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What are you reading in 2023?
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Time for that weekly update on what I've been reading. 
Race to the Sun -4 StarsA classic middle grade quest story where the MC has to go on a quest to save the world. It's a tried and true trope that can make for an interesting story and this was an interesting story. This book was based on Navajo culture and stories with our MC being Navajo herself. The story was very interesting and I like a fantasy novel that was based on something outside of the normal European influences. This book also highlighted an advantage of audiobooks. Sprinkled throughout this book were several Navajo words which I would never be able to pronounce even remotely close to what it should. Having it on audiobook though gave me an opportunity to hear the words properly and it just adds this layer of immersion to the novel. This is the second middle grade audiobook with other languages in it that was helped greatly by listening to them.
Easy Nevada and the Pyramid’s Curse-3 StarsAfter finish the above book I had another challenge book lined up but I just wasn't in the mood for it at that point. I wanted brain popcorn and after some stumbling around looking for things that didn't require a 180+ day wait from the library I found this. Don't let the three star rating fool you, this was pure entertainment from the beginning to the end. This was essentially an action movie read to me and I loved it. We are introduced to the MC, Easy Nevada, buried up to her neck in the sand on a little island off the coast of Africa. She was left for dead after a run in with pirates while looking for a sunken treasure ship. Yes, our main character is essentially Indiana Jones in a female body. I am aware of Lara Croft but this felt more like a young dude who just happened to be in a female body. She is a lesbian who is lewd, crude, and rude. No joke, she is constantly throwing out one liners the entire book. Whether that is to antagonize the enemy, to hit on the female archeologists who gets pulled into her adventure, or to just comment on things in general. The only slow part of the book was at the beginning, after the hilarious introduction, where it was setting the stage for what was happening. After that it's one long adventure full of gun fights with Islamic extremists, collapsing pyramids, a country collapsing into civil war, a train ride, and a shadowy evil villain. This had everything including a budding romance. Yes, this was also a lesbian romance because why not. This was pure schlock and I loved it all. I really want to read the next book right now but I need to get back to that pesky challenge book. The next book will be my reward for getting through the challenge book.
Yu-Gi-Oh! (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 8: Includes Vols. 22, 23 & 24 -4 StarsFinally getting back to this series and it's more battles as I'm right in the middle of a tournament. The wackiness of this series continues with one battle taking place on a pier where both contestants are chained to an anchor with a bomb on it. There is a time limit of 45 minutes for the battle and the loser gets dragged into the depths of the ocean. The final battles of the tournament takes place atop a blimp flying 1,000 feet up in the air. Why? Because why not? This series is all about being as over the top as possible.
The Curie Society -4 StarsThis was a great little find from the library. I'm constantly checking the libraries new arrivals for comics/manga and I've found some great reads in there. This was definitely one of them. It's a nice strong message for young girls to get into science, about the benefits of team work, and pushing your boundaries. It's also a entertaining story full of secret societies, espionage, and the Cold War. Basically three young girls arrive at Edmonds University for their first day and of course all three are very different. They eventually get their invitations to the secret Curie Society where they learn about the group, each other, teamwork, and pursue their own studies. This book was a great introduction to things and I want more. Unfortunately there is only the one book. It says that it's a series but there appears to be only one book and it came out a couple years back.
As for what is next.
Strike the Zither This is the audiobook that I was putting off and need to get to. Hopefully it's a good book as I'm reading it for a challenge and not super stoked for it. 
Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc Now this is a book that I am looking forward to and I have been waiting a while for it. This was a recommendation to me and it just seems like something up my alley shall we say. I had to request my library get the book, wait for them to approve it, wait for them to buy it and get it, wait for it to be delivered to my library, and then wait to have a hole in my schedule. Hopefully all that waiting is worth it.
Mod
Yes! I was wanting something in the vein of Into the Drowning Deep, but then the two books I read killed my mood 🙃 lol
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I was very excited to read this book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I don't usually suffer from secondhand embarrassment, unless it's a contemporary, but even then it's never been as bad as reading this book. The MC made bad decision after bad decision and... I usually enjoy I good trainwreck, but I didn't here. It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me.
This was a bad book. So bad I DNFd it at 23%. The premise sounded interesting but good god I could not take the racism or sexism in the book. The crew consists of 7 people and 2 of them are female, and at one point one of the guys was like, oh it's a good thing the women are both attractive because it could be a long year.... like they weren't 2 professionals there to do a job and instead were there to entertain him 🙃 I was out. This completely ruined my mood for anymore horror books that take place under/on the water 😠
This space horror was okay. It was a very short, suspenseful read, but it just wasn't anything amazing.
This book on the other hand, I am loving! It is so intriguing! I am about 70% done with it.
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Boo about that bad book, so much sexism, yuck.
Oh! Quackery sounds like fun!
Brittany wrote: "Gord good update and sounds like your popcorn style read was so fun. Why aren't you looking forward to Strike the Zither? Its one I still plan on reading eventually... maybe? Also totally agree, ge..."Just the mood I'm in. I'm purely picking the book up for a challenge and not because of the book itself. The book might be perfectly fine for all I know. We will find out this morning once I get started.
Liliana wrote: "Books I've read since my last update:
I really enjoyed this book! This series is basically about exploring new planets, and the main character is on her s..."Oh I also have some strange relationship with Cassie Clare's books. I definitely like them, but whenever I get to read one, I always end up reading at least several, till the point when I don't want to read at all. After that I go into a 1-2 day slump and pick up the lightest book I have on my TBR. So weird.
Gord wrote: "Time for that weekly update on what I've been reading. Race to the Sun -4 StarsA classic middle grade quest story where the MC has to go on a..."
