What are you reading 2025

[Brittany]

What I've read since Aug 10

4 stars Entertaining book very loosely based off Alice in Wonderland. In this world there are the Normals and those with the Wonder gene who are now seen as a danger to humanity. There's another world that these Wonder's can escape to, called to nobody's surprise, Wonderland.

4 stars More Cherry Magic, still love it.

3 stars. I expected more from this one. But, it was a good listen about loss, grief and the ways it shapes people's lives. I just expected to be more emotionally attached.

4 stars. Love the author on instagram so I wanted to read this. She narrates the book which makes it better. Didn't love the format she chose for the story, it detracted from the information for me causing there to be too much filler. That being said there's a bunch of entertaining bits in the first half and interesting stats and education type bits more in the later half.

3.5 stars. Quick fun listen that I got to as it was about to leave audible plus. Set in a New York where the Gods roam freely unbeknownst to the general population. Osiris is the mayor and appears to enjoy all his politicking.

4 stars. Good romance book, I loved the English pier setting and turning it into an adult venue. Was my first book by the author but I'll be looking for more.

4 stars. More Cherry Magic, this one is a good reminder that it's important to lean on people

4 stars. I'd forgotten about this series and then I saw it available on Hoopla! Such a fun food manga.

4 stars. Mostly loved listening to this, it was maybe a little longer than it needed but I get why. Kendra Donovan is an FBI agent and we see what is happening with her in the present before she suddenly appears in the past. 1815 to be exact. Her experiences there are intriguing as are the other characters, and the murders.

[Gord]

I have a few things to talk about this week. Unfortunately I started the week out with a couple of duds but it did get better. Without further ado lets get into it.

My Lovely Wife ⭐⭐
This is technically the second dud of the week for week. I'll get to the first one later. I need a book with a psychological thriller tag and I found this floating around in my TBR pile. After some digging I realized that I had read something else from this author and really liked it. That's what lead me to getting this book. By the time I got around to listening to it though I wasn't 100% in the mood for yet another thriller but I needed to get this done. I will say that this book had an interesting premise. Basically a loving wife and husband kill people to spice up their relation. Interesting idea that could be a fun read. That is about the only good thing I have to say about this book. We follow the husband who remains unnamed throughout the book and I found this character extremely unlikable. Combine that with the fact that the first about 75% of the book is just set up and flashbacks which was just boring as hell. All of this made getting through the book an absolute drag. What kept me going was wanting to see the big twists that was inevitably coming. All of this slog was leading to the big twist. By the time I got there though I just didn't care anymore. The ending of the book was also a let down as well. Basically every big twist wasn't really a twist at all. It was all stuff that was super obvious and very predictable. It was more of a surprise that the MC never saw any of this stuff coming. I'm just glad this was a stand alone and that I am done with this book.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐
This is an isekai that I have been meaning to read for a while and it's a fun little read. Basically our MC is accidently summoned to another world, no one recognizes his skill, and he is kicked out of the castle by the shady king that summoned him. Our MC's broken skill is "Online Shopping". Basically our boy here can access Amazon in a fantasy world and what ever he orders is instantly delivered to him in said fantasy world. This is not so much an action adventure or anything like that. This is more of slice of life fantasy story based around food. Our boy here can cook and with his ability to order anything he wants he is able to whip up all sorts of tasty dishes. This allows him to enter into a contract with a Fenrir, one of the legendary beasts of this world. It's a fun simple read and I am looking forward to more.

London Calling ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This audiobook crept up on me out of no where. This book was released this year and I was waiting for an audiobook format to come out. When I finally noticed it was out I was in the back of a bit of a queue. This was supposed to be a couple months out still when it suddenly became available. I'm not complaining and after how bad my last audiobook was this was a well deserved treat. As for the book, it was everything I wanted for this book. I'm not sure if there was contract stuff behind the scenes or what but this book felt like it was the final book in the series. A lot of the overarching story lines we had been exploring throughout this whole series were all wrapped up in this one. There is a big family reunion, we find out what happened in Paris, we learn about Clementine's story, the big bad is caught. The thing is that even though the overarching story lines are wrapped up this is a story that could easily be continued and after reading the synopsis for the next one that is what is happening. I'm both excited for more stories in this world but also a bit cautious as well. If the author only intended for their to be six books and was forced to write more due to popularity maybe he won't be as invested in it. Maybe the story lines will be a bit more flat. Only time will tell. I will be back next year for the next one when it comes out.

