The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 13

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 13 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: 978-1-64609-347-2
Rating: 4.25/5
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Description from the Book

Following an uncomfortably close call with both flying bullets and Jinshi while on a hunting trip, Maomao picks up the trail of the would-be assassins with the help of Li Haku and his trusty hound. Up against Maomao’s quick wit and the dog’s sharp nose, the culprits have nowhere to hide! Having deduced the identity and the intent of the schemers, Maomao returns to the Inner Court with an unexpected discovery about Jinshi hanging over her, but there’s no avoiding her heavenly master when he has yet another mystery for her to puzzle out…

Personal & Info

With this volume, I’m now caught up with the current release. Volume fourteen won’t be available until October, so it’ll be a long wait. If I get the itch for more Apothecary Diaries, I have a few of the light novels that I can start reading.

Characters

Maomao’s time after the hunt is pretty chill. She gets to put her hair removal skills from the pleasure district to good use.

Jinshi is a bit more intense and aggressive in this volume.

Gao Shun and Ba Sen don’t get much screen time. After the hunt is over, it’s back to attending Jinshi as usual for Gao Shun.

Li Haku is only briefly in the first chapter to finish up the events regarding the hunt.

Xiaolan’s work contract expires in about six months, so she’s worried about finding a job afterward. A lowly laundry maid doesn’t have any social connections. I think Xiaolan has a good head on her shoulders when it comes to taking care of herself and thinking of the future.

Shisui is as enigmatic as ever. She’s eccentric, but helpful, and seems to be a good friend.

Seki-u is one of the three new ladies-in-waiting working for Consort Gyokuyo. She is the youngest of three sisters, who look like triplets, but are actually a year apart consecutively. Seki-u is the same age as Maomao, and she adorns her hair with a red ribbon to differentiate herself from her sisters, who wear a black or white ribbon. If everything goes well, she might be Maomao’s newest long term friend.

Consort Lishu and her head lady-in-waiting, Kanan, have a mystery for Maomao to solve in the fourth chapter.

Story & Thoughts

The first chapter wraps up the events of the hunting trip. While not action packed, some significant things happen. Most importantly, any mystery that might have been in question about Jinshi is now clear. Anyone who did not catch on sooner should now know Jinshi’s identity and rank.

After returning from the hunting trip, the volume is pretty chill. Due to where the characters live, the series can’t have a stereotypical beach episode. Instead, there’s a bathhouse episode, which focuses on ways maids and ladies-in-waiting can go about trying to make better social connections to plan for the future. This also leads into the main mystery for the volume, which involves Consort Lishu.

I think this is one of the better volumes. There’s a lot I like about it. It’s hilarious that Maomao keeps thinking about Jinshi’s “frog.” I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep that out of her mind. She definitely seems a little traumatized from that revelation. The bathhouse stuff is funny and doesn’t feel pointless.

Most notably, Jinshi’s behavior is different. Maomao is close to the truth, and Jinshi wants very much to bring her into his inner circle. She’s proven herself too useful to keep in the dark, and because of this, Jinshi is much more aggressive. The heavenly eunuch is downright intimidating and menacing in the majority of his appearances. I choose to interpret this as the story building tension, and I’m so sad the next volume is several months away. Thankfully, there isn’t a cliffhanger, but there is a strong implication of important things, that will potentially change Maomao’s life, to come.

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 12

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 12 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: 978-1-64609-296-3
Rating: 3.75/5
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Description from the Book

Strong-armed into getting out more, Maomao attends a spooky soiree where court ladies share spine-tingling tales of terror as a diversion from their daily toil. While there are plenty of chills to go around, the thrills are perhaps few for the skeptical Maomao…until the evening takes an eerie turn! And she doesn’t have long to wait for more excitement! Jinshi requests Maomao’s presence on a hunting trip, and as ever, all is not as it seems when court intrigue and subterfuge are in play. When a break from a banquet on the hunt goes awry, master and servant soon find themselves in a very tight spot and uncomfortably close quarters…

Personal & Info

I haven’t been in the mood to read manga for a while, so I’ve been holding onto this volume since I bought it around release. Before reading it, I did a full one through eleven reread. I already have volume thirteen, so a review for that should be up soon, too, if not around the same time as this one.

Characters

Maomao has less opportunity to show off her passions for poison and medicine in this volume due to people dragging her around.

Yinghua and Hongniang are the only of Consort Gyokuyo’s ladies-in-waiting to appear here. We mostly see Yinghua since she participates in the events of the Ghost Stories chapter.

Gyokuyo gets a couple brief appearances in the early parts of the volume, but we don’t see her much.

Shisui, Maomao’s relatively new, bug enthusiast friend, is around for the events of the Ghost Stories chapter. We don’t see her again after that. I’ve seen it said that she works at the laundry, but I’ve also seen it said she is a lady-in-waiting, so I’m not sure which it really is. She’s probably a lady-in-waiting who handles laundry, if I had to guess.

Jinshi is one of the leading characters in this volume. After the first chapter, he takes Maomao away on a summer hunting trip that will take multiple days.

Gao Shun, who is usually Jinshi’s attendant, is not serving that role, this time. He is a guest for the hunt.

Ba Sen, Gao Shun’s son, is serving as Jinshi’s attendant in his father’s place for the duration of the hunting trip.

Li Haku is in charge of dog sitting over the course of the hunting trip.

Story & Thoughts

There are five chapters in this volume, and four of them are relevant to a hunting trip event. The trip does not come to a resolution, so it will continue in the next book. The chapter before the hunting trip is just a quick thing about ladies-in-waiting meeting up at night to tell spooky stories. There isn’t much special there, but it implies a possible real ghost to end the night with a real scare for the characters.

I think the end portion is the best part of the book. Maomao is desperate not to learn anything important that could get her into trouble later or require keeping secrets. So much so, that it leads to a comedic situation.

I think Maomao and Jinshi make some inadvertent progress in their relationship. Not in a healthy way, mind you, but Jinshi’s annoyed assertiveness will probably give Maomao something to think about. Whether she wanted to or not, she learned something she didn’t want to know. Denial won’t change that.

Thankfully, I already have the next volume, so I can continue reading to see what happens next. I’m glad Li Haku is getting some attention. It sounds like he’s steadily moving up in his career, but pairing him with a dog is adorable. Sadly, I don’t think they bothered to name the dog. If they did, they certainly didn’t mention it.

My theory about the plot for the volume is, I think Jinshi was invited on the hunting trip as his actual identity. The identity Maomao is unaware of, but has been revealed to us in a vague fashion by Lakan in another volume. It seems like nobody really knows what his actual identity looks like, since nobody ever sees him, so that would explain the face covering during the trip, and the need for an alias.

Dahlia

Dahlia by Tabitha Barret
Series Name: Spell Library
Volume Number: 5
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Psychics, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shifters, Supernatural, Vampires, Witches, Wolves, zombies
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Independent
Edition: Kindle
ASIN: B086GP3XTD
Rating: 3/5
Amazon

Description

Dahlia has just about given up on love. Her psychic powers to see into the lives of those she touches make it nearly impossible to maintain a relationship. However, they do make her a damn good tattoo artist.

When three men suddenly enter her life, she’s in for a world of change. Dahlia is more powerful than she knows, and a recurring nightmare is more than just a dream. Can these three hunks help her learn to use her mysterious powers and track down a hidden villain?

Personal & Info

This book, like many of the others in Spell Library, seems to only be available on Amazon. I read it on kindle, but it looks like paperback is available. If I had to guess, they are probably a print on demand type thing.