Great you liked Race to the Sun and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Mod
- Bookclub Pick. 4 Stars
- 4.5 Stars
- YA Bookclub Pick - 3 Stars
- 5 Stars. My favourite of the month and it was one scratched off my series challenge. Can't wait for book 3. 
- re-read - 5 Stars
- re-read - 4 Stars. I actually lowered my rating of this one after the rer-ead. Still love the series but book 1 isn't a 5 star upon reflection.
- 4.5 Stars. Another series scratched off the challenge.
- 5 Stars
- 4 Stars
- 3.5 Stars
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Boo about that bad book, so much sexism, yuck.
Oh! Quackery sounds like fun!"
Quackery was so much fun! It was interesting but really funny too.
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I really enjoyed this book! This series is basically about exploring new planets, and the main chara..."I'm glad I'm not the only one lol. I've read two of her books so far this year, and I definitely need a break... Even though I love the world and characters.
I'm almost done with
and I can't really decide what I'm in the mood for next, could you guys help? This is what I'm picking between (all audiobooks):
All quite different, I don't know what to go for!
Finished
. I'm a bit torn on it tbh, because it was getting really interesting towards the end but IT WAS A TRUDGE TO GET THERE. I'm not a fan of lots of internal monologuing and very little dialogue and there was a lot of that here. I'm also not totally convinced on Winnie yet? But I did like the idea behind The Luminaries society and I was starting to get more invested towards the end, so maybe I'll read Book 2? I'm not sure, I'm kind of disappointed, after participating in both of the author's COYA stories related to this book on Twitter, I was expecting to have a lot more fun with it!I decided to go with
as my next listen, it's been a while since I last read non-fiction and I've heard such good things!
I finished reading Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith.
Mod
Brittany wrote: "Jo, Beyond the Wand would've been my choice for you. Its so easy to listen to!"Yeah, I thought it would be nice to take a break from fiction and read a non-fic! I actually found what sounds like a really fun non-fic whilst I was looking around a bookshop today,
which I think I may read after I'm done with Beyond the Wand!
I started reading I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney.
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I was in the very rare mood where I wanted something a little historical, and I think it was because I spent so much time with the Shadowhunters of the late 1800s/early 1900s in The Last Hours, that I just wanted more. Lol. So I read this one! And I loved it! It was a lot of fun and I liked the added bonus of ghosts! I think I enjoyed this book more than I did My Lady Jane, which I read last year. (And I also liked this version of events as opposed to the OG Jane Eyre 😆)And right now I am at the beginning of 3 books 😅
. After finishing Quackery last week I started Patient Zero, and after finishing My Plain Jane I started My Calamity Jane, but I've only read the introduction/prologue of both of these books, so I might end up re-shelving them if my mood switches because I just got Only Good Enemies and I am SO EXCITED! I just got the ARC on Friday and I started it immediately! I can't wait to see what happens with Vesper and Kyrion!
Time for my weekly wrap up and oh boy do I have thoughts and opinions on what I read. They might not be the best thoughts or opinions but I have them. So brace yourself this will be a bit longer as I share these thoughts and opinions.
Strike the Zither -3 Stars (on the 2.5 side of 3 really)As I mentioned last week this book was read to complete a particularly annoying challenge. It also helped with a few other challenges as well which was a massive bonus. That being said I wasn't really feeling this book. It was nothing the book did really, I just wasn't in the mood for it. I pushed on though because I wanted to get it completed and there have been plenty of times where I've picked up books I wasn't feeling and they have turned out great. This was not one of those books. I just never clicked with this book and I can't really say why exactly. I'm not sure if it was the MC, the narrator, the writing, or just some combination of those three. I know my feelings for this book ranged from "meh, this is alright" to "please, please, please, just make it stop". So what is this book about? The one comment I read said this was a "feminist retelling of Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Now I can't really confirm this one way or another as I know very little about Romance of the Three Kingdoms outside of hearing the name before. Basically this book is a tale of "China" in a state of turmoil as various factions battle for power. Our MC is a strategist who is trying to help her Lordess gain power to protect the Emperor. Their main opponent, and the antagonist of this book is Miasma. Not a poisonous cloud floating around trying to kill people either just someone with the worst choice of villain names ever. No joke, for the first few pages of the novel I thought it was some sort of cloud that we were dealing with before I figured out that it was just a person. Speaking of Miasma, the book tells us that she is a young and intimidating physical force that everyone fears. The only problem is that the narrator made me think of Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove. I'm sure you can see the disconnect between the two images.
Lets get into the MC for a little bit. I just didn't like her and I just never clicked with her. One minute she would be all "I'm the greatest thing ever and you mere peasants are lower than the dust on my slippers". Then she would suddenly switch to "woe is me, no one loves me, everyone I know has died, my life is never ending suffering, woe is me". Then there is one other side to her that we get later. This is the angsty romance angle as she is suddenly smitten by someone, no spoilers here, and this goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Of the three this is by far the worst and, in my opinion, the lowest point in the entire book. These parts were just painful and the whole romance aspect just felt unneeded in the book. It just felt like it was there because a YA book needs to have a romance subplot. At least it wasn't a love triangle so I guess bonus points for that.
Overall I just wasn't vibing with this book and I just never got invested in it. This is the first book in a trilogy and I will not be reading on. I got what I needed from this book and now I'm moving on.
Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc -3 Stars (closer to the 3.5 side of things)I never thought I'd be here a week ago. A week ago I figured I'd be here this week singing the praises for this book. Instead my response is going to be a bit more tempered. This book was recommended to me by a friend here on Goodreads and it sounded right up my alley. To the point that I even requested my library go out and buy me a copy of this book. The book even started out strong giving me some super strong Monster Hunter International vibes which is exactly what I was wanting from this book. Then things kind of just felt apart. In my head I was expecting this band of alien/human misfits traveling the galaxy fighting all sorts of alien monsters and the strong Monster Hunter vibes really gave me hope. Now I can't say that the book never delivered on this but it was only one of the two and it was only in small drips. We got some really cool scenes where they were fighting monsters on alien planets and those were fun. Those moments though were few and far between and what we got between those scenes was dull and mundane. There was a lot of scenes where our MC's were worrying about their families problems or the problems of other people in town and, to be blunt here, I just didn't care about them. Which leads to one of my big problems with this book. I just didn't care about any of the characters. I wasn't invested in either of the main characters or their problems and no other characters really got developed. I wouldn't even call them stereotypical or tropes. They were just kind of names with a basic physical description who happened to be there when the story needed them. This book also never felt like it had a coherent plot either. It just felt like short stories or situations that were all loosely tied together. There was the story concerning Nina's sick father, there was Russ's family problems with the bookstore, there was the illegal immigration story line, the story line about a company trying to take over the extermination business by using robots, the owner of Intergalactic Exterminators story about her trying to prove herself worthy of the family business. There was all these subplots that just felt like they existed but nothing to really all tie them together. It even shoehorned in a twist, cliffhanger ending in a book that is a standalone novel. A twist that I more less called very early on in the novel.
I know I've been super critical of this book but it wasn't a horrible read. There was a very interesting idea here and there were moments where I felt that this novel really tapped into this idea well. This was also the author's debut novel so maybe they are still trying to find their style and hit their stride. I'm far from swearing this author off and if he releases a sequel to this novel I'd be more than willing to give it a shot.
Exit Strategy -5 StarsThis was the standout star of the week which shouldn't be a massive surprise. I've really fallen in love with the Murderbot series and the MC of the series. This was another solid entry into this novel and some more great growth for the character as he is reunited with the original characters from the first book. This was once again a great blend of action and emotional moments. It also felt like a great place to end the series as well. I wouldn't be surprised at all if someone told me the author planned to end the series right here. It felt like it wrapped the story line from the last few novels while leaving openings in multiple story lines for new things to be explored. I am so glad that I was "coerced" into reading this series.
Sadako-san and Sadako-chan -3 StarsThis is a blend of humor, cute thing things, and horror which just works. It stars Sadako-san, from The Ring series, and it's been interesting to see the shift in this character over the last few years. At her core she is still a horror character that is spooky as hell but I've seen different versions start to emerge as well. There has been cute ones like this, more family inspired ones like Erma, weirdly sexy ones because the internet. I also like that while this one was mostly cute and fun it still had some darker elements lurking under the surface. Of course you have Sadako-san being all spooky but there was also Sadako-chan. This mysterious young girl who has been locked in her closet by her mother and never allowed to leave because she is supposed to the reincarnation of Sadako. It's never really explored but it does raise all sorts of questions. Is she dead? Where is the mother? What is up with all the talisman's on the wall? Is she supernatural in some way or just a mistreated kid? I'm not sure I'd buy the second volume but if I can ever find it through the library I'd read on.
Crazy Food Truck, Vol. 3 -3 StarsThe conclusion to this series and I have many mixed feelings about this. I love the idea of this series. The idea of a food truck being driven around the post apocalyptic wasteland by a badass old man serving up food to survivors. What's not to like? I just feel like the story never reached its full potential and ended before its time. I'm not sure if it was the author's decision or the series was cancelled before it was supposed to end but I just kind of felt unfulfilled. Especially with the ending that we did get.
Fist of the North Star, Vol. 8 -3 StarsMore musclebound men killing each other in weird ways. This one had someone get their head slapped clean off which is a first for me, I think. I wouldn't call myself a massive fan of this series but I can appreciate what it is and the influence it had on numerous things.
Now what is coming up next.
Foxglove Summer I was wondering what to listen to next when my hold on this book became available and it works perfectly. I wasn't in the mood for yet another challenge book and I really enjoy listening to the narrator of this series so it's a win win all around.
For non audiobooks I've got a stack of manga/comics this week. I'll just throw the covers up for these ones.
Mod
I've heard some good things about it and my library just got the entire series so I decided to check it out.
Brittany wrote: "That sounds neat"I know right! I want to see how many of the bookshops I've visited though probably not all that many because I've really only been to independent bookshops in London and Edinburgh and the odd one occasionally when I've been visiting somewhere for the day or weekend (like the one I went to in Marlborough yesterday).
Mod
Also good to know the Janies series is fun
Gord woohoo Murderbot! Such a good one. Always look forward to your thoughts on more Peter Grant too, is this a new one for you yet? I'm going to have to give in and use credits on the rest of the series, library apparently only has up to book 5 on audio :(
Too bad your first couple reads of the week werent so great, but yay for finishing challenges.
Mod
That's awesome Kay!
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I know right! I want to see how many of the bookshops I've visited though probably not all that many because I've really only been to independent bookshops in Lo..."
Keep me updated on it :)
Brittany wrote: "Jo wrote: "Brittany wrote: "That sounds neat"I know right! I want to see how many of the bookshops I've visited though probably not all that many because I've really only been to independent book..."
Will do!
Time for that weekly recap and I don't have as much to talk about this week but that's alright.
