Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight volume 2

Today's post is on Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight volume 2 by Rin Mikimoto. It is 170 pages long and is published by Kodansha Comics. The cover is a close-up of the main male character looking flirty. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo magna, Cinderella stories, and funny love stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The story is told in third person close of the main character Hinana. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Roller Coaster!
As their newfound relationship deepens, high schooler Hinana and superstar Kaede must learn how to keep their romance a secret. For starters, Kaede is so busy! But even when he sneaks out to meet Hinana, she finds it impossible to keep up with his freewheeling spirit. Her routine life is suddenly filled with heart-racing excitement, but heartbreaking insecurities are never far behind. Luckily, her childhood bestie Akira is always there to remind her she's not alone. But when Hinana falls ill one summer day, who will be the first to show up at her door...?

Review- Another good volume in this new series. Hinana and Kaede are having to figure things out as they go on. But they do know one thing and that is they really like each other. So they have to find a way to make this work. Of course there are problems with Kaede's past with hints at his past and Hinana is still learning  what she wants from a relationship. But they are cute and willing to work together towards a happy goal. We get mostly character development in this volume but there is some world building with the hints of Kaede's past. I liked seeing more of the side characters and how they add to Hinana and Kaede's character arc. I look forward to seeing where the story is going from here!

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.

Morrigan's Cross

Today's post is on Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts. It is 321 pages long and is published by Jove. It it the first in her Circle Trilogy. The cover is purple with an Irish cross on it. The intended reader is someone who likes romance, urban fantasy, and some action added in for flavor. The story is told from the third person close of the two lead characters moving from one to the next as the story goes. There is some foul language, sexuality, and mild violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue in a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea...
Belting out his grief into the storm, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from their family's embrace. Her name is Lilith. Existing for over a thousand years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman known as vampire will stop at nothing until she rules this world—and those beyond it...
Hoyt is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morrigan's charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith. A circle of six: himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms and the one he's lost. And it is in this circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will learn how strong his spirit—and his heart—have become...

Review- A good start to a urban fantasy adventure. Roberts is an excellent writer, no surprise there, so she brings something new to the paranormal romance/ urban fantasy. She is plotting a over-arching story about redemption, true love, and stopping a terrible evil. No one piece of the plot is unique but the way that Roberts builds things is unique to the genre and to her style. The vampires are very traditional and scary in the story, I worried about the characters and how they were going to stop anything bad from happening. The love story was the weakest part of the story for me in this volume but I have hopes for others. In the end I liked how well plotted and I look forward to seeing where the story is going next.

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.

Francis I: The Maker of Modern France

I was given a copy of this book by Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.

Today's Nonfiction post is on Francis I: The Maker of Modern France by Leonie Frieda. It is 384 pages long and is Harper Collins. The cover is a portrait of Francis I. The intended reader is someone who is interested in French history. There is foul language, talk of sex, and discussion of violence. Much of the text is taken from first hand historical documents. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The bestselling author of Catherine de Medici returns to sixteenth-century Europe in this evocative and entertaining biography that recreates a remarkable era of French history and brings to life a great monarch—Francis I—who turned France into a great nation.
Catherine de Medici’s father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement’s exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman—a national identity was modeled on his character. So great was his stamp, that few countries even now are quite so robustly patriotic as is France. Yet as Leonie Frieda reveals, Francis did not always live up to his ideal; a man of grand passions and vision, he was also a flawed husband, father, lover, and king.
With access to private archives that have never been used in a study of Francis I, Frieda explores the life of a man who was the most human of the monarchs of the period—and yet, remains the most elusive.

Review- A well written piece about a little known king. Frieda is an excellent writer, she takes some very old documents and information about Frances I and makes it interesting and readable. We follow Frances I from the moment his mother has a vision about her son becoming king of France all the way to his death and what his son Henri II does just after his death. Frieda makes an excellent case for Frances I being the king that made or at least helped the Renaissance happen in France as quickly as it did by having a great interest in the arts and supporting artists. But she also talks about his great failings like making war with his neighbors when finding a peaceful solution would have been better for everyone. If you are looking for something a little different about the in-between time of the middle ages and the Renaissance, then you should give this book a look.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars.

Welcome to the Ballroom, volume 1

Today's post is on Welcome to the Ballroom, volume 1 by Tomo Takeuchi. It is the first in her Welcome to the Ballroom series. It is 192 pages long and is published by Kodansha Comics. The cover has the main character Tatara on it. The intended reader is someone who likes sports manga. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- THE BALLROOM BECKONS
Feckless high school student Tatara Fujita wants to be good at something - anything. Unfortunately, he's about as average as a slouchy teen can be. The local bullies know this, and make it a habit to hit him up for cash, but all that changes when the debonair Kaname Sengoku sends them packing. Sengoku's not the neighborhood watch, though. He's a professional ballroom dancer. And once Tatara Fujita gets pulled into the world of the ballroom, his life will never be the same.

