What are you reading in 2023?

[Elena]

Here is a small chunk of what I read for the past few weeks.

- 4 stars. I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought but still it’s a good one, with an amazing interesting world where there are four different Londons living in parallel.
- 4 stars. I started the series a long time ago and never actually continued. But there was this thought on the back of my mind, reminding me how good the prequel was. So finally I found some time to come back to the amazing world of Alpha & Omega.
- 4 stars. A nice continuation to the series with one more interesting mystery case. The last 2 books I have in the series and I can tell I will definitely miss it. I love all the characters, Alison, her family and all the amazing ghosts.
- 4 stars. I did enjoy the first book more than the second. It was more structured and purposeful, the second one lacks those two things. It’s a bit chaotic and feels a bit too fast.
- 3 stars. The book is just too long to the point when it becomes really boring. I like the dragons and the whole quest aspect, but at the same time it’s too linear.
- 4 stars. I wanted to read this book for a long period of time, I was actually craving a proper dystopian military setting with all those nasty tricks and secrets.
- 4 stars. What a charming story it is! Perfectly met my expectations. I would also love to watch a movie or series with that setting of restoring a shop.
- 3 stars. The second book is slightly better than the first, but still not my favorite cozy mystery series. It’s pretty hectic and repetitive.

[Brittany]

Elena yay for reading Cry Wolf!
I also found A Darker Shade of Magic to not be as good as I expected, not bad but not great.

[Jo]

Brittany wrote: "Elena yay for reading Cry Wolf!
I also found A Darker Shade of Magic to not be as good as I expected, not bad but not great."

See I really loved A Darker Shade of Magic, but then it's very up my alley of the kinds of fantasy stories I love. So excited for the first book of the sequel series to be released this autumn!

[Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover]

Here's what I read in the last week:

I loved Conquer the Kingdom! I admit that the first half of the book was a bit slow, but once we hit the halfway point, things really got going! It was great thereafter! I'm sad that this is the last book in the series because I really loved the characters, but it wrapped things up really nicely.

We Jace You A Clary Xmas is a collection of short stories all about Jace and Clary 😍 And I, of course, loved this! Especially because there were a bunch of them that were in Jace's POV 😆 They were just really sweet! And spicy! 😏 LOL

My mood is in that weird I-don't-know-what-I-want phase at the moment. I thought I would want more fantasy or maybe a mystery thriller, but I wasn't really feeling it, sooo idk. Idk what I'm reading next. I'm thinking a nonfiction that caught my eye a couple of days ago, but we'll see.

[Gord]

Like I predicted I didn't get a lot of reading done in the last week. Work has been hectic and things aren't looking much better for some time.

-3 Stars
This was some fluffy comfortable reading with more comfy vibes from this world. If you ignore that one little section where it turned into a body horror at random. Yeah, that was a random moment of oddly horrifying and yet it wasn't gory at all. There are more hints at bigger things and future reveals to come. Just a fun little read.

-4 Stars
I've been meaning to reread the Dresden series for a long time now but I just never got around to it. I've also heard that James Marsters narration of the series was pretty solid. Combine that with this helping for a challenge I needed to get done this month and I essentially had a perfect reason to start this. I originally read this probably a decade or more ago when I was just getting back into the reading scene. It's not a five star like I originally ranked it but it's still a pretty solid entry as a book. Knowing how the series progresses, other reading experiences, etc just kind of highlight how basic this story is. It still works and it's a great introduction to the world of Dresden but at the same time it's kind of basic. There is also the talk of misogyny in the book and yeah, I can kind of see it. I'm not one to decide what is right or wrong for someone but for me it doesn't feel malicious and feels more like a vibe. Kind of that old school noir mystery kind of vibe that I felt throughout the novel. I'm eager to continue reading this series and maybe get to some of those new books that came out.

-4 Stars
Maybe it was just the mood I was in but these books just clicked with this time and I had a great time reading through them. Seeing Gon training to overcome a massive obstacle, the relationship between characters, etc. It was just all working for me.

-5 Stars
More glorious Berserk. It's a heavy read for sure but I just love the story and the world.

As for what is next.

On audio I am listening to . I might finish this off tomorrow just to be done with it. It's not a horrible book but I'm not exactly loving it either. If you enjoyed the other three books in the series you will likely enjoy this one as well as it's more of the same. After that I'm really not sure at this point. I need to go and find something.

For physical books I'm currently reading through the next couple of volumes of Komi just to relax a bit. I then need to get to so I can get it back to the library this week. I also have and a large stack of comics/manga to get through.