Foxglove Summer -4 StarsThis was the last book that I've read previously in this series and I don't remember a lick of it which is kind of weird. At the start of this book it felt a bit filler like especially after the bombshell ending of the last book. Here is Peter getting taken out of his element and sent out to the country for a case that has nothing to do with The Folly. The brilliant part of this book is that as time goes along it is slowly revealed that this case is indeed a Folly case and that it is far from a filler novel. This novel has a ton of development for Peter as a character as well as giving a very small tease for things to come. To paraphrase "In a year things will go to *#&%". This was just an enjoyable read and I can't wait for the next one.
This brings me to a small rant. Not about the book though. As I started this one I went to request my copy of the next one and my library didn't have the audiobook of the next book or anything else in the series. I found this to be a bit odd but the library has all sorts of partial series. I submitted a request and it got denied. Not because the library didn't want it but because the eContent provider will not sell the library the remaining books in audiobook format. The library has ebooks and physical books but they are not allowed to purchase the audiobooks. Why? Who the hell knows but man is it infuriating. It also puts me in a bit of a pickle. I could just easily read on in the series with no problem but I really enjoy the narrator. I might even go so far as to say this narrator has provided one of the best audiobook experiences for me since I've started listening to audiobooks. I really want to continue this series on audiobook as the narrator has essentially become Peter Grant to me. Needless to say, there is a part of me that is contemplating just buying the books for myself but then I'd be giving the publisher, the one who refuses to sell the book to the library, my money and I don't know if I like that idea.
W.I.T.C.H. Part I: The Twelve Portals, Vol. 1 -4 StarsThis was a series that was low down on my radar as my library didn't have them and it wasn't a "I need to read this right now" kind of situation. Then one day while browsing through the new comics I discovered that the library had purchased the entire series. I figured that was a sign to give these a shot. This comic was very odd but in a good kind of way. These are Italian comics written for Disney (or a Western audience) but the Japanese influence on this series was incredibly clear. This was essentially a magical girl comic. I'm far from an expert on the genre but even I can recognize the most basic of tropes. Combine that with an art style that is clearly inspired by manga while still being it's own thing and it creates this odd little comic. Speaking of art style it screams 90's to me while still looking clean and not dated. Looking at you 90's muscle bound ultra violent comics. Needless to say this comic has hooked me in and I want more. Not sure if the quality will continue but for now I'm here for the ride.
A Fire Among Clouds -3 StarsThis was an odd find while browsing through Hoopla. It's a fantasy comic set in late 15th century Mesoamerica and is of course heavily influenced by the culture of the time. This book was of course helpful for many a challenge but putting that aside it was an interesting read. I love exploring fantasy books that pull from different cultures and mythologies. It just gives me, as a reader, something new to experience. Now this comic pulls from a webcomic that the author created and it kind of shows. For a comic that was 320 pages there wasn't a lot that happened. We met our characters, we established who they were, and set up the running plot for the story but that was about it. It felt like the story only really got started at the end. Still, there is enough here that I will probably be back if a second book ever comes out.
Beauty and the Feast, Vol. 7 -3 starsMore food, more wholesome moments, more weirdly ecchi splash pages that contradict the entire tone of the series.
Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 21 -3 StarsThe shine of this series is definitely wearing off for me and I think it's just a problem I have with gag manga in general. After a while I crave story, I crave growth, I crave development. You get that in this series but it comes in little itty bitty drips before the author falls back into that gag manga rhythm. It also doesn't help that this one opens with a section based around my least favorite character, Yamai, being her usual psychopath self. I really do not like this character and her "trait" just feels weird in what is, for the most, a pretty chill series. I'm far from done with this series but I'm starting to get more critical of things.
Now we get to the "what's next" section of this post. I swore that I was going to request less books from the library so I wasn't stressed all the time trying to keep up with all these due dates and what not. Lets just say that hasn't worked out very well. I've currently got 2 audiobooks out with one more coming in soon and another 20+ books signed out. I really need to knuckle down and clear this out a bit.
The Hunchback AssignmentsThis is what I am currently listening to on audio. It's a reread but I needed another steampunk book while I wait for
to come in. The audio was a bit rough in the beginning when it sounded like the narrator was talking to me through a tin can and string setup. 
Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 3 This is the book that I am currently working through as I've renewed my loan of it twice now. It's off to a good start and giving what I was wanting from the series.
The short list after this book is
and some more manga
Mod
Good luck with all the books you have out!
We should start a thread and just slap a giant sign out front warning about spoilers ahead. As for your questions...(view spoiler)
Mod
Time for my weekly update and this week it's all novels and I have things to say about some of them. I think I'm going to run this from best down to worst this week.
Solo Leveling, Vol. 5 (novel) (Solo Leveling -4 StarsThis was kind of an in between book. We had the conclusion of one story arc and the start of a new arc. The conclusion of the one arc was a bit shocking but that the same time it was kind of anticlimactic. That being said the start of the next arc dropped some nice little bombshells on us and I am very curious about where things go next.
Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 3 -4 StarsI'm still enjoying this series but the weakness of the author is showing a bit here in my opinion. This series started out as a dungeon crawler of sorts and it was good. In this book the author shifted gears and tried doing a multi kingdom political thriller kind of plot and... it was alright but it wasn't great either. There was a lot of moving parts, characters, and lore that were just dumped on us in this novel and while the MC's had reasons and motivations to be involved in the plot they kind of felt like they were along for the ride. They were there to deal with the truly epic level threats while everyone else dealt with overthrowing a kingdom. It was still entertaining but there were a few cracks in this one.
The Hunchback Assignments -3 StarsI'm now getting into the stuff that I read for my monthly challenge where I needed a couple of steampunk novels. This was a reread of a series I read several years ago and this novel is still fine. It's a YA action adventure style novel set in Victorian London with all the expected steampunk elements. Flying dirigibles, mechanical objects, steampunk robots, etc. It was a fun little romp but nothing outstanding at the same time.
