Gord’s Comments (group member since Apr 06, 2017)

Gord’s comments from the Vampires, Weres and Fae! group.

I have a couple on my TBR and that's about it.

Most of the snow we got on Friday has already melted as I expected.

Time for that weekly recap and oh boy have I been busy this week.

Celtic Fire⭐⭐⭐
Book number 50 in this series, I have been working on this series for a long time now. Not a lot to really say about this one that I haven't said about the other 49 entries to this thing. It's a popcorn read full of pseudoarchaeology. This time the books is set in Wales and involves an ancient sword. We have car chases, sword fights, all of what you would expect from this series. It's fun and some day I will be caught up with this series. Only another 10ish books to go.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World: Volume 4⭐⭐⭐
This book had a lot going on in it. We got introduced to two new side characters, a bear was fought, the cabin was expanded again. Oh and our MC sneaks his way into a neighboring empire to rescue a character from the first novel adding yet another young woman to our not harem. I really hope that the harem stops growing at some point because this simple cabin in the woods is starting to feel more like a commune at this point. There is a our MC, five young woman, and a drake all living together. Overall another fun book and I'm curious to see where this series will end up going.

Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls ⭐⭐⭐
I've had this on my TBR for a bit and I figured this would be a nice short book while I was waiting for other audiobooks to come in. This is another on of those books where a young person is recruited to be a spy and save the day. On paper I enjoy everything about this book and it's a fun read. I just have one major gripe, the MC. She is a bratty 12 year girl and I can't stand her as a person. I don't blame the author for writing her that way, she is a 12 year girl. I also don't blame the narrator for voicing her so well. I just don't like following her as a lead. There was moments towards the end where we started to see some change but it felt like it took a life time to get there. Since this is only a trilogy I am tempted to read on just to see where this goes but it not high up on my list of things I want to read.

Now for the manga and there is a lot

Nue's Exorcist, Vol. 2⭐⭐⭐
Nope, I'm done with this series. I wanted to give the second book a chance to see if things got better and nope. I still feel that this has a decent idea at its core but it needs a lot of polish to get there and I just don't see that happening. This feels like the author was once again just flinging popular ideas at the wall trying to see if something will land with an audience. For instance this one had a beach episode because we need a reason to have women in bikinis but we've only got a couple main women in the story so far. No problems, lets just randomly introduce some more characters that we may or may not see again. I'm just not interested in seeing what randomness the author will try next so I am out.

SAKAMOTO DAYS 18 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More Sakamoto Days and more crazy over the top fights. Not a lot to really say about this one as we are in the part of the arc where everyone gets to have their big fights.

Tsumiki Ogami's Not-So-Ordinary Life, Vol. 2⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is another one of those slice of life integrated society stories that I have a hard time explaining why I enjoy it so much. I just like the characters, the glimpses into this similar and yet so different world, it's just a fun read.

Soara and the House of Monsters Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After the first book I was excited to continue on and see what came next. There was also a part of me that was concerned that this would become very episodic with little direction. This second volume took my concerns and gently laid them to rest. I still think this will be episodic in a way where we are going to get new housing challenges for our main cast to tackle but we also have a mission, a direction, something that we have to accomplish. We might also have something tracking us down as well, not to sure on that one yet. This series is just hitting all the right buttons for me currently and I really can't wait to see where it will go next.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 4—Diamond Is Unbreakable, Vol. 6⭐⭐⭐⭐
I stand by what I said before. Now that this series seems to have a direction it feels a lot better. We have a scary villain that is smart that needs to be tracked down. It feels like a giant game of cat and mouse currently. There is of course more over the top fights that one would come to expect from this series. Including one of the most intense games of rock paper scissors I have ever seen. We also have been introduced to a new side character that is really make question things. I don't want to spoil anything but I wouldn't be surprised if what he is saying is true.

Yowamushi Pedal Omnibus, Vol. 7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This volume takes us to the end of the first day and the start of the second day of the interhigh championship race. Not a lot to really say here as this is just more intense racing and drama between contestants.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 6 ⭐⭐⭐
I am really having some mixed feelings about Clear Card and I'm not sure if it's just because I am getting it drip fed to me or if it is something else. In this volume we finally get some answers about who is who and who is doing what. It's still kind of vague and everyone has a secret to hide from Sakura of course but it kind of feels like some things have been cleared up and we have some sort of lines in the sand. I just wish I was more excited for this one like I was for the original series.

