YA Addicted Book Club discussion
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What are you reading 2025
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Brittany
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Mar 18, 2025 12:55PM
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and I think you'd really like it. Plus the audio is read by Saskia Maarveld.
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3.5 ⭐. Solid Selene historical fantasy. Brought nothing different for me but still a good read with significant amounts of research done by the author
4.5 ⭐. What a fantastic duology. Glad I finally got back and read this one. I did like the first one better but this was still well done. I didn't even hate the memory loss, which is a trope I don't generally enjoy very much. 
3.5 ⭐. Love that the plot moved so much in this one. Enjoyed some stories more than others. Still overall just a fun manga
2.5 ⭐. Reads more like a bunch of short stories than a novel. The random jumping around the time line was frustrating at times. The end was a let down. Not enough about what caused the illness, what was talking to her, or about the libraries in general.
3⭐. Solid start to a UF series. Curse weavers are neat. The twists with Greek myth are fun.
4⭐. This book is too long with some pacing issues. I also disliked all the mid chapter POV changes. It bounces a lot. But I still loved the story overall. I liked all the world building and I cant say much else without spoilers for other books.
4⭐. This took me forever to read but it was more a me problem than the book. It was longer than necessary. But it is such a strong fantasy series and the Harem setting was done well. The Sultan makes for a good villain as the best ones believe they do what’s best for their country.
4.5⭐. So good! Does an amazing job of making you feel like you're in 14th century France. The details about medicine during the plague are well researched. Eleanore felt like she could have been a real person. Plus the actual real people were portrayed so well.
Just going to get this out of the way early. This is a transition week where I'm working on stuff that I not going to have completed in time for my weekly post. That and IRL was a bit busy and chaotic this week.
The Black Cauldron ⭐⭐⭐I started the year with this lofty goal of actually reading all five books in this series as I always seemed to stall out after the second or third book. I think I'm starting to see why I never got further then this. This is not a bad book but I read this a week ago and I'm kind of hard pressed to really remember it. Now that I'm trying to write this up things are starting to come back to me but man did this fade from memory fast. Taran was tasked with helping out the Prince with a quest, things go sideways, the annoying character gets a redemption in the end, the obviously evil character turns out to be evil. It's not a bad book but I don't feel that it really did a lot that wasn't already covered by the first book. It kind of felt that Taran started, and ended, in the same place as the first book. It was just a classic tale of good versus evil and that is it. A part of me wants to read on so I can finish the series and another part of me is just not really interested.
Brewed with Love ⭐⭐⭐Don't let the three star rating fool you, I thought this was a pretty good novel but it had some issues. This book is rocking a lot of different hats all at once. Sapphic romance, fantasy, cozy, mystery, etc but at it's core is the romance and mystery. The romance was the best part of the novel in my opinion with the mystery being rather meh. The romance in this novel felt like a bit of a blast of fresh air after some of the stuff I've read. Instaromance? Nope, these were childhood friends who started falling for each other before one of them disappeared for some reason. Now that one friend is back and they are trying to figure out where they stand with each other and of course their feelings. Third act miscommunication? Yes, but it was then instantly talked about, hashed out, and sorted. This one here by itself was mind blowing. I saw it coming and there was a part of me that was already crawling off to the corner to grumble like a crazed old man about this dreaded trope when suddenly the characters are suddenly talking things out. I was flabbergasted. The characters themselves had amazing chemistry and the romance parts in general just felt great. More novels need to take notes from this.
Now for the mystery. This is where it kind of fell flat. It wasn't a horrible mystery but it kind of felt a bit simple. Especially as this book decided to take the route of ignoring the most obvious clues until just the right moment. An obviously evil guy in the corner twirly his comically evil mustache, nope, he can't be important to the case at all. There were a couple major points in this book that were so glaringly obvious that it was almost insulting how everyone danced around the issues until just the right time in the novel.
Outside of the mystery I wish there was some more attention to the world building and just fleshing things out in general. That being said, I feel that this is an author who is now on my radar and I want to see what else they come out with.
Now for the manga
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 12 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐This manga was such an amazing read that I want to talk about so much but everything in it is a massive spoiler. Like much of Frieren this was less focused on the action and more on the overall narrative. The ending, man, the ending hit like a ton of bricks and I want the next volume so bad.
That's it folks. Like I said, it was a shorter update this week. Now, what am I working on currently/next?
The Wishsong of Shannara I am over halfway through this book with about 9 hours of audio left. I am having a really hard time putting this book down honestly.
Berserk of Gluttony, Volume 1 Not isekai but a Japanese light novel that borrows a lot of the tropes. The whole video game system of level ups, skills, etc but all with an edgier edge. Not bad, but not mind blowing yet either.
Manhole Volume 2
The Boxer, Vol. 9
Heroine? Saint? No, I'm an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! (Manga) Vol. 2
The Mammoth
Mod
Seeing you loving Shannara is making me tempted to try it again but on audio. I'm trying to remind myself I do not have time for a big series...
Mod
3.5 ⭐ Cute book, cozy fantasy. Romance reads a bit on the young side considering the age of the characters. Loved Caz the spider plant.
4 ⭐. Love being back in the Lady Darby world. These are enjoyable historical mysteries.
4.5 ⭐. Solid sequel, almost as good as the first. Cannot wait for the 3rd one which is out in July. This group of lying misfits just really works for me. 
4 ⭐. My first Danmei! Won't be my last. I absolutely want to continue on with this series. It does have the potential to get dark, and there are already a bunch of trigger warnings for this one. But I like it
3 ⭐. This might be my least favourite of the series. The first quarter is choppy with unnecessary time jumping. The jumps serve no purpose and I think would have read better in a linear fashion. Still, I love the world and getting to see it grow is still enjoyable.
Brittany wrote: "This is what I've read recently 3.5 ⭐ Cute book, cozy fantasy. Romance reads a bit on the young side considering the age of the characters. Loved Caz the spider..."The Husky and His White Cat definitely sounds interesting. I haven't read even the first book in The Broken Blades, but your thoughts make me really want to start it :D Also yay for the Lady Darby!
While last week was a shorter week this week is going to be the opposite of that. I was on a roll, sick, and had a sick day which some equated to a whole lot of reading time. Something about being awake at 2 AM and not being able to sleep. 
