Tag: Magic

A Court of Mist and Fury

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Series Name: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Volume Number: 2
Genres: Enemies to Lovers, Fae, Fantasy, Magic, Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-63557-558-3
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book

Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she’s now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.

As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre’s hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world in turmoil.

Personal & Info

I was told to finish this volume, as the bare minimum, before making a judgement call about the series. The first book is not a good representation by itself. If you have not read the series and are interested in giving it a try, just know it’s about a thousand page time sink(combined count for volumes one and two) for the fair trial. The series is wildly popular, though, so you might find it worth your time.

Characters

Feyre is the main character. She is the youngest daughter in her family, and she has two older sisters. Her favorite hobby is painting, and she’s good at hunting. At this point in the story, she is now a High Fae, and everyone knows her as Feyre Cursebreaker.

Elain is the middle child in Feyre’s family. She likes flowers and is considered the pretty sister.

Nesta is the eldest daughter in Feyre’s family. She comes off as snobby, selfish, and mean, but she would do anything to protect Elain.

Tamlin is the High Fae Lord of the Spring Court. His special skill is shape changing, and his personality is beastly. Tamlin is Feyre’s love interest in the first book, and fiancee in this one.

Lucien is Tamlin’s emissary. He handles diplomatic relations between the seven kingdoms on Tamlin’s behalf, as well as any important tasks Tamlin needs handled. He can be snarky, but he usually means well.

Rhysand is the High Fae Lord of the Night Court. His special skill involves mind manipulation. He is disliked by generally everyone, because of his actions while Amarantha was in charge. He takes the stage as the lead male character in this book.

Mor, Amren, Cassian, and Azriel are Rhys’s friends and members of his inner circle for his court. Amren is his second in command. Mor is his third, who handles his affairs with the Court of Nightmares in his absence. Cassian and Azriel fill more military specialized roles.

Story & Thoughts

I am so glad I read this before deciding on committing to or abandoning the series. This is the best book I have read in a long time. It took me about four hours to get over the book hangover before I could do anything other than just stare off into space and process everything.

The first book is not my cup of tea, but it is extremely important to lay the foundations for everything. This one constantly references events from the first. It often explains other things that happened that Feyre and the reader could not possibly have known. There was so much more than what we actually saw going on. But don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like Tamlin as a love interest. Nothing in this book helps his case in my opinion.

Rhysand is the leading male in this volume, and the romance is so much better. He has way more personality and empathy than Tamlin. The build of this slow burn is so much more satisfying. It’s just so well done. Even the parts where not much is happening feel significant and engaging. I didn’t find a single moment of this entire lengthy book to be dull.

Even Feyre is better in this one. I liked her okay in the first book, but the growth and wisdom she gains in this one puts her leaps and bounds from where she started. She has a volatile temper, but she sees everything that I found myself thinking about the contents of the first book. I’m so proud of her.

There are so many things I feel like I can’t properly express with words, and things I liked about the book that I don’t want to say because they could be spoilers. What it really comes down to is the feeling that this book has so much more heart compared to the first. I can’t explain it any other way. I absolutely loved this book. If you’ve read the fist and did not enjoy it, please read this one. It is so much better. This review does not do this book justice. I do not have the words.

Bofuri, Vol. 2 (LN)

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Bofuri, Vol. 2 by Yuumikan, Koin
Series Name: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. (Light Novel)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Video Games
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9753-2354-7
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Maple has become famous overnight after finishing in the tip three of the battle royal and defeating over two thousand players without taking any damage at all. Now, with the treasure hunt event about to start, Maple and Sally set off in search of rare gear and adventure! The game admins and other players look on in both fear and excitement as they wait to see what crazy new development is about to hit the server!

Personal & Info

For others getting the light novels, the cover of the book is the papery kind, not the glossy kind. Because of this, it’s more flimsy. Mine has a small tear on it just from picking it up and setting it down a few times. You might want to be extra careful with how you handle it.

Characters

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance.

Several new characters appear in this volume. I can’t easily list them here without spoilers, so I’ll let anyone who doesn’t already know who they are find out by reading.

Story & Thoughts

This volume holds up well compared to the first. It’s approximately twice as thick, which is nice. The entire event they were prepping for is encompassed in this one book, so you don’t have to worry about getting the third to find out how it ends.

The length works against it a little, too, though. My biggest issue with the book is that there are several sections of the story where they have to wander around rather aimlessly. But, when something is happening, it’s really good. The various dungeons and bosses they have to clear are interesting. The boss fight with the bird had me on the edge of my seat. There’s still a decent amount of comedy mixed into the story, too.

In the first volume, there are occasional wholesome chapters of what people say in the game’s forums in reaction to Maple’s rise to fame. This one has something similar, which is the admins monitoring the event. Whenever Maple or Sally succeed at something that is designed to be impossible, or stumble into interesting situations, the admins freak out. It’s amusing, because the admins are afraid of either of them getting any more overpowered than they already are. There is also one tiny forum section as part of a normal chapter after the event is over.

