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Time for my regular scheduled weekly update where we have the good, the bad, and some stuff in between.
The Sword of Shannara -3 StarsI'm so happy to finally be able to talk about my experience with this book after the last couple of weeks of working through it. This book was one of the original books that got me into fantasy way, way, back in the day. My aunt had a copy on her shelf and I remember picking it up and loving my experience with it. Here I am some 25ish later and I'm finally rereading the book. I've been wanting to do it for a while but the length intimidated me a fair bit as well as seeing all the negative views. There are a lot of negative reviews slamming this book, calling it a LotR clone (Lord of the Rings for those that don't know), and everything like that. I was a bit concerned coming into this book since I wasn't the naive reader I was when I first read this. I'm not bitter and jaded or anything but I am much more experienced, if that makes any sense. I know more about tropes, other fantasy that came before this, etc.
So what do I think of this book? It was alright. I know that sounds a bit lackluster but hear me out. This book is far from the one star reviews claiming that this is a LotR clone and the worst thing ever written. If you think this is the worst thing ever written then you obviously haven't been around much. Either that or I've been slumming it in some really skeevy reading circles. I also want to address the whole clone stuff as well. I don't think it's fair to this book to call it a clone of LotR. That being said it's super obvious that it was heavily inspired by LotR but that is not necessarily a bad thing. If your reading a book that was heavily inspired by something would you rather it be inspired by something considered to be the very peak of the genre or by something that is mid or worse? I think it's a pretty clear answer. I also don't think this was the very best thing ever written either. It had some flaws for sure and I'll get into that here in second but overall this was a great start to a series.
Now for the more personal thoughts where I'm not addressing larger narratives. I was really surprised when I was reading through this book that I could still remember things from this book even after 25ish years. I'd start reading a scene and all of a sudden I'd remember stuff about what was to come. Not super detailed obviously but I was still able to remember some broad strokes. There were a couple of things I found a bit annoying while reading this. For the most part the author was great at naming things. Whether that was races, locations, characters, or what not. Then we have the larger land location naming and this hurt. The land is divided into four locations, Eastland, Westland, Northland, and Southland. That just immediately hit my pet peeve of naming stuff. You're trying to tell me that the best you can come up with for the traditional homeland of, say, the elves was Westland. Nothing fancy in Elvish, or whatever race lived there. It's a weird thing to be hung up on but it's just one of those things that bugs me in a book. It was also very apparent that the author has a certain love for a particular trope. That trope is convincing the reader that a certain character has died off only for them to return pages later perfectly fine. Used sparingly and properly this trope can be very effective. This book used this five or six times in the first half of the book alone. After the second or third time this happened it removed any tension from the setup as you knew that in a few pages that character would be back. One final weird thing that my brain got hung up on, gnomes. This book confused me so much. In my head gnomes are either lawn gnomes or a shorter technologically advanced fantasy race. In this one they were a yellow skinned human? Maybe? Yet separate from the human race? I'm really not sure. There were times where my brain injected what I thought gnomes where and then the book would basically describe them as humans. I'm kind of confused on that.
Overall, this was a fun read and the first step on my journey to read through this entire Shannara series. While it was a bit generic at times it had some interesting ideas cooked into it as well. In particular the sci-fi/fantasy element where it's implied that this is a world that takes place long after we nuked it. That makes me very curious.
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea -4 StarsThis was one of those books that kept popping up on my radar so I finally caved and requested a copy. After several weeks of waiting it finally came in. I was a bit hesitant to read this book as I was seeing a lot of negative reviews panning this book. After reading this book and reading those negative reviews I think there are just a lot of people who don't understand cozy fantasy. This isn't supposed to be a high stakes, high adventure, adrenaline fueled thrill ride. Cozy fantasies, in my opinion, are more about those quiet moments spent by the fire reading books and drinking tea. As some one coming into this genre from more of the manga/light novel side of things I am loving seeing more western style fantasy like this. Where it's more about the quiet everyday life in a fantasy world then stopping some evil dark lord hell bent on world domination. If you can't guess by now I loved this book a lot. I immediately got Legends and Latte's vibes from this and the author admits to her inspiration in the ending comment section. This isn't as low stakes as something like Legends & Lattes but it's far from world ending plot lines. If anything those middle ground stakes, where something needs to be done but you have plenty of time to do it, is a great tool to set up future books and that is exactly what this book did. I love the romance between these two characters and the setting was great. This was exactly what I needed after a rather stressing week.
Now for the manga and and the comics
Don't Call it Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 5-6 -4 StarsThis volume was a great representation about what I love about and dislike about this series. On the bad side of thing, as I've mentioned before, is the art. There are so many characters that look so alike that I get so confused at times. Outside of that the art is just kind of meh in general. Then on the other side of things we have the writing and holy smokes is the writing so good. The first main story line in this volume was so well written. I was just sucked into this ongoing mystery about an arsonist killing the parents of abused children. The logic of the killer, the logic of the flunky helping him, the mystery itself. Then there was the twist that came towards the end that I had no idea was coming and literally had me stun locked for several minutes as I tried to process what I had just learned and the implications it had on the story. The writing keeps me coming back to this story and it delivers, for the most part, there are some not as stunning moments but overall the writing is amazing.
Godzilla: Monster Island Summer Camp -4 StarsThis was another random snag from the library. I saw the whole Godzilla angle and knew I had to check it out. Now, fair warning in advance, this is not a classic Godzilla story by far. This is a summer camp story that happens to have Godzilla, Mothra, and several other Kaiju. Overall this book was a super sweet read. You have a young girl heading to what she believes is an art camp for the summer. Her mom had saved up all year just so she could go and she was super excited to finally hang out with other artists. To her dismay the summer camp was changed to an extreme sports camp after her mom bought her registration. Our MC is then sent to the basically the outcasts cabin where other "people" like her are sent. This is a cabin of three young women who become friends over the summer. Now you are probably wondering how in the heck Kaiju factor into all of this wholesome vibes. Well, I'm not spoiling that for you. You will have to read the comic and find out. I'm really glad I took a chance on this comic and would recommend it.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 8 -4 StarsMore JoJo's, more weird fights, more bizarre adventures. We are finally at the house of Dio and so much closer to the end of this part of the franchise.
The Sprite and the Gardener -4 StarsThis popped up on my radar when someone said I had recommended the book. The thing was I had never read it so I had to fix that. This was a short but sweet book about sprites finding a new way of life and gardening. It was one of those feel good comics that just leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. I never recommended this book but now I do. If you are looking for something short and sweet or have kids getting into reading this would be a great one to dive into.
The Agent -2 StarsThis was another random snag from the library. I read the synopsis and it sounded like something right up my alley. It's kind of a standard urban fantasy setup where you have a cop involved in a drug bust where things get "weird". This brings her to the attention of a special branch of the government that doesn't exist. This branch deals with crimes involving witchcraft. Here is where I'm going to get a bit harsh towards the book. This concept/setup was about the only good part of the book. Everything else was just painful. The story felt so clunky and disjointed. It tried to achieve all this great stuff, and I can see what it was trying to do, but the execution just fell flat on it's face. This story telling lead me to not really liking or caring about any of the characters. The artwork was this grittier and darker style that I just wasn't vibing with. If this book was any longer I would have either dropped it or ended up in some kind of reading funk.
Now, what is next
City SpiesThis is my current audiobook and pretty fun so far. It's one of those kid espionage stories where a government agency, in this case MI6, feels the need to create an elite unit of spies consisting of nothing but kids/teens. A totally silly idea but a fun one.
Outside of that I have this giant leaning tower of library books beside me that I need to address. I'm going to shift from tackling what is due next to what is due next that I can't renew. Stuff I can renew will be pushed until later.
Mod
Also yay for finishing Shannara. Going to continue in the near future? I agree the gnomes are odd. I only ever read the first book though.
Godzilla: Monster Island Summer Camp sounds fun
Brittany wrote: "Gord glad you enjoyed Treason without Tea. I still want to read that one. It still felt like a cozy fantasy then? Ive read some reviews complaining that it has too many stakes to be considered an a..."It still felt like it was a cozy fantasy to me. It definitely had higher stakes then something like Legends and Latte but it never felt like the stakes were pressing. There was never that feeling that if we don't deal with these stakes right this second something bad will happen. Something bad may happen in the future but it doesn't feel super pressing. Hopefully that makes sense.
As for Shannara, I fully intend to continue. My plans right now is to work through the complete series as long as it doesn't take a horrid turn at some point in time. I have the next book requested and it should take about 8 weeks or so.
Mod
A bit of a wait for the next book is probably good. Hopefully you continue to enjoy them!
Right now, I'm arc reading book three in this series. It's a YA fantasy adventure. Love the characters and the plot twists. Must read book rec
Alright, time for that weekly update and I've been a busy little reader this week. This has been a bit of a weird week of reading as I've kind of bounced all over the place with various results. 
