Gord’s Comments (group member since Sep 03, 2018)

Gord’s comments from the Readers Unbound group.

While last week I had very little to talk about, this week I am making up for that. Without further ado lets get into it.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) ⭐⭐⭐
Before we get into this one I just want to clarify that my rating is more like 2.5 stars but I gave it a pity bump to 3 and I'll explain why in a bit. This is a series that I have been hearing about for years now but it was always locked away in Amazon jail. I was very surprised, and excited when I discovered that my library had physical copies of it so of course I requested my own copy. For me this book can be split into two parts. The first part was the set up from the premise that I have been hearing about all along. Bob dies in our time, gets cryogenically frozen, wakes up the future to find that he no longer has any rights as a cryogenic person. The exploration of the new world, him basically being a computer program (AI) at this point in time, his decision between taking places in things or being deleted. All of this stuff was interesting and really got my hopes up for the book. Then we get to the latter half of the book and here is where things go off the rails for me. Bob is launched into space on a probe to find a new planet and he gets to his destination. He removes all his safety protocols, explores that area, and is faced with a choice. Continue his mission as directed or do his own thing. Of course he does his own thing. He starts building other ships, space stations, and most importantly, clones of himself. These clones then split up and start exploring the universe and doing their own research, cloning, building, etc. This is where the book turned into an absolute slog for me. Each chapter was a different Bob and what they were doing. You had one Bob that went back to Earth to find out what happened after they left. One Bob stayed where they were and leaned real heavy into R&D. Other Bob's went out to explore various places in the universe. The tone of the book felt like it shifted from a story one would normally read to almost like a textbook or a blog. The normal story structure was just gone and it was just a documentary of what ever the current Bob we were following was doing. This part of the book took me so long to get through and I seriously considered DNF'ing the book a few times. Just to be clear, I don't necessarily think this book was bad per se but I do think this book was just not for me. Obviously there are a lot of people who did like it and books like this. Needless to say, I will not be continuing with this series.

Hot and Badgered ⭐⭐⭐
This is a buddy read and a reread, for the the first book at least. I was a bit worried heading into this book as I've kind of moved on from UF and PNR since I last read this book. It's not that I hate these genres or anything, the shine and appeal of them have just kind of worn of for me. It's still a genre that I will dabble my toe into from time to time but it's not the go to it once was. Reading through this book kind of confirmed it for me. It was a perfectly fine book and was definitely entertaining. Hell, it even got me to chuckle a few times. That being said, when you take a step back there are some issues with things. This book was essentially 400 and some odd pages of set up. The main conflict is not resolved by the end of the book. Heck, we barely figure out who the bad guys are by the end. The romance is "set up" but compared to other romances that I've read and liked this year there really isn't a whole lot there. It's basically 400ish pages of three delinquent characters being delinquent characters. What saves this books is that those three delinquent characters are really entertaining. We are reading book two next month and I'll be back to continue my adventures.

The Druid of Shannara ⭐⭐⭐
I'm not sure if I was just in a mood or what but this book really felt like it dragged for me. Especially after the first one was so entertaining. I want to chalk it up to middlebookitis but there were legit things that happened in this book. My problem is that between things getting accomplished there was a whole lot of rambling, navel gazing, and meandering about. The main focus of this one was Walker's quest to return the Druids and Paranor to the Four Lands. It hit a lot of the expected tropes with a band of strangers getting together to go on a quest. There was also an evil king at the end of that quest and all that. There was just so much contemplation in this one and part of me gets why it's there. It was needed for Walker to get from where he was at the start of the series to where he is at the end of this book. It just felt so excessive and borderline repetitive in this one. I will be back for the next one as it's the one character in this series we have spent the least amount of time with but I'm probably going to need a break before I get to it.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 4 ⭐⭐⭐
Not a lot to say here, it's more of what I expected from this series. Tons of cooking, communing with the Gods, stomping high level mobs, etc. This is just a cozy read and I have fun with it.

Now for the manga

Manhole Volume 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Heading into this one I did not realize that this series was a trilogy and not something longer. I was very surprised when things suddenly moved into the end game and the bad guy was caught. The bad was caught but it's also heavily implied that this story is not fully over as well. We probably won't see that story but the world this takes place in will probably be dealing with this for a good long while afterwards. Overall I really enjoyed this one, it was a good crime thriller/horror manga series and I am curious to check out more for this author.

One Piece, Volume 9: Tears 😢😢😢😢😢
This is the volume where we get Nami's backstory. If you know then you understand my rating. If you don't know, lets just say that this is where the kiddie gloves come off and we get to see some serious tragic back story. This is generally the point where a lot of people get fully hooked into the manga series.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love this series and this pair of MC's. Not a lot to really say here as this is a slow burn romantic slice of life but I am loving it all.

Cosmos, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What is up with me and tragic backstories this week? I won't spoil anything but the second half of this volume had my eyes leaking. It also dropped a whole bunch of foreshadowing for one the characters as well. Foreshadowing that implies a lot of pain as well.

Wash It All Away 03 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This series has me feeling rather conflicted. On the surface it is a wholesome slice of life manga about a young woman with amnesia who runs her own laundry service. There are also some really odd undercurrents that I am not sure about. There are definitely some odd ecchi moments mixed in that clash with the more lighthearted slice of life moments. There are also some darker tones hinted at when it comes down to her backstory as well. Maybe I'm just misreading things but it's just the vibe I am getting. I'm still here for this one but I really hope we get some sort of answers soon.

Now, what is next.


I'm not sure if I'm emotionally ready for this one but this is my next audiobook


This is my main book with a bunch more manga as well.

I don't have a lot to talk about this week. IRL stuff has been keeping me distracted from things. I've also been juggling three novels this week with two of them being on the chonkier side of things.

She Drives Me Crazy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was in a weird mood when I was hunting for an audiobook last week. I was in the mood for a sapphic romance for some reason. I was doing some digging when I stumbled across this one that was also deep on my TBR somewhere so I decided to give it a try and I am so glad that I did. This book was such a fun read that had me grinning the entire time. It's the classic enemies to lovers trope and a great example of how sticking to the basic tropes can still be done really well if you take care with what you are writing. This had all the tropes you would expect, even the classic third act break up that I saw coming from the first chapter basically. The MC's were charming and the author took care not to fall into a lot of the expected pitfalls. For instance this didn't rely on the whole miscommunication thing where folks won't talk about the most basic things. Sure, there were some things that weren't talked about right away but that was stuff that was more difficult to talk about. Stuff that had some emotional baggage and weight to them. The MC's in this were also super charming and I loved their development. The bickering in the beginning felt legit nasty but it was tempered with signs that both girls had regrets with what they had said. Seeing that bickering evolve as the novel went along was great as well. Seeing it start out as something mean and then slowly becoming more of an inside joke between them that they used to tease each other. Seeing them slowly warm up and open up to each other as the novel went along was just sweet as well. I just had a great time reading this one and I'm glad I picked it up.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World: Volume 3 ⭐⭐⭐
More of what I would expect from this series plus some new content. We get a bunch more forging in the workshop and the usual household chores. We also get a noble steed to help pull the cart and by noble steed I mean the cutest drake ever. We also get to see some combat in this book. Our MC is requested to join a hunting party to help repair damaged equipment while on the hunt. Of course he gets roped into things and ends up on the front lines of the hunt. One of the things that I am very curious about in this series is the "harem" aspect. In this book we get the fourth young woman joining the "cabin in the woods" gang and in any other novel this would be grounds for all sorts of romance and sexual tension. Basically everything you would expect from an anime/manga harem but we get none of that. This feels more like he is building a family. There is none of the romance hijinxs you would expect from this kind of scenario. I am very curious where this is going to go as I highly doubt this will be the last woman joining the crew out in the woods.