The series does a good job making sure the reader knows where and how skills are obtained. However, Maple seems to have some skills that are not on her list of character information. I think they are skills she’s probably had all along, and just did not use until now. Several skills she uses in the event seem to be derived from her Hydra ability. When she first got and used the skills connected to that, there was an implication that there were only two skills: Hydra and Paralyze Shout.

I think I can excuse this, because of how early in the story it is. Maple is likely still learning what she can do. When she has to get down the cliff, she does take some time to look at her skills to see what is available to her. This all leads me to believe Hydra itself is more overpowered than I initially thought.

Overall, the book is really good. I wasn’t even in the mood to read it when I started, but after a chapter or two, I was sucked in. The series really is that good. I might have to bump it up on my priority list, because I’m always sad I don’t have the next volume.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Series Name: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Enemies to Lovers, Fae, Fantasy, Magic, Romance
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-63557-556-9
Rating: 2.5/5
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Description from the Book

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Personal & Info

I originally added this book to my to-read list back in 2018. Not long after, I started to see the series explode all over the internet. It wasn’t a priority for me, though, so I thought nothing of it. More recently, one of my closest friends discovered it, and has been encouraging everyone to read it. Because of that, I’ve found myself with a free copy, which saves me some trouble, because it’s not likely to be available from my local library for a very long time.

This author is apparently known for using odd word choices and contradictory descriptions.

Characters

Some characters might contain spoilers or are more interesting if the book handles the introduction, so I’m only going to list the most important ones that are around for the beginning or majority of the story.

Feyre is the main character. The story is told in her perspective. She is the youngest daughter in her family, and she has two older sisters. Her favorite hobby is painting, and she’s good at hunting.

Elain is the middle child in Feyre’s family. She likes flowers and enjoys looking lovely when they can afford it.

Nesta is the eldest daughter in Feyre’s family. She comes off as snobby, selfish, and mean. I think the book says she is older than Feyre by three years.

Tamlin is the love interest. He is a High Fae Lord with a shape changing specialty and a beastly demeanor.

Lucien is Tamlin’s emissary. He handles diplomatic relations between the seven kingdoms on Tamlin’s behalf. His attitude is generally snarky.

Alis is a maid who tends to Feyre’s needs, and helps answer some of her day to day questions.

Story & Info

My thoughts about this book are a little complicated to put into words for a review, but I’m going to try. There are things I like about it. The world is interesting, and I can see plenty of promise for building off of it. Seven vastly different kingdoms based on the seasons and times of day with eternal weather is pretty appealing.

The book is written in first person. That’s a common thing I know many people tend not to like, but I think it’s done well here. It doesn’t feel like the writing is full of the word, “I,” constantly, and the writing has a nice flow to it. After a few paragraphs, I practically forgot about it being a first person perspective. The only negative things I noticed about the writing were the occasional indecisive contradictory descriptions, and some likely plot holes.

Characters are where things start to get messy for me. All of the characters that I like are side characters. The two lead characters for the romantic couple, Feyre and Tamlin, that’s where my biggest problem is. I don’t mind Feyre. She’s okay, but she has some personality traits that rub me the wrong way, and I don’t agree with some of her perspectives and wants. At the end of the day, I don’t mind her, but she isn’t my ideal of a main character.

Tamlin, on the other hand, he’s about as interesting as a rock. He is stereotype handsome and exotic, because of his beast traits, but that is literally all he has going for him. I can’t bring myself to care about him. If I don’t care about him, why would I want the main character to be with him? It takes so much away from the enjoyment of the story when the love interest is not interesting. It genuinely feels like the only reason Feyre falls for him is because he shows her kindness, which is something she hasn’t experienced much of in her short, sad life.

Aside from the characters, the other big issue is pacing. The book is a little over four hundred pages, but the whole thing is a slog. I couldn’t handle more than maybe thirty or so pages at a time before I had to put it down for a break.

The process of reading the book genuinely feels like a whole lot of nothing is happening for the majority of the story. It’s like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but for the parts where that movie would do the cute and fun montages to show adapting to life living with the beast, we get a slogfest instead. Granted, I completely understand the process of events that had to occur, but it does not make the book fun to read.

For the majority of my reading, I felt like the book was a solid two. As the story progressed, and more characters were introduced, and I got to know them better, my opinion went up by a half. I like some of the side characters so much that they practically carried the book for me.

Based on this book alone, I probably wouldn’t be interested in reading more of the series. However, the whole series was gifted to me, and I have been recommended to at least read the first two books before making a final decision. So, I will be reading volume two at some point in the near future, before I decide if I want to commit to the entirety of the series.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 7

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 7 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-3620-1
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

After all the dangers the examinees have faced, passing the first-class mage exam will come down to a simple interview with Serie, whose intuition will determine success or failure. Then, Frieren, Fern, and Stark set out again on the road to Aureole, the land where souls rest. The journey provides new challenges – though the most challenging thing Stark and Fern may have to face is a date with each other!

