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
Julie’s Mini Reviews:
The Crash: A suspenseful thriller but it was over the top insanity. A pregnant woman crashes in a snowstorm and a family takes her in while the power is out. Then they won’t let her leave… and you don’t really know who is the crazier one and who is capable of what. But it ends well despite being insanity.
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses Book 2): This book was long. It’s been a long, long time since I read ACOTAR, and I took a long break before finally picking up book 2 (like, 10 years long). And it took a really long time to get good, but once it did, it was good!! I enjoyed the new friendships and found family, very much enjoyed the bond growing between F and R, but most of all, the self-discovery of all of Feyre’s new abilities. But wow, did it end on a cliff, and I’m glad the next one is out, so I can just go read it. Well, listen.
Lynn’s Mini Reviews:
THESE BROKEN STARS: I asked AI for a book to read like ILLUMINA. The first list was all books I had read. But this one was on the second list. I had saved it on Goodreads but forgot all about it. Shame on me. It was awesome! And what I needed to get me out of my reading funk. Dual POV with two narrators. I liked Tarver’s storyline more. A soldier who actually has survival skills is very useful when two people crash land on an abandoned planet. Lots of unknowns in the planet and the inhabitants of said planet intrigued me. Tarver and Lilac kept me coming back for more. Definitely hints of ILLUMINAE and AURORA CYCLE. And highly recommended for readers who enjoyed those books.
LOVE AT FIRST BOOK: I needed a serious palate cleanser after reading SUNRISE ON THE REAPING. I had randomly purchased this a few months back on a 2 for 1 Audible sale. (I can always find one book I want; but the second book is a challenge!) This book sucked me right away in when Kieran is grilling Emily for magical book selections for a reader. Her suggestion of the SIMON SNOW books was a wow moment. I knew I’m going to love Emily right away. I appreciate how well Siobhan and Emily click. Their relationship was more interesting to me at some points than Emily and Kieran’s. There are some emotional gut punch scenes, to be honest. But I did really enjoy this story. The two book nerd characters and their back and forth with book quotes is original. And now excuse me while I find a way to pick up my life and move to Ireland to work in a book shop. I can seriously see myself living in a small cottage, having tea and elevensies, visiting castles, and taste-testing for my new friend\cafe owner.
FINAL OPTION: Meh. This book took weeks to read. Not because anything is wrong with it. But more because I was not motivated to sit and read. It is also a good example of when authors should find a conclusion to long running series. The premise at the beginning of the novel (that the crew of the Oregon has gone rogue) is completely improbable if you’ve read any of the other books. The action is fine, but interspersed with too much monologuing by the bad guys. I did enjoy the scene with Pitt and Sandecker (from that other series I gave up on!). I’m ready to give up on this series. Or maybe I’ll at least stick with the audio. That moves much quicker than actual reading.
THE DEVILS: This one is a meh to ok. The premise is interesting. A priest, vampire, werewolf, necromancer, mercenary, elf, and cursed man are tasked to escort an orphan woman. I enjoyed getting to know this motley group of characters. All are well developed individuals, most of whom I could empathize with. The novel is told from all of their different POV’s. Lots of quest and journey in this book. The setting is interesting, in that it takes place in a familiar Europe (the Holy City, Venice, Serbia, etc), but with mythical characters. Abercrombie’s writing is always descriptive. This time around, maybe too descriptive. Some scenes drone on too long for me. There was this stage in the plot when there was 5 hours left, and everything was resolved. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. And boy, did it ever. The last 4 hours of the book were so much better than first 20 hours!
Books we reviewed in full this month:
- [8 May] Sundays with Grandma by Siavoche Siassi ★★★★½
- [19 May] The Secret Girl (The Lonely Raven Trilogy, #1) by Erika Fair ★★★★
- [30 May] Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5) by Suzanne Collins ★★★★½
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I got an ARC of A Court of Thorns and Roses and then never went on in the series even though I loved it. I really do need to go on. These Broken Stars and Love at First Book look like ones I’d enjoy too. Thanks for sharing all these reviews!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…L-L-L-Little Reviews #76: May 2025