Hellsing volume 8

Today's post is on Hellsing volume 8 by Kohta Hirano. It is 200 pages long and is publishes by Dark Horse. The cover has Father Anderson and the leader of Section 13 it. The intended reader is someone who likes retellings, reimagines, and lots of action. There is language, no sex, and lots of violence in this volume. The story is told from third person god perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- London is already bathed in blood, its citizenry almost entirely slaughtered by vampiric, reborn nazi soldiers. And marching through the rivers of blood - thousands of extreme Catholic warriors in creepy cloaks. But the focus of this chaotic eighth volume is the return of Alucard, the slave-paladin of the British Protestants, who's just piloted an aircraft character up the Thames to join the fray. It's a crazy face-off between three gory armies and their primary killers, and if you think that sounds nuts, wait until you dive into the crimson-stained new volume of Kohta Hirano's creepy-cool Hellsing manga series.

Review- Now named and important people are starting to die. Father Anderson does not understand that in order to kill a monster, he must be a man, so he makes himself a monster for god. It was very moving to see Alucard trying to stop Anderson from doing it but Anderson would not listen to anyone else. Add we get some insight into Alucard himself. No surprise but he is Count Dracula. I do not know what is going with Walter but I am very curious. In the end Seras has some power or something over Alucard because he gets pulled into his past and cannot find his way out but he can hear her calling him. I am very curious about how Hirano is going to wrap this up. Only two more volumes.

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.

Library of Souls

Today's post is on Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs. It is the third in his Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. It is 458 pages long and is published by Quirk Books. The cover has a boy with wings looking at the camera. The intended reader is read the first two books, likes fantasy, and big plots. There is mild language, no sex, and violence in this book. The story is told from the first person perspective of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the inside of the book- A boy with extraordinary powers. An army of deadly monsters. An epic battle for the future of peculiardom.
The adventure that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and continued in Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.
They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

Review- I did enjoy this series but I feel that the ending was too pat. That said it was a good solid ending to this series. Things were explained, bad guys stopped, and more peculiar world building happened. I was very happy with this book but for everything just working out in the end. But that was my only complaint and it is a very small one. I do hope that Riggs writes more in this world. I really like it but if he wants to branch out and try something new I think that he will be very successful. Again the pictures aided in the world building helping the reader see the very peculiar things that Riggs is writing about. I will read whatever Riggs writes next.

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

Hellsing volume 7

Today's post is on Hellsing volume 7 by Kohta Hirano. It is186 pages long and is published by Dark Horse. As it is the seventh in the series you need to have read the first six to understand the story. The cover has Seras and CaptainVernedead on it. There is language, no sex, and lots of violence in this volume. The story is told from third person god perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- London is battered by a hurricane of death and destruction as vampire Nazis, Protestant knights, and Vatican warriors battle in what may result in a world-wide apocalypse. The Hellsing Organization's Wild Geese mercenaries are literally being eaten alive, and it might just take half-vampire Seras Victoria to embrace her unholy destiny to provide humanity a shred of hope. But with the Catholic Iscariot Army on the march and Alucard, the vampire lord himself, sure to enter the fray, this cauldron of blood is about to boil over!

Review- Character development for Seras in this volume. Seras finally chooses what she is going to be and that is a vampire. Again more deaths but that is sort-of the idea around a manga like this one. We some back story on Alucard, like how he ended up in England and it is  directly from Dracula so that was nice. Father Anderson has turned on the leader of the Iscariot division because he is crazy and evil. And London has been destroyed. So much going on here. I am very curious about how Hirano is going to end this series. Only three volumes left.

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.

The Prince Who Loved Me

Today's post is on The Prince Who Loved Me by Karen Hawkins. It is the first in her Oxenburg Princes series. It is 355 pages long and is published by Pocket Books. The cover has the main character on it running out her shoe. There is some mild language, sex and no violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who likes fairy tale retelling, historical romance, and just more romance. The story is told from the third person close perspective of the two main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- A handsome, rakish prince who doesn't believe in true love meets a stubborn lass who will settle for nothing less...
In a lighthearted retelling of a classic fairy tale, bestselling author Karen Hawkins gives Cinderella a Scottish twist!
Prince Alexsey Romanovin enjoys his carefree life, flirting—and more—with every lovely lady who crosses his path. But when the interfering Grand Duchess Natasha decides it's time for her grandson to wed, Alexsey finds himself in Scotland, determined to foil her plans. Brainy, bookish, and bespectacled, Bronwyn Murdoch seems the perfect answer—she isn't at all to the duchess' taste.
Living at the beck and call of her ambitious stepmother and social butterfly stepsisters, Bronwyn has little time for a handsome flirt—no matter how intoxicating his kisses are. After all, no spoiled, arrogant prince would be seriously interested in a firm-minded female like herself. So . . . wouldn't it be fun to turn his "game" upside down and prove that an ordinary woman can bring a prince to his knees?

Review- This is a fun love story. It is not really a retelling of Cinderella but it does borrow strongly from the fairy tale. I liked both the hero and the heroine. I believed that they fell in love and I was happy with the ending. But the best part of the at the beginning of each chapter there is an excerpt from the over-the-top romance that the heroine is reading. It was great. The sex was just two scenes and not overly graphic. The hero is not really as much of an ass as the blurb makes him out to be. It is not that he does not want to get married, it is that he does not want to have his life managed by someone else. So he is playing a joke on his aunt but he also does not think that the heroine is serious either. It helps that she sees through him very easily. The writing was fun and charming. If you are a fun of historical romance this one is great.