Personal & Info

I bought this at the same time as volume six, and read them one after the other after my reread of the series. At this point, there are ten volumes available, so I’m still a little behind. When I eventually get caught up, I plan to try to keep up better with the current releases.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem. Her perspective on magic is that the pursuit of the art itself is the greatest joy.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for both Frieren and Stark.

Stark is Eisen’s apprentice. He has great skill as a warrior, but tends to be easy to scare.

Story & Thoughts

This one felt long. It’s not, but the pacing makes it feel like both a lot and nothing are happening in a way that makes the volume feel lengthy. I think the beginning and end sections were the best parts.

The first part of the volume covers the third part of the exam, picking up where the previous book leaves off with Fern. The rest of the examinees are then evaluated. If you read volume six, you know that this part of the test is simply Serie choosing to pass or fail them based on reactions or questions. I found this part amusing, because Serie’s questions and judgements about who passes and fails says a lot about her personality. It’s an interesting way to learn more about her character.

After the exam, there are the goodbyes to all the friends everyone made during the test. Some are seen again on the road, but things mostly get back to the travel montages and various flashbacks of things from Frieren’s past.

The part that excites me, and probably other readers with ships, is the latter end of the book. Stark and Fern actually go on their first date. It’s cute, but don’t get your hopes up too high. No drastic changes or improvements to their relationship occur during or because of the date.

There isn’t much action now that the exam is over, but this is still a good volume. I found myself smiling at multiple parts throughout the story. Despite the series starting off on a depressing note, I think it’s very heartwarming. It’s a comfortable and cozy feeling to read almost any volume.

Negima! Omnibus, Vol. 1

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Negima! Omnibus, Vol. 1 by Ken Akamatsu
Series Name: Negima! Magister Negi Magi
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Magic, Romance
Intended Age Group: 16+
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook 
ISBN: 978-1-61262-820-2
Rating: 2/5
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Description

Negi Springfield is a young graduate fresh out of a magic academy. The next step in his education is a work study. His assignment is to be a teacher…at an all girls junior high!? Can he balance a job as a child teacher and manage to attain his goal of becoming a great wizard?

Personal & Info

Amazon does not appear to have an active listing for this book, so the link leads to the series list where volumes two and up can be found.

I don’t really know anything about this series, aside from that it was wildly popular at one point.

This is the first 3-in-1 omnibus edition of any manga I’ve ever read. I wasn’t sure how I was going to format the review, because I wasn’t sure if the volumes have clear dividers. It turns out they do, so I’ll be reviewing each individual volume, as well as the omnibus as a whole.

Individual ratings for the volumes:
Volume 1: 2/5
Volume 2: 1/5
Volume 3: 3/5

Characters

Negi Springfield is about 10 years old, and a graduate from a magic academy. He’s from Wales, and his school assigns him to be a teacher in japan at the all girls school, Mahora Academy, for the purpose of working toward his chosen career.

Asuna Kagurazaka is a blatant bully, and most likely the love interest. She’s also Negi’s roommate/guardian.

Konoka Konoe is the Headmaster’s granddaughter, and Asuna’s roommate.

Konoemon Konoe is the headmaster. He is aware that Negi is a wizard, and his head is shaped like a pear.

Takamichi Takahata is the teacher Asuna is crushing on. Negi takes over his class, and Takamichi is not around much after that.

Shizuna is one of the school guidance councilors.

Ayaka Yukihiro is the class representative. She has a rivalry with Asuna that dates back to when they were small.

Negi’s entire class makes up the main cast, so I’m not going to list them all. They are all rather unique and quirky. Their names and general information can be found on a page that shows the class roster. More detailed information about each can be found between chapters where they list student bio information in small groups. The characters I chose to list here are the ones I feel are most important or are not included in the roster because they are faculty.

Story & Thoughts

Volume 1

My first impression is that this is a very dated type of humor. It doesn’t appeal to me right now, but it’s probably absolutely hilarious to twelve-year-olds. The main character, Negi, repeatedly sneezes girls’ clothes off throughout the volume. I wouldn’t mind it so much if there were a logical reason behind it. The way it’s done makes it feel forced just to have an immediate comedic effect.

There is a huge amount of fan service in this. I don’t think I’ve ever read a manga with this much fan service in it that was not intended to be explicit. This has way more ecchi in it than any other teen series I’ve ever read. That’s what stands out the most, but there are some good things I like.

There’s a large cast of characters. The entire class all has names. It’s not one of those series where most of the students are nameless blobs that only exist in the background. The cast size isn’t important to me. It’s more impressive that they bother to show the class roster with everybody’s names and activities on it next to their photos. That’s a good page to reference if anyone ever needs a refresher on who is who.

Aside from that, I like one of Negi’s quotes. “Courage – even a little bit of it – is the real magic.” It’s simple, but inspiring. It’s also probably Negi’s only solid teacher moment in the entire volume one section.

As for the story itself, the concept is simple and straight forward. Negi must be a teacher at this all girls school until March to meet the study requirements for his magic school. Nothing goes according to plan, because he’s younger than the class, and the little bit of magic he can do both causes and remedies problems. Plus, he has Asuna as his own personal bully.

