Here at Chapter Break, we don’t always write a full review of every book we read. Well, now we decided to do these monthly wrap-up posts with roundups of our reviews this month and mini-reviews to fill in the gaps. Enjoy!
The lovely author sent us this book to enjoy.
My kiddo loves some dinosaurs so we certainly enjoyed reading this book. I think the best part about this read is how fun and imaginative it is. It embodies playful parenting, entertaining kids in the hardware store with the search for dinosaurs (in the shapes and shadows of the items sold there) while the mom does her errands. Brilliant, since it keeps the “Why are we here so long” at bay. I used a similar concept this morning at the hardware store to keep my kiddo from combusting. The illustrations are fun and cute, and this book is great as it teaches the different types of dinosaurs and their pronunciations. Great for reading aloud to kiddos and later for reading on their own.
I participated in the book launch for Bo the Bat.
Bo the Bat is a sweet book about a misunderstood little bat who just wanted to play with the kids but they were afraid of him. Bo the Bat teaches the kids all about bats so they won’t be afraid anymore and will play with him. Great for facts learning and Halloween reading.
I liked how the main character is a regular human girl, Jude, growing up in Faery. The story starts off with a bloody display of typical Faery Court cruelty and holds no punches throughout. Jude trains as a warrior and works hard to do the right thing while trying to survive in Faery. She makes dangerous alliances, painful decisions, and shows her grit time and time again. We know Faery is a cruel and deadly place, and yet this book’s turns of events are shocking and exciting. Definitely need to read book two in anticipation of the 3rd book releasing later this year. The audio is wonderful by the way. Great audiobook.
Grin and Beard It: Honestly, I’m giving this a 2 for the first 50% and a 4 for the second 50%. It took me half the book to warm up to Jethro and Sienna. I just didn’t care. All the flirty back and forth was somewhat witty. I was just not that into it. I was put off by Sienna constantly being referred to as ‘fat’. I’m not disputing the fact that we could use more curvy women in romances. My issue is what does the size of her body have to do with the size of her heart? And how, truthfully, she is probably an average size for a woman. The situation just wasn’t for me. Jethro’s straight-forward nature is refreshing. But lacking in that certain romantic quality for me. And the Winston Brothers (or at least so far Duane and Jethro) seem to have the same technique of backing women against walls (or trees or cars) to ravish them. That trope is played out for me. But the Cletus quips in this book have me really looking forward to his story!
Shadow and Bone: I liked this one, probably more than Six of Crows. I think what I liked most is that, even though it’s the first in a series, we have a definitive ending with a set up for the next book. And not just a giant cliff-hanger. Audio narration was good. I’ll certainly be checking out the rest of this series. And some fanart while I’m at it!
Pumpkinheads: Adorable. Punny. Perfect for fall reading. Ms. Hicks’s drawings really compliment Ms. Rowell’s storytelling. Or anytime reading! And like Deja, I, too want all the fall treats.
Books we reviewed this month:
- [1 Sep] YAZZY'S AMAZING YARN by CATHEY GRAHAM NICKELL ★★★★
- [13 Sep] Negative Zero by Ireland Gill ★★★½
- [26 Sep] The Fire Prophecy by Alicia Rades, Megan Linski ★★★½
