Month: November 2024

Of Monsters and Madness

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Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday
Series Name: Of Monsters and Madness
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Historical, Horror, Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: Egmont
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-60684-463-2
Rating: 2.5/5
Amazon ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Summoned to Philadelphia after her mother’s death, seventeen-year-old Annabel Lee hopes this new start will be her chance to make her dream of becoming a surgeon a reality.

But there are dark secrets in Annabel’s new home: whispers of strange activities, unsavory characters making deliveries in the dead of night, and a wave of murders sweeping the city. And when her father deems her interest in medicine unseemly and forbids her from practicing, she’s determined to prove him wrong.

With the help of handsome laboratory assistant Allan Poe and his unsettling cousin, Edgar, Annabel probes into her father’s research. But the links she discovers between the experiments being conducted, the stories Allan writes late into the night, and her new city’s gruesome crimes can be no coincidence. And she’ll sacrifice everything to stop them.

Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Of Monsters and Madness is a Gothic thrill for the modern age.

Personal & Info

I’m going to warn interested readers now, this book does not have an actual ending. It abruptly stops, then has a chapter that says two weeks later. That last chapter describes the premise for the second book in the duology. The second book, Of Phantoms and Fury, has no physical copy. It’s only available as an audiobook.

Characters

Annabel Lee is the main character. The story is in her first person present tense perspective. Based on the dates the book provides, Annabel is sixteen. For the last ten years, she’s been living in Siam with her mother.

Markus is Annabel’s father. He has a twisted foot that hinders his walking. His personality is not pleasant. He used to be a doctor, and he has a laboratory in the basement.

Grand-père is Annabel’s grandfather. We never get a name for him aside from how Annabel and the servants refer to him.

Allan Poe is Markus’s assistant. Everyone considers him to be a fine gentleman.

Edgar Poe is Allan’s cousin, and Markus’s assistant. Unlike Allan, he is not a gentleman, and everyone in the house avoids him.

Maddy is Annabel’s dressing maid. She is kind and apparently short.

Cook and Johanna are the house chef and chef’s assistant. They are both kind and hard working.

Mrs. Tusk is Annabel’s tutor. She is the former headmistress of Menard’s School for Girls.

Story & Thoughts

The story takes place in Philadelphia in 1826. Annabel has lived in Siam with her mother for the past ten years, until her mother fell ill and died. The book starts with Annabel arriving in Philadelphia by ship, payed for her by her father, whom she’s never met. She has been invited to live with him in his house that is completely different from her usual lifestyle.

From there, the story is rather simple. Annabel adjusts to living in a large house that has servants. She hardly ever sees her father, because he’s so busy with his work. During her free time, Annabel explores the house and discovers there are suspicious activities and secrets.

Edgar Allen Poe’s work is actually incorporated into the story. I didn’t catch on right away, because I’m not into poetry or classic literature. Some of the more common references jumped out at me and then the story started making more interesting sense.

I don’t want to say too much about anything, because it would be so easy to spoil the entire story. All I can really say is it’s definitely Edgar Allen Poe and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde smashed together, but it works. If you like one or both of those, then you might like this book. It’s just okay to me, but I’m not terribly familiar with either source material.

It bothers me that the book doesn’t have an actual ending. A more solid wrap up would probably earn it some extra points. The story also feels a little slow, because it’s the kind that builds things up until closer to the end. Nothing is very surprising, either, because knowing the inspirations for the story makes the bigger plot points obvious.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 2, Vol. 4 (LN)

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 2: Apprentice Shrine Maiden, Vol. 4 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356061
Rating: 5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

The long winter comes to an end and vibrant spring returns to Ehrenfest. The temple swirls busily as attempts to control Myne’s future escalate and the High Bishop, fueled by hate, shrouds the city in the darkness of his nefarious plots. But Myne just wants everything to stay the same. Her little brother has been born, she’s making new books thanks to her progress making ink, and she wants nothing more than to just keep spending more heart-warming time with her family and friends. The world, however, forces her to make a cruel and unbearable decision. To protect those she loves, she must begin walking a new road.

Personal & Info

This is the final volume of Part 2 and it has eight bonus chapters after the epilogue. Part 3 is next and it has a total of 5 volumes before part 4.

I got my copy from a Barnes & Noble online order with a couple other volumes. While reading, I turned a page and found a security sticker stuck right onto the page. I was not happy about that, but thankfully it came off without damaging the paper.

