The Magician’s Lie

The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister
Genres: Abuse, Fantasy, Historical, Magic, Mystery, Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4926-2899-6
Rating: 3.75/5
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Description from the Book

The Amazing Arden saws a man in half every night. The crowds pay good money to watch: she’s perhaps the most notorious illusionist in the country. But when one show goes terribly wrong, she finds herself in a one-room police station with a desperate officer determined to discover the truth. Even handcuffed and alone, Arden is far from powerless—and what she reveals is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding. Over the course of one eerie, endless night, the magician will need to pull off one final act—this time with her own life at stake.

Personal & Info

My main reason for reading this is that it’s apparently recommended for people who like Water for Elephants and The Night Circus. I like both of those, so I think it’s worth trying. After reading it, I think the recommendation is accurate. The book has similar vibes to both of those novels. It has more magic than Water for Elephants, but less than The Night Circus.

Content Warnings

-Abuse
-Animal Abuse
-Attempted Rape
-Self Harm

Characters

Ada, also known as Vivi, or the Amazing Arden, is the main character. She is a stage magician specializing in illusions. Her most notable feature is her unique eyes. They are blue, but her left eye is half brown as if cut through the middle.

Ray is Ada’s cousin by marriage. He is the son of Ada’s step father’s brother, and he is four years older than her. Ray is effectively the villain of the story.

Clyde is Ada’s first love. He is two years older than Ada and has a talent with plants.

Adelaide is the wife of a recently deceased magician who owns an entire company. She takes it upon herself to complete his obligations and step into the spotlight as a magician herself. Adelaide is also Ada’s mentor and kind of a surrogate mother.

Officer Virgil Holt is a main character in the sense that he is the police officer to whom Ada is telling her story. He is the only officer in a small Iowa town called Janesville, and he doesn’t expect to have his job much longer due to medical reasons.

Story & Thoughts

I think the most important thing to know about this book is the plot has an overarching abuse theme. Spoiler or not, it’s also important to know it has a good ending. So, while the book can be a bit dark, it’s not horribly depressing. The balance between the abuse, romance, and tension is good. No one aspect lingers too long, but they last long enough to keep the story interesting and stir the right feelings

The story covers about thirteen years of Ada’s life, from age twelve to approximately twenty-five. Suspected of murder, her life story is supposed to prove her innocence. Her tale is full of abuse, tragedy, hope, and love. Her life has been both ordinary and anything but.

Normally I don’t resonate well with historical fiction. They’re usually dull and boring. However, I think this is one of the better ones. I tag it loosely as fantasy, because Ada has real magic in a debatable sense. She can heal herself, but it’s not instant. Her injuries heal remarkably faster than the norm, which can only be explained as magic. It adds a tiny fantastical element to the book, but the story and writing themselves are good enough without it. During the long sections when her ability doesn’t come up, it still holds my interest.

I think the only reason I’m not giving this book a four is because there are a few places that montage the passing of time. Those parts are fine, but I find them less interesting. More actual magic would appeal to me more, too. None of the magic in Ada’s show is real. They emphasize many times it’s all an illusion. I like it well enough the way it is, though.

The Centaur’s Bride

The Centaur’s Bride by Tamsin Ley
Series Name: Mates for Monsters
Volume Number: 4
Genres: Contemporary, Erotica, Fantasy, Horses, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Shifters
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Twin Leaf
Edition: Kindle
ISBN: 978-1-950027-05-7
Rating: 2.5/5
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Description

Renee’s shunned and recently deceased grandfather left her his ranch in Montana, along with a riddle in the form of a poem. There is treasure to be found at the ranch, but what kind? Renee hopes the sexy farmhand can help her find it, but she wants him to show her a good time, too.

Black Sevens is a defective shifter in the eyes of his herd, and a creature of myth to humans who see him. His incomplete shift has given him nothing but problems. When attraction and the herd’s wishes align, he might be able to earn the acceptance in the herd he’s always wanted.

Personal & Info

The Centaur’s Bride is volume four of a series, but it is a stand alone story, so no other Mates for Monsters volumes are necessary.

As much as I don’t like the idea of posting a review of something without all of the previous volumes, I feel like I should, because Mates for Monsters volumes can be read as stand alone stories. The three books before this one are about merpeople, two mermen and one mermaid to be exact. Those ones interconnect a little by sharing a continuity, but can still be read as stand-alones. Their titles are The Merman’s Kiss, The Merman’s Quest, and A Mermaid’s Heart.

