Star of the Morning

Today's post is on Star of the Morning by Lynn Kurland. It is 366 pages long and is published by Berkley. The cover has the main character on it. There is mild foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this novel. The intended reader is someone who likes high fantasy and strong female leads. The story is told from third person close of the two main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Darkness covers the north, since the black mage has begun his assault on the kingdom of Neroche. Legend has it that only the two magical swords held by Neroche's king can defeat the mage. Now the fate of the Nine Kingdoms rests in the hands of a woman destined to wield one of those blades...

The Mercenary
Morgan is a practical woman with no use for magic. Yet she feels compelled to offer her sword to the sorcerer king of Neroche. Her fateful decision will lead her to a magical destiny... and a man who love will change her life forever. 

The King
Adehmar of Neroche's connection to the magic of the land is fading. Helpless to defend his country against the black mage's forces, his only hope is to travel in disguise, searching for the one who was foretold to bring victory.

The Mage
Miach, the archmage of Neroche, is Adhemar's youngest brother- and duty bound to aid his king. Though they find what they seek, Miach will lose his heart in a way he never could have foreseen.

In this land of dragons and mages, warrior maids and magical swords, nothing is as it seems. And Morgan will find that the magic in her blood brings her troubles she cannot face with a sword-and a love more powerful than she has ever imagined.

Review- This was a amazing reading experience. I loved everything about this novel. The world, the characters, the magic, everything was great to me. Morgan is a very talented swordswoman but she has a very strong hatred of magic. When is she given a quest to travel to Neroche, she walks into more than just a simple fetch quest. The male lead is Miach and he is just the best. He is kind, he cares about his duty but also he longs for more than just duty. He is between a rock and a hard place with his duty to his kingdom and his growing love for Morgan. The writing is great, the setting is fun, and the characters are just wonderful. I cannot wait to re-read the second volume. 

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

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries

Today's post is on Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson. It is 349 pages long and is published by BenBella books. The cover is white with a photo on the top left ripped in half. The intended reader is someone who is interested in modern history, frauds, and true crime. There is some foul language, discussion of sex, and discussion of violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Two teens. Two diaries. Two social panics. One incredible fraud.
In 1971, Go Ask Alice reinvented the young adult genre with a blistering portrayal of sex, psychosis, and teenage self-destruction. The supposed diary of a middle-class addict, Go Ask Alice terrified adults and cemented LSD's fearsome reputation, fueling support for the War on Drugs. Five million copies later, Go Ask Alice remains a divisive bestseller, outraging censors and earning new fans, all of them drawn by the book's mythic premise: A Real Diary, by Anonymous.
But Alice was only the beginning.
In 1979, another diary rattled the culture, setting the stage for a national meltdown. The posthumous memoir of an alleged teenage Satanist, Jay's Journal merged with a frightening new crisis—adolescent suicide—to create a literal witch hunt, shattering countless lives and poisoning whole communities.
In reality, Go Ask Alice and Jay's Journal came from the same dark place: Beatrice Sparks, a serial con artist who betrayed a grieving family, stole a dead boy's memory, and lied her way to the National Book Awards.
Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries is a true story of contagious deception. It stretches from Hollywood to Quantico, and passes through a tiny patch of Utah nicknamed "the fraud capital of America." It's the story of a doomed romance and a vengeful celebrity. Of a lazy press and a public mob. Of two suicidal teenagers, and their exploitation by a literary vampire.
Unmask Alice . . . where truth is stranger than nonfiction.

Review- This book is about the truth behind the most famous dairies in current print. Emerson starts at the very beginning of Beatrice Sparks life and why she would want to be famous. Then he jumps to the original people that Sparks based her work on and the lives that were lost. Using first hand resources, interviews, newspaper, and other documents, Emerson takes the reader through a very twisted story. Sparks took real diaries from trouble teens and she made her stories and money. Sparks did not care about the real teens, their families, or what would happen to them after she wrote her books. Emerson does not hold back his personal dislike of Sparks but it is easy to understand why he feels that way. A very interesting and quick if you have read the book Go Ask Alice. 

