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Archive > What are you reading in 2022?

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message 251: by Jo (new)

Jo Elliott | 1838 comments Brittany wrote: "Jo wrote: "Brittany wrote: "Jo I am so jealous you have started Diamond Eye!! I am on a ridiculously long waitlist for the audio. I may give in and get myself a copy though.
Also totally agree abou..."


Fair, I've used so many credits this year already! I probably should have upped to a 24 credit membership but I didn't know if I'd actually use that many.

I would definitely take more Daevabad novels too, if SA Chakraborty ever wanted to write them!


message 252: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I finished my 30th book


message 253: by Elena (new)

Elena Granger | 1788 comments @Brittany I think it's ok to read those books in any order. The stories are not so connected.


message 254: by Elena (new)

Elena Granger | 1788 comments Finished 2 more books recently. I'm still in a strange mood and don't know what to do in the current situation. Reading helps to relax and not to go crazy.

Murder Unleashed (Dead-End Job Mystery, #5) by Elaine Viets - once again, what a captivating and relaxing cozy mystery series. Love it.

Two Witches and a Whiskey (The Guild Codex Spellbound, #3) by Annette Marie - and I'm going on reading this series too. Also a great one and each books is so interesting!


message 255: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Elena wrote: "@Brittany I think it's ok to read those books in any order. The stories are not so connected."

They get more connected as you go :) But it is okay to read them in whichever order


message 256: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I finished my 31st book


A Little Mystery Book ᰔ I finished reading The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith today. Now I’m starting to read Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I’m excited to finally read a dystopian trilogy!


message 258: by Gord (new)

Gord | 999 comments Lets get this wrap up done so I can get back to reading.

Something from the Nightside (Nightside, #1) by Simon R. Green -5 Stars
This is my third or fourth time reading this book and I still love it. I've seen the criticisms and complains about the book and they are valid but I still love the book. The gritty detective feel, the absolute bonkers nature of the Nightside, the colorful characters who live there, just all of it. This was the first time listening to this though and I'm not sure if I'm the biggest fan of the narrator. This narrator burst into the narration like a world class sprinter and never slowed down once. I never play with the speed on audio books and I think I just go used to a "normal" pace and this book was not that. It was just speed reading the book of the page as quick as possible. I got used to it but I wasn't the biggest fan. I like the little pauses here and there to let things settle in my brain a bit.

Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex Demonized #1) by Annette Marie -5 Stars
Two years, after two long years I was finally able to get this book from the library and read it. Initially the library didn't have this so I requested a copy. Then I waited for the library to put it into the catalogue so I can reserve my copy. Then I waited a year plus for the book to actually show up and be available. By that time my hold at the library, which I was first in line for, had expired. Of course I didn't notice right away and had to start at the bottom of the queue. This resulted in nearly another year of waiting. So what did I think of the book after all that waiting? Loved it. I loved the main Guild Codex series so to get more in the same world but from a different perspective was just fun. I knew that this took place at roughly the same time as Demon Magic and a Martini
Demon Magic and a Martini but I wasn't sure of exactly how. It was a great feeling when I finally made the connection and I had that big light-bulb moment. I am really looking forward to moving on with this series and the main series as well. Hopefully my next wait wont be as bad.

The Secret Life of Kitty Granger by G.D. Falksen -3 Stars
I'm not sure why I had this on my TBR pile but I'm sure it was challenge related and it did help with some challenges. This was set in 1967 London and our MC has autism. I'll just throw this out here before I go any further. I know next to nothing about autism so if I say something inaccurate my apologies in advance. With it being 1967 autism isn't really a known thing like now a days so our MC is just peculiar. She has a real knack for things like patterns, faces, and numbers. One day she notices a couple of people acting odd on the bus and it triggers her curiosity. These folks were spies and after a chain of events she is recruited into a spy agency because of her skills. I really found the MC to an interesting character and watching her deal with all these changes. Things like puzzles, accents, etc were all easy to her but things like loud noises, crowds, etc were more challenge. For instance she is trained how to use a gun and one hand the handling of the gun is easy for her. How to load it, how to cock it, etc because it was all procedures. There were steps for her to follow. On the other hand she hated the actually act of firing of a gun because of the sheer chaos of the actual act. It also like how she was never magically treated of her autism either. Even on a mission there were times where he brain would simply get overloaded and she would panic. She had techniques though that helped her process these difficult times until she had some quiet time where she would just unpack everything that happened to properly process everything. Overall I found this to be an interesting read and I wish there were more books in this series instead of it being a standalone.

