Month: December 2022

Six Month Book Haul, End of 2022

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About

I haven’t bought enough books each month to bother doing hauls for regular novels, and I haven’t been keeping track of them as well as manga and light novels. So, for roughly the past six months, I’m just going to do one massive haul to show what I’ve gotten. Think of it as one big end of the year haul.

Aurian by Maggie Furey

I’m always on the lookout for new books (new to me, not necessarily newly published) to try, so I often grab some seemingly random things if they look interesting enough. This is one of those things. I bought it from my local used book store. Or at least, I think I did. There are no stickers on it to verify.

This is volume one of a four volume series called Artefacts of Power.

What is it?

A magical fantasy adventure.

Blood Vow by J. R. Ward

This is volume two of the Black Dagger Legacy series, which is intended to be read in tandem by publication date with the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I don’t have volume one of this series, yet, because I’m not quite ready to start it. There are a few more volumes of Fallen Angels and BDB for me to finish first.

I was at my local used book store the other day and I caught this volume out of the corner of my eye. I knew what it was, just not which volume, so I grabbed it for two dollars instead of ordering online for six or more later.

What is it?

A sexy and edgy urban vampire novel that is part of a larger series/universe of books.

The Crossroads of Illys’thoph by Jean William Quantrell III

This is book two of a series called The Chronicles of Tyrfus Hillock. The series is rather new, and my family knows the author, so you should definitely check it out. It can be found on Amazon. I’ll also include a link to volume one. I don’t have reviews for these yet, but it’s on my to do list.

What is it?

A fantasy.

The Dark Glory War by Michael A. Stackpole

I’m not entirely sure, but I think I got this from my local used book store. It doesn’t have a sticker, so I can’t verify that.

This is apparently part of a series called The DragonCrown War Cycle. It’s four volumes including this one as the prequel.

What is it?

A fantasy of some kind.

Dragon’s Blood by Jane Yolen

I bought this from my local used book store. It’s volume one in a four volume series called Pit Dragon Chronicles.

What is it?

A Dragon themed fantasy.

Eight Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

This is volume one of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. I initially read this from the library, and enjoyed it, so I’m collecting the series to read all of it. There are only five volumes, but there is also a spin-off series. I think it’s about a vampire hunter, and it’s called The Slayer Chronicles. There are a couple graphic novels for volumes one and two of Vladimir Tod, too, but I have no interest in those.

I ordered this from ThriftBooks

What is it?

A teen half-vampire series.

Eye of the Beholder by Jayne Ann Krentz

I think I got this one from a library sale, because it is used and doesn’t have any stickers on it. As far as I know, this is a stand alone novel.

What is it?

A mystery romance.

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

I bought this one from my local used book store. It’s volume one of a series called Firelight. It appears to be a trilogy.

What is it?

A fantasy romance with dragon shifters who secretly live among humans.

Ghost of a Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz

This book was purchased at my local used book store. As far as I know, this is a stand alone novel.

What is it?

A mystery romance.

Guild Boss by Jayne Castle

I ordered this on Amazon. It’s book fourteen in the Ghost Hunters or Harmony series, which is an extension of the Arcane Society series. I did read this already, but I did not review it because I don’t want to review a series super far in. When I go back and reread the entirety of the series, I’ll do the reviews at that time.

What is it?

A paranormal romance with psychics.

Halls of Law by V.M Escalada

I honestly can’t remember where I got this one. The stickers or lack of, does not give me any clue.

This is volume one of a duology called Faraman Prophecy. I don’t know any more than that.

What is it?

An epic fantasy with military and psychic themes.

Love and War by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

This is volume three of the Dragonlance Tales trilogy. I bought it from my local used book store.

What is it?

A Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy.

The Magic of Krynn by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

This is volume one of the Dragonlance Tales trilogy. I bought it from my local used book store.

What is it?

A Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy.

Mister Monday by Garth Nix

This is volume one of the series The Keys to the Kingdom. It’s a seven volume series.

I picked this up at my local used book store, because I read the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix and loved it, so I want to see if I like other things he’s written. I will reread Abhorsen at a later date and post reviews for it.

What is it?

A fantasy adventure.

Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

This is volume two of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. I ordered this one from ThriftBooks after I bought volume three in store.

What is it?

A teen half-vampire series.

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

I bought this from my local used book store. I think it was on the same day as the two Garth Nix books.