The Way I Am -4 StarsThis was one of those weird things that popped up while browsing through the new books on my local libraries website. At the time I figured it would be an interesting read so I requested myself a copy. Overall this was an interesting read for me and it was a pleasant mix of stuff I knew, stuff I didn't know, and stuff I kind of knew. This book talked about his early life before becoming a superstar and that helped really put his early actions into perspective. It delved into his early challenges with fame and again it was something I knew about but getting an actual glimpse behind the curtains was interesting. The two big stand outs for me was seeing him break the cycle of abuse and poverty with his kids. His decision to step back from touring entirely and making his recording times into a 9-5 job allowed him to be there for his children. The other thing, and this was something I've heard of before, was his writing. I've heard for a long time that he was always jotting down lyrics as they popped into his head. Towards the end of this book was shots of some of these sheets of paper and holy smokes was that weirdly personal. These weren't neat and organized notes they were just scribbles at all angles on a random sheet of paper using whatever he could find to write with. Some were written in pencil, some were in pen with all colors of ink, it was just all over the place. It was kind of weird seeing this part of the creative process. One big thing that bummed me out with this book, and this is kind of on me, was that it came out in 2009. When I saw it pop up in the queue of books on order I figured it was a new book and that was part of what intrigued me. There was nothing wrong with the book but I would have loved to have read something from the last few years. A book a little further down this path of self reflection and growth. Overall it was a quick and interesting read.
Who's That Girl?: A Memoir -3 StarsI had no intention of reading two biographies in one week but the library decided otherwise. Like the Eminem one I found this in the queue of new books coming at the library and figured I would give it a whirl. I remember Eve from the early 2000's and liking her music at the time. Unlike the Eminem one this was not a good book. This is the kind of nonfiction book that makes me not like nonfiction and was drifting hard into the two star territory. The first part of this book was just alright. It basically went over her early life in Philadelphia, her signing with Dr. Dre, getting let go from there, signing up with Ruff Ryders, her first three albums, etc. This part of the book was structured and flowed from one point in time to another. The biggest problem I had here was that it all just felt painfully generic. This is the bog standard biography kind of flow and the writing wasn't anything special. If this was the entire book this would have been a painfully average three star rating. Then we get the later half and this is where this boring book just turned into a slog for me. I had two major issues with the latter half of this book. First, the time line completely got chucked out the window and instead it felt like a boring version of Dr. Who hopping all over the time line. There was one chapter that started after the funeral of DMX in 2021/2022, then it flew back to 2006, then forward to 2017 all in one chapter. Every chapter in the latter half of this book was just all over the time line from about 2006 to the early 2020's. It made it hard to follow and to get invested in anything. The other big issue, and this is a weird one, is that the second half of this book had this weird PG-13 heavily sanitized feeling to it. It felt like stories were cherry picked for how safe they were and few names were shared. Instead of using names it was "another female rapper", "another rapper", "a man", etc. Here is the thing, I get not wanting to spill everything and playing stuff close to your chest but when every story feels like this it just takes on this weird feeling and gets really boring. It's not like I didn't learn anything in the second half of the book I just don't think the slog was worth it.
City Spies -3 StarsI'm not sure how this popped up on my radar but it was the perfect filler audiobook for me to listen to between some longer ones that I am working on. This is one of those middle grade spy novels where the adults figure the best course of action in espionage is to form a unit of child spies, in this case early to mid teens. Our MC is of course the newest recruit so we get to learn all about the unit and how they work before going on their first mission. The mission that perfectly uses every element that was foreshadowed in the book up until this point. I know it sounds like I am ragging on this book but it was a very entertaining book, it just wasn't mind blowing. It took the formula for one of these novels and wrote a very solid book by coloring inside the lines. I do intend to continue with this trilogy as there are only three books and they are the perfect length to slot between larger things I am working on.
Now for the manga and comics
I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 7: In the Mean Time -4 StarsI was bored at work this week and was cruising through Hoopla when I discovered the latest collection of this series that I love. It was a quick and easy read but I felt like there was something off with this one. This one was basically just a collection of what felt like meta jokes instead of any real story. The first volume was essentially one long joke about Taylor Swift, that football player she is dating, and farting. Then there is another about how bad Hollywood is, I Hate Fairyland getting selected for a movie, and all that junk. Not sure if this actually happened or if it was just commentary about Hollywood in general but I'd say it was the latter one. It still has all the hallmark stuff that I would expect from this series, it was just lacking a story.
A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 3 -4 Stars
A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 4 -4 StarsI'm not sure I can properly describe my love for this silly and stupid series. This is a great example of how to do a meta or referential joke so perfectly. If you don't understand what it is referencing to you aren't lost and there is still humor there. If you do get it though it just makes everything even funnier. In these two volumes we had various references to publishing companies and authors that I've come to expect. What I did not expect was the Girls und Panzer reference that was out of left field. Then there is the wild meta joke in the fourth book. Basically the Magiket is preparing for the latest one when they get told by the adventuring guild that they have to cancel for this epic battle of heroes. This then goes into this tournament arc where the MC makes her way to the top of the tournament by essentially doing nothing. This whole story line was great by itself and had me laughing. Then I read the notes in the book that helps explain some of the references and my mind was blown. This entire story line was a reference to the 2020 Olympics. Comiket has always been held at the same time every year since it started except in 2020 when the Olympics were in Tokyo. The both had the venue booked for the same time and Comiket ended up getting bumped to a later date. The fact that the author could cook this into his series and make it fit so well into the in world lore was great.
The Savior's Book Café Story in Another World, Vol. 1 -4 StarsAlright, I think I might have a new favorite series and this is after only reading one volume. This thing hooked me in hard from the very beginning with our MC. It started with a rather standard Isekai set up where god was telling our MC that they have been selected to travel to a fantasy world to be their savior. They will grant the MC with any wish and make them powerful in either combat or magic abilities. Our MC's response to this was "Nah, I'm good". She is in her thirties, loves to cook and read, and loves just relaxing after work on her couch with a good book and some good food. All this adventure sounding stuff was just not for her and she wanted none of it. Turns out she has no real say in the matter and uses her smarts to set herself up good in the next world. Not as an all powerful adventurer or any such nonsense. She has herself a book cafe in one of the safest countries in this new world, it's near the capital but still remote so she wont be bothered, and she has a laundry list of magical abilities. This allows her to essentially cook and read to her hearts content while being bothered by basically no one. Of course this is where the more Shojo like elements slide into the story. She gets one guest who is this long haired super hot guy who loves to read, oh and he is the captain of the guard. He is looking for a particular book and a quiet place to read. The romance hasn't started yet but the ground work has been firmly laid. There is a little conflict being set up with the previous savior and her being an absolute spoiled brat abusing her powers. I really loved this first book and I want more. I even want to see if I can track down the light novel.
Spy x Family, Vol. 9 -4 StarsMore of this manga and I'm having a great time with this series.
One Piece, Volume 4: The Black Cat Pirates -4 StarsMore One Piece, in this one we get into the main battle between the Luffy's crew and Black Cats.
Hirayasumi, Vol. 2 -4 StarsAnother manga that I have a hard time explaining why I love it. This is just a chill slice of life manga about a 30 year old man living his life. He was a former actor who retired and is now just living life. His cousin, who is attending art school, lives with him. There is the real estate agent who takes or of the house he lives in, his weird friend, and just things happening in all their life's. I love slice of life things but normally with a fantastical element to spice it up a bit. This is just a well written slice of life story about a dude living a slow paced life. I can't explain why I love it but I do.
Now, what is next
A Bad Day for SunshineThis is my next audiobook and it is a buddy read. I'm about 11% of the way into the book and it's alright so far. I feel like it's way to early to be forming a strong opinion one way or another.
Outside of that I have some more manga, the next In Death novel, and some more light novels to work through.
Mod
The Savior's Book Café Story in Another World, sounds excellent! Ill have to go looking for that one. Oh I had before apparently and it wasnt available.
Finished
today and really enjoyed it, it was exactly what I needed, a short, engaging, twisty read. I find mystery/thrillers can be a bit hit or miss for me but this one was really great, definitely one I'd recommend.Have started my next audio,
which I've been meaning to read for ages so I really hope I enjoy it. I'm loving the narration so far, Nicola Coughlan is excellent!
Mod
today and really enjoyed it, it was exactly what I needed, a short, engaging, twisty read. I find mystery/thrillers can be a bit hit or miss for me but..."The audio editions of HMRC is so good. I've just finished book 2 last night. Nicola Coughlan is amazing.
Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "Jo wrote: "Finished today and really enjoyed it, it was exactly what I needed, a short, engaging, twisty read. I find mystery/thrillers can be a bit hit or miss..."She is great so far! I'm not entirely sure what I think about the book thus far, not currently vibing with the writing style but it's still early days.
