All
All Mina ever wanted was to escape her father’s control. Half human, half vampire, she lived eternally torn between two worlds, never fully experiencing the pleasures of either—until her father chose her as the pawn in his latest political move, gifting her to the darkly powerful and dangerously seductive Malachi Zion.
Malachi is not a vampire to be trifled with. He rules with an iron fist and has a reputation for the darkest of sins. But the longer Mina spends with him, the more she realizes he’s not the monster she first thought—and as fear bleeds into lust, then trust, then something more, Malachi opens Mina up to a world she never knew could be hers for the taking: including the love of Malachi’s two closest friends and companions.
Now surrounded by all three men, the center of their shockingly seductive world, Mina may finally have the power to face down her father and take back the life—and crown—that by all rights should be hers.
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN.
**NOTE: Court of the Vampire Queen combines all three books in the Bloodline Vampires series.
Mighty Miley Review: This was my first reverse harem/why choose book and I fell in love with this trope! Loved the spice, the vampires, and the plot! What kept it from a higher rating was the constant repeating of items from the FMC’s past. These three acts were initially three separate books, and it seems they were intended to allow someone to read the individual books outside of the series order without being confused, but when put all together it’s a little annoying. Also, I would have loved a stronger FMC throughout the first 2/3 of the book. But all in all, it was a fun read and I highly recommend it if you like a steamy book!!
A Part of Your World
by Abby Jimenez
Media: Paperback | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Tags: Multiple Viewpoint, Opposites Attract, Age Gap
After a wild bet, a gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddling with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.
While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.
Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?
The New York Times bestselling author of Life’s Too Short delivers a refreshingly modern fairy tale perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Emily Henry.
Mighty Miley Review: This is my favorite Abby Jimenez book I have read so far. I absolutely adored this love story and the hurdles they faced. This is a quick read that has some fun twists, with the age gap being that the FMC is older than the MMC.
Daisy Jones & The Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Media: Audiobook | Genre: Fiction | Tags: Multiple Viewpoint, Rockstar Lifestyle, 1970’s Era
For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, and their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split.
Nobody ever knew why. Until now.
They were lovers and friends and brothers and rivals. They couldn’t believe their luck until it ran out. This is their story of the early days and the wild nights, but everyone remembers the truth differently.
The only thing they all know for sure is that from the moment Daisy Jones walked barefoot onstage at the Whisky, their lives were irrevocably changed.
Making music is never just about the music. And sometimes it can be hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin.
Mighty Miley Review: I enjoyed the different perspectives. But just not my go-to subject matter, as musicians and band stories never seem to really draw me in. Overall an enjoyable listen, but for me just didn’t live up to the hype.
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
Media: Hardcover | Genre: Historical Fiction | Tags: Multiple Perspectives, Feminist, Historical Fiction
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s, and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize-nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
But, like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
Mighty Miley Review: From one book that didn’t live up to the hype to a book that absolutely did! This book was impeccably written with a constantly changing perspective, including that of the human-like dog Six Thirty. This was an inspiring story with a truly unique FMC. This was one of those books that made me sad it ended because I just kept wanting more.
A Perfect Vintage
by Chelsea Fagan
Media: ebook | Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Tags: French Chateau, Age Gap, Summer Getaway
Old money. Younger men. One intoxicating summer.
Lea Mortimer has everything under control. As a highly sought-after consultant specializing in transforming dilapidated French country estates into boutique hotels, she relishes her freedom as a single, child-free woman. And her life is full, occupied as much by her impeccable historic renovations as by the aristocratic — and often exhausting — French families she works for.
But after the heated divorce of her closest friend and cousin, Stephanie Bryce, Lea finds herself taking Stephanie and her college-aged daughter to the Loire Valley in France for the summer. As they tag along for Lea’s latest work assignment, despite their best intentions, they threaten to complicate the tightrope act of launching the hotel on time. And when Lea unexpectedly falls for the much-younger son of her boss, she quickly learns the beauty and danger of losing control.
As affairs bloom in the idyllic chateau, wars of inheritance play out between the family, and betrayals threaten even the most solid relationships. Lea realizes that it’s not just a broken heart she’s risking, but her entire, meticulously-constructed life blowing up in her face.
Mighty Miley Review: This was a great read, and my only complaint is that I wanted more!!
This was an extremely well-written and complex FMC that was a joy to read about. Overall, the story was a fun read, with an older woman and younger man (slightly taboo and off-limits), that was slightly spicy, think PG-13. The French culture and descriptions of the revitalization of the French chateau were the perfect treat in this story. At times it felt like a little taste of HGTV in book form, and I loved it!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Orsay Press for gifting me this ebook, all opinions are my own.