Berserk of Gluttony, Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐This was both a spur of the moment pick and something I've had on my radar for a bit now. It popped up on my radar a while back but I wasn't in a massive rush to read. I snagged it when my plans for another light novel series fell through, and will probably come back to haunt me a few months from now. This is a Japanese fantasy light novel and the only reason it's not considered an isekai is because it doesn't have the reincarnation aspect to it. Outside of that one technicality this basically reads like any other isekai novel. Skills, levels, adventure guilds, monsters to hunt, etc. This one also tries to take a darker and edgier tone but in a very YA approach. Yes, there are darker elements then other series that are similar to this but it feels forced and clunky. Corrupt power system, people in power who are jerks, maybe human trafficking, the poof suffering because of a busted class system, etc. It's nothing new and while darker then some novels it still feels like it's got it's training wheels on. This is a novel that is great to turn off your brain and enjoy the action scenes as our MC's skill points go up, then down, then up again. This is a shorter series with only six books in it so I'm going to keep reading to see where things go.
The Wishsong of Shannara ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐This was the big book I have been working on for the last week with an audiobook clocking in just short of 21 hours. This book was an amazing read and takes me back to reading fantasy when I was wee lad. You had essentially two story lines on the go in this story. You had Brin's story as she traveled with the druid Allanon to use her magic to destroy the great evil plaguing the lands. The other story was from Jair's, her brothers, POV as he races across the country to save his sister. It's a story of exploring your own powers, exploring what is good and evil, and the hardships you experience along the way. There is a lot of death in this story and I'm not talking about just the hordes of enemies that our MC's have to make their way through either. There was more than a few times I got a bit choked up reading through events in this book. It felt like a great conclusion to this original trilogy. In some ways this also felt like the author getting a second crack at the original book and being able to write what he wanted instead of what his publisher dictated. There were moments that felt similar to the first book that ended up going in a completely different direction. Now that I am done with the original trilogy I have a couple in between books to get to and then I'll get started with the Heritage Saga part of this series.
The Haunting ⭐⭐⭐After reading another book from this author earlier this month I wanted to check out more of her stuff. I ended up snagging this one and I think I am becoming a fan of this author. Once again, this book had that classic MG/YA horror vibe nailed down perfectly. A young orphan is adopted and moves into this huge mansion with her new parents. While settling into her new life she meets a young girl about her age and becomes friends with them. Of course that young girl is a ghost who is trying to hurt her and you know the rest. I think my only real nitpick with this one was just how slow the MC was on noticing all of this. Yes, she is a child, and yes, I am an adult with thousands of reading hours behind me but I really felt that she should have put things together a bit sooner. You hang out with a young kid that no one seems to notice but you, the kid wants you to keep her secret, your dog doesn't like them, oh, and every time you hang out you have a near death experience. The first time, coincidence, the second time, highly suspicious, the third time shouldn't even happen. Outside of that nitpick though this was another quick and fun read. I am definitely going to be checking out more of these horror novels from this author.
Now for the manga/comics of the week
Heroine? Saint? No, I'm an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! (Manga) Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐This volume centered around the big ball at the start of the school year and was heavily focused on the otome game aspects of this series. Who was supposed to show up when, what path this unlocked, who was going to end up with who, etc. As a result I wasn't as heavily invested as I was in the first volume where there was a lot more shenanigans. That being said I don't think those shenanigans are over and I am going to be coming back for more in the future.
The Mammoth ⭐⭐⭐This book gets a three star rating but only barely. The more time that has passed and the more time I've had to stew on this the more annoyed I am with this comic. First, there was a weird tonal shift that was mostly my fault. For some weird reason I thought this was a Scooby Doo style mystery with four kids solving a mystery. That was quickly dispelled in the first couple pages when someone is killed and we get to witness all the gory details. Not a knock against the book, but that was a bit of an adjustment. From there this book just seemed to suffer from a lot of the same problems I've had with similar horror style shorter comics. The story is utterly lacking. It feels like a concept or an rough idea for a story that was never really fleshed out. Why did any of this happen? Never explained. The ending, never explained. The mystery, never explained. There is just so many things that are just left unexplained in the end that it just left me feeling unfulfilled. Why did I sit through all that if you're not going to wrap up your story in any way. Are you sequel baiting? If so, don't do it like this because I have no interest in sitting through more and I don't trust that I will actually get answers.
Manhole Volume 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐On the other side of the horror card we have this manga and man I am fully invested in this now. I love the careful use of body horror in this one. It's there enough to shock you but not to the point where you are desensitized to it. The mystery is ramping up, the infections are ramping up, the tension in general is ramping up. I just love what this manga is doing and the way it is telling it's story. Now to hurry up and wait for the next volume.
The Boxer, Vol. 9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Speaking of masterclass in tension we have this series again. The way the author is able to build up the hype, tension, and stakes for a fight is absolutely nuts. This is the fight between the current heavyweight champ and our up and coming MC for the top spot in the entire boxing world. There is more then just a belt and a title on the line in this fight and these men put their everything into this fight. You really get the feeling while reading this fight that this a clash of titans in the ring. That this is a fight that is leagues above a normal boxing match. I am also very curious where the story is going to go after this. This is the pinnacle of the boxing world and we are getting the back story of the coach in this one. About the only character that has not been really explored is the MC oddly enough. If this doesn't go totally off the rails I think this series might have one or two more books left in it before the story is over.
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐Alright, this was another one of those random manga I snagged from the library and I am loving this so far. We have a young girl who is the popular girl in class, dresses in the latest fashions, etc, etc, etc, and she also likes rock music like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. One day she discovers a small little store near the station that sells CD's and what not of her favorite music. At the counter is this "hot guy" that she develops a crush on over several visits. This "gent" has all the trappings for the scene, black nail polish, multiple piercings, band shirts, etc, etc, etc, you know the look. This "guy" also wears a mask so she never gets a clear look at his face. It turns out that this "guy" is actually one of her classmates. The boring, unassuming, blend in to the background girl who sits beside her in class. Now for what I liked about this premise. First, while it was milked for a little bit the big secret was revealed in the first volume and not just at the end. The difference in the girls appearance was also explained and not milked for several volumes. The art work in this manga is amazing and I love how the splash of lime green color that we see on the cover is used throughout the volume to highlight scenes. This feels like a great little drama series that is exploring a few different things. Each character has their own struggles and things going on that complicates their relationship. It just feels good and I can't wait for the next volume.
My Androgynous Boyfriend, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐My last manga for the week and another one that I am dropping after only one volume. To be clear there is nothing wrong with this manga. It's a slice of life manga about this couple living their life. The young woman works as an editor at a magazine and the young man is a model. He is the hot one on the cover and the titular androgynous boyfriend. A lot of this manga revolves around fashion and the fashion industry which is just not something I am overly interested in. My biggest issue is with the main male lead, Meguru. He is just too perfect. Like, we are talking uncanny valley levels of perfect. Put aside his stupidly hot looks and he is still just perfect. He takes care of the house for the two of them, he is the perfect friend, he is stupidly charming, he knows not just the perfect thing to say but the perfect moment to say it in. It's just all to much for me. I get that this is most definitely not written for me and that there is a a certain level of self insert wish fulfillment in this manga but again, not for me. As a result, I am moving on to something else.
