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!
Blood and Snow: A Vampire Fairy Tale (Seven Magics Academy Book 1) Grabbed this as a free kindle download. Quite enjoyable, and I like the retelling aspect of Snow White, the 7 brothers next door, but with vampires! I read it in one sitting, so it was quite short. The main character, Snow, acts like a typical teenage girl, and that gets aggravating, but is expected. One moment she’s learning and accepting her new self, the next she’s ignoring calls and texts and avoiding her friends. You know, typical human-turned-partial-vampire teenager. I wanted more world-building, wanted to get know the characters better, but perhaps this unravels as the series progresses.
Incense and Sensibility: Like Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavor’s, Yesh and India’s intense feelings for each other are palpable. Ms. Dev really understands longing! I enjoyed Yesh’s backstory as it unfolded through the other novels, so reading his happily ever after was enjoyable. I will say, like the other books, this is more of an inspired by Austen than a re-telling. I did really enjoy the twist on Col. Brandon! And I wish I had India as a yoga teacher! Overall, I really loved this series!
The Unbinding of Mary Reade: The only positive aspect of this book is that it’s short – under 300 pages. Otherwise, it’s not very pirate-y, which was a disappointment. I didn’t really connect with the characters. And TBH, I struggled to remember which character was speaking, Mary or Anne. The major point I learned from this was it’s difficult being a woman in the 1700’s, which I knew already. 2 1/2 stars. And a skip this if you are thinking it’s worth reading recommendation. Also, no audiobook as of now. Who has time to sit and read! I did check out Mary Read’s Wikipedia page. Read that instead.
Crush: Oh, man. I am loving this series. And after meeting Hudson, I can see the appeal. Jaxon is kind of a dullard compared to his brother! I was ardently Team Jaxon and the beginning of the novel. But by the end, I am torn, but leaning towards Team Hudson! I really appreciate his snark and support of Grace. But I also am glad to see that Grace is becoming a self-rescuing princess! While I enjoy Grace’s POV, having Hudson or Jaxon’s POV would be a great addition to the series.
Books we reviewed this month:
- [7 Sep] Creatrix Rising: Unlocking the Power of Midlife Women by Stephanie Raffelock ★★★★★
- [17 Sep] Snow Globe Travelers by K.A. Cummins ★★★½
- [30 Sep] Kobee Manatee: Climate Change and the Great Blue Hole Hazard by Robert Scott Thayer ★★★★½
