Tag: Fantasy

Uprising

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Uprising by Sean McCabe
Series Name: Vampire Federation
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Thriller, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Signet/ Penguin
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-451-41306-2
Rating: 2/5
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Description from the Book

A gruesome ritual murder has stained the Oxfordshire countryside. It’s the first incident in a chain of events awaking Detective Inspector Joel Solomon to his worst nightmare—and it’s a dreadful omen of things to come. Because Joel has a secret: He believes in vampires.

Alex Bishop is an agent of the Vampire Intelligence Agency. She’s been tasked with enforcing the laws of the global Vampire Federation and hunting rogue members of her race. A tough job made tougher when the Federation comes under attack by Traditionalist vampires. They have a stake in old-school terror—and in an uprising as violent as it is widespread.

Now Alex and Joel find themselves in a deadly war between the living and the Undead—and against a horrifying tradition given new life by the blood of the innocent.

Personal & Info

Vampire Federation is a duology. For those interested in the second volume, it’s The Cross. As of right now, I have no plans to read or review the second volume.

Content Warnings

-Violence

-kidnapping and consumption of a baby

Characters

Alex Bishop is the female main character. She is a Vampire Intelligence Agency enforcer. Her job is to travel the world and threaten or execute vampires breaking Federation rules or risking exposure. Alex is approximately one hundred and thirteen years-old as a vampire, and doesn’t completely agree with how the Federation runs things.

Joel Solomon is the male main character. He is a Detective Inspector with a tragic childhood vampire experience. Joel is the spitting image of Alex’s lover from her human life, possibly even a reincarnation.

Kate Hawthorne is the seventeen-year-old daughter of Gillian Hawthorn and her solicitor husband. She lives next door to Dec Maddon, and she has a crush on him.

Dec Maddon is Kate Hawthorne’s neighbor and close friend. Gillian Hawthorne does not think much of him or his family. Dec has a crush on Kate and sometimes doesn’t see clearly because of his feelings.

Harry Rumble is the chief of the London branch of the Vampire Intelligence Agency. He is Alex’s boss, and he reports to the Ruling Council of the Federation.

Xavier Garrett is Harry Rumble’s assistant. He hates Alex Bishop and doesn’t even try to hide it.

Gabriel Stone is the main villain of the novel, and leading General of the anti-Federation group, also referred to as “Trads” or Traditionalists. He reports to a group of ancient vampires to give reports and receive orders.

Lilith is Gabriel’s sister. She’s the one vampire in his group he seems to care about most, even though she can be a bit of a loose cannon. Her combat specialty is swordsmanship.

Seymour Finch is Gabriel Stone’s butler or personal assistant. He is not human nor a vampire.

Jeremy Lonsdale is a multimillionaire politician serving office as a cabinet minister. He is tangled up in the wrong crowd and in over his head with no way out.

Story & Thoughts

I like the setting. It’s relatively modern, so cell phones and most technologies we’re familiar with in current day exist. Vampires have adapted to the modern world by inventing medications that serve their needs, which makes sense. They have three drugs they use regularly: Nosferol, Solazal, and Vambloc.

Nosferol is a poison the Federation uses to execute rogue vampires and those who break the rules. It’s not pleasant. It basically makes all the blood vessels explode and turns the vampire inside out, resulting in a very painful and bloody death.

Solazal, the most necessary drug to blend with society, allows vampires to walk in the sun. They have to take it every twelve hours to keep it in their systems. It seems like Federation registered vampires normally operate during typical human business hours thanks to Solazal.

Vambloc, probably equally important, if not more so, is a short term memory eraser. It allows vampires to feed from humans without risk of exposure. It also prevents humans from changing after a feed.

All this, along with the premise of the story, seems promising. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into it. I struggled the whole way through.

The chapters are very short, sometimes only two pages. They change by time of day and perspective to tell the story. Early on, it feels like it’s jumping around way too much. I got used to it eventually, but it was jarring for a while to only get a few pages of content from a character before jumping to another.

I’ve seen the book tagged as fast-paced, but it didn’t feel like that to me. A lot of ground was being covered with a lot of characters, but I didn’t feel like the story was actually moving until about halfway through. Even then, I just couldn’t click with it.