Like the previous books in the series, there are sequel volumes to Dahlia’s story. I don’t have those, yet, nor do I plan on getting them any time soon. They all seem to take place a significant amount of time after the initial books, so I’m not worried about reading them immediately after.

Characters

Dahlia, the main character, is a psychic tattoo artist who owns Lady Blue Tattoo. She’s thirty-two, and she is the one who handles the tattoos at the end of Calluna.

Charlie is Dahlia’s best friend. She co-owns O’Malley’s Pub with her twin brother James,

Gray and Milo are siblings who work at Lady Blue Tattoo, and are therefore good friends of Dahlia’s.

Daire is a necromancer. He can see spirits and raise the dead. Daire runs a security business called Charmed Security, which can install security systems that can detect the use of magic in addition to all the usual things.

Doug is Daire’s business partner. We don’t see him much.

Aiden is a newly turned vampire who is new to the Silver Springs area.

Ian is the High Priest of the Black Dawn Conjurers coven. He is going through a divorce.

Story & Thoughts

Dahlia isn’t as explicit as Juniper, but it is one of the more sexual volumes of Spell Library. The story is blatantly lusty. I thought it was overdoing it a bit, until it gave an explanation. Apparently, Dahlia has the ability to amplify people’s feelings and put them in the same mood as herself. So, basically, she wants to get laid so bad, that she amplifies both her own arousal and that of whichever guy is involved. It gives the story a little bit of an erotica feel to it, without it actually being erotica.

The story itself is simple. Three guys crash into Dahlia’s life in unexpected ways and romance ensues. In the background, something more sinister is going on, but that doesn’t get pointed out until later. Her recurring nightmare is relevant to the big problem for the plot. The nightmare’s location isn’t surprising. As soon as it said a wall was made of, I think it was marble, I already knew where the dream setting was.

The climax of the story has a big fight scene in it. Most of the books are like that. They save a mystery until the end, and then there’s a final battle. Honestly, it seems anticlimactic to me. It should be really cool and awesome, but it seems too summarized for me to get any thrill out of it.

I don’t think the ending climax is the point of these books, though. The enjoyable parts are the romance along the way. The issues resolved at the end are all kind of a background setting bonus. They add something to the story for the plot, but they don’t feel necessary. I enjoy these books, but I don’t read them for what happens at the end. I read them for the love story.

Dahlia’s ability to use her psychic powers to come up with amazing tattoo designs for her clients is really cool. She’s obviously a talented artist already, but it’s neat that her powers amplify that and can actually help with her job. There are cool ideas hidden in all of the Spell Library books, and it makes them charming to read.

Unfortunately, I don’t really care much for the love interests this time around. They seem a bit too normal for my tastes. Two of them are wizards, but they come off as basically human. Aside from that, I feel like only one of them has any kind of memorable personality. I still enjoyed the book. It’s just not one of the best in the series.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Fanbook 2

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Official Fanbook 2 by Miya Kazuki, You ShiinaSuzuka
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian!
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718350557
Rating: 3.75/5
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Description from the Book

A collection of art, short stories, and more that no bookworm should miss! This fanbook covers material up to and including Part 4 Volume 1. Inside, find an abundance of supplementary content like design sheets for new characters, an extensive family tree, and seven short stories not found in the light novels.

This fanbook also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes reports from a Bookworm drama CD recording session and another Q&A with author Miya Kazuki featuring reader questions.

Personal & Info

This fanbook should be read after completing Part 4 Volume 1 in order to avoid any spoilers. Unlike the first fanbook, there are no cover arts or inner flap arts in this one. Those appear to be in the third fanbook, which is intended to be read after Part 4 Volume 4.

Characters

Rozemyne, as we all know by now, is the main character. Some of the stories go back as far as her early Myne days.

Lower City Family

Gunther, Myne’s father, works as a soldier who currently guards the city’s East gate. Earlier in the series, he guards the South gate.

Effa, Myne’s mother, dyes clothes for a living. She is the daughter of a soldier, and met Gunther through assisting at one of the city gates.

Tuuli, Myne’s older sister, is currently an apprentice seamstress, who also specializes in hairpins. She works as a leherl for the Gilberta Company and strives to move up in the industry. In the early days, she would often go to the forest with the other children in the neighborhood to gather food and firewood.

Lutz’s Family

Lutz, currently a leherl apprentice at the Gilberta Company, is Myne’s first friend. In the early days, he would help take care of her. Now, he helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up, as well as participate in spreading the paper industry.

Ralph is one of Lutz’s older brothers. He is the same age as Tuuli and we slowly see less and less of him as the series progresses. While Tuuli and Lutz move on to better paying, more glamorous, careers, Ralph takes an apprenticeship as a carpenter, like the rest of his family.

Zasha is, I think, Lutz’s eldest brother. We don’t see him much in the series, so it’s easy to forget how old he is and how many brothers there are.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

Leonore, a fourth-year apprentice archknight, serves as Rozemyne’s guard, and helps teach Traugott and Judithe.

Brunhilde, a third-year apprentice archattendant, loves fashion, and is in charge of assisting Rozemyne with social situations.

Judithe, a second-year apprentice medknight, serves Rozemyne as a guard, and admires Angelica like an idol.

Rihyarda, Rozemyne’s head attendant, is an archnoble, who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Angelica, a sixth-year apprentice medknight serving as Rozemyne’s guard, hates studying and wants other people to think for her.

Philine, a first-year apprentice layscholar, is determined to gather stories for Rozemyne.

Lieseleta, Angelica’s younger sister and a fourth-year apprentice medattendant, tends to like cute things.

Other

Freida, the granddaughter of the Merchant Guild’s Guild Master, has a passion for money. Like Rozemyne, she has the devouring. Her solution to treat it was to make a contract with a laynoble to become his concubine once she comes of age.

Leise, Freida’s personal chef, is enthusiastic about learning new recipes, and often assists with food related projects.

Otto, Gunther’s friend who handles paperwork at the gate, teaches Myne how to read and write in the early days. Now, he helps run the Gilberta Company with his wife, Corinna, so Benno can handle other important matters not pertaining to fabric.

Story & Thoughts

Overall, the content is a little different than the first fanbook. There isn’t any special color art, but there are several more stories. This one is more text heavy than picture heavy. Some of the stories aren’t as lengthy or engaging as I would prefer, but I still love it. My favorite things are probably Brunhilde’s story, The Start of Life as a Retainer, and the noble family tree. It definitely makes me want to just dive into more volumes. There’s just so much to love about the series and the heart put into making it.

One Winter Day

This is the shortest story in the entire book. It’s in Myne’s perspective, and takes place on a winter day when everyone goes out to gather parues. As per usual in the early days, Myne waits for everyone to finish while assisting Otto with paperwork.

The story was inspired by a drawing Suzuka did for New Years Day in 2016. It’s a cute, small event that happens on the way home from the gate. Like the picture, Lutz and Myne end up sharing a scarf. It’s very short, but very cute.

I’m Not Givin’ Up My Daughter

As should be obvious from the title, this one is in Gunther’s perspective. It takes place during Myne’s first summer at the temple. Otto is horribly disappointed that Myne is not around to assist him anymore, and he struggles to find anyone even remotely as capable as her to take her place.

Gunther gets advice from Myne about how they can find someone qualified enough, and reflects on how distant their relationship is starting to feel. It brings to mind the phrase of something being referred to as a gift and a curse, because Myne’s gifts make it feel like she’s drifting father away from her family. Gunther is determined not to let her drift too far, but we all already know what happens. It’s kind of sad to read this already knowing that.