This is volume one of a series called Ranger’s Apprentice. The series appears to be pretty long with sixteen volumes.

What is it?

A fantasy of some kind.

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

This is volume one of a series called Sea of Trolls. It appears to be a trilogy. I don’t know any more than that since I haven’t read it, yet. I can’t remember where I bought it, but wherever it come from it was used.

What is it?

A middle grade fantasy. It might have a touch of mythology in it. I’m not sure.

Serpent in Paradise by Jayne Ann Krentz

This book was purchased at my local used book store. This is a stand alone novel. I have already read and reviewed it.

What is it?

A harlequin romance.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

This book was purchased at my local used book store. It’s one I grabbed from browsing, because it sounded interesting. It has a sticker on it that says it’s an autographed copy, but sometimes I wonder when I see stuff like that, because most of the time you can’t read the signature anyway.

This is the first book in a series called The School for Good and Evil. The series is six volumes, plus two prequels, and one companion book. Volumes 4-6 appear to be a sequel series called The School for Good and Evil: The Camelot Years.

The series appears to be ongoing.

What is it?

A middle grade fantasy with fairy tale themes.

Soft Focus by Jayne Ann Krentz

I think I got this one from a library sale, because it’s used and doesn’t have any stickers on it. As far as I know, this is a stand alone novel.

What is it?

A mystery romance

Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer

This is volume three in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series. I got this from my local used book store. It was the only volume of the series they had.

What is it?

A teen half-vampire series.

Troubletwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

This is volume one of a four volume series called Troubletwisters. It has Garth Nix’s name on it, so I want to read it to see if I like more things he’s written.

What is it?

A fantasy adventure.

Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick

This book was purchased at my local used book store. As far as I know, this is a stand alone novel.

What is it?

A victorian mystery romance.

Way of the Wolf by E. E. Knight

I bought this one from my local used book store while browsing for new things to try. It’s volume one of a series called The Vampire Earth. There are eleven books in the series.

What is it?

A post apocaliptic fantasy.

The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth

I bought this book from my local used book store. It’s volume one in a six book series called The witches of Eileanan.

What is it?

A fantasy, probably with magic.

Wolf in the Shadows by Maria Vale

I ordered this from Amazon. It’s volume five in the series The Legend of All Wolves. It’s a great series. I will reread the entirety of it and post reviews later.

What is it?

A wolf shifter romance.

Wolf’s Bane by Kelly Armstrong

I ordered this from Amazon. It’s the first volume of a series called Kate and Logan, which is a sequel series to Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series. It stars Kate and Logan, the twin children of Elena Micheals and Clay Danvers.

What is it?

A fantasy where werewolves, vampires, witches, necromancers, etc. live among us in secret.

Wolf’s Curse by Kelley Armstrong

I ordered this from Amazon. It’s volume two of the series Kate and Logan. I’m not sure if there will be more volumes after this one.

What is it?

A fantasy where werewolves, vampires, witches, necromancers, etc. live among us in secret.

Manga Haul December 2022

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About

This haul includes the manga I received as holiday gifts, as well as what I purchased on my own through Amazon and my local book store.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 7

I love this series. Unfortunately, volume eight doesn’t come out in English until May. I have already read this book, and you can read the review here. If you’d like to start from the beginning, the reviews for volumes one through six are also available.

What is it?

A Chinese inspired historical mystery romance.

Chi’s Sweet Home, Vol. 1 (Japanese)

This is the Japanese print of Chi’s Sweet home. It’s supposedly a good series to read for beginners of the language. I found it highly recommended from several sources, so I’m looking forward to using it for some language practice in my Japanese learning journey.

What is it?

A cute series of adorable cat adventures and shenanigans.

How to Train Your Devil, Vol. 1

I added this to my to-read list this past summer. I don’t know much about it, yet. The description implies hero surrogate mother to a perverted baby Devil King.

Update: The review for this volume is now available.

What is it?

It’s supposed to be a lewd and funny fantasy.

Inuyasha VIZBig Edition, Vol. 3

I’ve already read the Inuyasha manga, but I’ve never had my own physical copies. I’m working on that with these editions. It’s not a high priority, though, so I won’t be getting them often.

What is it?

A Japanese time travel adventure romance with demons.

My Monster Secret, Vol. 1

I added this to my list around the same time as How to Train your Devil. It appears to be about a girl who is secretly a vampire. I won’t know any more than that until I read it.

Update: The review for this volume is now available.

