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:
Nocticadia: Deliciously dark and a fun read. Look, this is a huge book. The audio was 20 hours? That’s like what, 600+ pages? And yet, I listened to it so fast. The audio duet narration was fabulous, and the plot was all fun all the time, dark and devious and a bit murdery and a lot horny and a gruesome worm disease mystery. But all fun all the time. Took me no time at all to get into the story and characters, and that’s been a challenge with other books as of late. Great storytelling and writing. Professor Death and student looking for answers to her mom’s disease and demise, in a taboo romance full of conspiracies and secret societies. That epilogue though was a bit cringe.
Healing the Demon: A Cozy, Spicy, Monster Fantasy Romance (Demons of the Rift Book 2)
Healing the Demon: This was just a fun cozy spicy monster romance with an MMC all green flags and support and keeping the human safe in his realm and an FMC who finally allows her large personality to take up space. I loved the older FMC (she’s 38), who’s described as curvy and plump, is a POC with wild coily hair, and doesn’t fit the normal love interest of the skinny perfect blond girl. And yet she’s confident and fun and cares so much about everyone, even when she’s thrown into a weird world where she is the enemy. The MMC is an older demon with a dad bod, and I am here for it. And he is absolutely enthralled with all her soft spots and rolls. She’s in little d danger, it’s mostly a cozy book with lower stakes, and big D energy. Don’t think about it too hard because the worldbuilding isn’t super crisp and why does everyone seem to speak English when the humans were the enemy of a centuries war and only the scholars and warriors should even have any human knowledge and interaction? Not important, that’s not the point. The point is a nurse going for her MD in the human world gets thrown into the arms of a healer demon in their realm with no way to get back (nevermind the scholar who can cross the rift at will) and she just demands to go with him on rounds and help the demons and animals get better. I wanted a little more anguish with her new circumstances, maybe fighting with the choice to return or to stay, but nah that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here for a good time, a happy romp through monster lands and regular “geriatric millennials” getting their happy story. A perfect palate cleanser when you’ve been reading lots of sad and heavy fantasy lately.
Aftermyth: My first impression was wow this is very YA. Then I learned it was a middle grade. Ok, makes sense. The narrator and FMC just sounds so young and is a bit annoying but I get it. She’s been raised to be an Athena girl her whole life, which is a hall you get sorted into when you go to this mythological boarding school. Her parents were Athena halls. Her brother gets sorted into Athena. But Penelope? Nope, she’s calamity jane and everything goes backwards and haywire for her. Starting even before her crossing of the bridge into the school. I knew her blowing out that lantern was going to be a big deal but wow they waited until the end to reveal that one. She keeps finding herself in weird places and sees things no one else does. Her muse is odd and refuses to do her job, etc. We spend too much time on day one and all the complaining and whining about things going wrong, and the rest feels rushed when it starts to get good. The parts where she finds herself being more special in ways she didn’t anticipate and ends up doing some amazing things by the end. Definitely a cute book, though I wish the pacing was better and the mythology was explained a bit more throughout. I enjoyed the punny chapter titles and the friendships! I couldn’t stand the parents, like you didn’t prepare your kids for the trip and what eating donuts would do? Seriously? It had a lot of potential but I felt it missing a lot of details that would have made it great.
Forged in Betrayal: A Dark Contemporary Romance
Forged in Betrayal is the sequel to Forged in Blood. Vibes? Pain, Torture, Betrayal. This was a tough one friends. Isobel goes through some awful stuff so check your triggers, but she comes out with more feminine rage and back on her revenge plot! We are still reeling from the end of book 1, and book 2 is hitting hard. Jace, I just don’t know what to make of him. I was starting to like him, and then I was like no way I can never forgive him. Then, there I go, a few chapters later, forgiving him. Sigh. But I still don’t trust him. He’s too volatile and keeps too many things to himself. But I enjoyed getting to know him better and unraveling his character. There’s a lot of depth there, layers if you will. But like an onion, he’ll make you cry. Then there’s Luca, oh I just loved their little date. I was kicking my feet, my girl Iz needed a happy moment. Where this will go next? I guess Miss Kit will need to finish book 3!
Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet Book 1)
Haunting Adeline: Ooh I have mixed feelings about this one. It is definitely the darkest I have read. The audiobook is fantastic, with sounds and music. Especially the sounds, like walking steps or some whispered narration only heard in one earbud. That’s very well done. But the dark romance part is very dark and morally… unpleasant? Ok so I’m on board with “cleaning up” bad people from society in dark romance. I don’t take big issue with that. I’ve read enough serial killer romances. But the non consensual encounters rub me all the wrong ways. “The Manipulator” can’t decide if she hates him or is falling for him? Her body is definitely not listening to her brain. Is what he does to her ok? NO, absolutely not. Does she enjoy it? Apparently on some level. Which is disturbing, but ok fine it is what it is. I’m more into “tell me to stop” tropes than the “I’m going to punish you” trope so this was a first for me. But that ending, what! I guess now I need to get to book 2 to see “The Shadow” come to her rescue and become a hero? Does he redeem himself? I guess I’ll find out.