My Handful of a Little Sister

This story is in Tuuli’s perspective. It takes place after Myne finishes her prototype book and brings home the official one that she will be allowed to keep at home. During this time, Myne is still commuting to the temple.

Tuuli pokes at how ridiculous Myne’s behavior is, because she cares more about the safety of a book than herself. A conversation with Lutz shines some light on how generous and amazing Myne actually is. It’s become apparent with several short stories that Myne’s family doesn’t truly understand those things about her. Lutz seems to learn it quicker than them, since he spends more time with her. Compared to Charlotte and Wilfried, her lower city family is slow to realize the value in what she does.

Studying Literature and Picture Books

In this story, Myne is teaching Tuuli how to read and write a short time after the events of the previous story. It’s in Tuuli’s perspective, and it’s another story where she discovers how hard Myne and Lutz work. She is daunted by how difficult and time consuming it will be to catch up to their level of literacy. A few motivational words from Effa, and her determination is renewed.

I think it’s nice that Tuuli can appreciate how hard Lutz and Myne work for what they want. She comes a long way from thinking Myne is just being silly and weird. She’s lucky to have a sister so willing to help her learn to improve her skills for her future.

Effa and Tuuli make a joke about Myne not being able to properly boil water on her own, but at the point in the story that this occurs, Myne has already been cooking. This includes boiling things for stews. I suppose they could be talking about boiling water on its own, since the joke is relevant to making tea. That’s the only way I can see it making sense. I don’t think Myne has actually just boiled water before, at least not “on screen.”

A Tea Party With My Older Sister

This is one of the longer stories. I can’t say I have any particular interest in it, because it stars characters we’ve only seen as background. A noble, Christel, discusses the events of the harspiel concert with her sister, who could not attend.

The sister has no name as far as this story is concerned. She could not attend the concert, because she is part of the Veronica faction by marriage. Because of this, the story is a good way to get an idea of what things are like for the nobles who could not attend. The concert is all anyone can talk about, but they also can’t discuss it, because they can’t easily put it into words, and some details were sworn into secrecy.

Christel explains everything and swears her sister to secrecy. However, the conversation also covers some other interesting, more political details. We get some insight into how nobles feel about Sylvester’s actions and how they upturned the balance of politics and that some of them would have liked to be warned, so they could choose sides to appropriately save face or stay neutral. I feel like this part is the most significant information. The recap of the events of the concert are a little dull, but well written.

Feelings of Panic

This is another Tuuli story. It takes place after the noble Star Festival when Brigitte wears a new dress. At this point, Tuuli’s career consists mostly of making hair pins.

Tuuli feels bogged down by all the hairpin orders and responsibilities associated with them. She’s the best at making them, and is always first to learn new ways to make them, so she has to teach everyone else. What she really wants is to work with fabric and learn etiquette to be able to meet with nobles. Like with her reading and writing, she feels like she’s being left behind by Myne and Lutz.

Tuuli seems to struggle a lot with the unnatural speed Myne and Lutz seem to improve with things. Unlike them, she doesn’t have anyone around to teach her, so learning skills she doesn’t already have is a challenge. That on top of missing her sister, it makes sense for her to be frustrated.

The Start of Life as a Retainer

This one is by far my favorite story in the book. It’s Brunhilde’s perspective on her first day as Rozemyne’s retainer. The story is one of the longest, and it covers everything from Rihyarda asking her if she accepts the position, to Brunhilde discussing the difficulty of the job with Lieseleta after serving for a while.

It’s interesting, but not surprising, that Brunhilde has politics on the mind when accepting the position. She is overly concerned about whether or not Rozemyne has any Leisegang faction retainers. There are also politics going on behind Rozemyne’s back involving many of the leisegang nobles. They have hopes for her that she has no interest in carrying out.

I like this story, because it shows us some behind the curtain things politically, and regarding attendant work, but the thing I’m most excited about is the diagram. There is a map of Rozemyne’s room. It represents both her room at the castle and at the Royal Academy, because they share the same layout and design. I didn’t know I wanted this, and I’m glad it’s included.

Drama CD Recording Report – Suzuka

Suzuka summarizes her experience involving the recording process for the drama CD in manga form. All the voice actors involved appear in the form of the character they are voicing, which I think is cute. I’m not familiar with Suzuka, like, at all, so it’s a little strange to me that she draws herself as a strange looking, possibly elderly, blob. I’m not judging. It’s just not what I would expect someone to use as their self-representation.

Drama CD Recording Report – Miya Kazuki

Miya Kazuki summarizes her experience involving the recording process for the drama CD in text format. I like this lengthy report better than the manga version. I feel like I get more out of it. There’s more detail, even though they basically cover the same content. It sounds like everyone had fun, but the context for the sword joke seems better in this format.

The beginning of the report makes me think Miya Kazuki is a bit like Myne. As things progress and she gets more focused on the script and giving feedback to the voice actors, she seems to become more like Ferdinand.

Character Design Sheets

The designs start specifically from Part 3 Volume 2 and go up to Part 4 Volume 1. The text is in a different perspective than the first fanbook, like someone else wrote it. I miss the text being from Miya Kazuki’s perspective, stating what she wanted for each character and how accurate the designs turned out to what she envisioned. It just feels impersonal, this time.

I like the art itself. All of it is fine and fun to look at, however, I wanted more. There is a two year time gap in the story, and it’s heavily emphasized some people grew a lot over that time. Philine has two pictures to show her before and after the time jump. I would have liked to see that for everybody, or at least the people who grew a lot.

Noble Family Tree

The description describes the family tree as extensive, and that is definitely apt. The tree starts three generations before Sylvester, and shows various lines of nobility, like the Leisegangs. Many people lack names and just have titles or ranks, because they have not come up in the story. I would love to see more pictures attached to this. I like family trees to be more visual heavy than text heavy.

This is just an observation, but there’s a little bit of incest in the Ahrensbach tree. One of Georgine’s children married their half sibling and produced a child. That’s icky.

Q & A with Miya Kazuki

Some of the questions here don’t seem like they need an answer. I’m sure there are some more interesting ones that could replace some of the seemingly obvious ones. I still like this section, because I enjoy learning literally anything new about the series, but some of the questions this time around are lackluster.

Let’s Make a Pound Cake

This is just a manga version of the scene where Myne teaches Freida and Leise how to make pound cake. It’s cute, but seeing it here makes me wonder how the manga itself differs. Was that scene cut?

A Comfy Life with My Family

Like the first fanbook, these end of book comics are on the subject of fanbooks. They are essentially a direct continuation of the comics from the first fanbook. That part is obvious because Otto is wearing a Corinna headband.

My favorite one is “Is This Love?” in which Rozemyne asks Ferdinand about his hobbies. His answer is as I expect and it makes me giggle.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 4, Vol. 1 (LN)

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 4: Founder of the Royal Academy’s So-Called Library Committee, Vol. 1 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: 9781718356122
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Rozemyne awakens from her slumber to a world not as she remembers it. Unease stirs her heart, but she has no time to rest—she is soon to be enrolled in the Royal Academy as an archduke candidate. There, she’ll need to master controlling her mana, creating magic tools, and performing the magic necessary to rule as an archduke. Rozemyne has to handle eccentric teachers and students from other duchies, all the while aiming to be the best big sister she can be. With a massive library on the premises, however, there is little chance things will go according to plan. She feverishly delves into its collection, forgetting all about the other archduke candidates and even the royal family. She truly will do anything for books! So begin Rozemyne’s student days in this biblio-fantasy! This volume also includes the results of the series’ second popularity poll, two original short stories, and four-panel manga by You Shiina.

