Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 17: The Demon

Today's post is on Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 17: The Demon by Yu Watase. It is 193 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. The cover is Miaka and Take with Suzaku behind them. It is the seventeenth in her long running series and you need to have to have read the rest of the series to understand what is going on. There is no foul language, mild sexuality and mild violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character Miaka. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- An enormous explosion rocks Taka's apartment complex with Taka is inside, and as fire engulfs the building, an image of the demon god Tenko appears in the flames Could Taka have been injured in the blast, or, worse, have fallen into Tenko's clutches? When Tenko steals the four stones that Miaka has already collected, is all hope lost for the return of Taka's memories? And will Tenko's manipulation of Taka and Miaka's friends slowly drive wedges between them and ensure their defeat?

Review- So much drama in this volume from Tasuki getting mind controlled to finding the 'real' Tamahome at the end, little bit of everything happens. Taka is trying to discover if he is real or not, does Miaka really love him or is he just a shadow of Tamahome? The memory stones are gone but they may have been used to create the Tamahome that we see at the end of the volume. So much as happened in this series and I am very curious about how this is going to end and if any more characters are going to die to save both worlds. 

I give this this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Peril at End House

Today’s post is on Peril at End House by Agatha Christie. It is 281 pages long and is published by Center Point. The cover is dark blue with a house in black at the bottom. The intended reader is someone who likes intricate mysteries and Hercule Poirot. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this novel. The story is told from first person close of Captain Arthur Hastings. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- On holiday on the Cornish Riviera, Hercule Poirot is alarmed to hear pretty Nick Buckley describe her recent ‘accidental brushes with death’.
First, an oil printing fell and almost crushed her in bed. Then, on a coastal oath, a falling boulder missed her by inches. Later, on a treacherous Cornish hillside, the brakes on her car failed.
So when Poirot finds a bullet hole in Nick’s sun hat, he decided that this girl needs his help. Can he find the killer before he hits his target?

Review- Christie is a master of her craft and this novel really shows that off. The twist at the end I did not see coming so I was surprised by who the real killer was. Poirot is at his charming best even if he does not feel that way about himself in this volume. We are told the story by Hastings and he sees the story in a particular innocent way. Hastings is a character who likes to believe the best in those around him and so he gets the guilty and the innocent mixed up. The minor characters are interesting, they add so much color the plot with their different lives, going in different ways, and the troubles that they bring to the story. An excellent mystery with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and guessing. I would recommend this novel highly. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Skip Beat!, volume 14

Today's post is on Skip Beat!, volume 14 by Yoshoki Nakamura. It is 200 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. the cover has Kyoko as Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf on it. As it the fourteenth volume you need to have read the first thirteen to understand the story. There is no foul language, no sex or sexuality, and mild violence in this volume. There story is told from third person close of the characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Vie Ghoul is the new band burning up the charts by stealing Sho's moves, and Kyoko's hopping mad on his behalf. Kyoko's confrontation with Sho about his lack of action doesn't go will as she hoped - Sho get violent and the frontman for Vie Ghoul gets a good look at Kyoko's demons. And both men seem a little more interested in Kyoko than Ren would like...

Review- In this volume we see how Kyoko and Sho's relationship has changed, that she is not just nuts over him and he does not know what to do about it. Add in Ren's confusion and conflict about his feelings for Kyoko you have his part of the volume. Kyoko and Sho have a big fight about Sho's passive attitude about Vie Ghoul stealing his style and he blows up at her and hits her. Sho keeps surprising me with how much of a jerk he is. The volume is really about Sho deciding to be a pop star, I guess. I think that these Vie Ghoul's lead singer is going to be trouble for Kyoko in the future. But I am looking forward to seeing where she goes next.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

In the House In the Dark of the Woods

Today’s post is on In the House In the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt. It is 214 and is published by Little, Brown, and Company. The cover red with a wolf in the center and four hands around the outside of the wolf’s head. The intended reader is someone who likes surreal novels with a little added horror in them. There is no foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this novel. The story is told from first person perspective of the main characters Goody. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In his ingenious harrow story set in colonial New England, a woman foes missing. Or not missing0 perhaps she has fled, abandoned her family. Or perhaps she’s been kidnapped and set loose to wander in the dense woods of the north. Alone and possible lost, she meets another woman in the forest. Then everything changes.
On a journey that will take her through a wolf-haunted wood, down a deep well, and onto a living ship made of human bones, our heroine is forced to confront her past and may find that the evil she flees has been inside her all along.  