Desperate Measures
by Katee Robert
Media: Paperback | Genre: Romance | Tags: Anti-Hero, Spicy, Disney Retelling
My Savior… Or My Ruin? One night, and my entire life went up in flames. All because of him. Jafar. As my world burned down around me, he offered me a choice. Walk away with nothing but my freedom… Or rise to his challenge and win my fortune back.
I bargained.
I lost. Now Jafar owns me, and even as my mind rails against his rules, my body loves the punishments he deals out when I break them. But a gilded cage is still a prison, I’ll do anything to obtain my freedom. Even betray the man I’m falling for.
**Content Warning: This book contains depictions of consensual non-consent.
Mighty Miley Review: This was the perfect spicy, quick read. Jafar was the perfect bad boy/anti-hero!
The Woman Who Smashed Codes
by Jason Fagone
Media: Paperback & Audiobook | Genre: Nonfiction | Tags: WW II, Women in History, Biography
Joining the ranks of Hidden Figures and In the Garden of Beasts, the incredible true story of the greatest codebreaking duo that ever lived, an American woman and her husband who invented the modern science of cryptology together and used it to confront the evils of their time, solving puzzles that unmasked Nazi spies and helped win World War II
In 1916, at the height of World War I, brilliant Shakespeare expert Elizebeth Smith went to work for an eccentric tycoon on his estate outside Chicago. The tycoon had close ties to the U.S. government, and he soon asked Elizebeth to apply her language skills to an exciting new venture: code-breaking. There she met the man who would become her husband, groundbreaking cryptologist William Friedman.
In The Woman Who Smashed Codes, Jason Fagone chronicles the life of Elizebeth Smith, who played an integral role in our nation’s history for forty years. After World War I, Smith used her talents to catch gangsters and smugglers during Prohibition, then accepted a covert mission to discover and expose Nazi spy rings that were spreading like wildfire across South America, advancing ever closer to the United States. As World War II raged, Elizebeth fought a highly classified battle of wits against Hitler’s Reich, cracking multiple versions of the Enigma machine used by German spies. Meanwhile, inside an Army vault in Washington, William worked furiously to break Purple, the Japanese version of Enigma–and eventually succeeded, at a terrible cost to his personal life. Fagone unveils America’s code-breaking history through the prism of Smith’s life, bringing into focus the unforgettable events and colorful personalities that would help shape modern intelligence.
Mighty Miley Review: Elizebeth is a truly inspiring woman, and hearing the story of her life and the unsung contributions and achievements she accomplished was a joy! Highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in WW II and/or impactful women who step up and shine above the confines of their gender in a time that didn’t make it easy for them!
When He Was Wicked
by Julia Quinn
Media: Paperback | Genre: Historical Fiction | Tags: He falls first, Regency Romance, Slow-burn
In every life, there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one’s life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London’s most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton.
After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca’s surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer—the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin.
But that was then… Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still, she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love… until one dangerous night when she steps innocently into his arms, and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets…
Mighty Miley Review: Another good book from Julia Quinn. I am not normally a fan of slow burns, but I really enjoyed this one! Recommend for anyone that loves regency romance, slow burns, and he falls first tropes.
The Fine Print
by Lauren Asher
Media: Paperback | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Tags: Workplace Romance, Grumpy x Sunshine, Multiple Viewpoints
Rowan
I’m in the business of creating fairy tales. Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels. Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland. My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her. Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias. By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late. People like me don’t get happy endings. Not when we’re destined to ruin them.
Zahra
After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, I should have been fired. Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job. The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I’d ever met. Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn’t care. At least not until I discovered his secret. It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn’t fix everything. Especially not us.
The Fine Print is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones following three billionaire brothers.
Mighty Miley Review: A sweet story that’s good for anyone who likes grumpy x sunshine, and workplace romance. Some of it felt a little corny to me, but overall, an enjoyable read. Not positive if I will read the other two books in this series, but a part of me is curious if either of those is a little less corny.
My Top 5 Reads of 2023 (thus far)
- A Court of Mist and Fury
- Lessons in Chemistry
- A Spinster’s Guide to Danger and Dukes
- To Sir Philip, with Love
- Ugly Love
Author for the Hunkiedorië team and sharing my experiences with you all! Some of my favorite things include traveling, adventures with my two dogs, craft beer, cupcakes, and time with family and friends. I love getting out and trying new things whether that is a new restaurant, workout, recipe or a new business.
Leave a Reply