Soulless -3 StarsNow we start getting into the controversial takes. I read this because I need a book from this Best Steampunk Novels list here on Goodreads and this book was near the top. Out the gate I'm just going to say that this did not feel like a steampunk novel. This was an urban fantasy set in Victorian London with a slight sprinkle of steampunk elements on top as a garnish. This is not a negative or anything but it just didn't feel like a steampunk novel to me. Now we get to the book itself. This book had some genuinely good moments that I enjoyed. There were moments where I found myself chuckling, moments I was wrapped up in what was going on, moments I was charmed but what was happening, and then there were moments were I was smacking my head against the wall because of the sheer stupidity of what I was reading. I know I said that this was an urban fantasy but I think the author was really wanting to write a Victorian romance novel with werewolves. The number of times where the MC never passed on pertinent info, ignored blinking neon sign level of clues just to get back to building the romantic/sexual tension was aggravating. Overall I though the main characters were smart and knew how to do their job but then the author felt the need to crowbar in some more tension and it derailed the characters. There is no greater example then towards the end of the novel. I won't get into specifics here but lets just say that both our leads find themself captured by the enemy and are being held in a cell deep in the enemies base. The enemy will be back in one hour to check on them. Now in that time they could plan an escape, plan an ambush, seeing as the male is an alpha werewolf he could just go on a murderous rampage to save friends, other prisoners, the kingdom, etc. Now that it the logical thing to do but that's not what happens. The author figures that this hour time frame is the perfect time to build even more sexual tension and even talk about marriage. I could be wrong here but I think the characters might some more pressing matters, some bigger priorities shall we say then some sexy times. Sexy times might I remind you in a locked cell, in a dungeon, deep within the enemies stronghold, while a close friend of the female MC might be getting tortured to death. This kind of writing just makes the characters seem like the most stupid morons ever. I'm not sure if I want to continue with the series. I like the world and the characters, some of the times, but some of these writing choices are a bit frustrating.
Killing Them Softly -1 StarThere are a lot of books that I read solely to help fill a challenge. Most of those books fall into the good to great rating and I've discovered some really interesting reads by trying to fill challenges. This book was not one of those books. This book was just plain awful from beginning to end. If I didn't want to fill this task so I can move on so much I would have tossed this book part of the way through the first chapter. Now in theory this should be an interesting book. It involves several criminal underworld types, a heist involving an illegal card game, and a mystery around all this. What I got was 216 pages of people doing nothing but talking and mostly about the most inane crap ever. This was book was probably 95% people talking and 5% things actually happening. This wasn't the worst part either. Those conversations were so bad. A lot of the characters involved in these discussions were the most stupid of stupid people. If there were two people in a scene you would be hard pressed to find two brain cells in that scene. These discussions were horrible and pointless as well. Many of these conversations were full of racism, sexism, and just in general people being human scum.. You could cut entire chapters out of this book and it would have zero impact on this book. For instance there is a character called Mitch, yes I am spoiling things and I don't care, and he is brought in to do a hit. We get several chapters where he complains about his wife, his life, sex, hookers, and so on. There is even a section where he is berating hookers for being bad at their job while the hookers are still in the room. He is in general just a garbage character. By the end of the novel he isn't used for the hit and has no impact on the resolution of the story. His entire character, every scene that he is in, all that filth that I read him saying was entirely pointless. It had zero impact on the story. It meant nothing. It was just there to pad the page count essentially. But it gets worse. This takes place in Boston and the author wanted to write this with a Bostonian accent. Again I'm no accent expert and can't tell you how accurate this is but what I can tell you is that this was grating as all hell to read. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Accents can be a massive help to a novel if done properly. They can help elevate a novel and really sell a setting or character. If not done well though it can become incredibly grating. Many of my complaints about this novel can fall into this as well. Even things like racism or sexism can help sell a setting or character if handled properly. This just felt like a constant barrage of stupidity and vileness for no real reason. I was so bored reading this novel and every chapter felt like it dragged on forever. I am so glad that this is done and over with.
Now, what is coming up next? More challenge stuff honestly. Most of my audiobooks are just that. Challenge books that I need for what ever challenge I am focused on at that moment. I usually only have one or two downloaded at a time and it's not as easy to swap them out mid walk.
Heroine ComplexIt has a demonic cupcake on the cover. Surely that is a good sign right?
As for physical books I have this giant stack of manga 15 books high including 5 omnibus editions that I need to tackle.
It's been so long since my last update, I'll try to catch up on reviews and updates :)
- 2-3 stars. I'm in love with the setting, colourful covers, the mystery cases sometimes are fine, sometimes not so good. Also the writing style could be better, even for a light read.
- 3-4 stars. Definitely overhyped, of all 2 books I like the 2nd one more, but still not the best and far from favourite.
- 4 stars. That one was fun, I loved the narration, the steamy romantic line, the setting, the strong female lead and the idea.
- 3 stars. There is something off to this book. At first glance it’s a typical romcom with all the cliches and fun parts, but something is definitely off. I mean I had that feeling during the whole book. And that scene with peeing into a paper cup...
Mod
Nice update Elena. I still need to go back and read Good Girl Bad Blood.
So do I, I tried starting it last year but was still feeling kind of reading slumpy so didn't get very far!
@Brittany @Jo Hope you'll enjoy it more than I did :D
I do too! Honestly I enjoyed the first one but I never really felt like it needed sequels, it worked well as a standalone.
