Book Review: Dragon Age: Blue Wraith by Nunzio DeFilippis

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith by Nunzio DeFilippis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This will be my last read of 2021, mostly because I had a really good reading year and all, and I wanted to read some books that I’ve been dying to read until now-and I can’t wait to read more in 2022. That being said, I truly enjoyed Blue Wraith, mostly because I miss my beloved Fenris. On top of that, I truly loved reading this comic so much, because one, you get to read Dragon Age from a comic’s perspective, and even though I love the game so much, just reading it in comic form makes it so much better.

Blue Wraith is about a group of warriors trying to stop the Tevinter Imperium and the Qunari from getting their hands on a sarcophagus made of gold that was once used by Denarius a long time ago-the same one that gave Fenris his lyrium markings. A rogue elf and a sorceress from the Tevinter who were actually really nice, along with a mabari warhound went to find Fenris, aka the Blue Wraith, to try and get him to help them.

At first, he says no, and the girls pursue him. Then as they found the Qunari and they brought up the lyrium, Fenris’s rage took over and he killed some of them, not all of them-the rest were killed by a blue phantom that blew up in people’s faces. Shockingly, it came from Fenris’s partner, a daelish elf who snuck in to pretend to be an elvish slave. I have no idea how he got the power to make blue people bombs, but it was shocking, and yet I was worried about him, mostly because I felt like I know what’s going to happen to him when I remembered the Dragon Age comic I read this year.

But other than that, this was a really good comic that I truly enjoyed and I can’t wait to read more into the next year.

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Bok Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was a bit of a whirlwind, with all the teenage drama and fallen angels and people trying to come back to life and tying people together. Basically, the fourth book of the Mortal Instruments had me on the edge of my seat as I read every single word and every single page. I loved every bit of it, and I know next year Cassandra Clare will have me in a chokehold as I try and finish off the Mortal Instrument series (two more books to go!) and then The Dark Artifices series, The Last Hours, Ghosts of the Shadow Market and The Eldest Curses.

But before I go down the Cassandra Clare hole I know I’m going to be in next year once I put City of Lost Souls on hold at my local library, let’s get started on the book review…

So the book opens up with Simon going through his life because now, thanks to drinking Jace’s blood, is a Daylighter. He’s dating two girls-Isabelle Lightwood, a Shadowhunter, and Maia Roberts, a werewolf in Luke’s pack. He meets up with Isabelle at a restaurant later that night since he can’t eat anything, and two men came up to him, asking him to meet up their master…which turns out to be none other than Camille Belcourt, former leader of the vampires of New York and ex-lover of Magnus Bane. Camille basically gave Simon a deal about partnering up with her to get rid of Raphael Santiago and put her back as the leader of the vampires. Even though Simon said she’ll think about it, the next time he’ll meet up with Camille, he’d made a deal with the Shadowhunters to capture her when she has been killing shadowhunters left and right lately.

Clary is training with Jace to be a Shadowhunter, and she kept wondering what’s wrong with Jace-after all, he’s been acting very weird lately around her. Even when she’s focusing on her mom and Luke’s wedding day, she kept thinking about Jace as if he was the only thing on her mind. One day, when she and Jace was alone, he pulled a knife out and tried to harm her, and Jace explained what he’d been dreaming about. So, Clary decided that Jace can go to the Silent Brothers, to see if they can help. They could help him, once they found out that Jace died and they can put the wards back on him. Unfortunately…he was being controlled by a Greater Demon…that Greater Demon who happens to be Lilith.

On top of that, Clary did investigate a cult that was doing terrible things to babies, thanks to someone finding a baby near Beth Israel hospital, and had overheard her mother on the phone with Catarina Loss, who turned out to be a warlock with blue skin. Clary was kinda shocked, I think, when she saw through Catarina’s shimmer, but the worst thing she saw was the dead baby, which she guessed that it reminded her of her brother, Sebastian, who died in City of Glass. The baby’s fingers had claws at the end of them, and she was given a scrap of something from the baby, to find out where the mother came from when she dropped the baby off.

She found an address and went to go, texting Isabelle. The address went to a Cult of Taltos, where a hydra demon with three heads attacked her, but thanks to Isabelle showing up and killing the demon, they discovered that someone is trying to make more babies like Sebastian, which would be terrible as hell.

Oh yeah…I forgot to mention that Clary raised the dead with a rune that came to her, that told her and Luke and Brother Zachariah (I think) that Camille killed said shadowhunter, Simon compelled his mother to forget what she saw after she found blood in his room, and also Simon was living with Maia’s ex.

Back to the Ironworks party…

Clary found Jace and they reunited, but he put some weird rune on her that knocked her out. Simon followed Maureen, whom he fed on and thought killed, to the same place where the Cult of Taltos was, where it was revealed that the Greater Demon Lilith was there, and she wanted Simon to bring Sebastian, her “son” back. If he didn’t, she’ll tell Jace, who was under her command, to kill Clary. Even though he was hesitant to do it, he decided to do it anyway, nearly dying. Then Lilith and Jace got into a fight after Clary disrupted the rune Lilith placed on him, not even knowing that it was a bond before Simon pointed it out, and Jace was close to losing before Simon killed Lilith thanks to the Mark of Cain Clary put on him.

Now everything is back to normal…or is it???

Jace was forced to complete the ritual that brought Sebastian back to life, in which I went WTF. But it was a good book, five out of five stars for me.

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Book Review: What He Wants for Christmas by Brenda Jackson

What He Wants for Christmas: A Westmoreland holiday reunion romance by Brenda Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve never read a Brenda Jackson novel, and I’m glad I’ve read this one, because now I’m a fan. I love Sloan and how much of a himbo he is to Leslie, and how they worked out their problems after what happened in college between them and a girl named Sarah Olsen. I also liked how they decided to become partners first when Longshire started coming after Leslie’s business and acting like a total ass when he tried to take over with all of that huffin’ and puffin’ and being all money hungry, reminding me of J.R. Ewing…

But the trip to Alaska and that kiss under the northern lights was the most magical thing I’ve ever read in my life. Now I wish I was kissed under the northern lights. But I think the most heartwarming thing I’ve read in this book was when they went to visit the Yules and toured their toy shop. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever read, and also they talk about the past when they get to the cabin to spend the week in.

I think that part that got me the most in this book, was when Sloan got hurt and Leslie took care of him. That was the good part in all of this, to me. It was really cute and adorable of how she did it, and then when they made love it was almost magical…until Leslie left, which hurted my soul, all the way down to the ground, and I don’t think it’ll come back once I’m done. But when Sloan went after her, it was the piece de resistance to me, because he went after his woman and told her everything that happened, and they got engaged.

THEN THEY GOT MARRIED. It was a really good wedding, and I liked the warning Leslie gave to her friend Carmen about Redford. I also liked the little theme of family weaved in the book. All in all, this was a really good book and I would read it again all the time when Christmas comes around.

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Book Review: Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare

Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my second Tessa Dare novel, even though it was a novella, and I really enjoyed it. I loved how strong Violet was when she tried to help Christian leave Spindle Cove and go back to his little farm in Breton, to continue being a spy for the British army. I loved every bit of it, and there were some parts where I thought Violent would actually fall in bed with Christian, but she resisted, even had a gun to his chest to make sure he was away from her as she helped him run away from Spindle Cove.

I think I loved Violet’s character, and how she and Christian worked together. I felt like it showed her character-from being the woman in the corner at balls to becoming constructive and finding ways to hide her lover, whom she called the Disappointment because of what he did before he left, and even making up excuses to whomever found her. I got a bit worried when she took Christian to this shop, and she tried to come up with an excuse, but the store owner was drunk and grabbed her, but thank god Christian kicked the door and knocked Nellie down to knock out the drunk store owner and went to the house.