Personal & Info

I can’t believe I waited so long to circle back around to this series. It’s been more than two months since I read a volume. This series is a comfort read for me, and it’s currently one of my favorite things to the point I’m already looking forward to a series reread.

Part 4 has a total of nine volumes.

The second fanbook can be read following this volume. If you haven’t checked out the fanbooks and want more Ascendance content, I highly recommend them. A review for the second fanbook should be up soon. Fanbook 1 already has a review available, if you want some insight into the contents.

Characters

The cast of characters keeps getting larger and larger. To cut down on space, I’m only going to list the people who actually appear, and leave out the ones who only get mentions.

The Archduke’s Family

Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mostly just suffers from poor health and low stamina. Her memories of her past life, and her upbringing as a commoner with merchant experience, give her unique ideas and perspectives unlike anyone else in Ehrenfest.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He is a workaholic who handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order, as well as assist the archduke whenever there is a request.

Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.

Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.

Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother. They are in the same grade at the Royal Academy.

Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s younger sister. She will be attending the Royal Academy next year.

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.

Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.

Bonifatius is Sylvester’s uncle, Karstedt’s father, and Rozemyne’s grandfather. He covers for Sylvester while he is away at archduke meetings. Bonifatius absolutely adores Rozemyne and usually stays away from her for her safety. He loves cute things, but will never admit to it.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the Noble’s Quarter and Royal Academy. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Ottilie is one of Rozemyne’s attendants at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira. Hartmut is her son.

Angelica is a sixth-year apprentice medknight serving as Rozemyne’s guard. She hates studying and wants other people to think for her.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son and Rozemyne’s noble brother. He is a fifth-year apprentice archknight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter and the Royal Academy.

Lieseleta is Angelica’s younger sister. She is a fourth-year apprentice medattendant who likes cute things.

Brunhilde is a third-year apprentice archattendant. She loves starting and keeping up with fashion trends.

Hartmut is Otttilie’s son, and an apprentice fifth-year archscholar. He is dedicated to spreading Rozemyne’s reputation as the Saint of Ehrenfest.

Philine is a first-year apprentice layscholar. She is determined to gather stories for Rozemyne.

Leonore is a fourth-year apprentice archknight. Part of her job as Rozemyne’s retainer is to help teach Traugott and Judithe.

Traugott is Rihyarda and Bonifatius’ grandson. He is a third-year apprentice archknight.

Judithe is a second-year apprentice medknight who admires Angelica.

Rozemyne’s Personnel

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

Royal Academy Professors

Hirschur is the Ehrenfest’s dorm supervisor. She previously taught Ferdinand, and they share several mannerisms and personality traits. She teaches and assists with mana control classes.

Primevere is the Klassenberg’s dorm supervisor.

Rauffen is Dunkelfelger’s dorm supervisor. Rozemyne identifies him as a loud gym teacher stereotype.

Fraularm is Ahrensbach’s dorm supervisor. She teaches the highbeast class.

Solange is a mednoble and the Royal Academy’s librarian.

Royal Academy Students

Roderick is an apprentice medscholar from Ehrenfest. His family is part of the former Veronica faction, and he was involved in getting Wilfried into trouble in Part 3.

Anastasius is the Sovereignty’s second prince. He is a senior, so Rozemyne will only be at risk of dealing with him for one year.

Detlinde is Georgine’s daughter, Wilfried’s cousin, and an archduke candidate from Ahrensbach.

Rudiger is an archduke candidate from Frenbeltag, and Wilfried’s cousin.

Royal Academy Miscellany

Schwartz and Weiss are magic tools for the library in the shape of bipedal shumils, which look like rabbits.

Other Nobles

Oswald is Wilfried’s head attendant who accompanies him to the Royal Academy.

Moritz is Wilfried’s teacher in the castle and an archnoble. Part of his responsibilities include managing the winter playroom.

Temple Attendants

Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers.

Zahm helps manage the High Bishop’s chambers. Like Fran, he was trained by Ferdinand.

Monika is a cook who helps in the High Bishop’s chambers.

Gil is in charge of the orphanage workshop along with Fritz.

Nicola is a cook who helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. Her real passion is cooking.

Wilma is in charge of running the orphanage. She also draws any art necessary for the workshop projects.

Lower City Merchants

Benno is in charge of the Plantin Company. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.

Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up

Corinna is Benno’s younger sister. She is the head seamstress of the Gilberta Company.

Lower City Family

Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier and guards the city’s East Gate, which gets the most traffic.

Effa is Myne’s mother.

Tuuli is Myne’s older sister, who now works at the Gilberta Company with Corinna.

Kamil is Myne’s younger brother, now almost four years old.

Story & Thoughts

The first hundred pages feels like a recap, because if you read Part 3 Volume 5, you already know everything they are discussing. The previous volume bonus stories cover the important events during the time Rozemyne is asleep. This chunk of content is restated as an explanation to Rozemyne for everything she missed. As a web novel, this would be the first time we learn any of this, but since the bonus stories are new to the light novels, it feels like a recap.

This volume is a little longer than usual, so the recap content doesn’t take away from it too much. Once the plot gets moving, Rozemyne must prepare for, and attend, the Royal Academy. The book focuses on her adjusting to life at the Academy and laying out her goals for the school term. Of course, her main goal is to be able to go to the library. People put conditions in place to restrict her access, so she does what is expected and blazes forward to clear her task list.

It definitely feels like an introductory volume, which makes sense, since it’s the first in Part 4. The start feels a bit slow, but once things get going, it’s interesting to see how the school operates. I suspect there’s something extra special about the room where she finds her Divine Will. I’ll be surprised if nothing else about that comes up later. The library isn’t in this one much, but it probably will be in the others a lot more, since this one focuses on Rozemyne doing everything she is told to get done.

I like seeing the practical classes. The teachers are eccentric, but but the fact she is actually learning magic now makes the story feel more fantasy than it has been.

I wasn’t expecting Georgine’s daughter to be at school. Nothing good could possibly come of that. The impending political drama gives me a feeling of anticipation. Rozemyne is drawing so much attention to herself and she doesn’t even care. As usual, I can’t wait to read more and see what happens. It’s hard to believe I went a few months without reading any volumes. This series is so addicting.

A Productive Earthday

This bonus story is in Lieseleta’s perspective. It takes place on the day Rozemyne must stay in bed to absorb her Divine Will. We learn a bit more about Lieseleta’s relationship with Angelica and her family. In order to affordably be Rozemyne’s retainers, they choose to share a room, and both only have one attendant each.

What I take away from this story is that Rozemyne makes it a difficult job to be one of her retainers. They essentially have to follow her lead in order to meet her needs. Rozemyne wants to ace all her exams quickly to be able to go to the library, but she’s not supposed to go places without her retainers. In order to have them with her, they have to pass their own exams almost as quickly as she does her own. The fact she has so many makes it more likely someone will be available for anything she needs, but they still have to account for everything she wants to do and plan their own time entirely around it, even if it’s unfair or difficult.

It certainly seems like not just anyone would be able to meet the requirements for the job. Most of the people Rozemyne chose for her retainers were recommended to her, so i’m sure her family made sure they would be capable enough to do the job. There are some exceptions of course, but they seem to like Rozemyne enough to work harder for her, not that they have much choice with their family reputations on the line if they fail.

Myne Awakes

This is Effa’s perspective on the day Lutz sees Rozemyne after she awakes. It covers how Myne’s family has been feeling and dealing with the knowledge of her long sleep. Kamil is almost four, so it’s a little strange to see him walking and talking after he was just a baby not long ago.

