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

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

I finally started this one this morning and I'm about 80 minutes into it so far and it's alright. Don't get me wrong, it's still early, and it still has a lot of time for me to warm up to it. I'm not sure about the humor though. Maybe it's my foul mood today or something but it's not really landing with me, so far at least.

Thank you for reminding me! I read the latest volume of I Hate Fairyland and I need to update my spreadsheet.

The last week at work really highlighted how much I don't like strange people in my space. Last week we had someone from another branch come down to our branch to spend a week in the shop so he could learn how we do things and what not. This was a bit of a surprise as no one knew it was actually approved to happen. This was especially rough on Monday as I was the only person in our department in the building. I spent three hours straight yapping on Monday afternoon with a stranger and I was so done by the end of the day. The rest of the week wasn't so bad as my coworker was back and he became the front man. It allowed me to dip in and out of the conversation when I wanted. Then there was Friday. We had a rush order going out that I was working on and it was about the only thing on the go at the time. That was were I quickly learned that I do indeed have a flow and rhythm to my work that works so well for me. The individual following us in the shop all week spent the entire morning hovering over my shoulder and interjecting himself into my work at every opportunity. I get why it was happening, and I know why it had to happen, but it was driving me insane. My tools were never were I would normally put them, things were done out of sequence, I had no personal space, it was all just so much. I had to deal with that for three hours and it was so draining. There was a point where I nearly snapped from things going on.

Monday morning is already hard enough but when you know you have nothing on the go it just makes it so much harder to find that motivation. Especially since I have so many nerdy things on the go, as usual really. I think this is one those times I might have to tap into Libby and get some reading done at work this week.

Time for my regular scheduled weekly update where we have the good, the bad, and some stuff in between.

The Sword of Shannara -3 Stars
I'm so happy to finally be able to talk about my experience with this book after the last couple of weeks of working through it. This book was one of the original books that got me into fantasy way, way, back in the day. My aunt had a copy on her shelf and I remember picking it up and loving my experience with it. Here I am some 25ish later and I'm finally rereading the book. I've been wanting to do it for a while but the length intimidated me a fair bit as well as seeing all the negative views. There are a lot of negative reviews slamming this book, calling it a LotR clone (Lord of the Rings for those that don't know), and everything like that. I was a bit concerned coming into this book since I wasn't the naive reader I was when I first read this. I'm not bitter and jaded or anything but I am much more experienced, if that makes any sense. I know more about tropes, other fantasy that came before this, etc.

So what do I think of this book? It was alright. I know that sounds a bit lackluster but hear me out. This book is far from the one star reviews claiming that this is a LotR clone and the worst thing ever written. If you think this is the worst thing ever written then you obviously haven't been around much. Either that or I've been slumming it in some really skeevy reading circles. I also want to address the whole clone stuff as well. I don't think it's fair to this book to call it a clone of LotR. That being said it's super obvious that it was heavily inspired by LotR but that is not necessarily a bad thing. If your reading a book that was heavily inspired by something would you rather it be inspired by something considered to be the very peak of the genre or by something that is mid or worse? I think it's a pretty clear answer. I also don't think this was the very best thing ever written either. It had some flaws for sure and I'll get into that here in second but overall this was a great start to a series.