[Elena]

Brittany wrote: "Elena yay for reading Cry Wolf!
I also found A Darker Shade of Magic to not be as good as I expected, not bad but not great."

Yep, I really enjoyed Cry Wolf. As for A Darker Shade of Magic, I hope the next book will be better. I love the author and loved most of her books.

[Brittany]

Gord the misogyny is why I am afraid to reread Dresden, I fear I'd notice it more on reread. I loved it originally, but haven't gotten back to it since Butcher's hiatus. Took way too long for Peace Talks to come out for me. If he actually gets back to writing at a more normal pace, I'll attempt to return to the series though.
Also still a decent reading week with how busy work has been.


Lili cute name for that short story collection!

[Gord]

For me it wasn't a deal breaker it was just one of those things I noticed because I've heard so much chatter about it. Maybe it's because I've read things I consider much worse and I see much, much worse things in real life. Like I said I don't think Harry has any malicious intentions and I don't feel like the author has any malicious intentions. I don't know, that's just my two cents.

[Gord]

Small update so I can start the new week fresh.

-3 Stars
Like I said yesterday if you like the rest of the series then you will also like this book. For myself I had basically the same issues I had with the rest of the series. I don't think this series can properly end a story line. There were a few times where it felt like the story could end nicely and then I would realize that there is still X amount left in the book. We then get to the end and there are story lines left unfinished, cliff hanger revelations for future books, and I'm left thinking "what the hell was that?" The humor was rather hit or miss for me. Sure there were moments I would chuckle at something but a lot of it just wasn't for me. The big "twist" wasn't much of a twist in my opinion as I guessed it pretty much from the get go. So to have to go through the entire book with everyone stumbling around the super obvious answer was a bit annoying. It's not a bad book but I wasn't very impressed either.

-4 Stars
I need some comfy vibes after the last couple of days of work and this was perfect for me. I also needed to get it back to the library as well. This was the perfect manga to relax with as it's about cute kitties. Not a lot to say and it did its job.

-4 Stars
Much like Cat Massage Therapy these were some perfect manga to just unwind with. I enjoy reading Komi and it was fun to read. Now I want to talk about the ending of volume 16. Spoilers ahead
(view spoiler)[
I'm fully on board with the Tadano/Komi relationship but the ending of 16, plus the cover of 17, has me concerned for my favorite character. I can't explain it but I like Manbagi and the last panel with her crying because she knows what is going on just hurts. I don't want to see this innocent cinnamon roll hurt and the cover to 17 shows that there is a lot of pain to come. Don't get me wrong I know that things will work out. Her and Komi will still be friends and what not but still. (hide spoiler)]

As for for my next audiobook I decided to clean up some challenges. I'm going to listen to . Hopefully it's a decent book.

[HeatherH]

Hey all! Haven't gotten to do much reading because... we got married last Friday! :) Spur of the moment decision to get married before classes started rolling again! Which they are back in session and hitting hard with cardiology >.< But I am a little over a third through on kindle and about half through on audio! Really enjoying both!

I'm with Jo on Darker Shade.. I loved the series so so much and am very impatiently waiting for the new one in that world!

[Elena]

@Heather Congratulations on getting married! I so happy for you :) It was... fast and I think I won't be the only one, so... not I but we want photos :D. Regarding books, I'm glad you're enjoying both of them.

[Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover]

Ah! That is so exciting Heather! Congratulations!! Unexpectedly fast, but in the best way possible! And good luck on the classes! Cardio was one of the tough ones for me when I was in nursing school

[Brittany]

Congrats Heather!! Yes please to pictures!

If you need any help with cardiology ask!

[Jo]

HeatherH wrote: "Hey all! Haven't gotten to do much reading because... we got married last Friday! :) Spur of the moment decision to get married before classes started rolling again! Which they are back in session ..."

Congrats Heather, that's so exciting!

[HeatherH]

Thanks ya'll!! And Brittany, I may take you up on cardiology help!
This link will take you to our digital album! Pin is 8058 and you can see photos and videos that have been shared by guests!
https://my.guestpix.com/Guest/Login/3455

[Trinity.j_205]

This year I decided I want to get back into reading. For the past 2 years i've had the biggest reading slump. I started reading this book ages ago it was really good and interesting, but once I put it in the shelf along with other books. I never got around to finishing it. This book is very vivid and exciting, I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes scifi, space and aircraft. It's very well written and so far, I would most likely give this 4 and a half stars.
I've put a lot of books on my tbr, some of them were good books like Skyward that I started reading and didn't finish too.

[Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover]

HeatherH wrote: "Thanks ya'll!! And Brittany, I may take you up on cardiology help!
This link will take you to our digital album! Pin is 8058 and you can see photos and videos that have been shared by guests!
https..."

Omg the pictures!! 🥰 It looked like such the lovely ceremony! And you and your new hubby look absolutely happy!! I love it!! I am so happy for you!

[Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover]

Trinityy.j_205 wrote: "

This year I decided I want to get back into reading. For the past 2 years i've had the biggest reading slump. I started reading this book ages ago it was really good a..."

Hi Trinity! Welcome! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the book!! That one's been on my tbr for a while now.

[Brittany]

HeatherH wrote: "Thanks ya'll!! And Brittany, I may take you up on cardiology help!
This link will take you to our digital album! Pin is 8058 and you can see photos and videos that have been shared by guests!
https..."

Very nice Heather! Thanks for sharing :)

[Brittany]

Trinityy.j_205 wrote: "

This year I decided I want to get back into reading. For the past 2 years i've had the biggest reading slump. I started reading this book ages ago it was really good a..."

Sanderson is such an incredible author, if you haven't you should try more of his books

[Jo]

HeatherH wrote: "Thanks ya'll!! And Brittany, I may take you up on cardiology help!
This link will take you to our digital album! Pin is 8058 and you can see photos and videos that have been shared by guests!
https..."

The pictures are lovely Heather, you all look so happy! I have to admit, my mouth was watering slightly at the table of desserts.....

[Elena]

HeatherH wrote: "Thanks ya'll!! And Brittany, I may take you up on cardiology help!
This link will take you to our digital album! Pin is 8058 and you can see photos and videos that have been shared by guests!
https..."

Thanks for sharing, so simple yet romantic, amazing and magical! And everyone looks so happy :)

[Brittany]

I'm doing an unheard of thing for me, I have 2 nonfictions on the go at once. I didn't read any last year and I'll likely be done 2 by the end of the month. Reading and listening to which I'll finish today for sure.

[Jo]

Let me know how is Brittany, I want to read that one!

[Brittany]

I've really enjoyed it. Do the audio though as it is Tom reading it. I have like 50 minutes left.

[HeatherH]

Trinityy.j_205 wrote: "

This year I decided I want to get back into reading. For the past 2 years i've had the biggest reading slump. I started reading this book ages ago it was really good a..."

I adore this series so much! Glad you are getting back into reading and that this book was a hit for you!

[HeatherH]

Jo wrote: "HeatherH wrote: "Thanks ya'll!! And Brittany, I may take you up on cardiology help!
This link will take you to our digital album! Pin is 8058 and you can see photos and videos that have been shared..."

The dessert table was so pretty! The macarons were the star of that show for sure, taste wise!

[HeatherH]

Brittany wrote: "I'm doing an unheard of thing for me, I have 2 nonfictions on the go at once. I didn't read any last year and I'll likely be done 2 by the end of the month. Reading [bookcover:What If? Serious Scie..."

Tom Felton is high on my TBR, looking forward to your thoughts on it!

[Elena]

Brittany wrote: "I'm doing an unheard of thing for me, I have 2 nonfictions on the go at once. I didn't read any last year and I'll likely be done 2 by the end of the month."

That's quite a turn! Hope you enjoy them :) Once I've read too many nonfictions and now I can't read them at all. Maybe Tom Felton's book will help :D

[Brittany]

I finished Beyond the Wand. Absolutely worth listening to. His little laughs throughout are fun. There's some good humour, looks at behind the scenes of the Potter films, what being a child actor is like and how he became one. There's also some heavier moments like mental health struggles and the attempt to normalize talking about them. Its done very well. I liked it a lot.

[Jo]

Brittany wrote: "I've really enjoyed it. Do the audio though as it is Tom reading it. I have like 50 minutes left."

I always do the audio for memoirs, find it makes the experience of reading even better when it comes from the author themselves reading it!

[HeatherH]

Jo wrote: "Brittany wrote: "I've really enjoyed it. Do the audio though as it is Tom reading it. I have like 50 minutes left."

I always do the audio for memoirs, find it makes the experience of reading even ..."

Same here! Putting a hold on Felton's now!

[Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover]

Brittany I read a couple of days ago too! Lol. I really liked it! It was a lot of fun, and I just really like science 🤓 I feel like maybe there was only one question/answer for me that I didn't really understand entirely, but besides that I feel like I understood the concepts pretty well. But yeah, I liked it and I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author!