I like the overarching story well enough, but maybe I just don’t resonate with how it’s told. If I already had the second book, I would probably read it, but I’m not interested enough to put in the effort to get it. I enjoyed the book enough not to abandon it, but I did consider doing so a few times.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 3, Vol. 2 (LN)

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, 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: 9781718356085
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Rozemyne, now both the High Bishop and the archduke’s adopted daughter, finds herself lost in a position of power she just isn’t used to. Preparing for the Harvest Festival, taking care of new orphans, dealing with the dissatisfaction of a neighboring town—her list of problems just keeps on growing. On top of all that, Ferdinand the High Priest is being as harsh as he can be. Still, Rozemyne doesn’t give up! Encouraged by meetings with her lower city family and friends, she recharges by reading books in the temple! She’ll need as much energy as she can get as the yearly Night of Schutzaria is fast approaching, where Rozemyne will need to travel to the forest bordering Dorvan to gather materials… Being the High Bishop is hard, okay?

Personal & Info

There are some bonus comics at the end of the book. I think the comics at the end of the other volume(s), so far, are better than these ones. They’re still cute, though.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

Myne, previously Urano Motosu, and now Rozemyne, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mostly just suffers from poor health and low stamina.

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian at the temple, 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 two-year-old son and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest 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 is around eighteen-years-old and works in the Knight’s Order. Eckart is a big fan of Ferdinand.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He is around sixteen-years-old and works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He is around eleven-years-old and 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.

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.

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 and makes hairpins for a career.

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

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.

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 helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs. Monika 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. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs.

Zahm is the High Priest’s attendant who handles all matters between him and Rozemyne.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Benno is the merchant in charge of the Gilberta Company and the Italian restaurant. 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 himself 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.

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

Hugo is the head chef of the Italian restaurant.

Hasse’s Mayor is in charge of the town of Hasse where Rozemyne’s new temple workshop is progressing. He has connections relevant to the previous High Bishop, and owns all of the orphans of Hasse, so Rozemyne will have to go through him to recruit them.

Richt is both a relative and assistant to the Hasse Mayor.

Kantna is the scholar who inspected Hasse along with the Gilberta Company to see if it would be worth setting up a workshop there.

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

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

Justus is Rihyarda’s son, and will be accompanying Rozemyne as a tax official during the Harvest Festival.

Nadine is Brigitte’s apprentice attendant residing in her knight’s dorm. She is a noble, and thinks less of temple attendants.

Thore(11), his older sister Nora(14), Rick(12), and his younger sister Marthe(8) are four orphans from Hasse who want to try life in Rozemyne’s new temple.

Story & Thoughts

This volume has some pretty good highs. There are a few things I love about it, but they are few and far between. Don’t get me wrong, I love this whole series. It’s just that this volume is a smidge lackluster compared to the usual. It has that feeling of not much happening when really there’s a lot going on.

Every book makes me love the characters more. They keep doing or saying things that are touching or make me go, “aww.” The cast is so wonderful. I’m a bit sad that Damuel has less dialogue, but the plus side is we get to know Brigitte better.

The real gold of the volume is probably the swap day. Rozemyne had a wonderful time, but the same can’t be said for Wilfried. Thankfully, his side of that day is a bonus story, and it’s so glorious. It’s kind of ironic, though, because Rozemyne had been asked before to help with Wilfried’s education, and she declined. I guess he bothered her enough that she felt the need to step in.

It’s finally time for Rozemyne to gather her first ingredient to help solve her mana problem. I have to say, I was not expecting the outcome. I’m not happy about Brigitte’s thoughts regarding Damuel, either. Last we heard, he’s still in his growing period for his mana. I want him to become stronger than a regular Laynoble because of the blessing he received, but that might be wishful thinking.

The problem regarding the Mayor of Hasse will take more time to resolve, since it’s a time consuming plan. There will probably be more on that in the next volume or two. Rozemyne said she won’t be thinking about it again until spring, so we’ll see how it plays out then.

Overall, this volume is a wonderful comfort read. It’s not one of the best the series has to offer, but I find it relaxing, and it makes me smile and giggle. I genuinely cannot get enough when it comes to this series. Every volume is like a treasure.

Wilfried’s Day as the High Bishop

I can’t tell you how happy I am that this is a bonus chapter. When Rozemyne and Wilfried switched, I was hoping this would be included. This is Wilfried’s perspective for his day as the High Bishop.

Honestly, it’s a little tame compared to what I was expecting. Ferdinand made me think it was much worse. Regardless, this chapter is gold. Wilfried is spoiled and none of his attendants or retainers will be firm with him. Rozemyne’s on the other hand, they don’t take any crap. It’s amusing to see his reaction when nobody cares about his rank.

Hasse’s Orphans

After the four orphans from Hasse relocate to the city temple for the winter, they start going to the forest with the others. The Hasse kids don’t like being stuck inside, so they love the forest days more than anything. This chapter is Thore’s perspective during one of those days.