Mod
I really need to read HMRC, always good to hear how good the narrator is
Brittany wrote: "Woo! Glad to hear it Jo! I loved that book. The rest of hers that I have read have also been good. I could tell that the Lying Woods was an older work and her writing has improved but it was still ..."I will definitely be checking out more of her stuff now, I'm hard to impress with mystery/thriller type books as I tend to find them quite predictable but this was really great.
Yes, Nicola Coughlan is wonderful, she's so good with different accents!
Time for that weekly update once again.
A Bad Day for Sunshine -3 StarsThis was a buddy read and far from my first Darynda Jones novel. I've read most of the Charley Davidson series, I've read The Betwixt series, and now, here we are with this series. It's kind of what you would expect from this author honestly and this novel has me feeling a bit mixed. The premise for the novel is good, the quirky main character and her daughter are great, the humor is bit hit or miss depending on your taste, and then there are some things that took away from the novel. One of the big ones for me was that this novel felt like it had way too much going on. There was the main plot, there was the backstory for the MC, there was the daughter getting bullied, the romance line, the daughters romance line, the escaped prisoner line, the local running jokes, and on, and on. As a result it made the book feel really cluttered and hard to keep track of what was going on. You were never sure if what you were reading was a random thing happening or something that would popup chapters later, looking at you escaped prisoner. It also took the main story about the young girl getting kidnapped and kind of shuffled it into the background as it cycled through all these various story lines. The other big thing that annoyed me, and this is an issue I have with this kind of book in general, was the constant reminder about how hot all the main male characters were. When you were introduced to a male character it wasn't so much about their character but how hot they were. The only personality aspects you got were ones that helped emphasis how hot they were for the female lead. Now if this happened a couple times in the novel it wouldn't have been so bad but I swear it happened every time a male character reappeared. Is if we had somehow forgot about their hotness since we last met the character. With a tighter story this might not have bothered me so much but this felt like just more fluff that was distracting from the main story. I do intend to continue as we are buddy reading the trilogy but it's now a little lower down the priority list.
Encore in Death -5 starsThis is going to be a bit of an odd In Death review and that might be due to the week break I took part of the way into the book. This break wasn't really planned. I had started this as something to read at work while it was slow and then suddenly it got busy. I then had to factor this book into my much busier outside of work reading schedule. For the first half of the novel it was giving me what I want from an In Death book but the mystery wasn't really grabbing me. Then we get into the second half and the book started going through some twists and turns that I wasn't fully expecting. This is where things really started to pick up for me. After one arrest I was wondering where things were going as it was way to early in the book for this to be happening. This is where the twists really started kicking in and the novel really took off for me. Overall it was more In Death which is always a plus for me but the mystery was kind of weaker in this one.
Now for the manga
I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 2 -3 Stars
I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 3 -4 StarsI'm going to be talking about this more as a series then as individual books as this was a short trilogy. I appreciate the message that it was sharing and the characters for what they were representing. It was interesting to see an asexual character as a story lead especially in a story from a different culture. The biggest issue I had with this trilogy was how it was, what is the best way to put this, how it was chopped up. This was a trilogy with three super short manga, 150ish pages versus the normal 190-200ish pages, which wasn't so bad but I think this story would have been better if it was two books. Reorganize the story a bit, spread it over two books instead of three, and I think I would have had a better time with this. The first book could have covered some of the current day stuff and the backstory all in one, the second book could be more of the current day moving into the big resolution, with a satisfying "years later" epilogue. I suspect that splitting this into three was a publishing companies decision to try and milk profits a bit. Normally this doesn't bother me as much bit with this one it just didn't feel right, if that makes sense.
The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 2 -4 StarsI don't get this one guys, I really don't. Normally this is one of those manga that would frustrate me with all the drama and the whole dragging the romance aspect but for whatever reason it's working for me here. At least for now anyways, this is the kind of story that could sour for me real fast. For now, I'm here for the ride and I want more.
Dragon Ball (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 8: Includes vols. 22, 23 & 24 -5 StarsAlright, alright, I think I'm getting the appeal of DBZ. I never grew up watching the anime and most of my knowledge about it comes from pop culture osmosis just because of how big this series was and still is. I had no interest in it as it seemed like it was just guys screaming for a few episodes before a quick fight. Reading the manga though has opened my eyes. This volume was a really good read. Yes, it was trope heavy but it showed what a story can do when it handles those tropes well. You knew a character was going to lose a fight before it started because it was a set up fight. This was a fight to show you how strong the villains are so that you could see how strong Goku was when he finally arrived on the scene. A lot of your major story elements are all towards setting up the inevitable big fight with Frieza which we haven't gotten to yet but it just feels so satisfying. It's that classic moment in a story where the bad guys do something monumentally stupid, like kidnapping the MC's kid, and now the story becomes this inevitable march towards the MC dealing out some sweet, sweet justice. I was enjoying the story already but there was something about this volume that just clicked fully with me.
Now, what is next
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban This is my current audiobook from the library and I'm looking forward to this one.
The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1: Deus lo VultThis is the physical book I'm currently reading. This not so light novel that just feels so different from its peers. More on this next week once I'm done.
Time for a short update from this week.
The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1: Deus lo Vult -4 StarsThis is one of those light novel series that I wanted to get into when I got into my light novel kick a while back. It took me a while to get to this one because there were a few holds on this book. It also took me a little longer to get through this one because I forgot how different this light novel was. Most light novels are YA books with a lighter writing style that makes for a quicker and easier read. This book is not YA and has a very dense writing style. The author, while anonymous, is clearly someone into some nerdy subject matter. This book is an alternative history version of Germany in the 1920's. WW1 never happened and the country is on the track towards an inevitable world war. Our MC is a young girl (9-11 years old) who is an orphan. She had one way out and that was joining the military and she is able to do that because her magic ability is incredibly high. Yeah, magic, there is that alternate history thing coming in but here is the big twist. This little girl is not just a little girl, she is the reincarnation of a modern day Japanese business man. A man obsessed with rules, and probably a borderline sociopath. To this man the only thing that matters is the rules and using them to get ahead in life. Human emotions just don't factor into his thinking. So you take this man, shove him into the body of a little girl, throw him into a military setting where everything is about rules and you have a frightening individual. This little child is emotional and mentally way to advanced for their age and is gaming the system so hard. Now there is a counter to this person and it will not be what you expect. This man is in a battle with God. God is upset with humanities lack of faith and is basically taking it out on this guy. Trying to prove that in a bad enough situation everyone will eventually turn to God. It's a weird book. For the most part it reads like a military alternate history kind of novel. Then every once in a while God just kind of shows up and throws a monkey wrench into our MC's life.
Now, one other thing I want to address and that is the anime. I love the anime but it is so different from the book and I can kind of see why that decision was made. The anime is pretty quick paced and there is a lot focus on the action that happens. In the novel things are much slower paced as the book loves to focus on a lot of other characters. It also loves to get into a lot of detail about human resources, supply chains, troop movement, etc. This element is what makes this novel so dense. Instead of "the troops moved here and fought this country" it gets into all the challenges of moving those troops, the various other options, the philosophy behinds these decisions. It really gets into the details of things and the action scenes are just kind of sprinkled into things. There is also one other element that pops up towards the end of this novel that is not in the anime and I hope sticks around in future books. There are parts of the book that are told from some 40 years into the future. You have a reporter working on a documentary about the great war and there is this thing that no one will talk about. It is redacted in every countries documents, no one dares speaks of it and if asked they change the subject. Who ever this person is, and the unit that they were in charge of, were massively influential to the war. As the reader we are well aware that this person is Tanya but it just raises so many questions. Is the world hiding this because of how horrifying it is? Is Tanya still alive? What happened? I am really looking forward to reading on in this series and seeing how things progress. It can only get more frightening as Tanya now has a her own battalion of hand crafted mages who are extremely loyal to her.
Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Light Novels, Vol. 2 -4 StarsNow this is more of the light novel style that I know. Just a low stakes popcorn read about our MC being a silly goober in this online video game. Seeing the devs losing their minds as she accidentally breaks the game in new and creative ways. This is just a fun read that I can unwind with and simply enjoy.
The manga section is also short
The Great Cleric (Manga) Vol. 11 -4 StarsThe 11th book in this series, what can I really say about it that I haven't before? We finally get the next dragon in the story and it was alright. It fits with the narrative shift from our MC being this lone warrior to being a leader of a large group. It just wasn't as satisfying to see our MC basically sit in the back lines while everyone else does the fighting. Granted, he is a healer and being in the back is kind of their whole thing but still.
As for what is next, again, it will be short and sweet. Still working on Harry Potter on audio and I'm having a good time with that. For things that are not audio I'm shifting from novels back into comics/manga as I've kind of acquired another giant stack in the last couple weeks. Shocking, I know, who could have seen this coming.