I’m hoping there will be more to the story than all the nonsense and fan service. It’s apparently a romance, and I can only guess that Asuna and Negi are going to be the pairing. That’s a little strange due to their age difference.

I see plenty the story can build on for plot points, already. There’s a part where Asuna seems to be the only person immune to a spell that effects the whole class. I hope there is an actual reason for this that gets addressed later. Negi didn’t seem to notice, but it has to mean something.

Volume 2

The more I read this, the more problems I notice. One of the big things is Negi is too close to his students. He allows them to call him by his first name. He’s more of a friend to his students than a teacher. It would be wise for him to set some boundaries.

I have an issue with the ongoing types of humor and fan service. They’re highly inappropriate, and quite frankly, give me the ick. The story thus far is full of scenarios that surround Negi with naked girls and regularly shove people’s faces into boobs. This is a normal type of comedy for the time period, but the ages involved make it gross, and there’s just far too much of it.

Negi says he is in his tenth year, which makes him actually nine. All of his students are approximately six years older than him. It’s disgusting for teenagers to act this way. They keep saying he’s just a kid, but realistically speaking, he’s old enough that he should not be treated like he’s still a toddler when it comes to nudity.

The story itself is pretty weak. Negi is supposed to be doing a normal non-magical job as a teacher, but he resorts to magic for everything. We find out in this volume that all of his athletic ability comes from his magic. He literally cannot function without it. He becomes a child that needs to be coddled if he can’t use it. Not only that, but whenever a problem arises, he thinks he should use magic to fix it. Maybe he will grow to stop relying on it so much as the series goes on. I would hope that he does.

I did like the concept of Library Island. It’s strange that a library like that would exist and nobody would question it or think it odd, but it’s still an interesting idea. I don’t think teenagers should be the ones doing expeditions for it, though. I think I would have enjoyed this section more if it wasn’t also riddled with fan service. Adventure and lore about the library could have been interesting enough if made the main focus of the dungeon delve.

To be perfectly honest, I considered abandoning this omnibus maybe halfway through. Finishing this section was difficult, but I’m determined to complete the book. I’ve heard enough about the series over the years to know how popular it was, so I want to be able to say I gave it a fair shake by getting through the first three volumes.

Volume 3

This is the best volume in the omnibus. The fan service is downplayed significantly compared to the other two sections. It’s actually a relief. The addition of a perverted animal seems redundant when the series already has a ton of fan service as it is, but thankfully that behavior dies down after the character’s introduction.

There is much more to like about this section than the previous two. The story itself stands out now that the fan service is tamped down. We learn information that creates questions to actually try hooking the series better. A magic system regarding a mage and a combat partner gets an explanation, which leads us to magical combat.

The battle was enthralling. Renewal of the contract seemed pointless, but I guess it functioned as a way for Asuna to distract Chachamaru while Negi fought the vampire. I finally found some comedy that actually appealed to me in this part, too. The speech sounds people make when they get hit or knocked around during a fight are hilarious.

If the whole series were more like this volume, I’d like it better. This is what the series should be like. Volumes one and two are horrible introductions.

Overall

This series gives me Love Hina vibes, but with a younger age group. That’s not a compliment. I don’t like Love Hina.

As a whole, it gives me the ick. Negi is nine, because he claims to be in his tenth year, and according to the character information between chapters, Asuna is approximately five or six years older than him. That kind of romantic pairing is gross, and the amount of nudity thrown at Negi is abhorrent.

This is supposed to be a comedy, but I don’t find it funny. The comedy types and tropes are dated and probably appeal better to a younger audience. I didn’t get a laugh until part 3, and it came from the noises people made when being hit or knocked back. I doubt I would have enjoyed this series back when I was in the target age group, either. The comedy seems to be on the level of twelve year olds, but the series is recommended for sixteen and up.

If the whole series was like volume three, I would be interested in reading more. Unfortunately, I can’t predict if the series is more like the first two or the third. Only one good volume out of the first three doesn’t bode well, so I don’t plan on looking into it any further.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 6

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 6 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-3400-9
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

The mages begin the second stage of their certification exam: a dangerous expedition into the innermost depths of the ruins of the king’s tomb. This time, there are no teams and it’s every mage for themselves. Whether they want to team up or not, the challenge they will face – their own clones – will push their skills to the limit.

Personal & Info

I haven’t been keeping up with this series as well as I should. There are long gaps between some of my volumes getting read, and I don’t buy them as often as I would like. I did a reread of volumes 1-5 before reading this one, because it’s been more than six months since I read anything from the series. The reread was worth it. It made the transition to my newer volumes smoother and refreshed my memory.

Everybody probably knows this already, but there’s an anime for this series available now.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem. Her perspective on magic is that the pursuit of the art itself is the greatest joy.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for both Frieren and Stark. Her skill shines during the exams.

Kanne and Lawine are both third-class mages. They were Frieren’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Both of them attended the same academy of magic, and are good friends, despite how often they fight.