That's it, that's all. Like I said, it would be a short one this week. Now, what am I currently working on


My current audiobook and one of the chonky ones clocking in at 16ish hours. So far it is exactly what I expected.


My physical and digital book that I am working on.

Time for my weekly update

Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense., Vol. 8 (light novel) (Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. -3 Stars
Not a lot to really say about this one. This guild gets to the seventh layer and the new gimmick on this layer is pets. This book is basically about the guild members going out and finding pets. Since Maple and Sally already have pets their story is about finding upgrades for their pets. Oh and there is the preliminary for the next big even which should happen in the next book.

Skinwalker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
For digital books I'm alternating between a light novel from Hoopla and something else. I was scrolling through my TBR looking for something to read when I found this series again. I got up to one of the books in the teens and got distracted by something. Now that the series is done I have been meaning to go back and read through this for a while and now seems like a great time. Revisiting this one was a lot of fun. Jane/Beast is one of the great characters that got me into UF back in the day. In my opinion this novel still holds up well and I'm excited for my reread of this one.

The Dragon Factory ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was looking for something different after all the fantasy and mystery/thrillers I had been listening to lately so I came back to this series. Sure it's a "thriller" but it's more action orientated then anything else. Basically this is about white supremacists creating genetically modified diseases to purge the planet of those they deem undesirable. This has a massive ticking clock element as it counts down to this big event where the master plan is initiated. Our MC's come into this conspiracy late and are racing the clock to save the world. In many ways this book delivered exactly what I wanted. Fast paced action, body horror, evil bad guys, etc. That being said there are some issues with this book. It takes half the book for the MC's to actual clue into the plot. There is just so much going on in this book and so many different plot lines on the go. There are so many different POV's in this book it's kind of nuts. There are flashbacks to event happening before the start of the book highlighting the plan and things that are in motion. There is also a plot point that is kind of overlooked by the end. So they stop the master plan from cooking off, no real big spoiler there, but as the book has highlighted, these genetically modified diseases are already out there. Sure it's not global but they were testing these diseases on live populations. What about all of that? Are we just supposed to believe that this was quietly taken care of off page? It just feels weird that we spent so much time setting this stuff for it to really go no where. Then there is death that just doesn't sit well with me. I'm not sure if it fits the "woman in a fridge" or "fridging" trope exactly but it really feels unnecessary. The main male lead has a romantic interest that started in the first novel. This romance continues to grow in this novel until her untimely death at the end. This female character kind of sits in this grey area between main character and side character. She is definitely not the main character but she feels like more of a side character. She also isn't just there for the romance either but a lot of her page time is spent on this. Especially in comparison to her partner. It feels like the author wanted to refocus the series on the action and just get rid of the romance. The death just felt weird and didn't sit right with me. I don't hate it but it just feels like it happened to early in the series for a proper emotional impact. I'm going to reserve judgement until I see where things go with this series.

Dog Days ⭐⭐⭐
This was a short novella following the above book. It's a short book aboutthe MC cleaning something up after the conclusion of the previous book. He also gets a dog to help with his grief. It's what one would expect from a .5 novella and it was a fun quick read.

Now for the comics and manga

Deepwater Creek: A Graphic Novel ⭐⭐⭐
This was a middle grade horror comic about a monster in a creek and a group of friends who love fishing. There is a lot of the expected tropes one would expect from a middle grade horror. It's not bad but it just didn't fully click with me either and I feel horrible for saying that. If you read the authors notes this comic was written after he went through a trying time in his life and this was a way for him to help process it. I can see how important this book is but for me as a reader it just didn't click with me.

His Majesty the Demon King's Housekeeper Vol. 10 ⭐⭐⭐
The series has shifted from the demon realm to the human realm as things are overrun with rust including a rusting of the heart. I like that the author is trying to shake things up a bit. Our MC and the party of demons are not instantly worshiped as the greatest thing ever. There is a lot of prejudice against demons and the human girl who works with them. it does make things kind of interesting but I'm also kind of done with this series. It just feels like the series is not really going anywhere. I don't know, I might be back, I might not.

Soara and the House of Monsters Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was another random snag from the library and I hit gold with this one. The story is about a young girl who designs houses for monsters. So a cozy slice of life story set in a fantasy realm. Cool, sounds like a story for me. I was not expecting what I found. Soara was an orphan who was taken in by knights and crafted to be the perfect killing machine against the monster invasion. She dedicated her life to studying everything about them and honing her fighting skills to the peak of perfection. When she presents herself to the king to get her first mission it is announced that peace has been reached between the humans and the monsters. The war is done and to quote the king "she can go home to her friends and family". The very things she doesn't have. She then wanders the country trying to find meaning to her life when she stumbles across a group of Dwarven architects building a home for a clan of goblins. Due to her training she is immediately suspicious of them and starts to trail them to figure out what they are up to. She then slowly gets recruited into this merry band of dwarfs as they travel the country building houses for monsters.

I love this set up. I love the darker backstory, I love the monsters view point, I love the creativity when it comes down to building the houses and the materials used. This first volume just hits for me and I am really looking forward to reading more in this series.

Now, what is next.


I am currently listening to She Drives Me Crazy and loving it so far. I should have that done in the next day or two and after that I am rolling over into the next Shannara book.


These are my current books that I have on the go. I'm not sure where things go after that but I have a couple ideas but I'll deal with when I get there

Alright lets try this again. I nearly had this done when I accidentally closed the tab losing everything I had typed up. I was nearly done when I lost everything and it was a wee bit frustrating.

This Fallen Prey ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm back with the next entry in this series and this one had an interesting premise. Basically a dangerous individual is dropped off in Rockton and our cast of characters are told to sit on him for six months. Of course we get little to no info and the validity of that info is called into question. For the most part I really enjoyed this book but it did feel like it dragged a bit in the middle. It felt like the author had a great idea how to start the book and how to end things but wasn't too sure what to do in the middle. The flip flopping on the bad guys innocence started to grate on me after a bit. It wasn't the beginning of the book where the author was creating doubt in the narrative. It wasn't the end of the book where the facts are getting all laid out and we are finally getting answers. The continuous flip flopping in the middle of the book just felt pointless. There was also a section in the middle of the book where we spend some time with Storm and our MC. This felt like one of those .5 novellas that you get between the main books except it was in the middle of book where they are actively hunting for a dangerous person. Also the middle of the book was just a lot of tromping around out in the woods looking for people. Once we got into the final act and all the cards started getting revealed the book really picked up and we ended with so many new questions that are, of course, unanswered. Now that our buddy read is over I definitely plan to continue with this series as well as the spin off.