Now, what is next? A lot, a lot of a lot. I am getting buried by the library currently.
City of the Dead this is my current audiobook that I am hoping to have done today
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire my next audiobook and another 21 hour book
Raven of the Inner Palace (Light Novel) Vol. 2 my current physical book and I really love the cover
Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 3 my next library book that is due
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com something a little outside of my norm
Outside of that I have a giant stack of manga to get through
Mod
I am really loving this series! It's SO fun! I'm almost through with all the volumes my library has, so I may have to put in some purchase requests to get the rest. Lol.
And omg I finally finished my first full-length novel of the month 😭 I enjoyed it overall. I didn't really connect with the characters till the end. But I enjoyed the overall plot and that ending was WILD.
Mod
Mod
Love that you are enjoying Sakamoto days! You've gotten to where I stopped as I just kept forgetting to read any manga but this has reminded me to put a hold on the next one!
Mod
I read:
- 4 stars. I really liked this one. It's super cute, and feelt very magical and fairytale like. I'm a big fan of Stephanie's writing. It had been a while since I read book 1 but it didn't stop me really liking this one. 
- 5 stars. My favourite read of the month. I absolutely loved both books of this duology. So well written. I need to go back and finish the author's other series soon. Highly recommend these.
- 2 stars. Read this one as part of my RARE challenge (book event I'm going to). This is the first time I've ever read a series of novellas where they are in 'seasons' and 'episodes' so that was a totally new thing for me. I don't know whether I'm just not a novella series but I felt like things happened so fast with no character development at all. Add in the bit of insta-love that happened at the start of episode 2 (which I did start but only read 2 pages so not a formal DNF) and I decided this one is not for me and I won't be continuing the series.
- Re-read. 5 Stars! After everything that was going on with me personally at the start of the month I felt like I needed a favourite cosy book so decided to re-read this one. Loved it just as much second time around. Picked up on little hints that I didn't notice first time around so that was quite fun to see. 
- 4 Stars. I was so apprehensive about this one as I'd seen so many people say how disappointed they were with the finale of this series. I personally thought it was just as good as the others in the series so I really liked it. There were some small things that bothered me but overall it was a great ending to the series. It's made me hopeful that she might write more in this world at some point. 
- 3.5 Stars. This one was an ARC that is out in April. Paige Toon is one of my all time favourite authors. I find her books such quick reads as I can't put them down. And this one definitely had that feeling but I do feel like it had pacing issues towards the end of the book. I feel we got to 75% and she decided she wanted a lot of plot points to happen and only had a short amount of pages left to do it in. This made a lot of what happened feel really 'choppy'. I'd have preferred if the book was longer and there was more development between the plot points. So not my favourite of hers but still enjoyable and I'll still buy the finished copy for my collection.
- DNF! This one was the choice for my book club for March. I'm not really a big historical romance reader, so this is definitely out of my comfort zone. I got to about 20% before I gave up. It wasn't terrible so I fully think if you're a historical reader you'll probably like this one. But for me considering we were reading it for a romance book club there was no romance to speak of. It was more focused on the character getting involved in the suffragette movement but even that seemed a little bit off in the timings. Like the time where the book is set, the suffragette movement wasn't quite at that stage as was depicted in the book which irritated me and ultimately led to me DNF'ing.
- DNF! Another DNF... damn it. I've only had 3 all year and 2 in one month!! This was another ARC and honestly I was all for the premise. It's a feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty and there's something that happens 50 pages in that made me intrigued and go 'ooh okay I like where this is going'... and then nothing happened for so long. I grew bored and decided to just give up. This one had such great potential but the execution of it just wasn't there.
Mod
Love that you ..."
It was fun! And I will read the sequel at some point! I'm curious to see what the characters will do given the situation they're in. I saw you just read it! How was it?
Mod
Loved it and cannot wait for book 3 in July!
Finished
, really enjoyed it, things are definitely ramping up in this series, cannot wait for Book 6 which will fingers crossed be coming out next year!My next audio is
, one of, if not my most anticipated read for this year. I have to admit I don't love the narrator thus far though I do tend to have a more difficult time with men narrators than I do with women, I don't know exactly why, but I never get on as well with them.
Brittany wrote: "Jo! I just finished and I think you'd really like it. Plus the audio is read by Saskia Maarveld."Agh that does sound really interesting, have added to my TBR!
Alright, it didn't feel like the best week of reading but this week has also felt like it has lasted about 20 years. Lets get into what I read in the last week. 
City of the Dead ⭐⭐⭐⭐The next book in the City Spies series and I am really have a fun time with this series. In this one we are dealing with a massive hacker issue. Kat gets her chance to shine, and to find her confidence. We do a bit of globe trotting with the book taking place in Scotland, England, Germany, and, of course, Egypt. I'm just having so much fun with this series and I already know that when I am done with this one I am going looking for more from this author.
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com ⭐⭐⭐This was kind of one of those books I got on a whim. I read one of the author's other books and rather enjoyed it and while "smut" isn't a go to genre for me much anymore I figured I'd give this a try. I have some pretty conflicted feelings about this one. All the stuff outside of the romance was entertaining and had me wanting more. It read like a humorous adventure story about unlikely companions coming together for a common goal. I was here for all of that and was having fun with all of that. Stuffed in amongst all of this humorous fun times was also all this romance and smut which, just, meh. There were times when it felt really out of place. For instance finding out a bunch of information, getting fired up to kick some dudes butt for revenge, getting ready to storm off to do that, immediate full stop for a super detailed threesome. I think someones flow charts got mixed up somewhere. I thought the last step in that process was the butt kicking part not the other butt stuff. Since this is a brand new book I'm going to throw this next part behind spoilers. It's about the main romance in the book so be advised. (view spoiler) Now all of this being said I can easily see how people will enjoy this book and if you do, power to you.
Now for the manga
Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐More from this series. This one gets into Saki and the challenges that succubi in this world face. They are the one demi that is actually capable of manipulating those around them and it raises all sorts of ethical issues. Again, just more slice of life exploration in this world.
One Piece, Volume 6: The Oath ⭐⭐⭐⭐Another early One Piece book and our first taste of the Grand Line. This is the book where first meet Mihawk and the fight that comes with that first meeting. This was a great book that helped set up so many future story lines. Now for the long wait for the next volume.
Laid-Back Camp, Vol. 16 (Volume 16) ⭐⭐⭐⭐After a crazy week at work this manga was exactly what I needed. Yes, it was more Laid-Back Camp with Japanese tourism and camping. It was just this little slice of relaxation and fun at the end of the week. The particular volume kicks of the next big camping arc which takes place in Gunma. Rin gets a hair cut, Nadeshiko plans a trip with her kouhai, and trips are started. It's simple but it was what I wanted.