[Brittany]

Hope you enjoy it too Heather!

Lili it's a fun read! I too really like science and will be reading the second one probably this year too. I'm 30ish% done with this one so far

[Gord]

Another slower week of reading for me. Work is still crazy busy and my hobbies are really keeping me busy right now. Missing most of a Saturday kind of threw off my schedule to say the least.

-3 Stars
I begrudgingly gave this book a three stars only because I didn't hate it enough to give it a two stars. The book did give it the old college try though. The book started out innocently enough and I was on board. She was an innocent women who loves food and cooking. He was a weird geeky kind of guy who had social anxiety. There was a spark and they became friends. Even the idea for the story line wasn't a bad one. What really started to kill it for me was the characters and their massive inconsistencies. I went from liking the female lead to actively being annoyed. Her character would swing from this borderline mousey and meek woman scared of her own shadow to a sultry seductress. I didn't like the clearly stupid decisions she made through out the book. Then we get to the male lead. Oh boy do I have a lot to say here. I realize that romance novels are escapists fantasies. The bad boy, the billionaire, etc. The guy that most people would not meet or not want to meet in real life. This male lead felt like the author was trying to cram as many archetypes into one character as possible. He was naive, geeky, a gentleman, stupid rich, ripped, a god in bed, etc, etc, etc. This caused so many wild swings in his character it was jarring. It opens up with him having social anxiety and hating to go out shopping/to eat/etc. One shopping trip later and that he is all cured. Social anxiety is all gone and all thanks to our brave female lead. Our main man hates parties and doesn't know how to interact with people. Cut to a few scenes later at a nightclub where he is able to smooth talk his way past the bouncers, smooth talk management, spend the night dancing with multiple women, and having a great time. Where the hell did the social anxiety go? The guy scared to interact with others? Then we get to the sex. Oh boy this scene. So our main male lead has had sex once in his life and that was when he was taken advantage of by a call girl in Vegas. Not exactly a great history with sex. From that one traumatic experience he was able to become the god of sex able to give his partner the greatest sex ever and go multiple times in one night. This gave him the confidence to not only openly talk dirty in a later scene but to then do the nasty outside on a golf course. You starting to see this weird disconnect between what we are told and what we are presented? Another one that bugged me from an early moment. Our male lead is presented as this person who never leaves his apartment unless he absolutely has to. The one exception is going to the golf course because he loves golfing. We are also told that he is lean and shredded. Lean, maybe, but I just don't see someone getting shredded from playing golf. It might be some exercise if you are walking and not taking a cart. That being said I don't see many golf players ripping their shirts off revealing heavily greased muscles because they play 18 holes a day. One final character moment I want to touch on. The female lead irked me pretty early on when she referred to the male lead as a "project" to her sister. I loathe this kind of statement. If you are viewing someone as a fixer upper that might not be the greatest start to the relationship. You might not actually like the person if you got to change who they are before you are happy with them.

Outside of the character issues the book just felt generic. A romance novel needs this trope here, so here you go. Oh a misunderstanding needs to happen here, well here you go. It just felt like it was going through the motions and trying to cram as much generic and expected stuff into one book as possible. For a challenge book this was an easy enough read but not something I would highly recommend to others.

-4 Stars
Once again I return to the emotional damage series with it's cast of broken and messed up characters. I'm so glad I picked this series up because of a buddy read as this has been a great experience. A little traumatizing at times but a great read. This book revolves around a case of a young girl who was discovered buried near town. It's quickly determined that she was buried alive and so the case begins. This book is also about our broken and flawed main characters. To the point where it feels more like the book is more about them then the mystery at times. Not that I'm complaining about that. The story between Jeff and Sarah is getting a little frustrating though as it feels like it's just a lot of back and forth with nothing really going forward. There was a plot line introduced in this book early on that felt like it was simply introduced to create more drama and tension between these characters. Especially considering how quickly it got dropped once the book needed to focus on the case itself. Then there is Lena. The human train wreck. The dumpster fire behind the shady store in the seedy part of town. Book after book in this series has this character making the worst decisions possible. Taking any situation and finding the absolute worst outcome for herself and flinging herself into it with no hesitation. This is normally not a character that I would care about but for some weird reason I find myself rooting for her. I know she won't make the right decision but I keep hoping that she will. I keep this little flame going that she will pick herself up, dust herself off, and get her life sorted out. She never does but I keep rooting for her and I'm not really sure why.

