Welcome, Breaker’s Bookworms. It is I, your chaotic book reviewer, here to give you the rundown of the books I read this month and what I thought of them. My goal is to reach 50 books this year, so I need to read AT LEAST 4 books per month.

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As a reminder, I rate my books 1 to 10 in the following 8 categories

1. Main Characters - Is the character compelling, sympathetic, complex, with conflict?
2. Side Characters - Are the side characters present, dimensional, and believable?
3. Atmosphere/Intrigue - Is the tone of the story compelling? Interesting? Entertaining?
4. World Building - Is the world complex? Can you imagine it? Does it have a feel?
5. Logic/Believability - Are characters' behaviors consistent? Are facts and rules consistent? Does everything make sense? Were there any points where you were confused, didn't believe something absurd, or found a plot hole?
6. Romance/Relationships - Are there complex/deep relationships that you connect to?
7. Plot/Pacing - Was the plot too slow or too fast? Was it compelling and interesting?
8. Writing Style - Was it bingeable? Was it too simple? Was it too convoluted or repetitive? Cringey, overly dramatic? Too purple prose/literary?

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Then, because personal enjoyment matters most and can often trump most technical issues, we rate it on a scale of 1-20.

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So when all these are added up, we have the following percentage to star breakdown:

• 0-20% = ★
• 21-40% = ★★
• 41-60% = ★★★
• 61-80% = ★★★★
• 81-100% = ★★★★★

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Let’s also not forget the spice key, because I am a person of taste, and covers can be deceiving.

• No Romance - no romance/not on page
• 🧁- clean, or fade to black, vague, wholesome
• 🌶️- few brief steamy scenes, 1-2 explicit
• 🌶️🌶️- 3+ explicit steamy scenes
• 🌶️🌶️🌶️- many (5+) explicit scenes
• 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️- over half of the novel is explicit scenes
• 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️- pure smut, little to no outside plot

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Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s dive into this month’s reads, shall we?

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Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks 

Young Adult Graphic Novel

★★★

Spice: 🧁

For my first read of May, I was pretty disappointed. I picked this one up because I love a good sports-player-meets-drama-kid romance (High School Musical vibes, anyone?), but this just fell flat. The characters didn’t really grow at all, probably because the book tried to cram too many plotlines into a single story. If it had been a series instead of a standalone, I think there would’ve been more room to flesh things out and let the story breathe. Plus, the romance didn’t hit the way I hoped it would, which was a real letdown.

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Rating Breakdown:

Main Characters: 4

Side Characters: 2

Atmosphere/Intrigue: 4

World Building: 2

Logic/Believability:10 

Romance/Relationships: 5 

Plot/Pacing: 5 

Writing Style: 10

Enjoyment: 8

Overall Rating: 50%

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Nothing Special Volume 1: Through the Elder Woods | Volume 2: Concerning Wings by Katie Cook

Young Adult Graphic Novel

★★★★★

Spice: 🧁

I’m combining these two because I read them back to back in one fell swoop. Full disclosure: I’m not a huge fantasy person. It’s never really been my thing—I usually struggle with complex world-building (totally a me problem, not an author problem). That said… I adored these stories. The setting is rooted in enough realism that I could actually follow along, and it made a huge difference. The main characters are compelling and lovable, and even the side characters get their time to shine.

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The romance between the leads? It’s that soft, delicate first-love kind of vibe—but make it epic. She’d burn the world down for him, and honestly? I support her.

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And making me wait for the third book after that cliffhanger?? Electric chair. I’m still not over the trauma Rick Riordan gave me with Mark of Athena, so this feels personal.

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Rating Breakdown:

Main Characters: 8

Side Characters: 9

Atmosphere/Intrigue: 8

World Building: 8

Logic/Believability: 8

Romance/Relationships: 8

Plot/Pacing: 10 

Writing Style: 10

Enjoyment: 15

Overall Rating: 84%

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Homebound by Meridith Trapp

Expected Release: June 17, 2025

Adult Novel

★★★★★

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

DISCLAIMER: ARC provided by Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Brother, let me start by saying: I devoured this in one sitting while lounging outside—I was completely hooked by the premise. Cowboy romances have been seriously growing on me lately, and as a hockey girlie through and through, this hit the perfect intersection of both worlds.

This is technically the second book in a series, but honestly? It didn’t even matter. There are references to off-screen characters, sure, but you get all the context you need—and it even sets the stage for future stories, which I will be reading.

The smut? Solid. But the slow burn leading up to it? Agonizing in the best way. I also didn’t expect to enjoy the single dad plotline as much as I did, but it really worked for the story.

Final thought: if he’s not living up to Wyatt Patterson’s standard, I don’t want it.

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Rating Breakdown:

Main Characters: 10

Side Characters: 8

Atmosphere/Intrigue: 10

World Building: 8

Logic/Believability: 10

Romance/Relationships: 10

Plot/Pacing: 10 

Writing Style: 10

Enjoyment: 18

Overall Rating: 94%

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Away We Go by Belinda Mary

Expected Release: June 11, 2025

Adult Novel

★★★★★

Spice: 🧁

DISCLAIMER: ARC provided by Belinda Mary in exchange for an honest review

Listen, I know absolutely nothing about Formula 1—but that didn’t matter at all, because this story was super easy to follow. I love a good slow burn, and this one fully delivered. It’s fade-to-black on the smut, but honestly? The chemistry between Cherry and Nicky was so electric, I didn’t feel like anything was missing.

This was such a fun spring read with great pacing. I found myself just waiting for that spark to finally catch—it was agonizing in the best way. At one point, I even had to take a few laps around my living room to compose myself. Get it? Laps? Anyways, I really enjoyed this and felt like the perfect spring read.

Rating Breakdown:

Main Characters: 9

Side Characters: 8

Atmosphere/Intrigue: 10

World Building: 9

Logic/Believability: 10

Romance/Relationships: 10

Plot/Pacing: 10 

Writing Style: 10

Enjoyment: 18

Overall Rating: 94%

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Two Wrongs Make A Right by Chloe Liese

Adult Novel

★★★★★

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

BROOOOO. This took forever to come in from the library, but it was 100% worth the wait. I love Chloe Liese and everything she writes, so I was beyond excited to dive into this one.

I’m a sucker for an allies-to-lovers arc, and Jamie and Bea did not disappoint. Watching their relationship grow throughout the story was such a joy. And, as always, Chloe delivered on the smut—though nothing will ever top the first two Bergman Brothers books, in my humble opinion.

I’ve already got the next two lined up and will be starting them ASAP.

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Rating Breakdown:

Main Characters: 10

Side Characters: 9

Atmosphere/Intrigue: 10

World Building: 10

Logic/Believability: 10

Romance/Relationships: 10

Plot/Pacing: 10 

Writing Style: 10

Enjoyment: 20

Overall Rating: 99%

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Thanks for joining this month’s book club meeting! Did you add any of these to your TBR? Have you read any of them already? Let us know on Bluesky and Instagram! Until next time!