Christian, in the beginning, I really didn't like. At all. All because he hurt Violet. But the more I read the novella, the more he kept making promises to her, the more I actually??? Started?? To like him??? Like a lot??? And when he got on the boat and started making promises to Violet that he’ll return…and then she slapped and punched him in the face…just so he can go back to speaking Breton so no one can find him.

The ending was really cute, when Christian came back and danced with Violet, promising to take her this time with him to France, and they shared that cute kiss…it was so cuteeee I loved every bit of it. I’m sad that it’s over, but it made me wonder if they’re okay right now, wherever they are. I really enjoyed this book and even though I wished it wasn’t a novella, it was a really good one and I loved it.

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Book Review: A Holiday in Gaslight by Mimi Matthews

A Holiday By Gaslight by Mimi Matthews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Holiday by Gaslight is a very cute and sweet Victorian novella that was pretty good. Ned and Sophie breaking up and then coming back together at the Christmas Ball was really sweet. They had some really flustered moments between them, and when they kissed in little secret places was really cute as well.

I have this problem when it comes to books with parents: I either don’t like them or they get on my nerves. Well Sophie’s father was acting sus throughout the novel, talking about the gaslights in his house and showing them around to anyone that’ll listen. Then you learned that he spent ALL of his daughter’s dowry, and is looking for someone to help finish up Appersett House.

What…and I cannot stress this enough…THE FUCK, MY GUY?!

Sophie, Ned and I think Emily was shocked that their father would do that, but honestly, Emily’s getting married, and Walter thine idiot (He is, this isn’t me judging his character, but the decision he made) is going to help support the refurbish of the Appersett House. Emily told Sophie that ‘she found a way to free her’ since Sophie is always taking care of the family.

But the conversations between Sophie and Ned were very sweet and adorable, along with the kisses. But I really liked how Sophie had just straight up asked Ned to marry her, catching him completely off guard with it, but he said yes anyway and gave her a ring. I wish we knew more about Sophie and Ned and the others, but it was such a good Christmas novella that I really enjoyed it so much.

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Book Review: Crowned for His Christmas Baby by Maisey Yates

Crowned for His Christmas Baby by Maisey Yates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First time reading a Maisey Yates novel, and I have to say, I really liked it. Even though I gave it a four of a five stars, it was actually really good. Friends to lovers, accidental pregnancy? I’ve never read an accidental pregnancy trope type story, and when I read it, I was honestly shocked-I…really…like it??? A lot?? Especially when they got their HEA and live happily ever after.

This book is about a prince named Vincenzo who really hates his father with a vengeance for all the horrible shit he pulled in Arista, and he wants to put all of it to a stop. He decided to go and ask Eloise, a woman who also was in the castle with Vincenzo and going to pretend to be his mistress so they can take down his father and her mother, who was really terrible to Eloise.

I really liked how powerful Eloise was, for standing up to her mother and the King. It shows that she was tired of them doing what they were doing, and they needed to be stopped. It also shocked Vincenzo from learning the truth about what really happened that night, when Eloise was eighteen and went into his room and kissed him. He thought really bad about her, and learning the truth shocked him. That night, they made love for the first time, and after that…Eloise left Arista.

For months-seven months, to be exact-Vincenzo has been working to take down every toxic thing his father has ever done to Arista, only to learn from his friends that Eloise was pregnant with the heir, thus breaking his own promise to himself and his father that he will never continue the Moretti line. Rafael, Jag, and Zeus told him to bring her back to Arista and marry her, even got on him like boys do about having safe sex and using a condom. After talking to his boys, he got off and went to Virginia to get Eloise back.

Eloise, shocked to see Vincenzo at her doorstep again after the first time he came over, tells Vincenzo that she’ll come back, if he can give her a Christmas at the palace. Vincenzo agreed, and they go back to Arista, and they have a pretty good Christmas. They rode on the troika and they made love in front of the fire. But then things changed when Vincenzo saw his son, his heir, on the monitor.

This idiot told Eloise to leave, and she was shocked, because she told him that she loved him, and he couldn’t even say it. So with her cat Skerret, she left to go back to Virginia. Vincenzo got drunk and his friends found him. They talked to him (well, he went to the spot where he showed Eloise after they talked to him), and all of them went to Virginia, where Vincenzo and Eloise got married. I’m so glad that they got married and became figureheads to the people of Arista. I just didn’t like parents, so they moved the stars down from five to four.

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Book Review: Just for the Holidays...by Adriana Herrera

Just for the Holidays... by Adriana Herrera
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was a surprise to me. I’ve never read a second chance romance before ever, and I enjoyed reading it. Gael and Perla were SO GOOD, even as Perla tried to resist Gael, she found herself falling in love with him while pretending to be in a relationship with him at the same time, to please his mother and grandmother. I’m glad she did that, because I was waiting for the whole relationship to drop and Perla and Gael had to tell the truth to his mother. But at least the relationship lasted long enough, until Manolo ruined it.

BUT THE YEARING IN THE BEGINNING. Holy crap, the yearning in the beginning. It was SO GOOD. They were in the study doing a reading for a movie, and the sparks, the bloody YEARNING between the two, I was hella obsessed, and as I kept reading I wanted them more. Like, good lord, they were inspiring me more and more to actually try my hand in writing a second chance romance.

But then…I read the sex scene…

When Adriana Herrera writes a sex scene, she can write a sex scene. Because good lord it was so steamy that I fanned myself (ha ha). But in all honesty, it was really good and I enjoyed it…till the end. When Manolo showed up and tried to ruin GaelxPerla, but Gael snapped at his uncle, even finding out the name of the producer that was doing another movie, that, turns out, was known as a sexual predator. When Gael found out, he was furious, and ran out the door to go get Perla back.

In Punta Cana, Esmerelda and Gael pretty much tricked Perla when she was sad, thinking that Gael had left her again. When he surprised her at the yacht, Perla couldn’t believe it, and a year later they were engaged and walking down the red carpet for the movie that had a lot of awards for awards season, and I couldn’t be happier for my favorite couple. 10/10 stars from me, I loved every bit of it.

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Book Review: Gingerbread Kisses by Lucy Eden

Gingerbread Kisses by Lucy Eden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy shit.

This novella though.

Holy shit.

This was a really good novella. I was honestly blown away at how really good this short was. I fell in love with Elizabeth, Mark, and Maya, and how both Elizabeth and Mark fell in love in a few short weeks. I also loved how motherly Elizabeth was and how protective she was with Maya, even though Maya helped them get together. Even though at the end she shut her heart after what Mark’s ex did, I'm glad, at the end, that they got together-even how they got back together was so good.

This novella can be described as Hallmark Channel movie goodness, but with a side of dirty, and I agree with this one hundred percent. I fell in love with this book the moment I read the first sentence. It was funny, short, and sweet. I want to read more of this author, this was SO GOOD.

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Book Review: Belle Morte by Bella Higgin

Belle Morte by Bella Higgin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you so much NetGalley for the chance for me to review the ARC.

I tried to like this book. Truly, I did. But honestly...I cannot, for the love of god, get through this book without nearly screaming at Renie. I felt like all Renie cared about was finding out what happened to her sister, ignoring the vampires, breaking the rules, and says up and down that she’s not here for the vampires, she hates vampires, she can’t get into a relationship with the vampire, all she cares about is her sister and getting her out of here.