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. 

The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess, vol 1

 

Today's post is on  The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess, vol 1 by Akiharu Touka. It is 187 pages long and is published by Yen Press. The cover has three of the main characters on it. The intended reader is someone who likes humorous manga, isekai, and over the top tropes. There is some very mild foul language, mild sexuality, and no violence. The story is told from third person close of the main character Konoha aka Iana. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Konoha Satou has a dark history. Although she's not the only middle schooler who's dreamed about romance and adventure, Satou takes it to the next level when she writes herself into a reincarnation fic as the main heroine. But little does she knew, her fantasies will become reality when she wakes up in her Dark History!  There's just one small complication... Instead of playing the role of heroine, she's the most despicable villainess- Konoha's little sister, Iana. Which means if she wants to avoid tripping her own death flags, she'll have to remember every last detail of her story...

Review- A really funny isekai story that engages with the tropes of the theme and all the chaos that comes with it. Konoha was killed in her first life and woke up in the novel she wrote as a teenager as the prologue villain, Iana. After surviving into the main story, she now is trying to help the real heroine survive the very dark story that Iana's fifteen old year self wrote. I really had a good time with this manga, it is silly and funny, and plays with the tropes of isekai and shojo manga. Iana is so funny, she is over the top trying to save the heroine and avoid getting herself killed by her own fiancée. If you are looking for new take on the isekai tropes, then you should read this manga. I am looking forward to reading the next volume. 

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

Catherine House

Today's post is on Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas. It is 311 pages long and is published by Custom House. The cover is a close-up of a gate. The intended reader is someone who likes speculative fiction mixed with horror. There is mild foul language, sex and sexuality and no violence in this novel. The story is told from first person close of the main character, Ines. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the dust jacket- Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world’s best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance comes with a price. Students are required to give the House three years—summers included—completely removed from the outside world. Family, friends, television, music, even their clothing must be left behind. In return, the school promises its graduates a future of sublime power and prestige, and that they can become anything or anyone they desire.
Among this year’s incoming class is Ines, who expects to trade blurry nights of parties, pills, cruel friends, and dangerous men for rigorous intellectual discipline—only to discover an environment of sanctioned revelry. The school’s enigmatic director, Viktória, encourages the students to explore, to expand their minds, to find themselves and their place within the formidable black iron gates of Catherine.
For Ines, Catherine is the closest thing to a home she’s ever had, and her serious, timid roommate, Baby, soon becomes an unlikely friend. Yet the House’s strange protocols make this refuge, with its worn velvet and weathered leather, feel increasingly like a gilded prison. And when Baby’s obsessive desire for acceptance ends in tragedy, Ines begins to suspect that the school—in all its shabby splendor, hallowed history, advanced theories, and controlled decadence—might be hiding a dangerous agenda that is connected to a secretive, tightly knit group of students selected to study its most promising and mysterious curriculum.

Review- An interesting speculative fiction novel that leads nowhere in the end. Ines is on the run from everything, her mother, her old school, and from the hotel room with a dead girl in it. All she wants to is disappear and she hopes that Catherine House can help her do that. But Catherine has it's dark secrets and they include Ines. This novel follows Ines during all three years of her time at Catherine and all the oddness that she witnesses there. But in the end the reader does not really learn anything about what is really going on at Catherine and what the end goals are. Lots of mystery but little payoff in the end, which to be fair is what Ines has in the end too, mysteries and no answers. If that sounds appealing to you, then you should try this novel. But if you like more hard resolutions, then give this novel a pass. 

