Mini Reviews Wrap Up July 2025

Posted July 31, 2025 by Julie S. in Wrap Ups and Mini Reviews / 1 Comment

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:

Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, Bk 2) (All Souls Series): This is another one of those it took me 10 years to read the sequel situations. I have had the hardback on my shelf forever, but with life and all, I finally just did the audio from the library. I remember really loving the first book so I wanted to continue. I enjoyed the frolicking through the past, exploring Diana’s abilities and learning about her and Matthew’s history. It wasn’t as compelling as the first book, but it was good. I’ll be getting the next one from the library soon enough.

A School so Gorgeous and Fatal (Counterpart Academy Book 1): This is a dystopian YA where humans have a counterpart shadow (which is a mythical creature). I wouldn’t call this dark academia, while it takes place at a school environment, it’s really the society that’s the conflict. The FMC finds out on her birthday all these secrets of this shadow world that have been kept by her, and at the same time she suffers a tragedy that she vows to avenge. Her whole childhood she has been training in strategic war board games, and has special skills to lead a battle – skills she gets to use in real life all too soon.
The premise is really interesting and I quite liked how once you find your shadow counterpart, you two are linked for life – and death. It’s like a twin you have telepathy with. I liked how the FMC was strong and continued to stand up and fight for what was right. I enjoyed the found family friendships that were forming, which is expected in a boarding school and wartime situation. The secrets and bombshells and betrayals kept the plot fun though the battles and commanding scenes were longer than I would care for. The book doesn’t give away all the secrets so I wonder how much the FMC’s mother knows about it all. The overall novel felt lower YA in the way it read and told the story. There was no romance though there was some tension and attraction, the violence wasn’t overly graphic, etc. It did feel kind of choppy where it felt it jumped around a bit – such as when the FMC tells us about all her time spent with “Jupiter”, when prior to that we hadn’t heard of her exposure to that world. The book also could have used more descriptions as it mostly focused on the FMC narrator and dialogue. It felt like I was missing a deep emotional connection with the characters but I can’t quite say why that was. The cover is pretty – yes a sword cover that’s actually pretty. Not sure the sky with flowers and sparkles actually makes sense in the story, or the sword since they used long range weaponry, but it’s still pretty. I received an ARC copy of this book and am providing a review voluntarily.

All Better Now: This was definitely a thinky book, and a this could really happen in real life kind of book. It was not a plot book as it was more of a dive into what could happen with a virus that made everyone always happy and altruistic. So that made it kind of unpleasant in that realistic society as a whole is really only in it to see how they can profit kind of way. It was a bit on the boring side as there was no exciting or thrilling plot. Definitely not my normal escapism type of read.

The Fountain’s Heir: A Shifter Sci-Fi Fantasy: I received this as an ARC. I enjoyed the descriptive writing style especially in the characters and their movements in the magic. I did enjoy the overall drive the main characters had to make the best choices for their world, not for themselves. I liked the alternating POVs, though it felt like those were not synched in time of the plot. I did feel like either the story should have been a novella with less repetition during the trials, or the story needed to be a lot more fleshed out with the worldbuilding and the relationship/romance between our characters. Everything felt like it was a done deal, with no romance developing plot line to explain why they are so bonded and what motivates them to choose each other. Where is the slow burn? Where is the passion? Also, the trials and sabotage from the people in charge were very repetitive in nature and didn’t progress the plot for a while. It felt like we were reading the same thing in each chapter and it sounded like this “And then everything around us shattered” “I’ll find the truth” “we’ll face it together” ” I’ll find him.. even if I have to tear this kingdom apart to do it” things like that – in every chapter for pages and pages. So that’s where it could have been either much more concise, or have a lot more story/plot/development. Overall it was interesting, but not on par with my expectations or the other ARCs I have been reading recently. Also, is it sci-fi or is it fantasy? Sci-fi is TECH. Fantasy is MAGIC. This is Fantasy.

Lynn’s Mini Reviews:

JUST ONE DAMNED THING AFTER ANOTHER: This book is BANGING. 12 Stars out of 5. It’s a smash up of genres in the best possible way. Think Timeless (the TV series), The Ministry of Time, Jurassic Park, with action, (some) romance, betrayal, romance, found family, and dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, people! It is a bit timey-whimey, with how time travel arrives to St. Mary’s Institute. I love the idea of historians being trained to observe history in real time, with the internal debate on whether or not one should interfere in history. I adored the romance aspects, as it added even higher emotional connection to these characters. I’m hyped that there are a bunch more books in this series. I’m ready to read them now!

EVERYONE THIS CHRISTMAS HAS A SECRET: Jumping on the Christmas in July trend. But make it hot and humid Australia. (Kind of just like Orlando.) This series is great. Fun characters. Rules to follow. And this one has Christmas Special rules. I also appreciate that, while part of a series, each book has a complete plot line. Lots of suspects. Lots of clever tricks that end up in two murders. There are magicians involved, so of course the murders are clever! Fun, short read.

AUSTEN AT SEA: I don’t know about this one, folks. I didn’t really love it as I was hoping. It has the hallmarks of Austen (sisters, matchmaking, some journey, lots of literary notes). It is set in 1865, with sisters Charlotte & Henrietta struggling against societal expectations and restrictions on women. Let’s break this down.

Aspects I liked:

Rhetoric and oratory of the women in particular.
That the men of the Massachusetts supreme court are using their summer off to read and discuss Austen’s works, one per month. They have some very insightful discussions and thoughts about the novels.
Guessing which couples will end up together, romantically.

Aspects I didn’t like as much:

Male narrator. Who picks a male narrator for a book that’s mainly focused on women? Sure, there are male POV’s in the novel. But I think I would have enjoyed a female narrator more.
After all that fighting for women’s rights, we aren’t in much better position in 2025???? That REALLY irritates.
There were some chapters that I really enjoyed in the courtroom, fighting for women’s rights, with suffragettes stamping their feet. But the epilogue really undermined those scenes.

Overall, meh. Maybe it’s a case of not the book, but not for me.

WORST DETECTIVES IN THE FEDERATION: The continues adventures in saving the universe with Jessica and Brad. Or maybe misadventures is a better description, as these two definitely have some misadventures. I enjoyed the ever growing team that Jessica and Brad have put together. This time around, Brad’s ex-wife is their client. Lots of space adventures this time, with super-secret spy space ships. Good times all around.

ALL BETTER NOW: Like Julie said above – a more character-driven, introspective, thinking book. And also not my usual type of read, either. Even having read other Shusterman books and enjoyed them. I’m somewhere between 3.5 and 4. It’s really well done and I don’t know what I could say there was anything wrong with it, per se. Fine while I was listening, but not compelled to listen outside of that. I didn’t really find that I liked or empathized with any of the characters. The story is a bit too realistic, with a pandemic theme. Interesting twist on those who had the virus vs those who did not. The end is open enough to allow for additional books.

CHEESECAKE: Fine, but not what I was expecting (a history of cheesecake, similar to Kurlansky’s SALT). Instead, this is a fictional (I think?!?) account of a New York neighborhood and the characters within. And how a few of those characters attempt to make Cato the Elder’s cheesecake recipe, which is more than 2000 years old. And very much not a ‘modern’ recipe. The characters are an interesting mix, but none of whom I’d empathize with, or want to be friends with, really. Lots of conversations about rent control as well. The only section of the book that discusses cheesecake, its history, and recipes is the appendix. If you are looking for cheesecake info, skip the novel and just read the appendix.

Books we reviewed in full this month:

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