Mod
Time for that weekly wrap up and I have a few things to talk about this week. Honestly the next few weeks are going to be busy as I move into more of a holiday schedule where I'm frantically trying to burn off left over vacation days.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -4 StarsThe next book in my reread of this series and it was fun. I've written something for this book a few times and have ended up deleting it. I think a lot of my enjoyment with this book and this series comes down to nostalgia and just having a good time while reading the book. I can see some of the criticisms and I just don't care. I also know that there is a ton of criticisms of the author that spill over to books. I'm not touching any of that but I will say that this is one of those books where I have a firm line separating the artist and their works. As for the book itself, like I said, it was fun. I like the expanding lore, the raising stakes, and it left me feeling satisfied at the end.
The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent (Light Novel) Vol. 7 -4 StarsThis is the first novel in this series where I really noticed a departure from the anime. Not that anything was changed but there was a lot of stuff that was chopped out. Some of it I can see leaving out of the anime but there are elements that would have been nice to leave in. I'd say about a good two thirds of this book got chopped out. One of things that I wish had been kept was Prince Ten'yuu's story line. In the anime, if memory serves me correct, basically he got the panacea and returned to his home country. That was the end of it and we never heard more. In the book we get into what he was doing before coming to the palace, the deal that was brokered between him and the king, and, most importantly for me, the follow up that the panacea actually worked. Sure we could imply that it worked but to see it actually worked was a very satisfying feeling. After that we get a bunch of fluff where Sei attends a tea party and is convinced to host her own social gathering. She ends up putting together a food festival where people are able to gather to sample various foods she has made. This was pure fluff and I can see why this was cut but it was a fun part to read. Then the end of the book was her visiting the Hawke domain. I like this part but this part also felt super rushed especially in comparison to the fluffy and slower paced start to the book. The story didn't even end in a good part either. It ends right as the big bad thing is defeated with zero follow up. I'm really loving this series and this book continues that good vibe but the pacing was a bit wonky in this one.
Now for the comics/manga
Dwellings -5 StarsThis was a random pick from the library and I am so glad that I did. This is a horror anthology and it's one that I actually liked. All the stories take place in this small town in Ontario, Canada that has a dark and tragic past. All the stories are connected in some way or another but it's not always overt which makes finding the connections fun. The book is also very adult meaning the stories don't suffer from that problem I have with most YA/MG stuff where it feels like the author is playing it safe. These stories are gory and horrifying and just satisfying to read. Of course, like most anthologies, some stories are better then others but the overall experience was great. The icing on the cake with this collection though is the art. This art style gave me such a blast of nostalgia. The entire comic was done in the Harvey Comics art style. Younger folks might know what that means but Harvey comics was the company who put out Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, Little Dot, etc. These were one of the many comics I grew up on and I would find them routinely at garage sales growing up. What was the cherry on top of the icing though was the advertisements in the comics. Hear me out, hear me out. I am tired of the constant deluge of ads in everything now a days and if it was more of that I'd be disappointed but it's not. Just like the art style is a homage to something older so are the ads. The ads in this comic are all done like the older comics. The big white page full of little ads for junk like x-ray glasses, hand buzzers, decoder rings, spy glasses, binoculars, robots, etc. Then there was the full page ads for toys or movies connected to the events of the books. Honestly, I think the only thing missing was the ads for Hostess fruit pies. That is probably due to copyright issues but I was seriously expecting to turn the page and find one while reading this. This book was just a blast to read with such a blast of nostalgia that it took me straight back to my childhood.
His Majesty the Demon King's Housekeeper Vol. 7 -3 StarsNot a lot to really say about this fluffy little read. It was more of the budding romance, more cleaning, and more fantasy stuff.
Monster Crush -3 StarsThis was another random snag from the library and honestly it wasn't bad but I will be hard pressed to remember this by this time next week. It was a simple sapphic romance but with monsters, well one person in the couple was a monster. Everything about his comic was alright but it wasn't mind blowing either. The story was pretty basic and there was a lot of things I felt were explored or fully explored. Everything was just kind of surface level.
The Savior's Book Café Story in Another World, Vol. 2 -4 StoriesAlright, this story kind of surprised me a bit. I think the author originally meant for this to be only a two book series. After reading the first book I was getting the vibes that this would be slow paced shojo style romance and I was all on board for that. The second book continued that vibe as well, until it kicked it into high gear. The big tension was resolved, there was confessions of feelings, hands were held, dating started, official couple status was confirmed. It felt like this was supposed to be a two book deal that did better then expected and the editor suddenly wanted more. This felt like everything was neatly wrapped up in this book and then we suddenly got a splash page at the end, not even art either, just some words promoting new characters and adventures in the next volume. I'm very curious to see what happens next.
As for what I am reading next
Monstrous RegimentThis is my current audiobook and so far I'm enjoying the story but hating the audio quality.
Outside of that I still have a giant stack of manga to work on so I can get them back to the library.
Mod
Finished
, I should have finished it last week but I was having an issue with my headphones that I hopefully have now sorted. Was a bit of a slow burner start but I ended up really enjoying it: the pop culture references are way too heavy handed though and I wasn't totally convinced by some of the writing but I loved Nicola Coughlan's narration and enjoyed the characters and plot so overall more positives than negatives and I will definitely be reading the second book. (view spoiler)
Next I'll be reading
because I'm in the mood for more books with spooky vibes. Yes we're heading into the Christmas season but apparently I'm doing October late this year ha ha.
Mod
Mod
, I should have finished it last week but I was having an issue with my headphones that I hopefully have now sorted. Was a bit of a slow burne..."I absolutely adore everything about this series. I personally really like the pop culture references. It makes it more 'real' to me and I find them really funny. Maybe because it's my generation of pop culture, I don't know.
(view spoiler)
I've recently just finished the second book and it was so so good.
Kayleigh {K-Books} wrote: "Jo wrote: "Finished , I should have finished it last week but I was having an issue with my headphones that I hopefully have now sorted. Was a bit of a..."I didn't hate all of them, just felt like there was a bit of an overload especially at the beginning, I liked it better when they were a bit more toned down later on in the book-I was very young when the Spice Girls were big though so I don't have a particularly nostalgic connection to them, I think a lot of the pop culture references were quite late 90s which is a bit too early for me.
(view spoiler)
Mod
I understand a lot of late 90s references, I just don't have the same connection to them-the Spice Girls wasn't really the big band when I was a kid, we were definitely more S-Club 7, Blue, those kinds of bands! I think I just have less tolerance for pop culture references in general though, I don't mind some, but I felt here they were a bit overdone.
I started
but I was about 90 minutes or so in and I just wasn't really feeling it, I didn't love the narrator and the prose was just a bit too purple for me and I couldn't really see either of those things improving so I decided to just let it go.Instead I'm reading the sequel to City of Nightmares,
and already feeling much better about this one, I really enjoyed the first book and we all know how much I love Saskia Maarleveld's narration so I think this will be a much better choice for me!
Mod
Totally fair! I loved S-Club 7 too. I tend to feel the same about too many pop culture references but sometimes it works for me so Im curious how I will feel about this one
Mod
but I was about 90 minutes or so in and I just wasn't really feeling it, I didn't love the narrator and the prose was just a bit too purple f..."Sometimes it really is better to just let it go.
Saskia Maarleveld is the best so that already makes the book better :) Glad you're enjoying it
Mod
Finishing everything I am currently reading
Audio:
Ebook:
Physical:
And whatever I can get to of these:
Leaving audible plus so I should try and listen to them:
why are the so many things leaving!Plus hopefully something holiday/wintery
How well will I actually follow this? Probably not at all :P
Time for that weekly wrap up and yes it is on a Monday morning. Honestly, until January, my schedule will be a bit wonky. I'm on that holiday grind of trying to burn off vacation before the end of the year.
Monstrous Regiment -4 StarsI recently joined a Discworld challenge and of course one of the first challenges was to read a Discworld book. I've tried to get into this behemoth of a series a few times over the years to various degrees of success and it continues to be one of those series that intrigue me. My biggest problem was this broad sense of not knowing what the heck was going on. So many of these books are interconnected and if you don't read things in the right way then you are lost. This was one of those books that was recommended as a stand alone read. The story was self contained and the references to other parts of the series was minimal and not essential knowledge. I rather enjoyed this one. I'm not saying that this is a perfect book or anything but this was a fun read that got a few chuckles out of me. The basic premise of the book is that a young woman joins the army to find her missing brother. The hitch in this entire thing is that she is in a country that worships an insane god who decrees that anything he doesn't like is an abomination. Things such as chocolate, women doing basically anything, the color blue, etc. As a result that country is a bit insane itself and a bit of a bully that has been picking fights with literally everyone around it. So our MC being in the army, wearing pants, being able to read and write, all abominations. The unit that she ends up joining is a rag tag band of new recruits who happen to be the last unit standing in the country. From here it's the usual shenanigans you would expect and not expect from this kind of novel. Probably my favorite thing in this novel was the vampire suffering Vietnam flashbacks, sorry hallucinations, while going through coffee withdrawals. I did not expect this in this novel at all and for some reason this just tickled my funny bone hard. Now there were some issues with this novel. For instance, the running reveal (view spoiler) kind of got a bit tiring by the end. I get why it was but it kind of took some of the punch out of everything. I will also say that I can clearly see the authors connections to real world happenings in this one. I've heard that the author likes to put a lot of real world connections or parallels with real world happenings and I've not always seen them. In this one though the connection was very obvious. Both to things that were happening at the time it was written and even to things that are happening now.