Go with the clouds, North-by-Northwest, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This has been one that has been nudging my leg for a bit to give it a chance and I finally did. I think this first book was a interesting introduction to the series and it has me wanting to read more. The story is just getting set up but basically or MC is a young man from Japan who is living with his grandfather in Iceland. He is a detective who apparently has the ability to talk to cars. We get a couple stories kind of setting up the world and the characters before we get the opening arc to what sounds like the overall larger story for the series. There was definitely enough here to sink a hook into me that will have me coming back for some more. Then we get to the art. The background set pieces are all gorgeous which is great. Then we have the character designs. Honestly, I love them. I feel like I can see so many different inspirations from other series and styles all blending together into something all it's own. I'm really glad that I picked this up and from this single book I am now curious about not only this series but other stuff this author has done as well.

What is next?


These are my next two audiobooks that I have on the go.

Outside of that I have the next week off and a giant stack of books from the library. I have light novels, I have manga, I have audiobooks, and a whole lot of time before I need to go back to work.

I was wondering if maybe my BP meds were a playing a factor but I wasn't sure. I'll have to see how this winter goes but I hope I still have some of my cold adaptability.

Closer but I still have a ways to go. My starting weight was a lot higher then I expected.

I've kind of set the soft goal of losing 50 lbs by the end of the year. I'm not going to be bent out of shape if I don't get there but I'll be very pleased if I do. My end of next year though I would like to be under 250 lbs. That will be monumental if that happens.

Two pieces of a great news to kick off the weekend. First, I am now on vacation and have the next nine days off. My plans involve naps, books, and trying to get out each day for something. Maybe a coffee, maybe something to eat, but something. Second, as of my weigh in yesterday I am now down 41 lbs which means another 5 lbs down. I'm definitely starting to notice it with how my clothing fits. I'm also noticing it now that things are getting colder as well. It could be just because it's the first cold of the year but I swear it feels colder then normal

My two biggest pet peeves on that list are the "overthinking" one and the "smile" one. Overthinking things is just my default. Sure, I have things were I total make decisions based on my mood at the time. Things like food, what book to read next, etc. Then there are the times where I will take a situation and make multiple plans for how to handle it and then for good measure, make plans for those plans.

As for the smile thing, uggggghhhhhh. That is a definitely a work thing. You are not nice enough. You should smile more so people are not so scared of you. It's not my problem you are scared of my neutral face. I'm not the kind of person who smiles for no damned reason. That's weird and kind of creepy. It's also not my fault that I have resting serial killer face. That's just my neutral expression, don't read to deep into it.

We are getting our first dump of snow this evening. The weather man is calling for 5 cm or about 2 inches in about 24 hours with more coming on Friday. I seriously doubt it will stay but it's the start of winter

That is so incredibly sad

Amy wrote: "(Gord, did you used to get those little cardboard storybooks full of rolls of lifesavers at Christmas too? 🎄)"

(Yup, it was always a stocking stuffer with a couple mandarin oranges)

Library

Fist (Of The North Star)

Christmas

Reaper

I save $453.71 in October

Time for that weekly recap and this week was another week of novels.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
You are probably stunned by my rating for this book and I feel like this requires a whole lot of explanation. This book has been popping on my radar for about a year and a half or so. It was quiet for a while and then lately it has been resurfacing shall we say. It seemed like folks were rather split on it. There were of course those that felt it was the greatest book ever and then there were the those on the other side that really did not like this book. Claims of people being furries and stuff like that. Side rant for a second, furries really get a bad rap man. Any way, I was getting to Twilight levels of curiosity with this book and checked to see if my library would ever carry such smuttiness. They did, on Hoopla, my curiosity won, and here I am. Going into this book I had a lot of preconceived notions in my head. I didn't think it was going to be as bad as people were claiming and it definitely wasn't going to be as good as others were claiming either. I also had a bunch of ideas about what to expect from my dabbles in PNR and UF trying to pretend it was not PNR. Never once did I expect for me to be sitting here trying to explain a four star rating but here I am.

This book does not shy away from what it is at all. It's monster smut and it leans into its smuttiness but not like I expected. The first two thirds of the book was lewd but I didn't really think it was all that bad. It was just a lot of descriptions of what is offered at a milking farm and the services rendered. It just wasn't "hot" really. The final third of the novel is more what I would expect from a smutty novel with spicy dates and what happens at the end of those dates. Here is one of the big selling points for me. The male lead in this novel. I've dabbled in a few PNR novels or various levels of spice and from some of the out of context snippets I was hearing about his book I was expecting the bog standard, cardboard cutout, toxic as hell, alpha male douchebag kind of character. This kind of character is honestly why I stopped reading as much UF/PNR as I used to. There are only so many master vampires/alpha werewolf leads who treat women in general as inferior beings to be dominated that I can take. I get it, for some folks this is a fantasy that they want but meh, not something I enjoy reading. Imagine my surprise when this male lead is just none of that. Yes, he is stern at times and has a "CEO voice" (whatever the hell that is) but he was never mean to our lead, he was never demeaning to our lead, and let her set the pace for things. It felt like this breathe of fresh air after wading through a sewer for decades.