The Gingerbread Witch ⭐⭐⭐
This was a coming of age/retelling of the classic Hansel and Gretel story. With the MC being a person created by the witch who is killed by Hansel and Gretel. Our MC has to go on a journey to find a way to bring back her teacher. This book was perfectly fine. It didn't bore me, it didn't rock my world, it kept me entertained and having a good time. There is one more book in the series and I'll be checking it out.

The Moor ⭐⭐⭐
I picked up this book for a challenge and this book was so boring. It has been a good long while since I read the last book in this series but I remember enjoying things. This book was about Holmes getting called back to the moors by one of the original characters from The Hound of Baskervilles. There are strange things afoot on the moor and that person needs answers. This book can basically be summed up as "talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, walk about the moors, talk some more, more walking, more talking, and more walking" and it was just so boring. Honestly, it felt like an advertisement for hot baths and the moor. It just so happens that there is also a mystery taking place somewhere off page, in the background. I am really not sure about continuing with this series. Several of the reviews I've read mentioned that this was the lowest point for the series and that things get better. I'm just not sure if I care enough to return or if I should just find a different Victorian era mystery novel with a female detective.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 3 ⭐⭐⭐
I'm back with the next book in this series and it can basically be split into two parts. There is the part before they go into the dungeon that involves a lot of food prep and then there is the section where our main group just steam roll this poor dungeon. Oh and more food stuff as well. This was just a fun little read and I can't wait for more. Especially as the next one will have the fallout from them clearing this dungeon.

Now for the manga/comics I read this week

The Stoneshore Register ⭐⭐⭐
This is yet another random snag from the library and I have some really mixed feelings about this one. This one is about a young immigrant woman coming to small town in the Pacific Northwest looking for refuge from something in her past. She gets a job at the local newspaper office and each story is piece in the paper about something happening in town. This book dabbles in the magic realism realm of things and falls face first into one of my least favorite tropes. Each story builds up that there might be something spooky and supernatural happening only to do the whole cop out at the end where the supernatural stuff is just waved away as nonsense. I just loathe this trope so much. It feels like an author who wants to write fantastical stuff but doesn't want to get away from contemporary novels. I loathe the whole not committing one way or the other to if the fantastical actually exists or not. Then there is the final chapter which is a political message about immigration. Not a bad message or anything but I felt like there should have been a chapter or two more to get to this point. The final chapter before this one shows that our MC is not well liked in town because of some of the questions she has been asking. Suddenly, in the final chapter, everyone loves her and is defending her when immigration comes looking for her because small town and what not. Again, not a bad message or anything but I really would have loved to have seen a chapter or two in between showing a transition between those two points.

RuriDragon, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More slice of life about a young girl discovery that she is half dragon and having to learn how to deal with all the new powers that come with it while also trying to be a normal high school girl.

The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor ⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you loved the first book then you will love this one as well. This one introduces a new genre of characters to Willowweep Manor and all the tropes that goes along with it. Oh and there are two Cuthbert's now. Two of these lovable idiots feeding off of each others stupidity is just hilarious.

Nue's Exorcist, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
I snagged this from the library because I need some books for a spelling challenge that start with the letter N. After reading the first volume that challenge might be the only reason I'm going to keep reading any more. This wasn't a horrible manga but it just felt so bog standard for me. MC is a young man with super low self esteem. Each chapter introduces a new, super attractive, girl who wants to be friends with our MC. He also suddenly gets off the charts powers to battle the generic threat that just happens to pop up where he is. I feel really weird complaining about things being generic considering my interest in Isekai but this one just did not grab me.

Now, what am I working on next


This is my current audiobook and it's what I needed at this point. I just needed a bit of a reset that wasn't a mystery or a fantasy novel.


I'm reading more digital novels now and I decided to revisit/finish the Jane Yellowrock series between my light novels from Hoopla. After Bofuri I have a few more manga and comics I need to get through as well.

As someone who walks a fair bit it is scary the things I see and it really seems like things have gotten worse over the last few years. Rules/laws seem to be treated as mere suggestions. The amount of people I see running red lights/stop signs is terrifying.

Another thing I really loathe is oversized trucks on the roads. Pickup trucks are massive now a days and they keep getting bigger. There is a Ford F350 in my neighborhood and the top of the hood is about level with the top of my chest. I'm 6'2", how in the hell do you see anything in front of a vehicle like that?

Time for another weekly update and I am on a reading streak lately.

Random in Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one here was one of my favorite types of In Death novels. The ones where there is a clicking clock type of element. In this one there is someone stabbing young girls with a needle loaded with a slew of various drugs. It was also interesting to see the author pull from real world influences to create the villain for this novel.

The Scions of Shannara ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was planning on reading through the Shannara books but kind of stalled out due to the time commitment for listening to these books. Now that I am back to walking that is no longer and issue and I am so glad that I returned to this franchise. This book was such an interesting read after the original trilogy. In some ways the book feels real similar to the original book but once you get settled into that mindset the author really starts to play with your expectations. You expect the characters or the story to do this but instead we are going to do something else. There was this one moment where one of the MC's is trying to figure out something and as the reader you suddenly realize that you have been fed clues all along. You never realized that they were clues at the time but suddenly everything clicks and you have the whole light bulb moment as you realize what is going on. The other big difference between this and the original is that this series is one whole story instead of three separate books like the original trilogy. I am really looking forward to the next book and what happens next.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World: Volume 2 ⭐⭐⭐
The next volume in this series and it's more of what I was expecting. Smithing, going to town, walking through the forest, etc. We also got some more world building as our MC is drawn into bigger events outside of his little bubble. We of course get more young women added to the "harem". I say harem but there really is no romance in this. We also get our first fantasy metal with good old mythril being tossed in as well as the inclusion of magic into the smithing. Just a fun popcorn read.

Now for the comics/manga

Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Edition, Vol. 13: Includes Vols. 37, 38 39 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As you can tell from the cover we have now met Boo. Yet another villain that I know from pop culture osmosis. Some random thoughts I got while reading this. I legit feel bad for Hercule in this world. He is a legit strong guy and everyone looks up to him but he is also painfully aware of just how out classed he is by the main group of guys. Seeing him getting bodied by a mere child who was holding back was hilarious. I'm still rather shocked by how much of a back seat Goku has taken in the last couple arcs. He is there but is more of a side character now. I'm also starting to understand the appeal of Vegeta. He is a prideful idiot at times but he is a good man as well. Finally, this series is just so weird at times. I know this is not my first time saying this but man there are moments in this series that are just weird.