Now for the more personal thoughts where I'm not addressing larger narratives. I was really surprised when I was reading through this book that I could still remember things from this book even after 25ish years. I'd start reading a scene and all of a sudden I'd remember stuff about what was to come. Not super detailed obviously but I was still able to remember some broad strokes. There were a couple of things I found a bit annoying while reading this. For the most part the author was great at naming things. Whether that was races, locations, characters, or what not. Then we have the larger land location naming and this hurt. The land is divided into four locations, Eastland, Westland, Northland, and Southland. That just immediately hit my pet peeve of naming stuff. You're trying to tell me that the best you can come up with for the traditional homeland of, say, the elves was Westland. Nothing fancy in Elvish, or whatever race lived there. It's a weird thing to be hung up on but it's just one of those things that bugs me in a book. It was also very apparent that the author has a certain love for a particular trope. That trope is convincing the reader that a certain character has died off only for them to return pages later perfectly fine. Used sparingly and properly this trope can be very effective. This book used this five or six times in the first half of the book alone. After the second or third time this happened it removed any tension from the setup as you knew that in a few pages that character would be back. One final weird thing that my brain got hung up on, gnomes. This book confused me so much. In my head gnomes are either lawn gnomes or a shorter technologically advanced fantasy race. In this one they were a yellow skinned human? Maybe? Yet separate from the human race? I'm really not sure. There were times where my brain injected what I thought gnomes where and then the book would basically describe them as humans. I'm kind of confused on that.

Overall, this was a fun read and the first step on my journey to read through this entire Shannara series. While it was a bit generic at times it had some interesting ideas cooked into it as well. In particular the sci-fi/fantasy element where it's implied that this is a world that takes place long after we nuked it. That makes me very curious.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea -4 Stars
This was one of those books that kept popping up on my radar so I finally caved and requested a copy. After several weeks of waiting it finally came in. I was a bit hesitant to read this book as I was seeing a lot of negative reviews panning this book. After reading this book and reading those negative reviews I think there are just a lot of people who don't understand cozy fantasy. This isn't supposed to be a high stakes, high adventure, adrenaline fueled thrill ride. Cozy fantasies, in my opinion, are more about those quiet moments spent by the fire reading books and drinking tea. As some one coming into this genre from more of the manga/light novel side of things I am loving seeing more western style fantasy like this. Where it's more about the quiet everyday life in a fantasy world then stopping some evil dark lord hell bent on world domination. If you can't guess by now I loved this book a lot. I immediately got Legends and Latte's vibes from this and the author admits to her inspiration in the ending comment section. This isn't as low stakes as something like Legends & Lattes but it's far from world ending plot lines. If anything those middle ground stakes, where something needs to be done but you have plenty of time to do it, is a great tool to set up future books and that is exactly what this book did. I love the romance between these two characters and the setting was great. This was exactly what I needed after a rather stressing week.

Now for the manga and and the comics

Don't Call it Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 5-6 -4 Stars
This volume was a great representation about what I love about and dislike about this series. On the bad side of thing, as I've mentioned before, is the art. There are so many characters that look so alike that I get so confused at times. Outside of that the art is just kind of meh in general. Then on the other side of things we have the writing and holy smokes is the writing so good. The first main story line in this volume was so well written. I was just sucked into this ongoing mystery about an arsonist killing the parents of abused children. The logic of the killer, the logic of the flunky helping him, the mystery itself. Then there was the twist that came towards the end that I had no idea was coming and literally had me stun locked for several minutes as I tried to process what I had just learned and the implications it had on the story. The writing keeps me coming back to this story and it delivers, for the most part, there are some not as stunning moments but overall the writing is amazing.

Godzilla: Monster Island Summer Camp -4 Stars
This was another random snag from the library. I saw the whole Godzilla angle and knew I had to check it out. Now, fair warning in advance, this is not a classic Godzilla story by far. This is a summer camp story that happens to have Godzilla, Mothra, and several other Kaiju. Overall this book was a super sweet read. You have a young girl heading to what she believes is an art camp for the summer. Her mom had saved up all year just so she could go and she was super excited to finally hang out with other artists. To her dismay the summer camp was changed to an extreme sports camp after her mom bought her registration. Our MC is then sent to the basically the outcasts cabin where other "people" like her are sent. This is a cabin of three young women who become friends over the summer. Now you are probably wondering how in the heck Kaiju factor into all of this wholesome vibes. Well, I'm not spoiling that for you. You will have to read the comic and find out. I'm really glad I took a chance on this comic and would recommend it.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 8 -4 Stars
More JoJo's, more weird fights, more bizarre adventures. We are finally at the house of Dio and so much closer to the end of this part of the franchise.