Characters

Myne’s Family

Myne, previously Urano Motosu, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mainly just suffers from normal poor health. Myne constantly comes up with product ideas from modern Earth that can break or revolutionize the Ehrenfest market.

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. She is one year older than Myne. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry.

Effa is Myne and Tuuli’s mother. She dyes clothes for a career.

Gunther is Myne and Tuuli’s father. He works as a soldier who guards one of the city gates.

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s new baby brother.

The Gilberta Company

Benno is a wealthy merchant. He is Corinna’s older brother, and Otto’s brother-in-law. Benno currently runs the family fabric store, and takes care of Myne and Lutz in relation to their merchant endeavors.

Mark is Benno’s store manager. He teaches all of the apprentices they take on, and tends to important store matters on Benno’s behalf.

Corinna is Otto’s wife and Benno’s younger sister. She is a professional seamstress.

Otto is Gunther’s coworker. He handles all the important paperwork for guarding the town gate. Benno is his brother-in-law, because Otto married Benno’s sister, Corinna.

Lutz is Myne’s friend. He is the same age as she is, and he looks after her to monitor her health. Thanks to Myne, he is now following his dream to become a merchant. Lutz also helps Myne and her workshop make products.

Leon is a leherl apprentice at the Gilberta Company. Fran is teaching him proper etiquette and how to serve nobles.

The Temple

Bezewanst, the High Bishop, is supposed to be in charge of the temple, but he pushes all responsibilities onto the High Priest. Due to events from Part 1, Volume 3, he hates Myne, and will do whatever he can to spy on her and make her miserable.

High Priest Ferdinand is Myne’s guardian at the temple. He does the majority of the High Bishop’s job and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.

Sylvester is a blue priest who accompanied the High Priest and Myne during Spring Prayer. He is an eccentric and rather childish person. Few people actually know what his noble rank is.

Dirk is a baby boy given to the orphanage. He is the first infant to arrive during Myne’s time as Director.

Attendants

Fran is Myne’s head attendant. He served the High Priest before her and was reassigned to Myne upon her joining the temple. Fran helps Myne learn how to act like nobility and adapt to life in the temple. He is also responsible for watching Myne’s health.

Gil is assigned to Myne as an attendant, by order of the High Bishop, specifically to cause her trouble. That plan has failed, and he now works hard to be useful and help Myne.

Delia is Tuuli’s age. She is assigned as an attendant to Myne, by order of the High Bishop, to spy on her.

Wilma is one of Myne’s attendants. She is good at art, and permitted to stay in the orphanage to take care of the children.

Rosina is one of Myne’s attendants. She has a talent for music, and previously worked for an eccentric blue shrine maiden along with Wilma. Her primary responsibilities are to teach Myne how to play the harspiel and help Fran with paperwork.

Arno is one of the High Priest’s attendants. He is the new head attendant for the High Priest now that Fran serves Myne.

Zahm is one of the High Priest’s attends. I get the impression we will be seeing him around more.

Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest Knight’s Order. He’s also a close friend of High Priest Ferdinand.

Damuel is a kind knight from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Myne’s guard.

Other

Count Bindewald is the High Bishop’s Archnoble acquaintance from Ahrensbach.

Heidi is Bierce’s daughter and the successor to the ink workshop. She is to ink as Myne is to books.

Josef is a leherl of the ink workshop and Heidi’s husband. He is likely to become the next foreman.

Bierce is the new Guildmaster of the ink guild.

Freida is the granddaughter of the merchant guild’s Guildmaster. She considers herself Myne’s friend. Freida has a passion for money, and has a contract with a noble to manage her Devouring.

Story & Thoughts

This volume is intense. There were several chapters that had me glued, with my heart pounding, on the edge of my seat. The first chunk of the book with Myne experimenting with ink was nice and chill, but once other things started happening, I couldn’t put it down. I binge read the majority of the book and stayed up late to finish. The whole volume is chill, to intense, to big sad.

One of the things I find significant is the family tree for the High Priest is finally clear. We know he and the High Bishop are relatives. I don’t think their rank was ever stated, but it was clear they were high up on the food chain somewhere. This volume clarifies things. Their nobility rank is explained, as is more of their direct family.