It’s tragic that they can’t tell Kamil about his sister. I think Tuuli is right in regards to all of this, though. Kamil doesn’t associate with nobles in any way, and likely won’t for a really long time, if at all, so he can’t possibly understand the danger associated with the situation. Plus, he’s still very young, and children aren’t the best at keeping secrets. It would probably break Rozemyne’s heart to find out Kamil doesn’t know who she is, but she’d likely understand.

When Lutz met Rozemyne after she woke up, she gave him a letter for her lower city family. That note makes no appearance in this story. I don’t know if it was forgotten or if it will get a mention in a later volume. I thought for sure he would give it to them during this visit.

Black Ice

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
Genres: Mystery, Romance, Survival, Thriller
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7426-0
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn’t prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin and accept the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. Things get even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that took place on that very mountain—a discovery that may make her the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy or an ally?

Personal & Info

For my first read, I went into this blind. I had read the Hush, Hush Saga, and wanted to try something else by the same author. Honestly, the description kind of spoils chunks of the drama, so I’m glad I did it that way.

At the time I’m typing this review, it’s been approximately ten years since I first read the book. This is my second time reading it. Due to various circumstances, like getting sick for two weeks, it took far longer than I would have liked to get through it. To be fair, I will be using my original rating of four out of five from my first time through. The review itself will be a combination of my original thoughts combined with any new ones.

Content Warnings

-Abuse
-Guns
-Kidnapping
-Murder
-Suicide Attempt
-Violence

Characters

I think learning about the characters naturally throughout the story is the best and least spoilery way to learn who everyone is and what they are like, especially if you don’t read the book description. Because of this, I will keep the character descriptions as vague as possible.

Britt is the main character. The story is in her perspective. She is a senior in high school, and is still hung up on her ex-boyfriend who dumped her eight months ago. Britt has an older brother (Ian) and a single father. At the start of the story, Britt is known for heavily relying on the men in her life.

Korbie is Britt’s best friend. She comes from a rich family due to her mother being a divorce lawyer and her father a CPA.

Calvin is Korbie’s older brother, and Britt’s ex-boyfriend. He is supposed to chaperone their trip to the mountains.

Mason and Shaun are two guys Britt and Korbie encounter in an isolated cabin in the wilderness.

Story & Thoughts

This is a survival kidnapping story with a murder mystery going on in the background. There’s also a focus on romance with a constant debate on whether or not it’s Stockholm syndrome, while also pining after a romanticized ex. All of the characters are far from perfect, so don’t expect them to make the wisest decisions. Everything is overall messy as far as the social interactions and decisions go, but the main characters experience significant growth.

Originally, going into this book completely in the dark, I was hooked at the beginning. I still feel that way. There’s something about the gas station scene that I absolutely love. Maybe it’s the fact a stranger flawlessly plays along with Britt’s shenanigans? I can’t really explain it, but it’s my favorite and most memorable scene in the whole book.

The writing is good. It feels like you’re right there with Britt the whole time. Becca has a way of hiding what is really important until things come together at the end. It leaves me with a smile every time i finish one of her books.

If the book ended on the last numbered chapter, I would have been so sad. I’m glad there is a one year later epilogue. It gives the story the closure it needs.

While I like the journey of the story, there are some things that bug me. The most notable that I remember is the use of the term “Subway sandwich shop.” We all know they are referring to the Subway restaurant chain, and everybody I’ve ever met just says “Subway.” I don’t know if the extra clarification is there to make sure the reader understands it was a restaurant and not a train station or what. That terminology sounds unnatural and rubs me the wrong way.

The other thing, which is very minor, is that someone left Korbie a canteen of water. I swear they said the cabin has running water. Why leave her a canteen if there is running water? I could be misremembering, but that detail bugs me.

Also, Korbie’s boyfriend is supposed to be going on this trip with them. His name is Bear, and he’s supposed to meet them at the family cabin. Nothing about him is ever mentioned after the drive up to the mountains. That feels like a bit of a loose end. I guess we’re supposed to assume he turned around and went home when the snow started.

The book is by no means perfect, but I like it. It’s one of the few non-fantasy books I actually enjoy, and that speaks volumes. It is a rare occurrence for me to read a standard fiction novel and not get bored with it.

Grand Passion

Grand Passion by Jayne Ann Krentz
Genres: Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Pocket Books/ Simon & Schuster
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-671-77870-6
Rating: 2/5
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Description from the Book

Cleopatra Robbins believes she’ll know when she meets the man of her dreams, a man worth the risk of trusting and loving again. She’s imagined the moment: a jolt of emotion, butterflies in her stomach, an intoxicating feeling. She’s even described her fantasy lover—under a pseudonym, of course—in a book of erotica called The Mirror. But when drop-dead handsome Max Fortune strides into the Robbins’ Nest Inn, a devastating sensation sweeps through her. She knows it’s him. And he’s all wrong!

Exuding a ruthlessness barely disguised by his polished manner, Max is a stark contrast to casual, sneaker-clad Cleo. The driving force behind the giant Curzon Hotel chain, a man whose only passion in life—so far—has been for rare works of art, Max is looking for the inheritance left to him by his mentor, Jason Curzon. Jason had bequeathed to Max five priceless paintings, and he made Max promise to go to the Robbins’ Nest Inn to claim the pictures and “everything else with them” that are his legacy—and his secret gift—to the hard-edged young man he viewed as a son.

For openhearted Cleo, nothing is more transparent than Max’s snobbish exterior. He may drive a Jaguar, but she decides that the man is emotionally starved. Max takes one long look at Cleo Robbins and feels desire, fierce and unexpected, sweep through him…a feeling so powerful that he almost forgets his search for the paintings Cleo claims she’s never seen. With his defenses down, Max lends a hand at fixing everything from the plumbing to the fractured lives of the inn’s quirky denizens: helping Trisha, the pregnant and ever-hopeful maid, to search for her errant lover; winning the trust of Daystar and Andromeda, chefs and New Age divorcées; and easing the loneliness of fatherless little Sammy, who idolizes Max on sight.

While Cleo is tempted to confide in Max about the tragedy that led her to seek shelter with this odd surrogate family, even to choose him to make the lush sensual fantasies of The Mirror come true, she senses that he doesn’t quite trust her. Max knows she’s hiding something—and by the time he realizes it’s not the paintings, it’s almost too late to save her form the danger rising out of her past.

Personal & Info

I’m pretty sure I got this book from a second hand sale as part of a large pile of novels. It’s been hard to decide what I’m in the mood to read lately, so I chose this one at random from my shelf of stand alone stories.

Content Warnings

-Death of a parent/family member

-Death

-Guns

Characters

Max Fortune is the male main character. He is about thirty-four, going on thirty-five. Max likes to collect things, such as books and art, and he has a special eye for judging the authenticity and value of paintings. His general background is that he grew up as an orphan since approximately six-years-old.

Cleopatra Robbins is the female main character. She is about twenty-seven, and she runs a hotel that she purchased with her inheritance. Her parents both died horrifically, and she’s been building a new found family for herself ever since.

Sylvia Gordon is part of Cleo’s family residing at the inn. She usually assists with people checking in or out or just watching the counter. Sylvia is also Sammy’s mother.

Sammy Gordon is Sylvia’s five-year-old son. He carries around a rubber duck by the name Lucky Ducky, and he idolizes Max.

Andromeda and Daystar are part of Cleo’s family, and the primary chefs for Robbins’ Nest Inn. Both have been though divorces and are now members of the Cosmic Harmony Women’s Retreat, which is about a mile and a half down the road from the hotel.