It annoyed me as I kept reading this book how much Renie says a million times that she hates vampires, but yet when it comes to Edmond, its totally different. I felt like Renie was in the background for me and I cared about the rest of the characters in the book, like Edmond, Ysanne, Roux, and the others. I wanted to know more about them than I wanted to know about Renie, and that’s sad. I even wanted to know more about Edmond and Ysanne’s relationship, and I also wanted to know about Ysanne and Isabelle’s relationship. Renie...I just don’t care about her. At all.

And when she found out that her sister was turned into a vampire, oh no, she hated them then, and even tried to get through to her sister, June, but nothing. Until someone let her out and let her feed and kill whoever she want. But honestly, seeing June all locked up and snarling and reaching for Renie or whoever reminded me so much of Nezuko in the beginning of Demon Slayer, where she attacked Tanjiro. But then, at the end...she was betrayed by her sister and Etienne...who turned her.

That betrayal hurts my very soul, and I wanted to jump in the book and beat the shit out of Etienne, but then, June attacked Renie and nearly killed her, thus making Edmond turn Renie into a vampire.

I’m glad I finished it, and the writing is really good, but Renie just annoyed me throughout the book and I wish it was about the other characters instead of just Renie and Edmond. Because then we can figure out what was going on in the other’s heads while everything was going on. A three out of five stars for me, really good book, just didn’t like Renie.

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Book Review: Starless Night (Legend of Drizzt, #8) by R.A. Salvatore

Starless Night by R.A. Salvatore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hello folks, and welcome to another book review with our favorite dark elf ranger, Drizzt. This time, Drizzt is leaving Mithral Hall to go back to Menzoberranzan to stop the dark elves from attacking Mithral Hall again. He does give Guenhwyvar to Regis, and told him to tell Cattie-Brie and Bueneor in tendays-if he didn’t come back. I felt a bit hurt when Drizzt did this, because he’s not letting his friends help him with his journey. He even went to Cattie-Brie’s DOOR and stood there, wanting to say goodbye, but he didn’t. Just stood at the door, hand poised to knock and say that he’s leaving, and didn’t say a damn thing, but left.

When Cattie-Brie went to Regis and asked him where Drizzt went, he lied, but then, after a near-death attempt (jacking him up, slapping him) Regis finally told her were poor Drizzt went. Shocked and destroyed her room, Cattie-Brie, taking Guenhwyar with her, went down to Menzoberranzan. She first went to Silverymoon and met the beautiful Alustriel, who didn’t know where Drizzt was, but she did help Cattie-Brie by giving her horses with magical horseshoes and made a dwarven houseservant named Fret go with her. Even though it was funny to read when Cattie-Brie sniffed Alustrel’s perfumes and nearly choked herself to death, I find it really cute that she did that.

Drizzt, meanwhile, goes to a forest where he meets several surface elves, including one that he saved during a surface raid party, where he hid said girl underneath her mother’s dead body, pretending to kill her. She attacked him before she cried in his arms, then he and another elf named Tarathiel left and went to the grove of Montolio, where they saw a unicorn. Drizzt went over and pet it, slowly, and he took it as a sign from the goddess Mielikki that she approves of what he was doing, his sacrifice. Then he goes into the underdark, not even knowing that Cattie-Brie and Guenhwyvar went down two days after him.

First, Drizzt went to Blingenstone, where he stayed for several day after he got hit really bad by some machine, I can’t remember what it was, before he left and went back down to Menzoberranzan, where he disguised himself as a slave driver for a bit in the Island of Rothé before he was caught and was taken to Matron Baenere. Cattie-Brie, on the other hand, was right next to him before she got caught by Jarlaxle and the Bregan D’arthe.

The most surprising thing out of this whole book was Enteri, who was SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, but he survived, thanks to Jarlaxle. He was down there, healing and learning the ways of the drow, thanks to Jarlaxle, even going far as to making a deal with Cattie-Brie to help her get out of Menzoberranzan and save Drizzt from the clutches of Matron Banere while she’s doing a ceremony. While all of that was happening, Drizzt was getting tortured by one of Matron Banere’s daughter, Vendres, and once Cattie-brie and Enteri found him, they helped free him and Drizzt killed his torturer before getting out of his cell.

While they were escaping, Drizzt fought Dantrag Banere and won, killing him and getting his braces. Cattie-Brie grabbed Dantrag’s evil sword, Khazid’hea, which turned into a weapon from Mielikki, tricking the two of them as they left to go back to Mithral Hall. They did stop where Wulfgar died before they were nearly attacked by dwarves, only to find out that Regis became Commander, which shocks the both of them, but they were back home nonetheless.
I truly enjoyed this book. It made me mad, gasp, almost cry, and was on the edge of my seat. I loved every bit of it and I can’t to read the next book, to see how this arc, I guess I can call it, goes. I hope they can protect Mithral Hall from Matron Banere, because I really like Mithral Hall, and hope they do Wulfgar justice I guess?

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Book Review: Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Born to extreme wealth, Kyrian of Thrace wielded charm and charisma as powerfully as he wielded his sword.

Oh how I miss the world of the Dark Hunters. I miss these badasses so much!!! This book is about my boy, Kyrian of Thrace, and the love of his life, Amanda Deveraux. Amanda wants a simple life-no supernatural involved. One day, she gets kidnapped, getting mistaken for being her sister Tabitha, and woke up chained next to a very sexy man with blonde hair and dark eyes, and...fangs?! Nope. Nope. Nope. She wanted out. But then…

The both of them started to fall in love while Kyrian played the game of “I’m not gonna be attracted to her because good god it’s part of a code to not fall in love” but he fell in love with her anyway. The one thing that did it for me was Theone’s betrayal and Kyrian’s torture in the hands of the Roman Valerious, which was horrible and reading how he broke Kyrian’s legs, then Desiderious doing the same damn thing...that hurt my soul.

But when Acheron Parthenopaeus showed up, that’s when I stood at attention (ha ha, not really). Ash and I have been around each other for so long, that seeing him again made me smile. I really liked how Ash helped Amanda and told her how to handle Kyrian’s soul, though the price he paid for it hurts so damn much. And the painful betrayal that Amanda faked in order to give him back his soul hurted too-but I’m glad she acted along with the betrayal in order to give him his soul back, because I really didn’t want Kyrian to be alone again.

I also loved the appearance of Talon because I missed him too. I wanted to hug the little goober the moment I saw him, because he and Kyrian worked so well, and the way the both of them worked with Amanda while Desiderius was trying to torment the both of them until he died. But the ending was perfect, and I wondered what name did Artemis whispered in Ash’s ear before she disappeared, making my boy go cold? Whoever it was, it scared him half to death, but at least Kyrian and Amanda are happy and are having a baby!! Yay!!!

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Book Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A girl is running for her life.

With those words, I got hooked on this story. This book felt like a Dr. Faustus novel, but with a girl who was invisible to everyone, until someone can finally see her. Her name Adeline LaRue, and she made a deal with a god that listened. This was my first time picking up anything nby V.E. Schwab, and I have to say, this was a very interesting book to read, to just sit and get comfortable and read it. Addie is a very complex character, and with her battle with the Darkness, or Luc as she calls him, seeing history unfolding in front of her in three hundred years and living it is very beautiful to read.

What drew me into this book was the fact that Henry Strauss remembered her. No one else did. Addie kept hoping and praying that he’d forget about her, but each day, he didn’t, and they fell in love...until that one day, when she learns about Henry’s deal with Luc, and does something that’ll change their lives forever. Many, many times, I kept wishing that Addie didn’t learn about Henry’s deal with Luc, and only wished that Henry could live longer, stay longer, to not die after a year. But then...things don’t go as people wish, doesn’t it?