Isekai Walking: Volume 2 Holy Kingdom of Frieren Arc ⭐⭐⭐
Yup, not even a month later and I am back to this series. It's a popcorn series, something easy to read while I am waiting for a bus or on lunch. In many ways this continues a lot of the bog standard tropes that you expect from an isekai. Our MC is slowly growing a harem of beautiful girls who all adore him. There are a couple things I want to touch on. There were a couple moments where this novel got a bit darker then I expected. Far from the darkest material that I have ever read but the things being hinted at/implied where a bit darker then I normally see in a fluffy isekai. The other thing I want to touch on is a trope that I really loathe seeing. The stupid slavery trope that is becoming more and more prevalent in anime/manga/light novels. I'm not saying you can't explore themes of slavery in a fantasy setting. It's how these franchises handle the subject. The author's go through some real gymnastics to both imply that slavery is very bad but that our good MC is not a bad person for participating in the slave trade. Either they get a special class of slave that is not treated horribly, there is an implied promise that they will let them go, or just a hand wave of they don't treat them like slaves. I'm sorry, the MC is still participating in the slave trade. They are buying slaves. This is not a good thing. What this really is, is merely a lazy trope to get our MC, who is a stranger in this world, companions that are loyal to them. I know this genre is not a genre known for having a very high bar for quality when it comes to its writing but this is a new low. This is just a trope that needs to go away.

The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐
Yup, another isekai. Listen, I'm in a mood lately so don't judge. More fluffy isekai fantasy, not a lot to really say here.

Now for the manga/comic
Godzilla: Skate or Die ⭐⭐
This is the first true dud of the week. I snagged this book because Godzilla and I was really curious how they were going to shoehorn skateboarding into this one. You have two different story lines going on here. There is the story line involving Australian teenagers who love skateboarding and stuff like that. Then there is the Godzilla story line where he battles another Kaiju. These stories exist... in the same city and kind of brush up against each other in a fashion. Basically Godzilla and this other kaiju are duking it out over top of this old factory site where the kids hangout and board. The kids want to go there and get something before the site is destroyed because that seems like a great idea. The government gets involved because of course they did. I was just bored reading this one and could not really care about anything going on.

Flying Witch, Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is such fun and comfy read. There is a reason this series is up there as one of my favorites.

What's next
The Scions of Shannara
My next audiobook and it feels good to be returning to this franchise

As for my physical books, I'm not sure. I have to check my library and plan what is due next, what can be renewed, etc.

[Brittany]

Sorry you had some duds this week Gord.

[Gord]

Another week of reading is complete and it's time for all the updating.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World: Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐
I really hope you like hearing my thoughts on isekai novels because I am deep in a mood right now. This was a new series that I started that has been on my radar for a while. As you can guess from the title our MC dies and is reincarnated as a blacksmith in a fantasy world. He lives out in a cabin in the middle of the woods and he has cheat skills for blacksmithing. The novels are not deep alright, stop looking for more. Basically this novel is just a set up of this series. Finding the cabin, getting a roommate (a cat girl), setting up a way to sell things, getting an apprentice (a dwarf girl), etc, etc. I like how the MC is not just reincarnated as some teenager but as a 30 something year old man. I also like that while maybe setting up a harem it wasn't weird about anything. Then we get down to the slight grumble and this is real life knowledge creeping in to mess up my fun. This master blacksmith makes these amazing swords by casting them. You don't cast swords, especially iron/steel swords. It doesn't work like that. Amongst many things it was very clear that this author knows nothing about actual smithing but you know, wave your hand, fantasy cheat skills makes it all work.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 2 ⭐⭐⭐
Back with this one and it's what I expected. Lots of food, busted fights, isekai world building. Just a fun relaxing read.

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, (Light Novel) Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐
I warned you that I was in a mood this week alright. Yup, another isekai novel and it's more of what I expected from this series. That being said I did like how things picked up a bit towards the end. Seeing our MC taking what is considered useless spells in general in this world and figuring out how to use them effectively in combat was interesting. Also, that last fight was interesting as it wasn't just our MC steamrolling things with his busted skill set. He actually had to work a bit and strategize. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't super deep or anything, but it was a nice change of pace.

