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!
Flip-Flops and Murder (Barefoot Sleuth Mysteries ~ Book 1) This was a cute beach read. Light and breezy, definitely a cozy mystery and not a heavy thriller. Enjoyable lazy read from the beach and my couch. Good catching it as a freebie on Kindle.
Eve’s Ducklings: A super cute book for kids to learn how to be kind to animals. Eve sees some adorable ducklings at the lake and wants to grab them and pet them – but she learns that is not going to be OK. After some attempts, she finds the best and kindest way to get their attention. The illustrations were adorable, too. There’s even a little something that happens to Eve’s hat if you’re paying attention to the drawings. Thanks to the author for providing a review copy.
Moxie (the movie. Not the book): I thought I’d be as entranced by this movie as I was by the book. (Read my review of Moxie, the book, here.) Honestly, I thought the movie was ok. Don’t get me wrong. The movie was cute and typical of the YA Genre on Netflix. But I was missing that spark or that reason why the girls started the Moxie group. Seth is still the perfect book boyfriend, supporting Viv. The movie has a diverse cast, which was good to see. Overall, I’m more likely to re-watch the final To All The Boys movie than I am to re-watch the Moxie movie.
A Court of Silver Flames: The storyline is very engaging and I love seeing Nesta find herself. Though I wish she could have done that sooner than halfway through an 800 page book. The sparks between Nesta and Cassian fly off the pages. But there are A LOT of very graphic sex scenes. A LOT. (One 90 minute commute started and ended with sex scenes, for example.) It feels gratuitous and doesn’t really drive the plot. As you can tell, I didn’t really love this one. There are no surprises to the plot. And it even feels a bit Hungar Games-y towards the end. I did enjoy the Valkyrie storyline. Next time, I want more female warriors and a lot less superfluous sex scenes. 3 1/2 Stars.
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors: I picked this one up after winning the second one in the series. And I cannot resist an Austen retelling. This novel does Austen justice, unlike some others that I’ve read. It’s cute and engaging. I appreciate the pairing of a surgeon who never remembers to eat with a chef! And the way D.J. talks about soufflés and salted caramel are sensual and enough to drive any food lover crazy. You know that scene? The one where Darcy proclaims his love to Elizabeth, in spite of her family et al? Ms. Dev’s take on that was an emotional gut-punch with some seriously amazing writing. I applaud the flips on the original story, especially on Wickham. The audio narration is well done, with distinct voices for the characters and an inviting narrator. All-around worth checking out!
Books we reviewed this month:
That duck book looks adorable. I hope you have a great April.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…The Sunday Post #269
Happy April!