Übel and Land are third and second class mages. They were Fern’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Übel apparently learns magic via empathy and she’s pestering Land because she wants to learn his ability.

Denken, Laufen, and Richter are mages from a team in the first part of the exam. Richter appears to run some kind of store. Denken comes from an imperial mage background, and Laufen gets treated like she’s his granddaughter. Richter and Denken are second class mages while Laufen is third class. Denken is their leader.

Scharf, Ehre, and Wirbel are mages from a team in the first part of the exam. All three are second class mages. Wirbel appears to be their leader.

Sense is a first class mage, and the proctor for the second part of the exam.

There are more characters, but these are the ones that are most significant due to having played important parts in the first part of the exam. They are also the ones who get the most screen time in this section. Others mentioned in the book get less time, but may still be important.

Story & Thoughts

This is a great volume. The second part of the first class mage exam begins. It’s much simpler in comparison to the first part. Catching the stille was convoluted compared to this. For the second test, the goal is simply to make it to the end of an unmapped dungeon. What they don’t tell you is it’s not an ordinary dungeon.

Much like the the previous book, there’s a lot of magical combat. This is paired well with more information about various types of magic. So, if you like learning about how the magic of the world works, it’s pretty interesting.

I didn’t like Übel at all when she was first introduced, but the more screen time she gets, the more I like her. She’s a little psychotic, but sometimes the best characters are. I’m looking forward to more content with her if she makes any appearances after the exam.

The third exam is also in this book. It’s pretty pitiful compared to the first and second, but Fern’s turn makes me giggle. Her reaction must have felt so insulting, and then the volume just ended right there.

Overall, this volume was really good. It has comedy, strategy, competition, magic battles, and magic lore. I was torn on giving it a five, but I don’t think it was quite perfect. I’m enjoying the exam section a lot, but I also miss Stark. We’ve hardly seen him since the exams started. Poor guy can only wait around and kill time while the girls are taking the test.

Shugo Chara! Vol. 1

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Shugo Chara! Vol. 1 by Peach-Pit
Series Name: Shugo Chara!
Genres: Comedy, Magic, Romance
Intended Age Group: Children/middle grade
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook 
ISBN: N/A
Rating: 3/5
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Description

Everyone thinks Amu is so cool, but the truth is she’s just shy. The misconception drives her crazy, because she just wants to be able to outwardly express how she really feels without getting embarrassed. Three magic eggs appear in her bed one morning and hatch into Guardian Characters, angel-like beings who can magically help her be someone new. But now people are harassing her about something called an “embryo.” What hardships will accompany this new found power?

Personal & Info

BookWalker’s copy, which is where I read this, did not have an ISBN listed anywhere. Usually there’s one at the end of the book, but that is not the case here.

There is no Crunchyroll link for this book, because they appear to only have volumes two and up. The series is more than ten years old at this point, so some places are only going to have digital or used copies. Just make sure you know which format you’re looking at if you decide you want to get into this.

Apparently I added this to my to-read list years ago and completely forgot about it. It’s pure coincidence that I managed to get a free digital copy to try the series.

There is a spin off series by the name Shugo Chara-chan!, which looks like it focuses on the day to day mini-adventures of Amu’s Guardian Characters.

Characters

Amu Hinamori is a fourth grader from Seiyo Elementary on her way into the fifth grade. She is unhappy with her life, because she doesn’t know what kind of person she wants to be, but she knows she’s discontent with how she currently is. Amu is the main character. I’m sure her pink hair already gave that away. She’s unique because she has three eggs.

Midori Hinamori is Amu’s mother. She is the editor for Housewife’s Wisdom monthly magazine.

Tsugumu Hinamori is Amu’s father. He is a wild bird photographer.

Ami Hinamori is Amu’s 3 year old sister. Their parents could have tried to be a little more original with their daughters’ names.

Tadase Hotori is the King’s Chair Guardian for a group the school refers to as the Guardians. He is often referred to as Prince and Kiddy Prince. His guardian character is Kiseki.

Ran is Amu’s first guardian character. She’s good at honesty and sports. Her symbol is a heart.

Miki is Amu’s second guardian character. She’s good at art. Her symbol is a spade.

Su is Amu’s third guardian character. She’s good at cooking. Her symbol is a club.

Nadeshiko Fujisaki is the Queen’s Chair Guardian for a group the school refers to as the Guardians. Her guardian character is Temari.

Yaya Yuiki is the Ace Chair Guardian for a group the school refers to as the Guardians. Her guardian character is Pepe.

Kukai Souma is the Jack Chair Guardian for a group the school refers to as the Guardians. His guardian character is Daichi. Kukai is also Captain of the soccer team.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi is a mysterious boy who wants to steal Amu’s eggs. His guardian character is Yoru, and their transformation makes Ikuto look like a cat.

Utau is apparently a fourteen-year-old famous singer and a member of the villain group.

Story & Thoughts

I kind of wish I’d found this series back when it was still new. I think I would have absolutely loved it back then. It would have been a great series to get into around the same time Tokyo Mew Mew was making the rounds.