Now for the manga

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 4—Diamond Is Unbreakable, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The story is starting to shift a little bit now. We had more stories of the week as we've had up until this point but now we are starting to get a main villain introduced and he is an interesting one with some interesting abilities. I am really curious to see where this goes.

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More slice of life stories from these three young demi humans. I love this chill series.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have no idea what to even say about this series. Each volume is only 160 pages and I feel like I'm trying to decipher an ancient language with clues from the back of a crumpled up napkin. I just want to know what is going on. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that in a bad way. Everyone and everything is being all cryptic and weird and I'm just trying to puzzle it all out.

Now what is next

The Scions of Shannara
Still working on this audiobook and really liking some of the changes I am seeing compared to the original trilogy.


The short list of things I need to read this week

[Brittany]

Too bad that the author knows nothing about blacksmithing. I was intrigued by that light novel until you said that Gord.
Glad you were enjoying your mood reads!

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

Didn't read a lot last week but I was thrilled to finally finish . I have loved this series so much, and it's probably one of the strongest romantasy series I've read, but my goodness they're LONG! This third instalment sat at over 1000 pages. It was fantastic , but definitely could have been two books.

I also finished my re-read of This was one of my favourite dystopia books back in 2011 and I'm loving it just as much as the first time around. Interestingly though is that on my first read I enjoyed this second book much more than book 1, whereas this time book 1 is my favourite.

Currently Listening to on audio which is an interesting take on the Hades/Persephone myth and I have just started reading

[Brittany]

Love how much you enjoyed the Kindred's Curse series. Makes me remember how badly I need to go back to it! That is a big book though!
That is interesting on your reread.
I want Brigands and Breadknives so badly!

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

It was massive and with that third Kindred's Curse book I technically would give it 4.75 stars purely because it could have been split into two books. There was even a point at the 50% stage where it felt like a wrap up of a book. When you have a surprise reveal and its' heading for a cliffhanger, so defo could have been multiple books.

[Gord]

Time for another weekly update and I am on a reading streak lately.

Random in Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one here was one of my favorite types of In Death novels. The ones where there is a clicking clock type of element. In this one there is someone stabbing young girls with a needle loaded with a slew of various drugs. It was also interesting to see the author pull from real world influences to create the villain for this novel.

The Scions of Shannara ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was planning on reading through the Shannara books but kind of stalled out due to the time commitment for listening to these books. Now that I am back to walking that is no longer and issue and I am so glad that I returned to this franchise. This book was such an interesting read after the original trilogy. In some ways the book feels real similar to the original book but once you get settled into that mindset the author really starts to play with your expectations. You expect the characters or the story to do this but instead we are going to do something else. There was this one moment where one of the MC's is trying to figure out something and as the reader you suddenly realize that you have been fed clues all along. You never realized that they were clues at the time but suddenly everything clicks and you have the whole light bulb moment as you realize what is going on. The other big difference between this and the original is that this series is one whole story instead of three separate books like the original trilogy. I am really looking forward to the next book and what happens next.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World: Volume 2 ⭐⭐⭐
The next volume in this series and it's more of what I was expecting. Smithing, going to town, walking through the forest, etc. We also got some more world building as our MC is drawn into bigger events outside of his little bubble. We of course get more young women added to the "harem". I say harem but there really is no romance in this. We also get our first fantasy metal with good old mythril being tossed in as well as the inclusion of magic into the smithing. Just a fun popcorn read.

Now for the comics/manga

Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Edition, Vol. 13: Includes Vols. 37, 38 39 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As you can tell from the cover we have now met Boo. Yet another villain that I know from pop culture osmosis. Some random thoughts I got while reading this. I legit feel bad for Hercule in this world. He is a legit strong guy and everyone looks up to him but he is also painfully aware of just how out classed he is by the main group of guys. Seeing him getting bodied by a mere child who was holding back was hilarious. I'm still rather shocked by how much of a back seat Goku has taken in the last couple arcs. He is there but is more of a side character now. I'm also starting to understand the appeal of Vegeta. He is a prideful idiot at times but he is a good man as well. Finally, this series is just so weird at times. I know this is not my first time saying this but man there are moments in this series that are just weird.