What is it?

It’s supposed to be a funny romance from what I can tell.

Noragami Omnibus Vol. 2 (volumes 4-6)

I’m building a bit of a buffer before I delve into reading these. The anime is great, so I’m excited to start the manga. It kind of reminds me a little of Soul Eater, because people can become weapons or objects.

What is it?

An urban fantasy focused around gods and the spirit world, but also a bit silly at times.

Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 1-3

This is a great manga, and a great anime. Of course, the anime ends long before the manga and deviates a bit. A friend of mine was collecting the series back when I was in middle school when the series was still new to the U.S. I was able to read most of it back then, but not finish it. I’m looking forward to completing my own set and giving it a full read.

What is it?

A gender bend, slice of life, comedy, romance.

Skip Beat! Vol. 36-42

This fills the chunk I was missing. My collection is now up to current, and I can start reading them to review whenever. I’m looking forward to it.

What is it?

A revenge showbiz story with romance.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 7

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The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 7 by Natsu Hyuuga, Nekokurage, Itsuki Nanao, Touco Shino
Series Name: The Apothecary Diaries (Manga)
Genres: Drama, Historical, Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-120-1
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Proving herself indispensable yet again by saving Jinshi from a horrific fate, Maomao is given the chance to explain her rash behavior during the holy ritual. But when she continues her investigation into the foiled plot, a bizarre outcome awaits, leaving the plucky apothecary impressed by the sheer nerve of the culprit behind it. But admiring the exploits of another won’t get Maomao very far when Jinshi tasks her with a feat of her own – to present him with blue roses at the needling of the eccentric La Kan! How will Maomao respond to this provocation from the man she despises the most?

Personal & Info

I wasn’t able to get this on release day, but I was able to get it before a major snow storm hit. I didn’t read it during the storm, but I had the option. It’s not terribly late, though. This review is only posted a little over a week after the release. It’s a little later than I wanted, but the site was down on my usual post day.

Volume eight doesn’t come out in English until May. That’s a big sad gap with no Apothecary Diaries.

Characters

Maomao is still her eccentric amusing self. She is one of the reasons I love this series.

Jinshi feels like a solid character at this point. We’ve seen enough of him to have a good grasp on his character and his general feelings about Maomao. It’s unclear if it’s romantic or platonic, but it’s clear he cares for her.

Lakan is getting more depth as we learn more about him and his past. It doesn’t change how unlikable he is.

Lihaku is becoming regular enough that I think he and Maomao can be considered friends.

Other characters from earlier volumes appear here again as Maomao returns to the inner court. It’s nice to see them again.

Story & Thoughts

This volume starts off with Maomao waking up after the events of volume six. She explains her suspicions of the culminating events to Jinshi and Gao Shun. As the drama of the attempted murder comes to a close, the group looks into a possible suspect, and the methods used in the disaster. This only takes up the first chapter.

The mysteries for this volume aren’t as elaborate as most of the ones before. They are mostly observations Maomao notices and resolves, or unusual tasks that turn out to be rather simple, though time consuming.

For the most part, this volume seems to focus on character backgrounds. Jinshi’s speculations about the past, Gao Shun’s family history, Lakan, even the physician in the Inner Palace. After the exciting events of the previous book, this one can be considered a bit of a lore dump.

In Chapter 34, we learn more about Gao Shun and his relationship with Jinshi. Gao Shun is more closely connected to him than just an assistant. One could consider them honorary family based on their history.

Jinshi also spends time speculating about the past regarding consorts and the royal family. There have been possible hints about Jinshi’s identity in the series up until now, but the story isn’t going to give us any solid answers about who he is, yet. We will have to speculate a while longer.

We start to learn a little more about Lakan and why he is the type of eccentric he is. It doesn’t justify anything he does, but it helps to understand him better. Based on the preview at the end, it looks like the next volume is going to show us more of his history, and our first look at Maomao’s mother.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 3

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 3 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1905-0
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

All-around average student Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school save one…but on his first day, he finds the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’ – are those her teeth around his neck too…? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn’t between the jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, and seen the anime, I’m giving the volumes I’ve already read a slight bump in rating to show how much I liked it my first time through. I don’t want my familiarity with the series to hurt the score. There is less thrill when you already know what happens, so I’m accounting for that. The bump is only about a half star.