Trisha Briggs is part of Cleo’s family. She works as a maid, and she’s in a relationship with Benjy Atkins.

Benjy Atkins is part of Cleo’s family. He is similar in age to Trisha at around twenty-three. He is the general handyman and plumber for Robbin’s Nest Inn.

George is part of Cleo’s family. He works as the night man for Robbin’s Nest Inn, but he is not great at his job. George is usually sleeping whenever anyone checks on him. While he is part of the staff, which makes him part of Cleo’s family, he is never included in any important discussions or activities.

Nolan Hildebrand is the part-time mayor of Harmony Cove. He is casually dating Cleo, and has his eye on a future in higher politics.

Herbert T. Valence is a motivational speaker who frequently hosts his seminars at the Robbin’s Nest Inn. He’s a rather strange and neurotic man, but supposedly his seminars are successful and his methods work.

Jason Curzon is practically part of Cleo’s found family. He was also Max’s employer, and he thought of Max as the son he never had. Before Jason died, he was in charge of running Curzon International, which is a very successful hotel chain.

Dennison Curzon is Jason’s brother. He is less business savvy than Jason, but now that Jason is dead, Dennison is running the company.

Kimberly Curzon-Winston is Max’s ex-fiancee, and Jason Curzon’s niece.

Roark Winston is Kimberly’s husband. He comes from old money and has a successful business empire of his own as well as a seat on the board of Curzon International.

Compton O’Reilly is Max’s private investigator friend.

Adrian Forrester is a local unpublished writer who despises novels with women main characters or romantic themes.

Garrison Spark is a shady art dealer, who formerly employed Max about twelve years ago.

Story & Thoughts

I have to say, this book is a bit of a let down. Compared to the majority of the other books I’ve read by this author, this one is lackluster. I knew where the paintings were the whole time, but that didn’t bother me. I don’t care if parts of a story are predictable, as long as the journey is good. The journey in this case is not great.

My main issue is the writing feels lazy. Max has the right to claim five specific paintings, because they are given to him in a will. Right. Good. But what does he not bring with him at any point? A copy of the will or any physical proof that he has any right to them aside from the words out of his mouth. What kind of successful business person…It just seems like such an idiotic oversight. He would know he should have something to prove his legitimacy.

That’s just what bugs me at the beginning. The biggest problem with the plot is how dramatic information is delivered. People, mostly Kimberly, keep showing up out of the blue, just to drop dramatic info dumps that are supposed to make Cleo gasp and reconsider her interest in Max. There has to be a better way to handle inserting this information. I honestly got sick of it. The characters had basically no real reason to be there. They might have a question for a two second conversation, but they drag it out into what’s supposed to be a, “you should know who you’re getting involved with,” scene that has nothing to do with anything going on.

One more small thing on the negative side, why would Cleo publish a book she claims is so highly personal, even if it’s anonymous, if she didn’t want people to read it? Most pen names get found out eventually, so if she thought nobody would ever know, she is incredibly naive. This is one of the more minor things that bugged me, and might just be one of her character flaws. There are more things I could list, but they’re fairly minor.

Despite the negatives, the overall story itself is not bad. It follows a similar formula to other Castle/Krentz/Quick books. Reading this still feels comforting to me, like it does whenever I read anything by this author. The characters that matter are also enjoyable and engaging. It’s an instant attraction story, so if you don’t like those, it might not be for you.

Liesl & Po

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
Genres: Adventure, Alchemy, Fantasy, Ghosts, Magic, Paranormal, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: 8-12
Publisher: Harper/ HarperCollins
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-06-201452-8
Rating: 2/5
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Description from the Book

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost named Po appears from the darkness.

That same evening, an alchemist’s apprentice named Will makes an innocent mistake that has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

Personal & Info

I don’t remember where I got this. It might have been Ollie’s. Anyway, it’s one of many books I grabbed at one point or another for something to try. It’s the same author as The Spindlers, and I think I like that one better. Don’t get me wrong, this one is not bad, it’s just a bit less fantasy in comparison.

Content Warnings

-Death
-Death of a parent
-Child abuse

Characters

Liesl Morbower is one of the main characters. I think, going by the information throughout the novel, she’s about eleven. Liesl lives locked away in the attic. She spends most of her time drawing near her window. Her mother died four or so years ago, and her father remarried in hopes of giving Liesl a good female role model.

Po is one of the main cahracters, and a ghost who likes seeing Liesl’s lamplight from the Other Side. Po has no gender, because it can’t remember who it was before, and its form is mostly shapeless with no visual details.

Bundle is Po’s pet who goes wherever Po goes. It is unclear whether Bundle is a cat or a dog and the difference ceases to matter to ghosts.

Augusta Hortense Varice Morbower is Liesl’s cruel stepmother. She was previously Liesl’s teacher, and even then, she did not like her.

Will is one of the main characters. He is the adopted assistant/apprentice to the alchemist, Merv. Will often sees Liesl drawing from his view on the street while running errands in the middle of the night.

Merv is the old, grouchy alchemist, who adopted WIll to be his assistant and apprentice. He seeks power and glory for his work.

Mo, short for Molasses, which is a nickname, is a guard for The Lady Pemiere. He is a big man, with a big heart, not known for his intelligence.

Lefty is Mo’s cat. Mo carries Lefty around in a sling, so they are always together.

The Lady Premiere is supposedly a princess in her home country of which nobody seems to know. She is considered beautiful, and a favorite of the Mayor.

Henry Morbower is Liesl’s father. He is dead from the start of the book.

Story & Thoughts

This is basically a story about a girl who escapes her evil stepmother to spread her father’s ashes at his preferred location. Various meetings, accidents, and motivations lead to a more convoluted adventure than necessary. All those things make it more book-worthy, though, because a normal story along those lines would be boring.

It’s pretty simple, despite having ghosts and alchemy, but I like how it all ties together. Several people end up pursuing the children, some to a ridiculous extent. Like, why would anyone chase a little girl across the countryside for being a little nutty? And why would a police officer bother to humor those demands when no crime has been committed?

Most of the characters are terrible. Almost every adult hates children and has no problem abusing them. There’s even a casual mention of kicking animals. I’m sure all of this is meant to drive home the point of how despicable these people are. There’s something about the setting with the world being generally gray and depressing with terrible people that reminds me of The Series of Unfortunate Events.

Overall, I find the book a bit lackluster. There’s nothing wrong with the story. I just think it’s a little bland for me, personally. There aren’t enough fantastical elements. The Alice in Wonderland-esque story for The Spindlers is much more interesting to me. This one is too close to normal to stand out, but it’s okay.

Half Bad

Half Bad by Sally Green
Series Name: Half Bad
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural, Urban, Witches
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: Viking/ Penguin
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-670-01678-5
Rating: 3.75/5
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Description from the Book

Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan’s only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it’s too late. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is monitored, when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Personal & Info

This book is a three-year-old gift from a friend. My copy originally came from a dollar store. I don’t know the exact price, but I’m pretty sure everything online is more expensive than what she paid. Anyway, it’s something for me to try that has been on my shelf for a while, and I’m going into it completely blind.

Apparently there is a Netflix series inspired by this. It’s called The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself, but from the title alone, it sounds like the content was drastically changed. I have no plans to watch it.

For those interested in the rest of the trilogy, the second one is Half Wild, and the third is Half Lost. There are also two prequel volumes in available in digital format that appear to be fairly short. It looks like they both follow Gabriel’s time before we meet him in Half Bad. They are Half Lies and Half Truths. If I like the rest of the trilogy, I will probably try to read those.