Ichi the Killer (Omnibus) Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Seeing this franchise pop up in my local library was this bizarre trip down memory lane for me. Many, many, many years ago I remember watching the movie and being grossed out by it. Then a while back I found a fan translation of the manga and devoured it. I was incredibly surprised to see that Seven Seas has decided to release this in an omnibus format. As you can tell from my rating I really enjoyed this but at the same time it's not a series I can recommend to people. This series is about horrible people doing horrible things to horrible people. There are no "good" characters here. There are just various levels of bad. This is a crime thriller set in the 80's/90's I do believe. I don't want to get into spoilers but there is a group of people manipulating various clans within the Yakuza for reasons. It's been so long since I read this that coming back to things feels almost fresh. I'm really looking forward to my revisit of this dark and twisted tale.

Doomsday with My Dog, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐
This was a random snag from the library and I knew I was in trouble when I opened it up and saw that is a 4 koma (or 4 panel) style manga. Listen, I don't hate this style of manga/comic but I find that it is a delivery method that is great for story telling. This style is great for social media when you are doom scrolling. The comic pops up, you take 30 seconds to read it, you go "huh" or laugh, and then you move on. Taking that 30 second interaction and then making a full book out of it rarely works for me. It's just a random collection of jokes and thoughts from the author. That is exactly how I would summarize this book, a random collection of the author's thoughts. It's not that it's bad or anything but I wanted a story, I wanted a world to explore, and instead I get random jokes and philosophical ramblings. This book is about a young girl who is apparently the last surviving member of the human race and she is exploring the ruins of Japan with her Shiba Inu. Great setup for a story and the reason why I picked it up. Is anything explained? Nope. How did the world end? No idea. How did she survive? No idea? How does she get around? No idea. What is up with all these aliens and supernatural creatures? No idea. Were they involved in the end of the world? No idea. There is no story here and it just left me feeling frustrated. Needless to say, I will not be back for the second book.

The Boxer, Vol. 11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book destroyed me emotionally and I was not alright after I finished this one. At long last we finally get the back story for the MC and just, wow. This book just highlights how many emotions cans be shared through a visual medium and man did it have an impact. It's wild that I am sitting here emotionally destroyed after reading this considering when I picked up the first volume it was on a whim and I figured it would just be another sports story.

You Can't Live All on Your Own!, Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐
This was a cozy little read that I'm glad I picked up. It's a slice of life story about four women in their late 20's all living in the same house. It's about their struggles as women. One is focused on her career, one is worried about still being single at 28, one was in a relationship but got dumped, and one is just figuring out what she wants in life in general. It's just a glimpse into their life and there is just something cozy about it all. I'll definitely be back for more.

Kill Them All ⭐⭐⭐
This was another random snag that sounded great on the surface but something in the execution just did not land for me. You have an assassin who was wronged by the criminal organization who is out for revenge. You also have a disgraced ex-cop looking for a way to redeem himself. Their target, a skyscraper full of criminal scum with the boss on the top floor. It's that classic action story with tons of violence as the "good guys" kill their way to the top. It's an easy setup for some over the top action. The first glaring problem that I ran into was the art itself. I'm not saying that the art was bad but, for me, the art just didn't work for this kind of story. I would expect to see this style of art work more in a middle grade kind of story. I'd want more of a realistic/detailed art style for this kind of story. Something that allows me to see all the gory details. The other issue was the story itself. I'm not expecting the most high brow style of writing. Heck, I'm not expecting a whole lot out of a story like this in general. The writing for this though felt like a teenage boy saw one of those action movies like The Raid and wanted to write their own version of it. There was this kind of weird juvenile feel to parts of this. Overall it wasn't horrible but I was just expecting something a bit more.

What I'm working on next


These are the audiobooks that are on deck currently. This Fallen Prey is a great read so far.


This is my current book. I've also got some more manga/comics for this week. I'm also thinking of getting the next Campfire Cooking light novel as well.

[Brittany]

Great update Gord

I've always loved Vegeta.

[Gord]

Alright lets try this again. I nearly had this done when I accidentally closed the tab losing everything I had typed up. I was nearly done when I lost everything and it was a wee bit frustrating.