Mod
Yes! I thought it wrapped up well enough to be a standalone
Just finished
and I really enjoyed it, it was fun getting to see a lot of behind the scenes stuff from film sets and it was great that he was so candid about his mental health struggles, I'm sure that will have been very helpful for a lot of people reading the book. My next audiobook is
, I'll admit, I only saw this in a bookshop a couple of weeks back and was largely drawn by the idea of touring a lot of bookshops in the UK, I have no idea who Robin Ince is, but hopefully this will be fun!
Mod
Hope this next one is fun!
It has been so far, we'll see how it goes!
Time for that weekly update and warning in advance, there is a lot of manga. If you're not interested in that you might want to skip this week... and next week as well.
Heroine Complex -3 StarsThis book was a bit all over the place and it makes rating and explaining it a bit of a challenge. There are moments in this book where I like what is happening and I'm liking the decisions the author made and the others I'm either bored or annoyed. The book opens with our crew in a bakery battling demonic cupcakes and it's a perfect example of the creativity you can find in this book. Later there is a battle with demons that takes place during a karaoke battle. It's some really interesting story telling. The problem I found though is getting to these interesting moments. Between these interesting moments where just some straight up boring, and sometimes repetitious moments. For instance there is a flashback scene where Aveda helps out Evie by eating 30 spam musubi because she was getting bullied in school. It was the start of their friendship and you get reminded of this moment over and over and over and over and over again. This is just one example of the repetition between big scenes. There is a lot of talk about feelings, emotions, the past, etc, etc, etc that just feel like it all on repeat. Another negative is Aveda herself. I get that she is supposed to be an unlikable character initially so that she can have her big growth moment and show us how much she has changed and grown. You don't want to go to far with the unlikable though and this book went way past the point of no return. She is such a horrible character that I just didn't care about any redemption she had. I'm sorry but I just can't forget the horrible manipulative person you were at the beginning of the book. Now granted she didn't do a full 180 as I think that will be saved for the next book but still. The one thing I was happy about was this book did not fall into the love triangle trap. There was the characters to do it, it thought about doing it, then the MC had the realization that guy 1 was a brother to her and not a lover. This was a nice change of pace honestly. I'd be willing to check out the second book just to see where things go.
Now one special complaint just for the audiobook. The narrator was alright and did a serviceable job with this book with the exception of one character, Bea. Bea is supposed to be a 16 year old girl and there are times where the narrator sounds appropriate for that role. The problem is that the voice for Bea is all over the place. Sometime she sounds something like a 16 year old girl and other times she sounds like a stoned surfer dude.
Now for the manga
Berserk Deluxe Edition Volume 11 -5 StarsWhat can I really say at this point. My love for this series is well known. Everyone I knows that I recommend this series with a massive warning about all the nasty stuff you will find inside. I love this series, I love the characters, and I'm kind of sad that there is only two more volumes of content from the original author. That being said I am curious about the new content from his team.
Yu-Gi-Oh! (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 9: Includes Vols. 25, 26 & 27 -4 StarsThis is still in the Domino City tournament arc and we are down to the semifinals at this point but there is just so much more going on in the story at this point. We are starting to get more and more into the Egyptian magic side of things. We get the backstory to Marik in this battle and what happened there. We finally get to see the final god card in action. There is just so many questions and this story is just incredibly interesting. I think we will have one more omnibus in the Domino City arc and then it will move into the final story arc. I'm curious to know how this all ends, what happens to Yugi, etc. There are several spin off series in the Yu-Gi_oh franchise but I don't think I've ever seen this original cast of characters in any of them. I could be wrong as it's not something I've looked to deeply into.
Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 5 -4 StarsI am really getting invested in this series and I'm about to say something I don't normally say. I think this is a great example of a love triangle done well. You have two individuals with essentially no experience with anything even remotely romantic getting thrust into dating each other. There is a lot of emotional baggage to unpack there already. Then you have one of these individuals escalate things faster than a rocket taking off (no, not sexy times) and you have a super awkward situation. While this is all happening guy two takes notice and comes to the realization that he might just have feelings for the young woman as well but it will better for all involved if he just does not get involved. There are of a course a lot of other parties involved in this whole situation as well. I'm just enjoying how this is all unfolding and how things are progressing.
SAKAMOTO DAYS 7 -4 StarsI've said this before and I'll say this again. I really want to see this series get an anime adaptation and it to be done by a good studio. The action in this series is just bonkers and I would love to see it animated.
Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, Vol. 3 -4 StarsFinally, after a year and half wait I finally get my copy from the library. A simple sweet yuri romance between adult women. I really enjoy this story and I'm kind of sad that the next book is the final one.
Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 3 -4 StarsAnother yuri romance that I've been waiting forever to get my copy from the library. This is the final book in this series and it had a good ending with the author hinting that there could be more in the future. That being said there was something about this ending that jsut made me feel melancholy for a while after. Great series though if you are looking for a shorter yuri romance.