It’s clear the four of them are struggling to adapt to life in the temple, but they are grateful to have a stable living situation. There are obvious growing pains, but they never go hungry, will never be sold, and nobody beats them. They are making a real effort to adjust to the equality rules of the temple, and sometimes have to remind each other how things work when they get overly frustrated. It seems like they will manage just fine with more time.

The real question on their minds is: what will their lives be like when they come of age? The idea of being stuck in the orphanage forever doesn’t sound entirely appealing to the boys in particular. By staying in the temple, they are missing out on the opportunity to own land in Hasse. I doubt the girls are as concerned about that, since their circumstances would be much worse.

Justus’s Grand Lower City Infiltration

This bonus chapter takes place during the summer right before Myne joins the temple. In this volume, Justus makes a claim about being a great spy when it comes to gathering information, like a chameleon of culture and speech. To me, that claim makes this chapter hilarious.

Ferdinand pays Justus to go to the lower city to gather information about Myne. He blunders so badly that he sticks out like a sore thumb and makes everybody he talks to suspicious. There’s no way he’s as good at his job as he likes people to think. Granted, he did learn a tiny bit about Myne.

What I like most about this particular chapter is it circles back around to that first book at the market. We learn a little more about that book, and where it ends up. It’s feasibly possible that Rozemyne might one day get a chance to read it.

The Wolves of London

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The Wolves of London by Mark Morris
Series Name: Obsidian Heart
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Time Travel, Urban
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Titan
Edition: Mass Market paperback
ISBN: 978-1781168684
Rating: 2.75/5
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Description from the Book

Alex Locke is a reformed ex-con, forced back into London’s criminal underworld for one more job. He agrees to steal a priceless artifact — a human heart carved from blackest obsidian — but when the burglary goes horribly wrong, Alex is plunged into the nightmarish world of the Wolves of London, unearthly assassins who will stop at nothing to reclaim the heart. As he races to unlock the secrets of the mysterious object, Alex must learn to wield its dark power — or be destroyed by it.

Personal & Info

This book looked and sounded spooky, so I grabbed it during a big pre-owned book sale as something to try during spooky season. I know spooky season is already over, but I extend it all the way until Christmas. I never have any Christmas or New Years themed books to read, anyway.

Obsidian Heart is a trilogy. I have no plans at this time to read more of the series. For those interested, volumes two and three are The Society of Blood, and The Wraiths of War

Content Warnings

-Self harm

-violence

-animal violence

-body horror

-kidnapping

-mutilation of children

Characters

Alex Locke is the main character. He is an ex-con who turned his life around. Alex is in his mid thirties and works as a Psychology lecturer. He has two daughters, Candice (18) and Kate (5). Candice lives with her mother (Michelle) and step-father (Glenn), while Alex is raising Kate alone.

Benny Magee is a criminal contact from Alex’s prison days. He’s essentially like a mafia boss, and he provided protection for Alex during his stay in prison. Benny also provided Alex with a number to call if he ever needed help or got into trouble.

Clover Monroe is the owner of the night club Incognito. She has connections to Benny and provides the job involving the obsidian heart in hopes of making some quick and easy cash. Clover has a good code of morals and loyalty.

Barnaby McCallum is a rich, wheelchair bound, old man presumed to be around ninety. He is the owner of the obsidian heart before Alex gets his hands on it.

Lyn is Kate’s mother. She is currently living in Darby Hall Psychiatric Hospital due to an unusual onset of insanity that occurred while she was pregnant with Kate.

Private Frank Martin is a twenty-year-old man who served in World War I. Due to various events involving the obsidian heart, Frank is alive and well in 2012 to assist Alex.

Story & Thoughts

This book has a lot going on. It is absolutely jam packed with various fantasy themes. There are people with weird powers, possible Erdrich creatures, monstrosities, time travel, and people coming back from the dead. Normally, I wouldn’t think all these different elements would fit together for a good story, but surprisingly they mix well here. It does feel like a bit too much smushed together sometimes, though.

The story itself is interesting, but I’m not fond of the writing style. I like all the details, but some of the more complex monstrosities and body horrors are hard to picture based on the description. The book also does this thing at the start of chapters. It tells you where they are and then jumps backward to tell you how they got there before continuing onward from where they presently are. I don’t like this writing method. I can get through it, but it rubs me the wrong way.

Alex isn’t very smart in regards to his actions. The story takes place in 2012. He lacks caution in choosing babysitters. Apparently he has never done a background check on the people he trusts to watch Kate. I’m pretty sure background checks were not difficult to do in 2012, so that’s just pure carelessness on his part.

