Tag: Paranormal

Chosen

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

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

Personal & Info

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

Content Warnings

-Death

-Insensitive Language

-Sexual Themes

-Inappropriate Conduct for a Teacher

-Bullying

Characters

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Story & Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Darkdeep

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

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

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

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

Personal & Info

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

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

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

Characters

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

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

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

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

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

Story & Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

Betrayed

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Betrayed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 2
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-36028-3
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book

Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night finishing school. She finally feels like she belongs, even gets chosen as the Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, she actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.

Personal & Info

I reread Marked before starting this one since it’s been almost a year since I read it.

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.

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

Content Warnings

-Teen deaths

-Insensitive language

-Sexual Themes

-Bullying

Characters

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

Stevie Rae is Zoey’s roommate and 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.”

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.

Shaunee is Erin’s roommate and best friend from Connecticut. She considers herself Erin’s non-biological twin.

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

Aphrodite is pretty, blonde, and gifted with disastrous visions of the future. She was the villain in the first book, but plays a much smaller, less evil, part in this one.

Erik is Zoey’s new unofficial boyfriend. 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.

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

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

Detective Marx is a police detective investigating the disappearances of teenagers. I have a feeling he’ll be popping up again later in other volumes.

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

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

Story & Thoughts

Betrayed has a lot of recap. I reread the first book, but it might not have even been necessary. All important or relevant events from the first volume get rehashed to remind the reader what happened. The reminders are all over the story, so for people reading the books consecutively, it’s probably annoying. For people who have a long gap between books, it’s probably helpful.

I already had some inklings about where the story was going to go, so a lot of things didn’t really surprise me. However, I still enjoyed the journey. The storytelling for this series is wonderful, and the characters are easy to relate and get attached to.

My biggest take away from this book is it made me cry. Something tragic happens. I saw it coming a mile away, but that didn’t make it any less sad.

The romance is getting really tangled. There are three love interests and it’s only the second volume. Zoey is breaking a ton of rules, whether accidental or on purpose. I have high hopes for a redemption arc for Aphrodite. In the mean time, based on how it ended, things are going to be very interesting.

The Prince of Mist

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The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Series Name: Niebla
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Historical, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Middle Grade
Publisher: Little, Brown/Hachette
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-316-20606-8
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital city where they live and move to a small coastal village. But from the minute they cross the threshold of their new home, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house lurks the spirit of a young boy who died by drowning.

Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist—a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. With the help of their new friend Roland, the Carvers soon get caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and enchanted statues—an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Personal & Info

I got this book as one of many from a large sale. The cover looks like it has a ghost on it, so I figure it will be a decent spooky season read. There is a Q&A in the back of the book. I will not be reading that. I always skip those unless the book is exceptionally phenomenal.

The series as a whole is a trilogy. The second and third volumes are The Midnight Palace and The Watcher in the Shadows. Based on what I can tell from descriptions, I don’t think the story with these particular characters is ongoing. It looks like each book has a new set of characters.

Characters

Max Carver is the main character. He is thirteen and the majority of the story is in his perspective.

Maximilian Carver is Max’s dad. He’s a clockmaker, and is frequently referred to as “the clockmaker.”

Andrea Carver is Max’s mom.

Alicia Carver is Max’s older sister. She’s about fifteen.

Irina Carver is Max’s younger sister. She’s eight.

Roland is either sixteen or seventeen. He is the adoptive grandson of the keeper of the lighthouse, Victor Kray.

Victor Kray is Roland’s adoptive grandfather and the keeper of the lighthouse. He took up the post after arriving at the town via shipwreck.

Story & Thoughts

This book is a little too normal for my taste. It takes place in 1943 during the war, but the war is more of a setting detail for the time period than anything. The Carver family decides to relocate to a more rural oceanside town. They move into a nice house near the beach that has been sitting empty for years and that’s where the story actually starts.

The description is a bit misleading, so it should really be taken with a grain of salt. As the story progresses, it all seems very normal. The family gradually settles into the house, and the kids start to make friends. The mystery presents itself as a simple intrigue of looking at interesting things on the property, like an enclosed garden of statues, and unlabeled videos. It just has an inkling of it all being a little strange.