If you want to watch the anime, I can say from experience the first few episodes are fairly accurate. However, as the show goes on it becomes very much less so. The manga is way better. I highly recommend reading the series if you want the best experience. I can say this from experience even though I haven’t finished the manga before. The difference is that significant.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills.

Moka Akashiya is a beautiful vampire love interest.

Kurumu Kurono is beautiful love interest number two. She is the big booby lady.

Yukari Sendo is an eleven year old genius, and a witch.

Gin, also known as Ginei Morioka, is the editor of the school newspaper club.

Story & Thoughts

I remember being on the edge of my seat back when I first read this volume. This one picks up where volume two left off in dealing with the protection committee. The story ramps up in the first two chapters as the gang takes on Kuyo, the committee leader. Tensions run high, and we learn another vampire capability.

The second half of the book deals with the fallout of the battle. Tsukune is uncomfortable with what Moka did, and his grades are slipping. If he doesn’t pass his mid-terms, he’ll have to attend summer school.

Considering the school’s purpose is to help monsters learn to blend in with humans, and looking at all the stuff that happens at the school, I find it surprising the school board isn’t super strict about everything. It seems like people and faculty are breaking rules all the time and nobody cares. I doubt that teaches anyone how to blend in. Clearly the protection committee hasn’t been doing their job.

The four panel comics at the end of this volume function as a fun Q & A. They are not at all serious, and we don’t necessarily get any answers to all the questions. Ms. Nekonome doesn’t appear in this volume, so she takes over this bonus section.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 2

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 2 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1904-3
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

All-around average student Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school save one…but on his first day, he finds the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’ – are those her teeth around his neck too…? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn’t between the jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Since I’ve already read a large chunk of the series before, and seen the anime, I’m giving the volumes I’ve already read a slight bump in rating to show how much I liked it my first time through. I don’t want my familiarity with the series to hurt the score. There is less thrill when you already know what happens, so I’m accounting for that. The bump is only about a half star.

If you want to watch the anime, I can say from experience the first couple episodes are fairly accurate. However, as the show goes on it becomes very much less so. The manga is way better. I highly recommend reading the series if you want the best experience. I can say this from personal experience even though I haven’t finished the manga before. The difference is that significant.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills.

Moka Akashiya is a beautiful vampire love interest.

Kurumu Kurono is beautiful love interest number two. She is the big booby lady.

Yukari Sendo is introduced in this volume. She is an eleven year old genius.

Gin, also known as Ginei Morioka, is the editor of the school newspaper club.

Story & Thoughts

This volume is primarily monster of the week style. Only one significant main character is added in this volume. She’s not very likable at first, but that gets better.

I recall coming across some adult themes with gross behavior my first time reading the series. This volume has the first encounter with that kind of thing. In chapter three (Test 7: Deadline!), there’s a really slimy guy who doesn’t care about privacy, discomfort, or consent. This particular chapter might be triggering for some people who are more sensitive to this kind of content. I will say, nothing physically sexual happens. At most, there is a boob grab. Use your own discretion when determining if you can tolerate this content.

I like how this book has a chapter focusing on Kurumu. I think it’s important that Moka doesn’t always steal the show. Kurumu is also capable, and we get to see more of her abilities here.

The story also gets more serious in this volume. There are more continuous events between chapters instead of isolated encounters. The protection committee is their first real big bad type threat. The first conflict is resolved in one chapter as usual, but the overall problem will continue past this volume. It’s not just a one and done like everything else has been.

Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1

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Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-1903-6
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble RightStuf ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

All-around average student Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school save one…but on his first day, he finds the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’ – are those her teeth around his neck too…? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster High! But does he have a chance in H-E-double-hockey-sticks of raising his grades at a school where the turf war isn’t between the jocks and the nerds but the vampires and the werewolves?

Personal & Info

Initially, I came across this series back when I was in high school. Every time I went to Barnes & Noble, I would see a display of volumes from the series. I managed to read a large chunk before obtaining my own copies, which I used to continue reading the series. I dropped off reading manga for a while, though, so I never got to finish it. It wasn’t until earlier this year, I think, that I finally finished my collection, so I can go back and read it from start to finish.

I still like this book, but since I’ve already read it before, and seen the anime, I’m giving it a slight bump in rating to represent how much I liked it my first time through.

If you want to watch the anime, I can say from experience the first chunk is fairly accurate. However, as the show goes on it becomes very much less so. The manga is way better. I highly recommend reading the series if you want the best experience. I can say this from personal experience even though I haven’t finished the manga before. The difference is that significant.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is your every day incredibly average underachiever human with no special skills. He is the male lead in this harem story.