Ichi the Killer (Omnibus) Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Seeing this franchise pop up in my local library was this bizarre trip down memory lane for me. Many, many, many years ago I remember watching the movie and being grossed out by it. Then a while back I found a fan translation of the manga and devoured it. I was incredibly surprised to see that Seven Seas has decided to release this in an omnibus format. As you can tell from my rating I really enjoyed this but at the same time it's not a series I can recommend to people. This series is about horrible people doing horrible things to horrible people. There are no "good" characters here. There are just various levels of bad. This is a crime thriller set in the 80's/90's I do believe. I don't want to get into spoilers but there is a group of people manipulating various clans within the Yakuza for reasons. It's been so long since I read this that coming back to things feels almost fresh. I'm really looking forward to my revisit of this dark and twisted tale.

Doomsday with My Dog, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐
This was a random snag from the library and I knew I was in trouble when I opened it up and saw that is a 4 koma (or 4 panel) style manga. Listen, I don't hate this style of manga/comic but I find that it is a delivery method that is great for story telling. This style is great for social media when you are doom scrolling. The comic pops up, you take 30 seconds to read it, you go "huh" or laugh, and then you move on. Taking that 30 second interaction and then making a full book out of it rarely works for me. It's just a random collection of jokes and thoughts from the author. That is exactly how I would summarize this book, a random collection of the author's thoughts. It's not that it's bad or anything but I wanted a story, I wanted a world to explore, and instead I get random jokes and philosophical ramblings. This book is about a young girl who is apparently the last surviving member of the human race and she is exploring the ruins of Japan with her Shiba Inu. Great setup for a story and the reason why I picked it up. Is anything explained? Nope. How did the world end? No idea. How did she survive? No idea? How does she get around? No idea. What is up with all these aliens and supernatural creatures? No idea. Were they involved in the end of the world? No idea. There is no story here and it just left me feeling frustrated. Needless to say, I will not be back for the second book.

The Boxer, Vol. 11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book destroyed me emotionally and I was not alright after I finished this one. At long last we finally get the back story for the MC and just, wow. This book just highlights how many emotions cans be shared through a visual medium and man did it have an impact. It's wild that I am sitting here emotionally destroyed after reading this considering when I picked up the first volume it was on a whim and I figured it would just be another sports story.

You Can't Live All on Your Own!, Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐
This was a cozy little read that I'm glad I picked up. It's a slice of life story about four women in their late 20's all living in the same house. It's about their struggles as women. One is focused on her career, one is worried about still being single at 28, one was in a relationship but got dumped, and one is just figuring out what she wants in life in general. It's just a glimpse into their life and there is just something cozy about it all. I'll definitely be back for more.

Kill Them All ⭐⭐⭐
This was another random snag that sounded great on the surface but something in the execution just did not land for me. You have an assassin who was wronged by the criminal organization who is out for revenge. You also have a disgraced ex-cop looking for a way to redeem himself. Their target, a skyscraper full of criminal scum with the boss on the top floor. It's that classic action story with tons of violence as the "good guys" kill their way to the top. It's an easy setup for some over the top action. The first glaring problem that I ran into was the art itself. I'm not saying that the art was bad but, for me, the art just didn't work for this kind of story. I would expect to see this style of art work more in a middle grade kind of story. I'd want more of a realistic/detailed art style for this kind of story. Something that allows me to see all the gory details. The other issue was the story itself. I'm not expecting the most high brow style of writing. Heck, I'm not expecting a whole lot out of a story like this in general. The writing for this though felt like a teenage boy saw one of those action movies like The Raid and wanted to write their own version of it. There was this kind of weird juvenile feel to parts of this. Overall it wasn't horrible but I was just expecting something a bit more.

What I'm working on next


These are the audiobooks that are on deck currently. This Fallen Prey is a great read so far.


This is my current book. I've also got some more manga/comics for this week. I'm also thinking of getting the next Campfire Cooking light novel as well.

Another week of reading is complete and it's time for all the updating.

My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World: Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐
I really hope you like hearing my thoughts on isekai novels because I am deep in a mood right now. This was a new series that I started that has been on my radar for a while. As you can guess from the title our MC dies and is reincarnated as a blacksmith in a fantasy world. He lives out in a cabin in the middle of the woods and he has cheat skills for blacksmithing. The novels are not deep alright, stop looking for more. Basically this novel is just a set up of this series. Finding the cabin, getting a roommate (a cat girl), setting up a way to sell things, getting an apprentice (a dwarf girl), etc, etc. I like how the MC is not just reincarnated as some teenager but as a 30 something year old man. I also like that while maybe setting up a harem it wasn't weird about anything. Then we get down to the slight grumble and this is real life knowledge creeping in to mess up my fun. This master blacksmith makes these amazing swords by casting them. You don't cast swords, especially iron/steel swords. It doesn't work like that. Amongst many things it was very clear that this author knows nothing about actual smithing but you know, wave your hand, fantasy cheat skills makes it all work.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 2 ⭐⭐⭐
Back with this one and it's what I expected. Lots of food, busted fights, isekai world building. Just a fun relaxing read.

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, (Light Novel) Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐
I warned you that I was in a mood this week alright. Yup, another isekai novel and it's more of what I expected from this series. That being said I did like how things picked up a bit towards the end. Seeing our MC taking what is considered useless spells in general in this world and figuring out how to use them effectively in combat was interesting. Also, that last fight was interesting as it wasn't just our MC steamrolling things with his busted skill set. He actually had to work a bit and strategize. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't super deep or anything, but it was a nice change of pace.

Now for the manga

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 4—Diamond Is Unbreakable, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The story is starting to shift a little bit now. We had more stories of the week as we've had up until this point but now we are starting to get a main villain introduced and he is an interesting one with some interesting abilities. I am really curious to see where this goes.

Interviews with Monster Girls, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More slice of life stories from these three young demi humans. I love this chill series.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have no idea what to even say about this series. Each volume is only 160 pages and I feel like I'm trying to decipher an ancient language with clues from the back of a crumpled up napkin. I just want to know what is going on. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that in a bad way. Everyone and everything is being all cryptic and weird and I'm just trying to puzzle it all out.

Now what is next

The Scions of Shannara
Still working on this audiobook and really liking some of the changes I am seeing compared to the original trilogy.


The short list of things I need to read this week

I have a few things to talk about this week. Unfortunately I started the week out with a couple of duds but it did get better. Without further ado lets get into it.

My Lovely Wife ⭐⭐
This is technically the second dud of the week for week. I'll get to the first one later. I need a book with a psychological thriller tag and I found this floating around in my TBR pile. After some digging I realized that I had read something else from this author and really liked it. That's what lead me to getting this book. By the time I got around to listening to it though I wasn't 100% in the mood for yet another thriller but I needed to get this done. I will say that this book had an interesting premise. Basically a loving wife and husband kill people to spice up their relation. Interesting idea that could be a fun read. That is about the only good thing I have to say about this book. We follow the husband who remains unnamed throughout the book and I found this character extremely unlikable. Combine that with the fact that the first about 75% of the book is just set up and flashbacks which was just boring as hell. All of this made getting through the book an absolute drag. What kept me going was wanting to see the big twists that was inevitably coming. All of this slog was leading to the big twist. By the time I got there though I just didn't care anymore. The ending of the book was also a let down as well. Basically every big twist wasn't really a twist at all. It was all stuff that was super obvious and very predictable. It was more of a surprise that the MC never saw any of this stuff coming. I'm just glad this was a stand alone and that I am done with this book.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐
This is an isekai that I have been meaning to read for a while and it's a fun little read. Basically our MC is accidently summoned to another world, no one recognizes his skill, and he is kicked out of the castle by the shady king that summoned him. Our MC's broken skill is "Online Shopping". Basically our boy here can access Amazon in a fantasy world and what ever he orders is instantly delivered to him in said fantasy world. This is not so much an action adventure or anything like that. This is more of slice of life fantasy story based around food. Our boy here can cook and with his ability to order anything he wants he is able to whip up all sorts of tasty dishes. This allows him to enter into a contract with a Fenrir, one of the legendary beasts of this world. It's a fun simple read and I am looking forward to more.

