The Chaos Grid Archives - Novel Notions

Book Review: The Crier Stone (The Chaos Grid #2) by Lyndsey Lewellen

August 6, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

The Crier Stone by Lyndsey Lewellen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Chaos Grid was thoroughly enjoyable, and I honestly felt that it could have worked as a standalone novel, even though part of me wanted more of the story. I’m so glad Lewellen didn’t leave it there. The Crier Stone is a phenomenal sequel, improving on its already excellent predecessor in almost every way. We are thrown right back into Juna’s story where we parted from her at the end of that first book. From the very first page of The Crier Stone, the pace is fast and the plot is tense. There is a depth here that was hinted at in The Chaos Grid without being fully realized, in terms of character development and worldbuilding and the underlying tale of faith at its core. I was enraptured from start to beautiful finish. …

Book Review: The Chaos Grid (The Chaos Grid, #1) by Lyndsey Lewellen

August 3, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

The Chaos Grid by Lyndsey Lewellen
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I love retellings, especially stories that riff on either a fairytale or a Bible story. Some stories—like “Beauty and the Beast” or the Book of Esther—have been retold often. I’ve read quite a few takes on both of those, some of which have been wonderful. But then there are stories that reimagined less frequently, like the story of Jonah. I can only remember encountering one other loose retelling of that particular tale, but it didn’t hold a candle to this book in terms of originality. The Chaos Grid is the first half of a duology that blends Mad Max with the Book of Jonah, set within a post-apocalyptic, dystopian Texas. I found it fascinating and unique, fast-paced and compelling. There was never a dull moment in this first half of the story, and it left me hungry to know what happens next. …