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!
Agent of Enchantment (Dark Fae FBI Book 1) I do love me some Urban Fantasy, and so this was an exciting book club pick. Also, the first book club meeting I attended in FOREVER so super stoked about that. The book itself, it was pretty good. It felt more like a YA in adult clothes, as our main character awoke her fae side while on a case in London. Turns out she’s something kind of cool and unique, and a little bit hated in the fae world. And she’s intuitive and smart, so it doesn’t take her forever to come to terms with her creature-ism. She rolls with it and keeps going, getting in tons of trouble, having friends (male friends of course come to her rescue) but she is tough and fights for herself. The world-building was quick, too quick for a fae novel. You get there are types of fae magic, but fae usually is a very intricate and developed culture. Here, we get just a glimpse, but this is likely because most of the story unfolds in the human realm, with fae characters. Overall a good read, fast-paced and exciting. Great audio narration. 4 stars.
Immortal Descent: An Urban Fantasy (The Immortal Series Book 1) The creature theme of this book was a fresh take! I liked the background on the Lorns, that they are descendent from the Nephilim and survive by sucking out a bit (or a lot) of someone’s essence/energy. The story itself, well it had so much potential but it didn’t do it for me. I was bored with all the back and forth between the Order and the Alliance. I didn’t really understand what either of them stood for, and why they were fighting, or what they were fighting for. It was so much talk, but not really much was said. It ended in a cliffy, I want to know what happens to our special reborn Ethan, and what his sister finds. It was just starting to get good with lots of questions built up at the end.
All the Stars and Teeth: Pirates. Mermaids. Magic. Curses. Sea Monsters. All very enjoyable. But I kind of felt like I was reading all the fantasy tropes the author could think of, all thrown together into one book. The world-building is overwhelming, especially at the beginning. The plot and characters are very YA. The love triangle between Amora, Bastian, and Ferrick isn’t much of a triangle. Clearly we all know Bastian is the clear winner! But Ferrick does have some appeal. Good. But not great. I’ll probably eventually get around to reading the second book. Probably somewhere between a 3 1/2 to 4 Stars.
Death Distilled: Some hilarity, especially when Liam (the dog) and Oliver (the sheep) are involved. A cozy mystery to curl up with. Good amateur sleuthing. I really like Abi’s three words technique for people. Good flirting and arguing between Abi and Grant. The audio narration is well done. And I think if a member of one of my favorite bands asked me to solve a murder like Abi, I’d be on board as well!
Books we reviewed this month:
- [14 Sep] Maggie the Moose Runs Loose! by Victoria Ruiz ★★★★
- [24 Sep] Momoir: A New Mom’s Journey to Embracing Her Not-So-Perfect Motherhood by Alyssa DeRose ★★★★
- [26 Sep] I AM AVA, SEEKER IN THE SNOW by Catherine Stier ★★★★