London Calling ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This audiobook crept up on me out of no where. This book was released this year and I was waiting for an audiobook format to come out. When I finally noticed it was out I was in the back of a bit of a queue. This was supposed to be a couple months out still when it suddenly became available. I'm not complaining and after how bad my last audiobook was this was a well deserved treat. As for the book, it was everything I wanted for this book. I'm not sure if there was contract stuff behind the scenes or what but this book felt like it was the final book in the series. A lot of the overarching story lines we had been exploring throughout this whole series were all wrapped up in this one. There is a big family reunion, we find out what happened in Paris, we learn about Clementine's story, the big bad is caught. The thing is that even though the overarching story lines are wrapped up this is a story that could easily be continued and after reading the synopsis for the next one that is what is happening. I'm both excited for more stories in this world but also a bit cautious as well. If the author only intended for their to be six books and was forced to write more due to popularity maybe he won't be as invested in it. Maybe the story lines will be a bit more flat. Only time will tell. I will be back next year for the next one when it comes out.

Isekai Walking: Volume 2 Holy Kingdom of Frieren Arc ⭐⭐⭐
Yup, not even a month later and I am back to this series. It's a popcorn series, something easy to read while I am waiting for a bus or on lunch. In many ways this continues a lot of the bog standard tropes that you expect from an isekai. Our MC is slowly growing a harem of beautiful girls who all adore him. There are a couple things I want to touch on. There were a couple moments where this novel got a bit darker then I expected. Far from the darkest material that I have ever read but the things being hinted at/implied where a bit darker then I normally see in a fluffy isekai. The other thing I want to touch on is a trope that I really loathe seeing. The stupid slavery trope that is becoming more and more prevalent in anime/manga/light novels. I'm not saying you can't explore themes of slavery in a fantasy setting. It's how these franchises handle the subject. The author's go through some real gymnastics to both imply that slavery is very bad but that our good MC is not a bad person for participating in the slave trade. Either they get a special class of slave that is not treated horribly, there is an implied promise that they will let them go, or just a hand wave of they don't treat them like slaves. I'm sorry, the MC is still participating in the slave trade. They are buying slaves. This is not a good thing. What this really is, is merely a lazy trope to get our MC, who is a stranger in this world, companions that are loyal to them. I know this genre is not a genre known for having a very high bar for quality when it comes to its writing but this is a new low. This is just a trope that needs to go away.

The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐
Yup, another isekai. Listen, I'm in a mood lately so don't judge. More fluffy isekai fantasy, not a lot to really say here.

Now for the manga/comic
Godzilla: Skate or Die ⭐⭐
This is the first true dud of the week. I snagged this book because Godzilla and I was really curious how they were going to shoehorn skateboarding into this one. You have two different story lines going on here. There is the story line involving Australian teenagers who love skateboarding and stuff like that. Then there is the Godzilla story line where he battles another Kaiju. These stories exist... in the same city and kind of brush up against each other in a fashion. Basically Godzilla and this other kaiju are duking it out over top of this old factory site where the kids hangout and board. The kids want to go there and get something before the site is destroyed because that seems like a great idea. The government gets involved because of course they did. I was just bored reading this one and could not really care about anything going on.

Flying Witch, Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is such fun and comfy read. There is a reason this series is up there as one of my favorites.

What's next
The Scions of Shannara
My next audiobook and it feels good to be returning to this franchise

As for my physical books, I'm not sure. I have to check my library and plan what is due next, what can be renewed, etc.

Time for my weekly update and I have a few things to talk about this week. Who would have thought that walking two plus hours a day would chew through normal length audiobooks like nothing.

A Darkness Absolute ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a great read that kept me guessing for a good chunk of the book. Now that a lot of the world building and basic character set up was done this book was able to jump straight into things a whole lot quicker. That made this book a whole lot more engaging and a really quick read. It also did a great job exploring and setting up even more of the overarching mystery with the council and other locals in the area. I am looking forward to the next one for sure.

The Lake House ⭐⭐⭐
After A Darkness Absolute I was looking for a bit of a palate cleanser before diving into my next thriller. I ended up with a thriller novel so this might not have been the most well thought out plan. This was a recommendation and a book that I just jumped blindly into. Overall it was an entertaining read but there were some issues. I liked the characters and their interactions well enough. For me it was just the pacing. This book felt like it took a really long time to set up what the threat actually was. It hinted at what it might be but it was to vague to actually be credible. Then there was a twist in this book that just didn't land well for me. It wasn't a bad twist or anything, it just took the book in a direction that I wasn't a big fan of. Overall, it was a spooky summer time read that I'm sure many might like.

Lady’s Knight ⭐⭐⭐⭐
On the completely other end of the serious scale is this book here. I snagged this one from the library because it looked like a silly sapphic romance and it delivered on that. Basically there is a tournament for knights from across the land to come an participate in. The prize, the land of a lovely Lady. Then there is Gwen, the daughter of the local blacksmith, who just wants to know if she can even fight at all. She sneaks into the tournament and wins her first bout. This is where it was supposed to end until the lovely Lady got involved. From there it's a lot of familiar tropes with our two young ladies helping each other out by winning the tournament and finding some love along the way. It's some comedic, girl power, fluffy romance that I just had a blast reading. I was really surprised that there was a second book announced for this one but I will definitely be back for more.

Now for the manga side of things

Stars in Their Eyes: A Graphic Novel ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was seeing some chatter about this one and I am a sucker for wholesome romance so I decided to give it a shot. This is definitely a comic that was from the younger side of the YA genre but I don't think that should dismiss the message that this book brings to the table. It's about two young teens who meet at a con and fall in love. It's only about the one day at the con but it is really sweet in a first love kind of way. This book also deals with some heavier subjects such as disabilities, sexuality, and gender identity in a way that feels really positive. I think this would be a great book for younger readers looking to find themselves in a comic. Also, I have to say that the mother of the MC in this book is an amazing person. The relationship she has with her daughter is just amazing. Now, I have a bit of a gripe, and its kind of silly. This book takes place around a comic convention and the author references tons of real life series and fandoms but in a legally distinct way. Sci-Fi Wars instead of Star Wars for example. I understand perfectly well why this is done but for something so heavily focused on references it was a bit frustrating. Far from a deal breaker, more of a nuisance.