Thank You for Listening: A Novel
Thank You For Listening: This was so cute. Kick your feet adorable. So much fun banter and adorable secret identity tropes. Such a fun rom com from one of my favorite narrators.
Lynn’s Mini Reviews:
My Pucking Mates (Pucking Werewolves Book 4)
MY PUCKING MATES: Today in why the heck am I reading this schlock, we have a side quest in the hockey werewolf series I started last month. This one has NOTHING to do with the main storyline. But continues the trend of fated mates, little plot, and lots of sex. But curious minds need to know how a throuple with twins works. Turns out works well for Runa. All the sex. All the time. Including a 36 hour sex marathon. We do learn some of Eris’s and Dolos’s background. But nothing that really progresses the main storyline. Amazing vacation rental in Hawaii, though, that I’m a bit jealous of. Otherwise, schlock.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET: Or as I like to call it: a really long and boring journey through space where nothing much happens until the very end. There is not any discernable plot to move the story forward. We mostly get character chapters and meeting random people along the way chapters. The characters are interesting and original, to be sure, and learning about the different species was well done. There is an entire chapter about one of the characters molting. Do we need that or care about that? No. We do not. Or at least I do not. The end has some actual adventure and space-related danger. And took this book for me from a 2.5 to a 3. The narration is not great – unless you enjoy an AI-ish voice with no inflection, emotion, or differentiation between characters. Overall, meh. Probably would not recommend if you are looking for action and adventure in space.
Adversary to the Villain: A Cozy Fantasy Romantic Comedy (Assistant and the Villain Book 4)
ADVERSARY TO THE VILLAIN: I love this series. It’s super fun. Action, romance, humor, pirates, villains, evil kings, flirty banter. All the things I am looking for in a book. But here’s the thing. This is book 4. I need to know where this series is going at this point. Because I am not down for 20 more books. I am ready for some conclusions and wrapping up. This one flips the whole series at the book. Which, tbh, I saw coming from a mile away. But that’s ok! It was still satisfactory. Lyssa’s character has some excellent scenes in this book. And I appreciate that we are getting some positive forward movement on the couples. About freaking time.
AFTERMYTH: Similar set up to Percy Jackson or Harry Potter, with Penelope and Paris being sent to boarding school. But boarding school with an ancient Greek vibe. I thought the writing was engaging. Plenty of action-y scenes which kept the story moving forward. I was immersed in Penelope’s travails. Was some of the plot obvious, yes. But also, if you are familiar with Greek mythology, it doesn’t take much to put one and one together. But here’s the thing: this is definitely middle grade. Or at least very young YA. The main characters are all 18. And there are very few adults in the story. And those adults do not do anything to actually help or mentor the children. I would have enjoyed this more had the characters been aged higher, like at least high school, if not college-age. There are plenty of unanswered questions about why Penelope is so special that I’m interested in the next books in the series. But also this one barely covered a few months of the first year. How many books is Tracy Wolff planning? Snake trigger warning if you need it!
HEADS WILL ROLL: A few chuckles. But no guffaws. Definitely not for sensitive or young ears. Weird that I found the fake commercials between the chapters more enjoyable than the actual story? Lances! Mirrors! Those commercials are hilarious. I took a break in the middle of listening and lost all momentum. The end was a slog. I did enjoy the full cast, including tons of celebrities. Good thing it was free.
Tress of the Emerald Sea: A Cosmere Novel
TRESS OF THE EMERALD SEA: I’ve had my eye on Sanderson’s books for ages. But also, his oeuvre is daunting. BUT. This one is a whole new series, which makes starting a lot less intimidating. Witty. Clever. Amaze world-building. Action-adventure. Sanderson describes this as Princess Bride inspired. Which, given that Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies OF ALL TIME, I totally agree. Pirates! Adventure on the (spore) seas. Dragons. Evil Sorceress. This book does have everything. Talking rat instead of R.O.U.S.es. But still. Everything. 12 Stars. And clearly, I need to unsuspend all my Libby holds of Sanderson’s other books.
Books we reviewed in full this month:
- [6 Aug] Court of Demons and Shadows (Hidden Courts of the Fae #6) by Heather D. Grace ★★★★
- [9 Aug] The Heart of a Soul (The Soul Trials #2) by K. Loral ★★★★
- [11 Aug] World's Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon by Olivia Dade ★★★★
- [20 Aug] A Kingdom of Magic and Rain (Three Kingdoms, #1) by V.I. Davis ★★★★½
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We are linking up our monthly wrap up posts with Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight (we now co-host her monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up) and The Sunday Post (hosted by The Caffeinated Reviewer).
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