Mashle Magic and Muscles, Vol. 3 by Hajime Komoto -4 Stars
There wasn't a lot of stuff that happened story wise in this volume as it was a lot of battles but it's still a funny and interesting read.

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 4 by Ryoko Kui Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 5 by Ryoko Kui
Still loving this series and I'm almost caught up to where I stopped reading last time. I'm interested in seeing where the story goes after that.

Currently I'm listening to Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling on audio which has been good minus one really annoying trope.

For my next book I'll be tackling The Pearls of Lutra (Redwall, #9) by Brian Jacques

The next manga I want to tackle will be The Golden Sheep, Vol. 1 (The Golden Sheep, #1) by Kaori Ozaki The Golden Sheep, Vol. 2 by Kaori Ozaki The Golden Sheep, Vol. 3 by Kaori Ozaki


caffeineandcatnaps Has anyone read The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy?


message 260: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Gord glad you finally got your copy of Taming Demons and loved it! Kitty Granger sounds interesting and quite different.


message 261: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
caffeineandcatnaps wrote: "Has anyone read The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy?"

I have not


message 262: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Finished Outcasts of Order (The Saga of Recluce, #20) by L.E. Modesitt Jr. the one good thing of having covid has been the increase in reading time I guess.

Next up in hardcopy is Lily of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter, #1) by Stephanie Dray


message 263: by Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover (new)

Liliana (lililostinabook) | 2893 comments Mod
Some books I finished in the last week:

Japanese Demystified by Eriko Sato I finally finished this one! Only took my a couple months 😅 It's a textbook so it was difficult to read at times, but overall it was pretty helpful.

Cinder's Adventure Get Me To the Wedding! by Marissa Meyer This one was a lot of fun! It was a choose your own adventure that featured a bunch of Marissa Meyer's characters even those outside The Lunar Chronicles series. I loved it!

Gilded (Gilded, #1) by Marissa Meyer I just finished this one today and I also loved it! Lol. This was a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin mixed with German folklore and it was really well done! The story was very interesting, even though it was familiar, and the characters were great! The ending was brutal though! And book 2 doesn't come out till November 😭

And tonight I am finally going to start Tear Down the Throne (Gargoyle Queen, #2) by Jennifer Estep . Very excited for it!


message 264: by Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover (new)

Liliana (lililostinabook) | 2893 comments Mod
caffeineandcatnaps wrote: "Has anyone read The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy?"

No, but a friend of mine just finished them yesterday and she loved them! She was telling me how she got a book hangover 😂


message 265: by Jo (new)

Jo Elliott | 1838 comments Brittany wrote: "Finished Outcasts of Order (The Saga of Recluce, #20) by L.E. Modesitt Jr. the one good thing of having covid has been the increase in reading time I guess.

Next up in hardcopy is Lily of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter, #1) by Stephanie Dray"


Didn't realise you had covid Brittany, hope you're feeling better!


message 266: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I finished my 32nd book


message 267: by Kayleigh {K-Books}, YA Fantasy Fan (new)

Kayleigh {K-Books} (kayley_12) | 2296 comments Mod
Jo wrote: "Brittany wrote: "Jo I am so jealous you have started Diamond Eye!! I am on a ridiculously long waitlist for the audio. I may give in and get myself a copy though.
Also totally agree about wanting t..."


Yes. I'm also all for SA Chakraborty writing a spin off of that. It would be epic.


message 268: by Kayleigh {K-Books}, YA Fantasy Fan (new)

Kayleigh {K-Books} (kayley_12) | 2296 comments Mod
caffeineandcatnaps wrote: "Has anyone read The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy?"