It bugs me to no end early in the book when Alex is trying to figure out how to get money to help Candice. He has a matter of days based on her estimate. He goes to a contact he knows is a criminal and then gets upset when the only means provided to make enough money is illegal. Like, come on, what was he expecting? And he has the nerve to turn it down and waste everyone’s time just because it’s illegal as if there is any other way he could possibly make thousands of dollars within a few days.

I only have one or two questions about the story I have any interest in getting answers for, so I’ll likely just google those. The book is interesting enough. It’s not like anything I’ve read before, so I enjoyed the experience, but I have no interest in continuing the series.

If I already had more of the books, I would probably read more, but I don’t, and I don’t have enough interest to want to get them. Some of the plot points are how I expect, so I won’t be surprised if the answers I find are what I’m guessing. Overall, the story isn’t bad, but it’s not great, either. Based on the content, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.

Untamed

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Untamed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 4
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-37983-4
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you. Just ask Zoey Redbird—she’s become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, of the two Zoey has left, one is undead and one is unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey’s adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s spellbinding fourth House of Night Novel.

Personal & Info

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

Content Warnings

-Death

-Insensitive language

-Sexual themes

-Bullying

Characters

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stark is a new transfer from the Chicago House of Night. He has a special gift involving his archery skill. Instead of a cat, he has a dog by the name of Duchess, or Duch, for short.

Faculty

Shekinah is the High priestess of all vampyres. She lives in Venice and her markings are the same as the emblem the school faculty wear.

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

Erik is Zoey’s now changed ex-boyfriend. He’s about six feet tall and good at acting. Zoey describes his appearance as reminiscent of Superman with the hair curl.

Lenobia is the equestrian instructor.

Dragon is the fencing instructor.

Sons of Erebus

Ate is the leader of the Sons of Erebus present on the House of Night campus.

Darius is one of the Sons of Erebus who guards the girls’ dorm. He also accompanies Aphrodite and Zoey whenever they leave campus.

Humans

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

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

Heath is Zoey’s ex-almost boyfriend from her life before the Change. He’s the star quarterback of the football team.

Sister Mary Angela is the prioress of a Benedictine abbey and the manager of the Street Cats charity.

Story & Thoughts

This might be the best volume out of the first four. It has a lot going for it, but there are enough negatives involved that I don’t want to give it a five. I’ll go over the negative things first.

There seems to be a wider variety of instances using insensitive language. Normally I only see a few things per volume, but this one has several scattered all over. The usage in this one definitely seems more blatant than the others. I remember hearing speech and jokes like that around the time this book was published, but it definitely does not sound good in a modern lens. It was jarring how much of it I noticed specifically in this volume, like it’s worse in this one than the previous three.

Neferet is disappointing. It’s like she’s lost her capacity to be clever. I suppose she’s probably just so close to her plan coming together that she’s just kind of lost her marbles. Her accusations to try getting Zoey into trouble make no sense and there is no way anyone could possibly believe them. They are just way too far-fetched. Those are my main complaints.

However, the story itself is really good. I was so mad at Chosen for how quickly Zoey’s friends turned on her, because everything could have been resolved if they had just let her explain. They finally have that conversation in this book, and it’s such a relief.

Aphrodite continues to impress me. She’s experiencing constant character growth. Despite the events in Marked, she is capable of taking charge in a chaotic situation. It’s nice to see her good qualities.

Everything comes together. The constant mention of how recently the Tulsa House of Night was built and that it used to be a monastery all make sense. The series was dropping bread crumbs leading up to the events of this volume.

This is the first book in the series where things do not get a resolution by the end. Instead, it sets up a much bigger problem. I wanted to read the next one right away, but I don’t have it, yet, so it’ll have to wait.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 3, Vol. 1 (LN)

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, 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: 9781718356078
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book

Following a disastrous encounter with a noble, Myne finally resolves to say goodbye to her family and friends in the lower city, changing her name to “Rozemyne” and beginning her new life as the adopted daughter of Ehrenfest’s archduke. However, her days as an archnoble are brutal, as she is put through rigorous etiquette and magic training on top of her duties as High Bishop and forewoman. It all proves too much for a weak little seven-year-old girl…Or it would, had the High Priest not offered her the keys to the temple’s book room as a reward. If she could get her hands on those, she’d be able to read all sorts of precious books! Her name may have changed, but Rozemyne’s passion for books remains the same as she charges into a whole new world!

Personal & Info

There are some funny bonus comics and a character poll in the back of the book. The author is surprised Damuel scored so high, but I can understand why. Damuel is one of my favorites.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

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

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian at the temple, 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 two-year-old son and Rozemyne’s younger brother.

The Knight Commander’s Family

Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest 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 is around eighteen-years-old and works in the Knight’s Order.