-4 Stars
I feel like the author had a blast writing this volume. This felt kind of like a bridge between two story arcs and it was a lot of what one would expect from this series while also having some peak comedy. Rin and Nadeshiko have returned from their Ooi outing and are catching up with their friends while the ground work is being laid for their next trip. Nadeshiko learns what the other members of the outdoor club were up to while she was in Ooi. This is told through a series of flashbacks where the author just cuts loose. You have Nadeshiko watching the events from a little box in the corner of the panel. She tries to crawl out of the box to interact with the characters and the characters try crawling into the box with her when something bad happens. Random characters just pop in and out for gags. It was just a humorous and relaxed read.

-3 Stars
This was a random snag from the library and I feel super dumb that I never made the connection to Peter Pan from that title. It starts out in our world with a group of homeless children who are living in a junkyard. They bring in a new kid who has a secret. He is the last of the Lost Boys and is there looking for help. They are taken back to Neverland and they are at war with evil adult pirates, not Hook though. Overall I thought it was alright and had some interesting ideas but I kind of wished it was a bit more fleshed out. It was really flirting with more mature and adult themes. For instance Tinkerbell was this warrior fairy wearing face paint and body armor who swore constantly. None of her swearing was ever printed though and was censored with the comic default of skulls, mushroom clouds, #, !, and so on. It might have been interesting to see it take a route like I Hate Fairyland and really into the crude and mature.

Now for what is next.

On audiobook I'm listening to to help with some challenge stuff.

As for what else, I have stacks of manga and comics beside my computer that I need to finish and get back to the library soon. I think this week will be focused on trying to knock down that pile a little.

[Brittany]

That romance book sounds rather awful Gord

[Elena]

I have finished a bunch of good and not so good books recently, didn't have a chance to wrap-up until now.

- 3-4 stars. Basically the idea is nice, the whole thing with writing out the character, meeting him and go through the investigations together sounds like fun. But the mystery case in the second book was quite boring.
- 3 stars. That was a rather interesting and captivating story with nice narration and very cozy indeed. My favourite aspect was the setting, local library with a ghost in a small town in Connecticut sounds like my perfect vibe for the cozy mystery series. Though unfortunately there wasn't much to the ghost. And I had some serious issues with that cat in the book. I didn't like the name and how it's incorporated into the story.
- 3 stars. Those 2 books were random picks from a random series. I thought that the chocolate theme will be nice for a change and no murders. The second book was slightly better and I didn't like the insta love in the first one. Usually I don't mind it, but here it was too insta. Angel? Really?
- 3-4 stars. 3 books were boring and one (Valley) really good. My favourite component was the setting with no tech, lots of hikes and lots of countryside sceneries.
- 4 stars. Well, I was intrigued when the first book ended, the expectations were very high for the second book, unfortunately it didn’t meet my wishes. It's still good but very predictable and a tiny bit disappointing.
- 5 stars. Honestly, I didn’t expect to like it so much! It’s at the same time simple and complicated, spicy and addictive.
- 4 stars. I can’t believe that I hesitated to start that series for so long. It is good! And the second book is the best, I love Felicity so much!
- 3 stars. I didn’t like the second book as much as the first one. The setting is still nice, the food theme too, the level of comfort not so much, I didn’t like the Beauty Pageant idea, it was handled not really good and basically there wasn’t much to the contest itself.
- 4 stars. That was a satisfying conclusion to the series with all the good things happened, the evil is destroyed, the good are restored and so on. But we knew that from the beginning, so the ending wasn’t something unexpected.
- 4 stars. The beginning was intriguing and the story never disappointed. The more you read, the better it becomes, more layered, cruel, secret and interesting.
- 3-4 stars. 3 stars. I’ve read several books by Naomi and loved them so much! When I finally was able to get this series, I was excited, but unfortunately it didn’t meet my expectations. The first book is so confusing to the point when some things don't make much sense. The second book explained more and I finally got the answer to the question WHY?
- 4 stars. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to jump into a middle of the series after reading a couple of books. But putting it aside and some obvious contextual issues, I really enjoyed reading it. And the cover is just divine!
- 5 stars. And the cherry on top... it is my favourite book of the year so far and definitely entered my list of all-time favourites. So good! I’m going to miss this bitter-sweet story. It’s as dark and cold as the north mythology, there are gods, giants, monsters and witches. And it’s a perfect mix for a great book.