The story is super cute and relatable, but it also exaggerates things in a way that is typically best enjoyed by younger age groups. The introduction is a good example. Amu apparently suffers from some common social problems. She’s the new girl at her school. Her classmates, and even her parents, all think she is super cool, because she has that cool and reserved exterior. It’s not Komi levels of social anxiety, but everyone thinks she’s cool because they don’t really know or understand her. Assumptions about her life abound, and she comes off as a cool edgy kid. The fact the parents buy into it, too, makes it unrealistic.

On the inside, and when she’s alone, Amu is frustrated about how she can’t properly express herself or do things she wants to be good at. That’s where the story becomes relatable. I feel like these things are something most kids go through. Feeling shame or anxiety or dread about having to do things they aren’t good at, or wish they could be better at.

This is where the eggs come in. The story says all children have something called a heart egg that disappears as they get older. In some special cases, the eggs hatch, and they get a guardian character. These guardians represent the kind of person the kids want to be. Maybe not exact, but they represent the traits they wish they had. In Amu’s case, for example, one of hers is more honest and more athletic.

But the great thing about this aspect of the story is, these guardians are there to assure you that you have what it takes to become the person you want to be. It’s like they’re the training wheels you need to learn how to be that person, and they’re always reminding you that you have that potential. I’m curious how how the story handles things when kids actually make progress with that kind of character growth. Maybe that’s when the guardian characters disappear.

It looks like the story is going in a sort of magical girl transformation direction, but the boys get transformations, too. Amu is special, though, so she’s going to have three since she has three characters. She is crushing on Tadase in this volume, but I strongly suspect her actual love interest is going to be Ikuto. There was a strong moment of tension between them, and an enemies to crush relationship would be adorable and interesting for them.

I love the message the story is outlining about personal growth and hope. Amu’s hairclip changes to show which guardian is affecting her, and I think that’s a cute way to easily portray who is in control. This is a series I wouldn’t mind reading more of, but I don’t know when or if that will happen. I have a lot I’m working on as it is, so I’ll probably just throw it on my wishlist for now.

Marked

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Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-36026-9
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

ENTER THE DARK, MAGICAL WORLD OF THE HOUSE OF NIGHT, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change – and not all those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny – with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

Personal & Info

I’m going into this without reading any descriptions. I’ve heard so many people praise the series. When I found a few volumes cheaply at my local store, I made sure to grab them. All I know going into it is that it has something to do with vampires.

The shop links go to copies of the singular volume, but there are also box sets for the series. So, if you prefer to purchase your books in sets, you can easily find those on the same sites.

Content Warnings

-Teen deaths

-Insensitive language (This book is from 2007 so characters throw around words like “retarded” due to that being the type of language used at the time the book was written.)

-Sexual themes (The story mentions things like blowjobs and erotic dancing.)

-Bullying (The gay character experiences bullying, and the mean girl character bullies everybody.)

Characters

Zoey Redbird, original last name Montgomery, is the sixteen year old main character. Her heritage is Cherokee on her mother’s side through her grandmother, Sylvia Redbird. She has an older sister and a younger brother, and she doesn’t like either of them.

Stevie Rae Johnson is Zoey’s roommate 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.”

Erin Bates is a pretty blonde girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her best friend is her roommate Shaunee, because they are extremely similar in personality and share a shoe size.

Shaunee Cole is Erin’s roommate from Connecticut. They are so similar in personality and interests that they call each other “Twin.”

Damien Maslin is the guy friend in the group. He’s from Dallas, Texas, has a sophisticated vocabulary, and faces bullying due to being gay.

Aphrodite is the mean girl of the story. She’s the “it girl.” She’s blonde, pretty, gifted, and prone to inappropriate behavior. Her three friend followers are Pemphredo, Enyo, and Deino. The main friend group refers to these four people as the “hags from hell.”

Erik Night is Zoey’s new crush. He’s about six feet tall, and good at acting. Zoey describes his appearance as reminding her 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.

There are many more characters with names: Zoey’s friends and family from before, various teachers and other students, cats, etc.

Story & Thoughts

The story takes place in Oklahoma. Zoey attends school at Broken Arrow South Intermediate High School, but quickly ends up having to transfer to the House of Night finishing school in Tulsa. The book starts off with her getting marked as a fledgling vampyre, and vampyre fledglings can’t survive on their own.

Based on what I gather from her friends and family in the beginning, becoming a fledgling is the best thing that could have possibly happened to Zoey. Her family no longer feels like a family, so she’s unhappy at home, and her friends don’t seem like they are actually friends. Her best friend Kayla isn’t a very good friend, because she keeps important secrets from her. I’m not sure how much Zoey really likes her either, considering she calls Kayla’s speech “K-babble.” On top of that, Zoey’s almost boyfriend is the star athlete of the school, but he’s taken up drinking alcohol as if it were also a sport.

