Tag: Fantasy

Half Bad

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

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

Personal & Info

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

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

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

Content Warnings

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

Characters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Story & Thoughts

In Regards to Content Warnings

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

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

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

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

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

General Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, Vol. 5 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356115
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

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

Personal & Info

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

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Knight Commander’s Family

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

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

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

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

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

Rozemyne’s Retainers

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

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

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

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

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

Lower City Family

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

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

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

Kamil is Myne and Tuuli’s baby brother.

Temple Attendants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Hugo is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

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

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

The Plantin Company

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

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

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

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

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

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

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

Other Nobles

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

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

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

Giebe Illgner is Brigitte’s older brother.

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

Veronica is Sylvester’s mother, currently in prison.

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

Viscount Gerlach is a noble loyal to Georgine.

Gutenbergs

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

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

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

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

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

Other

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

Richt is Hasse’s new mayor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Story & Thoughts

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

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

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

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

Grandfather on the Day of the Baptism

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

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

In Place of My Older Sister

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

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

Two Marriages

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

No Rest for Us

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

Meanwhile at the Temple

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

The Laynoble Guard Knight

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

One Handful of a Chef

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

Turning Point

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Turning Point by Lisanne Norman
Series Name: Sholan Alliance
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Adventure, Aliens, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Space Opera
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: DAW
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 0-88677-575-2
Rating: 2.5/5
Amazon ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Cut off from Earth by alien conquerors, the human colony on Keiss was slowly building an underground resistance movement to stand against the Valtegan invaders. But for many of the colonists, it was already too late.

Her twin sister Elise captured by Valtegan soldiers, Carrie, telepathically and empathically linked with Elise, experienced all the pain and terror that her sister was suffering. Only her twin’s death freed Carrie from torment, though it also left her completely alone in her own mind for the first time in her life. But this mental void was unexpectedly filled when Kusac, a felinoid crewman of a crashed starship, touched her thoughts. Drawn to him by their shared Talent, Carrie hid the injured Kusac from the Valtegans, and in so doing found a friend and an invaluable ally.

Yet though the trust and understanding between Carrie and Kusac was soon unshakable, it would prove far more difficult to convince each of their races that their only hope of overthrowing the Valtegans was to band together against the common foe. And even such an alliance offered no guarantee of success, for no one on any of the settled worlds had yet found a way to defeat this warrior race ready to lay waste to any civilization they could conquer.

Personal & Info

One of my friends recommended this to me a few years ago. It took me a while to get around to getting a copy and then actually read it. I’m sorry to say, it sat on my shelf for a couple years after I got it. I always meant to read it sooner rather than later.

Turning Point released in 1993, and appears to be rather obscure, so finding affordable copies might pose a small challenge. It’s not super old, but it’s old enough that the cover art makes it look stereotypically retro. I’m pretty sure most of the series is out of print, but they all seem to be available on kindle.

This volume is less than 300 pages long, but don’t let that fool you. The other volumes are all in the 600+ range, so don’t think this will be some convenient short, easy to read, series. I’ve also been told this one is the most docile volume. The romance is supposed to really take off and get more convoluted later.

Characters

Carrie is the female main character. She is twenty-three, and lives in Valleytown with her father(Peter) and her brother(Richard). Carrie has no interest in marrying and settling down to raise a family. She has telepathic abilities, and wants something more exciting out of life.

Peter Hamilton is Carrie and Richard’s father. He leads the Passive Resistance movement in Valleytown.

Richard is Carrie’s brother. Unlike their overbearing father, Richard cares about Carrie’s happiness. He seems like the kind of brother who is a good friend as well as family.

Kusac is the other main character and male love interest. He is a feline alien from the planet Shola. Kusac is a telepath serving as a scout officer in the Sholan military.

Vanna is the medic of Kusac’s military squad. She wants to study xenobiology.

Guynor is a technical scientist in Kusac’s squadron. He’s more brawn than brain, but knows his way around certain types of technlology.

Mito is a tech specialist in Kusac’s squadron. She’s also an opportunistic dater, who wants to be with whomever is the strongest or most interesting. Her current boyfriend is Guynor.

Garras is the Captain of Kusac’s squad. He is the oldest and wisest in the group.

Skai is the ex-boyfriend of Carrie’s deceased twin sister, Elise. His perspective on Elise and Carrie is skewed and inaccurate.

Skinner is one of the Captains in the rebellion against the Valtegans.

Anders is a tech specialist in Skinner’s chosen team.

Jo is a member of the resistance against the Valtegans, who previously worked with Carrie’s twin sister, Elise.

Story & Thoughts

As the first volume of a series, the book is okay. The story is decent and the important characters are well defined. The lore and descriptions are clear enough to be engaging and easy to understand, especially the ones involving the telepathy Link.