For starters, that ENDING. It pissed me off at the end, but as I kept reading it, I kept getting madder than ever. I thought that Henry and Addie would live forever, instead Addie went to Luc instead and just fucking gave herself up to him for Henry’s sake. Though I hate it, instead Henry turned it around and turned everything she told him into a book, and hot damn, it worked. I don’t wanna spoil more because someone else is reading it, BUT I really enjoyed the book, but I really loved The Darkness, or Luc.

Luc was the most enchanting character I’ve ever met. Honestly. Very enchanting, very smart, very good at what he does. He’s very sneaky and I loved that about Luc, and I keep wondering how things would be if she just stayed invisible, but still remembered Henry while Henry’s soul was with Luc. Would she still make that deal??? Would she still refuse Luc?? So many questions are in my head right now as I write this review, but don’t worry, I really did love this book and I would re-read it again in a heartbeat.

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Book Review: Overlord: The Undead King by Kugane Maruyama

The Undead King by Kugane Maruyama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have never read a light novel in my life until I picked up Overlord. I have watched the anime (season one, actually) and I loved it so much that I had to read the light novel. I was not disappointed at all. Every scene of the book felt like I was rewatching the anime all over again. The idea of someone who has played a video game for so long, and wanted to stay till the end, only to wake up in your character’s body and you’re stuck in the world, having no idea how to get out of it.

That is what happened to Momonga when he spent one last day in the video game Yggdrasil, because he didn’t want to leave it. He said goodbye to one of his friends and when he closed his eyes...he woke up in the body of an undead lich. Confused, he walked around the Great Tomb of Nazarick and found all these geat NPCs-Albedo, Demiurge, Cyctous, Mare and Aura, Sebas, even Shalltear-and before the game even shut down and he went to sleep, he changed Albedo’s trait of being a bitch to being in love with him.

When he’s trying to figure out what works in the world he’s in right now and what doesn’t, a village called Caine Village got attacked by a bunch of knights of the Thane Sloanacy, to call out another knight they wanted to kill, Granef Stronoff. Ainz helped the village by summoning a death knight and only killed the knights and even helped two girls who were running from the village and gave them a healing potion. Once the village was saved and he spoke to the mayor of the village, that’s when the E-Rantel knights came and Granef and Ainz spoke, even though Ainz had a mask over his face so no one can see what he truly looked like.

Granef and the Thane Sloanacy did into a fight, but then they switch and it was Ainz vs The Thane Sloancy. The fight scenes in this book is really well written and it felt real, and I liked how Ainz was serious and also thinks about what spell to use before he attacks. He shocks the humans of the spells he uses, and they even try to get him to join the group, but Ainz says no, and i also like reading the thought process of the humans on the other side, trying to figure out what the hell is Ainz and how is he that powerful enough to kill angels and how he was still standing. In the end, they were sent to Nazarick and Carine Village is safe and in the protection of Ainz Ooal Gown.

For my first light novel, I have to say that I truly enjoyed it and am glad that I got book two and am planning on getting more of the series and finish watching the anime as well so I can enjoy it so much more. The light novel covers episodes one through four and I can’t wait to read where this story will lead us.

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Book Review: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have DNFed this book, I put this book down MULTIPLE times, and I have also forgotten that I’m reading this book up till now. I finished this book yesterday, and I have to say, this book has to be one of my favorite books, right next to Dread Nation by Justine Ireland. The Eye of the World, though it is a long book with fifty three chapters along with the glossary, was very eyecatching, very easy to follow, and also very good to enjoy, to sit back and relax and just read.

The Eye of the World is about a boy named Rand al’Thor who lives in Emon Field with his friends, Mat Cuthon and Perrin Aybara, and his father, Tam al’Thor. They were excited for Bel Tine, a festival that celebrates spring, when Moiraine and Lan came to the village. They were only seeking shelter, no more, and that sparked the whispers and the fears that came with being an Aes Sedai. One night, Trollocs and a Myrddral appeared and attacks the village, looking for Rand and his friends. Sadly, they weren’t in town, and Tam got hurt. Rand found a way to make it back to the village, where Moiraine healed him and tells him that he and his friends have to leave the village to go somewhere else, to Tar Valon.

Though it hurt him and his friends to do that, that’s when they discover that they are much more than just a couple of farm boys from a small village called Emon Field/Two Rivers.

First off, Rand and his friends are haunted by the Dark One himself, and they tried to keep it from Moiraine, but they couldn’t keep it to themselves when they told her. Secondly, Perrin became a Wolfbrother, who can speak and communicate with the wolves. He and Egwene get caught by the Children of the Light, who thought that he was lying about some things, and one man was honestly going to kill him, but thank god he didn’t as they escaped thanks to Moiraine and Lan and Nynaeve. Egwene and Nynaeve can channel, though Egwene is excited about it and Nynaeve...isn’t. Mat stole a dagger that made him not trust a bunch of people (yep, THAT DAGGER) and it also cursed him, but Moiraine tried to heal him, but it didn’t work too well.

We also meet a lot of monsters and people in the book. We meet the ogier Loial, the trollocs, the myrddral, the forsaken and the Dark One, who for a couple of chapters he appeared scared me a bit, but as I moved on and kept reading, he became less scary to me. I also loved the other characters in the book, like Logain Albar the False Dragon, Elayne Tarkand, the Tuatha’an, Elyas-those people were so, so good and I felt like they rounded out the world, even though this is book one of this series.

I do have book two and book eleven, and one day, I will get all of the books, but for now I’m gonna finish this book review by saying that this is a really good fantasy novel, and a really good forway into the Wheel of Time series.

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Book Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I normally don’t read new releases on the year/day it comes out. But because there was so much hype for this book, I decided to read it. My god, the hype for this book is real, because I loved every single moment of it. The grumpy/sunshine trope, the fake dating trope-set in academia? I was there. And the cover of the book drawn by one of my favorite artists on Twitter? I pre ordered this book before I could say less. There were other couples in this book, and the diversity in this book is really good as well, but I loved Olive and Adam’s fake relationship, and I also love Olive’s whole entire character. This book was just so good that I don’t know if I can get through the rest of the review.

The Love Hypothesis takes place at Stanford University, where Olive Smith is a third year Ph.D candidate, who makes the biggest mistake of her life and kisses the first person she sees...that person turns out to be Adam Carlsen, a well-known arsehole and a professor/scientist who wanted to automatically report Olive for kissing him. So Olive came up with a good idea to pretend they’re fake-dating, and shockingly, Adam agrees.

They go on dates at Starbucks, Olive putting sunscreen on Adam’s back, the sex in the hotel (pretty damned good, honestly) and the Tom Benton problem...I hated him. Just like Maven in Red Queen, I had a weird feeling towards Mr. Benton, until after Olive’s presentation at the science conference and he said all those horrible things that made her feel so horrible after she had sex with Adam and heard the recording right in front of her friends made me feel for her, because she wanted Adam free from her and that she won’t be in Boston to work for Tom.

Well thanks to the power of Malcolm and his boyfriend, Olive found Adam in a restaurant filled with a bunch of Harvard higher ups and Tom, and she got scared and just...pulled out her phone and played the recording for everyone to hear. To me, this was such a powerful move for a girl who is scared of someone, who doesn’t know what to do, but to stand there and play the horrible words that Tom has said to her. Of course, Adam got upset (Kylo Ren, is that you??) and told Olive that ‘he’ll take care of it’ and then the cute double date-SO CUTE. I loved it (and that Malcolm and Adam hates Pumpkin Spice...I AM OFFENDED in a good way) and Tom Benton went away, and everything is fine. Adam isn’t moving to Boston, and Olive is going to Berkeley to pursue what she wants to study really badly.

I honestly loved this book, mostly because I can relate to Olive very well, even though I;m not pursuing a scientific degree, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. In the words of our lord and savior Adam Driver: “Good Soup.”