Moka Akashiya is a beautiful vampire love interest. Everyone thinks she’s the prettiest girl in school and they all hate Tsukune for being around her.

Kurumu Kurono is beautiful love interest number two. I’ll let the book tell you her species. She is the big booby lady.

Ginei Morioka, or Gin, is the head of the school club our main characters join. He is a pervert.

Ms. Shizuka Nekonome is Tsukune’s homeroom teacher. She is very obviously a cat, and looks like the sexy librarian type.

Story & Thoughts

As the first volume, the focus is introducing the main cast and getting to know them a little. This book has four chapters, and introduces three significant characters. The chapter that does not introduce anyone important instead teaches us a little more about vampires.

There’s also a monster of the week element to the story. Each chapter seems to have an encounter with a different monster, usually resulting in some sort of beat down resolution. There are also “Bite-Size Monster Encyclopedia” informational boxes for most of the monsters once they’ve been unmasked. Unmasking in this case meaning shedding their human disguise.

The ecchi part of the series generally starts in chapter two. That’s when it starts to emphasize things like big boobs, swimwear, panties, etc. However, it’s a little funny that Moka’s combat scenes are always conveniently censored with shadows or something in the foreground to block it. At least it looks natural, unlike the blatant censor they use in the anime.

Art style is always a memorable thing when it comes to manga. Each artist has their own style, and while some are similar, they all have their own identifiable features. I love the art style for this series. It has its own charm that stands out to me.

There are some silly four panel comics at the end. I love when manga have those. My favorite one in this volume is Kurumu with the cookies.

Notable Issues

Some of the translation choices are interesting. I’m not sure if I noticed with my first read way back when, but most of the effect text uses odd spellings. For example, skweez and krash come up a lot instead of the regular spellings. I have no idea why this is a thing.

I don’t remember where, but in one of the scenes where Moka changes, someone said her hair turns from brown to silver. That must be a mistake or typo, because I’ve never seen her usual hair color be anything except pink. I don’t think pink can be considered any shade of brown. They aren’t anywhere near similar in color.

Serpent in Paradise

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Serpent in Paradise by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Stephanie James
Genres: Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Harlequin Books S.A
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 0-373-77016-2
Rating: 2.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Amy Shannon met Jase Lassiter at a seedy bar called The Serpent, and she should have heeded the warning in the name. At first he offered her paradise – nights of love and days of sheer delight – but the taste of honey turned to ashes on her tongue when she thought she’d been abandoned. Now only Jase’s return can satisfy Amy’s hunger for promises of love. Will his words take her to paradise, or exile her forever?

Personal & Info

Jayne Ann Krentz (and all her other pseudonyms) is one of my favorite authors. Her books always feel comfortable to read, so I am amassing a collection. This one is a 250 page stand alone.

My copy appears to be an old one with stickers so aged it would damage the book if I attempt to remove them. This book seems to be an uncommon find these days. The digital version is the easiest to locate, but I found paperbacks on Amazon and ThriftBooks for people who want physical versions. The links don’t necessarily lead to the same copy as mine. I found mine at a used book store for a dollar.

The description is misleading. It implies a love affair in which the man ghosts the woman, leaving her pining for him. That is not entirely correct. I can’t say how without spoiling parts of the story, so I’ll just say there is a lot more going on than that. It’s not that simple, nor exactly what it implies.

Characters

Amy Shannon is the female lead in this romance story. She owns a chain of lingerie boutiques in San Fransisco. She’s also exceedingly klutzy when she gets anxious or nervous.

Jase Lassiter is the male lead. His character description can easily be associated with the term sociopath, which is confusing because that description doesn’t seem apt as the story goes along. He owns a bar by the name of The Serpent.

Ray is seemingly Jase’s only employee at The Serpent. He’s a painter, and he seems like a nice guy.

Maggie runs the convenience store.

Fred Cowper is the local unofficial law enforcement. I think they said he is an ex-cop.

Ty Murdock is Melissa’s ex-husband. Nobody knows where he is or if he is even alive.

Dirk Haley is a mystery man who wants to meet up with Amy.

Melissa Shannon is Amy’s sister. I don’t know if she still has the last name of Shannon, but I’m putting it here to make their relation obvious.