Lamprecht is Karstedt’s second son. He is around sixteen-years-old and works as a knight serving as Wilfried’s guard.

Cornelius is Karstedt’s third son. He is around eleven-years-old and works as an apprentice knight serving as Rozemyne’s guard while she is in the Noble’s Quarter.

Trudeliede is Kastedt’s second wife. She lives in a separate building with her child and does not appear in this volume.

Rozemary is Karstedt’s third wife who passed. Karstedt always doted on her and she was often bullied by the other two wives.

Noble Retainers

Damuel is a knight and laynoble from Part 2, Volume 2, currently assigned as Rozemyne’s guard.

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.

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

Norbert is the butler in charge of attendants in the castle.

Lower City Family

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

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

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

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attenants

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

Gil is one of Rozemyne’s attendants in the temple. He is in charge of running the workshop inside the orphanage.

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 helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs. Monika 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. She helps fill the roles of Rosina and Delia’s previous jobs.

Zahm is the High Priest’s attendant who handles all matters between him and Rozemyne.

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

Benno is the merchant in charge of the Gilberta 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 himself 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.

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

Johann is the smith Rozemyne usually hires to do precision work. He is not fond of his Gutenberg title.

Zack is a smith who views Johann as his rival. He envies the Gutenberg title and wants to prove he is the better smith.

Hugo is the head chef of the Italian restaurant.

Todd is the second chef for the Italian restaurant.

Story & Thoughts

This is one of my favorite volumes in the whole series. It’s exceptionally funny. Between the events of Rozemyne’s magic training, her interactions involving Ferdinand, and the renown of her chefs, I couldn’t stop laughing. None of the other volumes were this funny.

Rozemyne’s life is now a whirlwind of activity due to her transition into the daughter of an archduke. As part of this, she must undergo lessons to learn proper etiquette. After those lessons, and getting to know Ferdinand better, Rozemyne can now fight back against his scheming. She’s not an expert, but she now knows how to get revenge for whenever she thinks he’s being mean. Their interactions are getting more fun to read.

The characters in this series are all so lovable. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love the cast. Several more characters appear in this volume to fill out her life in the noble quarter. I can definitely say I like the ones that get any bit of spotlight. There are several that don’t get more than an introduction, but I’m looking forward to getting to know them more as the story progresses.

Despite rating this a five, I do have some gripes. My problems aren’t with the writing or anything significant. They are small things that I might feel something like disappointment about.

For example, Rozemyne and Lutz feel so distant. Sure, they are still seeing each other fairly regularly, but she can only be herself with him in her private room. Lutz doesn’t seem as receptive to her clingy behavior, either. They’re both growing in different directions. It makes me sad. There’s a certain warmth between them missing from before. It’s upsetting, but I wouldn’t change anything. I love the story as it is.

Being My Little Sister’s Knight

This bonus chapter covers the events of Cornelius finding out he is getting a new little sister, being assigned as her guard, and learning how volatile her health is. He’s not fond of his parents plans at first. It’s interesting to see things through his perspective. It makes it clear how nervous she actually is during that time and emphasizes how smart she really is due to her learning speed. Of course, this story also includes the traumatic experience everyone who spends any extended length of time with Rozemyne gets. But that traumatic experience teaches him what it will require to be her guard.

One Stressed-Out Chef

The second bonus chapter is Hugo’s perspective of the events regarding the lunch at the restaurant. Hugo and Todd are both very nervous to be serving archnobles. Todd is an absolute mess, but Hugo hides it better. He keeps a cool face and takes pity on Todd, but he’s probably going to get an ulcer. Neither of them seem enthused about about their employment for the next month.

Wicked: Witch & Curse

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Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder, Debbie Vigié
Series Name: Wicked
Volume Number: 1 & 2
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural, Urban, Witches
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: Simon Pulse/ Simon & Schuster
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7119-1
Rating: 1.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Holly Cathers’s world shatters when her parents are killed in a terrible accident. Wrenched from her home in San Francisco, she is sent to Seattle to live with her relatives, Aunt Marie-Claire and her twin cousins, Amanda and Nicole.

In her new home, Holly’s sorrow and grief soon give way to bewilderment at the strange incidents going on around her. Such as how any wish she whispers to her cat seems to come true. Or the way a friend is injured after a freak attack from a vicious falcon. And there’s the undeniable, magnetic attraction to a boy Holly barely knows.

Holly Amanda, and Nicole are about to be launched into a dark legacy of witches, secrets, and alliances, where ancient magics yield dangerous results. The girls will assume their roles in an intergenerational feud beyond their wildest imaginations…and in doing so, will attempt to fulfill their shared destiny.