The High Bishop isn’t much of a villain for the majority of Part 2. He’s too pathetic to be dangerous without recruiting someone stronger to do his dirty work. It’s unfortunate his familial connections give him powerful acquaintances, as you will find out in the prologue chapter. The prologue also teaches us his name. He’s been the nameless High Bishop until now.

I think the author forgot about Damuel. At some point he is unconscious, and everyone gets behind a magic barrier. I don’t recall anyone dragging him behind it, nor any mention of him at all after he loses consciousness. The cast of characters is rather large, so I know it’s easy to forget some once in a while. It seems like a simple oversight. He is in one of the bonus chapters, though, so we do see where he ends up for recovery.

I’m trying so hard not to binge read this series. It’s so addictive. Every time I finish a volume, I want to go straight to the next one, but I’m trying to read other books, too, so that I don’t burn through all of them right away.

Freida—A Visit to the Noble’s Quarter

This bonus chapter is basically the roundabout way Freida discovers the big change regarding Myne’s life. It’s time for her magic tool to be emptied, so she must visit the noble whom she has a contract with. We learn who that is, their rank, and to whom else we may know that they have a relation. This chapter has a connection to Benno—Maybe Lessen the Workload.

Sylvester—Cleaning up the Mess

The bonus chapter in Sylvester’s perspective takes place right after Myne’s family leaves the room. Sylvester, Karstedt, and Ferdinand discuss Myne’s business and future. I’m more interested in the parts pertaining to Sylvester. There are some insights to his actions regarding his behavior when he first met Myne. I feel like I know and understand him a little better after reading this.

Arno—Fran and I

Arno is the High Priest’s current head attendant, so he only appears when Myne or her attendants need to contact Ferdinand. Because of this, his stoic demeanor makes it hard to get to know him. This bonus chapter breaks that barrier, and I can’t say I like him. Arno does his job well, but he is bitter and envious on the inside to the point of maliciousness. His history is tangled with Fran and Sister Margaret.

The information revealed in Fran and I and To Serve as the High Bishop’s Attendant is both disgusting and enlightening. These two bonus chapters are where the information Myne wasn’t interested in learning about the previous director are revealed. Margaret was the orphanage director before Myne, and it’s safe to say she didn’t do a good job. So, if you’ve been curious about the mystery of the previous director, be sure to read both of those bonus chapters.

Benno—Maybe Lessen the Workload

After the events of this volume and Sylvester’s bonus chapter, Benno speaks with the High Priest. Any time he thought he had is now gone, so he must scramble to meet the ridiculous demands of the nobility. His only hope is to lighten his ever-growing workload, which leads to an unlikely partnership. Myne really has made his life difficult, but he’s just as responsible for his own stress by trying to monopolize every idea she has. He may be overwhelmed, but I don’t think he regrets any of it.

Fran—To Serve as the High Bishop’s Attendant

Without spoiling anything, both the High Priest’s and Myne’s attendants are cleaning up and preparing for a transition. I think this is the first time we get to see anything in Fran’s perspective. He has a lot going on behind his composed exterior. His time before serving the High Priest is not a fond memory. As with Fran and I, we get more insight into that. His time with Sister Margaret is unfortunate, and my heart aches for him, but I am glad he is now so fond of Myne. He was not enthused when he initially got his reassignment.

Effa—Facing the Future

In this bonus chapter, Myne’s family tries not to dwell on their feelings. That’s not something Gunther excels at, so he needs a little help to push him in the right direction. Effa and Tuuli seem to have it all figured out, and both strive to do their best as they face the future head on. It’s a cute chapter, because Myne’s whole family is adorable.

Josef—Beruf Certification

This bonus chapter is Josef’s perspective regarding the series of events related to Myne’s requests and visits to the ink workshop. It portrays his difficulties with Heidi and her ink obsession. He laments his eccentric wife’s obsession with figuring out the ink color problem, while also thinking about getting his beruf certification, which is a requirement to become a workshop foreman. Heidi and Josef are similar to what Myne and Lutz might be like if their choices had gone a little differently. It doesn’t seem like an easy relationship, but they’re happy.

Leon—Sylvester Undercover

This is the day from the previous volume, when Sylvester insists on visiting the forest. It covers Leon’s perspective of that day. This couldn’t be included in that volume, because Sylvester’s nobility rank is not revealed until this one. Leon had apparently deduced which rank applies to Sylvester and it affected his actions.

