The Bookish Mindset

2023 may already feel like an age away but I want to look back on what I loved last year and share my favourites with you.

Romance is one of my go to genres, I’m such a hopeless romantic and I love watching the characters stories play out.

Rosewater – Liv Little. The sapphic romance of 2023. Founder of Galdem, this is Little’s debut and it certainly packs a punch. Rosewater is marketed as a romance but has a lot of character development and complex relationships so I’d almost say this starts to lean towards the literary genre. Nevertheless, it’s a beautifully written book with stunning poetry pieces too.

Happy Place – Emily Henry. This one stands out for me as quite different from the rest of Henry’s work. We love the tension and the banter that Henry writes into her characters and while Happy Place is no different in that aspect, this one felt like it hit harder. We have a couple who have broken up but yet to tell their friends, so have to pretend to be together to keep the peace.

Cakes for the Grump – Sookh Kaur. So this one was super cute and a glorious case of the grumpy/sunshine trope. The first debut and self published author on the list too. Our MC’s are a personal chef and a surly business man, have a guess which is which. Excited to read more of this author in the future.

The Roommate Risk – Talia Hibbert. If you’ve been here a while you’ll know I’m a Talia Hibbert stan. I adore everything I’ve read of hers so far and this one was no different. Close proximity along with brothers best friend? Glorious. Hibbert can do no wrong and I’m thoroughly enjoying working through her backlist.

Say You’ll Be My Jaan – Naina Kumar. I’m an absolute sucker for the fake dating trope when it’s done well and this one is *chefs kiss*. Paired with the grumpy/sunshine trope, I really enjoyed this debut and bawled my eyes out at the ending. We begin as our MC’s are being set up for arranged marriages by their parents, and well, you can guess the rest!

Lovelight Farms – B.K. Borison. So I’m definitely late to the party with this one and wow am I excited to get caught up in it! A set of four books (the fourth is out later this year), each set in a different season, these have been all over Bookstagram and with good reason. Super cute friends to lovers, set in a small town on a Christmas tree farm. Perfect for Christmas reading!

I’d love to know which of these you’ve enjoyed or what you choose from the list, leave a comment below!

Buy all these and more through my Bookshop.org storefront here.

Last updated 24/03/2024