Mini Reviews Wrap Up February 2025

Posted February 28, 2025 by Julie S. in Wrap Ups and Mini Reviews / 0 Comments

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!

Mini Book Reviews

What Alice Forgot: I really enjoyed this read. I’m interested in memory and understanding and how that changes our sense of self. Alice hits her head and forgets the past 10 years. She wakes up to 3 kids and a failing marriage while only remembering being newly pregnant and happily married. In the past 10 years, she has changed so much that her younger self described the new Alice as “insufferable.” As she explores her new life and bits and pieces of what changed over time, she sees them in a new light. It is very interesting to be able to examine your trauma as a fact and not while you are experiencing the pain. I enjoyed her utter confusion at how her future self reacts to certain situations. This book is a fun way to explore how our inner child relates to our current self and how we got here. I enjoyed how once she had her memories back she was able to merge her inner child and that Alice of 10 years ago into her current “insufferable” self and change. I wish there was more to the after. The part after the memories return. The book abruptly jumps around and we only get the truth in the epilogue. But it gave me a lot of my own thoughts like what would I feel if I also lost the last 10 years. My son is 10, would I know him or forget him? How would I react to our life of moving around every couple years based on where the Army sends us, when 10 years ago we thought we were staying in Texas for good (since my husband was still in the National Guard). Definitely an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

Leather & Lark: The Ruinous Love Trilogy: This second book in the series was much more serious and deeper than the first. The first was funny banter, which is what I wanted more of, but I did really enjoy seeing these two characters break down each other’s walls and truly go from enemies to lovers. The dual narration audio was great!

I Who Have Never Known Men This is one of those not enjoyable books, but one of those books that make you think. I read this for a local book club and most in our group didn’t quite like it – I mean, it’s sad, lonely, and there are so many questions. But that is the point. The author lived through the Holocaust and we agreed with the theory that this book is her way of coping and thinking through her feelings. Why are these bad things happening? What is humanity? And there were no answers. And there never will be. The narrator is a young girl (the only child) who came of age in captivity with older women. She had no memories of life before, and they all did. She explores her experiences clinically, without emotion, wandering a desolate world searching for answers.

EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT: Seemed a fitting read while travelling, including on a train. I even had a train car with a shower at one point, just like Ern! I’m not one of those readers who spends a bunch of time while reading attempting to figure out the crimes. But I’m glad Stevenson lays out the information for readers at the beginning and then answers all the questions at the end. This novel is well plotted, quick paced, and fun. I appreciate Ern’s sarcasm and dark sense of humor. Enjoyable and reprehensible characters (two separate groups!). Interesting to see how the story unfolds and how the train plays a part in the story. Some fun murder weapons and motives. Great read overall.

THE WORST RESCUERS IN THE REPUBLIC: Dang, how I love this series! Space pirates. Space Nazis. Blowing up space ships. Could do with less torture. 😉 Enjoyed seeing Jessica come into her own as a character. Rather hilarious that everyone and their second in command knows of Brad’s and Jessica’s secret identities. Fast paced action. Hilarious sarcasm. The additional squad members round out the story-telling. Highly recommended for any sci fi fans!

THE MINISTRY OF TIME: I’m not really sure how to review this one – it’s got a lot going on. Time Travel (forcibly), romance (kind of), spy-ish, speculative fiction, with some historic fiction chapters thrown in. All of it mashed together in a narrative I couldn’t put down. One of the most original books I’ve read in a while. On par with Sylvain Neuvel and THIS IS HOW YOU LOOSE THE TIME WAR. The time travel portion, where historic people are grabbed and brought to the present is the most intriguing to me. It does get a bit timey-wimey towards the end. And makes one wonder how we’d survive if the same thing happened to us. There’s also that connection between the travelers that’s interesting. They don’t have a lot in common individually, but together make a strong team. I would have loved more POV’s from Maggie and Arthur. Thoroughly enjoyed the romance aspect. Graham is dreaming in that Victorian/Darcy kind of way. I adored Graham and the other travelers. The government portion of the story was frustrating for sure, as most government interferences are. Wholly loved this book!

Books we reviewed in full this month:

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