Personal & Info

This is the first volume of the two-in-one editions for the Wicked series. In total, there are two thick two-in-one volumes, along with one single volume. Or, for anyone getting individuals, it would equate to five books.

There are tons of different perspectives in this novel. It jumps around to tell a story of past and present, as well as both sides of an ongoing feud.

Content Warnings

-animal sacrifice including house pets

-death

-suicide

Characters

Cathers/Cahors

Holly Cathers is the main character. She’s seventeen when her life undergoes tragic and drastic changes. At the start, her family history is completely unknown to her.

Isabeau Cahors is an ancestral member of the Cathers family. As the successor of the Cahors family, she was arranged to marry Jean Deveraux, even though their families were enemies. Her spirit is not at rest.

Catherine Cahors is Isabeau Cahors’ mother. In her time, she led the Cahors family as Queen Regnant of Le Circle des Cahors, which basically equates to master of her family.

Marie-Claire Cathers-Anderson is Holly’s aunt, the sister to Holly’s father, Daniel. She does not know she is a witch, and she is vain about her appearance. Despite her vanity and wealth, she is a kind person.

Amanda Anderson is one of Marie-Claire’s and Robert’s twin daughters. She is the more kind and down to Earth twin. According to Michael Deveraux, Amanda is normal, like her father.

Nicole Anderson is one of Marie-Claire’s and Robert’s twin daughters. Like her mother, she cares about how she looks. Her dream is to become an actress. Nicole is the daughter with the obvious signs of being a witch.

Many other Cahors family members appear throughout the book, but their parts are small, so I’m not going to bother listing them here.

Deveraux

Duc Laurent de Deveraux is an ancestral “noble warlord” of the Deveraux family. As the ancestral master of the family, he is Jean’s father, and played a part in arranging the marriage of Isabeau and Jean. In modern day, he appears to Micheal in the form of a spirit that looks like a grotesque corpse.

Michael Deveraux is, as far as he knows, the current master of the Deveraux family. He seeks to gain the knowledge of the black fire and destroy what remains of the Cahors family, whether they are ignorant of their heritage and powers or not.

Eli Deveraux is Michael’s oldest son. His father can easily manipulate him by appealing to his greed for money and power.

Jeraud Deveraux, who usually goes by Jer, is Michael’s youngest son. He has more humanity than his father and brother. I think he’s supposed to be Holly’s love interest.

Jean Deveraux is an ancestral member of the Deveraux family. As the successor of the Deveraux family, he was arranged to marry Isabeau, even though their families were enemies. His spirit is not at rest.

Many other Deveraux family members appear throughout the book, but their parts are small, so I’m not going to list them here.

Coven Members

Holly’s

Tommy Nagai is Amanda’s best friend. Holly suspects they should be dating, but neither will cross that line.

Cecile Beaufrere is the mother of one of Amanda’s friends.She practices the art of Voodoo.

Silvana Beaufrere is Amanda’s friend who lives in New Orleans.

Jer’s

Kialish Carter is Jer’s friend, and the son of a shaman.

Eddie Hinook has very few descriptors. His only specifications are that he is Kialish’s lover and he is friends with Jer.

Kari Hardwicke is a teacher’s assistant at the university Jer is attending. As a grad student, she is older than him. They are dating, because Kari has interest in magic for her thesis and she knows Jer’s family practices.

Mother

Anne-Louise Montrachet is a protection magic specialist.

Supreme

Sir William Moore is the Master of the Supreme Coven in London.

James Moore is Sir William’s son. He’s wants to overthrow his father to steal his position.

Madrid/White Magic

José Luís is the current leader of the coven.

Señor Alonzo is the oldest member of the coven. He is the benefactor and father figure.

Armand is the “conscience” of the coven. He is serious and quiet, and he is a former student of the priesthood.

Pablo is José Luís’s younger brother.

Philippe is José Luís’s lieutenant, and a love interest for Nicole.

Other

Robert Anderson is Marie-Claire’s husband. Holly describes him as “gray.” He is a normal, kind human, who processes his problems by overworking or drinking alcohol.

Dan Carter is Kialish’s father, the shaman.

Witch

Rating: 2/5

Story & Thoughts

I feel like this book starts slow. It jumps around to a bunch of perspectives that don’t make much sense at first, which makes it hard to get into. I’m used to reading books with multiple perspectives, but this one is rough for the first few chapters. It’s gets better once the story starts making more sense, but early on the transitions are a bit disorienting. It makes sense though, because it’s supposed to be disorienting to Holly.