The friends Zoey makes at the House of Night seem way better than the people she previously surrounded herself with. Erin, Damien, Shaunee, and Stevie Rae already have a wonderful friendship. When Zoey gets to her new school and meets her roommate’s friend group, she experiences a warm welcome, and finds great friends in them. There’s a level of trust she has with this group that there’s no possible way she could have had with her previous friends.

I like this book. It’s really easy to get into and hooked me in the first few pages. The characters are well done. The way they speak and act feels more solidly real than a lot of other books. I was similar in age to the characters around the time this book was published, and I can tell effort was made to make it seem authentic. Granted, I did not speak the same way these teens do, but I am well aware that the “cool kids” did indeed speak in a similar manner to what is portrayed in this book. It’s a little annoying at first, because it means not everything is as grammatically correct as most books. But, once it gets going it feels natural.

Vampyre lore in this particular world is a little different than the usual. First and most obvious, their faces are marked with a crescent moon. Most adults have elaborate forehead decorations adorning the crescent. It’s easy to identify a vampyre on sight.

They don’t burn up in the sun. Sunlight is unpleasant to them, but it doesn’t kill them. They don’t have fangs. The change from human to vampyre is triggered by a special combination of genetics and hormones. And, the weirdest to me, they’re allied with cats. Most lore usually says cats hate the undead, but I guess these vampyres are not really undead, or at least it doesn’t seem like they are.

I also find it interesting most of the names and culture for vampyres involves Greek mythology. Many kids choose to have Greek names. Their Goddess is Nyx, and their sociology class talks about many of the roles vampyres play throughout history. The one that jumps at me the most is that the Amazons were all apparently vampyres. That one bothers me, because it mentions the disproven fact about them removing a breast.

This is a series I definitely intend to read more of. There are plenty of plot hooks to keep the draw. Something mysterious is going on at the school. Zoey’s uniqueness as a Cherokee fledgling is ongoing, and the book ends with a drop of more intrigue.

My only real problem with the story is so minor, it doesn’t even matter. I don’t keep up with celebrities, so I pretty much have no idea who any of the famous people are that the characters mention. A celebrity comparison is used to describe how Aphrodite looks, and I had to look up a picture to see who they were talking about. Aside from that, my only gripe is that the book wastes paper by always making chapters start on the right page. If a chapter ends on the right page, the back side of the paper is blank to make sure the chapter starts on the side they want.

Beautiful Creatures

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Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series Name: The Caster Chronicles
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Witches
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: Little, Brown/Hachette
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-316-04267-3
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous planation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Personal & Info

This is volume one of the Caster Chronicles, which is four volumes long.

I read this series back in 2013. Unfortunately, after I read it, I found out there are short stories between volumes that are digital only. This made me feel like I hadn’t gotten the complete story. I didn’t have a kindle or anything back then, either, but now I do, and I have the middle story parts as well. So, it’s time for a reread. I also have the sequel duology that I don’t want to read until I get through my reread with all the little middle stories.

Apparently, I never took any notes or wrote any reviews for my initial read, so this review will be based on my reread opinions only. The rating is an average of my original rating and and what I would currently rate it. It’s been ten years, but my first impression rating should still count for something.

Characters

Ethan Lawson Wate is the sixteen year old main character. He’s six foot two, on the school basketball team, and can’t wait to get out of boring small town Gatlin, South Carolina.

Amarie Treadeau, mostly known as Amma, is the grandmotherly housekeeper of the Wate household. She is barely five feet tall, smart, ornery, and dabbles in voodoo, which is obvious early on in the story. She comes from a long line of tarot readers, which she also does as a side business.

Wesley Jefferson Lincoln, who goes by Link, is Ethan’s best friend since the sixth grade. He has a car they refer to as the Beater. His mother, Martha Lincoln, is part of the DAR, a women’s group that runs the town.

Lena Duchannes (Du-Kane) is the love interest. She supplies most of the paranormal aspects to the story.

Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood is the local shut-in and Lena’s uncle. The townspeople of Gatlin fear him even though they never see him.

Dr. Marian Ashcroft is the head librarian, and the best friend to Ethan’s mother before her accident. She’s not from Gatlin, and is blatantly smarter than almost everyone else in town.

Ridley Duchannes is Lena’s cousin. She is one year older, and they grew up together like sisters. Their current relationship is a bit estranged.

There are tons more characters, but I’m not going to list them here. Most of them are extended family members for Ethan and Lena. The rest are classmates from Jackson High, or parents, with a small sprinkling of other less important people who only appear once or only get passing mentions.

Story & Thoughts

Beautiful Creatures takes place in the small town of Gatlin, South Carolina, where nothing surprising or interesting ever happens. The residents of Gatlin follow the negative stereotypes of xenophobia, mob mentality, and prideful confederate heritage. If you are not born and raised in their town, are a little different, or don’t agree with their glorification of the confederacy, they will hate you and try to drive you out of their town. It’s that kind of place.

The book starts off slow. Around fifty pages in, the story only just starts to get interesting after finally finishing the primary introductions to Gatlin and the community. That’s about the time Ethan starts interacting with Lena and weird stuff starts to happen. From there, the book dives into a slow burn romance with intrigue and research.