Treasure of Lima -3 StarsAfter several longer audiobooks as of late I was looking for something lighter. Especially as several of my turn to audiobooks had a wait list and I needed something now. The fact that this helped with not only a stalled challenge but several other ones was just the cherry on top. As for the book, I don't really have a lot to say. This is the 46th novel in this series and it's what you would expect. Action, adventure, pseudoarchelogy, and something turn your brain off and have fun with. This one has Annja in Costa Rica looking for a missing scientist and some long lost treasure. It was what I expected and it was a fun read.
Now for the manga/comic stuff
-4 StarsMore fun and shenanigans in this world. What I really liked with this one was the flashback/back story to Loid and he became a spy in the first place. That was a nice touch and something I didn't realize that I needed.
The God of High School, Vol. Two -4 StarsMore of the tournament happened in this one but it also got into what was happening outside of the tournament. The stuff happening in the background and in a much larger picture kind of sense. We also get a glimpse that there is a lot more to these martial arts then simple martial arts as well. I'm so glad that this series got physical print and that I can read through it again. Now all I need is a physical print of Girls of the Wild but I doubt that will happen.
A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch Vol. 3 -3 StarsI think I'm done with this series. I remember loving the simple story in the first book where a lonely cat from our world found itself in a fantasy world with a lonely old women. They filled that missing niche in each others world and it was sweet. Then in the second volume we got this tonal shift to a more darker fantasy world full of betrayal and what not as we started to get some back story on the old woman and the world in general. This continued into this volume and I had a really hard time getting into this one. I'd pick it up to read it and almost immediately I'd find myself putting it back down. Either of these stories as separate things would have been fine. The slice of life about a giant cat and an old lady living together out in the woods or the darker fantasy story full of betrayal. I'm just not feeling them jammed together though. I wanted those sweet vibes from the first volume. I don't know, I'm just not clicking with this one anymore.
A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 5 -4 Stars
A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 6 -4 StarsReading this was a bit of a sucker punch to the guts this weekend. Normally I follow the series length by looking at it on Goodreads but for this one I was just requesting the next volume from the library figuring I had a bunch more books to come. It wasn't until the end of volume six when I found out that the sixth volume was the end of the series. It was just that unexpected end to something I had been enjoying that hit me a bit hard. Don't get me wrong I knew this was a series that couldn't go on for decades like One Piece or something. It was a gag manga with a niche idea but man was it a fun read. Reading the author's notes at the end made sense why things ended as well. The series had run it's course and the magazine it was being published in had switched from a physical to a digital medium. These last couple volumes were fun though and the ending worked well with the series. It was crammed full of references as the others have been and the jokes were good. I'm going to miss this series.
Don't Call it Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 7-8 -4 StarsWhat I've already said about this series still stands. The writing is great but the art is not as good. This volume had the usual mysteries that were "not" mysteries. Sprinkled in was some social commentaries that I wasn't expecting. Commentary on the roles of men and women in society. Commentary on SA victims and the problems with SA, allegations, and in particular the impact of false allegations on other victims. It also had a twist that I did not see coming that left me teary eyed. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone else but it just came out of left field and it hurt. I'm still kind of processing it honestly.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 9 -4 StarsNot a lot to really say for this one either. I'm coming up on the end with only one more volume to go and I'm kind of looking forward to moving past this one.
Tomb Raider King, Vol. 8 -4 StarsMore of our MC being a morally grey jerk in general and that is fun. I feel like we are on the verge of a big power up for our MC and the story in general. The last part of this book was basically the MC getting beat down which hasn't really happened so far. No one really won that fight and events happened that led to a whole bunch of new strong characters. That is why I feel like we are on the verge of a big power up for everyone. This series is just a fun ride in an action movie kind of way and I'm here for it.
Now, what is next.
The Book of ThreeI ended up starting this audiobook next for a couple reasons. First, the other audiobook I had lined up to read next I just wasn't in the mood for. It's Tales from the Café and if it's anything like the first one there will be a whole lot of tears. Second, I was seeing something about this series and realized that I have never finished it. I've started it a few times but I have never finished it. I plan to remedy that this time.
The Teller of Small FortunesThis was a cozy fantasy I've seen floating around recently. I requested a copy from the library not expecting to see it for several months. It showed up a little earlier then expected so I'm going to jump in now. Outside of that I have another giant stack of manga that I just got from the library that I need to address.
Mod
Also I see you are almost caught up to me on Spy Family. The next one is not my favourite but hopefully you like it more! Im still waiting on hold for volume 12.
Curious how you like Teller of Small Fortunes as I've had my eye on that one as well
Mod
Gilded was by far my favourite of the month, closely followed by The Shadow Cabinet.
December Hopefuls
Finish my current reads:
and
I have a huge list of December hopefuls as I love reading Christmas themed books and I have a lot on my kindle so I've just added them all to a spinny wheel app on my phone and I'm just going to see what comes up. There is one that is not a Christmas book but it is an ARC that comes out in January and I'd like to read it before release day.
Mod
I finished listening to the audio of
which I absolutely loved and gave 5 stars. It's a fantastic duology, I especially love how she kept super close to the original fairytale.Then I decided I'd up my reading challenges by reading some novellas. I started with the Under the Mistletoe novellas that are on KU. I read
and
which I thought were cute but just not as Christmassy as I thought they would be. I was looking for something Hallmark-movie eske, but they were just cute novellas with a slight wintery theme show-horned in. I gave them both 2.5 stars.I DNF'd
I know that people love her but Tessa Bailey's writing is just not for me. I always feel like you have to suspend a bit of belief with romance books but honestly some of her concepts and descriptions are just ludicrous and I just can't do it. I think I got to page 15 before I gave up.After those 3 I decided not to bother with the other novellas as they just weren't what I thought they were going to be.
After that I picked up
which I absolutely loved. I read this one in a day, it was so cute and fun and had a time travel plot which I just love. Definitely redeemed the week of reading.
A bit of a shorter update for this week.
The Teller of Small Fortunes -3 StarsDon't let the three star rating fool you, I thought this was a good book, just not a great book. This book started popping up on my radar a month or so ago and I'm always intrigued by a cozy fantasy. My copy from the library showed up a whole lot sooner then I ever expected so it got slotted in. This was an entertaining read but there was something just a little bit off about this one. This book is tagged as cozy fantasy and it definitely has some elements of it in the book but I feel like there is something missing from the book. I spent a while pondering this over and from my experience with the genre, both in the west and the various light novels I've read, that thing is community. When I think of some of the bigger cozy fantasies I've read there is sense of growing and integrating into a community. This sense of bonding with new people and creating a home for yourself. This book was close but it was more of a found family kind of situation and I think that the traveling cart element was the big factor for that. Instead of settling into one location and building those community bonds you were constantly traveling from one location to another. This gave you a sense of things more on a larger country level then in a smaller community sense. You never got to build that familiarity with any one place and it's community before you were rattling off to the next location. Now, just to be clear, this is far from a bad thing, but it does change the feeling of the novel.
The story also has a weird setup that I'm not sure I've fully seen before. We never really had a start to this novel where the big events of the book started. As the reader, we just kind of dropped into the middle of the story. Our MC had been plying her trade for several years at this point. As for the two gents looking for the lost child, again, we are just kind of dropped into the middle part of their story line. Then we wander about doing things for a while before things kind of escalate into the conclusion. It's this weird vibe where things kind of feel like a normal fantasy novel but with the low stakes cozy fantasy approach. You would have situations that would normally be a lot more tense, or are set up with higher stakes, that would just kind of quickly resolve themselves with little muss of fuss. Some of them would even be resolved off page. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing but it changed the vibes of the novel. It felt like this book was trying to have a foot in two different worlds and I'm not sure how well those two worlds mixed.
Overall I found this be an entertaining read and I don't really have a lot of negative to say about the book. This book just had a bit of a weird feeling to it as it was trying to do two different things. I can easily see a world where this book leaned either direction and you would still have a great novel that would be fun to read. If you are curious about this book I'd say give it a chance. At least you will have an entertaining read.
