These Vicious Masks

Today's post is on These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker, Kelly Zekas. It is the first in their These Vicious Masks trilogy. The cover is grey with a black mask in the center and red ribbon trailing from it. The intended reader is someone who likes historical fantasy, Victorian X-Men, and fast plots. There is very mild foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this book. The story is told from the first person close of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.  

Review- I loved this book so much. X-Men in Victorian London is right up my alley. The writing is tight, the characters are fun, and the plot has just the right amount of action, mystery, and love story. The powers are varied and very interesting because they change the how that we see the character, not just how the other characters interact with each other. Evelyn is great, she has the healing powers and she can share them with others around her. The villain is nicely evil enough and I believed that he would do anything to get his end goals, which to him were good but to everyone else he was crazy and beyond help. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next volume and explore more of this world.

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

I’ll be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

Today’s Nonfiction review is on I’ll be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara. It is 352 pages long and is published by Harper Collins. The cover is a dark picture of a house with gold highlights. The intended reader is someone who is interested in true crime and long running mysteries. There is foul language, discussion of rape and violence in this book. The story is pieced to together from first person interviews and police reports.

From the dust jacket- A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.
"You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark."
For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.
Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "the Golden State Killer." Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.
At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of eighteen and thirty, Caucasian, and athletic—capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim—he favored suburban couples—he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by Michelle’s lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic—and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.

Review- This is a compelling and terrifying read about a horrible killer who has still not been caught. McNamara was obsessed with this killer and with someone, anyone, getting him off the streets and in jail for his crimes.  McNamara was a wonderful writer was fascinated with true crime when a neighbor was murdered near her home and that killer was never caught either.  So McNamara started a blog called True Crime Dairy and that started everything. Her very untimely death cut short a amazing writer, and I think someone who could have caught the Gold State Killer. McNamara gives the crimes a timeline, the victims voices, and the cops, who are still hunted the GSK, a place to talk and be heard. She does not gloss over the horror of the crimes but she does not give too much detail about the blood and gore. We know what happened without having to see in our minds when it's time to sleep. If you are interesting in true crime, then treat yourself and read this book.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. 

Claymore volume 14: The Child Warrior

Today's post is on Claymore volume 14: The Child Warrior by Norihiro Yagi. It is the fourteenth the long running Claymore series, you need to have read the first thirteen volumes to understand the story. It is 191 pages long and is published by Shonen Jump Advanced. The cover has Clarice looking at something in horror as she trying to fight. The intended reader is someone who likes dark plots, high action, and strong female characters. There is mild foul language, no sexuality, and lots of violence in this book. The story is told from third person close of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

Review- In their hunt for Galatea, the Organization's former number 3, Clarice and Miata enter the Holy City of Rabona, but what they encounter there is far beyond anything they could have anticipated. Also included in this volume are bonus stories of Priscilla and Isley's first meeting, and of Clare's training at the Organization..

Review- A lot happens in this volume with Clarice, Miata, and Galatea. Galatea has been in hiding from the Organization for the past few years in the holy city Rabona for some reason. Clarice is confused and she thinks that something more is going on and she is right. There is a powerful Awakened One living and eating in Rabona. Galatea was trying to the Organization to send someone to fight it. We get a short story about Clare when she was training before she become a full Claymore. It was interesting look into her past and see what she had to deal with because she is different from the other trainees. With lots of action I had a few moments of confusion when the Awakened One with who is fighting who and what is going on but that was fixed by a quick rereading. I am very curious about what Galatea knows about the Organization and what they are really doing in making Claymores.

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.

Blood Magick

Today’s post is on Blood Magick by Nora Roberts. It is 304 pages long and is published by Berkley. It is the third in her Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy and as such you need to have read the first two novels to understand the story. The cover is lavender with dog and a house on it. The intended reader is someone who has read the first two, likes urban fantasy, and romances. There is mild foul language, mild sexuality, and mild violence in this book.  The story is told from third person close of the characters moving from one to another as the story goes. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna O’Dwyer fully embraces in her life and in her work as the proprietor of The Dark Witch shop, which carries soaps, lotions, and candles for tourists, made with Branna’s special touch.
Branna’s strength and selflessness hold together a close circle of friends and family—along with their horses and hawks and her beloved hound. But there’s a single missing link in the chain of her life: love…
She had it once—for a moment—with Finbar Burke, but a shared future is forbidden by history and blood. Which is why Fin has spent his life traveling the world to fill the abyss left in him by Branna, focusing on work rather than passion.
Branna and Fin’s relationship offers them both comfort and torment. And though they succumb to the heat between them, there can be no promises for tomorrow. A storm of shadows threatens everything that their circle holds dear. It will be Fin’s power, loyalty, and heart that will make all the difference in an age-old battle between the bonds that hold their friends together and the evil that has haunted their families for centuries.