However, there is a lot of room for improvement. Some of the word choices are a little strange. Kusac gets hurt way too frequently throughout the story. He’s wounded more often than not. And my biggest issue, I think the book is too short to portray the story as well as it could.

There isn’t a cliffhanger, but the story feels incomplete. It ends rather abruptly. The primary issue gets resolved, but throughout the book, people are constantly talking about a court appearance that Kusac and Carrie are going to have to attend. Ideally, this constantly mentioned event would happen in this volume, because that’s what usually happens when a plot builds something up like that. Well, it doesn’t. That event is likely in the second volume, while this one just kind of drops off after the climactic event concludes. There should probably be one more chapter for the story to wind down for a smooth transition.

It’s not good enough to make me want to spend money on a second volume. However, I am mildly curious to see where it goes and how this can be a series. If I don’t have to pay money to read it, I’ll probably give the second volume try, but don’t get your hopes up on that happening. If it does, I only hope the second book picks up almost exactly where this one leaves off.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 3, Vol. 4

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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke, 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: 9781718356108
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Love blooms in Spring! Rozemyne’s retainers are bursting with energy as they sew new clothes, attend their debuts, and thrive in the new season. The improved printing press has finally been completed in the temple workshop, and new types of books are steadily being produced. Knight stories, picture books, sheet music collections, and more are all now being sold! Their next goal is to further develop the paper-making industry in preparation for spreading printing across the entire duchy. To achieve this, Rozemyne’s party travels to Illgner to teach the people there how to make paper and also to research new materials. Rozemyne’s environment slowly improves, but unease spreads throughout Ehrenfest when the archduke’s older sister arrives for a visit…

Personal & Info

The Cat-Eared Maid is my favorite bonus comic in the back, but all of them are pretty good.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

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

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian 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. He is supposed to become the next archduke of Ehrenfest.

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

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

Bonifatius is Sylvester’s uncle, Karstedt’s father, and Rozemyne’s grandfather. He covers for Sylvester while he is away at archduke meetings.

The Knight Commander’s Family

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

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

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He works in the Knight’s Order, and he is a big fan of Ferdinand.

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

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

Rozemyne’s Retainers

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

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

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

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

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

Lower City Family

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

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

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

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 admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

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

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

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

Personnel

Ella is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Hugo is Rozemyne’s personal chef.

Rosina is Rozemyne’s personal musician.

The Gilberta Company

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

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

The Plantin Company

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

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

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

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

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

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

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

Other Nobles

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

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

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

Giebe Illgner is Brigitte’s older brother.

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

Veronica is Sylvester’s mother, currently in prison.

Viscountess Gloria Dahldolf is the mother of Shikza, the noble who suffered execution as a result of harming Myne instead of protecting her.

Gutenbergs

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

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

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

Other

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

Richt is Hasse’s new mayor.

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

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

Story & Thoughts

Everyone is thinking ahead in this volume, except Rozemyne. Benno, Mark, and Lutz are making business decisions based entirely on how Rozemyne’s life proceeds, ready to uproot at a moment’s notice. Tuuli, who wants to make Rozemyne’s clothes someday, wants to be able to follow her wherever she might end up, too.

My favorite thing in this book is the romance. Back during the previous Starbind events, we learned both Damuel and Brigitte are seeking marriage partners. If you’re like me, you might think they should just marry each other, but there’s the issue of him being a laynoble, and her a mednoble. Their mana difference makes it an impossibility due to societal expectations.

Nothing is for sure, but the start of a potential romance between them blooms. It’s so cute and sweet. I ship them so hard. We’ll have to wait until next Starbind to see what happens.

After part two, there has been a long break from major political issues. The story is circling back around to politics. However, it doesn’t seem like the people supporting Georgine have thought anything all the way through. Their thoughts seem based on what they want, rather than what Georgine might want.

If you consider Georgine’s rank for her current status, her intentions can’t possibly be what they think. After all, why would anyone with a higher status intentionally throw that away to take something of a lower status? There has to be something more elaborate going on in Georgine’s mind. I don’t think she would throw away her current rank. She seems like the kind of person who likes to have power. We likely won’t see the full culmination of whatever her plans are until somewhere in part four. Needless to say, the whole thing is ominous.

Tea Party

This is Florencia’s experience during Georgine’s visit. She attends a couple tea parties with Sylvester and Elvira to discuss the previous High Bishop’s death and learn more about Georgine. Florencia apparently never met Georgine, until now. She is more familiar with Sylvester’s other sister. We also get to see her side of Wilfried’s blunder. She has nothing but praise when it comes to Rozemyne. Florencia doesn’t speak much during the main story, but it’s clear she’s a kind person with good intentions, who has been treated unfairly in the past.