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

Hitler's Boy Soldiers: How My Father's Generation Was Trained to Kill and Sent to Die for Germany

 

Today's nonfiction post is on Hitler's Boy Soldiers: How My Father's Generation Was Trained to Kill and Sent to Die for Germany by Helene Munson. It is 366 pages long and is was published by The Experiment. The cover is two pictures of boy soldiers and the author's father. The intended reader is someone who is interested in War World 2 history. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The true, untold story of how Germany's children fought in WWII.
Helene Munson resurrects her father's WWII journals and embarks on a meticulous investigation, exposing how the Nazis trained 300,000 impressionable children as soldiers.
In 1937, Munson's father, Hans was enrolled in an elite German school whose students were destined to take leadership roles in the Reich. At fifteen, he was drafted as an antiaircraft gunner- along with the rest of the Hilter Youth- and assigned to an SS unit. As the was was being lost, Hans and his schoolmates were ordered to the front lines. Few returned.
A personal lens into a nation's shameful past, Hitler's Boy Soldiers documents the history of the largest army of child soldiers in recent memory. Munson explores the lifelong effects on brainwashed children coerced to join a party they didn't understand. Both a modern narrative and an important historical contribution, Hitler's Boy Soldiers grapples with inherited trauma, the nature of being victim or perpetrator, and the burden of guilt. 

Review- A moving story of a boy trying to survive then a daughter trying to understand her father and what made him. Munson did not start investigating into her father's life during the war until after his death. Soon this desire to know her father better became an all consuming quest. She not only read his journals, letters, and other first hand documents; she also sought out others who experienced the same things during the war. If you want to see the war from Germany's perspective but not from a member of the Nazi elite but an innocent child, then you need to read this book. 

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. 

The Remarried Empress, Vol. 1

Today's manga post is on The Remarried Empress, Vol. 1 by Alphatart , and Sumpul  (Visual Art) , and Herelee  (Adapted by). It is 256 pages long and is published by Ize Press. The cover has Empress Navier on it. The intended reader is someone who likes slow romance, court drama, and beautiful art. There is some very mild foul language, no sex, and very mild violence in this volume. The story is told from third perspective of the different characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- "I accept this divorce... and request an approval of my remarriage."
Empress Navier and Emperor Sovieshu: a match made in heaven, they were the two pillars of the land whom everyone believed would stand by each other through thick and thin.. until a chance encounter with a beautiful girl in the forest leaves the emperor smitten! Though hurt by the betrayal, Navier's not one to waste  time wallowing in despair. And when Sovieshu requests a divorce, she has but one condition in return- permission to remarry the man of her choosing! 

Review- This is an interesting first volume in a very political manga. I am glad with how this manga started, with the divorce and the ending of her first marriage. Empress Navier believed that she and the Emperor Sovieshu have a good relationship. But when the Emperor finds a runaway slave in one of his hunting traps, he becomes smitten with her to the point of scandal. Navier has been prepared for the Emperor to take mistresses but she was not ready for Rasta and her extreme needs. She is totally selfish and has no idea about how the court works but the Emperor does not care. The real male lead is good, he knows that he wants Navier and is willing to put himself out there to get her. I am looking forward to more drama soon. 

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.

Poisoned Prose

Today's post is on Poisoned Prose by Ellery Adams. It is 304 pages long and is published by Berkley. The cover is a couple of pretty buildings with a lighthouse behind them and a dog in front. As it is the fifth in the series, you need to have read the first four to understand the characters and relationships. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this novel. The intended reader is someone who likes cozy mysteries with good characters. The story is told from third person close of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the book- When Olivia Limoges and other Oyster Bay patrons of the arts sponsor a retreat for famous storytellers, one of them is going to have a very unhappy ending...
Olivia thought that gathering some of the most renowned storytellers in one place would be a nice, simple way for herself and the Bayside Book Writers to appreciate their talents. But things take a dark turn when the most famous storyteller in the nation - the captivating performer Violetta Devereaux - announces onstage that she will meet her end in Oyster Bay.
When Violetta is discovered murdered after the show, everyone involved with the retreat becomes a suspect. There are rumors that Violetta, who grew up in extreme poverty in the Appalachian Mountains, possessed an invaluable treasure. Now Chief Rawlings and the Bayside Book Writers must work at a frenzied pace to solve the crime before someone closes the book on them.