The other thing that really won me over was the world building. I can already see your surprised face but yes, I'm going to talk about world building in a smut novel. Don't get me wrong this was no Tolkien level of world building with it's own languages and thousands of years of history but it had more then enough that I wanted to go wander about and see what was happening in the world. I was curious about things outside of the story happening between our two leads. Now yes, I am a fan of integrated societies where nonhumans and humans exist in the same place. Usually in things like manga and anime where we explore more then just the bog standard vampire/werewolf hiding amongst us. We are talking about societies where there are creatures that are openly and visibly different from us. How do you build a cafe to accommodate clients from pixies to minotaurs and centaurs? How do you build a rail system? Cars? What about creatures with different life spans? Dietary needs? Integrated societies like this raise all sorts of interesting questions. I'm not saying that this book tackled any of that but it set the foundation for a society like that to exist. Where creatures can openly exist that are different. Plus it wasn't just monster men roaming about so the author could have an excuse to write about overly large packages. There were women, children, families in general walking about and living their lives. I wanted to go and visit Cambric Creek out a genuine level of curiosity.

This book is definitely a novel designed to tap into a female fantasy. For some folks it's going to be gross and disgusting. For some folks it will be hot as hell. While I might not have enjoyed all the package descriptions in the novel shall we say I can respect what this novel is. It's smut, there is no hiding that, but the author has sprinkled in so much more. There are moments of humor that had me chuckling. There was world building elements that had me wanting to crawl into the pages to go exploring. The romance itself, outside of the spice, was pleasant to read and I wanted these characters to get together outside of what happened between the sheets or on top. This was hands down one of the biggest surprises I've had in a while. I'm not sure if I will read on but I'm not entirely writing it off either. This is probably going into the mood read bag. Especially since each book seems to be a self contained novel that just happens to be set in the same world as the other ones.

Terminal ⭐⭐⭐
I feel that this book was another course correction for the series and one that I felt was needed. The first couple books leaned into more of a horror vibe. The last one really tried to be UF and it was very distracting. The whole flirting with a hot fireman in the middle of an investigation into a deadly spirit just felt really weird. This book felt like the happy medium between these two different directions. There was the main case and it was spooky with all sorts of grumpy ghosts. Then we had the more personal moments in the down time and it felt like a good balance. Overall this book was just alright. I've got one more book in this series before everything else is locked away in Amazon jail so I'll get to it at some point.

Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a book I stumbled across in the new section of the online library and I was sold on the concept. A mystical eatery that is everywhere an no where. It's a location full of elders and traditional food with a kind word and some guidance if you need it. I realized, very late in the book, that in many ways this is similar to books like Before the Coffee Gets Cold and other books of that vein. This is a collection of short stories by various authors about Native characters. The characters inevitably find their way to the drive-in and it offers them guidance on what is currently plaguing them. The drive-in is ran by various elders and offers a wide selection of traditional and nontraditional food and drink. There was something just special about this novel. While not every story might have smashed it out of the park the overall experience was fantastic. It's also a great example of diversity in the written space. This is definitely one I would recommend if you are at all curious.

The Unsleeping Witch ⭐⭐⭐
The final book in this duology and it continues a lot of themes from the first one. Flipping classic fairy tale stories on their head, figuring out who you are, etc. Much like the first one I enjoyed the novel but it didn't exactly rock my world either. Not something I regret reading but not something that is going to stick in my memories either.

Now for the single manga
Prophecy, Tome 1 ⭐⭐⭐
After finishing Manhole I was curious about what else this author might have out there. I discovered that my library had this trilogy and decided to check it out. This story is about internet crime basically. Someone is releasing videos claiming that a bad thing will happen to a bad person. Once that video hits a certain amount of likes the video is deleted. Of course the bad thing happens in the real world and the police cyber crimes unit gets involved. It's an interesting setup for a story and the first part of this manga does a really great job setting up the premise and starting to unravel this mystery. I really didn't like the ending of this manga though. The POV shifts to the bad guy and is flashback to how the plan got started. It felt like the author basically showed all his cards in the first chapter. I'm hoping for, and expecting, many more twists but this just felt really weird. I'll continue on of course since this is only a trilogy but that was an odd way to end the first volume.

What's next

A couple of short audiobooks while I wait for the next chonker audiobook that should be here "soon"

Outside of that I have a giant stack of manga to get through this week. Cardcaptor, Sakamoto Days, Jojo, etc.

Best


I didn't have any two stars this month or anything that would I reall call a bad book

Looking forward to...

That is a classic short and kind of mind blowing to think that it's nearly 100 years old.

Governments always talk about, put it to the people to see what they want, then come up with some BS excuse about this, that, or something else and change nothing.

Happy Halloween everyone