Review- A surreal novel with a horror twist at the ending that I did not see coming. The nameless heroine, who is called Goody, has gone into the forest to pick berries for her family. She warned by a stranger in the forest to not go but thinking that he just wants the berries for himself she continues. Goody then find herself lost in the forest but not alone. She meets several people like Eliza who lives alone in a pretty house and talks about someone called Red Boy. I did not feel like this novel was set in colonial New England but in a strange parallel world like ours but not and full of oddness and magic. Goody was an interesting character who is revealed to the reader slowly as she travels and is trying to decide where she wants to be. Then the twist at the end is what pushes it over into horror territory, until then this was not a horror novel but a surreal one. I enjoyed this novel and would recommend it for anyone looking for a different type of horror novel.

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Midnight Secretary, volume 2

Today’s post is on Midnight Secretary, volume 2 by Tomu Ohmi. It is 200 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat and it is the second in her Midnight Secretary series, you need to have read the first volume to understand the story. The cover is red with full shot of Kyohei and Kaya behind him an up close look at her face. There is mild foul language, sex and sexuality, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character Kaya. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Kaya thinks she’s come to terms with being a vampire’s secretary, until she overhears Kyohei call her “just food.” She’s shocked at how betrayed she feels, and the emotional blow causes her to make a mistake. To keep her work from suffering any more, Kyohei’s older brother arranges a long-term transfer for Kaya. Will working at another company let time heal her wounds? Or will her feelings for Kyohei continue to burn in her heart no matter where she is?

Review- Lots of plot things happen in this volume with Kaya realizing that working for Kyohei is more complicated than she had thought. Add in in fact that Kyohei only is happy when he is getting her blood and you have romantic complications all over the place. They really start their relationship in this volume and I can see where there are going to be problems. Kyohei has never been around other vampires because his mother left the vampire community to be with his father, so he has no idea about the other vampires in the world and I am sure that is going to be the main problem of the series but I could be wrong. I look forward to seeing where we go next with these characters. 

I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Sleepless volume 2

Today’s post is on Sleepless volume 2 by Sarah Vaughan, Leila Del Duca, Alissa Sallah; illustrated by Leila Del Duca, Alissa Sallah. It is 142 pages long and is published by Image Comics. The cover has Poppy and Cyrenic sleeping with Bini between them. The intended reader is someone who has read the first volume. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this volume. The story is told from third person close of Poppy and Cyrenic. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the blurb on Hoopla - Nearly a year later in the court of Harbeny, Lady Poppy and Sir Cyrenic must forge ahead without each other. Cyrenic adjusts to life after being released from the Sleepless Vow. And though the future looks bleak, both Poppy and Cyrenic are fighters. Either they will claw their way out of the darkness, or take as many enemies with them as they can. This second volume of SLEEPLESS concludes the story of Poppy and Cyrenic.

Review- For all the built-up on the first volume of Sleepless everything comes to head very quickly in the final volume. All the story threads come together very neatly and the ending is quite satisfying. Poppy and Cyrenic have had a lot happen to them and they have to survive the last bit of it. We start a year after the last volume with Cyrenic waking up and Poppy getting engaged to Lord Helder. Cyrenic is very unhappy with Poppy for releasing from his sleepless vow to her. Poppy is hurt that he does not understand why she did it and Lord Helder is still planning to kill Poppy. After the wedding is when everything just explodes. I really enjoyed this series, I liked the art work, the story was engaging, and the world was vibrant. I hope that the authors and artists work together again as they created something very special. I would recommend this graphic novels series.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this graphic novel from my local library’s Hoopla account. 