The multiple perspectives tell a story of past and present. I don’t think I like the execution. The characters slowly gain more information and understanding of the events they see in their dreams or visions. This is supposed to contribute to plot building, but my problem with it is the events of the present are actually dull compared to the past. The present doesn’t get interesting until closer to the end.

The biggest reason for that is the fact none of the characters involved even know they are witches until about half way through the story. You’d think that would provide ample opportunity for the characters to have interesting experiences to grow and learn, but there are time jumps where we’re supposed to just assume they are studying and researching however they can. I don’t like the story telling method of “time passed so they can just do this now.”

I’m not even sure if I should consider this a romance. The romance for the modern day stuff is seriously lacking. It paints kind of a Romeo & Juliet type thing, but one of them is already in a relationship, and nothing amounts to anything. All the romance is basically exclusive to the past characters, Isabeau and Jean.

Overall, I’m not impressed. There is very little I like about it, but I don’t hate it. If the second novel in this two-in-one is not any better, I will probably donate the whole series instead of reading it.

Curse

Rating: 1/5

Story & Thoughts

This part starts approximately one year after the beginning of the first. Right off the bat, I’m disappointed. Nicole is missing, because she ran away. This could have been used as an interesting scene, where either the group bickers about her desire to flee, or we see her sneak away. Just telling the reader she’s gone seems like poor writing. I have many issues with the storytelling.

Multiple times, there are instances in which people just state things, instead of putting them in the story. It’s like cutting events and learning experiences, and it detracts so much from the story. Most of the things that get this treatment are the parts that should be intense and epic or interesting or constructive to character growth. How are we supposed to understand that Holly is the strongest Cahors since Catherine? We don’t get to see her learn and grow.

There are so many more perspective changes than before. Curse tries to tell the generational parts of the Deveraux and Cahors histories, and adds even more characters to the already large cast. The majority of the historical parts are not dreams or visions. They’re just scattered around and don’t seem to directly contribute any relevance to the story. The history is interesting, but it’s mostly for the reader. Most of the parts involving the history for Isabeau and Jean just rehash everything we already know from Witch.

I have almost nothing but complains to say about this section. It was frustrating to read. The romance is garbage. Holly and Jer don’t know anything about each other. I don’t think they even love each other. I honestly think they just have an illusion of feeling in love, because of Jean and Isabeau influencing them.

Overall

Story & Thoughts

This is one of the crappiest books I’ve ever read. The overarching story is fine, but it has an absolutely terrible execution. A story about three girls discovering they are witches and getting pulled into an ancient family feud should be an awesome story, but it’s not. I’m abandoning the possibility of ever reading the rest of this series, because it’s so terribly written.

You’d think the premise would provide ample opportunity for the characters to have interesting experiences to grow and learn, but there are time jumps where we’re supposed to just assume they are studying and researching however they can. We don’t get to see anything that teaches the reader how magic works while they themselves learn. I don’t like the story telling method of “time passed so they can just do this now.” Any good fantasy novel describes the mechanics of how the magic works to immerse the reader.

I’ve seen authors give advice that specifically says not to just tell what happens, but to show it. This novel struggles with that concept. It skips any interesting learning experiences that could contribute to lore and world building. Even events that are supposed to be climactic with high stakes are disappointing. I cannot express how disappointed and frustrated I am about the storytelling. It got to a point where I just wanted it to be over, but I was determined to finish.

The romance isn’t even good, if it exists at all. There’s a good chance Jer and Holly aren’t actually in love and are just feeling the emotions of Isabeau and Jean. They don’t know each other. I don’t think they’ve ever even had a conversation outside of wet dreams and warnings.

I don’t recommend this book or series to anybody, unless you enjoy bad storytelling. It’s a good premise with a terrible execution. Also, someone kills a cat, and not just any cat, a beloved house cat. That felt more like it was done for shock value than storytelling. I’m just so glad this book is done. I don’t often compare books to garbage, but this one is kind of garbage. It was an ordeal to finish.

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

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

Description from the Book

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

Personal & Info

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

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

Characters

Myne’s Family

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

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

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

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

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s new baby brother.

The Gilberta Company

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Temple

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

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

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

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

Attendants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order

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

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

Other

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

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

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

Bierce is the new Guildmaster of the ink guild.

