Bibliophile Princess: Volume 1

Today's post is on Bibliophile Princess: Volume 1 by YUI, Satsuki Sheena (Illustrator), Alyssa Niioka (Translator). It is  160 pages long and is published by J-Novel Club. The cover is a beautiful illustration of the two main characters. The intended reader is someone who likes fantasy romance novels with some very pretty pictures. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this novel. The story is in first person close of the character moving from chapter to chapter. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From Kindle blurb- When book-loving Lady Elianna spots Prince Christopher—her betrothed in name only—consorting with another noble lady, she realizes the recent rumors must be true. The prince has someone he truly loves, which means the annulment of their engagement is both inevitable and fast-approaching. What she doesn’t realize is that this is merely a surface ripple—one of many where the truth runs deep, in a conspiracy surpassing her imagination!

Review- This is a wonderful and charming light novel. Elianna is from a family that loves books more than anything and she is just as bad. But she is engaged to the crown prince of her country, Prince Christopher. They get along just fine, as Elianna thinks that she is just a stand-in fiancée for the prince when a other noble girl starts making moves on him. Elianna is forced to realized that they are not just friends. This novel is very cute, the story is sweet, and I really liked Elianna and understood her desire to read always. As far as  romance novels go, it does not do anything new but what it does it very good. Poor Christopher as loved Elianna for many years and has been trying to get her to notice him, the villain(s) are good and add some excellent flavor. I would recommend this novel for romance readers. 

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.

The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World- and Globalization Began

Today’s post is on The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World- and Globalization Began by Valerie Hansen. It is 308 pages long and is published by Scribner. The cover is picture of a map and a Viking ship in the center. The intended reader is someone who is interested in world history. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In history, myth often abides. It was long assumed that the centuries immediately prior to AD 1000 were lacking in any major cultural developments or geopolitical encounters, that the Europeans hadn’t yet discovered North America, that the farthest anyone had traveled over sea was the Vikings’ invasion of Britain. But how, then, to explain the presence of blonde-haired people in Mayan temple murals in Chichen Itza, Mexico? Could it be possible that the Vikings had found their way to the Americas during the height of the Mayan empire?

Valerie Hansen, a much-honored historian, argues that the year 1000 was the world’s first point of major cultural exchange and exploration. Drawing on nearly thirty years of research on medieval China and global history, she presents a compelling account of first encounters between disparate societies. As people on at least five continents ventured outward, they spread technology, new crops, and religion. These encounters, she shows, made it possible for Christopher Columbus to reach the Americas in 1492, and set the stage for the process of globalization that so dominates the modern era.

For readers of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel and Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, The Year 1000 is an intellectually daring, provocative account that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about how the modern world came to be. It will also hold up a mirror to the hopes and fears we experience today. 

Review- Fascinating piece about the world at the Millennium of 1000, by an expert in the field. Hansen does a fantastic job of showing how the world has been a global market for a very long time. She starts us in the New World with the Vikings traveling from Greenland to Northern Canada and how far south they actually went and ends the book in China showing that China has always been a global place. The writing is engaging, informative without being overwhelming, and very well done. Hanson does a good job of breaking very complicated political situations down and distilling them to the important people, places and facts. She helps the reader see the world from a very close place of the people who lived in it. As she has access to firsthand documentation so this is very easy for her to do. I had a very nice time reading this book, I enjoy history and I know very little about the world at that particular time, so I was quite excited to read this and I was not disappointed. If you enjoy reading about history, want to understand how the world has always been a global market of some kind, or are just interested in reading something more positive than what's going on in the world lately I would give this book a look. 

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. 

A Man and His Cat, vol. 2

Today’s post is on A Man and His Cat, vol. 2 by Umi Sakurai. It is 148 pages long and is published by Square Enix Manga. The cover is a close up of Kanda and Fukumaru laying together. The intended reader is someone who likes sweet manga. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence's in this manga. The story is told from third person close of Fukumaru and Kanga. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Now that Fukumaru and Mr. Kanga have found each other, every new day brings with it a series of surprises and delights. As the pair navigate their new life together, time,  which had frozen for Mr. Kanda, following a personal tragedy, gradually begins to move again…

Review- Another cute volume in a very sweet series. Just like volume 1, this is a series of vignettes following the two main characters through their everyday life together, with getting some more past from Kanda. We see that his wife really liked cats and that they were going to get one right before she died and that Kanda was sort of just existing for a long time after her death until he seeing Fukumaru and decided to take him home. This is a very sweet series that is fantastic considering how stressful the world is right now, so if you're looking for a pick-me-up I would recommend reading this series.

 I give this volume of Five out of Five Stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this mango with my own money.

American Street

Today’s post is on American Street by Ibi Zoboi. It is 324 pages long and is published by Balzer + Bray. The cover is white with a silhouette of a girl with flowers and colors in it. The intended reader is a young adult, interested in the immigrant experience, and some magical realism. There is foul language, mild sexuality, and violence in this novel. The story is told from the first person of the main character, Fabiola and in the chapter breaks from other characters to give the story depth. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie- a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabliola’s mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own. Just as she finds her footings in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola must learn that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?