Review- Another good book in this series. The mystery is good and I didn't guess what the treasure was at all. The victim was a very interesting, Violetta was not in the novel very much but she was fully fleshed out and complicated. This series has many strengths but the character growth of all the characters is great, especially in Olivia. She has grown so much over the five books. The setting has grown too, getting fleshed out with new details and businesses. The longer this series goes, the more like a real place Oyster Bay feels like. I look forward to seeing what is going to happen next in Oyster Bay. 

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

When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation, 1940-1944

Today's nonfiction post is on When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation, 1940-1944 by Ronald C. Rosbottom. It is 480 pages long and is published by Little, Brown, and Company. The cover is a black and white photo of Paris at night during the occupation. The intended reader is someone who is interested in World War 2 history and the history of Paris. There is no foul language, no sex, and discussion of war violence. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- The spellbinding and revealing chronicle of Nazi-occupied Paris.
On June 14, 1940, German tanks entered a silent and nearly deserted Paris. Eight days later, France accepted a humiliating defeat and foreign occupation. Subsequently, an eerie sense of normalcy settled over the City of Light. Many Parisians keenly adapted themselves to the situation-even allied themselves with their Nazi overlords.
At the same time, amidst this darkening gloom of German ruthlessness, shortages, and curfews, a resistance arose. Parisians of all stripes -- Jews, immigrants, adolescents, communists, rightists, cultural icons such as Colette, de Beauvoir, Camus and Sartre, as well as police officers, teachers, students, and store owners -- rallied around a little known French military officer, Charles de Gaulle.
When Paris Went Dark evokes with stunning precision the detail of daily life in a city under occupation, and the brave people who fought against the darkness. Relying on a range of resources -- memoirs, diaries, letters, archives, interviews, personal histories, flyers and posters, fiction, photographs, film and historical studies -- Rosbottom has forged a groundbreaking book that will forever influence how we understand those dark years in the City of Light.

Review- An interesting and in depth review of a the most famous city in the world during occupation. Rosbottom does a wonderful job giving the reader an eye into Paris and the Parisians who lived there during the war. He discusses with first hand objects, newspapers, journals, etc., what life was like in Paris from  1940-1944. From those hiding from the Nazis to famous artists who were just trying to work and not be killed for their modern art. The writing was good, very easy to read, and to absorb what the city was like. The photos add to the text, from people to the buildings, they give a sense of time and place. I would recommend this book for a deeper look into the French Occupation during World War II. 

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. 

Love of Kill, vol 2

 

Today's post is on Love of Kill, vol 2 by Fe. It is 162 pages long and is published by Yen Press. The cover has Chateau an Ryang-Ha in it looking cool and dangerous. As it is the second volume in the series, you need to have read the first volume to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes mystery and thriller manga. The story id told from third person close of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- After being chased down and driven to the brink of death by a mysterious man with a tattoo on his face, Chateau's left with more questions than  answers. And when her assailant tells her Ryang-Ha's to blame fir the attack, she can't help but wonder about her fellow assassin's past. Meanwhile, Ryang-Ha recalls the betrayal that set all this in motion.

Review- A lot of character development happens in this volume from sees the character's past to how they interact with the present. The volume starts where the last one left off with Chateau in danger and Ryang-Ha trying to find her. Ryang-Ha knows the bad guy and the bad guy is after him for revenge. Most of this volume is flashback to what happened in both Chateau and Ryang-Ha's past. But that flashbacks didn't slow the story down, they helped add context to previous scenes and present scenes in the manga. I liked seeing what drives our man characters and I am looking forward to reading the next volume. 

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.

Grave Reservations

Today's post is on Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest. It is pages long and is published by Atria Books. It is the first in a new series called, The Booking Agents. The cover is dark blue with a woman's face wearing sunglasses with police car in one side and a bar in the other. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and mild violence. The story is told from third person close of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the audiobook- Meet Leda Foley: devoted friend, struggling travel agent, and inconsistent psychic. Then Leda, sole proprietor of Foley's Far-Fetched Flights of Fancy, impulsively rebooks Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt's flight, her life changes in ways she could have never foretold.
When his original plane blows up on the runway, Grady begins to suspect that Leda's special abilities could help with a cold case he just can't crack.
Despite her scattershot premonitions, she agrees to join the investigation for a secret reason: her fiancé's murder remains unsolved. Leda's psychic abilities couldn't help that sad case, but she's been honing her skills and drawing a crows at her favorite bar's open-mic nights, where she performs klairvoyant karaoke- singing whatever song comes to mind when she holds people's personal effects. Now joined by a ragtag group of bar patrons and pals alike, Leda and Grady set out to catch a killer- and learn how to two cases that haunt them have more in common than they ever suspected. 