The Sprite and the Gardener -4 Stars
This popped up on my radar when someone said I had recommended the book. The thing was I had never read it so I had to fix that. This was a short but sweet book about sprites finding a new way of life and gardening. It was one of those feel good comics that just leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. I never recommended this book but now I do. If you are looking for something short and sweet or have kids getting into reading this would be a great one to dive into.

The Agent -2 Stars
This was another random snag from the library. I read the synopsis and it sounded like something right up my alley. It's kind of a standard urban fantasy setup where you have a cop involved in a drug bust where things get "weird". This brings her to the attention of a special branch of the government that doesn't exist. This branch deals with crimes involving witchcraft. Here is where I'm going to get a bit harsh towards the book. This concept/setup was about the only good part of the book. Everything else was just painful. The story felt so clunky and disjointed. It tried to achieve all this great stuff, and I can see what it was trying to do, but the execution just fell flat on it's face. This story telling lead me to not really liking or caring about any of the characters. The artwork was this grittier and darker style that I just wasn't vibing with. If this book was any longer I would have either dropped it or ended up in some kind of reading funk.

Now, what is next

City Spies
This is my current audiobook and pretty fun so far. It's one of those kid espionage stories where a government agency, in this case MI6, feels the need to create an elite unit of spies consisting of nothing but kids/teens. A totally silly idea but a fun one.

Outside of that I have this giant leaning tower of library books beside me that I need to address. I'm going to shift from tackling what is due next to what is due next that I can't renew. Stuff I can renew will be pushed until later.

It's probably not even the full 10 minutes as most audiobooks have some sort of ending credits. I need maybe 8 minutes or so.

This is some horrible timing. I have 10 minutes of audiobook left in my 27 hour behemoth that I've been working on for the last 2.5 weeks. I'm at work now and can' finish it until later. This just feels cruel.

I'm down to the final 49 minutes of The Sword of Shannara and I'm excited. I've had a great time listening to this book but after 2.5 weeks I'm ready for something new.

Going back to a five day work week after having back to back long weekends is not a fun feeling. I still have so many things to read, games to play, stuff to watch, etc. That and the weather outside is kind of miserable. It's right around the freezing mark, windy, and confused if it should be raining, snowing, or both.

This is going to be a smaller update as I try to get myself back on to my normal schedule.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 2 -4 Stars
Yup, the next book in my reread of this series. Not a lot to say about it either. Yuna is still the bear girl who molds the world to her whims.

Now for the manga

Dinosaur Sanctuary Vol. 5 -3 Stars
I also don't have a lot to say about this one either. It's the fifth volume of this slice of life story about working at a dinosaur sanctuary. There is science, dinosaurs, and people stories.

I'm the Grim Reaper, Vol. 2 -3 Stars
Worry not, not all of my updates will be one or two sentences where I wave my hand and move on. This book has left me feeling kind of conflicted but intrigued. Basically it opens with the MC in line for judgement to hell. She has no memory of who she is or what she did. Before she can figure anything out or receive her judgement she is snatched out of line by the devil themselves. She is informed that she is one of the worst sinners and she is destined for the ninth level of hell or she can become their grim reaper. As you can guess by the title of the book she takes him up on the deal and is sent back to the surface. The deal is she reaps one sinners soul a day and she can remain on the surface. Alright, lets start getting into my thoughts on this one. There are parts of this book that piqued my interest and others that left me feeling kind of lukewarm. For instance the surface world looks very similar to ours but there are hints that there is more going on then we are aware of. It kind of has some sort of sci-fi dystopian feel to it. It makes me really curious about what is going on. Another thing that makes me curious is the back story of the MC herself. We get little hints here and there that they did something horrible but nothing concrete. Then there are moments where the story feels a little clunky. Every time she reaps a soul we get a scene in hell where the devil themselves passes judgement on the individual. We get their backstory and their punishment. This feels like an attempt to explore what is right and wrong and how things can quickly get morally grey. For me, this just felt clunky and not the best exploration into this topic I've seen. I have the same opinions in regards to the art. There are some scenes that feel like standard manga/webcomic inspired art. That's not a bad thing, it's just kind of meh. Then there are these scenes where we get a whole bunch of crazy colors and designs that are just fun to look at. You can see some of that on the cover as well. Overall there is enough here to make me want to come back for the second book that releases in a month or so.