Normally the story doesn’t include much pertaining to Leon. He’s obviously around, learning things at the orphanage, but this bonus chapter gives us more insight into what he’s like. He is very judgmental about Lutz and Myne regarding their relationship and how they do business.

Chosen

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Chosen by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 3
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-36030-6
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Bloodlust and Dark forces are at work at the House of Night, and fledging vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And, oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times BOOKreviews), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undeda and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare, Zoey finds herself in a the very rare position of having three boyfriends, a situation with potential to spell social disaster. Then vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. But as Zoey and her friends find out, things are not always what they seem….

Personal & Info

This series is definitely a result of the times. P.C. Cast consulted her daughter to help her write the speech to make it more like how teens at the time actually spoke. The series started releasing in 2007. Speech was cringe and insensitive, and political correctness was not as prevalent. If you look at the series with a modern eye, it’s easy to find it offensive. Keep in mind exactly what it is that you are reading. Some things don’t age well. I don’t deny the series has a lot of problems.

Content Warnings

-Death

-Insensitive Language

-Sexual Themes

-Inappropriate Conduct for a Teacher

-Bullying

Characters

Zoey is the main character. She’s sixteen, and her Cherokee heritage through her grandmother is integral to her powers and identity. At this point in the story, she is leader of the Dark Daughters, and a High Priestess in training. Zoey has a special relationship with the goddess Nyx to be her eyes and ears at the House of Night.

Stevie Rae is Zoey’s (dead) best friend from Henrietta, Oklahoma. She’s a true country girl with a love of country music, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. Zoey considers her a “true Okie” because she speaks with a southern “twang.” Stevie Rae has an affinity for the element Earth.

Erin is a pretty blonde girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her best friend is her roommate Shaunee, because they are so similar in personality that they call each other twin. Erin has an affinity for the element water.

Shaunee is Erin’s roommate and best friend from Connecticut. She considers herself Erin’s spiritual twin. Shaunee has an affinity for the element fire.

Damien is the guy friend in the group. He’s from Dallas, Texas, has a sophisticated vocabulary, and is out as gay. Damien has an affinity for the element wind.

Jack is Damien’s boyfriend and Erik’s roommate. He transfers into the school in Betrayed and takes up the job of DJ for the Dark Daughters rituals.

Aphrodite is pretty, blonde, and gifted with disastrous visions of the future. She is the villain in Marked, but plays a much less evil part now as she is seeking redemption from Nyx.

Erik is Zoey’s new boyfriend. He’s about six feet tall and good at acting. Zoey describes his appearance as reminiscent of Superman with the hair curl. He’s also apparently the hottest guy at school. Absolutely everyone fawns over him.

Neferet is the High Priestess of the House of Night. She has beautiful red hair and green eyes, an affinity for cats, and a gift for healing. Neferet is also Zoey’s mentor, and she teaches Vampyre sociology class.

Loren Blake is a vampyre Poet Laureate. He’s in his early twenties, and he teaches the school poetry class.

Heath is Zoey’s ex-almost boyfriend from her life before the Change. He’s the star quarterback of the football team, and Zoey is having a hard time cutting him out of her life.

Sylvia Redbird is Zoey’s grandmother. She is the one person in the whole world whom Zoey loves more than anything. They don’t see each other often, but whenever they talk, it’s usually immense emotional support for Zoey.

Other people and cats appear in the story, but the people here are the most important.

Story & Thoughts

There is so much drama in this volume. Zoey has made good choices for the majority of the first two volumes, except for decisions that relate to her love life. Due to her bad judgement and inability to cut ties, she has three boyfriends, and two of them are not even supposed to be options for her. Dating seems to be her weakest area. She knows what she should and should not do, but whenever she tries to do the right thing, she lets the guys pull her around.

Regardless of who she does or does not choose, because I won’t say, I really think she should be with Erik. He is good for her, and what she feels for the other two is clearly various forms of lust. The whole time, I get the impression that he is who she truly wants.

Zoey makes some huge mistakes and her friends turn on her bafflingly easy. It’s incredibly frustrating to read their quarrels when Zoey doesn’t even get a chance to explain anything coherently. Her side of things matters. They don’t even give her the benefit of the doubt that she might have had good reason to keep some big information to herself.

It’s hard to feel like she can even trust the twins when they can be bribed spill her secrets. Granted, Zoey should have told them as much as she could as things were happening, while keeping the important bits secret. She’s proven she can do that, but chose to say nothing instead of at least something. The whole thing is a huge mess.