SHWD, Vol. 1 -3 StarsAlright this one is going to get a bit weird. This is a yuri romance sci-fi horror manga that is a bit of a hot mess. The "romance" is a barely there subplot that just feels weird. The sci-fi horror is interesting but you just aren't given enough to really truly invest you into anything. This manga has a "unique" selling point though and I'll admit that it is what piqued my interest. The women in this manga are... quite muscular. I don't normally include images but below is an image of one of the main characters. This is of course before you cover her in layers of tactical body armor. How does she even fit through the door? This is one of two super large and super jacked female characters in this manga as well. I just like the trope of the female warrior who looks strong enough to bench press a dump truck. It's a weird niche but it's a fun one.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1 -5 StarsAlright, final manga of the update. This is a slice of life manga from the mid 90's that has kept popping up on my radar as one of the greats of the Slice of Life genre. I never had a chance to read it as it wasn't easy to find as a lot of older manga usually are. My library got a copy of this new deluxe edition and after giving it a read I can see why it's considered so great. The setting is a futuristic Japan that is slowly dying after an environmental apocalypse. Very little is told to us about what happened but the evidence is everywhere. Not in ruined buildings but the water level of the ocean. We see a lot of things like street lights sticking up above water and are told about how Yokohama had to be moved up into the hills. The book is set in a remote location and our main character is a robot called Alpha who runs a small cafe. Each chapter is a small story about something she is doing or someone around her is doing. There is a simpleness in the story that is just enchanting and there is enough mystery in the world to keep you curious. For instance there is a character called Osprey and we know next to nothing about her except stories passed on from other characters. Who is she? What is she? What is her deal? There is another character who has a flying fish that wears goggles to protect their eyes from drying out. There are no massive conflicts, there is no evil villain trying to destroy/take over/wipe out anything. It's just a simple story set in this foreign world full of mysteries. I can't wait to get my hands on the second one and see what happens next.
Now for what is next.
The Lost StoriesI'm finally getting around to this audiobook and looking forward to more time in this world.
Outside of that I've still got a monster stack of comics/manga to read and will probably be working on that for a couple more weeks.
I partially blame it on the library. Suddenly all these requests have come in at once and I find myself buried in manga. Some of it is on me as well. I monitor the new releases coming in and there have been several new shiny manga coming in lately.
This has been some kind of week for sure. Not one I want to repeat by any stretch of the imagination. That being said I did get some reading done and as warned last week it's more manga/comics.
The Lost Stories -4 StarsA collection of short stories that takes place primarily after the events in The Emperor of Nihon-Ja. Normally I'm not a fan of short story collections but this was a solid one that hints at a couple of different spin off series. There is a definite nod to The Brotherhood series and potentially a taste of The Early Years as well. The author used this to address fan questions about aspects of the series such as the working years of a horse, what happened during these events in the series, etc. We also got the wedding of a couple of characters and this is where I have a couple of issues. I think that the stories handling the weddings were tasteful and have no issues with them by themselves. It's all tied to one event in the next book that doesn't sit well with most people, or at least I don't think it does. It feels like one character got done extra dirty as their wedding is almost an afterthought in this book and then "things" happen to them in the next one. It doesn't sit well with me, that's all. Regardless I have the next one downloaded already and I'm ready to start it.
Now for the comics/manga
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, Volume 3 -4 StarsWhat a shift in tone from the last volume. In the last volume the story was shifting genres like you wouldn't believe and was all over the place. This volume focuses on one story about Shredder and the Foot making a power play to fully overtake the criminal underworld in New York. There were still the Sci-Fi elements and the magical elements but they felt like garnishes to what was essentially a crime thriller. There were some massive revelations with the reveal of Hun, Bebop, and of course Rocksteady. It was interesting to see all these various factions scheming and plotting with and against Shredder. There was a massive blow to the Turtles as well where one of their own is recruited over to the Foot through essentially magical mental manipulation. This was just a very engaging volume and I can't wait to get to the next one to see the fallout of everything.
The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, Vol. 2The Hunters Guild: Red Hood, Vol. 3 -3 StarsThe first volume of this series definitely hooked me in and these two volumes was a long padded death throw. This series got cancelled super early on for whatever reason. In the second volume the story was flowing along smoothly when suddenly it gets put on the shelf and two short stories from the author are inserted. Now I will admit that the one about Hermit Crabs was super interesting and could be a potentially interesting series. Then we get to the third volume and this is where things kind of get a little weird. This is obviously where the author gets the news that his series is getting cancelled and is trying to desperately wrap things up. The story gets really weird with references to these supreme beings called "Readers" and how the characters are only there to entertain the Readers. Maybe this is me reading a little to much between the lines but there seems to be some "frustrations" that the author is venting into his writing a little bit. This volume then ends with the publisher cramming in more shorts from the author. The publishing company really did everything they could to stretch the end of this series across two books. If they had cut all the extra stuff they could have easily fit all this into one book and sold this series as two books instead of three but there isn't money in that. It's hard to say if this series was killed off to early. There was definitely potential there but who knows where things could have gone. Maybe there wasn't enough story there to keep this story going and still be interesting. Or maybe this was an unjust death of what could've been the greatest story ever. I simply don't know.
Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 22 -3 StarsIt's kind of sad how I've gone from loving this series to a growing feeling of frustration with it. Like I mentioned last time I just want the story to progress at this point. If this book is a 5 gallon pail of water it feels like we get an eye dropper of story in each one which is quickly reversed by wishy washy decisions. The rest of the book is just gags. I know that this is supposed to be a gag series but man I just want the story to progress. I actually had a horrifying thought where I compared this to the Stephanie Plum series. The characters never progress and it's just the same jokes over and over again. Man that is depressing and scary.