The God of High School Volume One: A WEBTOON Unscrolled Graphic Novel -4 Stars
I've read the first arc of this story a couple times on WEBTOON now. Needless to say I was rather excited when I saw that there was a physical translation and that my library was getting a copy. The first story arc is basically just a giant tournament called The God of High School. Invitations are sent all over the world to recruit the best fighters in the world from all forms of martial arts. The winner of the tournament gets one wish, any wish, granted. This first book covers the introduction of our three main MC's, the chief villain for this part, the preliminary round, and the start of the first round. This is just stupid martial arts fun and I am here for it all. I love reading this series and I'm so glad that it's getting a physical release. I really hope that my library keeps bringing in the physical editions so I can keep reading them.

Now, what is next.

For the audiobook side of things I am still working on The Sword of Shannara. It's a 27 hour audiobook and I only listen on normal speed. I'm getting through it and I've currently got 8 hours left so I'll be finishing this up in the next week. I'm enjoying the book but I'm also looking forward to something else. Two weeks of working on this is a lot.

As for physical books, I still have this giant stack from the library and I'm getting another giant stack today. A combination of getting a little click happy and a bunch of holds coming in. I swear I'll catch up someday... just in time to do it all again.

Huh... I've never even heard of Passionflix before today. That is a new one for me.

Much later then normal but that is because I've had some long weekends and it's messing with my normal schedule of things. This week I'm going to be talking about a lot of manga and comics as that is just what I have currently from the library.

Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Light Novels, Vol. 1 -4 Stars
My one and only novel this week and I don't really have a lot to say about it. For me this is more or less in the same vein as Kuma Bear and I love the easy vibe of it. This series is about a VRMMO where our MC creates one of the most broken characters in the game by dumping every single point she gets in defense. Combine that with some pure dumb luck allowing her to find some absolutely broken skills and she essentially turns into the final boss for the game. She is a slow moving fortress of cuteness and I love it. I started reading this a few years back when the English translations were first coming out and I got caught up super quick. I picked it up again when I was stuck on a challenge needing a shield on the cover. I remembered this one and my noodle arm of resistance got twisted again.

Now for all the manga and comics

Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 7: Includes vols. 19, 20 & 21 -4 Stars
This series is now literally a sci-fi with everyone going to space. How did we get here again? It's wild looking at where things are now versus how this series started. This is the end of the fight against Vegeta and the introduction of Frieza. This is definitely in the realm of new material but it's not completely new just due to pop culture osmosis. DBZ was massive and it feels inescapable in the anime community. Not in a bad way or anything, it's just this juggernaut that is always there.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 5 -5 Stars
This is the final book in this series and I feel like I took away a totally different message from what seems to be the main one I see. I totally see the ones about the beauty of nature and the simplicity of small town life that others see. I also felt there was this depressing message of the inevitable flow of time. How it stops for no one and that nothing will be forever. Our MC is an android who never ages so we don't see the passage of time in her but we see it in everything around her. How the small town she lives in is getting reclaimed by nature, how her cafe will be eventually swallowed by the sea, etc. There are characters we start the series with seeing them as young teens who by the end have moved away for work, gotten married, and have had children of their own that comes back to see the MC. Not as infants but as children themself. I also noticed that by the end all the old folk in town were missing. I'm not sure if that was just a story thing or if they too fell victim to times relentless pace. It's a beautiful series that I am so glad that I have read but man was I little blue after finishing it. Partially because of what I talked about here, partially because it was over. If your into manga and you are into slice of life stories like I am then I recommend this series. It's a classic for a reason and the recent omnibus re-release of the story makes it pretty accessible.