Content Warnings

-abuse
-Bullying
-Death
-Guns
-Hate Crime
-Self Harm
-Suicidal Themes
-Torture
-Violence

Characters

Nathan is the main character. The story covers essentially his entire childhood, and it’s written in his perspective. He is half white witch and half black witch, from a different father than his siblings, and he lives among white witches.

Jessica is Nathan’s oldest sister. She is approximately eight years older than Nathan, and she has a generally mean personality. Her spitefulness is mostly directed at Nathan. She’s nice to pretty much everyone else. Jessica wants to be a Hunter, which is a white witch who hunts black witches.

Debora is Nathans other sister. She is approximately five years older than him. Nathan considers her to be one of the cleverest people he knows. Debora, unlike Jessica, is kind to Nathan and actually cares about him.

Arran is Nathan’s only brother. He is approximately two years older than Nathan. Arran is Nathan’s best friend throughout his childhood. He is a kind person, who dislikes violence, but will stand up for those he cares about.

Mrs. Ashworth is Nathan’s maternal grandmother. She is raising all four of her grandchildren, and she doesn’t judge Nathan for having a black witch father. Her witch talent is potions.

Marcus is Nathan’s infamous and mysterious black witch father. He is supposedly the most evil and most powerful black witch alive.

Annalise O’Brien is a white witch around Nathan’s age. Her uncle is on the council, and most of her family consists of Hunters. Many of her relatives also appear throughout the book, such as: Connor, Niall, Clay, and Kieran. Annalise is the main love interest for the book. She is kind to Nathan, and seems to disagree with the rest of her family’s views and ideals.

Nikita, also named Ellen, is half fain, which means she’s half witch and half normal human. Her witch parent is a white witch. Nikita helps a guy named Bob with errands and meetings.

Celia is a brawny white witch, whom the council trusts to handle raising a black witch according to their dictated rules. Her witch talent involves sound.

Gabriel is a black witch currently working as part of Mercury’s contact chain. People who want to meet her have to earn his trust to be able to see her. His witch power is shapeshifting into other people.

Rose is Mercury’s assistant. She is a white witch, but she was raised by Mercury, so she does not think or act like a normal white witch.

Mercury is a witch who steals from the white witch council as a means to assist orphaned or troubled witches. Her business makes her similar to Rumpelstiltskin. She operates in trades where she names the price or favor.

Story & Thoughts

In Regards to Content Warnings

I think the most important thing to start with is that this book is definitely not for everyone. It is dark and it has several easy-to-spot content triggers. I did my best to list them above, but I’ll give you a better idea of what is actually in the book.

Nathan’s existence as a half white and half black witch results in people treating him like he is a disgusting thing and not an actual person. White witches take any and all opportunities to insult or physically harm him. And I don’t mean just your usual school yard beat-up. People will beat him to the brink of death and actually torture him. It is generally horrifying. At no point has he ever done anything wrong, and for the duration of the book, he’s a child.

Black witches have no rights as far as white witches are concerned, and a half is no better. Any black witches caught by the whites are tortured until they eventually die or kill themselves. Nathan is half, and therefore has potential to be either. There is a whole process in which they try to categorize him.

You’d think this means he would be fine until he is eventually categorized, but you’re wrong. He is treated like dirt just because he is half black witch. As far as the story is concerned, he might as well be just a pure black witch that was born in the custody of the white witches. All that matters to them is how they can use him in regards to capturing Marcus.

I can see parallels to real life racism and horrific historical events. If you’re sensitive to these subjects, don’t read this book. These themes did not even begin to let up until more than half way through the novel.

General Review

There’s a lot to unpack about this book. White witches calling themselves the good guys is way messed up. They are horrible at even bothering to try to convince Nathan that they are good. I get the impression they really don’t care if he thinks they are good or not, because his existence gives them an outlet for their cruelty, and lets them get creative about how to try to control him.

The only way I can describe the majority of the book is, it feels like when you’re watching a car accident and you just can’t look away. The way Jessica and everyone outside Nathan’s family treats him is so appalling and horrifying that it’s riveting. I found myself devouring large chunks of the book before realizing how many pages had gone by. And by the time all the appalling stuff had died down, the story was getting more interesting.

The story itself is nothing special. The person we see at the end, for example, is no surprise at all. What the book seems to do well is the journey. From start to finish, despite the terrible things that happen, it’s enjoyable to read. I’m curious to see where it goes, but I don’t plan on spending any money on it, unless it gets better. Thankfully, I found the series on a library resource where I’ll be able to read it for free whenever I’m ready to circle back.

It doesn’t feel right to rate the book a four, because there are a few things about it that bug me. Most of it is really good. The chapters are even super short, some only being a single page.

The romance is lacking. I think it’s trying to be a romance, but the plot hasn’t had time to build one, yet. I see openings for the second book to try to build on one or two relationships for potentially deepening romance. Annalise is not my choice. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.

What bugs me the most is the random writing style change that occurs, I think, twice. It starts off with a perspective that says “you” a lot, as if it’s trying to do a reader insert. That feels very strange since it’s not a choose your own adventure book. It’s used for the entirety of Part One, and then Part Two changes into a first person “I” perspective. The “you” comes back briefly in Part Three, though. I absolutely hate this. It feels unnatural. This is probably the only reason I didn’t give the book a four.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 3, Vol. 5 (LN)

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 5 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: 9781718356115
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Rozemyne needs only one more ingredient for her jureve: the ruelle fruit she failed to gather the year before. With it, she and Ferdinand can finally brew the potent potion that will make her a normal, healthy girl. Well, probably…She funnels her excitement into advancing the paper-making industry and gathering more support, all to create a world with more books for her to read. As winter approaches, however, the political struggles between nobles intensify. Various plots unfold and sow discord within the temple, and what happens next will forever change not just Rozemyne’s future, but her new little sister’s fate as well. Shocking developments bring Part 3 to its climactic conclusion! This volume also includes short stories leading into Part 4, and a four-panel manga drawn by You Shiina!

Personal & Info

This is the final volume of Part 3. The story itself is only about 220 pages, followed by about 150 pages of bonus chapters.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mostly just suffers from poor health and low stamina. Her memories of her past life, and her upbringing as a commoner with merchant experience, give her unique ideas and perspectives unlike anyone else in Ehrenfest.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian, and the illegitimate younger brother of the archduke. He handles the majority of the work that keeps the temple running, and must also occasionally assist the Knight’s Order.

Sylvester is the eccentric archduke of Ehrenfest and Rozemyne’s adoptive father.

Florencia is Sylvester’s wife, Rozemyne’s adoptive mother, and mother to Sylvester’s three children.

Wilfried is Sylvester’s oldest son and Rozemyne’s older brother.

Charlotte is Sylvester’s daughter and Rozemyne’s sister.

Melchior is Sylvester’s youngest child and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

Bonifatius is Sylvester’s uncle, Karstedt’s father, and Rozemyne’s grandfather. He covers for Sylvester while he is away at archduke meetings. Bonifatius absolutely adores Rozemyne and usually stays away from her for her safety.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order. He’s also Ferdinand and Sylvester’s cousin, as well as Rozemyne’s noble father.

Elvira is Karstedt’s first wife and Rozemyne’s noble mother.

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He works for the Knight’s Order and serves as Ferdinand’s personal guard.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard. He is Henrik’s younger brother. Henrik is the laynoble to whom Freida has a contract.

Rihyarda is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the castle. She is an archnoble who previously took care of Ferdinand, Karstedt, and Sylvester when they were children.