The Book of Three -3 StarsThis series popped up on my radar again and I realized I've never really made it past the first couple books. Considering how short the audiobooks are I figured I'd slot this into my rotation and finally finish this series. After listening to this first book again my biggest take away was just how annoying Taran was. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it's all part of his journey to being a better person but holy smokes was he insufferable in this book. There really isn't a lot to say about this novel though. It's got that older fantasy vibes where the heroes journey template is pretty clear. The assistant pig keeper in the middle of no where is suddenly thrust into this grand adventure that he always dreamed about. Along the way he starts to understand that this adventure is not all the glitz and glam that you hear about in the stories as he steps up to do what is right. It's a classic set up for a reason. A couple quick notes about the audiobook, before I move on. There is an introduction by the author that is also supposedly narrated by the author. I could listen to this author speak for a long time. He has that warm grandfatherly feel to his narration that was just so fun to listen to. The regular narrator was good and he did various voices for the various characters. I'd say the only voice that just kind of landed off for me was the voice of Gurgi. This is a classic situation where the voice in my ear does not match the voice in my head. I've always pictured Gurgi with this more childlike voice which made it really weird when the narrator choice this very deep mans voice for Gurgi. It felt like someone else playing the role of Gurgi instead of it being actually Gurgi. It just felt weird every time I heard the voice.
Now for the manga section.
Cthulhu Cat -3 StarsThis was one of those silly little premises that I knew I had to check out as soon as I saw it pop up. The title really tells you all you need to know. This is a book about cute cats but all the cats are the old gods from the Cthulhu mythos. It's this silly, stupid, premise that I just love. It's got that webcomic kind of feel to it where there isn't really a story to the book. It's more like a series of strange events from this world. It was a quick read that was, well, silly.
Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More (Manga) Vol. 6 -3 StarsI think this was more on me but man I just wasn't vibing with this volume much. There were some elements of invention, food, and adventure but a good chunk of this book was people jockeying for power. Either political or business power and that kind of stuff is just something I normally feel invested in. It also probably doesn't help that a good chunk of time has passed since I read the last volume. So I'm trying to remember what was happening in this series while slogging through all this power struggle double speak. It just wasn't clicking with me. To the point where I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with this series.
Now, what is coming up next.
Tales from the Café Time for me to sob uncontrollably while listening to this. I started this one yesterday and I can tell the first story is already setting itself up to hurt me. One interesting thing I noticed is that this is not an immediate sequel to the first one. This one is set a good sixish years after the first one.
Trigun Deluxe EditionI'm reading this today and I might just be a wee bit excited for this one. I have been waiting for this for over a year at this point and I can't wait to crack the cover on this one. Outside of that I have the usual never ending stack of things from the library.
Mod
I finished listening to the audio of
which I absolutely loved and gave 5 stars. It's a fantastic duology, I especially love how she k..."Too bad the novellas weren't as good as hoped. But still great reading!!
Mod
I suppose I should do an update now that I am kind of caught up on everything. 
The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 2: Plus Ultra -3 StarsI have such mixed feelings about this book and this series so far. The anime left so much of this book on the cutting room floor and then made up things that weren't even in the book. As annoyed as I am by this fact I can kind of understand. While the anime was much more interested in the action side of this story the book is much more interested in all the stuff surrounding the action. That means that a lot of this book is just people talking but it's not all bad. We will get a big event that happens involving the MC. Leading up to that event we get to see the MC's point of view, the point of view of her command structure, the point of view of the enemy, and the point of view of the enemies allies. This allows for a lot of detail to be included in the story. For instance there is one point where our MC is saddled with new recruits to train while on the front lines. You get to see how our MC feels about this, partially how some of her men feel about this, and, most importantly, how the new recruits see our MC. At this point in the story our MC, and her unit, have a bit of a reputation. To see how this small child is so utterly terrifying for full grown men is hilarious but also a bit terrifying. The down side to all this detail though, is that there are times where the books feels like an absolute slog to get through. Where the book is merely talking to hear its own voice. It feels like the author just hasn't quite hit that perfect balance between action and talking.
Tales from the Café -5 StarsThis book is much like the first. You have some short stories, four in this one I believe, that are all about someone time traveling to meet someone while being interconnected with various stories. This story picks up about 6-7 seven years after the first book and continues to expand the lore of the cafe and the folks that run it. The other big thing that this book is good at is the emotional damage. This book made me cry throughout and that is not a surprise considering the type of stories that the book is telling. It's a simple book with some simple stories but they are just done so well.
Now for the manga
Trigun Deluxe Edition -5 StarsI was so excited to see my library getting a copy of this book. Back, way back, in the day when I knew next to nothing about anime this was one of the ones that really hooked me in. This story of this goofy character called Vash who was hiding a lot about himself from others. All of it set on this dusty desert planet deep in space. I've wanted to read the manga over the years but for the longest time it was really hard to find them. That and there were two series, Trigun and Trigun Maximum. Since I could never really find them I never really dug all that deep. This book was the perfect excuse to jump in, read them, and figure things out. For those that might be curious, Trigun is the original series and it ends mid fight. That happened because the magazine it was originally published in was shut down. Trigun Maximum is the same series but it was published under a new magazine. The author got picked up by another magazine and was allowed to continue his series.
As for the story itself, it was just a blast to read. From what I remember of the anime it followed the manga pretty close. There were moments in the manga though that were a bit more adult. Instead of someone just disappearing from the story they choose a much permanent exit from the story shall we say. There were some panels what were more more violent or explicit then the anime but overall it was pretty minor. If I had to nit pick something I would have to say that some of the action scenes were a little hard to follow. There was just a lot of things going on in a single panel and it can sometimes become a bit confusing. This was a fun read that took me on a nostalgic trip and now I am ready to start on Maximum.
Home Office Romance -5 StarsThis was one of those things that started popping up on my radar lately and since it was a standalone manga it didn't take much to twist my arm and make me read this. This was a romance set against the Covid pandemic. Our MC is forced to start working from home and that is where he meets his neighbor who is a grad student. I'll be honest, in the beginning I wasn't exactly feeling this. The main male lead was just weird and awkward. The art made him look like he was either a zombie or well on his way to being one. At some point in the story something shifted and I started to understand the male lead. Sure he was a bit awkward and weird but his brain is just wired differently. He is a programmer and he has a this weird, precise and detailed way of looking at things. After this shift I was just swept up in the romance of this series and was cheering these two on. With this being a standalone book it also didn't engage in a lot of the more annoying tropes of romance manga. It had a definite end and there wasn't time to be playing around. If you were on the fence about this one I strongly encourage you to pick it up.
Now, what is next now that I am on vacation.
Murder on the Christmas ExpressThis is my "Christmas" read. The synopsis has this old school murder vibe that just intrigues me.
Outside of that I have a stack of manga that I need to get done this week. Library due dates and all that.
Mod
Nice update overall. Enjoy all the extra reading time with your time off!
I know it has only been a couple of days since my last update but I've been kind of reading up a storm as of late. 
Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Light Novels, Vol. 3 -4 StarsNot a lot to really say about this one. I'm continuing on with my reread of this series and this is the book where Maple kind of gets a little more broken then she already was. This was the perfect light read that I needed after Tanya and Tales from the Cafe.
The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent (Light Novel) Vol. 8 -4 StarsThis is essentially the end of the anime and there was definitely a lot of material that was cut from this book as there was with the last one. They were basically getting caught up on the material that was out and they were trying to cram it into the show. That and what they cut wasn't horribly important. I mean, it is, in a story telling sense and a world building sense, but for romance aspect not so much. I've got one more book in this series right now and then I am back to "patiently" waiting but it's going to a be a long wait as volume 10 isn't even out in Japan.
Murder on the Christmas Express -2 StarsOh man, this book, this book, this thing actually killed my interest in reading today. There will be spoiler warnings in this one and that is hiding some trigger warning stuff for SA.
I was looking for a Christmas book for a December challenge and I didn't want yet another sappy Hallmark style romance, just not my cup of tea. I was poking around figuring I could either take the horror route or the mystery route which lead me to this book. As you can guess by the title this is a Christmas mystery that is in the style of Murder on the Orient Express and you can see why this might interest me. Now, to be fair to the book, there are elements of this classical style of mystery in this book. The MC is a retired cop trying to get back home on Christmas Eve as her daughter is giving birth. She is taking a sleeper train to Scotland and of course it gets snowed in. There is a large cast of characters and a murder. That part of it was the good part. Then there was everything else. This was a modern take on the mystery so everyone had cell phones, social media, etc. While not a horrible thing it kind of took away from things when our MC can simply pick up her phone and ask a buddy at the police department to do a background check for her. There are some tonal issues and this is where the book kind of goes of the rails for me. In one scene you can have this cozy Christmas like scene where things are nice and people are making train puns. Then we are suddenly in the hospital talking about the complications with the daughters birth. Then we are getting flashbacks to the MC's past where she is (view spoiler). This created this really weird shift in tone from scene to scene. Then we get to the ending. The ending is basically 1.5 hours of (view spoiler) from various people on the train. It just got so heavy in the end and it just never ended. The trauma just kept piling up and it just got to be to much. I was here for a Christmas classical style mystery and I just got flashbacks and trauma.
