Tag: Supernatural

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.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 3

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Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 3 by Hiromu Arakawa
Series Name: Daemons of the Shadow Realm
Genres: Action, Adventure, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-244-4
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

To get some answers, Yuru warily accepts an invitation from the Kagemoris, the very people who assaulted his village. This soon turns into an uneasy alliance when an ambush threatens everyone’s safety. But not even that surprise can prepare Yuru for Asa’s story! What is the stark secret to claiming the twins’ powers? And does Yuru have what it takes to confront what lies in the abyss…and beyond?

Personal & Info

I’ve been wanting to read this volume for a while now, but I’ve been too exhausted. It’s been sitting in my pile for about three weeks, so I’m glad I can finally get around to it. I feel like I can’t get these fast enough, because they all end on some sort of cliff hanger, whether it’s informational or action related. The urge to be able to binge is strong.

Characters

Yuru is the older male twin of the two main characters. He has great hunting skills and a helpful nature.

Asa is the younger female twin of the two main characters. She is Yuru’s younger sister, and she seems to adore her brother with an unusual intensity.

Gabby seems to be a good friend to Asa, but she doesn’t like Yuru after the events of the first volume. I like her even more after learning what names she chose for her daemons.

Ryuu Tadera, who goes by Dera, is a seer. This means he can see Daemons. He is half of the Higashi Village retainer pair, and he acts as supply runner and liaison. He is currently posing as Yuru’s father and guardian.

Jin Kagemori is the youngest of the three Kagemori brothers. He’s a high rank in the family organization in which Asa chooses to reside.

Divine Guardians Left and Right are the most important daemon characters, so far, with ongoing appearances. Yuru is their master and they rarely ever leave his side. They are made of stone, and their abilities are intended to be direct counters to Break and Seal.

Story & Thoughts

This is the third volume, and it’s still going strong. The focus of the plot for the volume is continuing to dump information they started discussing from volume two. The only reason I’m giving it a four instead of a five is because plot building episodes of anything tend to be a little less satisfying.

I love learning more about the plot regarding any story I’m reading, but let’s face it, they’re not always the most amazing sections. However, I feel like this series does a good job keeping those parts entertaining. The discussions have a certain liveliness about them, while still managing to keep the serious undertone.

In this case, we get more information about Yuru and Asa’s childhood. Yuru’s childhood was already filled with danger that no child should have to deal with, and Asa’s life after leaving the village has been no picnic. The conversation picks up from the dramatic conversational cliff hanger of volume two, and we learn how she acquired Break, which also tells us why she wears an eyepatch.

Aside from that, there are many areas in the second half where there is comic relief from Yuru seeing and learning more about modern things. Hiromu Arakawa does a good job with these parts by making them feel natural and not too time consuming. Yuru’s face in these situations is always priceless.

I think this series is well on its way to becoming one of my new favorites. I love everything about it, so far.

The bonus comic in the back titled Entombed, which stars the daemon Break, is all too relatable to me.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 2

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Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 2 by Hiromu Arakawa
Series Name: Daemons of the Shadow Realm
Genres: Action, Adventure, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-222-2
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book

Ancient Daemons awaken to fight a new battle in an age-old war!!!

Yuru’s quiet life comes to a sudden, bewildering end when his mountain home is attacked…by none other than his twin sister, Asa! Forced to assume the role of Daemon Wielder, Yuru manages to escape with the help of his new allies. But while they seek to keep him hidden, Yuru seeks answers, a search that puts him on a collision course with Asa and her mysterious coconspirators, the Kagemori clan…

Personal & Info

I bought this before I read volume one, and I’m glad I did, because I wanted more after finishing the first book. I’ll have to get more after this one. This is as far as my buffer goes for the series. I’ll try to get reviews up for more volumes whenever I manage to get more.

Characters

Yuru is the older male twin of the two main characters. He has great hunting skills and a helpful nature. This volume shows more insight into how much of a badass he is.

Asa is the younger female twin of the two main characters. She is Yuru’s younger sister, and she seems to adore her brother. A more cheery side of her personality is shown here instead of her ruthless assassin characteristics from the first book.

