Mini Reviews Wrap Up February 2026

Posted February 28, 2026 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

Julie’s Mini Reviews:

Scythe & Sparrow: The Ruinous Love Trilogy: Finally finished this series! These books are a dark and dirty good time! The first is still my favorite in the trilogy but this was a lot of fun too. I liked how this book and the second book overlapped timelines so we got a bit of what was happening from the other couple. I had forgotten a lot about book 2 so some of it felt out of place at first. The third act breakup was so tropey but the letters were everything. And the raccoon! The set of epilogues from the other siblings’ POVs was a nice touch too to wrap up bringing all the characters together.

Finding Mr. Write: Ok this was kinda cute. I mean, formulaic, and silly at times, but also cute and funny at times. Good rom com for a bookish pallet cleanser after a devastating fantasy read for example. I liked the premise, because why do men still get published more easily than women? The third act breakup was over the top, but I guess I get it with their explanations. But I liked how they communicated at the end and worked through all the issues. So much can be resolved if characters just talk to each other. I also enjoyed how absolutely goofy and awkward the hot guy was. Like that just made him loveable. I enjoyed the Duet narration on the audiobook.

This Story Might Save Your Life: A Novel: This book was a ride! It’s a combination of a podcast and memoir and murder mystery and best friends love story with Happy Days references and pets! The audio is fabulous! I already love Julia Whelan and the combined dual/duet narration between Sean Patrick Hopkins and Julia Whelan is so good! They really make the characters loveable and relatable, and makes us want to be their friends. The audio includes actual podcast clips, making it so much more enjoyable. The story unfolds switching POV chapters between best friends Benny and Joy, as Benny tries to find his missing best friend and Joy tells the story of how she got into her predicament. With ride or die friends, spouses who may not be who they seem, and so many secrets, this book is exciting and endearing at the same time. The book combines genres mystery/thriller and rom com and keeps you interested the entire time. An amazing debut! Solid 4.5 stars. Check your triggers though. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum.

In the Veins of Monsters : An Enemies-to-Lovers Dark Fantasy Romance: Thanks to Hype Queen PR for the chance to read this ARC. The cover and dark fantasy romance trope drew me in. You know we love to discuss covers around here, and this one al moody and spooky and purple is all me. The book was definitely moody and dark; quite fitting with my expectations. The two main characters are absolutely enemies – he killed her entire family and she is sent to assassinate him. But not only that, the FMC is sick and is turning into the very creature the MMC has been fighting to wipe out. But… things aren’t always as they seem, and I enjoyed the slow unfurling of finding out truths and intentions while unraveling betrayals of people the characters trusted for years. The first half of the book was slow and journey-ish (we were riding horses forever) but the second half was fast paced and full of back and forth betrayals where you honestly didn’t know who is to be trusted and who will stab you in the back next. The slow burn finally delivers heat near the end, but we can’t have nice things. Be prepared for an abrupt cliffhanger ending. In any romance, the thing I expect the most is the emotional depth and development for each of the characters independently and together. I felt this book could have gone farther in the emotions, because while we get some POV switches, it still felt like we weren’t getting into their hearts. I loved that he calls her “little blade” but I also wanted a lot more banter. I live for the banter. Overall a good read, I’m curious to know what happens next because of how it ended, but I’m also not in a rabid hurry.

Assistant to the Villain: This was certainly a fun read with a morally grey main character who chooses to work for and side with the villain. It’s funny how easily she vibes with his villainness. There’s a slow burn going on, wonder how many books will it take. I wasn’t in love with the audio narration – I felt like the voices all sounded the same. But I enjoyed the twists and betrayals and the unraveling of who the traitor is. Evie certainly becomes a badass who won’t let anyone get away with crossing her.

The Queen’s Card (Fairytale Tarot Book 1): The Queen’s Card was a short and sweet fantasy read. I appreciated the length – honestly not every book needs to be 600 pages! With this one being under 300 page it allowed for a quick immersive story you can enjoy in between heavier reads. I really liked the main character’s arc from the royal guard girl who just wants to belong, to girl who finally sees her worth independently and understands the plight of others. It was a sweet (not spicy) romance with a shadowy raven shifter and this mortal royal guard who yearns for keeper magic, going from captor/prisoner to working together, to really seeing each other. In such a short book, their character journey was nicely developed. The villain queen was also complex, and I appreciated getting to see some of her motivations and how she became this way. While I think the sweet spot is probably about 350 pages, to allow more dialogue, world building, and character development, what the book did describe was well done and satisfying. It was a Sleeping Beauty retelling but only slightly, in that the main plot followed a different set of characters, which I found refreshing. Tropes: Sleeping Beauty inspired, Royal Guard FMC, Raven Shifter with Shadows MMC, Evil queen, Tarot card magic, Faery bargain, Slow burn, No spice.