Review- Equal parts coming of age and the immigrant experience novel, that does succeed in both but I have conflicting thoughts about this novel. It is well written, the characters are fully realized, the magical realism is very good, and the plot moves fast. But I did not really like the book. I cannot put my finger on what I just do not like about it. Fabliola is fine as a main character, she is trying to make the best of a rough situation, she grows over the course of the book, she makes things happen. The magical realism is the best part of the novel in my opinion, I liked whenever Bad Leg would show up and give Fabliola insight or a warning. He was interesting, different from the other characters, and he did more for the plot and character growth of the other characters than anyone else. I am not sure what I wanted from this novel but it was fine, if the combination of magical realism and immigrant experience sounds interesting to you then you should give this novel a try.

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

The Watergate Girl

Today's Nonfiction post is on The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks. It is 258 pages long and is published by Henry Holt and Company. The cover is a picture of Wine-Banks from the Watergate Trail. The intended reader is someone who is interested in American history and true crime. There is mild foul language, discussion of sex and sexuality, and discussion of violence in this book. The story is told from first person close of Wine-Banks. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Obstruction of justice, the specter of impeachment, sexism at work, shocking revelations: Jill Wine-Banks takes us inside her trial by fire as a Watergate prosecutor.

It was a time, much like today, when Americans feared for the future of their democracy, and women stood up for equal treatment. At the crossroads of the Watergate scandal and the women’s movement was a young lawyer named Jill Wine Volner (as she was then known), barely thirty years old and the only woman on the team that prosecuted the highest-ranking White House officials. Called “the mini-skirted lawyer” by the press, she fought to receive the respect accorded her male counterparts—and prevailed.

In The Watergate Girl, Jill Wine-Banks opens a window on this troubled time in American history. It is impossible to read about the crimes of Richard Nixon and the people around him without drawing parallels to today’s headlines. The book is also the story of a young woman who sought to make her professional mark while trapped in a failing marriage, buffeted by sexist preconceptions, and harboring secrets of her own. Her house was burgled, her phones were tapped, and even her office garbage was rifled through.

At once a cautionary tale and an inspiration for those who believe in the power of justice and the rule of law, The Watergate Girl is a revelation about our country, our politics, and who we are as a society..

Review- A wonderful memoir from a woman who went through fire but came out to the other end a better lawyer and a strong role model. Jill Wine-Banks had been a trial lawyer for a few years when she was tapped to become a prosecutor on the special Watergate prosecution team; which was designed to determine what had been done, what had been covered up, and who was at fault. Wine-Banks takes us from the beginning of being tapped for the prosecution all the way through to the end and we see what she did with her career after. There are lots of notes so if you want to go and follow up  to learn more about the Watergate trial and all the people around it, it will be easy to do. Wine-Banks is an excellent writer, she has an engaging narrative style, and can convey not only what she was thinking and feeling but helps the reader understand the others around her were thinking too by the fact that she can still interview them and ask them what they were going through at the same time. A benefit to this book as opposed to other Watergate books is that Wine-Banks was one of the prosecutors, she sat at the prosecution table and cross questioned and interviewed witnesses throughout the entirety of the trial. So if you would like to have special insight into the Watergate trial I would highly recommend this  memoir. 

I give this memoir a Five out of Five Stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrow this book from my local  Library.

Yona of the Dawn, vol. 11

Today’a post is on Yona of the Dawn, vol. 11 by Mizuho Kusanagi. It is  192 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. As it is the eleventh volume in this series and you need to have read the first ten to understand the story. The cover has Yona and Hak on it sitting back to back. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the different characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the book- Yona and her friends head out in search of a crop that can grow even in barren land. On their travels, Hak becomes filled with grim determination while training Yona in swordsmanship. Yona notices that he’s acting differently and tries to cheer him up, but what Hak does next leaves her stunned!

Review- An excellent next volume in the long-running series. We pick up right where volume 10 left off with Yona and Company deciding to travel out of Kohka and then into one of the northern kingdoms to try and find a plant that will grow in the fire tribe lands. They are of course met with suspicion but they do find a plant that will grow, now they just need to find a way to get it back. Hak has some serious character growth in this volume, as he and Yona now try to navigate their relationship. We also get to see more of Hak, Yona and Su-Won’s childhood together. Su-Won has leadership skills even from a young age, but as we see from when he became an adult, he does not use it for everyone's good but only his own. The volume ends with Yona performing a sword dance that fully expresses both her grief and her rage, and it moves everyone who sees it. It will be interesting to see how they get this new grain back into the Firelands or even if they can at all. 

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.

Bloodborne issue #15: The Veil, Torn Asunder

Today’s post is on Bloodborne issue #15: The Veil, Torn Asunder by Aleš Kot, illustrated by Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson. It is the 31 pages long and published by Titan Comics. The cover has a hunter walking through Yarnham with crows following them. The intended reader is someone who has read the first two issues of the series. There is mild foul language, no sex, nudity, and mild violence in this comic. The story is told from third person close of the nameless man. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the eblurb on Hoopla- The city of Yharnam: an ancient, gothic metropolis and home to the Healing Church.
The Healing Church is known for its miraculous blood-based curatives, of which many – citizens and travelers alike – seek to exploit.
Recent days have seen the city fall foul to a nightmarish plague known as the Ashen Blood disease, the source of which remains a mystery.
Trapped in a threatening world of gods and monsters, where reality is never what it seems, one man resolves to welcome the madness, and the truth it may reveal…

Review- The plot for this arc is finally coming into focus. The nameless man is some kind of traveler moving from place to place seeing what is happening in Yarnham and those who are doing things like the hunter with the pale blood child or Elieen the crow as she goes through her madness. I think that I know who the man is but I am not sure. This was the best volume of the series so far with more answers than we had been given in the previous issues.

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