[Brittany]

Elena great reading as always. I too was surprised by how much I enjoyed One of Us is Lying when I read it. Witch's Heart was so good, happy to hear you loved it too!
Mercy is not a good series to read out of order, too much world and character building! Glad you still enjoyed it though.
Also happy to hear you liked Moon in the Palace, I want to read that one eventually

[Kayleigh {K-Books}, YA Fantasy Fan]

Since my last update here I have read:
- not my usual kind of read but I enjoyed it. 4 Stars.
- DNF. It wasn't bad, just wasn't grabbing my attention.
- 1.5 stars. Wasn't for me.
- re-read and I loved it just as much as when I first read it in 2010. 5 Stars
- 5 stars. My favourite of hers to date.

Currently reading: - re-read on audio and I have 30 mins left so I'll finish it today on my commute home.

[Brittany]

Too bad about the not so good for you reads Kay. But awesome that you still loved Glass Houses just as much

[Kayleigh {K-Books}, YA Fantasy Fan]

I really did. Me and a friend are re-reading the series together one book per month.

[Jo]

Wow Elena, you've read so much recently!

[Elena]

@Kay so sad you had some disappointing books this time. But great you've enjoyed the other 3 books. I haven't read anything by Ali and love that there are more people loving her books, at some point I'll also read them.

[Elena]

Jo wrote: "Wow Elena, you've read so much recently!"

Oh yeah, reading-wise a past couple of weeks were amazing :)

[Kayleigh {K-Books}, YA Fantasy Fan]

Elena wrote: "@Kay so sad you had some disappointing books this time. But great you've enjoyed the other 3 books. I haven't read anything by Ali and love that there are more people loving her books, at some poin..."

Yeah the middle of the month definitely put me in a bit of a slump but I'm glad I had some good reads at the end. The re-reads definitely helped.

[Gord]

Time for that weekly update and be forewarned. If you don't like comics or manga then turn away now because that is mostly what I read this week.

-3 Stars
This was a challenge book, curse you dreaded Z, and it looked like a book that was going to be an easy read for me. On one hand this book does do some interesting things that I enjoyed but on the other hand this book was beyond frustrating. It was dancing right on that line and nearly got kicked down to two stars. If this book went on for much longer it would have.

Lets start with the good. I loved the idea of possession by Emperor's that gives them mystical powers. I love the idea of shifting legends that give and take powers from these Emperor's including modern things like video games, movies, and comics. There were several fight scenes in this book that were pretty cool that tapped into this unique powers.

Now for the not so good and all I'll promise is that I'll try not to rant to much here. That's the best you're getting out of me at this point. The earliest thing that started to turn me off of this book was the MC himself. It just felt like it was a constant stream of "I miss my mommy", "I miss my daddy", "I don't know what is going on", and "I want to go home". Listen, I get that the MC is in over his head in a lot of ways but just this constant whining about everything gets draining. I also felt like the MC was less a person and more a check box and mouth piece for the author. The MC is Muslim Chinese who also happens to be gay. Nothing wrong about that but it felt like he was those things more for diversity reasons then because he was an actual person. The story would get to those quiet movements between things and the author would have to remind you that the character was gay or that he was Muslim. It just didn't feel like it was there for natural reasons. Speaking of natural reasons there were times where the MC would say things about the Chinese government that just felt less like a 12 year old speaking an more like an adult speaking through a 12 year old. Again I have no issue with what is being said but it just didn't feel natural. It didn't feel like it was the character speaking to me.

This ties into the second thing that started to turn me against this book and that was just the flow of things. After a while it got into this flow that was just draining. Something cool would happen and then the story would stop for the MC to whine a bit. About how he misses his mommy or something, then there would be a history lesson, then you would get teased about something cool to then get another history lesson. There were so many times in this book where it just felt like the story was put on hold for book to tell you stuff. Even the fights that happened started to feel like they only happened so that the author could give you a history lesson on something. That is backed up by the fact that the big bad doesn't show up until the 85% mark. We are told who he is early on but he just has no presence in the book until basically the end. Of course he shows up after a big twist that has our MC not trusting his friends anymore. The big bad appears, the MC trusts him completely for some reason, and then the conclusion happens. Speaking of the conclusion, what a let down. Instead of being this epic show case of all the cool things that we have seen that have been teased at for the entire book its basically two characters working our their daddy issues in this big conversation. Then some kind of cool things happen but by that point I was done and just waiting for the book to end. It ends with that movie trope where it hints and teases at a sequel. If it happens, fine, but I won't be there for it. I'm not upset that I read this book but I am glad that it's done.

Now for the comics and manga

-3 Stars
A kind of generic space story where all the parents are killed off and the ships AI is forced to take care of all the children on the ship. Not a bad concept but I just felt like I wanted more.