Eventually, some paranormal stuff starts to happen, but it’s just some minor eerie things. The house isn’t haunted. This is not that kind of story. There’s something bigger going on, and all the little things are a build up.

My biggest take away from the story is that it makes me think of Rumplestiltskin. That’s about as much as I can say without outright spoiling anything.

Initially I was going to rate it a 2.75, because the story is fine, but a little dull, since it mostly follows the day to day life of Max. But I like the later parts enough that I bumped it up to a three. What it comes down to is, the story itself is good, but it just isn’t my kind of book.

I’m not satisfied with the ending, either. If you want a story with a happy ending, this isn’t for you. I don’t care that it isn’t a happy ending, it’s just not the ending I wanted. At least it ends complete enough that I don’t feel the need to bother with the other volumes, because I don’t have enough interest to want to.

The Mummy or Ramses the Damned

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The Mummy or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice
Series Name: Ramses the Damned
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Historical, Horror, Romance, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Adult
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 0-345-36994-7
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Ramses the Great lives….

Reawakened in opulent Edwardian London, he becomes Dr. Ramsey, expert in Egyptology and member of a group of jaded aristocrats with strange appetites to appease. But searing memories of his last reawakening, at the behest of Cleopatra, burn in his immortal soul. For he has drunk the elixir of life and is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell hungers that can never be satisfied. And his most intense longing of all, a great love undiminished by the centuries, will force him to commit an act of unspeakable horror….

Personal & Info

This book has several perspectives. Most of the important characters I listed have at least one section of their own perspective. I think Julie, Elliot, Ramsey, and Cleopatra take up the majority.

This was first printed in 1989, and takes place in 1914, so keep that in mind for any possible unsavory differences from modern culture. The phrasing of sentences throughout the book are a little strange in that they sometimes seem worded backwards. I don’t know if that’s just a thing from the time period or poor editing.

The series for this is a trilogy. The second and third books released in 2017 and 2022. They are The Passion of Cleopatra and The Reign of Osiris. The writing for them is probably a bit different, because Anne Rice’s son Christopher Rice worked on them.

Characters

Lawrence Stratford is an archaeologist who chooses to live his life chasing Egyptian secrets instead of running the family shipping business.

Julie Stratford is Lawrence’s daughter. Like her father, her interests are Egyptian history and archaeology. Lawrence describes her as fearless.

Randolph Stratford is Lawrence’s brother. He is currently in charge of running the family shipping business and is not doing a good job.

Henry Stratford is Randolf’s son and Lawrence’s nephew. He is the family disappointment, because of his gambling and drinking problems.

Elliot Savarell is the Earl of Rutherford. The family title dates back as far as Henry VIII. Elliot is a close family friend of Lawrence’s, and he is married to Edith Christian. He suffers from chronic arthritis in his hip and legs, which makes him have to use a cane. Elliot shares Lawrence’s love for Egyptian history.

Alex Savarell is Elliot’s son, the Viscount Summerfield. He is Julie’s unofficial fiancé. Everyone describes him as childishly innocent and kind.

Samir Ibrahaim is Lawrence’s archaeology assistant. He works for the British museum.

Ramses, known by the modern day alias Reginald Ramsey, is the mummy. He has many historical titles, such as Ramses the Great, Ramses the Damned, the immortal guardian, etc. Ramses is immortal, because he drank an elixir. He knows of no possible way to end his immortal life, so instead, he takes the occasional centuries long nap, kind of like a vampire.

Cleopatra, the historical Egyptian Queen, is basically Ramses’ ex-girlfriend. She refused the immortality elixir in favor of death to be buried next to her love, Antony.

Story & Thoughts

I had some trouble getting into this. It starts by going over the money problems Randolph’s side of the Stratford family and the Savarells are experiencing. It takes more pages than the average reader allows before it actually gets going, and the problems presented are so normal compared to what one would expect from a mummy story. However, once the mummy inflated and got moving, things became more interesting.