Lena is a caster, or witch, there isn’t much difference. Her sixteenth birthday is going to be an incredibly important event, but not in the way normal people have sweet sixteens. The problem is, she knows little to nothing regarding what will actually happen, and anticipates having no control over it. No one will tell her or Ethan anything helpful, because of the ridiculous idea of ignorance being safer. So, the whole book revolves around the growing romance between Lena and Ethan, while they stress and try to figure out how to change the possible worst case scenario.

I admit I probably liked this book better the first time around, but I still like it well enough. The writing is enjoyable, so the majority of the story, where it feels like not much is happening, doesn’t feel like it drags. I think the portrayal of the characters helps significantly with that. There are many, but they all seem to be done well. For me, whether or not the characters feel fleshed out or authentic often affects how tolerable any book is.

I genuinely like the story. I have no issues there. Lena is melodramatic, but she has good reason. It’s actually surprising to me that her family doesn’t take her concerns seriously. People don’t bother to comfort her, let alone tell her anything that will calm her down. It’s always just reassuring her everything is going to be fine without doing or saying anything to convince her of that.

My biggest gripe is with Ethan’s dad, Mitchell. I get that he’s grieving, but he’s doing it in a selfish way. He locks himself in the only room in the house anyone can feel close to Lila (Ethan’s mom), and nobody else is allowed to enter. Mitchell isn’t the only one who lost someone. Ethan did, too, but his dad doesn’t seem to care about that fact. They need to be there for each other. They should both have access to the room.

There is one line in the book I found so funny I had to set it down for a moment while I laughed at it. Someone threatened the possibility of a Wal-Mart opening in Gatlin and everyone was so aghast at the idea. I don’t know why, I just found it absolutely hilarious. That was the funniest thing in the whole book to me.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 5

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 5 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe
Series Name: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Genres: Adventure, Elves, Fantasy, Magic
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Sunday
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9747-3007-0
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her?

Frieren and Fern have ended up on different teams in the highly competitive first-class mage exam. Capturing a rare bird is required to pass, but personality clashes among teammates are making things difficult. Everyone soon realizes there is more at stake than mere success or failure – for some of them, the exam could be a matter of life and death.

Personal & Info

I’m slowly catching up on this series. I want to be up to current volumes before I watch the anime, which is supposed to come out sometime this fall. This is a great series, and I highly recommend it to fans of elves, magic, or Dungeons & Dragons.

Characters

Frieren is an elf mage famous for defeating the demon king with her companions around 80 years ago. She’s a bit of a slob and rather lazy. Her hobby is collecting any and all types of magic spells, no matter how useless they may seem. Her perspective on magic is that the pursuit of the art itself is the greatest joy.

Fern is Frieren’s mage companion and apprentice. She seems to take a motherly role in caring for both Frieren and Stark.

Stark is Eisen’s apprentice. He has great skill as a warrior. He doesn’t get much screen time in this volume, since it focuses on the Mage exam.

Kanne and Lawine are both third-class mages. They are Frieren’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Both of them attended the same academy of magic, and are good friends, despite how often they fight.

Übel and Land are third and second class mages. They are Fern’s teammates for the first part of the exam. Little is information is given for them. Übel is no stranger to murder, which was made clear in volume four.

There are plenty more characters in this volume, as there are several teams for the exam. I think Fern and Frieren’s teams are the most important, so those are the ones I’m choosing to list.

Story & Thoughts

I think this is the best volume in the series, so far. It has comedy, strategy, competition, and magic battles. All wonderful elements for a great volume.

The book starts off by jumping straight into the exam. The teams assigned at the end of book four are gathered at the location for the first-class certification exam’s first test. It is here where they are given a small cage, and the rules and conditions of the test are explained. To pass, teams must catch a special bird, a stille, and have it in the cage at the end of the time limit, with all three team members also present. Generally anything goes, as long as nobody leaves the testing area, which is basically impossible to leave anyway.

The entire volume focuses on this portion of the test. There are ten chapters, and only the last two take place outside of the test. Those final chapters are mostly relaxation and enjoying time with friends as everyone relaxes before the second part of the test.

There is a significant amount of magical combat compared to all of the previous volumes. The birds for the exam are hard to catch, so most opt for trying to steal from others. I actually love the combat, because we get to see more varieties of mage capabilities and spell preferences. Frieren and Fern like to keep things simple, so it’s nice to see how other casters do things.

We still see flashbacks from Frieren’s past, as usual, but I feel like this volume has so much more meat to it than others. I think a big part of that is the number of characters. Generally speaking, there are several fun new characters in this volume, and they all seem to have strong personalities or character quirks that make them engaging and entertaining.

The large number of people is handled well. The ones who are not important are seen in the background or only in a few panels, while the ones that matter get just the right amount of screen time.

I’m looking forward to reading the next volume to see how the second part of the test goes. The competing characters are interesting enough that I actually care to find out who all passes the tests, and hope certain ones don’t perish.