Review- An engaging sports manga about an unusual sport. Tatara Fujita is a kid who does not know what he wants to do with his life. But once he comes across ballroom dancing it reaches him. So we have our plot. Tatara is a very normal shonen hero, he is not special in anyway, he is lost about where he wants to go in life, and he likes girls out of his league. But he was not annoying; most shonen heroes can be very annoying, they are too loud or too stupid or too pervy but Tatara is not any of those things. He is just a nice kid who is looking for something to make his life have some kind of meaning. The art is very pretty with the dancing figures and the expressions are excellent. It ends in a cliff hanger as Tatara walks to his first competition as a fill-in for the star. If you are looking for something different in the world of shonen manga, then give this one a try.

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.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Today’s post is on The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke. It is the first in her Hannah Swensen series. It is 436 pages long and is published by Kensington. The cover has cookie jar in the center with blood on it and the cookies. The intended reader is someone who likes cozy mysteries and very real characters. There is very mild foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Hannah Swensen already has her hands full, between dodging her mother's attempts to marry her off, and running Lake Eden, Minnesota's most popular bakery, The Cookie Jar. But when the Cozy Cow Dairy's beloved deliveryman is found murdered behind Hannah's bakery with her famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, Hannah sets out to track down a killer. The more Hannah snoops, the more suspects turn up. This is one murder that's starting to leave a very bad taste in Hannah's mouth, and if she doesn't watch her back, her sweet life may get burned to a crisp.

Review- A good story to start a series with interesting characters that have good growth potential. The story is slow to build with the setting and characters taking the center stage. Then the murder happens and it is shocking and I felt like Hannah felt when she discovered the body. The mystery moves from there with the characters being the center of everything. From Hannah’s relationship with her family to the way the neighbors all interact with each other, it was all the point of the series and the murder(s) were there to add the flavor. I did figure out who the killer was before the big reveal but it was still interesting to see Hannah put all the pieces together. I am curious about where this series is going to go, so I am looking forward to the next one.

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.

All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers' Row

Today's Non-fiction post is on All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers' Row by James Patterson, Alex Abramovich, and Mike Harvkey. It is 400 pages long and is published by Litte, Brown, and Company. The cover is black  with an american flag under the title. The intended reader is someone who likes true crime. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book-  Aaron Hernandez was a college All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later reached the Super Bowl. His every move as a tight end with the New England Patriots played out the headlines, yet he led a secret life--one that ended in a maximum-security prison. What drove him to go so wrong, so fast?
Between the summers of 2012 and 2013, not long after Hernandez made his first Pro Bowl, he was linked to a series of violent incidents culminating in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player who dated the sister of Hernandez's fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins.
All-American Murder is the first book to investigate Aaron Hernandez's first-degree murder conviction and the mystery of his own shocking and untimely death.

Review- This is the story of a murderer, who he was, who he killed, and maybe how it all happened. Patterson has decided to write up some non-fiction to spice up his catalog and this is the second of his non-fiction offering I have read. It is interesting, well written, and concise about what happened and the characters that drive this drama. We start at the end with the discovery of Odin Lloyd’s body and how the police tracked him back to Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez was a young man with a lot of talent in sports, a family who loved him, and a bright future; but life happened to him and his family. His father protected his sons from the darker sizes of life but after his untimely death, everything changed for Aaron Hernandez. He was a gifted athlete but he was easily swayed by others around him. But in the end no one else to blame for Hernandez’s actions but himself. He was found guilty of three murders and I think that he did them. I think that he killed them for stupid reasons or no reason at all, in the case of the double murders. Patterson and company did good research for this book and I enjoyed the spare writing style, I think that it suited the tone of the story itself. If you want to know more about the case around Aaron Hernandez, then I would recommend this book.

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

Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Volume 3: Disciple

Today's post is on Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Volume 3: Disciple by Yuu Watase. It is 189 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. The cover has the two main characters on it facing the reader. The intended reader is someone who likes historical fantasy, high fantasy, romance, and shojo stories. There is mild foul language, mild sexuality, and violence in this story. The story is told from third person close of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The Mysterious Dicsiple

Miaka Yuki is suddenly spirited into the world of a book. The Universe of the Four Gods. Surrounded by enemies with mystic power, she can only rely on her Celestial Warriors and a mysterious monk, a disciple of the oracle, to help her fulfill her quest! Miaka's best friend, Yui,  also enters the book, but suffers a fate much crueler than Miaka's. 

Review- We pick up right where the last volume left off with Miaka disappearing in front of Tamahome but it was Chichiri another Warrior of Suzaku. Miaka is in great danger now because the kingdom of Qu-Dong, the kingdom of Seiryu, is hunting for her now. But Miaka is more concerned with her missing friend Yui, who has disappeared into the book also. We get a lot of plot movement in this volume with some added character development but not too much of that. Yui is the priestess of Seiryu and she believes that Miaka has abandoned her. But there is someone else who is pulling Yui's strings and I think that the real villain is one of the Warriors of Seiryu. He is controlling what Yui sees and he is pulling her towards something but we did not see much of him. But Miaka and Tamahome have a problem with being in love with each other and Yui having a crush on Tamahome herself; all the Drama! But I am invested in this story and characters and I cannot wait to continue traveling with them.

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.