-3 Stars
This is the sequel to Garlic and the Vampire and the weirdness continues. Like the first book if you take it at surface value it's a cute story with some important life lessons. If your like me though you disappear down this rabbit hole of trying to figure out this world and just the weird, and kind of messed up, implications that the story hints at. So in this story Garlic is facing a big change in her life. She is turning human. Apparently, this is normal in this world and everyone does this. So is this how this world reproduces? You plant some seeds in your garden, get some sentient veggie helpers for a while, then they turn into humans and you kick them out into the world. Do other humans reproduce how we do? If so are there genetic differences between these two kind of humans? What happens if you mate a normal human and a veggie human? There are just so many questions.

-3 Stars
This is an odd one. This was a translation of a Spanish comic that was loosely based upon real events. From what I remember looking up earlier this week an exploration crew found a sunken galleon and claimed it, and the treasure on board, through international law. Spain then contested this and it ended up going through the courts. In real life it took something like five years and then there were all the additional cases that were tied to the main one. The comic did an alright job of taking these events and making essentially a thriller of things. The head of the American exploration company was much more of a villain who somehow had connections to all level of government both domestic and foreign. The court case seemed to only last a year with what seems like a cartoonish deadline at the end for extra tension. There was a bit of romance sprinkled in as well for some spice. It wasn't bad overall.

-3 Stars
This was read to help with a challenge and I think I will continue on reading. I went into this with expectation of this being a historical Samurai drama and I got that and more. It was indeed a historical drama but the art made it into something else. The art would bounce between what one would expect for a historical manga and art from either a horror manga or a gag manga. I'll be honest some of these faces made me think of Junji Ito. The heavy line work, the eerie distortion of the human faces, etc. I also like that this wasn't just a book full of duels and politics. Our MC specializes in running away and it's about this young kid learning how to utilize this ability to regain his home land from the bad guys. It's an interesting start and I want to see where things go.

-4 Stars
This was a random snag from the library and a pleasant surprise. The way this comic started had me concerned that it was supposed to be some sort of allegory for the mental stress of a young kid having to move to a new school or something. Instead we get something alien with hints of a greater mystery going on that has me intrigued. Of course I want more and this is currently the only book that is out.

-3 Stars
A random snag from the library and an interesting take on the superhero genre. In this world superheroes don't exist but things like vampires and what not do. One of these vampires that is laying low doing all the human things to not get noticed happens to like superhero movies. One day he notices some people getting mugged and in a spur of the moment action dons a masks and saves them. This inspires him to make a superhero costume and take to the streets. It allows him to use his vampire powers out in the open. This of course gains the attention of others in the supernatural community and the less savory elements want to join in. That gives birth to the super villain. It's an interesting premise and some nice twists at the end that makes me want more but like the above comic this is the only material currently out.

-4 Stars
This was a cool book that caught my eye early last year and I've been waiting for the library to get a copy. This is a throw back to books I remember from a kid that had anatomy of various animals. The pages would give you a glimpse inside the animal and would be sprinkled with facts about the animal. It's like that but for heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. It's framed as case files done by the Black Panther who is preparing for a Skrull invasion. Talking about the powers of the individual, how that works in a scientific sense, what role they could play in the invasion, and whether they could be trusted. This book was massive (dimensionally) with a ton of full color images and I think most Marvel fans would enjoy it. In my opinion it's more of a coffee table kind of book that you pick up and read a couple pages or flip through looking at the images instead of a read from cover to cover kind of book. I read it cover to cover and the science babble got a bit much by the end. On a side note, this book is stupid expensive. I keep track of how much money I save by using the library and this book is $115 Canadian. Not even manga omnibus editions are that expensive. That price is getting into out of print rare book territory.

Now, what am I read next. Well my self control at the library has not been good and I currently have 25 books out.

I have four audiobooks currently on the go and I think I'm going to tackle the hardest one first. That will be and then I'll go from there. If I need some fluff I have or if I want another challenge book I have or . All of them needs to be finished this month.

For regular books I'm still trying to get caught up on all my manga and comics from the library. I have two big stacks on my table that need to be read.

[Brittany]

Why do you have 4 audiobooks on the go at once Gord??

[Gord]

Oh I'm not listening to them all at the same time. I just have four out from the library at once.

[Brittany]

Ah that makes a lot more sense!

[Gord]

Another week has gone by and this week I have a couple of classics to talk about.