My rating is a tentative three, for a multitude of reasons. The first being, once things finally get moving, the story is actually kind of dull. The first half of the book mostly focuses on Ramsey learning about the modern world. He has to learn the language, and Julie takes him all over London to teach him about modern machines, customs, and history. Eventually, Ramsey wants to go to Egypt to see how his home has changed, but until then, the only really interesting parts are when Ramsey occasionally scares the crap out of Henry with simple conversation.

There are practically no thrills to the story. If you’re hoping for something similar to The Mummy movie, that’s not what you’re going to get. At best, there are a few specific moments of tension or suspense.

My biggest issue with the book is that the romance is not great. I really like some of the characters, but some of their backgrounds and personalities seem like a complete waste. On top of that, the men in the story are almost all promiscuous and unfaithful. The book handles the subject of sex very poorly. There is a conversation at one point where Ramsey defends Cleopatra’s character as a person and says there is more to her than just a seductress. This is completely invalidated by the story making Cleopatra have sex constantly with almost any man who talks to her.

Sometimes the characters feel deep and wonderful, but the way sex is handled just detracts from the overall experience. The relationships feel undervalued because of it. It’s like nobody appreciates anybody as much as they should. The only one who makes any reasonable love life decisions is Julie, and even then I don’t agree with her choices. Her choices regarding the elixir don’t make sense when paired with her desires and feelings. I won’t elaborate on this further due to spoilers, but her choices throughout the book don’t make much logical sense to me.

In general, the story is good. I understand the feelings and drama it’s trying to portray. I just don’t think it did a good job conveying it. It’s not worth it for me to look into any more of the series. I feel like I would be too frustrated to enjoy it, if the rest are anything like this one.

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 4

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My Happy Marriage, Vol. 4 by Akumi Agitogi, Rito Kohsaka, Tsukiho Tsukioka
Series Name: My Happy marriage (Manga)
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-248-2
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Miyo Saimori, the eldest of her clan and yet unblessed by the supernatural talent that graced her father and half sister, is sent off to marry into the Gifted Kudo clan. The young and aloof clan leader, Kiyoka Kudo, finds himself intrigued by this girl who stands worlds apart from the spoiled, social-climbing women who usually vie for his hand.

All too soon, Kiyoka comes to regard Miyo with affection and they make their engagement real and official, but Miyo still worries she lacks the training to be a wife worthy of the Kudo clan. Enter Kiyoka’s older sister, Hazuki, who takes it upon herself to tutor Miyo – and tease Kiyoka along the way!

Suddenly Miyo and Kiyoka cross paths with a mysterious man named Arata Tsuruki. What does he want, and what connection does he have to the enigmatic and powerful Usuba clan that Miyo’s mother hailed from?

Personal & Info

I bought this at the same time as volume three, and I read them back to back. Unfortunately, there is no word of the existence of, or any plan for, volume five. I hope the manga continues, but in the mean time, I’m going to work on getting the light novels. The light novels seem to be still ongoing with new releases.

Characters

Miyo Saimori is the leading lady. She has a long history of suffering abuse at the hands of her own family. Now that she’s out from under their roof, she can finally start to heal.

Kiyoka Kudo is the male love interest. He has high political and military standing as well as wealth, and he is the current head of the Kudo family. His job is getting very demanding.

Yurie is Kiyoka’s housekeeper. She has taken care of him since he was young, and he trusts her implicitly. She is a kind older woman and she is fond of Miyo.

Hazuki Kudo is Kiyoka Kudo’s older sister. We learn more about her history in this volume.

Yoshito Godo is a young man who works as Kiyoka’s aide in the grotesquery military branch. We see him frequently in this book as Kiyoka spends a lot of time at work.

Arata Tsuruki is 24 years old, and the heir to the Tsuruki family, which owns a trading company.

Story & Thoughts

This seems like a plot building volume. Miyo’s immediate family problems are behind her and no longer a threat to her health or wellbeing. The story is moving forward with Miyo’s education and dealing with her trauma.

Her biggest problem in this book is her nightmares. The cause is unclear, but they’re obviously related to her trauma. She’s not receiving scathing verbal abuse from her family anymore, so her mind is supplying it while she sleeps. While she’s struggling with that, Kiyoka spends most of the volume busy with work.