The way things play out, I suspect everything is a set up so Neferet will have excuses to do what she wants. The People of Faith are suspect, but the details don’t add up. If I’m right, I can’t expect Zoey to piece it together in her distraught state of mind.

I’m definitely hooked on this series. Things are a hot mess right now, but I can’t wait to see what happens next. Aphrodite is becoming one of my favorite characters and I don’t know why. She’s been hugely growing on me since volume two. I really hope the events of this book are not the end for her. That would be really sad. She has a lot of potential as a character and it feels like the story has barely scratched the surface of that.

Light Novel & Manga Haul September-October 2024

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About

This haul contains all comics, light novels, and manga for the months of September and October. I had enough to post a haul at the end of September, but I ended up delaying long enough that I decided to just do a two month haul instead.

Everything here is purchased in new condition. Some books come from Amazon, some from Barnes & Noble, and some from local stores.

Comics

Archie: Halloween Special

The only thing Archie I’ve ever tried is the TV show, Riverdale. Archie and Sabrina are in the same universe, so they often have crossovers. I like Sabrina, but I’m new to the comics, so, Halloween Archie special crossover with Sabrina.

What is it?

One-shot Halloween comic of Archie, featuring Sabrina. People not familiar with the comics would likely recognize the characters from the Riverdale TV show.

Sabrina The Teenage Witch: Annual Spectaculars & Holiday Special

These three comics are not trade paperbacks. They are stand alone stories as single comics with the carboard backing and sleeves to keep them in good condition. Every year or so, Archie Comics releases an annual comic for Sabrina, that’s what these Annual Spectaculars are. The Holiday Special is just a separate one-shot story.

I’ve always liked everything Sabrina ever since I was a young child. These were given to me to try to encourage me to read more non-manga comics. I have not read any Sabrina comics before, except one four book series that was published in a manga style, so these are a new format of the Sabrina universe for me.

What is it?

One-shot comics of Sabrina The Teenage Witch. People not familiar with the comics would likely recognize the character from the old TV show or the more recent Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Light Novels

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 2

I love the manga for this series so much that I waited years for the light novel to get a physical release. Unfortunately, I had some bad luck with this volume. After ordering, the bubble packet was delivered empty, with a giant hole in the side, as if the book were too heavy and just fell out somewhere along the way. Customer service was contacted and a new volume was sent to replace it.

I ended up giving the replacement book a quick mold treatment upon arrival, because it had some gross black stuff on it, and I wanted to be absolutely certain it was not mold. It probably wasn’t mold, but the treatment was also the only way I could think of to get the gross stuff off of the book. Needless to say, my experience getting a copy of this was stressful and frustrating.

On the upside, the book itself is great. The light novel volumes feel durable, and decently thick. This one has twenty chapters, plus a prologue and epilogue, which is a lot for a light novel. It’s definitely a quality product.

I have not reviewed any of the light novels, yet, but if you want to read my reviews for the manga volumes, they can be found in the index section.

What is it?

A Chinese inspired historical mystery romance, mostly taking place inside the Inner Palace of the emperor’s consorts.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol. 6-9

This series is numbered a little strangely. It’s broken up into parts with their own volume numbers. These volumes are Part 2, volumes 3 and 4, and Part 3, volumes 1 and 2.

Most of these came from Barnes & Noble, because that’s the only place I could find Part 2, Volume 3 in stock. Part 2, Volume 4 and Part 3, Volume 2 were included in the order, because I wanted free shipping, and it doesn’t hurt to have more volumes ahead of time. I could only find Part 3, Volume 1 on Crunchyroll, so I had to order that, too, since Barnes & Noble didn’t have that one, and I didn’t want to have a gap. As I collect the series, I keep encountering volumes going out of stock in most places, so I end up panic buying multiple books at a time.

I already reviewed all of the volumes before these ones. They can be found in the index section.

What is it?

An isekai about a bookworm who wakes up as a five-year-old girl in a world where books are unobtainable by the general public, so she decides to make her own and strive to make them more accessable.

Manga

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 12

I’m late in reading this, because I haven’t been in a manga mood lately, but I’m still trying to keep up with the releases. Despite not wanting to read it right away, I did purchase this volume on the day of release. Reviews for volumes one through eleven are available, so at least I’m not too far behind.

What is it?