-3 Stars
I tried reading this before and didn't get far before tossing it. This time I listened to it on audio and got through the entire thing. Overall it was alright, I guess. I think a lot of this comes down to its age but not a lot really happened. They were chase scenes, some more chase scenes, some science mumbo jumbo, some more chasing, a sort of big climax, and then an open end that hinted at more... maybe. As a modern reader though it was just kind of underwhelming. You have an invisible man and there are so many things that could be done both evil or virtuous. In this he punched/kicked/hit a few people, stole a few things, tossed some rocks through windows. Oh and I guess one person was killed... off page. I don't know, I'm approaching this as a modern reader and it was alright but I was left wanting more. Oh and don't think I didn't notice you over there racial slur. Different times and all that but I noticed you there.

-4 Stars
Another classic novel and I found this one much better. I'll admit that for the longest time I never knew of this novel. I knew of the animated movie from the 80's that was dark and scary for a young child which tainted my preconceptions of this book heading into it. I heard about this years ago and had it on my list of things to read but this month it came back up and helped with a few challenges so here we are. First, this novel is no where as dark as my vague memories of the cartoon from my childhood. Second, this book is pretty damned good and makes me think of Charlotte's Web in some ways. Not that the plots are similar or anything but both are children's books that surprised me with how good they were.

Lets get into the book itself. To me this was two different stories that we dropped into in the middle and then left long before they ended. On one hand we have the story of Mrs. Frisby, a widow raising four children and trying to do her best. On the other hands we have the Rats of NIMH and their story of trying to build their own place in the world. For a few brief days these two stories overlapped before parting and going their own ways. I liked Mrs. Frisby honestly. She was a hard working mother trying to take care of a sick son and doing what she need to do to take care of her family. She journeyed far from her comfort zone to do this. She even visited an owl. A predator that she knows eats mice just to see if she can get some help. Then we have the Rats. This was a story with a definite tinge of sadness and a philosophical feel to it. Instead of the question "what does it mean to be a man" it's "what does it mean to be a rat". I loved their story from the capture in the market place, the testing at NIMH, their escape, their growth, and the eventual Plan. Like I said, for a few brief days these stories overlap, secrets are shared, and then they part. I like that the ending was this hyped up epic conclusion that felt like an ending to the stories of either party. It was a moment in time for both parties and then they carried on. Their stories didn't stop because the book came to an end. It leaves me wondering what happened next but not enough to read the rest of the series. Yes, this is a series and I understand the next two books are really, really bad. They are written by the daughter of the original author after his death and are just not good. I'll leave this story here and appreciate it for what it was.

-4 stars
More Yugi and a lot more battles. I love how the battles seem to fall into two groups. One one side you have the regular battles that are going on and on the other hand you have the batshit insane battles that Yugi is involved in. For instance there is a battle in this book where there are giant saw blades connected to their health bars. The lower the health bar the closer that giant saw blade gets to the person. The loser doesn't just lose the battle they loose their lives. Then there is the final battle in this book. Yugi and Kaiba are forced to team up and are having a team battle. The battle is taking place on a skylight on the roof of a 13 floor building. There are explosives attached to each pane of glass that a contestant is standing on and those explosives are tied to your health bar in the game. If you lose the game then explosives blow out the pane of glass and the contest drops 13 floors to their death. It's just so absurdly over the top and there is no need for it but man is it glorious to watch.

-4 Stars
This was yet another random snag from the library and yes I have a lot of those. I watch the recently acquired tab closely at the library and snag interesting comics as they come in. Picture that grumpy old grizzly sitting at the top of waterfall slapping salmon out of the water as they upstream. Anyway... back to the book. This had hints of Harry Potter (magic school) and hints of Sabrina (dark horror kind) mixed in with its own story. You have a school full of young witches, urban legends of a demon in the forest, a missing student that may or may not be connected to the myth, and a mystery. Combine that with some really nice artwork and it makes for an interesting read.

-3 Stars
I saw these at the library while looking for something else and realized that I hadn't read any monster girl manga in a while. Then I read this and I'm about 90 something percent certain I read this before but I'm not 100% sure. A lot of this seems really familiar. Not a lot to really say about this manga as it feels like a fluff read. A little comedy, a little slice of life, a little ecchi, and monster girls.

This week here is shaping up to be a busy week of reading as I have a lot to get done.

On audio I have and . Both are books that I've heard great things about.

On the other side of things I have which I'm kind of struggling with already. I'm reading it for a challenge and I'm down to only a few days left on my loan. In the first three chapters already we have had present time, visions of the future, and now flashbacks. This is supposed to be a retelling of Arthurian legends and I'm lukewarm at best on the book. After that I have to get and the next two volumes of Komi done as well.