I did read them a few years ago. I just don’t have enough information to post reviews for them without rereading them. At this moment, I have no plans to reread them any time soon, if at all. I do have ratings for them, though, so I will include them here.

The Merman’s Kiss: 3.5/5

The Merman’s Quest: 3/5

A Mermaid’s heart: 4/5

The books for the series seem to be exclusively available as digital books. Some of them have physical paperback copies available. Based on how they are listed, it looks like they might be a print on demand situation through Amazon.

Characters

Renee, the leading lady, is twenty-five and approximately 5’1″. She is estranged from her father, and hasn’t been to her grandfather’s ranch since she was eight. Her life as an adult consists of following her best friend around on expensive adrenaline seeking trips and expeditions.

Steph is Renee’s best friend. She’s some kind of influencer who makes music videos and shares every aspect of her life online. It’s pretty clear she is also an adrenaline junkie.

Black, the leading man, is closer to thirty and 6’3″. He is a trained veterinarian in order to assist the shifter herd in one of the few ways he can as a member who is looked down upon for being different. His inability to fully shift into a horse is what makes him seem to be a centaur.

Lori is the herd’s Lead Mare. Black describes her as a bully. She bosses people around and favors dealing out harsh punishments while tolerating zero resistance.

Millie is a member of the herd who has just recently given birth. She is getting on in years and has a submissive attitude, likely due to Lori’s bullying.

Ivy-Jane is Millie’s newborn foal. She won’t be able to shift into a human form for a few years.

Saul is Black’s uncle and the leader of the Bachelor Herd. They share relation through Black’s grandmother Gloryanna.

Story & Thoughts

This is a novella, so it’s pretty short. I read it leisurely in a single day. I think the first thing I should say is this is an instant attraction story. It’s not love at first sight, more like lust at first sight. However, it becomes a soul bond or mate bond and love after sex. If that’s not the style of erotica you enjoy, then this book might not be for you.

The story itself is simple. Renee goes to the ranch intending to see it one last time before selling it off in order to keep up with Steph’s expensive lifestyle. Various romance and fantastical things happen, and then she must decide if she still wants to sell. As a true romance, there is a happily ever after. I’m leaving out some details to avoid spoiling the whole thing, of course.

As a standard romance novella, I think it’s fine. I probably wouldn’t read it by choice. As a monster themed erotic novella…it’s not great. The story is lacking the most important aspects of the style of story it’s trying to be. If you read other monster novels, you probably know what I’m referring to.

As a whole, the merpeople volumes of this series are far better. I expected more than just falling for a guy who happened to secretly be a centaur. It doesn’t really add anything. He doesn’t even do any cool centaur things or have any special equipment to use while in his centaur form to help protect the herd. I can’t say I recommend this one, but I didn’t hate it.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 4, Vol. 2 (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. 2 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: 9781718356139
Rating: 4.25/5
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Description from the Book

Since the moment she set foot in the Royal Academy, Rozemyne has put her absolute all into her studies so that she can finally get into the library! Unfortunately, she behaves so abnormally in the process that her retainers and professors end up concerned…

Then, she clashes with the greater duchy Dunkelfelger over Schartz and Weiss, and a game of treasure-stealing ditter is arranged. In Rozemyne’s quest to do anything to protect the library, she continues to be a constant source of headaches for the leaders of Ehrenfest. She completely ignores diplomatic norms by accepting furtive consultations from other duchies’ archduke candidates, and even gives the prince himself romantic advice!

Personal & Info

The Barnes & Noble and ThriftBooks shop links have the correct titles, but incorrect images. The ebook version has the correct image, so something must just be wrong with the paperback images.

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 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 is a strong man who loves cute things, but will never admit to it.

Rozemyne’s Retainers

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

Cornelius, a fifth-year apprentice archknight, is Karstedt’s third son and Rozemyne’s noble brother serving as her guard.

Lieseleta, Angelica’s younger sister and a fourth-year apprentice medattendant, tends to like cute things. She is grateful to Rozemyne for not giving up on Angelica.

Brunhilde, a third-year apprentice archattendant, wants to help Rozemyne start new trends, and is in charge of assisting with social situations.

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

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

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

Traugott, a third-year apprentice archknight, is Rihyarda and Bonifatius’ grandson serving as Rozemyne’s guard.

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

Damuel, a layknight, is Rozemyne’s longest serving guard. He does not accompany her to school, instead spending his time training to better protect her.