A Chinese inspired historical mystery romance, mostly taking place inside the Inner Palace of the emperor’s consorts.

Blue Exorcist, Vol. 8 & 9

I can say for sure that I have no plans to binge read this series this year. Maybe next year I’ll have more volumes and more motivation. As it is currently, I’m not in the mood for manga, and I’d rather have more than just these nine volumes before digging into this series.

What is it?

An action adventure starring demons and exorcists. The main character wants to be an exorcist even though he is the son of Satan.

The Darkdeep

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The Darkdeep by Ally Condie, Brendan Reichs
Series Name: The Darkdeep
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal
Intended Age Group: Children
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0046-5
Rating: 3/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Everyone in Timbers knows Still Cove is off-limits, with its creepy Beast sightings and equally terrifying legends. But when a bullying incident sends twelve-year-old Nico Holland over a cliff and into Still Cove’s icy waters, friends Tyler and Emma—and even Opal Walsh, who usually runs with the popular kids—rush to his rescue…and discover a mysterious island hiding in the murky, swirling mists below.

Though the island appears uninhabited, the kids can’t shake a feeling that something about it is definitely not right. Their suspicious grow when they stumble upon an abandoned houseboat filled with all sorts of curiosities: odd-looking weapons, unnerving portraits, maps to unknown places, and a glass jar containing something completely unidentifiable. And in the boat’s lowest depths churns a dark, deep secret.

As the group delves into this mysterious new clubhouse, their lives begin to intertwine in weird and dangerous ways. For something ancient has awakened…and it can detect not only their wishes and dreams, but also their darkest, most terrible imaginings. Do they have what it takes to face the shadowy secrets lurking within their own hearts?

Personal & Info

This book is written in two perspectives that alternate by chapter.

The Darkdeep is volume one of a trilogy. The second and third books in the series are The Beast and The Torchbearers.

Apparently, this is the same author as the dystopian trilogy, Matched. I tried to read that from the library a few years ago and couldn’t finish it. My notes say I intended to finish it, but just never did. I guess it was too dull for me to pick back up. I don’t have the same problem with this book. After finishing, I put the second and third volumes on my wish list for a later date.

Characters

Nico Holland is one of the twelve-year-old main characters. Half of the story is in his perspective. Nico lives mostly alone with his dad, Warren Holland, who tends to work a lot and leaves him home alone frequently. His dad is a ranger, and Nico’s older brother Rob is away at university.

Tyler Watson is one of Nico’s best friends. He seems like the cautious intellectual of the three.

Emma Fairington is Nico’s other best friend. She seems to be the curious adventurous type. Emma has been close friends with Tyler since they were little.

Opal Walsh is the other main character. Half of the story is in her perspective. She doesn’t quite have a solid friend group. Opal used to be close friends with Nico when they were little, but as time passed, they drifted apart. Now she lives in the rich part of town and hangs out with the popular kids. Her mother, Kathryn Walsh, works at the bank.

Logan Nantes is basically the most popular guy at school. He is the son of Sylvain and Lori Nantes. His family owns the most profitable business in town, a logging company that employs the majority of the townsfolk. Logan covers the role of school bully to Nico, because of a recent family grudge. He’s also the leader of the popular friend group that Opal hangs around.

Story & Thoughts

This is a fun read. It’s not mind-blowingly amazing, but it checks a lot of boxes for what I expect from novels for the intended age group. Stories like this one, with themes about facing your fears, are fun and empowering.

The story takes place in the vicinity of the fictional small town of Timbers in the state of Washington. Their local myth is that there is a Beast living in the eternally foggy Still Cove. It’s in this cove that the kids discover an unknown island full of mystery.

The oddities inside the houseboat are just the beginning. I like the idea of the figments and the explanation behind them. It makes for a cool story while adding some horror and thriller aspects with a little silliness. It’s the right balance to make things interesting without making it scary. The movie and tv references also make things relatable.

I don’t like that the whole town treats Nico badly because of a job related decision his father made, but I get they have reason to be upset. It’s completely unfair to Nico. He didn’t do anything wrong, and really, neither did his dad.

As a first volume in a series, I think this book does a good job. It has its own complete story with no cliffhangers, but it sets up some eerie questions for the next book to answer. There is obviously still more going on than the kids realize. I like the book enough to be interested in reading the rest of the series, but I likely won’t go out of my way to get more volumes