Review- This book is a very satisfying conclusion to this trilogy. We have watched as evil stalked each of the couples in turn, working his way to Branna and Finbar. They are not ready to really deal with what is between them but time is not their side and they must make a choice. I have been pulling for this couple from the first book and I am very happy for how their story turned out. Branna and Fin have years between them and they work together to make it work. Their love is oldest and strongest and with them all the story of the past is revealed.  The evil is stopped forever, love and light wins the day. That is point of romance novels, love and good wins in the end.

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

The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home

Today's post is on The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home by Denise Kiernan. It is 400 pages long and is published by Touchstone. The cover is a picture of Biltmore. The intended reader is someone who is interested in the history of Biltmore and the Vanderbilt family. There is no foul language, no sex, and no voilence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.


From the dust jacket- The fascinating true story behind the magnificent Gilded Age mansion Biltmore—the largest, grandest residence ever built in the United States.
The story of Biltmore spans World Wars, the Jazz Age, the Depression, and generations of the famous Vanderbilt family, and features a captivating cast of real-life characters including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, Teddy Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, Henry James, and Edith Wharton.
Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York’s best-known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House.
Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness. He summoned the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to tame the grounds, collaborated with celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt to build a 175,000-square-foot chateau, filled it with priceless art and antiques, and erected a charming village beyond the gates. Newlywed Edith was now mistress of an estate nearly three times the size of Washington, DC and benefactress of the village and surrounding rural area. When fortunes shifted and changing times threatened her family, her home, and her community, it was up to Edith to save Biltmore—and secure the future of the region and her husband’s legacy.
The Last Castle is the uniquely American story of how the largest house in America flourished, faltered, and ultimately endured to this day.

Review- I went into this book just expecting a history of a house but instead is about not just the house but the people who built it, loved it, and lived in it. Kiernan starts with the history of two families, the Vanderbilts and the Dressers. Who were they, what was their world like, and how did that influence the house that was to become Biltmore. Moving from the beginnings of family lines quickly to the lives of the two principal characters was interesting but it was the house I wanted to know more about. George Vanderbilt loved the area around Biltmore and Edith Vanderbilt loved the people who lived there. Together they changed the face of Ashville, North Carolina forever. The research for this book is impressive and massive with so many little details about the lives of those around Biltmore. If you are interested in the Vanderbilt family or the Biltmore House then you have 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.

Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Volume 2: Oracle

Today's post is on Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Volume 2: Oracle 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- During a pilgrimage to the oracle Tai Yi-Jun, Miaka is trapped inside a cursed mirror while her evil reflection goes free! Can Tamahome, Hotohori, and Nuriko save the real Miaka? Can Yui, now back in the real world, help her missing friend come home? When Miaka does make her way back to Tokyo, things are not as expected.

Review- Lots of plot and character development happens in this volume. Miaka decides that she needs to go home to fix things there before she can do her job as the Priestess of Suzaku. So her friends on both sides of the book help her get home but Yui get sucked into the book and is currently missing. Miaka and Tamahome are starting to deal with their feelings towards each other and is cute and a little funny. Of course there is a love triangle with Hotohori falling for Miaka too but I think that has something to do with her being the Priestess of Suzaku because all her guardians are very drawn to her. I am very interesting in what happened to Yui and where the plot is going to head 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.

Covenant's End

Today's post is on Covenant's End by Ari Marmell. It is 274 pages long and is published by Pyr. It is the fourth in the Widdershin's Adventures and as such you need to have read the first three books to understand the story. The cover is white with Widdershins sitting in the center of a golden circle. The intended reader is someone who has read the first three books, likes urban historical fantasy, and unusual stories. The story is told from third person close of mostly Widdreshins but some of the other characters get their thoughts put in too. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The thief Widdershins and her own "personal god," Olgun, return to their home city of Davillon after almost a year away. While Shins expects only to face the difficulty of making up with her friends, what she actually finds is far, far worse. Her nemesis, Lisette, has returned, and she is not alone. Lisette has made a dark pact with supernatural powers that have granted her abilities far greater than anything Widdershins and Olgun can match.
Together, Widdershins and Olgun will face enemies on both sides of the law, for Lisette's schemes have given her power in both Davillon's government and its underworld. For even a slim chance, Shins must call on both old friends--some of whom haven't yet forgiven her--and new allies.
Even with their help, Widdershins may be required to make the hardest sacrifice of her life, if she is to rid Davillon--and herself--of Lisette once and for all. 

Review- I was excited and sad to read the final volume of Widdershins and Olgun's adventures. I enjoyed the first three volumes so much that I was more than a little nervous about this book. I knew that everything was going to change because of the lengths the villain is willing to go. I was so afraid that Olgun was going to die to save Widdershins' life. But I was pleased with how the book ended. Everything turned okay, not great but the ending was probably the best that we, the readers, could have hoped for. I do think that Marmell can come back to Widdershins and that is okay with me. I would like him to return to this world because it is very interesting and we see so little of it but Marmell never comes back that it okay too.

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.