Rozemyne’s Personnel

Rosina is Rozemyne’s talented personal musician. She helps write and compose music that Rozemyne hums or sings.

Ella is one of Rozemyne’s personal chefs.

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.

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

Pauline is Frenbeltag’s dorm superviser and one of the music teachers.

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

Royal Academy Students

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.

Eglantine is an archduke candidate from Klassenberg. She is very kind despite her territory’s high rank.

Lestilaut is an arrogant archduke candidate from Dunkelfelger.

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.

Royal Academy Miscellany

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

Other Nobles

Eckhart is Ferdinands guard knight and Karstedt’s son.

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.

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

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

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

Story & Thoughts

Part 4 volume 1 focuses on catching Rozemyne up on events and describing what the Royal Academy is like. With that out of the way, and Rozemyne’s classes complete, this one can focus on more important things. It definitely feels like a larger number of events occur. It’s hard to choose what I like best in the volume, but the first things that come to mind are the ditter game and Rihyarda’s talk.

It’s unlikely any apprentice knights would think to use the types of strategies Rozemyne does without having any actual field experience. Her strategy is completely formulated from things she’s seen the Knight’s Order do in the field and feybeast knowledge gained during her hunt for jureve ingredients. Some might think her actions were malicious, but in a way, they were genius.

As for Rihyarda’s talk, it’s so sweet. The way she calmly speaks to Rozemyne explaining the difference between first, second, and third rate attendants and the importance of communication while they are learning how to best serve her is so heartwarming. Anybody can be a third rate attendant, but it’ll take a lot of work for anyone to become a first rate attendant working for someone as eccentric and unpredictable as Rozemyne.

I’m actually surprised by how many social missteps Rozemyne has apparently done since arriving at the academy. It seems like all she’s done is try to be helpful and stay out of trouble, but pretty much everything she has done has been wrong. Noble politics are so nuanced, she can’t seem to do anything without causing problems for Ehrenfest. I can’t wait to see how all this plays out. Will it all really be a headache for Ehrenfest, or will her actions inadvertently help? It can’t all be bad.

Honest Courting

This is Prince Anastasius’ perspective of the tea party he has with Eglantine after Rozemyne faints. He tries to take Rozemyne’s advice to be more direct to clear up misunderstandings. This requires him to swallow his pride and confess his true feelings and intentions.

I get the feeling that despite his frequent all mighty attitude, Prince Anastasius isn’t a bad guy. He’s haughty and arrogant, but seems to have a good heart. We see from the main story that he tries to be fair and upholds his decisions. This story is a good peek into his head to further verify he isn’t horrible.

Life Without One’s Lady

I think this one can technically be considered part of the epilogue. It’s in Leonore’s perspective and covers a few days of what she is doing to help the Ehrenfest apprentice knights train. Her first objective is to run them all ragged and take note of the results.

That’s not all it covers, though. Apparently, there are some issues with Wilfried. He seems to have some lingering behavioral problems from his time around Veronica. I hope they bring this up to Rozemyne when they see her again. He is being unfair to retainers that are not even his, just because they have been ordered to assist him. Wilfried doesn’t seem to understand what assist means. The lack of growth in this particular area saddens me.

The Clockwork Three

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Steampunk, Urban
Intended Age Group: Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-545-20339-5
Rating: 1.75/5
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Description from the Book

Giuseppe is an orphaned street musician who sees no way to escape from his ruthless master, until the day he finds an enchanted green violin.

Frederick is an apprentice clockmaker with a past he cannot remember, who secretly works to build the most magnificent clockwork man the world has ever seen.

Hannah is a maid in a grand hotel, whose life is one of endless drudgery, until she encounters a mystifying new guest and learns of a hidden treasure.

As mysterious circumstances bring them together, the lives of these three children soon interlock, like the turning gears of a clock, and they realize that each one holds the key to the others’ puzzles. The trios’ adventures sweep them through the winding alleyways and glittering plazas of their city, and along the way Giuseppe, Hannah, and Frederick must learn to trust in one another — and in themselves — for they risk losing the things they hold most and dear, as the dangers they face quickly become all too real.

Personal & Info

This is from a fill a basket pre-owned book sale. My only reason for grabbing it, is that it is a stand alone novel. I like to just grab some stand alone novels to try something different.

Interestingly, this book is in multiple perspectives, which consistently alternate in the same order. It’s always Giuseppe, then Frederick, and then Hannah. This is the first book I’ve seen like that, but oddly, it works.

I went into this blind. I didn’t look at the description until after I finished the whole book. It’s pretty clear that the description embellishes a bit.