This Fallen Prey ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm back with the next entry in this series and this one had an interesting premise. Basically a dangerous individual is dropped off in Rockton and our cast of characters are told to sit on him for six months. Of course we get little to no info and the validity of that info is called into question. For the most part I really enjoyed this book but it did feel like it dragged a bit in the middle. It felt like the author had a great idea how to start the book and how to end things but wasn't too sure what to do in the middle. The flip flopping on the bad guys innocence started to grate on me after a bit. It wasn't the beginning of the book where the author was creating doubt in the narrative. It wasn't the end of the book where the facts are getting all laid out and we are finally getting answers. The continuous flip flopping in the middle of the book just felt pointless. There was also a section in the middle of the book where we spend some time with Storm and our MC. This felt like one of those .5 novellas that you get between the main books except it was in the middle of book where they are actively hunting for a dangerous person. Also the middle of the book was just a lot of tromping around out in the woods looking for people. Once we got into the final act and all the cards started getting revealed the book really picked up and we ended with so many new questions that are, of course, unanswered. Now that our buddy read is over I definitely plan to continue with this series as well as the spin off.

The Gingerbread Witch ⭐⭐⭐
This was a coming of age/retelling of the classic Hansel and Gretel story. With the MC being a person created by the witch who is killed by Hansel and Gretel. Our MC has to go on a journey to find a way to bring back her teacher. This book was perfectly fine. It didn't bore me, it didn't rock my world, it kept me entertained and having a good time. There is one more book in the series and I'll be checking it out.

The Moor ⭐⭐⭐
I picked up this book for a challenge and this book was so boring. It has been a good long while since I read the last book in this series but I remember enjoying things. This book was about Holmes getting called back to the moors by one of the original characters from The Hound of Baskervilles. There are strange things afoot on the moor and that person needs answers. This book can basically be summed up as "talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, walk about the moors, talk some more, more walking, more talking, and more walking" and it was just so boring. Honestly, it felt like an advertisement for hot baths and the moor. It just so happens that there is also a mystery taking place somewhere off page, in the background. I am really not sure about continuing with this series. Several of the reviews I've read mentioned that this was the lowest point for the series and that things get better. I'm just not sure if I care enough to return or if I should just find a different Victorian era mystery novel with a female detective.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 3 ⭐⭐⭐
I'm back with the next book in this series and it can basically be split into two parts. There is the part before they go into the dungeon that involves a lot of food prep and then there is the section where our main group just steam roll this poor dungeon. Oh and more food stuff as well. This was just a fun little read and I can't wait for more. Especially as the next one will have the fallout from them clearing this dungeon.

Now for the manga/comics I read this week

The Stoneshore Register ⭐⭐⭐
This is yet another random snag from the library and I have some really mixed feelings about this one. This one is about a young immigrant woman coming to small town in the Pacific Northwest looking for refuge from something in her past. She gets a job at the local newspaper office and each story is piece in the paper about something happening in town. This book dabbles in the magic realism realm of things and falls face first into one of my least favorite tropes. Each story builds up that there might be something spooky and supernatural happening only to do the whole cop out at the end where the supernatural stuff is just waved away as nonsense. I just loathe this trope so much. It feels like an author who wants to write fantastical stuff but doesn't want to get away from contemporary novels. I loathe the whole not committing one way or the other to if the fantastical actually exists or not. Then there is the final chapter which is a political message about immigration. Not a bad message or anything but I felt like there should have been a chapter or two more to get to this point. The final chapter before this one shows that our MC is not well liked in town because of some of the questions she has been asking. Suddenly, in the final chapter, everyone loves her and is defending her when immigration comes looking for her because small town and what not. Again, not a bad message or anything but I really would have loved to have seen a chapter or two in between showing a transition between those two points.

RuriDragon, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More slice of life about a young girl discovery that she is half dragon and having to learn how to deal with all the new powers that come with it while also trying to be a normal high school girl.

The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor ⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you loved the first book then you will love this one as well. This one introduces a new genre of characters to Willowweep Manor and all the tropes that goes along with it. Oh and there are two Cuthbert's now. Two of these lovable idiots feeding off of each others stupidity is just hilarious.

Nue's Exorcist, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
I snagged this from the library because I need some books for a spelling challenge that start with the letter N. After reading the first volume that challenge might be the only reason I'm going to keep reading any more. This wasn't a horrible manga but it just felt so bog standard for me. MC is a young man with super low self esteem. Each chapter introduces a new, super attractive, girl who wants to be friends with our MC. He also suddenly gets off the charts powers to battle the generic threat that just happens to pop up where he is. I feel really weird complaining about things being generic considering my interest in Isekai but this one just did not grab me.

Now, what am I working on next


This is my current audiobook and it's what I needed at this point. I just needed a bit of a reset that wasn't a mystery or a fantasy novel.