Dandadan, Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love this series, I love these characters. Not a lot else to really say except that I am really surprised how fast I am catching up to the anime. I'm nearly caught up to the end of the first season already.

Tomb Raider King, Vol. 11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More of what I expected from this series and a fun popcorn read

My Kitten is a Picky Eater Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
For a wholesome feel good series about owners loving their kitties I was not expecting this one to be so emotional. Our MC finds and rescues a three week old kitten and with help from the vet takes it in and raises it. The book touched on early kitty life as well as the the whole adoption process (for Japan. I don't want to give to much away for anyone who is reading this and hasn't got to this one yet. I was just kind of surprised to find myself reading this and having a tear or two in the corner of my eye.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 13 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More Frieren and it's still just as fun. This wrapped up the story arc from the last volume and starting setting up the next one which is looking to be rather exciting.

What is next


These are the two audiobooks I have on deck for this week. I'm starting with My Lovely Wife which I'm struggling with a bit. It's nothing about the book, it's just not what I'm in the mood for but my loan is running out and I need it for a challenge that I have to finish this week. I'm hoping that I warm up to book quickly and it brings me around.


My short list of other things I am working on this week

Just a short one this week. Getting back to work after vacation, trying to get into a walking routine, working on chonky books, it's all a recipe for less things to talk about.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I forgot how long this book was. This was a twenty six and a half hour long audiobook which is a lot of listening when you are only playing it at normal speed. Great for the walks though. There was a lot that happened in this book and a lot of emotions. I know that there is a lot of criticism of this series and some of it is warranted but it is an interesting world with a lot of interesting characters. Umbridge in this book is a great example. She is up there there as one of my favorite villains of all time. She is just so despicable and yet so very real feeling. She is just a bigoted, power hunger, little troll who will do what ever she has to do to maintain power. This slower paced reread of this series has been very fun.

Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another reread this week and another series I'm glad that I returned to. This one had a tonal shift from the first couple novels. The first couple novels were much more "traditional" adventuring stories. This one feels more political as Fran helps to overthrow a corrupt king. The next one sounds like it will be very food based. I'm looking forward to getting to some new, for me, material in this series and see where it goes.

Now for the manga

Tsumiki Ogami's Not-So-Ordinary Life, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
This was a random snag from the library. I found it while browsing through the new manga that had come in. This is a slice of life story about a young boy who is constantly worried about what others think about him. He wants a fresh start and transfers to a new school when he enters high school. This high school has a high population of "Mythfolks" which are basically supernatural folks. Vampires, oni, ogres, werewolves, etc. There he meets Tsumiki, you popular young girl who is a werewolf. He is drawn to her confidence and he hopes to learn from her. This is basically the classic extrovert adopting an introvert story line. I'm also getting some very strong Komi vibes from this. I'm not saying that it's a copy or a clone but it feels like it is hitting some of the same story beats. In this first volume we get the two MC's becoming friends and the introduction of the next couple friends that will be coming into this group. I wasn't exactly blown away by this volume but I don't hate it either. I'll be back for more to see where is going to go but I'm not expecting a whole lot.

As for what is next
A Darkness Absolute My next audiobook and my return to Rockton. It has been a fun read so far
Lady’s Knight The big physical book I am tackling this week. It was a random snag from the library that I hope is good.

Just a staycation

Lets get this posts back on track and back to their regular schedule. Since I was on vacation the last week there will be a few things here.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More bear related awesomeness as I slowly reread through this series again. Just a fun cozy read for me.

Payback in Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been wanting to get back to this series now for some time but my other things have kept me busy. This week I just broke down and snagged the next book. It has been a few months and man does it feel good to come back to this series. The mystery, the characters, especially the characters, it's all just fun to read.

Isekai Walking: Volume 1 Elesia Kingdom Arc ⭐⭐⭐
This was a random Hoopla snag as the title caught my eye. The set up for this book is as bog standard as they get. The MC is summoned to another world with several other people to save a kingdom from the demon king. Of those that are summoned he has no noticeable immediately busted stats and skills so he is kicked out of the castle and left to essentially survive on his own. It turns out that the kingdom who summoned these "heroes" might not be on the up and up. Like I said, all pretty standard. Also, as one would expect in a novel of this sort, our MC does indeed have a busted skill. For every step he takes he gains one experience point and when he is walking he does not get tired. His initial step count is pretty low. For level one he needs to take 1,000 steps. Up to level ten that amount goes up by 1,000 steps. After that it starts to get a bit more difficult. After level 10 it starts to go up by 10k and after that I think it starts to go up by 100k. This is far from ground breaking and while it has a unique twist to I don't feel that the twist is fully explored. That being said this is a a cozy popcorn kind of isekai so I will be back for more.

Now for the manga

Wash It All Away 02 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Much like Hirayasumi this is another slice of life manga and I have a real hard time explaining why I like it so much. It's simply about a girl with amnesia who runs her own laundry service. It's the characters, the location, the vibes, it all just clicks with me and I am here for it.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 22 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
More FMA and yes, it's awesome

Don't Call it Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 13-14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm not sure if it was the break between books or this volume in particular but this book felt a bit flat for me. The first part of the book was the conclusion to the mystery at the end of the last omnibus. Once I got back into the vibe of things this was satisfying and the start of a larger mystery of who "Ant" is. The second was a smaller self contained mystery who had our MC there but he wasn't actually there. Basically one of the cops he has been dealing with found themselves in a situation where they had to solve a mystery before help arrived. To do this he channeled his inner Totonou and that is how we have our MC appear in this arc. He was basically a ghost for these section. The last section is the set up for the next mystery and this is a 20 year old case. Overall this was alright but it really felt like it lacked any of the big surprises and twists that previous volumes had. The wait for the next volume is going to be a real long one I think. These are omnibus editions collecting two volumes of manga in one. This volume covered issues 13 and 14. Volume 15 was just released in March of this year in Japan and I don't see anything about volume 16. We have to wait for that to be published, then it needs to be translated, released, etc, etc, etc. It's going to be a long wait.

As for what is next.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Still working through this on my walks. I'm about 40% of the way into this and it's a fun read.

After that I am just going to keep working through my stack of library things. I'm reading some Yowamushi Pedal today followed by some more JoJo. After that, we'll see what I want to read next.

Alright, enough procrastinating, time to type this up. I'm on vacation and really in the mood to read right now so I've been putting this off since yesterday morning.

The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Is there any shock at all that I enjoyed this book? Between my personal pile and waiting for the queue at the library it has been a few months since I was able to get back to this series. It just felt good to be back to this world. To witness the madness of the dungeon, Carl's antics, Donut being Donut, and everything else. I will admit that this level of the dungeon was more then a bit confusing with all the colors of trains, the stations, portals, etc but at the same time the author is very forward that you, as the reader, don't need to understand it. To basically strap in and just enjoy the ride which is what I did. I have a lot of broader questions for the series as a whole. What is going to happen on the next floor? What is going to happen with certain characters? Where are certain characters? What is going on outside of the game? Stuff like that.