YESSSS! I loved both of those books. I can't wait for the final book.


message 269: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Thanks Jo!! I no longer feel like I'm suffocating so thats something!


message 270: by Jo (new)

Jo Elliott | 1838 comments Brittany wrote: "Thanks Jo!! I no longer feel like I'm suffocating so thats something!"

That's good, though I'm sorry to hear it's been so bad for you!


message 271: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Thanks! It was rough


message 272: by Christine (new)


message 273: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Finished
The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1) by Danielle L. Jensen Good book if predictable. Had some fun world building stuff though and still worth listening to. Jumping right into book 2 since its free with audible plus.

Immortal in Death (In Death, #3) by J.D. Robb Another good In Death book


message 274: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I finished my 33rd book


message 275: by Christine (new)


message 276: by Christine (new)


message 277: by Elena (new)

Elena Granger | 1788 comments This week I finished several books from the series I've started recently.

Murder with Reservations (Dead-End Job Mystery, #6) by Elaine Viets Clubbed to Death (Dead-End Job Mystery, #7) by Elaine Viets Killer Cuts (Dead-End Job Mystery, #8) by Elaine Viets Half-Price Homicide (Dead-End Job Mystery, #9) by Elaine Viets Pumped for Murder (Dead-End Job Mystery, #10) by Elaine Viets - I don't have more books from the series so finished for now. One of my favourite cozy mystery series which is not about food or books. I've picked it randomly and was glad I did it. All the stories have similar vibes and layout but there is something charming in it. It was really hard to say goodbye to all the characters :)

A Damsel and a Demigod (The Guild Codex Spellbound, #0.5) by Annette Marie Demon Magic and a Martini (The Guild Codex Spellbound, #4) by Annette Marie Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex Demonized #1) by Annette Marie - this series is totally different to the one mentioned before yet also very addictive and interesting. So far my favourite ones are the first one (Three Mages and a Margarita), A Damsel and a Demigod and Demons for Beginners.

Искатели ветра (Ветер и искры, #1) by Alexey Pehov - the book is in Russian and I don't know whether it has a translation or not but it's amazing! Epic fantasy series with a very unique world. There are several series which are connected and cover different periods of time and events. This small aspect made the series even more interesting.


message 278: by Kayleigh {K-Books}, YA Fantasy Fan (new)

Kayleigh {K-Books} (kayley_12) | 2296 comments Mod
I've finished The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1) by Danielle L. Jensen I really enjoyed it, though I do think it was very predictable and it's definitely overhyped. I am however going to listen to the second book now, as it is a fun read, and I do like it.

Also reading The Darkest Legacy (The Darkest Minds, #4) by Alexandra Bracken


message 279: by Gord (new)

Gord | 999 comments I'm doing a special post so that I can purge this book from my memory and move on.

Mr. Big The Investigation into the Deaths of Karen and Krista Hart by Colleen Lewis 1 Star

I read this book for a challenge and it was not worth it. I entered this book thinking it was a true crime book set in Canada and figured it could be an interesting read. What I got was instead a memoir style book from the point of view of the mother. Putting aside my other issues with this book I found the writing in this book to be very boring. There was a lot of time spent on pointless information, the information wasn't presented in an "interesting" way, basically if I wasn't enraged I was bored. Before I found myself enraged I considered dropping this book more than a few times. My getting angry at this book made me want to drop it even more. For whatever I reason I pushed on and finished it and as I mentioned before it was not worth it.

Now for what made me angry about this book and I'm putting this section behind a spoiler wall with a giant warning. In this spoiler section I will be talking about abuse, murder, etc. I also won't be filtering myself much so there will be some swearing and some strong opinions. Don't say I didn't warn you and proceed at your own risk.

(view spoiler)

I'm now going to update my challenges and then purge this book from the memory banks. I'm going to take some time to watch some anime, play some games, and then read a book or two that I know I'm going to like.


message 280: by Christine (last edited Apr 19, 2022 12:54PM) (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I finished my 34th book


message 281: by Gord (new)

Gord | 999 comments Lets do that weekly wrap up minus the one book I already vented about yesterday.