My Kitten is a Picky Eater Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐More cute cat stuff and a new owner learning the ropes. There is a touching section in the back from the author about what inspired this manga. Just a fun and quick read.
Takahashi from the Bike Shop, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐I don't know if it was the week I had, residual feelings from I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com, a me thing, or some combination of them but this manga just did not land with me. It's a slice of life romance story. The female lead is a young woman who is very passive and has a hard time telling anyone no. The main male lead is a delinquent who runs the local bicycle shop. I'm just going to be blunt here, I didn't like the characters, I didn't like the budding romance, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style. For a manga of this style those are basically the core components of this manga. The female lead just didn't really leave an impression with me and I wasn't buying the bad boy with a heart of gold shctick. In many ways he didn't feel much different then the other men in her life that were taking advantage of her passiveness. The only difference was that he was doing it with "good intentions". This was a short single volume and yet it felt like such a slog to get through.
Any way, what is next
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Still working on this audiobook. I need more time for reading
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, (Light Novel) Vol. 3 Starting this one today
Videotapes From Hell: A Visual History of Cult, Collectible, and Crazy Video Covers A nonfiction book that I've been stoked for
Outside of that I have some more manga and I'm trying to decide what novel to tackle next.
Mod
, really enjoyed it, things are definitely ramping up in this series, cannot wait for Book 6 which will fingers crossed be coming out next year!My nex..."
Nice Jo! Hope you enjoy such an anticipated read, even if the narrator isn't your favourite.
Mod
Too bad about Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com and the smut that felt out of place at times. I wont read the spoiler right now but tell me about it when I get a chance to read it.
Im intrigued about your upcoming nonfiction book
Mod
4 stars, I was excited to get an arc of this one. Then worried as at the start it seemed like I was going to hate it. I should know to trust this author better than that! Good romance book with a hockey player aging out of his active career.
4 stars, this manga is just so good and I always like when I make my way back to it.
2 stars. So much potential, so little execution. Got this as an arc from yalc. If you took out 150+ pages in the middle it might've worked.
3.5 stars. Was an okay look into the life of Madeline Astor, the young bride of the rich Mr. Astor. I just wish we got more of the time after the titanic.
3.5 stars. This was a much better volume than the last 2 and makes me look forward again to the next translation
4 stars. Love this series. This is one door I would love to enter. 
4 stars. This volume was just fun! The elderly couple is lovely, we got to learn more about Yor and her past, Anya and Damien have ridiculous moments. Just fun.
4 stars. Good start to a fantasy series. I wish the big "secret" was dealt with sooner, but overall quite enjoyable and I look forward to reading the next one
5 stars. I loved both of these and really hope they will continue on to the next book and do it in comic form also. There are a few additions to the story in this volume and I really liked them.
3.5 stars. This was enjoyable Amelia Peabody in a different than usual setting, England instead of Egypt. Ramses is still too much but I found him a lot easier to deal with in this one. Enjoying working my way through all the books I havent read in this series. I read the next one forever ago and will probably skip doing a reread.
@Brittany Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear - I'm intrigued, haven't read the book yet.I didn't know that The Innkeeper Chronicles had graphic novel too, interesting, and 5 stars! Glad you enjoyed it.
Aaand yay for the whole manga amount, everything looks so good! Love the update :)
Here is my update, it was an interesting week, filled with both hits and misses.
- 3 stars. The first book in the series I was actually somewhat invested in. The previous two felt detached (though they were not bad). Overall the plot is interesting, the dystopia part is good and I loved the open ending. Though I don't love the romantic line between the main characters.
- 3 stars. I have read both her books (The Housemaid and The Boyfriend) almost at the same time, the style is the same, the idea is also the same, basically an utterly perfect man and a woman falls in love... nothing surprising in the end. If I need to choose, I would prefer The Housemaid.
- 3 stars. Weird. It's one of my favorite settings (pirates, the open sea and everything), but I didn't feel it enough. The most interesting thing about the book is its characters, a very unusual combination, which worked pretty well. To be honest, I expected more than just mediocre.
- 3 stars. In German. Now thinking back I can say that I didn't like it at all. Boring, predictive and partly annoying.
- 4 stars. First of all - names! I loved all the names from this novel. The second, but not less favorite part of the book, is the family. Just imagine - eccentric Maaori-Russian-Catalonian family. Sounds like too much, and you wonder, how the hell is it gonna work? Apparently, pretty good and interesting. Now to the setting - not the usual pick - New Zealand, one of the most amazing places in the world. The only thing I wanted to add is more depths to the characters and a little bit more drama.
- 5 stars. Hell! This book was insanely good, I've never thought I could be so into the book with such a simple plot. But the writing style and the connection to the real person make it so good! Atmospheric, descriptive, very imaginative, I literally felt the chill of winter and the relieve when the spring came.
- 5 stars. You never realize how you miss something till you dive in that amazing world of four interconnected worlds, the unique atmosphere of multidimensional London and favorite characters... Yep, I missed Delilah and Kell! And I also adore the new and the secondary characters. Still I love the original trilogy more, but this book didn't disappoint either.
- 5 stars. Loved it, devoured in one sitting. My favorite thing about the book is its structure, how independent stories are connected into one, pulled by the invisible thread of destiny. Amazing! I also adore the authors craftsmanship, somehow he managed to combine the lyrical style of a classic fairy tail with gruesomeness and simple magic of the real life.
- 5 stars. Great combination of urban fantasy, mythology and adventure. I loved the authors writing style, its very distinctive, has that little something, which makes it recognizable from the very first chapter.
- 4 stars. My oh my! Till ~50% it was so boring to the point, when I wanted to DNF several times. And I'm glad I didn't. Though in the very beginning my guess was correct and I just expected it to unravel (so nothing surprising), the delivery was good and... that freaking tension!
- 5 stars. I'm in love with the authors' novellas. They are short, but so packed with unique atmosphere and a great writing style.
- 5 stars. My oh my, it's so underrated! Loved the book a lot, from the idea to the beautiful writing style. The only thing I didn't like much was the ending, but I can live with it. Still 5 stars.
- 5 stars. Well... it's in the title, it's bitter-sweet, heartwarming story of difficult period for the whole world, reminded me that even in the most difficult time there are still good people and beautiful things.
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I didn't know that The Innkeeper Chronicles had graphic novel too, interesting, and 5 stars! Glad you enjoye..."
Giant talking ridable turtles!! I want to live there.
I love the Innkeeper graphic novels. I know not everyone does but I think I just love being back in the world.