Ryuu Tadera, who goes by Dera, is a seer. This means he can see Daemons. He is half of the Higashi Village retainer pair, and he acts as supply runner and liaison. He often brings medicine and other helpful things to the isolated mountain village. Currently, he is posing as Yuru’s father.

Hana Danno is Dera’s partner, the other half of the Higashi Village retainer pair. She’s also a seer, but she’s never been to the village. When Dera goes up to the village, she usually waits somewhere outside as his transportation. She’s currently masquerading as Yuru’s step mother.

Gabby seems to be a good friend of Asa’s, but she doesn’t like Yuru after the events of the first volume.

Jin Kagemori appears to be a high rank in some kind of family organization fighting against the village.

Haruo and Akio appear to be Jin’s right hand men, at least for this volume. Both of them have Daemon pairs.

Dr. Sakurazawa is a doctor at the Kagemori mansion. It’s unclear if they will be a significant character, but they are present throughout a large portion of the volume.

More Daemons than in the previous volume appear. All of the ones seen before are present, as well as a bunch of new ones. Most of them are likely one-off appearances, aside from the ones who are partners with newly significant characters.

Story & Thoughts

The fast, intense, start of volume one doesn’t lose any ground as this one continues right where it leaves off. Yuru rushes into danger to find answers to his questions regarding his family. There’s no shortage of action.

In volume one, Yuru’s hunting skills are shown to be top notch. Now, we get to see how lethal he really is. He is skilled in more than just the bow that we’ve already seen him use. He’s a nightmare in the dark, and the demonstration of his talents paints him as a real badass. Asa basically has a super power, yes, but I think the sheer skill in what Yuru does with mundane simple weapons is way cooler.

As the story progresses we get a little better of an understanding about what’s really going on. Not nearly enough, but it’s a start. I have a feeling any information involving the parents will be a long way off, but in the mean time, we’ll likely get to know Asa a bit better. She seems thrilled to have her brother close, even if they are complete strangers to each other.

I love seeing all the varieties of Daemons. Some look like they come from mythologies, while others are from straight up fairy tale or story book characters. I just really love this whole concept for how they work.

I think my favorite characters, so far, are Yuru and Gabby. Yuru, because he’s a badass in a way that ticks a lot of my boxes, and Gabby…Well, she’s just growing on me. She has Ed’s cranky face, and I love that, but she’s also super vicious. But I can tell she has a soft side, too. She seems like a good friend, and she really cares about her Daemons.

I’ll definitely be getting more volumes for this series, and I definitely recommend it.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 1

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Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Series Name: Daemons of the Shadow Realm
Genres: Action, Adventure, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Square Enix
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-64609-186-7
Rating: 5/5
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Description from the Book

Ancient Daemons awaken to fight a new battle in an age-old war!!

In a remote mountain village under the watchful eyes of two stone guardians, the young Yuru contentedly lives off the land while staying close to the only family he has left – Asa, his precious twin sister. Asa, meanwhile, carries out a mysterious “duty” on behalf of the village while locked in a cage. Why is Asa a prisoner? And what other secrets does Yuru’s otherwise idyllic home hide?

Personal & Info

I don’t have reviews of it on here, yet, but Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my all time favorite anime and manga. This series is fairly new by the same creator. That’s all I need to be willing to try it. I’m going into this with only the information from the back of volume one.

Characters

Yuru is the older male twin of the two main characters. He has great hunting skills, and helpful nature.

Asa is the younger female twin of the two main characters. She’s Yuru’s younger sister, and little is known about her from this volume alone. All we really know is that she is powerful and she might be on the wrong side of a conflict.

Ryuu Tadera, who goes by Dera, is a seer. This means he can see Daemons. He is half of the Higashi Village retainer pair, and he acts as supply runner and liaison. He often brings medicine and other helpful things to the isolated mountain village.

Hana Danno is Dera’s partner, the other half of the Higashi Village retainer pair. She’s also a seer, but she’s never been to the village. When Dera goes up to the village, she usually waits somewhere outside as his transportation.

Gabby appears to be a good friend of Asa’s. She apparently doesn’t mind pain, and her Daemons are a set of teeth.

Jin Kagemori appears to be a higher rank up in some kind of organization. His Daemons appear to be themed around angler fish.