Some important and interesting things go on in this volume. I can’t say I’m satisfied with it, though. It’s good for the story progression, but I also feel like it’s a step backwards. Miyo’s health is deteriorating, again, and she hasn’t learned how to make her needs or struggles heard. She still has a long way to go when it comes to recovering from her family’s abuse.

The things I like most about the volume are that we learn more about what Hazuki’s life has been like, and Kiyoka finally makes some progress on research regarding the Usubas. There’s enough new information to draw me in for reading the next book when it eventually becomes available. It would be more interesting if we could see the side of Kiyoka’s job that isn’t just paperwork, but maybe that will come along later.

To Ease the Pain of Loneliness

This is a bonus novel style chapter. It stars Hazuki reminiscing with Miyo about the time when Kiyoka decided to leave home. She ponders what he needed from the house in which he currently lives, and what similar aspects she sees in Miyo that makes Kiyoka enjoy her company. It’s written with Hazuki’s perspective. I think it gives her a little more depth to add onto the little we’ve learned about her.

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 3

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My Happy Marriage, Vol. 3 by Akumi Agitogi, Rito Kohsaka, Tsukiho Tsukioka
Series Name: My Happy Marriage (Manga)
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance 
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-156-0
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

Though Miyo Saimori has found a place as Kiyoka Kudo‘s potential bride, the fact remains that she is untouched by thee supernatural power that defines both the Saimori and Kudo clans.

While Kiyoka seems willing to accept her as she is, Miyo is unsure and bewildered – she has never known such warmth in all her life…

Just as Miyo dares to believe she may have found happiness at last, her jealous half sister, Kaya, kidnaps her and locks her in a storehouse. Kaya’s eyes are red with rage as she declares her intention to dissolve Miyo and Kiyoka’s engagement and take Miyo’s place as his fiancée herself!

Will Kiyoka’s otherworldly abilities deliver her from Kaya’s clutches in time?

Personal & Info

I reread the first two volumes before reading this. It had been a while since I read them, and I was a bit late in getting volume three. I bought volumes three and four at the same time, so I’ll be caught up on the manga after reading both. Volume five is not yet out, even though it was rumored to release October of 2023.

Characters

Miyo Saimori is the leading lady. She has a long history of suffering abuse at the hands of her own family. Now that she’s out from under their roof, she can finally start to heal.

Kiyoka Kudo is the male love interest. He has high political and military standing as well as wealth, and he is the current head of the Kudo family.

Yurie is Kiyoka’s housekeeper. She has taken care of him since he was young, and he trusts her implicitly. She is a kind older woman and she is fond of Miyo.

Kaya Saimori is Miyo’s younger half-sister. She received everything Miyo did not growing up, and has been conditioned to want to be better than Miyo at everything and always have better than her.

Koji Tatsuishi is Miyo’s childhood friend. He is engaged to Kaya as an arrangement to become the next head of the Saimori family since they don’t have any sons.

Hazuki Kudo is Kiyoka Kudo’s older sister.

Masashi Okaito is the forty-year-old Major General in charge of the Grotesquerie unit.

Story & Thoughts

The first chunk of the book finishes the events from volume two. It shows Miyo’s side of things while Kiyoka is breaking down the gate. She stands up for herself against her family’s wishes for the first time in her life. I’m so proud of Miyo for not surrendering when it matters most. She’s had a lot of growth in a short amount of time.

Miyo’s family is absolutely insane. They shouldn’t have set her up with Kiyoka Kudo in the first place if they were going to decide she wasn’t good enough for that kind of life. They probably expected him to immediately throw her out.

The rest of the volume is more relaxed. Miyo wants to continue her cancelled education from her childhood, so Kiyoka’s older sister, Hazuki, is arranged to be her tutor. She seems super nice, and interacting with her will likely be good for Miyo.

New events are set in motion as Kiyoka receives a serious job order involving dangerous ghosts, and some interestingly foreboding foreshadowing predictions about Miyo. Something has been happening with her while she sleeps, so I wonder if all of these things are connected.