Lynn’s Mini Reviews:

FINDING MR. WRITE: Cute rom-com, with some actual scenes that I chuckled during. (That book fest scene is hilariously on-point!) I liked the characters, Daphne and Chris. Of the two main plots, the romance and Daphne’s book publishing, I enjoyed the book plot more. Daphne having to hide behind a male pseudonym and later Chris’s portrayal of Zane is just frustrating as a reader. Why do books with male author names get more recognition! I think the author does a good job of portraying Daphne’s frustration and fear of exposure throughout the novel. The romance portion of the novel was physical and flirty, but lacked the emotional connection that I look for in romances. Duel POV with duel narration works well. Overall a good read.

YONDER IN THE STARS: I’ve always posited that sci-fi stories are just westerns set in space. This novel takes that idea to the extreme with an actual western setting (Gav has NO IDEA that there are other planets and space travel) meets a crashed space ship. Like Cowboys and Aliens, but way better than that movie. (Not even Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford could save that. Don’t watch it. It’s not good.) Some very funny scenes. Gav has the classic western novel characteristics (hero, will only kill for self-preservation, how women should be treated). As well as trope-y Western dialogue and mannerisms.

“but sure as shootin’ was a swear word from whatever strange place birthed her.”

What really struck me was Gav is the silent hero type, taking over as sheriff of their small town, helping Brittney, even to accepting the strange ideas and mannerisms of Brittney. Now, Brittney, on the other hand, was grating. But also, I understand why? If I were dropped into a world with no electricity where people kept insisting I wear a dress, I’d be snippy, too. But she does have good intentions. Overall, a fun book. Would totally read the further adventures of Gav and Brit.

A NOVEL DISGUISE: After Kristine over at Hall Ways read and reviewed book #3 in this series, I was entrigued. I am always down for a main female character who says screw you to society! This is the first in the series, and I’ll certainly be back for more. Part social criticism (men are the worst, historically. And presently.), part murder-mystery (who killed Tiffany’s brother), part Tiffany figuring out herself after many years of living in her brother’s shadow. I enjoyed this one! My only real complaint is it’s rather introspective. And Tiffany, at least at the beginning, does not have a lot of confidence. Somewhat understandably. I appreciated the characters of Mr. Lathrop and Tom the footman. There are some cute scenes between Tiffany and Lathrop. And some moving scenes between Tiffany and Tom, as well as other household servents. The class divide is certanly evident between Tiffany and the Dukes\Duchesses in the story. I even found my anxiety spiking towards the end, worrying abour the fate of a number of characters. The narration by Marni Penning is well done, with no issues distinguishing the different characters.

THE BOTANIST’S ASSISTANT: Part mystery-solving, part lessons in botany, this one was solid, if not amazing. I think that Margaret and Elizabeth Zott (from Lessons in Chemistry) would probably get along well. Margaret is steady and predictible. But her life is upended when she finds her boss dead one day. At the beginning of the novel, Margaret isn’t someone I’d want to hang out with (a little too pot meet kettle, probably). But by the end of the novel, she’s loosened up some, took in a cat, found some friends, solved a murder. Lots of misdirects on the murder, while Margaret goes through all the clues. The reveal was a surprise for me! The narration by Rebecca Lowman was good. But sometimes, all I could picture in my mind was Cath and Levi from Fangirl. That’s a me thing, not a Lowman thing. Overall. an interesting murder-mystery with lots of lessons about poisonous plants.

THE LOVE HATERS: I really enjoyed this. Not a lot of spice. Cute romance. ADORED ALL THE CHARACTERS. Well, except Cole, he’s a jerk. Katie and her color-phobia. Hutch and his perfect-ness. George Bailey makes me want to get a dog, despite allergies (to pets and responsibility). But Rue? She’s awesome. I want to be her. Or at least have a friend (with all her gal pals) like her. And I especially want a friend who has converted a motor-lodge into tiny cabins for rent. Learned a bunch about the Coast Guard. Lessons on grief recovery. Hurricane trigger warnings, which I probably could have used beforehand. I was glad to have read those pages and got to the other side for the reward. But still. Not fun to live through those scenes with Katie and George Bailey. My only issue is WHY didn’t anyone keep Katie, who isn’t from a hurrican-prone area, alerted to the fact that a hurricane was coming?

RED STAR REBELS: You had me at Amie Kaufman sci fi. Plus short! (Is it a coincidence that the novel is almost the same length as the 8 hour time table to save the space base?) Heart-pounding danger and action. Let me say I have little interest in actually going to space. But reading about Cleo and Hunter’s exploits have not helped! Nothing like worrying about running out of air, fire, mercenary invaders, and trying to keep the base from blowing up, all while keeping up the flirty banter. Cleo’s character feels more developed than Hunter’s. Or at least her backstory is more developed. I also enjoyed her clever problem solving. Cleo has some MacGyver level skills. Dual POV, switching between Cleo and Hunter, with dual narrators, and a full cast of other narrators for the secondary characters, made the listening enjoyable. I hope there are more books to come in this series.

Books we reviewed in full this month:

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