Across the Desert by Dusti Bowling -4 Stars
This was another random snag from the library while I wait for main audio book to come, which it has finally. I was expecting a middle grade adventure novel set in the desert and I got that plus more. This book opens with our young MC watching her favorite streamer in the library. This streamer flies an ultralight in the desert outside of Phoenix. During the stream the ultralight crashes and the streamer can be heard screaming for help. This is where I have one big criticism of the book. The book pulls out the old trope of no adults listening to the MC because they are a little kid and I hate this trope. This one is kind of somewhat believable but there are some major hoops one has to jump through to suspend their disbelief enough. She explain the librarian who doesn't believe her. She then runs to the fire hall but they are skeptical because it was online. They want to talk to her parents but she is scared to do that for reasons I'll get to here in a second. She then tries telling her mom who freaks out at her for talking to strangers online and ignores the issue of the crash. She even steals her moms phone and calls the local sheriff who makes some minimal effort but dismisses it as well because of the whole little kid thing. At this point she decides that no one is going to belief her or help her so she will save her friend herself. She steals her moms phone and credit card before setting of on this adventure. At this point it's about her struggles to get out to this remote location so she can find her friend and to save her. While doing this the she is also dealing with a couple of other things. A few years prior to the start of this book her and her mom were in a super bad car accident. The MC has some serious issues left over from that accident. I'm not sure if I'd go so far as PTSD but there are some issues that have not been addressed. Her mother was also badly injured in this accident and during her recovery she got addicted to opioids. This addiction is the second major theme that runs through this book. The young MC struggling to figure out how to deal with this and what not. I'm not sure if it was the audio book aspect of this story or what but the two themes were really moving and seeing her struggles with these problems was a bit emotional. This MC is driven and determined to say the least and it made for a really compelling read.

The Pearls Of Lutra (Redwall) by Brian Jacques -4 Stars
This was an exciting Redwall novel that was a fun read. There were all the usual Redwall trappings that one would expect from one of these books. Food, song, creatures galore, evil rats, etc. On top of all the usual creatures we normally have in these novels we had some interesting additions. We had seals as well as lizards in this book as well as the sighting of whales. The riddles in this book were also engaging. These were the kind of riddles that the reader could work out for themselves for the most part. It wasn't the whole "travel x distance to this place and look for the tree shaped like a spider" kind of puzzles that we see quite often in these novels. Just a fun read overall.

Berserk Deluxe Edition Volume 6 by Kentaro Miura -5 Stars
More Berserk, more dark fantasy. You've heard me gush about this series a lot already.

The Golden Sheep, Vol. 1 (The Golden Sheep, #1) by Kaori Ozaki The Golden Sheep, Vol. 2 by Kaori Ozaki The Golden Sheep, Vol. 3 by Kaori Ozaki -4 Stars
This was a random snag from the library that I discovered while browsing through the new releases. This was a rather emotional trilogy that feels like something I have experienced myself to some degree. A young girl and her family had to move away and she was forced to leave her friends behind. Seven years later she returns with her family and is super excited to see her old friends again. She thinks that it will be just like old times and that they will all be the best of friends again just like she had never left. The thing is that life happens and people change over time and this series was about dealing with that change. My only big criticism of the story is that one of the friends was just kind of there. She had some backstory but I don't feel that it was explored nearly as much as the other three. Then there was a bonus standalone story at the end and this story kicked me right in the emotional core. I'm not to go to say to much about it but I will say that the story is about the unconditional love a child has for their mother.

Toriko, Vol. 28 by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro Toriko, Vol. 29 by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro Toriko, Vol. 30 Now, to Gourmet World!! by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro Toriko, Vol. 31 Bewitching Food World!! by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
More Toriko and these were some important ones. Volumes 28 and 29 wrap up the big story arc that was ongoing in a big way. Volumes 30 and 31 start after an eighteen month time skip and is the start of a brand new story line with our characters finally heading out into the Gourmet world where we get to see some truly crazy environments and worlds. This is full on into unread territory for me and I'm interested to see where things go next.