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Book Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first picked up this book, I wasn’t in the mood to even read this book, and that was a couple years ago, I think. Then I picked it up now, and I’m so glad that I read it. I really enjoyed it and it was very different from the fantasy that I’m used to reading. I was shocked about the guns in the book for a second, but then as I kept reading, it kinda works in this world and even the small scientific explanations of the powers were pretty fun to read.

BUT MAVEN. I don’t see why everyone swoons over this man-I hate him. I want to kill him so bad after I read THAT SCENE because WTF my guy. But I sensed that he’s a jumped up little shit the moment he came on the scene, and then when I read that chapter...MOTHER-

Before I get into that and the reason why I hate him, let’s get into the book, shall we?

So here’s a girl named Mare, who is stealing to keep her family well fed and whatnot. She is a friend of Kilorn and sister to Shade, who had “supposedly” died but I’ll get into that the more I get into this review. She is shocked that Kilorn is getting conscripted into the army-something Mare doesn’t want to happen. Because a couple months later she’ll be conscripted into the war as well, so she goes to her friend to find some way to smuggle her and Kilorn out of the Stilts and far away from the Red and Silver world. From there, she meets a woman named Farley, who is part of a revolutionary group called the Scarlet Guard.

Mare took Farley’s price-which meant going to the Silver Island to get something really expensive and really priceless. Unfortunately...that doesn’t happen. She gets caught, but her sister had her hand shattered, and she felt so bad that she went out and met a boy named Cal, whom she tried to steal from...who turns out to be the Crown Prince, who shocked Mare when she got the job of being a maid, and her first job was her being the help at the Queenstrial. During the Queenstrial, Mare’s powers manifest...and she can do lightning.

So what happens when the royal family catches you and brings you to them?

Mare is turned into a lost Silver Princess to hide that she is a Red that can do lightning, and her time in court, though it was short, was very different from everyone else. She had to go to protocol, she had to go take classes on how to be a lady and go to lunches and stuff with the Queen...but at the same time, she’s secretly aligning herself with Farley and the Scarlet Guard, along with Maven...who turns around and betrayed her and Cal at the drop of a hat. Like why, my guy, why….

But then when she and Cal was going to get executed...Maven played a video so twisted, so horrible that I don’t know if I can even call him a proper King for what he and Queen Elara did to Cal’s father (forces him to do) and then the twisted and malicious lies just hurts my soul SO SO MUCH and I fucking hated it so much that I wanted to scream. But I’m glad Mare and Cal escaped, and I’m really glad that Farley is still alive...BUT SHADE IS ALIVE. W...TF….how???

Turns out, this boy can teleport.

Shocking, I know, but then, it kinda fit Shade.

I truly enjoyed this book and I’m glad I read it (and also brought the rest of the series to read in between my other books) and I can’t wait to read more of the series.

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Book Review: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong...broke me in ways I never thought a book would. I thought that this was a nice, cute story about Juliette and Roma being all cute and stuff, BUT NO. Throw in a monster, and OH HELLO Y’ALL. This book immediately sucked me in the moment I read the first line in the book-In glittering Shanghai, a monster awakens. If that sentence doesn’t pull you in, I don’t know what will.

This fantastic book is about two gangs-The Scarlet Gang, ran by the Cai family, and the White Flowers, ran by the Montagov family. A madness is going around Shanghai, and it’s affecting the gangs, and both Juliette and Roma work together to stop all of this...if one can stop trying to pull out guns and knives at one another, this would be a perfect book. But nope. Add in the communists, a monster, a French gentleman who reminds me WAY TOO MUCH of Dex Dexter from Dynasty, and you have one hell of a story.

I loved the action so much in this book, and the monster and how it seemed like the Communist Zhang Gutai was behind it all. I honestly believed that it was him after all, summoning the monster to get rid of nearly half the workers and the gangsters on both sides-but at the end, they were wrong. So, so wrong. It wasn’t Zhang Gutai like they thought.

No, no, no.

It was actually his assistant, Mr. Qi Ren, who turned into the monster and sent out all those bugs after everyone-and I think he was controlled by Paul Dexter, that scheming son of a gun. But the shocker was the truth about what happened at that bombing with Juliette’s Nurse, and then Juliette getting her revenge on the White Flowers by telling them where Lady Montagova was. BUT WHEN JULIETTE SHOT MARSHALL...I went “Juliette WHY” and thought he was dead, but then it was all a rouse to show her cousin, Tyler (whomst I hate with a passion), but at least Marshall is okay.

BUT THE SIDE CHARACTERS. Kathleen, Benedikt and Marshall, Alisa, Tyler-ALL OF THEM WERE SO, SO GOOD. They were so fleshed out that I liked and loved all of them-all except Tyler, he can go to hell. And the secrets that came out...OMG. I was hanging on to my seat while reading them. I give this book a five out of five stars because of how good it really is. A Romeo and Juliet retelling? Sign me up PLEASE.

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Book Review: Clockwork Princess, an Infernal Devices novel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book...was so beautiful that I cried. Yes, I, Brittany, cried after I read this book. This is the third book of the Infernal Devices, and I didn’t mean for it to just come and hit me like a trailer truck like that. I was expecting so many things to come at me all at once, to tell you the truth. I thought it was going to be a happy ending for me, for my favorite couple, everything. But NO. NO, NO, NO, NO. It just...fuckin’ hell, it hurts like hell and I kept crying at the end of it.

So basically it starts off at the end of Clockwork Prince, where Will’s sister Cecily shows up, demanding that he comes home, but thanks to the law, he cannot go home ever again. So Cecily became a Shadowhunter while the Lightwood boys, Gideon and Gabriel, stays there as well. Gideon had fallen in love with Sophia, but Sophia was worried about what Charlotte says, because she’s a maid at the London Institute and didn’t want to leave Charlotte alone. Gabriel’s just upset that his father was slowly going mad-and he did go slowly mad. He was mad because of Mortmain, and he turned into a giant snake that killed Tatiana’s husband. Everyone went to the Lightwood Manor and fought the snake monster, only for Gabriel to kill the demon by shooting an arrow in the eye (oof).

Then Consul Wayland shows up at the Institute after writing Charlotte a bunch of letters telling her to stand down and basically starts yelling at her and reminds her that he’s the Consul and she has to to everything she says, thinking that because she’s a woman she runs with her feelings and not with her heart, which is first of all sexist and bullshit because Charlotte can take care of everyone in the damn place, so fuck you my guy. Just fuck you. Then the worst thing came to light, when the clockwork/infernal devices came and took Tessa away, and then Jem, my poor baby Jem, was dying. And this was when Jessamine came back to them with the Silent Brothers, only for her to get killed by the clockworks that came to take Tessa away.

On his deathbed, Jem told Will to go and get Tessa back, but not before he asked him, “What did Magnus mean by asking you if I knew you were in love with Tessa?" to which, I shit you not, in Will’s head I think he went ‘DAMN’ and then those two had a talk about it, in which Will confessed to Jem about being in love with Tessa, but he couldn’t because of the engagement between her and Jem. After they talked about it, Jem told Will to go get Tessa back from the Magister, and he did, and then he died and was turned into a Silent Brother and was given a new name, Brother Zachariah, but to both Tessa and Will, he was still their Jem.

At the same damn time, both Lightwood brothers are being used as a pawn in Consul Wayland’s plan to bring down Charlotte, asking them to spy on her, and they did do it, sending false letters about what was being talked about in Charlotte’s letters, but it turns out that Charlotte wasn’t writing about anything bad-she talked to her uncle who was dealing with a sickness, and anything else that wasn’t doing anything bad.