With her family out of the way, I’m curious to see what will happen next. I don’t like this volume as much as the first two, but it seems like it’s a transitional volume, so that’s normal. Either way, it’s still pretty good, and I’m looking forward to reading more of the series.

Rain

This is another bonus short story chapter written like a light novel. It focuses on an unpleasant memory of Miyo’s as a dream. The point of it seems to be Miyo realizing she can finally let out the repressed emotions she’s hidden away for so long, while speculating about whether it ever would have made a difference if she’d bothered to cry before. I think it shows more of her growth from healing to finally be able to let herself feel all the things she’s been repressing. The hope that one day she might not think about any of those traumatic experiences at all is promising.

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.

Ghost Dog Secrets

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Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret
Genres: Abuse, Contemporary, Ghosts
Intended Age Group: Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-545-38989-1
Rating: 2.5/5
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Description from the Book

Every day, Rusty feeds an injured German shepherd that’s left chained outside in the cold with no shelter, food, or water. When he can’t get Animal Control to help, Rusty and his friend Andrew unchain the dog, named Ra, and take it to their secret hideout. Meanwhile, the ghost of a collie has been visiting Rusty, and Ra’s mean owner is making increasingly scary threats. The boys will need to figure out what the ghost dog is trying to tell them before it’s too late!

Personal & Info

This is a stand alone novel I got when filling a basket during a sale. It involves a ghost, so I saved it for spooky season.

I’m sure what everyone cares about most for information regarding any dog book is, “does the dog die?” No, the dog does not die. However, there is a ghost of a dog who did die, and the story eventually tells you how they died.

Content Warnings

This book contains themes involving animal abuse. The abuse itself is not shown, but the results of it are.

Characters

Rusty Larson is the main character. He’s in sixth grade and lives with his single mother.

Andrew Pinella is Rusty’s best friend. He contains a multitude of random trivia information.

Ra is the German shepherd the story focuses on.

Gerald Langston is a bully who also cheats off of Rusty at school. He seems to get away with everything and never receives punishment.

Mrs. Webster is Rusty’s teacher. She does her best to impart morally correct lessons and encourage community support.

Heidi Kellogg is the local animal control officer. She takes her job seriously and does not restrict herself to business hours.

Various other students and faculty also have names, but don’t play major roles in the story. Rusty’s mom and Andrew’s family members appear frequently, but are not specifically given names, except for Andrew’s little sister Wendy.

Story & Thoughts

This is a generally okay book. It’s under two hundred pages, and the story quality is decent. The events of the story are pretty simple and straight forward.

Rusty’s sixth grade class undertakes a project fundraising for the local animal shelter to help a bunch of dogs that were recently rescued from a puppy mill. At the same time, Rusty wants to help a German shepherd he noticed chained outside with no food, water, or shelter. He and his friend Andrew try to go through the right channels at first, but take things a step too far, leading to problems, but potentially saving the dog’s life before he can starve.

The simplicity makes it relatable. Any dog lover is either going to be angry or upset reading the parts where the book discusses animal abuse. It’s not as emotionally upsetting as some more renowned tragic animal stories, but it’s still stirring to read about Rusty and Andrew trying to help Ra before he can come to any more harm, or any other dogs can be hurt by the same person.

As for the ghost, it’s not malicious. The ghost is a helpful dog who wants the same thing they do. It’s the ghost of a collie, and it does what it can to show Rusty that help is needed or give warnings.

The reason I’m giving this a score lower than three is because it felt a little bland. Between events, the story needed to pass days of tedium and waiting. It felt like there were more of those than the climactic parts. The parts the blurb covers don’t even happen until closer to the middle of the book. The morals and information regarding the rescue of animals are good lessons for the story, though.

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall

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The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender
Genres: Ghosts, Horror, Mystery
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-545-91073-6
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Delia’s new house isn’t just a house. Long ago, it was an insane asylum nicknamed “Hysteria Hall.” However, many of the inmates were not insane, just defiant and strong willed. Kind of like Delia herself.

But the House still wants to keep “troubled” girls locked away. So, in the most horrifying way, Delia gets trapped.

And that’s when she learns that the house is also haunted.