SAKAMOTO DAYS 13 -5 Stars
I have gushed, more then a few times, about how amazing the action in this series is but this volume was just beautiful when it came to its action scenes. I highly doubt that we will get this far in the anime adaptation coming out next year but this is one I want to see on a screen. This volume was a flashback to when Sakamoto was in assassination school and the action was just mind blowing. I know I'm kind of repeating myself here but it really stuck with me. There was more then a few times where I had to take a break just to process what I just read. This volume was just amazing.

His Majesty the Demon King's Housekeeper Vol. 6 -3 Stars
This was more of this series. The MC cleaned, more aspects of the world were explored, and the budding romance got nudged along. Not a bad series but not mind blowing either.

Space-Mullet -3 Stars
This was towards the end of Saturday and the first of a couple of books that I wouldn't call duds but they left me in a bit of a funk. Both books were random snags from the library that seemed interesting. This comic started out strong with this ex-space marine turned trucker getting pulled into this conspiracy involving a video about the mission that led to him going AWOL. The book, while cliche, started out strong and I felt invested in what was going on. The art style even started to grow on me. Then the first part of the story line wrapped up and it just started this spiral in meh that it never recovered from. What started out so strong eventually ended on this weak story about mold on the ship. We just kept adding characters without fleshing out the ones that were already there. The story that was there in the beginning just faded away. From what I understand this is the authors first attempt at a comic and this was originally a webcomic. The last half of the comic never got published and I'll be honest I have no interest in trying to find it online. Just meh over all.

Brielle and Bear: Once Upon a Time -3 Stars
This was the other comic that left me feeling in a bit of a funk. I snagged this one because it seemed like something right up my alley and on paper, it should have been. It's this sweet romance about two opposites finding each other and romance along the way. I don't know how to explain this properly but none of this comic clicked with me. Not the characters, not the romance, not the setting, not the art style, nothing. I don't think it was bad though, I can even see how this could be really popular with people, but for me, this was just underwhelming. I never felt a bond with the characters and there were elements of the romance that just didn't sit right with me. It just left me feeling meh by the end.

I Married My Female Friend Vol. 3 -4 Stars
More from this sweet slice of life romance and it was nice. There was a new character introduced, the romance made some progress, it was just sweet and what I liked about this series.

Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Vol. 3 (Volume 3) -5 Stars
I love this series and the romance in it. The story moves forward in this one and we get a confession in this one. I really do love the pacing in this series, it just makes everything feel so much sweeter.

One Piece, Volume 3: Don't Get Fooled Again -4 Stars
This marks the end of the Buggy arc and the start of the Syrup Village arc. I've watched/read much further ahead in the series so it's interesting to revist the beginning and to catch things that you won't see fully explained until much, much, much further in the series. Like the first sighting of Silvers Rayleigh. He isn't named but he is there on the page and you recognize him when you see him. Like I mentioned this is also the start of Syrup Village and the introduction of Usopp. I kind of have some mixed feelings about this arc really. There are elements of the story I don't mind and there are elements that I'm just not as stoked for. Mainly, early Usopp.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You 03 -4 Stars
Another chill slice of life romance, listen, I was on a kick lately and I had a bunch of these come in all at once. I truly love this series and the budding romance between these two idiots. It's more smoking, more supermarket, more shenanigans, and a new character. The worst part about this was realizing that I am now caught up and that there won't be more for a while.