Uhh manga/comics
Swing -3 StarsA middle grade comic about finding out what makes you happy and standing up to bullies. It's not a bad comic but I think I've just outgrown this kind of message.
The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 3 -4 Stars
The Moon on a Rainy Night 4 -4 StarsMore in this series and we are starting to get some more backstory into at least one of the MC's and hints at the backstory for the other. I'm liking how this is handling the drama so far. It is there but it feels kind of grounded. Especially with the one backstory that we got. The breakdown in that friendship feels like something that could easily happen and it wasn't just "keeping secrets" or some other common trope. I really can't wait for some more in this series.
SAKAMOTO DAYS 14 -4 StarsMore Sakamoto days and more great action. Not a lot to really say about this one.
What is next?
For audiobooks I'm not really sure. I don't have anything downloaded currently but I'm probably going to have to find one for another December challenge. If anyone knows of a shorter book published in December let me know.
Outside of that I have a bunch more comics and manga. I also have a cozy mystery called Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop from the library I need to deal with.
Mod
Time for another update on my vacation reading.
Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop -3 StarsThis was one of those random snags from the library. It was an interesting sounding cozy mystery and I figured I'd give it a try. After reading this book I can definitely say it was a cozy mystery. There was nothing wrong with this one but there wasn't really anything here to elevate it out of being just another cozy mystery. Small town location, MC works in a job that has nothing to do with mysteries, sudden dead body, etc, etc, etc. It also had one of those issues that I struggle with when it comes to cozy mysteries which is trying to figure out why the MC is inserting themselves into a murder investigation. I can understand that they are the ones that found the bodies and they had an argument with the victim which makes them a suspect but there just isn't a solid reason to get involved. It's just one those weird things I struggle with when reading cozies. Also, I realized that this MC probably has one of the busiest schedules I've ever read. She runs a independent book store, participates in several community groups, organizes local events, exercises regularly, and still has an active social life. Just how? How do you have all that time?
The Maid and the Mansion -2 StarsI snagged this one to help with another December challenge and much like Murder on The Christmas Express this was also a massive dud for me. It's a historical cozy mystery involving a young woman who was working in a factory during WWII. After the war ends she finds herself out of work and ends up taking a maid position. Of course someone ends up dead, she is blamed, inserts herself into the investigation, blah, blah, blah. The synopsis really intrigued me and I was picturing this character who was this Rosie the Riveter tougher kind of character and I just never really got that. We got reminded constantly that she was tough from working in the factory but we never really got to see it outside of one time. This book was just boring and I felt that nothing really happened. The "investigation" was basically our MC going up to a person and asking them if they did it. I just did not click with this one.
I also want to address one other thing that is related to the book but not the contents of the novel. I was originally listening to this as an audiobook but I only got about halfway through before having to switch over to an ebook. There was a few issues I was having with the audiobook version. First, and by far the worst, there was constant weird noise through out the book. Between sentences you would get partial words filtering through. Sometimes it sounded like words, sometimes it would sound like a quacking duck, sometimes it was just random noise. It was really starting to grate on me the more I was listening to the book. Another issue I had was just the narration. It just felt kind of soulless. I don't know how to explain this one properly but there moments where you would expect a certain emotional emphasis and it just wasn't there. I was also noticing words were getting mispronounced. This lead me to check the Hoopla page and that is when I discovered that there wasn't a narrator for this book. The author had used a "synthesized voice" to narrate the book. Whether that means that it's AI or TTS I'm not sure but I did not like the final product. It just felt off for me. It wasn't something I was checking for before but going forward I will be checking to see if the book uses a synthesized voice for the narrator.
Now for the manga and comics
Spy x Family, Vol. 11 -4 StarsMore fun from this series. Not a whole to really say about it.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection, Volume 15 -3 Stars This was a series that kind of fell off my radar as I waited for the library to bring in the latest edition. It wasn't until volume 16 showed up on the "on order" shelf that I remembered it. This book wasn't bad and I like the slower, cozier vibes that this has but I was hoping for something more from this. There are hints of future story points but for right now it's just about setting up this mutant zone in NYC and who is doing what.
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 1 -4 StarsI finally got around to getting the sequel to the original Cardcaptor started. This book picks up where the first series ends. Sakura and Syaoran are reunited and they are now attending middle school. Her magical adventures have been quiet and Sakura hasn't had to use the cards since the conclusion of the first series. One night she starts dreaming about the cards and she wakes up the next day the cards are not only blank they are clear. She can't access any of their powers and no one knows why. This is the start of the adventure in this new series and it felt good to start this. This is all new content for me and it felt like I was reading the original series. The artwork looks pretty much the same, the characters are all there, it just felt good and I can't wait for me.
I'm the Grim Reaper, Vol. 2 -3 StarsNot a lot to really say about this one that I didn't already say about the first one. We get a bit more lore and a bit more story but not a whole lot. I'm more or less just reading this to see the big reveal to the mysterious past. It's entertaining but not mind blowing.
His Majesty the Demon King's Housekeeper Vol. 8 -3 StarsAnother series I don't have a whole lot to say about. This one here gets into the Demon Kings backstory, kind of, more how he became the king then his actual story. Again, it's another entertaining series that I having fun reading but it's nothing mind blowing either.
Hirayasumi, Vol. 3 -4 StarsThis was just more slice of life manga. We get to see more of the expanding roster of characters and what is happening in their life.
Off Menu: A Graphic Novel -4 StarsThis is a great example of a simple story that just does it well. Young and upcoming chef discovers that her boss is toxic and basically just a jerk to the entire community. She challenges him to a cooking duel for the restaurant. Along the way she solidifies her love of cooking while exposing how crooked her boss is to everyone. It's just a simple and wholesome story that just works.
Trigun Maximum Omnibus, Volume 1 -5 starsThis picks up two years after the end of the original series. Vash has disappeared after the events at the end of the previous series and no one knows where he went. Wolfwood tracks him down, Knives and the Gung Ho Guns start making moves, and Vash is forced out of hiding starting up this dangerous game once again. This was just a fun read and I am really glad to finally get into this series. Now there is one other thing I want to talk about that is not so much about the contents of the book. I got my book from the library and it's a well read copy. I was flipping through the pages before I started just to get a feel for what I was getting into when I noticed someone had left little notes in the book. Notes commenting on the art, the characters, the characters looks, etc. Now, normally, I would be very annoyed if someone was doodling inside a book from the library but this reader did something special. All these notes are little sticky notes sprinkled throughout the manga. It was this amazing experience reading through this book and seeing this strangers notes about we were both seeing. By the end I kind of felt this weird bond with total stranger. There are four more omnibus editions in this series and they are all older books. I'm really hoping that I get to find more of these little notes in future books. Just for the record, I left all the notes in the book. Hopefully someone else finds them and joins us on this little journey.
Now, what is next. I have been reading up a storm on my vacation and I've kind of blown through all my per-vacation stacks of books from the library. Fear not, I am not out of books yet. I went to the library over the weekend and got a resupply which should last me for maybe another week or so.
Alright, time for another update and an effort by me to get back to a normal schedule, kind of. Also, apologies in advance. This is going to be a bit long. I have been reading a lot and I have things to say. 
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 3 -4 StarsThis is my favorite cozy isekai series and my reread of this has just been fun.
Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense., Vol. 4 -4 StarsThis series is another cozy fantasy kind of style. This one was focused around the first big guild versus guild PVP event and it was just a fun read. Getting to witness the worlds reaction to our main girl Maple and her broken build was just mint. We also get this incredible quote from the book.
A girl in black armor walked straight into their base, not even bothering to hide. The incarnation of broken. The symbol of death. The embodiment of madness. The one player who didn't need to defend herself. Maple.
Golden Gate -4 StarsI finally got the next book in this series and man this was such a fun read. The action was pretty much nonstop from beginning to end as we travel around doing over the top spy stuff. This is a great example of a fun popcorn book. You just open it up and let your brain be entertained by the shiny stuff happening.
The Westing Game -3 StarsI snagged this one to help with a challenge that I've been stalled on for a while now. Reading the synopsis for this book made me intrigued as it really sounded like something right up my alley. I don't know what happened but I pretty much bounced off this book right from the start. I just never got invested in anything. None of the characters were super great, the mystery just never grabbed me, and I was just struggling. By the end I was kind of starting to warm up to things a bit but by then it was way to late. The worst part about this whole thing, it didn't actually help me with the challenge I was stuck on.