I'm reading more digital novels now and I decided to revisit/finish the Jane Yellowrock series between my light novels from Hoopla. After Bofuri I have a few more manga and comics I need to get through as well.

[Brittany]

Being nearly done and loosing it is so annoying! I started just posting and editing as I go.
I still need to check if my library got The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor. But then I have to go to the library to go get it...

[Brittany]

I haven't updated for a bit, here's what I've been reading:

2 stars. Nothing about this book worked for me. I've ranted about it already so I'll leave it there.

4.5 stars. I loved this trilogy so much. Messy relationships and characters with shades of grey.

4.5 stars. Betrayals and plot twists, plus the loyalty of friendships and well written characters. Everything I'm looking for in an epic fantasy.

2.5 stars if that? IF I read it when it came out in 2013 it likely would have worked better for me. It reads as very young YA in a bad way. Also portrays things in ways I didn't love and the MC annoyed me.

3.5 stars. Korean mythology and folklore. Gumiho are not good beings as a general rule which makes reading about them so intriguing. I look forward to book 2.

3.5 stars. I'm partial to all things ancient egypt and archeology. Parts of this were great other bits lagged a bit. Overall easy read.

3.5 stars. I love that she narrated the audio. Melanie does a good job of exploring the negative aspects of all that fame, particularly as a young female. The problem was all the repetition. This needed a good editor.

3ish stars. The concept of this book caught my attention but I think I enjoyed that more than the story itself.

4 stars. I love any form of an animal mage and phoenixes are just cool.

3.5 stars. This took me forever to read but it wasn't the book's fault. Ebook was the wrong format for me as I prefer historical mysteries on audio plus I struggle to make time for ebook reading a lot of the time. Setting is well done, mystery was interesting. Look foward to continuing on

4 stars. Don't have a ton to say.

4 stars. Can't believe I'm almost caught up! This was a fun one.

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

My update since last time:

Abandoned for now. I was honestly just finding it difficult to get into. I will definitely be going back to it very soon though.

Finished
- 4 stars. I really love this series for moments when I am in a slump or feel like I don't know what I want to read.

- 4 Stars. Honestly the most unique Hades / Persephone retelling that I've read. I loved the concept of Hades not stealing or tricking her but Persephone actually running away to Hades for his help. Very fresh take on it.

- 5 Stars. I absolutely loved this one. Love that we got a morally grey FMC. I'm all for morally grey females in books. Cannot wait for book 2.

[Brittany]

Yay glad you loved Language of Dragons!! SO good!

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

Brittany wrote: "Yay glad you loved Language of Dragons!! SO good!"

I really did. And it was so different than what I was expecting. I cannot wait for book 2. I'm stalking Netgalley hoping that it goes up there.

[Brittany]

It was so different from what I expected too but in the best way

[Jo]

Finished on Thursday, I enjoyed it, I liked the characters, mostly, I didn't much care about Theo but I liked Nora, August and Lotte and I enjoyed the world but I did find it very slow-I thought the Veritas trials would be more exciting to be honest. The end was also very anti-climactic, like we build up to all this action and then it just stops?! Intrigued to see what happens in Book 2 though.

My next audiobook is , I love Madeline Martin, so I'm excited for this one!

[Gord]

Time for my weekly update

Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense., Vol. 8 (light novel) (Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. -3 Stars
Not a lot to really say about this one. This guild gets to the seventh layer and the new gimmick on this layer is pets. This book is basically about the guild members going out and finding pets. Since Maple and Sally already have pets their story is about finding upgrades for their pets. Oh and there is the preliminary for the next big even which should happen in the next book.

Skinwalker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
For digital books I'm alternating between a light novel from Hoopla and something else. I was scrolling through my TBR looking for something to read when I found this series again. I got up to one of the books in the teens and got distracted by something. Now that the series is done I have been meaning to go back and read through this for a while and now seems like a great time. Revisiting this one was a lot of fun. Jane/Beast is one of the great characters that got me into UF back in the day. In my opinion this novel still holds up well and I'm excited for my reread of this one.