The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter

Today’s nonfiction post is on The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. It is 352 pages long and is published by Dey Street Books. The cover is a picture of a single chair across from the table from the viewer. The intended reader is someone who is interested in criminal profiling, history of the FBI, and serial killers. There is foul language, sex, sexual violence, murder, and violence. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the blurb on Cloud library- The legendary FBI criminal profiler, number-one New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the hit Netflix show Mindhunter delves deep into the lives and crimes of four of the most disturbing and complex predatory killers, offering never-before-revealed details about his profiling process, and divulging the strategies used to crack some of America’s most challenging cases.
The FBI’s pioneer of criminal profiling, former special agent John Douglas, has studied and interviewed many of America’s most notorious killers—including  Charles Manson, ”Son of Sam Killer” David Berkowitz and ”BTK Strangler” Dennis Rader—trained FBI agents and investigators around and the world, and helped educate the country about these deadly predators and how they operate, and has become a legend in popular culture, fictionalized in The Silence of the Lambs and the hit television shows Criminal Minds and Mindhunter.
Twenty years after his famous memoir, the man who literally wrote the book on FBI criminal profiling opens his case files once again. In this riveting work of true crime, he spotlights four of the most diabolical criminals he’s confronted, interviewed and learned from. Going deep into each man’s life and crimes, he outlines the factors that led them to murder and how he used his interrogation skills to expose their means, motives, and true evil. Like the hit Netflix show, The Killer Across the Table is centered around Douglas’ unique interrogation and profiling process. With his longtime collaborator Mark Olshaker, Douglas recounts the chilling encounters with these four killers as he experienced them—revealing for the first time his profile methods in detail.
Going step by step through his interviews, Douglas explains how he connects each killer’s crimes to the specific conversation, and contrasts these encounters with those of other deadly criminals to show what he learns from each one. In the process, he returns to other famous cases, killers and interviews that have shaped his career, describing how the knowledge he gained from those exchanges helped prepare him for these.
A glimpse into the mind of a man who has pierced the heart of human darkness, The Killer Across the Table unlocks the ultimate mystery of depravity and the techniques and approaches that have countered evil in the name of justice.

Review- An interesting and in depth look into both the men who killed and the men who hunted them, then studied them. Douglas gives insight into why he started studying this men, trying to understand what made them, and what, if again, can be done to stop them from being made. The writing is good, Douglas has a particular style with the reader meeting the main subject then he will link them to another more famous killer and how they were alike. No details are held back, so this book is not for the faint of heart but it is the crimes discussed are not commonly known and their deaths have been largely forgotten. If you are interested in true crime and profiling then you need to read this book.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library Cloud Library account. 

Skip Beat!, volume 13

Today's post is on Skip Beat!, volume 13 by Yoshiki Nakamura. It is 2058 pages and is published by Shojo Beat. The cover has Kyoko in a bikini being cute. The intended reader is someone who has read the first twelve volumes, like comedy and shojo manga series. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of Kyoko with a little bit of Ren on the side. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Ren's acting test is about to begin, with his entire future hanging in the balance, and he's managed to make his leading lady Itsumi mad at him. Rather than confront him directly, Itsumi decides to hit him where it hurt. Will she sabotage his test, or will Ren be able to get it together and use his legendary acting ability to lead her through this scene?

Review- An excellent volume with lots of things going on. Ren does make the cut, Kyoko has a moment of freak out because she is afraid that she is falling for him, and President Lori discovers that Ren is in love with Kyoko. We get to see more into Ren's mind concerning Kyoko and his feelings. Most of the volume is Ren's test and the filming of the scene. We do get a scene with Kyoko and Ren at the end with Kyoko trying to give magic from her blue stone corn and telling him about how she saw him when they met as children. Not much character or plot development, just seeing how Ren is going to handle his feelings for Kyoko and Kyoko being herself.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Cloud Watcher

Today’s post is on Cloud Watcher by Lilith Saintcrow. It is 200 pages long and is published by Belle Books. The cover is golden with a man in the center. The intended reader is someone who has read the first three and likes love stories about witches. There is mild foul language, implied sex, and some violence in this novel. The story is told from third person close of the two main characters, Anya and Jack. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the blurb on Hoopla-
The Lightbringer:
Anya Harris's unwanted talents have made her a refugee, flying from city to city ahead of a tide of burning terror nobody else can see. She's hoping Santiago City will be different, but deep in her heart of hearts, she knows nowhere is safe enough for someone with her secrets. When the gray-eyed man with guns and a sword shows up, claiming to be sent to protect her, Anya has to believe him. After all, she has nowhere else to go.
The Watcher:
Jack Gray is one of the oldest Watchers around, scarred by the battle between Circle Lightfall and the Crusade. He's found his witch, and nothing is going to get in the way of protecting her. But being a Watcher is never as simple as it looks. Anya's talent makes her worth millions, if she's delivered alive to the right corporate bidders. Jack's the only one who can save her. But when she finds out who he really is, he might lose her for good . . .