Thanks! Its mostly been good reading lately
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I'm currently listening to The Frozen River and it is so good. I want to climb into the book and strangle the doctor though. Have you read the authors other books?
Good update! Seems like you found some enjoyable books
Brittany wrote: "Elena glad to see I wasnt the only one who struggled with Running Close to the Wind, I dnf'd it last year. Good to know it didn't get much better. I'm currently listening to The Frozen River and i..."
Running Close to the Wind is that type of book when you expect something to happen, but it never happens :(
I haven't read her other books, but definitely will (after The Frozen River). I 100% with you on that 'doctor' 😅
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Ill finish Frozen River tonight
Brittany wrote: "You should! I really enjoyed Code Name Hélène and I Was Anastasia. Flight of Dreams not so much. Ill finish Frozen River tonight"
Oh wow, thanks for the rec, I'll definitely try them all.
Today’s update is a bit huge, also a mix of very different genres, some of them I don’t usually pick.
- 4 stars. This series is like a rollercoaster, sometimes I like it a lot, sometimes it's hard to push through. The 4th installment was interesting, but not 100% satisfying. One special thing about this book I loved a lot is the character development, especially Juliette, she shows more and more dimensions.
- 3 stars. To be honest, I just wanted to squeeze something light in between all the chunky fantasy books I've been reading recently. A nice breath of fresh air, love the camp setting, didn't love too much sex. And, well, though I rated both Icebreaker and Wildfire 3 stars, I loved Fire better.
- 4 stars. It’s a re-read actually. I just wanted something I knew I liked, but at the same time not overwhelming. The book is not perfect, but it’s oddly comforting.
- 4 stars. Never enough of T. Kingfisher books. I love everything, from character development and world-building to the paladins concept, twisted plot and exquisite writing style.
- 5 stars. I've never thought I'm going to enjoy the book set during WWII. Usually when it's WWII, it's an ultimate no-no for me, but sometimes I do make exceptions, and that book is a good one! I'm glad I tried to read it.
- 4 stars. Omg, this book is crazy and hilarious, rude and unbelievable, bold and so freaking direct. Loved it!
- 4 stars. First I didn’t care, then I hated the book, then I loved it, hated again… And now I just don’t know. I’m empty and exhausted, it was tiring, good tiring, but nevertheless it left me empty.
- 4 stars. This one is special. I never thought I could enjoy reading non-fiction about sex. And here I am… It’s written in an intimate, friendly, funny manner, very captivating and easy to read, though the themes that are raised in the book are very uncomfortable.
- 5 stars. That was a very strategic pick. After a loaded week I really needed something light and funny, with an extra spicy kick, like that delicious vegan chilli-sin-carne.
- 4 stars. That happens, and we can’t even blame people for being so self-absorbed and thinking that other people are bad, it's just like an infinite loop. People being bad to each other. Point. Especially children. Add racial and religious issues on top. They don’t even understand how painful it is. Children are cruel. Schools are cruel. And then you think that everything ends once you're an adult. Well, that’s not true, just when you're an adult, people become less direct but still cruel, probably even more cruel and intense.
- 2 stars. There is something off. The romance just doesn’t click and actually is annoying and even disgusting?
- 3 stars. interesting romantic story, I like the characters and the trope - meeting on the chatting app, not knowing who each other is. And the main topic being writing is also a nice point. Though overall the drama point is pretty weak.
- 4 stars. I love the characters, the development, the way the author writes about disabilities, doesn’t make those people less of a people, doesn’t pity, just writes of ordinary people with some difficulties. Even when you are ok with being unique, you usually don’t want other people to pity you or treat you differently. And the romance is so pure and nice, well-written.
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That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon is a fun book. So are the rest of them for when you need something lighter!
I think I need to look into Will I Ever Have Sex Again? I've seen it a couple times now and it sounds interesting. Damn, library doesn't have it.
Nice update Elena!!
I was going to wait until later to post my update but I figured I would just do it now. I don't have a lot this week as IRL things have been kicking my butt pretty hard this month.
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, (Light Novel) Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐Another book in this series and it was alright. This book was essentially the MC theory crafting ways around the one thing he can't do in this world, magic. Our MC has all sorts of skills and is leagues more powerful then anyone else but the one thing he can't do is magic and it's all because he doesn't understand the language system used for magic. In this volume he began experimenting with alchemy and crafting magic tools that did not require him to use the magic system. It was an interesting exploration of way of circumnavigating the system. It was also a very dry book and it made getting through this one a bit of a slog which is why it took me a bit to get through this book. It did all lead to a big "conclusion" where the MC got to use all the skills he developed over the course of the book but it just didn't feel worth it really. I don't know, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this series in general. It's just alright but I'm not ready to throw in the towel quite yet.
Indomitable ⭐⭐⭐⭐The next step in my Shannara journey. This was a short little novella that acted as an epilogue to The Wishsong of Shannara. It primarily focused on Jair but you quick updates on some of the other characters from the original novel. In a hand waving excuse for a follow up a page from the evil book that was destroyed in Wishsong survived and Jair has been chosen to destroy it. It takes two years after the main book and the world has grown much more peaceful since then. Overall it was fine, a quick revisit of old friends, a new challenge for Jair, etc. If there was an issue I had with the novella it would be the ending. I'm not getting into a lot of details but I'm also not worried about spoilers. It's a 20 year old novella for a finished trilogy. At the ending Jair unlocks a new ability with his wishsong and I'm not sure how I feel about that. This ability seems to come with a lot of baggage and none of it is explored, what happens next is not explored, it just ends with him confused and injured. I don't want that from a short novella at the end of a trilogy. There is a graphic novel that continues this story but, again, why is all this getting added after everything is done. It just feels weird. Especially as the next series in this world is set some 300 years in the future. What does any of this achieve? Like I said, the novella was perfectly fine up until that part.
Videotapes From Hell: A Visual History of Cult, Collectible, and Crazy Video Covers ⭐⭐⭐⭐I have been waiting for this book for a while now. It was one of those books that I knew I had to read once I saw the cover/read the title. This is a nonfiction/art book about the history of VHS tapes and in particular the world of horror films and their covers. It was an interesting read but it also felt a bit rambley at times. The chapters would have have some sort of broad theme but then it would just kind of bump about in that theme with no real direction. It was just an excuse to show you VHS covers really. You would have the occasional commentary from someone who's career was affected by the VHS boom of the 80's and 90's and that was about it. That being said I did learn some stuff from this as well. As a kid who grew up with VHS I never really understood the importance of this medium. This was a massive change in the entertainment industry and suddenly people could watch their favorite things in their own home. You could do it before then but it was much more expensive and at the start of the VHS it was as well. Seeing advertisements for brand new tapes that were selling for over a $100 a pop was surreal. Once the prices came down though it opened up so many markets. So many small companies were created to sell older movies that had only been available on film before hand. Foreign movies that had never made their way to our shores before or if they had they had been heavily edited. It also opened up this massive market of low budget movies with this direct to video market. You had tons of creators suddenly making their own films that they could just release into the market. With that comes marketing gimmicks to make their product stand out and that was done with cover art. If this seems even remotely interesting to you I'd encourage you give this book a glance.