But Tessa...poor, poor Tessa. Getting kidnapped by the clockwork that turned Mrs. Dark into a clockwork herself, she was presented to the Magister and was forced to turn into his father and watched horribly as she/his father wrote a spell that uses demon energies to tie to something-in this case, Mortmain’s clockwork soldiers. The more Tessa begged for Mortmain to let her go or to stop it, he took her to a village...where he killed everyone (all except Will, who escaped) and told her not to play on his humanity-he has none left to give. Sadly, that didn’t stop Will from finding her, and the two confessed their love for each other I believe and then they intercoursed until they were interrupted by Magnus Bane, who came in through the portal that he and Henry made to come and save Tessa. Once everyone is there, that is when Mortmain shows up with his clockwork army, and a fight commences.

Henry lost his legs, Will was surprised to see Jem fighting as a Silent Brother, and Tessa turned into the angel locked up in her necklace to stop Mortmain and the clockworks. In the end, Will proposed to Tessa, Gabriel and Cecily are dating, Sophia ascended, Charlotte became Consul and had her child, and Magnus left for New York. And the epilogue broke me, but at the same time I loved it so much that I really didn’t care because it left me in tears. A Five out of Five book for me.

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Book Review: Dark Lover, a novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When you haven’t book reviewed a book in so long, in like a YEAR, and then you reread the book to do a book review…

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Caldwell, NY, where Brittany has totally forgotten about reviewing the first ever book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and hasn’t book reviewed it in a LONG ASS TIME because she simply forgot. Oops. So she’s here to rectify that because reading the book twice as I did brought back memories and the fact that this book is so damned good that I want to read the rest of the series (which I will...after I get done with my other ones that I want to get to…)

Let’s start off with Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and basically the so called Blind King...but he really didn’t want the title of king. In fact, he liked being the leader of the brotherhood, and he really loves to fight. He’s the last of the pureblood vampires, and he wants to find the slayers and kill them for what they did to his parents. But when one of his warriors, a man named Darius, asks him to being his only daughter into their world, Wrath downright refuses to do it. He didn’t want to bring a woman he didn’t even know into their world, even though she’s about to go through the change.

But then Darius died and Wrath HAD to do it-even though he swore up and down and sideways and upways that he didn’t want to take his daughter from the life she knew into his world-there was no way in hell he wanted to do it. But then he scooped her place out and took a good look at her...and he fell in love with her, something he swore he didn’t want to do. Yes, they had great sex and all, but then when it became time to tell her who he was and who her father was and what she was about to be...well, it shocked the hell out of her.

And the queen to Wrath’s king’s name, you ask, is Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Randall, Darius’s daughter, who was a half human, half vampire woman living a normal human life before she even met Wrath, whom at the same time was supposedly mated to Marissa, but Wrath never even touched her, only for blood only, but when Beth came into the picture, all of that stopped, and yeah, it made Marissa mad, but then she met the human cop Butch…

Who tried to arrest Wrath after thinking that he was going to go in Beth’s apartment and hurt her, thinking that Wrath was a criminal (yeah, right) and gave her drugs as soon as Beth started going through the change, then becoming friends (like...besties) with Vishous/V...and also falling in love with Marissa and wanted to do it as slowly as possible after finding out that she’s a virgin and not wanting to hurt her.

When the lesser came and snuck around the house after making a deal with Havers and kidnapping Beth...that was the wrong thing to do, because Wrath felt like he wanted to tear the whole world apart just to find her. Which he did and got hurt really bad for it (it was after their wedding too, man, what the fuck) and Havers, the man that wanted to kill Wrath for hurting Marissa by trying to get Z to do it, only to find out that Z didn’t betray the brotherhood or the king, so he got the lesser to do it. So he worked and saved Wrath, who turned to his brothers and told them that he’s going to ascend the throne and let Tohrment run the brotherhood and also rebuild the vampire population, hurray!!!

I truly enjoyed this book, and I’m so sorry that I haven’t reviewed it the first time I read it, because OMG it was such a good book. Ten out of Ten stars for me, if I could give it that!!

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Book Review: Black Butler Volume 2 by Yana Toboso

Black Butler, Vol. 2 by Yana Toboso
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Volume Two of Black Butler opens up to a simple, normal day in the Phantomhive household, with Sebastian and the everyone else trying to get the house nice for some guests that were coming over the next day. Of course, with a whole bunch of shenanigans happening around the house, and with Tanaka drinking his tea, how can the party go off without a hitch?? It's up to Sebastian to put the party together and make sure it looks really nice for the party tomorrow.

And then the investigation about the famous killings around Whitechapel, which, to tell you the truth, oddly facinated me, mostly because yes, it happened in the Victorian Era (1888, to be exact) and also because I wondered what got into this Jack the Ripper's head when he killed those sex workers...anyway, I liked that they went around, trying to find out who did it, even went to see the Undertaker, who had to have a laugh before he even answered the question. When Sebastian made him laugh (how, I wanna know), that's when the Undertaker told Ciel what happened to the sex worker's body parts. After hearing the grim answer, Ciel told Sebastian to round up a list of suspects that could be doing all of the killing, and the person they thought was doing it was the Viscount Duritt.

So they went to one of the Viscount's parties (more of, they had to sneak in the party to catch him in the act) and, well, Elizabeth was there...so you know Ciel (dressed as a girl) had to run off each time she saw him. Ciel did have a moment alone with the Viscount, only for him to get knocked out by some drugs and then had to be blindfolded by the Viscount to be sold in a auction. But thank god Ciel called on Sebastian to save him, because the next morning, JACK THE RIPPER STRIKES AGAIN.

How???

Well that's a really good question...

Because while they were looking again, they found another one of Jack's supposed victims and went to Whitechapel to see if they can finally catch the one called Jack the Ripper...only to be stunned to find out that it's actually a grim reaper named Grell...and MADAME RED?! I was shocked to even read that (though I've seen the anime and it shocked me then as it shocked me now). Grell appearing as her true self has to be my favorite part of this manga, and her with her death scythe is pretty damned cool.

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Book Review: Black Butler volume 1 by Yana Toboso

Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana Toboso
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I decided to pick up some manga again, and decided to start with volume one with Black Butler. I'm honestly glad I did because I found myself missing Ciel and Sebastian and the crew. It is a really funny manga with some parts of it that reminded me of the anime (in which I need to watch part three of it) but other than that, I truely enjoyed it.

Black Butler is about a boy named Ciel Phantomhive who had made a deal with a devil he named Sebastian, and all funny sheanagians happen! Along with his other servants-Finny, Mey-Rin and Baldroy...who can't seem to do anything around the house! Finny is the gardener who destroys anything he can touch (but he's baby!), Mey-Rin is quite a klutz, and Baldroy...just can't cook (oof). All of them are going on adventures and solving cases, even fighting off the Italian mob after they kidnapped Ciel. There was also a fancy ball thrown by Ciel's fiancee, Elizabeth, and yes, she breaks Ciel's ring and he tries to pretend there's no attachment to it, but Sebastian somehow fixes it.

But that's just a day's work for Sebastian Michaelis, the butler of the Phantomhive manor, who is, sincerely, "One hell of a butler."

The artwork in the manga is very beautiful and I enjoyed every bit of it, and cannot wait to read more of this manga really soon!

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Book Review: Halfway to the Grave: A Night Huntress Novel by Jeaniene Frost

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read about a couple books of the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost-One Grave at a Time and Up from the Grave-and had fallen in love with Cat and Bones as a couple. But reading book one and seeing how they met and how they fell in love, along with finding their first vampire together was a really good experience, in my case. I loved every bit of the action and how Cat and Bones worked perfectly together, and the ending kinda made me mad, but let me explain.