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.

Hellsing volume 6

Today's post is on Hellsing volume 6 by Kohta Hirano. It is 186 pages long and is published by Dark Horse. As it is the sixth in the series you want to have read the first five to understand the story. The cover has Alucard and Sir Hellsing on it. The intended reader is someone who likes horror, lots of action, and funny plots. There is mild language, no sex, and lots of violence in this volume. The story is told from third person perspective following the characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The war between three armies of vampires, humans, and those in between is in full swing. The Hellsing organization is embattled as London is falling to Nazi vampire forces, turning the city's citizens into rivers of blood and a population of ghouls. It looks like it might be the end of Sir Integral Wingates Hellsing and her henchman, Walter. But what's this? The Vatican? But that means the Vatican is unprotected. If you haven't figured it out yet, Earth is in chaos of a World War like no other. New forces will rise up, surprises of undead power will surge forth, guns will blaze, and blades will sing. There's no telling how this will end, as Hellsing clamors forward with a seething wit and a frantic pace, and style that passes beyond gothic grace.

Review- So much action in this volume. Alucard is only in a scene in this volume but everyone else makes up for that. Seras and the mercenaries are waiting for Sir Hellsing as they hold back the Nazi army. Sir Hellsing is with Father Anderson as they fight their way to Seras. And Alucard is heading somewhere and is quite happy. Add in lots of fighting and blood and you have have Hellsing volume 6. But plot is happening and so is character development. We get see into the head of the mercenary leader and why he does what he does. The leader of section 13 is crazy and it pays off with a promotion. I cannot wait to see what Alucard is going to do next. Only four more volumes in this series.

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.

Rogue Rider

Today's post is on Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione.  It is the fourth in her Lords of Deliverance series. It is 391 pages long and is published by Grand Central. As it is the fourth in the series you need to have read the first three to understand the story. The cover has the two main characters on it about to kiss. The intended reader is someone who likes romance, decent writing, and happy endings. There is language, sex, and violence in this book. The story is told from third person close of the different character moving from one to another as the story goes. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- They're here.
They ride.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Born of a match between good and evil, four siblings stand between hell's minions and everything they want to destroy. They are the Lords of Deliverance, and they have the power to ward off Doomsday . . . or let it ride . . .
ROGUE RIDER
Jillian Cardiff came to this remote mountain town to forget the demon attack that almost killed her. Instead, she rescues-and falls for-a gorgeous stranger who has no memory of anything other than his name. Handsome, charming, and protective, Reseph seems like the kind of man whom Jillian can trust. But with hints of a troubling history of his own, he's also the kind of man who can be very dangerous . . .
Reseph may not know why he mysteriously appeared in Jillian's life, but he knows he wants to stay. Yet when Jillian's neighbors are killed, and demon hunters arrive on the scene, Reseph fears that he's putting Jillian in danger. And once it's revealed that Reseph is also Pestilence, the Horseman responsible for ravaging the world, he and Jillian must face the greatest challenge of all: Can they forget the horrors of a chilling past to save the future they both desire?

Review- A fun way to end a series. Reseph has been through some stuff so I really wanted to see his happy ending and I really enjoyed it. He had to deal with what has happened. He had to make peace and start over. I liked his heroine Jillian a lot. She just does not stop. When you meet her at the beginning you think that she is scared but she is not. She is just healing from trauma. When the chips are down, she comes through. I know that Ione is not done with this universe and I may pick up a later book but right now I am happy with where everything is. I did feel that the ending was a little rushed but I guess with three volumes of build up that cannot be helped. A fun series and a fun setting with fun character. Not much more I can ask for.

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

Germany: Memories of a Nation

Today's post is on Germany: Memories of a Nation by Neil MacGregor. It is 606 pages long and is published by Alfred A. Knopf. The cover is white with the German flag on it. There is no language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who is interested in history. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- For the past 140 years, Germany has been the central power in continental europe. Twenty-five years ago a new German state came into being. How much do we really understand this new Germany, and how do its people understand themselves?
Neil MacGregor argues that, uniquely for any European country, no coherent, overarching narrative of Germany's history can be constructed, for in Germany both geography and history have always been unstable. Its frontiers have constantly shifted. Königsberg, home to the greatest German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, is now Kaliningrad, Russia; Strasbourg, in whose cathedral Wolfgang von Geothe, Germany's greatest writer, discovered the distinctiveness of his country's art and history, now lies within the borders of France. For most of the five hundred years covered by this book Germany has been composed of many separate political units, each with a distinct history. And any comfortable national story Germans might have told themselves before 1914 was destroyed by the events of the following thirty years.
German history may be inherently fragmented, but it contains a large number of widely shared memories, awarenesses, and experiences; examining some of these is the purpose of this book. MacGregor chooses objects and ideas, people and places that still resonate in the new Germany—porcelain from Dresden and rubble from its ruins, Bauhaus design and the German sausage, the crown of Charlemagne and the gates of Buchenwald—to show us something of its collective imagination. There has never been a book about Germany quite like it.

Review- Another wonderful book from MacGregor. He goes from Germany's beginnings as many small princedoms to one great nation today.  Like all MacGregor's other books he traces the history in objects from paintings to statues and many flags. He looks at the history of such diverse people, as Germany has, with great care and compassion. He does not excuse any actions but he helps the reader to remember that the people of Germany are human too. He discusses what made Germany from Luther making one German language to the women who rebuilt it after the Second World War. MacGregor's prose, as always, is easy to read and the reader gets pulled into the narrative of a nation.

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.