Hirayasumi, Vol. 1 -4 Stars
This was me rolling the dice and taking a chance with an unknown series. This is a slice of life about a man in his late twenties living in Tokyo with little a care in the world. There is also his young cousin who is attending art college and ends up moving in with him. Maybe this was some PTSD but I was really worried about some weird romance vibes popping up but nope. It's about two different people living their life and finding their way. The young man works a part time job and truly marches to the beat of his own drum. He lives life at a much slower pace then those around him and it is interesting. As for the young cousin, it's a story about a young person from a small town being overwhelmed by a massive city like Tokyo, about going to college and trying to fit in, etc. There are some truly heartfelt moments in this series and I really want to continue. Like many on this list though there are not a lot of these out yet and I don't think it will take me long to catch up.

I Want to be a Wall, Vol. 1 -3 Stars
This is a book about a relationship but not so much a romantic one and I'll explain why here in a second. This book opens with two young people getting married but you quickly learn that these two people know little of each other and this is more of a marriage of convenience. The young man is gay and has an unrequited crush on his childhood friend, and the woman is asexual with a BL (boys love) addiction (this part is explained in a good way). Most of this volume is about their back story and a bit about the challenges they face as two strangers now living as a married couple. I have some weird feelings about this one. I think this could be a good trilogy but this first volume left me wanting in a bad way. I appreciate the back stories and the glimpse into their life but the big thing I was missing was just how this all came to be. From their backstories, and what we see in present day, they appear to be strangers so how did this all come to be. How did they meet? Why the marriage? The volume is pretty short and I just wish it could have been a bit longer to explain this import part of their story. Overall there was enough there to hook me in and considering it's a trilogy I will read the other two volumes.

There, I'm caught up on my week. I warned you it was a lot. As for what is next there isn't a lot there. I'm still working on the Shannara novel, I'm about 25% of the way into it or about 6 hours currently. Outside of that I got a little click happy at the library and I've replaced my giant stack of things with another giant stack of things. I think this is a common story amongst those of us who use the library a lot.

Love it!

I got the Innkeeper one and I'm kind of fine with that.

This is going to sound silly but some proud accomplishments from the last couple weeks of just trying to eat less.

-I have a normal pack of Oreo cookies and I've had them for two weeks now. Probably will finish them next week which makes three weeks of having them. Before I would eat that in a day.

-I'm on week two of a 1 liter jug of almond milk and before that would last a week, maybe less.

-I got a bag of chips over the weekend and instead of eating it one go I stretched them out over two days.

There are other smaller ones like a tub of yogurt going from two meals to three, eating more fruits and veg, etc. The thing is I don't feel bad about anything because I'm not cutting anything out that I would normal have or crave. I'm just having less things to eat. It's silly but I'm trying to find something that works.

That seems to be the consensus with everyone I talk to.

After my nice long weekend I am not ready for work this morning. I still have so many things from the library that I need to read. That being said I did do some damage to my library backlog. It went from a leaning tower on my table to something like a pile.

I listened to the first thirty seconds of The Sword of Shannara and I suddenly have a much greater issue then just the length. Apparently I've been pronouncing Shannara wrong my entire life. Supposedly the correct way to say it is Shan-uh-ruh but I pronounce it more like Sha-nar-ah. This is going to bug me every time I hear it in this journey.

Congrats!

It's a bit later then normal but here is my update for the week.

Sunken Pyramid -3
This was another Rogue Angel book and there isn't a lot to say about it. I'm now 45 books deep into this series and I'm getting exactly what I expect out of these books, especially now that I am listening to the Graphic Audio versions. These books are simple popcorn that I can turn my brain off and just enjoy. For this one, the book had a bit more of an archeological spin to it then the regular high octane adventure story. There was still various fights and what not but they were more there because they had to be there then anything else. Most of it was coming from this relics smuggling ring that was a B plot and when I look back at it I'm really not sure what it had to do with the main plot. Outside of being the thing to poke it along at times.