Now for the manga/comics
Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 15 -4 StarsThis is just a fun and chill series to read. In this one we get more camping, shocking I know, and the focus of this one is long distance bike riding. Of course it's focused on how it works in Japan, again shocking, but it's still interesting to read. My one criticism of this series still stands though and that is the art work for the characters. There are a few characters that just kind of blur together, especially with the larger cast now. I still love this series and I can't wait for the next one.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 10 -4 StarsWhooooooo! I finally finished Stardust Crusaders! This is going to be more of a commentary on the entire series instead of just this particular book. This series was an interesting entry into the franchise and the one that really changed everything with the introduction of stands. Hamon is still here but it's far from the main focus anymore. That being said the stands were kind of the main problem with this installment. These stands were so over the top that they kind of overshadowed everything else in the series. Every fight became this spectacle where the enemies stand had to be discovered. This did make for some absolutely incredible fights that were some of the most off the wall ones I think I've seen in a long while. The problem is that everything else kind of suffered. The plot was basically there to move us from spectacle fight to spectacle fight. The side characters were solid but I felt that the main JoJo, Jotaro Kujo, just kind of faded into the background. He wasn't a horrible character or anything but in a series full of over the top characters his more stoic character got overshadowed pretty fast. Overall this was a great series and a blast to read. I can't wait to start the next series which is Diamond is Unbreakable.
The Boxer, Vol. 8 -5 StarsThis is what happens when an author goes insane and loses their mind while writing the next volume. The last couple volumes have dealt with a pair of dastardly opponents and the story got rather serious and bleak. Now there was a little bit of that in this one but that quickly got shoved aside when this took a hard left into straight up comedy. The red haired gent on the cover is our next opponent and he is a bit of an odd one. He is training for the fight and he wants to spar with the toughest opponents possible. He starts out sparring things like bears and other wild animals but they don't give him much challenge. He wants to fight a dinosaur but they are extinct because of mother nature which means that nature is the stronger opponent. We then getting a montage of him running around the world fighting mountains, tornadoes, tsunamis, lightening, etc. He visits a priest and gets his fists blessed so they have holy power as well. Now this is all kind of spoilers but this is all when the book still has at least a toe or two left in the realm of sanity. Things only get crazier from there and I can't even begin to describe what I witnessed. The last half of this book was just wild and a very welcome break after the last couple books.
The Apothecary Diaries Manga, Vol. 12 -5 StarsStupid sexy frogs. No, I'm not going elaborate on that statement in the slightest. If you have read this volume then you know. If you haven't then you will just have to wait to get here and find out what I'm talking about. This was another great volume but that last half was mint.
Wynonna Earp: Strange Inheritance -3 StarsI remember seeing a couple episodes of the TV show when it first came out several years ago and kind of liking it. It had that spooky weird western vibes to it. I've been curious about checking out the source material but never got around to it until now. This book was a collection of all the material that was out there before the TV show. Lets just say that this was definitely a product of it's time. There was a short that was probably a "pilot" kind of story for the series. Then we get three story arcs from the late 90's and this was pure 90's schlock. The main female character was hypersexualized with huge breast and just enough clothing to not get the comic rated as mature. Don't worry that clothing will always get ripped. As for the men, anyone who was not a background character was basically a walking mountain of muscles and a silhouette that looked more like a square then a human. If you have ever read any late 90's comics you will know what I am talking about. The series went on a hiatus for a while and then came back in the 2011's for a couple more stories. The muscles and breast got toned down while the clothing became more practical. Overall this is that cheesy kind of story that appeals to a certain corner of my brain. Basically there is a secret branch of the US Marshall's that deal with supernatural threats. The main agent is a descendant of Wyatt Earp which brings with it all sorts of vague, unspecified, supernatural abilities. Overall this was a cheesy read that was really showing its age. I'm curious to check out the comics that have come out since the TV show and are more in line with the show itself.
Don't Call it Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 9-10 -5 StarsSame opinion as before, great story telling but not so great art. The second story in this volume was incredible. It was a kidnapping that had that big ticking clock element to create that sense of urgency. This all lead to a conclusion full of so many twists and turns that my head was spinning by the end. We also had more story reveals for the larger overall story arc as well which I'm still trying to figure out.
Spy x Family, Vol. 12 -4 StarsI am now caught up with this series and waiting for the next one to get published. Another solid entry into the series with some real peak Anya smugness in this one.
As for what is next:
The Elfstones of ShannaraThis is my next audiobook and one that I need to get done this week. Outside of that I have a nice fresh stack of things from the library for me to work on.
Mod
Sticky notes in a manga like that sounds fun. Its a neat way to connect with someone.
I wonder if the Apothecary Diaries Manga #12 is about where light novel #3 is with the frog comment.
Great updates Gord! So much reading :)
Brittany wrote: ""synthesized voice" for a narrator sounds awful. No thank you give me a real person please and thank you.Sticky notes in a manga like that sounds fun. Its a neat way to connect with someone.
I won..."
It was such a horrible experience listening to the book. I'd even take the hiss that older audiobooks that are transferred from cassette or CD over to digital over this synthesized voice thing.
Massive spoilers for Apothecary Diaries
(view spoiler)
As for all the reading, I've been on a harsh regiment of sleep, eat, read now for a couple weeks. Life has been super tough.
Mod
Yeah Ill take anything over a synthesized voice. Hope that doesn't become a more common thing.
So tough Gord, love that you get all that reading time to end the year.
Mod
I loved this first book so much! 😍 Listen, this was no literary masterpiece, but damn if it wasn't fun 😆 And I loved the sexual tension between Evie and The Villain! It was just so good! I didn't enjoy the sequel as much, it it was still a pretty good, fun read!
This was good as well! I finally started my Brandon Sanderson journey and I now understand the hype around his books! I loved the story and the world-building! Plus I really liked the characters and the magic system as well! I'm excited to see where the story goes from here though.
And these were fun, quick holiday horror books! Nothing too exciting, but entertaining for sure.
I am also caught up on this series now and I am not okay 😭 That ending? I need to know MORE! It was good though. Lol. I enjoyed these (unsurprising, I know lol).
And I just finished this one a couple of minutes ago and it was a really good high fantasy! It was such an interesting world!
Mod
Looks like you had some great reads to end the year
YA Addicted Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Mistborn: The Final Empire (other topics)Assistant to the Villain (other topics)
Apprentice to the Villain (other topics)
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Yup, the next book in my reread of this series. Not a lot to say about it either. Yuna is still the bear girl who molds the world to her whims.
Now for the manga
I also don't have a lot to say about this one either. It's the fifth volume of this slice of life story about working at a dinosaur sanctuary. There is science, dinosaurs, and people stories.
Worry not, not all of my updates will be one or two sentences where I wave my hand and move on. This book has left me feeling kind of conflicted but intrigued. Basically it opens with the MC in line for judgement to hell. She has no memory of who she is or what she did. Before she can figure anything out or receive her judgement she is snatched out of line by the devil themselves. She is informed that she is one of the worst sinners and she is destined for the ninth level of hell or she can become their grim reaper. As you can guess by the title of the book she takes him up on the deal and is sent back to the surface. The deal is she reaps one sinners soul a day and she can remain on the surface. Alright, lets start getting into my thoughts on this one. There are parts of this book that piqued my interest and others that left me feeling kind of lukewarm. For instance the surface world looks very similar to ours but there are hints that there is more going on then we are aware of. It kind of has some sort of sci-fi dystopian feel to it. It makes me really curious about what is going on. Another thing that makes me curious is the back story of the MC herself. We get little hints here and there that they did something horrible but nothing concrete. Then there are moments where the story feels a little clunky. Every time she reaps a soul we get a scene in hell where the devil themselves passes judgement on the individual. We get their backstory and their punishment. This feels like an attempt to explore what is right and wrong and how things can quickly get morally grey. For me, this just felt clunky and not the best exploration into this topic I've seen. I have the same opinions in regards to the art. There are some scenes that feel like standard manga/webcomic inspired art. That's not a bad thing, it's just kind of meh. Then there are these scenes where we get a whole bunch of crazy colors and designs that are just fun to look at. You can see some of that on the cover as well. Overall there is enough here to make me want to come back for the second book that releases in a month or so.
I've read the first arc of this story a couple times on WEBTOON now. Needless to say I was rather excited when I saw that there was a physical translation and that my library was getting a copy. The first story arc is basically just a giant tournament called The God of High School. Invitations are sent all over the world to recruit the best fighters in the world from all forms of martial arts. The winner of the tournament gets one wish, any wish, granted. This first book covers the introduction of our three main MC's, the chief villain for this part, the preliminary round, and the start of the first round. This is just stupid martial arts fun and I am here for it all. I love reading this series and I'm so glad that it's getting a physical release. I really hope that my library keeps bringing in the physical editions so I can keep reading them.
Now, what is next.
For the audiobook side of things I am still working on The Sword of Shannara. It's a 27 hour audiobook and I only listen on normal speed. I'm getting through it and I've currently got 8 hours left so I'll be finishing this up in the next week. I'm enjoying the book but I'm also looking forward to something else. Two weeks of working on this is a lot.
As for physical books, I still have this giant stack from the library and I'm getting another giant stack today. A combination of getting a little click happy and a bunch of holds coming in. I swear I'll catch up someday... just in time to do it all again.