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

Story & Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

Freida—A Visit to the Noble’s Quarter

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

Sylvester—Cleaning up the Mess

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

Arno—Fran and I

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

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

Benno—Maybe Lessen the Workload

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

Fran—To Serve as the High Bishop’s Attendant

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

Effa—Facing the Future

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

Josef—Beruf Certification

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

Leon—Sylvester Undercover

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

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

Chosen

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

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

Personal & Info

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

Content Warnings

-Death

-Insensitive Language

-Sexual Themes

-Inappropriate Conduct for a Teacher

-Bullying

Characters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Story & Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Darkdeep

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

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

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

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

Personal & Info

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

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

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

Characters

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

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

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

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

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

Story & Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 2, Vol. 3 (LN)

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 2: Apprentice Shrine Maiden, Vol. 3 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356054
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

An immense display of mana in front of the Knight’s Order has earned Myne the attention of nobles. The result? Yet more people appear, hoping to exploit the young apprentice shrine maiden’s value. And so the High Priest decides to shelter Myne in the temple to safeguard her from the impending danger he foresees. But Myne’s main concern is still books, and she works to advance the printing process so that their price will fall and more people can buy them. Her long winter in the temple away from her family begins, but everything changes as the harsh winter passes and the spring nears, offering a glimpse into what the future holds.

Personal & Info

There’s a new map in this book! I can’t say for sure what exactly it is. I think it’s the country of Ehrenfest and other surrounding countries, but the “Country Border Gate” encompassing the lot of them makes me wonder if I’m wrong. I’m hoping another volume will have more detailed information on this.

Characters

Myne’s Family

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

Tuuli is Myne’s sister. She is one year older than her, and is very responsible and capable for her age. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress.

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

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

The Gilberta Company

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

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

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

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

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

The Temple

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

High Priest Ferdinand is Myne’s guardian at the temple. He is twenty, fairly new to his job, and convolutedly related to the High Bishop.

Sylvester is a blue priest who accompanies the High Priest and Myne during Spring Prayer. He is an eccentric and rather childish person. His actual noble rank remains a mystery.

Fran is one of the High Priest’s best attendants. He is seventeen, and reassigned to Myne upon her joining the temple. By loyalty, he technically works for the High Priest instead of Myne. Fran is assigned to Myne to help her learn and adapt to life in the temple. He is also responsible for watching Myne’s health while she is at the temple.

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

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

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

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

Arno is one of the High Priest’s attendants.

Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order

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

Damuel is a kind knight from the previous volume, currently assigned as Myne’s guard.

Other

Hugo is a chef Benno hired. He is about twenty, and he is learning to cook in a noble’s kitchen by practicing in Myne’s quarters at the temple.

Ella is the apprentice chef Benno hired. She is in her early teens, and is learning to cook with Hugo in Myne’s quarters at the temple.

Johann is an apprentice craftsman at the smithy. He specializes in small detail work that is typically too difficult for others.

Story & Thoughts

After the busywork of the previous volume, this one gets things back on track. Myne starts new projects and inventions, but the story doesn’t heavily focus on them. Instead, the focus is Myne dealing with hardships

It’s already been arranged that Myne will stay at the temple all winter. That on its own is going to be hard. Unlike in her previous life, she’s much more family oriented, so months away from her family is going to be rough. Sure, she’s not alone, because she has attendants, but it’s not the same.

There has to be an obvious master and servant divide between them. Myne can’t treat her attendants like friends. Something as simple as getting a hug is not something she is able to do. When she has to go to the temple for the winter early due to potential danger, it’s even worse, because it’s more like house arrest.

The story talks a lot about how Myne is drawing attention to herself and that Benno is wise to keep her identity a secret. There are events ahead that Myne will have no control over, because it’s either do what she’s told or die for being a potential danger to herself and the country. All of that makes sense, but it can’t possibly be easy for her.

A new character gets an introduction during the spring. It’s unclear who Sylvester actually is, but one thing is for certain. He has too much authority for someone so childish and whimsical. I can’t help wondering about his actual identity and what part he might play in the future. I get the feeling he doesn’t actually live at the temple. It’s pretty clear we’re going to see him again at some point.

This series has easily become one of my favorites. Just one paragraph is enough to make me feel engrossed and comforted. I love all of the characters, even rude Sylvester after seeing more interactions. I can’t express enough how much joy and comfort I get from these books. The world comes more and more alive every volume.

Lunchtime at the Temple

This bonus chapter is in Damuel’s perspective. It takes place before Spring Prayer, while Damuel is dining with High Priest Ferdinand. Throughout their mealtime discussion, Damuel reports his perspective of Myne. In return, Ferdinand points out the “sins” of which Damuel is not aware are included in his punishment. This gives Damuel more insight into how to be a better person and a better knight.

The conversation about Damuel’s money problems in this chapter are likely relevant to Ferdinand’s discussion with Myne at a later date.

The Title of “Gutenberg”

In this chapter, we see Johann’s side of things regarding the presentation of his patron project. We get to see what happens after Myne faints, and the official judgement from the guild for his score. One thing is certain, he is not happy to have the title of “Gutenberg.”