Raven of the Inner Palace (Light Novel) Vol. 1 -3 Stars
This is a series that has been popping up on my radar a lot ever since I got into Apothecary Diaries. Basically if you liked Apothecary Diaries then you will like this series kind of stuff. After reading through this I can see the comparisons but there are some pretty big differences as well. This is set in Chinese imperial setting with it being mainly focused on the inner court with the consorts of the Emperor. The MC's are both highly intelligent young women who are a bit stunted on social graces. There are mysteries to solve where the young women use their unique skill set and intelligence to solve. That's where the similarities kind of end and the differences start to set in. First, and this is a big one, in this universe magic is very real and the supernatural is very real. Second, also another big one, the MC in this novel is one of the consorts. Granted, she is not a consort in a normal sense and that is one of the things that immediately hooked me into this novel. She is a consort but she does not perform, as the book described it, her "nightly duties". In fact the Emperor will not call on her at all. She is not someone who works her way up through the ranks either. A Raven Consort is chosen by a higher power and is almost a religious position in the inner palace. If one is brave enough you can go to her to help find things, exorcise a ghost, or maybe, if rumors are to be believed, she will curse someone for you.

I think the comparisons to Apothecary Diaries kind of tainted my expectations for this book. It wasn't a bad book but it also didn't click with me as much, yet. The mysteries feel much more independent without a lot of that overarching mystery to tie everything together. That being said there is an interconnecting story and it has some good twists. One that I was not expecting was the revelation of just what the true position of the Raven Consort really is. That was a surprise and I hope it plays a bigger part in future books. I'm also hoping that we get a bit more variety in the story types going forward. This felt like it was kind of samey by the end. Regardless of my criticisms I will be reading more in this series if I can find them.

Ghosts -3 Stars
I'm kind of ashamed to say that I kind of forgot about this series after reading the first one earlier this year. It wasn't until I was trying to find something to listen to that I remembered that I wanted to keep listening to this one. This book is the second book in the series and it has a bit of a weird vibe to it. This book felt like more a first book in a series then the actual first book and I have a theory why. It almost feels like the first book was meant as a standalone and this was only written when someone realized how popular the first one was. There is a time skip, much more lore explored, new characters established, etc. There is also this feeling that this book is trying to set up much more of a longer story line and the ending really solidified that feeling. I also feel that this leans a bit more into the generic popcorn action kind of feeling. Don't get me wrong, I was still highly entertained while reading this and I will read more in the future as long as I don't forget it on my TBR again.

Now for the manga

Fullmetal Alchemist (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4 -5 Stars
More of this amazing story and more reveals. Just a great time.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You 01 -4 Stars
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You 02 -4 Stars
I've had this pop up on my radar a few times and I was kind of on the fence about it. Then my library got some copies of it and I had to try it. This series is a chill slice of life romance series and I have to say that I am really starting to love this subgenre. I love the slower pace, I like how the romance takes time to develop, and it just doesn't feel like it needs that drama edge to it. So this series is basically about two people relaxing after a hard days work and having a smoke. Here is the weird little twist to this story. The guy has a bit of a thing for the cashier who works till #2 in the grocery store and has no idea that the woman he is having a smoke with is the same person. I know this makes the MC sound super dense and yeah he is a bit dense but I can kind of see this one. The guy is swinging by the market after putting in a 12+ hour day where he is treated like crap by his boss. The man is exhausted and just looking for that one little ray of sunshine which is this cashier. He really doesn't know her outside of this brief encounter where she has her customer service face on. When he runs into her behind the store she isn't in her uniform and she has dropped her customer service face. She is a fairly different person then the one he sees briefly at the till. I love how the two characters bond and become friends even though there is a 20 year age difference (he is 45 years and she is 24). There is also an interesting cast of side characters and hints that this might not be the first time they have met. I'm just having fun with this one and can't wait for the next one.

Now, what is next

The Sword of Shannara
This is my next audiobook and my next big fantasy journey. This audiobook kind of intimidates me though as it is 27 hours long. Needless to say I'll be working on this one for a couple weeks.

Outside of that I have a giant stack of things I need to work on from the library for the next couple weeks.