Damuel’s Proposal

If there’s a bonus chapter you’ll want to read, it’s going to be this one. Rozemyne was not present for the events of the actual Starbind socializing, so this chapter covers what actually happened, without any embellishment. Damuel’s goal is unheard of, but I’m rooting for him. Brigitte and Damuel are so cute together.

Staying in Illgner

This last bonus chapter is in Gil’s perspective. It takes place over the summer in Illgner, while they’re experimenting with new types of paper. Things are very different in Illgner. There are no stores, no thieves, and everybody has to work. Damien doesn’t like it there one bit. He was sent because he has experience with nobles, but really that has little to no significance in Illgner. I’m pretty sure I did not see the feybeast wood mentioned here, so they may not have tried it yet. This chapter’s resulting paper is the stuff Rozemyne uses to make her fan.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part. 3, Vol. 3 (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. 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, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 9781718356092
Rating: 3.75/5
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Description from the Book

Rozemyne the High Bishop has her hands full: she’s participating in noble society, the baptism ceremony, and the Dedication Ritual, as well as tutoring young children and guard knights with bad grades! Her influence in noble society and the temple increases steadily, and her squad of Gutenbergs work on improving the printing press. As her love for books grows, her mana grows stronger as well. The Saint of Ehrenfest’s work doesn’t stop there, as she must also hunt the Lord of Winter with the Knight’s Order, and then gather a new ingredient for her jureve potion during spring prayer. This is another action-packed volume of this biblio-fantasy, including two lengthy short stories and a four-panel manga drawn by You Shiina!

Personal & Info

It’s unfortunate that the title box for this volume covers the pandabus. The bus can be seen inside the book on the mini-poster version of the cover image. We need more pictures of the pandabus.

Characters

The Archduke’s Family

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

High Priest Ferdinand is Rozemyne’s guardian 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. He is supposed to become the next archduke of Ehrenfest.

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

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

The Knight Commander’s Family

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

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

Eckart is Karstedt’s oldest son. He 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. He is Henrik’s younger brother. Henrik is the laynoble to whom Freida has a contract.

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

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

Angelica is an apprentice knight and mednoble serving as Rozemyne’s guard alongside Cornelius.

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

Lower City Family

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

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

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

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 admires Wilma and does her best to emulate her to learn from her example.

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

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

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.

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

The Othmar Company

Gustav is the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

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

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

Other Nobles

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

Moritz is Wilfried and Rozemyne’s instructor.

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

Philine is a laynoble in the same class year as Rozemyne. She has a love of books and reminds Rozemyne a little of herself when she was starting out on her book journey in Ehrenfest.

Gutenbergs

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

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

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

Other

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

Hasse’s Mayor is in charge of the town 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.

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

Story & Thoughts

There is a lot going on in this volume. It covers the end of autumn all the way through Spring Prayer. There are time skips, but still, it’s a lot. Rozemyne’s schedule is packed the whole time.

I’m surprised they cover two seasonal gathering attempts in one book. The winter one is kind of boring. The feybeast is cool, but the actual encounter is rather dull from Rozemyne’s perspective. All she can do is wait, while she can hardly see anything, until Ferdinand comes to get her for the final step.

The spring gathering attempt, however, I love that one. It’s less combat oriented than autumn and winter. They clear out some weaker feybeasts, but the overall gathering is more of a fantastical magical experience. It’s kind of funny, too, because of the guys’ perspective afterward.

Knowing Rozemyne, I won’t be surprised if she keeps most of her current guards as her official retainers when the time comes. She likes to keep people around once she builds trust with them. I can see Brigitte probably leaving her after marriage.

I hope Rozemyne and Philine become good friends. She needs a kindred spirit around. As of right now, I have no idea who she might choose from the playroom to make retainers, but I can’t wait to get to know the new characters better.

Angelica has basically no dialogue or anything until now, so it’s nice to finally get to know her a little. I’m looking forward to seeing how things play out for Brigitte with the new dress, too. I just love all the characters so much.

Winter Debut and the Playroom

These are the events of the Winter Debut and the playroom from Lamprecht’s perspective. What I gather from the story is that all of the people around Wilfried are concerned about Rozemyne swiping the title of the next Aub from him, even though everybody makes it clear Rozemyne has no intention of becoming Archduke. If they aren’t worrying about Rozemyne, they are worrying about Wilfried’s sister, Charlotte, who comes of age the following year. It’s kind of sad, because this just shows most of the people around Wilfried don’t have confidence in him.

The High Bishop’s Exclusive Business

This short story is Ingo’s perspective regarding the carpentry work in Hasse, as well as his stress and uncertainty about whether or not he has Rozemyne’s exclusive business. In the volume, he makes it clear his reputation is on the line if he can’t get clarity, but here we actually get to see the doubt from those around him. It’s clear Rozemyne has more to learn about how to properly work with craftsmen without causing problems.

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
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

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
Amazon Barnes&Noble Crunchyroll ThriftBooks

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.