Brigitte is a knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Damuel. She is the younger sister of Giebe Illgner.

Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius. She hates studying and wants other people to think for her.

Ottilie is an attendant at the castle. She is an archnoble and friends with Elvira.

Lower City Family

Gunther is Myne’s father. He works as a soldier who currently guards the city’s East gate.

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

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress and she strives to move up in the industry. She currently works for the Gilberta Company as a leherl.

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attendants

Fran is Rozemyne’s head attendant in the temple. He is in charge of managing the High Bishop’s chambers and making sure Rozemyne learns everything she needs to know for her job by the time she needs to know it.

Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage, and traveling when new workshops need to be set up.

Wilma is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. She is in charge of running the orphanage and therefore does not reside in Rozemyne’s own chambers. Wilma also provides the art for anything the workshop makes.

Monika is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers. She admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

Nicola is a cook who also helps in the High Bishop’s chambers.

Fritz is one of Rozemyne’s new attendants. He helps Gil run the workshop to lessen his workload and cover for him when he needs to travel for business.

Zahm is one of Rozemyne’s new attendants. Like Fran, he was trained by Ferdinand. He helps manage the High Bishop’s chambers.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Hugo is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Corinna is Benno’s younger sister. She is the head seamstress of the Gilberta Company.

Otto is the head of the Gilberta Company, and Corinna’s husband.

The Plantin Company

Benno is in charge of the Plantin Company. He assists and advises Rozemyne in her merchant endeavors.

Mark is Benno’s right hand man. He helps manage the store and train the apprentices, as well as cover anything Benno might miss.

Lutz is a leherl apprentice. He helps make sure the Rozemyne workshop is in order and acts as a go-between for scheduling merchant relevant visitors. Lutz also helps the workers at the orphanage understand how to use and make the things Rozemyne thinks up.

Damian is Freida’s older brother and Gustav’s grandson.

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

Freida is Gustav’s granddaughter with a nose for money. She has a contract with a laynoble to manage her Devouring.

Leise is Freida’s personal chef. She also assists with any projects the company has involving cooking.

Other Nobles

Oswald is an archnoble serving as Wilfried’s head attendant.

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

Justus is Rihyarda’s son, and one of Ferdinand’s estate attendants. He serves the role as scholar and tax official when necessary. Justus gathers both magical materials and information as a hobby.

Giebe Illgner is Brigitte’s older brother.

Georgine is Sylvester’s eldest sister and the first wife to the Duke of Ahrensbach.

Veronica is Sylvester’s mother, currently in prison.

Viscount Joisontak is part of Rozemary’s family. He insists Rozemyne is his niece.

Viscount Gerlach is a noble loyal to Georgine.

Gutenbergs

Ingo is the foreman of a carpentry workshop. He has Rozemyne’s exclusive business for her carpentry needs.

Johann is a smith talented with fine detail work. He can make otherwise impossible ideas a reality.

Zack is a smith good at coming up with ideas in the form of schematics. He can come up with several usable schematics of varying difficulty using abstract descriptions.

Heidi is an ink craftswoman who loves experimenting with new types of ink

Josef is Heidi’s husband, and an ink craftsman.

Other

Kampfer and Frietack are blue priests receiving training from Ferdinand to help lighten his workload.

Richt is Hasse’s new mayor.

Achim and Egon are the gray priests who are going to stay the winter in Hasse to help educate the citizens.

Volk is one of the gray priests involved in setting up the workshop in Illgner. He wants to stay there.

Carya is a good friend of Brigitte’s back in Illgner. She wants to marry Volk.

Dirk is a Devouring baby abandoned to the temple. In part 2, he was forced to sign a submission contract with Count Bindewald of Ahrensbach.

Delia is Rozemyne’s former attendant from her days as a Shrine Maiden. She takes care of Dirk like he is her own brother.

Lily is one of Egmont’s attendants. She returns to the orphanage in exchange for another after becoming pregnant.

Story & Thoughts

After reading this, I love Bonifatius. He usually keeps his distance from Rozemyne, because he’s an aggressive and excitable person, who usually can’t control his strength, which makes him dangerous for her to be around. He only had grandsons until Rozemyne, so he absolutely adores her. It’s unfortunate she isn’t aware of how he feels.

I like how the climactic events are handled. They are intense and emotional, but have humor mixed in, so they soften the blow for the heart-wrenching parts. I already know there are more Parts to the story, so nothing too terrible can happen, but the emotions still hit hard.

It’s clear that Ferdinand loves Rozemyne. I was touched by his aggressive protectiveness of her. He was speaking the truth when justifying his actions, but I don’t think he’s ever been as emotional or passionate about anything in the entirety of the story.

There are so many loose ends by the time everything is done. Thankfully the seven bonus stories help fill in some of the gaps and answer some questions. As always, I am in love with this series, and can’t wait to read more. I can’t get enough of it.

Grandfather on the Day of the Baptism

I was already loving Bonifatius during the regular story, but this bonus story just makes me love him more. It’s the events of the day of the Baptism in his perspective. He dotes internally on Rozemyne all day, and worries like crazy during the chaotic events of the climax.

This bonus also covers the investigation following the end of the volume’s events. Bonifatius’s thoughts and contributions prove he is not just some meathead. He is smart with a good intuition. The investigation would be at a dead end without him. The chapter also touches on what will happen with Georgine’s scheduled visit next year.

In Place of My Older Sister

Charlotte and Wilfried gain a new respect for Rozemyne when they try to cover all of her jobs, from managing the winter socializing room to her duties as the High Bishop. Wilfried thought he understood, because of their switch day, but he still had no real idea. Charlotte, whose perspective this bonus is, thinks Rozemyne has to be some sort of goddess to do everything she does.

It’s saddening to read this chapter. They’re trying so hard, but Charlotte feels so useless and inferior. Rozemyne has become so important to the regular functioning of Ehrenfest that there is a void to fill whenever she isn’t around.

Two Marriages

This bonus story is in Giebe Illgner’s perspective. It covers the events regarding Volk’s purchase, and the public spectacle of Damuel and Brigitte’s proposal. If I’m being honest, I’m disappointed, but I get it. It seems Giebe Illgner put more thought into things than Brigitte did. However, I think her request for Damuel to choose was unfair.

No Rest for Us

This one is in Lutz’s perspective. Lutz and Tuuli do their best to learn etiquette, while the Gutenbergs all stay busy with projects to fill their time. Unfortunately for Benno, he doesn’t get the break he thought he was getting. More work gets dumped on him with yet another tight deadline. Elvira previously discussed this project with Rozemyne, so it was bound to pop up eventually.

Meanwhile at the Temple

Rozemyne is currently unavailable to provide stories for the workshop to print. This is Fran’s perspective of things during that time. The temple’s overall workload is extra busy, and nobody knows how to compose simple stories into something publishable. I think Rozemyne should add creative writing to her education program.

The Laynoble Guard Knight

This whole bonus chapter is Damuel’s perspective during a conversation with his brother regarding his proposal to Brigitte. As with Brigitte, Damuel’s family put more thought into the proposal than he did. Between Two Marriages and The Laynoble Guard Knight, we get the full explanation behind things and why they turned out the way they did.

One Handful of a Chef

Okay, this one makes me happy. This is in Ella’s perspective. When she was originally introduced, it was clear she had a crush on Hugo. Hugo started seeing someone shortly after, and I got bummed, because two passionate chefs together would be super cute. Well, it’s finally come full circle. Hugo has finally started to look at Ella as someone who would be a good partner, who also understands the demands of his job. I’m happy for them. I’ve been rooting for them since the beginning.