Currently on audio book I am listening to Agents of Light and Darkness (Nightside, #2) by Simon R. Green

I'm also well into Festive in Death (In Death, #39) by J.D. Robb which I am enjoying as one would expect.

After that I am not sure exactly where I want to go next. I have a task for a challenge I need to complete by the end of the month. I have library due dates coming up that I need to finish things for. I just have a lot on the docket currently.


message 282: by Gord (new)

Gord | 999 comments I'll throw this out there and see what I might get back. Over the last bit I've found some YA romance novels that I've actually enjoyed. There are none of the usual tropes that I would associate with YA romance in particular the stuff from the fantasy/urban fantasy subgenres. Things like the love triangle and what not. They are just simple sweet romance books. Those books have been:

XOXO by Axie Oh A Pho Love Story by Loan Le I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn and the one I'm reading right now I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee

Does anyone know of anything else in the same vein books. This is a rather unexplored thing for me and I'm rather curious to find more.


message 283: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Elena glad you are loving all the Guild Codex books! Are you reading the webtoon comic too?!
Also very cool you read such an awesome book in Russian. If you ever see a translation for it let me know.

Gord aside from your terrible book seems like a good reading week! More In Death cant go wrong with that.


message 284: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
I finished the audio for The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom, #2) by Danielle L. Jensen still good easy listening and since its was free with audible went right into book 3 The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom, #3) by Danielle L. Jensen without realizing it had different MCs. Enjoying it, might actually like these MCs better. These arent amazing fantasy books but are easy listens and enjoyable


message 285: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Gord wrote: "I'll throw this out there and see what I might get back. Over the last bit I've found some YA romance novels that I've actually enjoyed. There are none of the usual tropes that I would associate wi..."

I haven't read a lot of asian YA contemporary which seem to be the ones you enjoy. Sorry I dont have any recs for you in this right now


message 286: by Gord (new)

Gord | 999 comments Brittany wrote: "Elena glad you are loving all the Guild Codex books! Are you reading the webtoon comic too?!
Also very cool you read such an awesome book in Russian. If you ever see a translation for it let me kn..."


There is a translation of the book from Tor called Chasers of the Wind. Not sure about your library but for mine Hoopla has an audio book copy of it.


message 287: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Thanks Gord! Ill have to look for it. You going to try it?


message 288: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I finished my 35th book


message 289: by Gord (new)

Gord | 999 comments Brittany wrote: "Thanks Gord! Ill have to look for it. You going to try it?"

I've added it to Mt TBR


message 290: by Christine (new)


message 291: by Brittany (new)

Brittany | 6445 comments Mod
Finished Lily of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter, #1) by Stephanie Dray was disappointed. It just didnt work for me


message 292: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I finished my 36th book


message 293: by Elena (new)

Elena Granger | 1788 comments Brittany wrote: "Elena glad you are loving all the Guild Codex books! Are you reading the webtoon comic too?!
Also very cool you read such an awesome book in Russian. If you ever see a translation for it let me kn..."


Nope, I actually didn't know about the webtoon. I'll try it later too.
As for book in Russian technically there is a translation but I've never seen it for sale :(


message 294: by Elena (last edited Apr 23, 2022 05:20AM) (new)

Elena Granger | 1788 comments @Gord @Brittany I'm happy you found it! :) This author is one of my favourite Russian authors.

@Brittany Im sorry to hear that you was disappointed with Lily of the Nile.


message 295: by Elena (new)

Elena Granger | 1788 comments And a small update for this week as I finished several books.

Hellbound Guilds & Other Misdirections (The Guild Codex Warped, #2) by Annette Marie The Alchemist and an Amaretto (The Guild Codex Spellbound, #5) by Annette Marie - I'm still enjoying the series but after 1-2 more books going to take a break and finish some other books I've started.

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne - there is something charming in her books! Enjoyed every book I've read by this author. Very cute, naive yet captivating story.

Someone I Used to Know by Paige Toon - a nice cozy romantic story but nothing special (or I just need a break from romance too)


message 296: by Jon (new)

Jon Smith (jonsmith_author) | 1 comments Finished Gallant recently. Thought it was superb. Lovely little book, enjoyed it from start to finish


message 297: by Carl (new)

Carl (lazarusreads) | 74 comments I am still reading Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne, like 70% through and loving it.