Halfway to the Grave is about a half-vampire, half human girl named Catherine “Cat” Crawfield, and she’s been hunting vampires for a while until she meets the beautiful but sexy Crispin Bones. Thinking he’s one of the vampires that she was looking for, she tricks him like she does most of her victims, and then winds up on the other side, when she wakes up and is caught by Bones instead, who thought that she was one of another vampire’s men, and thus the whole enemies to lovers trope happens between the two.

Bones trains Cat after hearing her story from her about how she was made, which is why she was hunting down all these vampires-because her mother got raped by one and she wants to find out who he is-and also because her mother really hates vampires and doesn't want her to go down an “evil” road and be a vampire. But all vampires can’t be bad, right? Especially when they are so good lookin’, sexy as hell, and can kick ass and take names? Right?

Well before long, Cat and Bones fall in love, and they team up to find a vampire named Hennessy, a vampire that is very vicious and evil at the same time. Well shit doesn't hit the fa until Cat’s grandparents are killed and her mother is kidnapped, and she and Bones goes and find Hennessey and kills him, but not before her mother finds out that she’s dating Bones and pretty much thinks that Bones had her in his “thrall” and was leading her down a path of evil, which is such bullshit.

Then she’s approached by Don from a Paranormal Unit, and was pretty much offered a job there in the hospital after she took out a bunch of vampires, including Hennessey, and also the governor (that part shocked the hell out of me, though). Basically, after breaking Don’s kneecap and scaring the shit out of Tate, she agrees on taking the job and protecting her mother, and even makes a few demands to make sure that she’s taking this job. In the end, she broke up with Bones (which pissed me off) in a note and just left him...like that. That made me so mad.

But in the end, I really did enjoy this and I’m glad that I picked this book up and read it, because now I have a new book boyfriend and a series I really want to complete reading.

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Book Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

CW: Mention of racism

This is the first time I’ve ever read a Justine Ireland book. And I have to say, this has moved up to one of my favorite books of 2021. At first, it was going to be a three out of five because I thought it wasn’t going anywhere, and that everyone was going to die because of the shamblers, but then holy hell it picked up, and it turned into a five star for me. I loved the fact that it handled racism very well, and the black queer POC characters were my absolute favorites, though that scene when Katherine said that she’s not going to find someone to love, for a minute, I felt like it was inappropriate (in my mind, but then once I understood) to call her out, that she was asexual, but then I understand it (had to look it up) and I was proud of her for saying what she said.

Now Jane is now one of my favorite characters of all time. She is smart, sassy, can take the lead when she needs to, and also she comes up with very intricate plans to try and get out of Summerland, and investigate what’s going on and why the town isn’t properly equipped to handle the shamblers. It turns out that the town is run by a racist sheriff and his ignorant father, Pastor Snyder, who thinks that Summerland is a place where they will be delivered or something like that. The town is separate (of course it is) and it’s like Jane had to go in secret trying to get through the damn place, but there was that one time that she got caught and had to get whipped-about twenty lashes-all for being out late at night. Like people can’t go out at night and do whatever they want.

Yes, there is racism in this book, but I felt like it was dealt pretty well in my book. I was triggered at some parts of the book, but I did take a small break before I continued on, and I have to say, I had feelings for this book. One of them was the heartbreaking BETRAYAL I felt when the nice indigenous man, Mr. Redfern, and Miss Preston, OF ALL PEOPLE, just give up Katherine and Jane like that. Like, TF my dude? That betrayal hurts me...the MOST. But other than that, I really enjoyed it. From the shocking betrayal to going to Summerland, and living and learning and trying to figure out what’s going on in Summerland, to the shocking ending, when Jane learns what happens to her momma and the only home she knows, Rose Hill.

I do also like the excerpt of the letters between Jane and her momma-it makes it feel real and it hit home, because that’s the most beautiful thing between a mother and a daughter. Though Jane’s backstory is tough, and I hated that she had to kill her own daddy to survive. But you know what? It’s gonna be okay. Because I do have Deathless Divide (the second and last book of the Dread Nation series) and I’ll be done. Because this has to be my favorite book of 2021 hands down.

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Book Review: Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale by Odette Beane

Reawakened by Odette Beane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reawakened is basically a summary of season one of Once Upon a Time, and reading and remembering what happened in season one was a joy and a delight to read. You read about Regina being all sneaky and trying to keep Emma away from Henry, being a Karen and the Mayor the whole time you’re reading it, Mr. Gold being sneaky, Henry doing “Operation Cobra” to get Emma to believe the stories...like you see the growth in Emma in the book and the show and finding out where she came from and how she became an orphan till what she is today.

I have to say, the more I read this book, the more I felt like Regina was acting like a Karen when it came to Henry, and it completely went over my head, but honestly, as I read it, the more I just said it: Regina was acting like a damn Karen whenever Emma was around Henry. But I can see how fiercely protective Regina and Emma was to Henry and how the both of them want whats right for Henry.

And Mary Margaret and David Nolan...oooof their relationship in the beginning. Oof, oof, oof. It was almost painful to read, but I’m glad that I saw how that relationship turned out, through them getting their memories back and her calling out “My prince!” when she saw him after thinking of her name made me smile, because honestly, I thought they weren’t gonna get together, but I’m glad they did at the end.

Four out of five stars for me, truly enjoyed this book.

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Book Review: World of Warcraft: Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak

Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Picture this: you have been dreaming in the Emerald Dream for a long time. One day, while you were in the Emerald Dream, you become a prisoner to the Nightmare Lord and everyday you’re being tortured by false memories by the Nightmare Lord. Your partner on the outside of the Emerald Dream wants to save you desperately, and they ask the Druids of your circle to help them save you and also save your world of Azeroth. Alongside an orc with a magical ax who wants your head on a spike and a human with odd powers, these are the heroes that will save you and help you stop the Nightmare Lord from killing your family and friends. This is basically the premise of Stormrage, which is the story of Malfurion Stomrage and Tyrande Whisperwind, fighting side by side so they can stop the Nightmare Lord from taking over Azeroth for good.

This was a really good book, I must say, BUT...did this book stress me out or did it stress me out?? Like...parts of this book just stressed me out that I had to sit the book down and gather my thoughts. I’m happy to see people like Varian Wrynn, Shandris Feathermoon, Alexstrasza, Ysera, Thrall, hell, even Sylvanas. But I have to say, I don’t think I’ll ever survive the Nightmare Lord. Nope, can’t survive him. I want to curl up in bed somewhere in my little home in Teldrassil and never, ever wake again...though if I do that, I’ll be caught up in the thrall of the Nightmare Lord and show me my greatest nightmare. But the more I read this book and see how Malfurion devised a plan to basically bring together people to help him escape the Nightmare Lord and then defeat him with the help of nearly everyone in Azeroth, the more I...actually...started...to...like...him. Shockingly. Because I really didn’t like him that much in the beginning, but the more I read, the more I started to actually like this man. Because he basically outsmarted the Nightmare Lord and brought a war to the Nightmare Lord and won, even though it took a lot out of him.

The side stories were actually pretty fun too. My favorite would have to be Broll Bearmantle and the Circle of Druids. He was actually one of my favorites out of the book, mostly because he was true to himself and knew that Fandral was acting quite sus. He had a friend, Hamuul Runetotem, a tauren druid, help him figure out what the heck was going on with Fandral..only to find out that he was working with the Nightmare Lord, and is taking to a evil spirit of his son, who died a long time ago. Sadly Malfurion had to face him in a fight, but he’s dead and gone now (or he’s completely knocked out) but other than that I liked Broll’s part in the battle with the Nightmare Lord.