Now for the manga and there is not a lot.
Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Edition, Vol. 11: Includes Vols. 31, 32, 33 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Alright, I'm getting the hype around Dragon Ball. This book was primarily about Cell and how to defeat him. It had all the tropes you would expect from this series at this point. People leveling up, Goku out of commission, etc and yet it is still super engaging. I'm looking forward to the next volume.
Now, what is next. I'm going to be honest here, the next week is going to be rough. Both IRL and with reading. All of these books are coming due this week and can not be renewed.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - I've got about 8 hours left and I need to have it done by Friday
Heads Will Roll - I'm hoping to finish this one today
Aunt Tigress - this is the longest of the batch with small, tiny, print
Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One -ILL book that I can't renew
SAKAMOTO DAYS 16
Tomb Raider King, Vol. 10
RuriDragon, Vol. 1
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I am still really enjoying this series! I love the humor/action combo.
And this book omg, it was SO good! I finally understand the hype. Lol. The story was really interesting, I liked the protagonist, and it was a lot funnier than I was expecting. I'll definitely be reading this author's other books.
This book, on the other hand, it was... fine. I liked the setting and some of the horror was really good, but I just felt like it was a really slow-moving book.And right now, I'm reading
. I'm not that far into it, but it is SO intriguing so far!And yesterday I got an ARC of
, so I'm going to be starting that today too! I have really been looking forward to this book because it's a crossover between two of the author's series! Very excited!
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This has been a week for sure. I don't normally like intense weeks like this because it starts to move the needle on my reading from fun hobby to work but there are times where it happens. Usually when the library seems to suddenly notice me and bury me in every book I've ever requested. On a separate side note, I've now passed my first 100 books. Any way, lets get into what I read this week. 
Heads Will Roll ⭐⭐⭐⭐I started off the week with this novel and man was this a fun one. This was basically the teenage slasher summer camp story line but with adults. I'm not overly interested in watching movies of this sort but I love the idea in book format which is kind of odd. There is a camp in middle of no where upstate New York that allows adults to "unplug" from the real world for two weeks. Everything is going fine at this camp until the MC shows up and the bodies start hitting the floor. This was a quick paced summer kind of book. I would have given it five stars but there was something about the ending that just didn't really work for me. I won't spoil anything for anyone but there was a reveal at the end and it just didn't make a lot of sense. It was one of those things that the more I thought I about it the worse the problem got. Still, it was a fun slasher book that kept me reading until it was all done.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐I finally finished up this monster audiobook. It took me a little longer then expected but life. This is the point where Rowling just goes all in and the books nearly double in length. There is just so much crammed into this book and it just made the reading experience so much fun. I'm really having fun with this reread of the series and I'll be back for the next book in a few months.
Aunt Tigress ⭐⭐⭐This was the book that made me glad I had Friday off. That extra day off was needed to get through this book. This was a debut novel from the author and it was a seriously ambitious book. Maybe a bit to ambitious but I'll get into that in a bit. This is an urban fantasy novel set in Calgary and pulls from various mythologies to build its world. This is technically an urban fantasy but it doesn't feel like one. In my head I normally associate urban fantasy novels with mysteries, action, and a faster pace. While this book definitely had elements of the first two the pace was a lot slower then what I would normally expect. A big part of that was because most of this book is told through flashbacks. At least half of this book was told through flashbacks. Flashbacks to a few hours ago, to a few days ago, a few years, and even older. There was even one part that had a flashback in a flashback. It's an interesting way to tell the story and it really made you pay attention to the story. What may seem minor or irrelevant at the time can suddenly become something major later on. Now the problem with all these flashbacks is that the main story is put on hold while we go off down memory lane. I'm just not sure how else you could really tell this story though. As for the ambition of this book, well it did blend multiple mythologies into one world which is not an easy thing to do. It also touched on a lot of serious subjects. While far from a deep dive we had issues of abuse, racism, grief, LGBT issues, missing Indigenous women issues, and the list goes on. It makes for a bit of a slower and heavier read but it was such a unique experience. If you have a hole in your reading schedule and are curious about this book I'd say give it a shot. Just be prepared for a book that is a bit rough around the edges.
Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One ⭐⭐⭐⭐This book was thrust onto my radar and I knew I had to read it. Thankfully I was able to get it through the ILL system and I was able to experience this book. This book is very much in the same vein as John Dies at the End. Weird dark humor, a loser MC thrust into the middle of a bizarre situation, a very casual attitude towards all the bizarre things that are happening. Basically the book revolves around a clerk who works the night shift at a gas station on the edge of a small town. Right between the edge of town and the dark creepy woods. You have all the normal late night gas station folks and then there are the not so normal folks. The cultists, the gods, the monsters, the lawn gnomes, government agents. It's a weird book and I love it for that fact. This is not a book for everyone but if you like things like this, well, you've probably already read this. I'm a bit late to the party honestly.
Now for the manga because why not.
Tomb Raider King, Vol. 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐More from this series. Not a lot to really say. More tombs, more relics, more shenanigans.
SAKAMOTO DAYS 16 ⭐⭐⭐⭐I've said this before and I'll say this again. This series has some of the craziest action scenes I've ever read in any format. There is a sniper fight in this volume that just blew my mind. Yes it defies all the laws of physics but who cares. It was simply cool as hell. Outside of that the story around the assassin museum exhibit moves forward as well. Listen, the sniper fight kind of overshadows everything else that happened.
RuriDragon, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐So this is a manga series that has been floating around the edge of my awareness for a bit now. My library got a copy of the first volume and I decided to check it out. This is a story that feels like it has a ton of potential and could be just a fun read. Basically our MC, Ruri, wakes up one morning and discovers that she has horns. This leads to the revelation that she is a half dragon and half human. What follows is a slice of life comedy about a young teenage girl discovering that she is a half dragon and what traits she has inherited. Such as breathing fire which she discovers by accident. This is just wholesome and sweet. My only problem is that this is the only volume currently out in English. The next one is not out until September and there is only three volumes out in Japanese in general. This is not a good situation when you are wanting more of this good thing you just read.
Now, what is next? Another busy week of library books that I can't renew. The good news is that most of them are manga so I won't have as big of a time crunch.
Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper My current audiobook and buddy read. No rush on this one
Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling (Light Novel) Vol. 1 The one novel I have this week
Flying Witch, Vol. 1 No... please... don't twist my arm and make me read this amazing slice of life series again... nnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooo
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Manhwa, Vol. 1 trying a new manhwa
Silver Spoon, Vol. 2
Case Closed, Vol. 3
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Omg I love Tales From the Gas Station!! I've been following that series since before the stories were books. Lol. It's so fun and weird! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it as well!
And I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Ellie Jordan. That is another series that I really like!
I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into within the first few pages of Tales From the Gas Station and it delivered exactly what I wanted. As for Ellie Jordan, the first book is a reread for me but that was many years ago. I remember liking the first book as it legit gave you a spook unlike many books that described a ghost.
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As for Ellie Jordan, the first book is a reread f..."
Oh I agree! There are like a million books in the Ellie Jordan series at this point lol, but I feel like each book always brings the creepy factor, which I always appreciate! There's something about the ghost described in this book
that really freaked me out in particular. It's such a solid series overall though.
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Heads Will Roll sounds like it could be a fun October read. Aunt Tigress being told primarily in flash backs is a turn off for me which is too bad as the mythologies and location sound fun.
RuriDragon sounds like a fun manga!
Ooo Flying witch!! I enjoyed all of this that I have been able to read. I haven't been able to get volume 8
Brittany wrote: "Gord nice update!Heads Will Roll sounds like it could be a fun October read. Aunt Tigress being told primarily in flash backs is a turn off for me which is too bad as the mythologies and location ..."
That is why I think I most people will struggle with Aunt Tigress. It's an interesting idea and an ambitious one but I just don't think the story telling method will click with most people.
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great book. 4.5 stars, my favourite of the author so far. Such a good look into a time period you don't see a lot of, Maine, 1789. Based on a real woman working as a midwife.
4 stars. Such a lovely second chance romance.
4 stars enjoyed the first season of the anime, decided I wanted to try reading the manga. Enjoyed it and the way the curses are drawn. I have the second one from the library so Ill get to it soon. 
3.5 stars. Cute cozyish fantasy. Not a lot to say about it.
3 stars? Definitely my least favourite of the series. I found this one had filler and dragged for a large portion of the book. Vesper has tstl moments which surprised me and didn't make me happy. 
2 stars, the end lost it a star. It was fine. Started strong but just couldn't keep it there. The end is a pointless cliffhanger and drama for drama's sake. No plan to read the sequel.
@Brittany I'm glad you also loved The Frozen River. Also The Ex Vows sounds good. So sad you didn't enjoy Wet, so sad when the book starts strong and ends up being a complete disaster :(
My latest books combo of everything from cozy to disgusting.
- 4 stars. Not my favorite book in the series, but nevertheless I enjoyed this novella plenty.
- 4 stars. Liv and Mack are so loveable, this pair is the perfect representation of when the complete opposites make it right. I craved something simple, fluffy and romantic. The perfect book to relax after a stressful overloaded week.
- 4 stars. I guess I’m back to reading Dune again. This is not so popular, but a pretty captivating and interesting side story. I loved to learn more about the father of the Muad’Dib. The book is filled with loyalty, patience, power, love and honor. Basically the story of the rise of House Atreides.
- 5 stars. The story of love between a paladin of a dead god and a nun from a secretive order. A piece of pure joy and coziness in my hectic life recently. I fell in love with the series once more.
- 3 stars. Well, at this point it feels like a never-ending loop of unfortunate events and I don't even care about the story much, not sure if I want to continue reading.
- 5 stars. Extremely good, I love the Arabian-inspired fantasy genre, there is something very magical, captivating and alluring in it. It has its slight tinge of subtle thing that is unique to it but on the edge of unrecognizable.
- 3 stars. It’s not extremely bad, but unremarkable. Nothing much happened. A bit shallow.
- 4 stars. I don’t know why the book is rated so low. I had only 1 issue - one of the character throughout the story was addressed differently, she or he, I mean that’s fine when you change your gender or use a generic pronoun, but fluctuating between he or she is kinda confusing, at least when you read a book and there are several people in the conversation, sometimes I lost the thread of who is who.
- 4 stars. Interesting romance between a star and a spy. It had some interesting twists too.
- 3 stars. This line from a description caught my attention ‘the last thing they expected to uncover was a human skeleton’, I expected a solid mystery with lots of plot twists, but got a weird combination of several storylines, not much mystery and no interesting twists at all. A very controversial book. I loved the story of Moshe and Chona, but not all the other lines. And a couple of lines were even disgusting. The book touches on a pretty interesting and hard topic, so it’s expected to contain some gruesome and tragic moments, though not disgusting… maybe.
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Ex Vows was a well done second chance romance!
Frozen River was so good! Really like this author's books.
Yea Wet was not good and I doubt I'll give the author a second chance.
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- 4 stars. Not my favorite book in the series, but nevertheless I enjoyed this novel..."Agreed, Across the Green Grass Fields was not my favourite either. It read younger and just didn't work as well for me.
Sorry to hear you had a stressful overloaded week! Hopefully things are better going forward
I really need to read Kingfisher, glad to see you loved book 2.
My brain was confused for a moment as it thought you meant a star like the ones in the sky, and a spy romance and I was intrigued by the idea.
Brittany wrote: "My brain was confused for a moment as it thought you meant a star like the ones in the sky, and a spy romance and I was intrigued by the idea."Oops, sorry for the confusion, I meant celebrity :D
And yeeep, definitely try The Saint of Steel series by T. Kingfisher. The best type of cozy fantasy (great plot, sprinkled with romance, I loved both books so far).
It has been a pretty good week of reading and I feel like I'm actually putting a dent into my stack of library books. 
Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling (Light Novel) Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐This was a random light novel I picked up when the library lost my copy of Reincarnated as a Sword which is kind of funny and you will see why in a second. For now, I'll chat about this book. This book was just a fun relaxing read that I really needed this week. It's a story about someone waking up in a fantasy world as a dragon egg and their adventure as they start leveling up. There really is not a whole lot more to say about it then that. This book just lands in the sweet spot for light novels for me. It reminds me of things like Reincarnated as a Sword or Kuma Bear. That slice of life, isekai, fantasy world, low stakes, adventure story. It's far from great literature but they're fun to read.
Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐Sooooooooo, yeah, my library found my copy and after reading the Dragon Hatchling book I wanted to read this one. This is a reread of this book. I started this series a couple years ago but it feel aside when I got wrapped up in other things. With me focusing more on light novels this year I knew this was one I had to revisit. Much like I said above this is just a fun adventure series about some guy who dies and wakes up in a fantasy world as an intelligent sword. The sword levels up like crazy before things happen and he is stuck. This is the introduction of the other MC, Fran, who becomes his wielder. This is the start of their journey together. Just a fun read and I'm looking forward to more.
Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper ⭐⭐⭐⭐A buddy read dragged me back to this book that I first read several years ago. Now that I am listening to audiobooks it is a whole lot easier to get into this series. Or it would be if everything after book five wasn't locked in Amazon jail but I'm not getting into that here. This is an urban fantasy about a detective agency that hunts ghosts. Ellie is our MC, the main investigator, and she has an apprentice named Stacey. It's a simple set up with basically a mystery mixed with ghosts and it works well. The big reason it works well, for me, is that the ghost stuff is legit kind of spooky. The author does a really great job when it comes to the ghost scenes and if you let yourself get lost in the moment it's pretty chilling.
Now for the manga stuff
Silver Spoon, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐I loved the anime when I watched it and I was so glad to find the manga through the library. This volume just hit a weird spot for me. Our MC doesn't want to go home for summer holidays and he can't stay in the dorms due to renovations. He ends up getting hired on a farm hand at a remote farm and some of the lessons he learned during the summer just landed different for me. It was kind of weirdly nostalgic and took me back to being a kid. I didn't grow up on a farm but I grew up rural and farm adjacent. There was something about the things that were talked about in this volume just felt weirdly familiar for me. I'm loving my read through of this series so far and I can't wait for the next one.
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Manhwa, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐This is one of the other manhwa that I found at the library and after a very long wait I finally got to read it. I've heard some really great things about this series and it seems like there are a lot of fans of it. This commentary is just for this volume and not for the entire series as I haven't read any more, yet. As an opening volume it was alright but I haven't felt a hook yet. The start of this series feels really similar to others that I have tried in this genre. Combined with a very similar art style to others that I have read there just isn't a whole lot that is rocking my world. This first volume felt like it was just going through some very familiar paces for me. Something happens, the world ends, a new gaming style world starts, our MC gets a super unique skill that no one else has, and that is it. I don't hate this set up and I want to read more but I'm waiting for that unique twist to really hook me in.
Case Closed, Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐I've dabbled in this series both as a manga and the anime but there was something weirdly familiar about the first story in this volume. I don't recall the solution to the mystery itself but all of the lead up to it felt like I've read it somewhere before. Regardless this is more Detective Conan. The volume is split into to two different mysteries. One is a murder mystery set on a ship involving a family dynasty and a will. The second mystery involved a doctor receiving mystery gifts and money from someone anonymous. Both were adequate mysteries and the second one actually involved elements of the overarching story. That just means we won't touch it again for several volumes.
Flying Witch, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐Another reread this week and this one is a personal favorite. This is a slice of life about a teen witch finding her place in the world. I love the chill vibes in this series plus the perfect blend between normal teen problems and the weird paranormal stuff. One bit will be about making new friends at school and the next section is about meeting the harbinger of spring. The only reason I stopped reading this before was I was caught up on the releases and had nothing more to read at the time. Now I'm back for a reread and new material later on.
Now, what is on for next week
Audiobook: Not sure at this point. I'm flip flopping between the next Ellie Jordan book or the next Rogue Angel book. I'll have to decide today at some point.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 7
Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense., Vol. 7 (light novel) (Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.
The Apothecary Diaries 13
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 3
Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 20
Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts More (Manga) 7
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 4—Diamond is Unbreakable, Vol. 3
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This was a historical cosy fantasy that was recommended to me by someone on Instagram. Unfortuantely it wasn't for me. I love cosy family but this one was just really odd. I remember thinking what the heck am I reading? It had a sentient house in which I was all for, but I drew the line when the house started trying to eat people. It was a 2.5 star for me, and I won't be continuing the series.
was a 4.5 star for me. I honestly love this series. It's so so good. This was a fantastic end of the series. My one little gripe was that it ended quite quickly after the conflict was closed. I'd have liked to see a little more about what the characters lives were like after they were back settled after the conflict. A small gripe but an incredible end to a great series for me.
4.5 stars. I love this series. They're cute cosy romantasies, with each book following a different couple. This one was a would-be assassin elf and an orc. They're just so much fun to read.
was the biggest surprise of the month for me. This was my book club book and I wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't selected for that. I gave it 4 stars. It's a really cute romance between a mortician and a widow. Really tackled some important issues like grief and life going on after losing a loved one (hit home quite a bit for me so read trigger warnings), and the male main character was on the asexual spectrum which I thought was really refreshing. Really good read.
was an unfortunate DNF for me. I was really looking forward to this one (and I don't know whether I'm just burnt out on Romantasy or what) but it just didn't grab me. The main character was really unlikeable and you're just thrown in at the deep end expecting to know what's happening without much world building. I got to 30% and called it a day.
This one was my most anticipated releases of the year, and I don't know if I went in with too high expectations but I was a little disappointed. I still ended up liking it, rating it 3.5 stars. The beginning was very slow and took me a long time to connect to the characters. The second half was fantastic though, and after seeing people hate on the ending, I actually really liked it. An enjoyable one but not as good as 'Irregular Witches'
Another 3.5 for me. I really enjoyed this one. It's inspired by the movie A Knight's Tale which is one of my all time favourite movies. The twist is that the knight is a female blacksmith. It was so much fun. My one gripe is there wasn't enough of the action of the tournament for me. I wanted more.
Finished
and I am not okay. How is it possible to be so heartbroken by a book when you knew basically every sad thing that was going to happen because it's a freakin' prequel?! I don't know, but I am. Reading The Hunger Games books now is also kind of wild because they feel a lot more violent to me than they did at 15/16? I don't know if that's that the prequels genuinely are more violent or if it's me being older and further removed from the kids' ages so it hit me a lot more that these are CHILDREN and how truly horrifying that is? I don't know it's just something I found quite interesting that my perspective reading Ballad and especially Sunrise has changed quite a bit from when I read the original trilogy. Anyway, I enjoyed this one a lot more than Ballad, I wasn't totally in love with the narrator and it was a little slow to start off but once it got going, it really ramped up and I was hooked (then horrified, then devastated). Moving on, I'm going to be listening to the audiobook of
, some escapist portal fantasy seems like a great palate cleanser after Sunrise!
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and I am not okay. How is it possible to be so heartbroken by a book when you knew basically every sad thing that was going to happen because i..."Ooh enjoy Book of Doors. It's one of my all time favourite books. It was my top read of last year.
YA Addicted Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com (other topics)Dog Days (other topics)
The Dragon Factory (other topics)
Deepwater Creek: A Graphic Novel (other topics)
Skinwalker (other topics)
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