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 1What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Volume 2 -3 StarsThis is part two of my downward spiral with manga/comics yesterday. I love food manga. If done well you can get some really creative stories like Delicious in Dungeon, Campfire Cooking in Another World, Sweetness and Lightening, etc. I think this the first food manga where I felt like it just wasn't done well. I picked this up figuring it had potential to be something really cute and it just wasn't. The story revolves two gay men in their early 40's who live together. Bonus points for that alone as I don't often see stories with main characters in their 40's. This is where the first problem with this series starts with for me though. I don't like either of the characters, especially Kakei, and I just don't feel their relationship. To me they felt like they were more like roommates that put up with each other then lovers. There was no chemistry, no spark, no spice, no cuteness, nothing. Then we get to the biggest problem I had with these books, especially the first one, and that is the food. The food was not folded well into the story and the transitions to the cooking parts felt incredibly jarring. The first example of this happened during an argument the two men were having. Kakei doesn't hide that he is gay but he doesn't share this info freely with anyone and everyone either. His partner though is very open about it and told one of his clients about his boyfriend. That client ran into both men later in public and revealed what she new. This led to an argument about who is allowed to know about them and what not. It's a serious discussion and something that is very important to the relationship. Halfway through the argument the story just switches to a detailed recipe and this topic is never revisited. It just felt so jarring but it's not the worst example. Kakei is a lawyer and later in the same book he is dealing with a client who is a victim of domestic violence. What I liked about his serious story beat was that the victim was a big burly man and the abuser was this tiny little woman. This was a serious story moment that touches on some really serious real world issues and it was handled well. Part of the way through this serious story it just full on stops, shelves this serious story element, to then have this detailed cooking section. There isn't even a real wrap up to the serious part of the story either. There is a couple panels dedicated to it later but for the most part it was just done and over. The second volume was a little better with the flow but by that point the damage had been done for me. This is most definitely a series I won't be continuing.
Twelfth Grade Night -2 StarsThis was a random snag from the library based solely on the potential cuteness. This just left me feeling old and with a general sense of "meh" about everything in this story. This is about a twin who is separated from her brother. Brother continues to go to a private school and she goes to a local public school. This public school backs on to the fairy realm and several of the Fae attend the school. Why you might ask? No idea. It just this weird random element to the story that did nothing for the story. I seriously have no clue why it was there. This entire element of the story could have been cut out and it would have zero impact on the story. Now maybe I'm just old and crusty but some of these characters just felt a bit... over the top. Then the story itself was just kind of meh overall. Boy likes girl, girl likes girl, girl likes boy and no one can communicate anything. There is a dance, miscommunication, blah, blah, blah. Maybe it's because I'm old and crusty but I just didn't resonate with anything in this book.
Now, what is coming up next week.
Crocodile on the SandbankMy next audiobook and you can kind of tell the age of the book. Or to be more precise the audio recording of the book because there are elements of this book that I've never experience before. This was recorded in 1999 and maybe this is still a thing but I haven't seen it before. This book opens with the usual "this is a xxxxxx recording of xxxxx by this author and read by this narrator". Then it goes into the legal copyrights and then reads the blurb on the back of the book. It gets into the authors tributes and notes. There was just several minutes of stuff that I know are in physical books but I just don't experience in audiobooks. Outside of that it's off to an alright start. I'm only a hour into it so far but it seems fine.
Outside of that I'm still working on my giant stack of manga/comics. I promise this is coming to an end soon and there will be more novels in these wrap ups at some point.
Mod
Too bad you had some not so great manga this week
YA Addicted Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
V.E. Schwab's ExtraOrdinary #0 (other topics)V.E. Schwab's ExtraOrdinary #1 (other topics)
The Rebel Army #4 (other topics)
The Rebel Army #3 (other topics)
V. E. Schwab's ExtraOrdinary #2 (other topics)
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This was an alright popcorn, turn your brain off, and coast kind of book. I read/listened to this for a challenge and I got what I signed up for. It's a gamelit novel heavily inspired by the Fallout series, in particular Fallout 4. Basically the world gets nuked, it's revealed that humanity is nothing more than a giant simulation and we are out of time. After the world is nuked the admins turn on full fledged game mode (level ups, experience points, stats, perks etc) and now humanity is nothing more than entertainment for the galactic community. You get pretty much what you would expect from this novel. One thing I grew tired off was the constant perk/stat/item descriptions. I know this is a staple of this genre and in physical books I can just kind of skim over this stuff but with an audio book I'm kind of stuck listening to it over and over and over again. This is definitely one of those books that make me glad I have a library card. For the great price of free this is a palatable book. If I had to pay money for this I'd be a lot more critical and probably a bit harsh on this thing.
Another Alan Moore book and again it's for another challenge. His name keeps coming on these "Greatest Book of X genre" kind of lists and because I'm allowed to use comics it gives me reason to read them. This came out in the 80's and I can easily see why this became a classic. This book is about a full on fascist Britain after the end of WWIII and the anarchist known simply as V. This book tackles a lot of heavier themes and I liked that V was more an idea than a character. We do get hints to his back story but we never know who he truly is and what his motivations are. By the end of the book he straight up becomes a symbol more than anything else. I have a bit of a hard time explaining why I liked this book as much as I did but it really clicked with me. That being said there are some issues. There are times where the story wasn't as strong and kind of rambled a bit. I also wasn't a fan of the art. It made it real difficult at times to tell what was going on or who a particular character was. It's definitely the art of the time but I'm just not a fan of this kind of comic art.
This is just straight up sweet fluff and I enjoyed it. The book is tagged as "boys love" but there isn't even the faintest hint of romance. It's about two guys that become friends through being fans of what the other does (patisserie and an actor). Could it eventually turn into a romance at some point in the future? Maybe, but for right now it's just a sweet story about two guys becoming friends and gaining confidence through each other. I want to read the next book but it's not out yet.
This is such a huge frustration. I found this series originally through some art I discovered online. Then I found out, many months afterwards, that my library was carrying the series and decided to check it out. I find the premise of this series to be pretty intriguing and I want to read more. That's where the problem starts. There are only three books because Shonen Jump cancelled the series before it even had a chance to start gaining steam. I know that this happens a lot but this is the first time I've encountered it so early in the story. I do plan to read the other two books just to see if the story suddenly takes a sudden change that warrants the cancellation but I don't see it yet.
As for what is next