Deliverance ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It has been more then a few months since I last got to this series. I was just in a mood, scrolling through my TBR looking for an audiobook, and this jumped out at me. This book just delivered for me on several story points that the previous book set up. Jordan's eventual downfall, the reunion with X, etc, while also setting up future story lines which I am very interested in.

Before We Say Goodbye 😢😢😢😢
The next installment of emotional damage in this series. Yes, the series is repetitive. Yes, the lore is not really expanded upon much, Yes, there are faults with this series in general. It's so good at delivering these emotional short stories that just tug at the old heart strings though. There is something in that simplicity that just keeps me coming back for more, when I am emotionally prepared for it.

Manga/Comics

String ⭐⭐⭐
This is one I found at my library and the concept intrigued me. Our MC can see strings between people. Blue strings connect intimate partners. Black strings connect a murderer and their victims. Our MC does work with all sorts of people from cops to gang bangers. The set up for this book is that she wakes up one days and sees a black string attached to her and she has to find out if she is the killer or the victim. It's an interesting set up for a series and I think there is a lot of potential here but it just left me wanting more by the end. That's the frustrating part as there is no indication that there will be more. It's just the open ending with a tease of maybe there being more.

SAKAMOTO DAYS 17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More Sakamoto Days, not a lot to really say here

Girl Crush, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
Funny story about this one here. I was in the mood for another cozy yuri manga series. I saw this one, more specifically, I saw the title, and didn't bother looking any deeper and just requested it. This is not a yuri, not even a hint at any yuri at all. This is a story about Kpop idols or young girls wanting to become idols. The whole talent versus passion trope. This is going to be on that I am going to drop. Not that it's bad or anything but this is just not something that I am interested in. I don't like the MC and her personality. I get why she is the way she is but that doesn't make it fun to read her. I'm also not overly interested in the idol stuff. The idols themselves are fine and are talented folks. The business behind them and some of the fans that support them are concerning shall we say.

Hirayasumi, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
There is not a whole lot I can really say about this one. It's more of what I expect from this slice of life series.

Nakamura-san, the Uninvited Gyaru Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
Another random snag from the library and another one I am feeling conflicted about. This is an odd couples type of romantic comedy. On one side you have the introverted otaku guy who keeps to himself. On the other side we have the extroverted gyaru girl who is extroverted and loud. She needs a new place to stay after getting kicked out of her last place due to construction and forces herself into this guys life basically. We soon discover that she has a crush on him and they start to learn how to live together. There are definitely moments where this series is cute and funny. There are also moments that I'm just not a big fan of. Tropes that are old as hell and haven't aged well at all. Things like the guy walking in on the girl naked out of concern and she hits him for no reason. The gyaru in this series also feels dangerously oblivious at times which gives it some very weird vibes. I kind of want to keep reading though just to see where this goes and if it gets better.

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a book that I was violently strong armed into reading (someone posted about how good it was and I had to read it as a result) and it was definitely a fun read. This was another one where I didn't read the synopsis for so the whole sci-fi elements were a big surprise to say the least. I think my favorite thing about his comic has to be Cuthbert. Characters that are intentionally written to be stupid can be real hit or miss for me. It's so easy for these type of characters to be just down right annoying. Cuthbert on the other hand is just a mood and I love him for it.

What is next?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix This is my next audiobook and the one that is going to carry me through my convention this weekend
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 9 my current physical book
Payback in Death I am finally getting back to this series.

Outside of that I am have nothing but vacation time and a stack of things from the library. I'll see where things take me.

Time for that weekly wrap up and again, not a lot to report on this week.

City of the Lost ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a buddy read for me and one I'm rather glad I picked up. While it had its flaws it was pretty interesting and did a great job setting up the location and future story lines to pursue. This is all set up in a small town deep in the Yukon wilderness that is set up as a refuge for those that are escaping something. Domestic abuse, scandal, etc. Our MC and her "friend" (nope, not touching this one) are in a situation and they have to escape. Our MC, Casey, is a detective and it just so happens that this town is in need of a detective because shenanigans are afoot. That's how they get into the town and the start of this story. Honestly, my biggest grumble with this one is a lot of the setup that happens. I know why it needs to happen, I appreciate that it's there, but it really feels like the mystery gets put on the back burner at times. The greatest example of this is the opening of the book itself. It takes a while to even get into the town and to the mystery itself. I get why it's there, I get what it's doing, but man does it go on for a while. There were other moments like that in the story as well. Where it felt like the story was hitting story beats more to establish things in the world or for characters then anything else. That aside, there is some really interesting stuff here. The town is interesting and ripe with story possibilities, there are some really interesting characters (looking at you Dalton), and I'm really curious to see where this is going to go next. I'm hoping that the second book will get to the mystery a lot sooner now that a lot of the ground work is set up already. I have a feeling that I'll be reading on with this series after our buddy read is done with the first three books.

Raven of the Inner Palace (Light Novel) Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐
I got around to the next book in this series and I am struggling a bit with this series. I picked this up because of the comparisons to The Apothecary Diaries and initially I was getting that vibe. It had this supernatural mystery vibe to it that I really appreciated. As the series has gone along that has started to slide to the side lines more and more and is being replaced with political intrigue and maneuvering. For instance, there was a section in this book where a character had a ghost had clutching at his sleeve. In record time the back story was revealed, the Raven Consort sees it, acknowledges that she can fix it, but if the character wants the spirit to move on to paradise they have to resolve it themselves. The rest of this section was just political intrigue and kingdom stuff. It's not that I hate political intrigue in my stories but I like it more as a side flavoring then as the main dish. When the main dish is basically "I knew that you knew that I knew that you knew my spy was working for your cousins brothers mother-in-law and I was deliberately feeding them false information so I could implicate your cat as being the evil mastermind trying to overthrow the kingdom" I just get bored. I'm really, really worried that the rest of this series is just going to slide into more and more of this kind of stuff and I just don't know if I want to read more of that. On the other side of things, there are only four more books in this series and a small part of me is curious where this will end up.

Now for the comics

Muted, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another Webtoon comic but not one that is published by Webtoon. I've been on a roll with these Webtoon comic books this year. Some of them I have read before, some are new to me and this is one of the new to me comics. It has witches, Louisiana, family drama, demons, and of course magic. I have some pretty early, and I think obvious, predictions about where things are heading but I'm going to read on to see what is going to happen.

As for what is next

Deliverance My current audiobook
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook I'm back to DCC and I am stoked!!!

After that I have some manga I also need to get through as well.

That art style reminds me of Gunsmith Cats in some ways.

I did some more digging and from what I can find this is shojo because it was published in a shojo magazine and the author created the story for young girls who wanted a more serious and action orientated story. This just seems like one of those odd outliers.

For instance, this, , this is a seinen manga. Why? Published in a seinen magazine.

Alright, I'm getting a wee bit out of my depth here as I don't normally read a whole lot of shojo. Here is a link to the Wikipedia article for a more detailed break down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8...