Review- I really enjoyed this novel the most out of all the others. I liked Anya and her character was very understandable. She does not believe in magic and cannot explain the things she can do but she will do whatever it takes to survive and take care of her responsibilities. When she comes Santigo City, where the other characters are, things get explained to her and of course she does not believe them. Jack is a good romantic hero, he listens to Anya not just because he has to but because he wants to, he will help her and protect her from the bad guys, he does not judge her for surviving however possible. Their love story feels very natural and moves not too fast, for a romance novel. Anya did not annoy me with her disbelieve, I think that is was very natural and normal. We get really up close and personal with the bad guys in this novel and I liked seeing them so closely. Overall the best in the Watcher series so far.

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my library’s Hoopla account. 

The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia

Today’s post is on The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg. It is 318 pages long and is published by Hachette Books. The cover is a picture of a dirt road curving into the sun. There is some mild foul language, discussion of sex and sexuality, and descriptions of violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A stunningly written investigation of the murder of two young women--showing how a violent crime casts a shadow over an entire community.
In the early evening of June 25, 1980 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, two middle-class outsiders named Vicki Durian, 26, and Nancy Santomero, 19, were murdered in an isolated clearing. They were hitchhiking to a festival known as the Rainbow Gathering but never arrived. For thirteen years, no one was prosecuted for the "Rainbow Murders," though deep suspicion was cast on a succession of local residents in the community, depicted as poor, dangerous, and backward. In 1993, a local farmer was convicted, only to be released when a known serial killer and diagnosed schizophrenic named Joseph Paul Franklin claimed responsibility. With the passage of time, as the truth seemed to slip away, the investigation itself caused its own traumas-turning neighbor against neighbor and confirming a fear of the violence outsiders have done to this region for centuries.
Emma Copley Eisenberg spent years living in Pocahontas and re-investigating these brutal acts. Using the past and the present, she shows how this mysterious act of violence has loomed over all those affected for generations, shaping their fears, fates, and the stories they tell about themselves. In The Third Rainbow Girl, Eisenberg follows the threads of this crime through the complex history of Appalachia, forming a searing and wide-ranging portrait of America-its divisions of gender and class, and of its violence.

Review- A meandering narrative about both the murders and the author’s life. Over the course of the book we get a rough history of the state of West Virginia, the people who live there, the Rainbow Gatherings, the young women who were murdered, the men who were charged with the crime, the man who probably did it and the author’s life. It is all too much, I wanted the true crime and that is all. I skimmed the parts about the author’s life to get back to the murder and the investigation. The murders themselves were very mysterious and changed the community around them but other than being told that we, the reader, was not shown how that played out into the community at large. We do not learn about the community in response to the murders only that something happened. The man who probably did the crimes until almost the end of the book. If you know anything about the murders than you may want to read this book but if you are looking for a focused true crime book then you skip this one.

I give this book a Three out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

The Way of the House Husband, volume 2

Today’s post is on The Way of the House Husband, volume 2 by Kousuke Oono. It is 160 pages long and is published by Viz Media. The cover has Tatsu on it buying cabbage looking meaner than he is. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The intended reader is someone who likes gag comedies. The story is from third person close following Tatsu. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- It’s a day in the life of your average househusband—if your average househusband is the legendary yakuza “the Immortal Dragon”!
A former yakuza legend leaves it all behind to become your everyday househusband. But it’s not easy to walk away from the gangster life, and what should be mundane household tasks are anything but!

Review- I really enjoyed the first volume and the second volume it did not disappoint me. It is more Tatsu being himself and that's just what I wanted. Like the first volume we get a series of vignettes from his everyday life which is anything but average. From shopping for a family car with his wife and  Tatsu thinking all the way that someone may try to kill him in it or growing veggies on his balcony and the local police thinking he is growing something else, Tatsu's everyday life is one laugh to the next. Yes, it is a one joke manga but man the joke is great from any angle you look at it. I cannot wait to read the next volume and see what trouble he gets into next.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.