A Little Mystery Book ᰔ Finished reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Now I’m reading the second book in the trilogy called Pandemonium.


message 299: by Gord (new)

Gord | 999 comments After that massive dud last week this has been a great week of reading. Even my three star books were highly entertaining. That being said lets get into what I read this week.

Festive in Death (In Death, #39) by J.D. Robb -5 Stars
It's more In Death and I love it. Each In Death book has a certain vibe to it. Maybe it's a cold case one, a high stakes one where Eve is tracking a serial killer, a run of the mill murder mystery with tons of suspects, or ones like this. The mystery is there at the front but at the same time it feels like a side thing so that the story can focus on the personal stories of our beloved characters. It takes place at Christmas and there are a lot of character moments which I enjoyed. I'm also loving that Peabody has her own magic coat now and that it's bright pink. What a sight she must be. Bright pink cowboy boots, bright pink leather duster essentially. She is becoming the pink urban cowboy and for some reason I'm down with this.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 9 by Kumanano -4 Stars
I'm a little behind on staying on top of these as they come out. I was looking for some fluff to read and this book fits that description to a tee. It was more Kuma fun that I love. She rubs shoulders with nobles, kicks butt when needed, and is just the general force of nature doing her own thing. I love this isekai and I don't care that this is not the peak of high fine literature.

I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee -5 Stars
Last year when I picked up XOXO I had no idea the rabbit hole that it would pull me into. Since then I have read a few books that would fall into this genre of YA Asian Contemporary Romance and it's a genre that I would never of considered. In general I've avoided contemporary romance as my experiences with it have never been great. To be blunt, before this, I've found it be a boring genre. I kind of feel that way about the Contemporary genre in general. It's the life that is already outside my window that I can see everyday and I read to experience something different. Hence why I gravitate to things like fantasy. That being said there is something about this particular subgenre that just works for me. The books are usually simple but sweet. There is some broader commentary on a particular issue. For instance in this one it's tackling the fat shaming that exists in Korean entertainment. It's a weird thing that I can't explain but I'm enjoying my time in this genre of books.

Now for this particular book. It's centered around a Kpop contest in the vein of America's Got Talent. Our MC is a plus sized teen who enters both the singing and dancing portions of the competition and slays (that is what all the cool kids say right?). Along the way she faces grief and flak for her size from judges and family members. Oh and she falls in love with the hot superstar local Korean celebrity Henry Cho. To be more precise he falls for her first which I enjoyed. It touches on things like the fat shaming in Korean entertainment, LGBT issues, etc. It's the small things in this book that I enjoy. The tension between the MC and her mom is never fully resolved by the end of the book. It's still a work in progress and there a lot of issues that still need to be addressed there. Henry's issues and back story were interesting. This isn't a super deep or complicated book and it could be described as a power fantasy but I still enjoyed it.

Agents of Light and Darkness (Nightside, #2) by Simon R. Green -5 Stars
The latest audiobook that I completed and the next book in the Nightside series. This one is about the dark chalice, the cup of Judas, the antithesis of the Holy Grail. The true embodiment of evil and everyone wants it for their own nefarious reasons. Our MC, John Taylor, is hired by the Vatican to track this abomination down for them and return it to them. Along the way we meet even more interesting and colorful characters from the Nightside including Merlin Satanspawn. Yes, Merlin is the son of the devil, at least in this world. There are also a boatload of angels from above and below who wage ware in the Nightside for this chalice. Not new testament angels, or Hallmark angels either. We are talking old testament angels. The shock troops of heaven sent to smite sinners. Just more fun and crazy wackiness from this series and I love it.