Some summary points

Eyes, in Shojo eyes are highly detailed and very large. This is used to better express the emotions of the characters. Pupils are also represented but various shapes such as stars, dots, etc as well as multiple colors.

There is also panel layout. Shonen usually uses sequential boxes (think 4-koma style gag manga for a really basic idea) where as Shojo has more unconventional layouts. The panels are also usually larger with more white space.

There are also themes common to Shojo. More focus on interpersonal relationships, characters that break gender and sexual expectations, and of course homosexuality. A lot of yuri and yaoi are in the Shojo umbrella.

Now a days though the lines are so blurred between the various demographics as lines are pushed, artists pull influences from more places, and society changes.

I haven't read it but I have heard of it. There are some odd classifications out there. I did a quick google search and it is indeed a shojo. It was originally published in a shojo magazine and I believe the art style is shojo style.

I'm just going to get this out of the way early as I don't have a lot to talk about this week. I've had a lot of stuff IRL and I also wasn't feeling 100% this week. Add in the fact that I'm working on a couple large uadiobooks, well not a lot got done this week for reading.

Patient Zero ⭐⭐⭐
This was the first of the large audiobooks that I had to finish and it was a book that I've had on my list now for some time. After finishing this book I have two trains of thought going on. One, this is the type of novel that falls into one of my many wheelhouses. That male action adventure novel that is military and a thriller all at the same time. It's a top secret group of elite military members who operate outside of the system to crush threats against the United States. This is basically my version of the big dumb summer blockbuster movie. I turn my brain off, watch as the good guys shoot up an army of bad guys with a few shiny explosions mixed in for good measure.

The other train of thought is kind of a self reflective kind. This novel feels so incredibly dated but not in a bad way necessarily. This book was released in 2009 and it so perfectly captures that early to mid 2000's mindset. There was tons of references to Bin Laden, 9/11, the Patriot Act, Homeland security, there was even a White Stripes reference in there. It was more then just the references though. This book really caught that hyper patriotic, military great, Middle East bad, kind of mindset that existed at the time. As someone who was in the military in the early 2000's this was like opening a portal back in time and catching a glimpse of a younger version of yourself. It felt really weird in some ways.

As for the book itself, it was an action thriller about a terrorist created plague that basically created zombies. There was a plot to unleash the plague on the Western world and destroy humanity, blah, blah, blah. Like I said before, this is not my first time visiting a book of this nature and it an alright job. It had to find this balance between setting up all these characters, the bad guys plot, the good guys, their top secret department, and the thriller as well. It did this by dedicating a chapter to each major character so we could see the various POV's. Like I said, it did its job well and I do plan to continue on at some point.

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, (Light Novel) Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐
I've returned to this light novel series and I don't really have a lot to say about this one. It's more of what I expected from this series. Our MC is an overpowered character with a harem of young women and they are traveling around exploring this fantasy world. Our MC is supposed to be a guy in his late 20's reincarnated in a 15 year old boy. If you never mentioned the 15 year old part you would never know. That story element feels like it was just kind of tacked on and has no bearing on anything. Like many light novel series this is just a popcorn read for me and I will be continuing.

Now for the single volume of manga I got to

I Married My Female Friend Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I just got this manga but I had to fast track it to the top of the pile. This was easily my highlight of the week. I was grinning from beginning to end and I'm just so glad that I read this series. It's that perfect feel good yuri romance slice of life. I'm not really going to talk about what happened in this one since it is the final book in the series but it was the perfect way for this series to end. Now I need to find another cozy yuri romance to read or reread.

As for what I am working on/next
City of the Lost My other chonky audiobook that I am reading. Now that I am past the slower start things are starting to get interesting.
Raven of the Inner Palace (Light Novel) Vol. 3 I just love the covers for these books. They're just so beautiful.

After that I have some manga and comics I need to work on before my next big read.

I'm weirdly caught up on my library pile this week. Before my library run this afternoon I only have two physical books left on my table. I think I need to put some more holds in.

Grave Wrong ⭐⭐⭐
This kept popping up in my recommended feed since I started buddy reading Ellie Jordan so I finally caved and gave it a shot. After reading this volume I can say that this was meh. It wasn't a bad book, it did nothing wrong, but it also wasn't an amazing book either. It showed up, told the story it was expected to, and then went home. On paper this series sounds similar to Ellie Jordan, young female lead hunts ghosts, but the execution of the story makes them vastly different. Ellie Jordan, at least from what I've read so far, presents as very horror/mystery forward with a sprinkle of UF. This series is UF forward with a slight sprinkle of horror/mystery. This book has all the tropes and expected story beats of any UF you would read. Right down to the MC having two hot buff guys to choose from with one of them coming in the slightly more bad boy variety. Here is the positive things I can say about the book. This book was aware of the UF story beats that it needed to hit but it didn't fall into a lot of the negative ones I've seen. Yes, our female lead is a street smart toughie but she isn't that over the top bitchy to everyone around her female lead we can sometime see. We have two pieces of muscled male meat for our MC but they actually get some story outside of muscles. Also, none of them fall into the alpha male douche canoe trope either. It's a novel that has the basics done well. It just never feels like it elevates itself to anything more then just another UF novel. I don't think I'll be continuing on with this story though.

Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The second volume of this reread and more great adventures with Fran and Teacher. This sees them wrapping up their adventures in the opening town and them moving on to the second location. Along the way they find an undead dungeon and get a massive level up. Oh and we are introduced to Jet. Just more fun reading.

Now for the manga and comics

Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels: The Case of the Missing Marquess, The Case of the Left-Handed Lady, and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets ⭐⭐⭐
Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels: The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, and The Case of Baker Street Station ⭐⭐⭐
I needed the second book for a challenge and I wasn't just going to read the second one without reading the first one. I also read some of the novels way, way back in the day. For those that don't know about Enola Holmes she is the younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft. A much, much younger sister of them. She is 14 and a smart young girl but doesn't have the training of Sherlock. She solves mysteries by using women's knowledge. Things like flower language, fan language (I didn't know this was a thing but it makes sense), social standings for women, women's fashion, etc. I had fun reading this but at the same time I wasn't hyped for it either. I'm not sure if it's just the format or not. After reading this I do want to circle back and check out the novels again though.

I Married My Female Friend Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The next book in my reread of this series and now I have one more book.

Morgana and Oz, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The next book in this Webtoon comic and we get a bunch more exposition and story. I dig where this is going and I am here for more.

My Kitten is a Picky Eater Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐
The next volume in this laid back slice of life about life with a kitty. Cute, fun, and wholesome.

Dandadan, Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I feel this volume captures the essence of Dandadan in a nutshell. You start with the conclusion of a story line that will have you reduced to tears. Then you have some over the top comedy. Followed by the sheer weirdness of the next story line where you have the aliens back looking for bananas (nope, not going to explain that one). This is everything I enjoy about this series in one volume.

What's next?
Patient Zero This is my current audiobook and oh boy I have thoughts
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, (Light Novel) Vol. 4 my next physical novel

Katie❄️ wrote: "Restaurant to Another World is way better…."

Yup, that and Isekai Izakaya "Nobu"