Various Daemons are also characters. I don’t know which ones are important enough to list, nor do I want to spoil too much by describing them in any further detail. The most important are probably Left and Right. You’ll understand that more if you read the book.

Story & Thoughts

Going into this, I had no idea what to expect. The description is vague and even potentially sounds dull. I put my trust in Hiromu Arakawa in hopes it would be worth reading, and she did not let me down. The description only really covers the introduction portion of the book. Things quickly escalate and change from there. One second it’s a peaceful isolated village expressing to the reader how they struggle for resources and to find work, and the next, people are getting their throats slit or just entirely sliced in half.

The village is quickly left behind as Yuru is forced into the modern world. The story is serious, but makes time for funny moments. Yuru knows nothing of the world outside the village, so there are amusing interactions as he adjusts to culture shock. Everything he sees awes and amazes him. I wasn’t expecting the story to go into the modern world, but so far I don’t mind.

I love the concept of the Daemons and their bonds with people. It’s cool they come in pairs. No two sets are the same. And speaking of Gabby’s teeth, I never would have thought a disembodied set of teeth could be cute.

The series has a similar vibe to Fullmetal Alchemist in all the right ways. There’s action, supernatural aspects, adventure, bloody violent ruthlessness, and comic relief. I devoured this volume and loved every minute of it. It has a bit of a tense cliffhanger at the end, so I’m glad I already have volume two. This book is a nice strong start to a new series, and I really hope it stays good.

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.

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.

Maga-Tsuki, Vol. 1

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Maga-Tsuki, Vol. 1 by Hoshino Taguchi
Series Name: Maga-Tsuki
Genres: Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Romance, Supernatural
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: Kodansha
Edition: ebook 
ISBN: 9781682332221
Rating: 3/5
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Description

Yasuke is your average fifteen year old peeping tom. He wants nothing more than to confess his feelings to his childhood friend and crush, Akari. Unfortunately, he might never get the chance after he accidentally breaks a mirror at his family shrine, releasing a sealed calamity goddess, causing a curse to befall him. Now, he must keep the goddess so close that it’s awkward or die, with the only way to revive him being a kiss from the goddess herself. If he can’t make the goddess, Orihime, happy, he could be stuck cursed forever.

Personal & Info

This is a digital manga I got for free from a BookWalker sale. Unlike other digital manga I’ve gotten this way, this one is available as a physical book. The shop links here lead to the physical editions, but you can find the digital version on most of the same sites, anyway. The BookWalker link is included, because that’s where I got it.

Characters

Yasuke Arahabaki is the main character. He has a crush on his childhood friend and wants to confess his feelings, but he doesn’t know how to go about doing so. The timing never seems right.

Akari Inamori is Yasuke’s childhood friend and crush.

Miyano Arahabaki is Yasuke’s sister. She’s a Shinto priestess.

Seoritsuhime, nickname Orihime, is a goddess of calamity who was sealed and enshrined inside a mirror at Yasuke’s home.

Danzo Matsubara and Eiichi Nitta are Yasuke’s friends at school. They seem perverted and girl crazy. Matsubara more so than Nitta, he’s so girl crazy he gets violent from jealously.

Hinata Amaterasu claims to be Orihime’s sister. Whether it’s genetic or honorary, I have no idea. She is apparently in charge of running the realm of the gods despite her immature behavior.

Kunihiko Inamori is Akari’s father. He is the owner of their family sushi restaurant.

Story & Thoughts

Upon starting this, I was under the implication the publisher description implies a proximity thing. It has nothing to do with proximity. The fact is, Yasuke and Orihime must be touching in some way at all times. If they are not touching, Yasuke will drop dead, and Orihime will have to revive him with a kiss. Obviously, this leads to some awkward public and private situations.

Yasuke’s life gets difficult because of this. Everyone he knows has a problem with how physically close the two of them are, all the time. They can’t so much as use the bathroom or change clothes without holding hands. Some people find it so problematic, they try to convince them to separate.

It makes things with Akari especially stressful, because how can he confess his feelings to her when he’s always holding hands with another girl and refusing to leave her side? Most of the drama between Yasuke and Akari could be avoided if she were let in on the goddess thing from the start. Instead, she’s left confused and frustrated.