The Barnes & Noble shop link only has the ebook and audiobook versions.

Content Warnings

-Child Abuse
-Death
-Guns
-Human Trafficking
-Kidnapping

Characters

Giuseppe, one of the main characters, is eleven. His parents died and he and his siblings were sent to live with his uncle, who sold him to Stephano at age five. Giuseppe is a gifted musician with a kind heart. All he wants is to go home to Italy and be reunited with his brother and sister.

Stephano is a Padrone. He kidnaps and purchases children to work for him as slave labor. All the kids work on street corners playing instruments to collect money on his behalf.

Paolo & Ezio are two of the meaner kids working for Stephano. They bully the younger kids and steal their money, which guarantees they get punished by Stephano for not bringing home their quota. Paolo and Ezio also function as enforcers, because they seem to like inflicting violence.

Pietro is a new kid working for Stephano, who was abducted from his family’s yard back in Italy. He never seems to be able to make enough money on his own to avoid punishment.

Reverend Grey is the elderly Priest of the Old Rock Church, and a good friend to Giuseppe.

Frederick, one of the main characters, is thirteen. He is an orphan apprentice clockmaker with a traumatic past that he would rather not remember. All he wants is to qualify for Journeyman with the clockmaker’s guild so he can gain more independence.

Master Isaiah Branch is Frederick’s guardian and master. He is the one who took Frederick out of the orphanage.

Hannah, one of the main characters, is twelve. Her father is not well, so she quit school to be able to work while her mother takes care of him. Hanna works at the Gilbert Hotel as a maid.

Miss Wool is a mean woman who manages the maids at the Gilbert Hotel.

Mister Hans Grunholdt is the Gilbert Hotel manager. He’s not the best person, but apparently does his job well.

Mister Twine owns the Gilbert Hotel. He is also sort of a friend of Hannah’s family. Her father used to work for him, and he gave her a job when requested.

Madame Constance Bernadette Pomeroy is a wealthy spiritualist currently residing on the top floor of the Gilbert Hotel.

Yakov is Madam Pomeroy’s bodyguard. He is a former Russian soldier with the ability to predict the future via dreams and visions. Madam Pomeroy refers to him as her golem.

Alice is the Gilberta Hotel’s gardener. As far as anyone can remember, she’s always been there, and has always been old.

Pullman is the McCauley Park warden. His family has fulfilled the job for generations.

Mister Reginald Diamond is the current owner of the Archer Museum. He doesn’t seem like a good or kind person.

Story & Thoughts

So, first things first, I chose to read this at this particular time, because various labeling claimed it is lighthearted. It is definitely not. I don’t know what peoples’ definition of lighthearted is, but all the main characters are in depressing or traumatic situations.

Giuseppe is basically enslaved. His own uncle sold him when he was only five. He works day in and day out to make money for Stephano, and he doesn’t get to keep any of it, nor does he get to eat enough to be content. It specifically says the kids only get fed enough to keep them half starved. On top of that, if the kids don’t make a daily quota, they get a beating or are thrown into the rat cellar. Giuseppe clearly states kids have died in that room.

Frederick is traumatized from his mother abandoning him at the orphanage when he was about six. The orphanage made him do dangerous slave labor working with machines. Punishment for mistakes or bad behavior was basically flogging. He had to endure this environment for four years, and now the memories haunt him.

Hanna’s father had a stroke and lost the use of his speech and legs. Her mother has to take care of him, and her sisters are too young to contribute anything to the family. Hannah had to drop out of school to work and support her whole family by herself. She’s only twelve. Part of the story involves her father’s condition worsening.

All of this is very depressing. On top of their situations, their city sounds like a huge disgusting mess. This is not the kind of book I would choose for something lighthearted.

As for the rest, the story is slow. Despite the depressing subject matter, it does have a happy ending. Well, sort of, it feels bittersweet. The kids achieve their goals, but it feels like they didn’t really have anything to do with the result. When I read a children’s book, or a book about kids, I want it to feel like the kids are the heroes, like they really did something. I don’t get that feeling from this book. It feels like the adults in their lives conveniently remedy all their problems for them. It’s like the kids show up to deal with the issue, but the adults involved swoop in and save the day.

I can’t say I liked it, but I didn’t hate it, either. The characters were enjoyable, but the story was weak. I think people who like this might also enjoy Liesl & Po. That one was also lackluster to me, but I kind of get similar vibes.

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
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

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
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

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.