Ghost girls wander the halls in their old-fashioned nightgowns. A handsome ghost boy named Theo roams the grounds. Delia finds that all the spirits are unsettled and full of dark secrets. The house, as well, harbors shocking truths within its walls – truths that only Delia can uncover, and that may set her free.

But she’ll need to act quickly, before the house’s power overtakes everything she loves.

Personal & Info

This is a stand alone ghost story novel. I grabbed it one day while I was filling a basket at a book sale. It’s one of many books I got that I wouldn’t normally read, but got for the purpose of trying something new. Now that it’s September, it’s a good time to start reading spooky season novels, so it’s a great time to try things like this.

If I had to point out possible content warnings, I don’t think there really are any. It’s a ghost themed book. It’s obviously going to have themes around death, murder, and suicide. If you don’t like those themes, why would you be reading a ghost story in the first place? At worst, there’s a little girl who died, and they tell you how. I guess there’s technically child abuse to a ghost as well. The details surrounding Maria are probably the worst. Her disfigurement is a bit grotesque.

Characters

I’m choosing to leave some characters off of this list, and leaving out some details, to avoid spoilers and leave some mystery in tact.

Delia is the main character. She is approximately fifteen, and named after her great aunt on her father’s side of the family.

Janie is Delia’s younger sister. They have about a five year age gap. Janie is different than the rest of her family. She has the bluest eyes and the blondest hair compared to the muddier traits of her family, and her strong personality also sets her apart.

Nic is Delia’s best friend. They’ve been close since sixth grade.

Landon McKay is Delia’s ex-boyfriend. He’s not the greatest guy.

Brad, the dad, is obviously Delia’s father.

Lisa, the mom, is obviously Delia’s mother.

Eliza Duncombe is a ghost with a British accent, and one of Delia’s friends. She died in her pajamas.

Florence Beauregard is apparently the prettiest ghost in the house, and she speaks with a southern accent. She’s also one of Delia’s friends.

Theo Hawkins is a ghost who roams the grounds outside the house. He used to work for the government to survey properties for minerals that might be worth mining. He’s also one of Delia’s friends.

Maria is the disfigured ghost of a little girl who lives on the third floor.

Story & Thoughts

If I’m being entirely honest, this is the best ghost story I’ve ever read. That applies specifically to the time I’m typing this, and doesn’t mean much when you consider the fact I haven’t actually read a whole lot of ghost stories. But, I genuinely like this one. I think it’s very well done, and I only have a few gripes.

Since I mentioned them, I’ll start with my complaints. The big one is a trope that I tend not to like. It’s that whole, “why didn’t our child come to us with their problems,” thing. I hate that, because whenever it comes up, they either DID try to go to their parents about a problem, or they felt like they couldn’t for blatantly obvious reasons. In fact, I think I just don’t like Delia’s parents.

Brad and Lisa were incredibly dismissive of Delia’s fear. They didn’t so much as try to comfort her. Instead, she was accused of being dramatic. Not only that, but she only seems to have done one thing wrong, which was enough to make her parents treat her like what she did was habit. I get that there is the implication that her family isn’t as closely knit as it used to be, but the whole thing just doesn’t sit right with me.

My other issue is fairly minor. It felt like there was a significant amount of wasted time. Delia wasted so much time doing basically nothing. She originally wanted to find out which room was her aunt’s office, but she literally forgot about her goals for multiple years.

I’d say those things are pretty small when considering the story as a whole. The book did a great many things right in comparison. There’s a scene I think was done splendidly, but I can’t say what it is, because I don’t want to spoil anything. It involves Delia coming to terms with something early on in the book. You’ll probably know which one I mean when you come across it.

The story is sufficiently spooky where it needs to be. That’s one of the issues I tend have with most ghost stories. They’re usually not eery enough, or not written in a way that gets the intended mood across well.

I didn’t figure out the mystery part until the story gave the answer, either. The plot twists were sufficiently twisty and unexpected.

One of my favorite things about the book was the unique traits of the ghosts. They didn’t get touched on for more than three of them, though, unfortunately. The ghosts have specific sounds, odors, or visual effects depending on how they lived or died. I thought those were cool details.