The series is apparently harem genre, but if it is, that must come in more later. This volume doesn’t really have anything in it to make it seem like a harem. It comes off as more of a love triangle, but it can be hard to tell things like that from just one volume.

Overall, I like this book. It’s not amazing, but it’s a cute and funny romantic comedy. I wouldn’t mind reading more of the series. The plot twist toward the end has me curious to see how things will play out. I also can’t help but wonder if that twist will happen again with other people. It would make sense if that’s how the harem thing gets incorporated.

There are some bonus comics in the back, as well as some translation information, and a short behind the scenes comic with the creator. Taguchi’s mascot is a hamster and that’s adorable.

I think I’ll be adding this series to my to-read list, but it won’t be a priority. It will likely be a long while before any more reviews for it get added.

Rosario+Vampre: Season II, Vol. 14

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Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 14 by Akihisa Ikeda
Series Name: Rosario+Vampire: Season II
Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy, Harem, Monsters, Romance, Vampires, Witches
Intended Age Group: Older Teen
Publisher: Viz/Shonen Jump Advanced
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7967-2
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters – no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! And now he’s a sophomore!

On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood…

Personal & Info

As with many previous volumes, is book advertises a free mini-poster inside. It’s one of the two sided types that does not fold out. One side is a cute group image of most of the important characters. The back side is the same picture of Moka as the back cover of the volume. Not as single “mini-poster” in the entire series is perforated, so I have no idea why they are even advertised as posters. None of them are worth tearing out if you don’t want to damage the book. I can’t imagine any of them would come out with a clean tear.

Characters

Tsukune Aono is the only human at a school for monsters. Due to various events in season one, he wears a chain lock on his wrist, similar to Moka’s rosario.

Moka Akashiya is the beautiful vampire love interest. She is considered the most beautiful girl in school, and the series likes to play up that fact.

Kurumu Kurono is the second beautiful love interest. She is the character with the largest breasts in the group, and the whole school also fawns over her, but not nearly as much as Moka.

Yukari Sendo is a twelve year old genius, and a witch.

Mizore Shirayuki is love interest number three. She is a yuki-onna, but the translation constantly calls her a snow fairy. She’s also the most considerate of Tsukune’s happiness.

Fangfang Huang is a freshman, and the son of the leader of a Chinese mafia.

Ruby Tojo is a witch who works for the school.

San is a siren graduate from Yokai Academy who’s been living in the human world ever since she left school.

Tohofuhai is one of the Three Dark Lords. He looks like an old man most of the time, and his specialties are seals and magic.

Tenmei Mikogami is one of the Three Dark Lords. I had to laugh at the translation choice for his title. Instead of referring to him as a strategist or some other word you would expect, they chose, “maneuverer.”

Story & Thoughts

This is the final volume for the series, and it wastes no time getting started. Fairy Tale headquarters crashes into the town. Obviously the gang survives the crash, because they’re the main characters. Alucard is awake and it’s time to take him down for good. No idea why they thought human weaponry would be a good idea. Monsters generally defy logic, so that tactic seems like a waste of lives.

Despite the length, there are only two chapters in this book. The first one, containing the final battle takes up most of it. It’s an epic showdown, and everyone gets to participate. We even get to see some characters from the school and people met earlier in the series, like San.

There are some pretty awesome tropes, like two old guys getting epic for a final showdown. Tsukune and Moka get featured, too, this time with a new look for the final battle.

The second chapter is the epilogue. The gang goes back to school, and it’s ten months after the events of the battle. The silliness returns in this chapter as everyone is transitioning back to normal life. Tsukune and Moka are experiencing some changes, and everyone is fighting over Tsukune again. Life is good, but doom lurks in the future.

It’s a satisfying end, but I’d definitely like to see how the relationships play out. Does Tsukune keep his harem and have babies with everybody (because it’s pretty clear most, if not all of them want kids), or does he make Moka his one and only? They’re too young to make a final decision, but a couple possible solutions are mentioned.

I’ve come around on liking Aqua after seeing how much she genuinely cares for Moka. She’s a little psycho, but she’s not all bad. Her backstory is unfortunate, though.

The bonus comics are an extension of the epilogue, and tell what happens with some of the characters.