Adam Trembach is Melissa’s fiancé.

Story & Thoughts

I like the story, but I also have problems with it. There are themes and opinions involved that definitely show the perspective of the times. The date in my book says this was written in 1983. If you don’t like to see consent disrespected, or how men would think in the 80s, you might not like this book.

Jase constantly disrespects consent and his behavior resembles stalking. Even when he’s in a relationship where he’s trying to be a good person, he is overbearing and controlling. Oh, and let’s not forget that lovely trait of men in the 80s where they call every woman, “honey.”

Amy isn’t a great character herself, either. She doesn’t seem to know standard safety protocols. Like, this guy is basically harassing her, and she tells him exactly where she is staying and allows herself to be left alone with him.

As for the romance, I think it’s lacking. These people have nothing in common aside from both running businesses of their own. There is no reason for them to be drawn to each other. They both think the other is all wrong for them, yet they are inexplicably drawn to each other. Where is the connection? The only likely one I can find is primal male ownership of a woman and adrenaline. That’s not good enough for me. It could work in a paranormal setting with werewolves or something, but here? No.

I’m not happy with the ending. It’s generally fine, but I don’t agree with the choice Amy makes. The whole book she talks about how women are independent and modern. I feel like her decision is a step backwards on her own opinion. She doesn’t have to do that. They can figure out another way to make things work. In a way I saw it coming, though.

Notable Issues

Amy makes a sarcastic comment about how Jase must have missed his calling and should have studied psychology instead. Immediately after, Jase says this exact thing to the next two people he talks to. To me, this means one of three things. Either Jase isn’t very creative, the phrase gets stuck in his head, or the writing just isn’t that great. I want to assume one of the first two options, but I can’t be sure. Regardless of what it was, this part bugged me.

I had to look up what, “sending a cable,” means. That tripped me up a bit when I found it. I’m assuming it means a messenger delivered a telegram. I had no idea those were still being used in the 80s.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 5 (LN)

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Spice & Wolf, Vol. 5 by Isuna Hasekura
Series Name: Spice & Wolf (Light Novel)
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Commerce
Intended Age Group: 15+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-7595-3110-9
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Arriving in the town of Lenos, Lawrence and Holo take a respite from their travels north – but a true businessman never rests! It isn’t long before an opportunity for profit presents itself to Lawrence, one that could fulfill his dreams of owning his own establishment. But as always, the promise of great reward carries great risk – and risk is never greater than when one plans to use a wisewolf as collateral! As Lawrence and Holo feel the ties binding them stretched thin, has the time come for the pair to go their separate ways?

Personal & Info

It took me a few months to circle back around to this series. My reading schedule is a bit of a mess right now.

Characters

It’s been one week since the events of volume four. Lawrence and Holo are comfortable around each other. Their banter has gotten more elaborate and playful as Lawrence has learned how to keep up better with her wit. I think it’s obvious they both either have a crush on each other, or feel some kind of ownership regarding the other person. Both of them get jealous regarding interactions with the opposite sex. They should just tell each other how they feel, but then we wouldn’t have an interesting story, now would we?

Story & Thoughts

I adore this series, but this volume does not resonate with me. It was a little upsetting to read. A large chunk of the story feels highly melancholy and depressing. They start analyzing things, like how different Holo’s lifespan is compared to humans and whether or not she could feasibly tire of being in someone’s company because of that.

I thought we were past the threats of Holo potentially leaving. The first few volumes all have that as a will she or won’t she. I’m not amused to see it come up again. At this point, I thought they would have no more issue staying together and waiting to reassess until they find Holo’s homeland. It’s starting to feel repetitive with this theme constantly popping up.

Holo seems extra violent in this volume. Granted, for the worst of it, she is angry and frustrated, but that doesn’t necessarily make it okay. Especially when she knowingly targets areas she knows are sensitive. We already know she doesn’t exactly have a shining personality, but part of this book shows off her more abusive side. I find it a little concerning she doesn’t show any concern for Lawrence’s condition at that time either.

The business opportunity in this one doesn’t seem as suspenseful as the others. Everything goes smoothly, and nobody is really in any danger. There is potential danger, but even if things were to go catastrophically bad, it’s implied nobody’s life is truly at risk.

I do like that this book is one of the few times Lawrence works on a deal by himself. It’s important he doesn’t always rely on Holo, otherwise he might lose the practiced merchant skills he had before meeting her.