Review- This is a fun new cozy mystery with good characters and a good mystery that kept me guessing. Leda's abilities are hit and miss but when they hit, they hit hard. She stops Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt from being involved in a plane accident, he wants her to try and help him with a cold case. Thus the plot begins but it is the characters that really shine in this book. Leda is very funny, she has very normal worries about both her travel agency and her psychic visions. The writing is excellent, the pacing was good, the setting was very easy to imagine, and the plot is a fun, fresh take on the cozy formula.  

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

My Mother's War: The Incredible True Story of How a Resistance Fighter Survived Three Concentration Camps by Eva Taylor.

Today's nonfiction post is on My Mother's War: The Incredible True Story of How a Resistance Fighter Survived Three Concentration Camps by Eva Taylor. It is 208 pages long and is published by Hanover Square Press. The cover has a woman in the righthand cover with planes overhead. The intended reader is someone who is interested in memoirs, women's history, and World War II history. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and some violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- After her mother’s death, Eva Taylor discovered an astounding collection of documents, photos and letters from her time as a resistance fighter in Nazi-occupied Holland. Using the letters, she reconstructed her mother's experience in the underground resistance movement and then as a prisoner in the Amersfoort, Ravensbruck and Mauthausen concentration camps.
The letters reveal an amazing story of life during wartime, including declarations of love from her fiancé before his tragic death as a Spitfire pilot, prison notes smuggled out in her laundry, and passionate but sometimes terrifying messages from a German professional criminal who ultimately would save Sabine’s life.
A one-of-a-kind story of survival, My Mother’s War captures a remarkable life in the words of the young woman who lived it.

Review- This is a moving story about a mother and her secret life. Taylor never asked her mother about her life doing the war. After she dies, Taylor finds many documents from her mother during the war. She then discovers what her mother survived, all the loses, the terror, and her bravery. Taylor gets to see and show the reader her mother, a woman who never lost faith in the future. This a moving book, Taylor learned so much about what drove her mother and why her mother acted the way she did when Taylor was a child. I recommend this book. 

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. 

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 2

Today's manga post is on Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 2 by Gyeoeul Gwon  (Artist) ,  SUOL  (Visual Art). It is 256 pages long and is published by Ize Press. The cover has Penelope looking beautiful and her maid, Emily. As it is the second in the series, you need to have read the first volume to understand the story. The intended reader is someone who likes villainess plots and heroes who are back against a wall. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of Penelope. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Nothing good can come from a relationship built on secrets.
Penelope's fate is looking grim, but she's got a plan: sneak out rescue Eckles, and secure herself a one-way ticket out of death. The problem with making the seemingly docile boy her "all-in" love interest? He's a lot more dangerous than she expected! A single bad hand means she'll go bust, and Penelope quickly realizes she needs a backup plan- that is, a backup man!
Winter appears to be the obvious choice, but there's more to the enigmatic sorcerer than meets the eye... With the odds stacked against her, will Penelope be able to play her cards right?

Review- This volume continues Penelope's struggle to figure out the game and how best to not get killed by the people around her. She has crossed off three men from her list and so she decides to get the slave knight Eckles. Of course nothing goes like planned with her going missing and discovering a secret slave auction. Eckles is not what she was expecting, being trained as a knight before becoming a slave. He is unpredictable and very dangerous. Winter is not any better, being a powerful sorcerer, who is hiding his magic. He trusts no one and Penelope has to think fast to not be killed by him. Penelope is handling things better in this volume but she is still learning and she is running out of time. The art continues to be extraordinary, the plot is very intense, and I cannot wait for the next volume to drop. 

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.