In the Land of Leadale, Vol. 1 by Ceez -3 Stars
This is a hard one to explain as it requires me to go down some deep rabbit holes. This is a light novel which is still a niche market here in North America. It's also an Isekai which is a popular genre for light novels/manga/anime. An Isekai is basically a portal fantasy. Our MC ends up in another world, usually a fantasy one, by some means. Sometimes that is death, a summoning, walking through the wrong door, there are a lot of ways that it can happen and generally it's not really relevant as it's merely a vehicle to get our MC into this other world. This book is not just an Isekai though, it's a slice of life Isekai. There are no high stakes missions to save the world, to defeat the demon king, etc. It basically follows the daily life of our MC. The other things I want to mention about light novels is that they are not like a usual novel. In a series like In Death each book in that series is it's own story with a beginning, a middle, and an end as well as having overarching story elements (sometimes). For light novels the series is just one long giant story with arcs along the way. As a result a book doesn't have a true beginning, middle, or end like a traditional book. I bring this up because I saw some reviews criticizing the end of the book for just ending which light novels often do. It's finished the chapter, you get some bonus stories, and then it picks up the story in the next book. As for story arcs, they are basically stories that happen in the world. They can be either really short or incredibly long and can range from a part of a book to spanning across several books.

Now for this particular story. Our MC is bed ridden with a disease in our world. To help her pass the time she plays a VRMMORPG called Leadale. Since she is bed ridden she is able to sink a lot of time into this game and becomes one of the most powerful players on the server. One day there is an incident where the power dies and before the back up generators can come on she passes away. Don't think to hard about this story element and just remember that the death part is merely a vehicle to get our MC into the other world. She then wakes up in Leadale but it's not the game world that she remembers. It's 200 years into the future from the events that happened in the game. She is her character that she played in the game and has retained all her skills and abilities. I know that this sounds super generic to anyone who dabbles in Isekai's and it is to be honest. That doesn't make it bad though. It's interesting to see her figure out how this world works, how her skills work, etc. I also like how she had to learn how to human shall we say. While she is in her character she is still the sick girl who was bed ridden for years. She is rather naive about things and needs to learn certain skills along the way. I picked this novel up because I watched the anime last season and was interested in the source material. The anime kept the broad strokes mostly right but there is also a lot of cut content. A lot of detail was just dropped altogether that added to the world and helped explain things. There are characters in the book that were either cut back or cut out altogether in the anime. The flow of events are also different from the anime in some ways as well. Overall I'd say this was a 3.5 and I'll be reading more in this series to see where things go from here.

Ironheart Riri Williams by Brian Michael Bendis -4 Stars
A random comic I snagged off of Hoopla because I was curious. It was an interesting enough story about a young girl becoming the "next" Iron Man. This suffers from the usual Marvel/DC comics problem. If you don't read the broader comics then you are utterly lost about what the heck is going on the world. Tony Stark is in a coma for some reason, Dr Doom is gone/dead, there are more than one Hulk and not in the old school different personalities way. I might read the next collected edition but I'm not sure.

Fray Future Slayer by Joss Whedon -3 Stars
I'm participating in a Buffy challenge and I'm trying to hard mode it by reading as many Buffyverse books as possible. As a fair warning this is the first of many to come. This one follows a slayer called Fray 100's of years into the future and it was alright. I found Fray to be an interesting character and the future setting was interesting enough. It was entertaining.

Creepy Cat, Vol. 1 by Cotton Valent -4 Stars
This is a 4 koma or 4 panel style comic that just lands right for me. It takes the tried and true comic about owning a cat and adds a supernatural element to it. The usual cat antics are turned up to 20 with it's weird supernatural powers and the resulting shenanigans are weird and funny. If you're a fan of cats and a fan of horror/supernatural stuff then I recommend this series.

Currently on audiobook I'm listening to The Icebound Land (Ranger's Apprentice, #3) by John Flanagan which is great but suffers from some of the usual problems with older audiobooks. The audio quality is kind of all over the place. Sometimes it's quiet, sometimes it's loud, sometimes it sounds like it was recorded in a tin can.

For novels my next one is Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes and I'm a wee bit hyped for this one. I was sold on the synopsis when I saw it and so far all the reviews from friends here on Goodreads have been positive. I'm hoping it lives up to the hype.

As for comics and manga there are no solid plans but I do have some more Delicious in Dungeon sitting on my table currently.


message 300: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) I hope all of your books are going good Gord


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