The Dragon Factory ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was looking for something different after all the fantasy and mystery/thrillers I had been listening to lately so I came back to this series. Sure it's a "thriller" but it's more action orientated then anything else. Basically this is about white supremacists creating genetically modified diseases to purge the planet of those they deem undesirable. This has a massive ticking clock element as it counts down to this big event where the master plan is initiated. Our MC's come into this conspiracy late and are racing the clock to save the world. In many ways this book delivered exactly what I wanted. Fast paced action, body horror, evil bad guys, etc. That being said there are some issues with this book. It takes half the book for the MC's to actual clue into the plot. There is just so much going on in this book and so many different plot lines on the go. There are so many different POV's in this book it's kind of nuts. There are flashbacks to event happening before the start of the book highlighting the plan and things that are in motion. There is also a plot point that is kind of overlooked by the end. So they stop the master plan from cooking off, no real big spoiler there, but as the book has highlighted, these genetically modified diseases are already out there. Sure it's not global but they were testing these diseases on live populations. What about all of that? Are we just supposed to believe that this was quietly taken care of off page? It just feels weird that we spent so much time setting this stuff for it to really go no where. Then there is death that just doesn't sit well with me. I'm not sure if it fits the "woman in a fridge" or "fridging" trope exactly but it really feels unnecessary. The main male lead has a romantic interest that started in the first novel. This romance continues to grow in this novel until her untimely death at the end. This female character kind of sits in this grey area between main character and side character. She is definitely not the main character but she feels like more of a side character. She also isn't just there for the romance either but a lot of her page time is spent on this. Especially in comparison to her partner. It feels like the author wanted to refocus the series on the action and just get rid of the romance. The death just felt weird and didn't sit right with me. I don't hate it but it just feels like it happened to early in the series for a proper emotional impact. I'm going to reserve judgement until I see where things go with this series.

Dog Days ⭐⭐⭐
This was a short novella following the above book. It's a short book aboutthe MC cleaning something up after the conclusion of the previous book. He also gets a dog to help with his grief. It's what one would expect from a .5 novella and it was a fun quick read.

Now for the comics and manga

Deepwater Creek: A Graphic Novel ⭐⭐⭐
This was a middle grade horror comic about a monster in a creek and a group of friends who love fishing. There is a lot of the expected tropes one would expect from a middle grade horror. It's not bad but it just didn't fully click with me either and I feel horrible for saying that. If you read the authors notes this comic was written after he went through a trying time in his life and this was a way for him to help process it. I can see how important this book is but for me as a reader it just didn't click with me.

His Majesty the Demon King's Housekeeper Vol. 10 ⭐⭐⭐
The series has shifted from the demon realm to the human realm as things are overrun with rust including a rusting of the heart. I like that the author is trying to shake things up a bit. Our MC and the party of demons are not instantly worshiped as the greatest thing ever. There is a lot of prejudice against demons and the human girl who works with them. it does make things kind of interesting but I'm also kind of done with this series. It just feels like the series is not really going anywhere. I don't know, I might be back, I might not.

Soara and the House of Monsters Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was another random snag from the library and I hit gold with this one. The story is about a young girl who designs houses for monsters. So a cozy slice of life story set in a fantasy realm. Cool, sounds like a story for me. I was not expecting what I found. Soara was an orphan who was taken in by knights and crafted to be the perfect killing machine against the monster invasion. She dedicated her life to studying everything about them and honing her fighting skills to the peak of perfection. When she presents herself to the king to get her first mission it is announced that peace has been reached between the humans and the monsters. The war is done and to quote the king "she can go home to her friends and family". The very things she doesn't have. She then wanders the country trying to find meaning to her life when she stumbles across a group of Dwarven architects building a home for a clan of goblins. Due to her training she is immediately suspicious of them and starts to trail them to figure out what they are up to. She then slowly gets recruited into this merry band of dwarfs as they travel the country building houses for monsters.

I love this set up. I love the darker backstory, I love the monsters view point, I love the creativity when it comes down to building the houses and the materials used. This first volume just hits for me and I am really looking forward to reading more in this series.

Now, what is next.


I am currently listening to She Drives Me Crazy and loving it so far. I should have that done in the next day or two and after that I am rolling over into the next Shannara book.


These are my current books that I have on the go. I'm not sure where things go after that but I have a couple ideas but I'll deal with when I get there

[Liliana, YA Paranormal Lover]

Brittany wrote: "I haven't updated for a bit, here's what I've been reading:

2 stars. Nothing about this book worked for me. I've ran..."

Ooh I'm glad to hear you enjoyed The Broken Blades trilogy overall! I currently have the 2nd book from the library so I'm hoping to get to it soon... mood permitting 😅