But the part that stressed me out the most was Ysera’s part in it. She was CAUGHT by the Nightmare Lord himself, taking out the Eye of Ysera and I got worried for her. I thought Ysera was dead and we’ll never see her again, but then we see she’s in a golden dome, her power being used to fuel the Nightmare Lord’s power. I had to put the book down after that so I won’t read it for a moment, then I picked it up and finished reading it, and I found myself loving this book, even though some parts of it made me want to never go to sleep again, but then realize I can fight this thing no matter what. I gave this book a four out of five stars because of the stress I had while reading this book, and also because Tyrande just...got on my last damn nerves trying to be Miss Superwoman when she could just sit down and let other people help.

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Book Review: The Legacy (Legend of Drizzt #7) by R.A. Salvatore

The Legacy by R.A. Salvatore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hello, and welcome to This book broke me in a million ways, lemme tell you how because OH MY GOOD LORD THIS BOOK. This book right here broke me in a million ways. Well for one, the whole entire thing happened in Mithral Hall/near the Underdark. Secondly, I didn’t like the way Wulfgar went out the way he did, thirdly, I would like to throw Artemis Entreri, along with Dio Brando, STRAIGHT TO FLORIDA WHERE THEY BELONG. Because honestly, WHAT THE HELL MAN.

So first off, let’s start off in the beginning. Vierna, Drizzt’s sister (yes, the nice, kind sister) had came to Jarlaxle (that, turns out, I really like) and told him and her other brother, Dinin (yeah, him. He’s still alive. Shocking) that she’s going to bring House Do’Urden back to power, back in the Lloth’s good graces. How, you might ask? BY GETTING MY BABY BOY, MY HUSBAND, DRIZZT DO’URDEN, AND SACRIFICING HIM. So Vierna comes up with a plan, somehow roping Entreri into this so he can get into a fight with Drizzt, and also turn Dinin into a drider. THAT’S RIGHT, SHE TURNED HER OWN BROTHER INTO A GODDAMNED DRIDER.

On the other side of the world, Wulfgar and Cattie-Brie are about to get married (hooray!) and Brueor couldn’t be happier. All except...Artemis, using the mask Drizzt used to get into Calimport, pretended to be Regis and planted some not-true memories thanks to the ruby pendant that Regis always had. He planted in Wulfgar’s head that yes, Drizzt and Cattie-Brie did meet, but...they also kissed?! The eff? And that made Drizzt and Wulfgar get into a fight for NO DAMN REASON, but at least they laughed about it. So everything was going well until they went to the Underdark and fell into a trap set up by Vierna and Artemis, and Drizzt got caught. I mean, it was one painful reunion because of Vierna slapping Drizzt and bringing up Zaknafein to hurt him (and it did).

Then Drizzt and Enteri got into a fight but they didn’t get to a conclusion, and the last fight of theirs happen on the edge of the mountain thing I believe, and Artemis fell to his “death” like I wanted, but the fool is alive, and Wulfgar didn’t make it. Thanks to a yochol eating him after he stepped in and tried to save Cattie-Brie, who nearly got eaten.

I hated the way Wulfgar had to go. I really didn’t want him to go out the way he did, and I feel like we won’t see him again in the books, though I feel like we will. But the way he went-inside the yochol’s mouth-I hated it. And Drizzt making a vow to only raise his swords in defense and had to kill if he had to, all because he broke a vow to himself that he will never kill his kind ever again. That little passage made me pause a bit and I’m kinda glad he made that vow to himself, because that shocked the hell out of me, like I was stunned about it, so very stunned.

But Vierna dying the way she did because she wanted to sacrifice Drizzt, being a power-hungry bitch, hurts, but sometimes you have to tell the people in your family bye, throw up the deuces and go live your life. I honestly liked Vierna, but then she got her powers back and tried to get Drizzt, but failed in the end.

Speaking of the end...MATRON BAENRE. THAT TWO THOUSAND YEAR OLD DARK ELF THAT SHOULD BE DEAD, BUT OH NO, SHE’S ALIVE. And she has the tooth of one Gandalug Battlehammer, AND HIS SPIRIT. Like...WHAT THE FUCKETY FUCK MY DUDE. I enjoyed all of the action, but the book broke the hell out of me and I’m sad about Wulfgar and want to send Enteri STRAIGHT TO FLORIDA WITH DIO.

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Book Review: JoJo's Bizarre Adventures-Part One: Phantom Blood by Hirohiko Arashi

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Vol. 1 by Hirohiko Araki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For the longest time, I have sworn to my friends that I will never, in a million, gazillion years, that I will watch the show. In fact, I said that I hate this show with a passion...until someone told me to read the manga, to see if I like it better. So I did-after I got my vaccine, I went to Barnes and Nobles and got it. Now that I have read it...I have to say, this book is a 3.5 out of stars for me-mostly because of Dio.

Dio pretty much ruined the book for me for many reasons. He has done so much terrible shit to everyone around him-and for what? Because he's plain evil, money hungry (yes I said it, money fucking hungry, fight me) and he made Jonathan Joestar's life a living hell. I mean, this man has done so much shit throughout the book, that when it came to Jonathan's father, he poisoned him the same way he poisoned his own father. But thank god for Jonathan who found the guy and found the antidote to save his own father, even though Dio ruins his whole life because Joanthan was a sweet and kind boy.

Now here's the shocking part: I was honestly worried and sad for Jonathan Joestar. He didn't deserve what Dio did to him-all he was was a nice young man, living in a nice house with his father, had a dog that loved him back, and then here comes someone who hates you for no reason, wants to make you an outcast FOR NO REASON, and wants to make you have no friends, no girlfriends, no nothing because to them, you are beneath this person. But at LEAST Jonathan rose up from all of that and continued to do what he was supposed to do, amid all the bullshit Dio put him through.

I will be continuing to read the manga because it's actually a really good story, but I just want to kill Dio in his sleep or send him to Florida so he can fight the legendary stand....FLORIDIA MAN (joke from my friend because I was contemplating how to kill Dio.)

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Book Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Descendant of the Crane by Mrs. Joan He is, without a doubt, a ten out of five stars. This book made me feel things for the characters, made me worry about some of them, and it also made me shocked at the same thing. This book is written so well that I can see myself reading this book over and over again. It’s that damned good and I wish there was second book in this series, because I want to know what happens to Yan after she leaves.

This book is about a princess named Haseina who learned that her father just died by some unnatural causes, and she goes through this journey to find out who killed her father and put the killer to justice. She uses the soothsayers to help her, but in the end it backfired on her because of her dumbass brother. But she does get help by a prisoner named Akira, who turns out to be very smart and had pretty much shut down two court cases, but wasn’t there when Hesina herself went to court for treason, which is fucked up.

When Hesina tried to save the sooths and finding all these clues about her father and who he really was hit home for me. She thought that he was her superhero, like most girls think about their fathers. But when she learned the truth, it shocked her to the point that it brought her to her knees-it hit that her father and her mother were one of the Elevens, and then they faked their deaths so Hesina can rule.

Cool, right?

Oh it was...until shit hit the fan, when they arrested Mei, and it turns out she’s a sooth who works/is side by side by Yanjing, Hesina’s brother, and survived a blast that should’ve killed her. Then LILIAN, the girl I really, really like, is killed, and then Hesina’s on trial thanks to her dumbass brother/viscount Caiyan, who allied himself with the Jin Guanyao/Meng Yao looking MFer Xia Zhong, who reminded me of that no good SOB in the Untamed SO BAD. If I can do an review or a character post on Xia Zhong, I would. Because he was just a creepy man that reminded me of Jin Guanyao SO MUCH that I hated him on sight.

And the prince of Kendi’a, thinking it’s a really cool idea to enslave those soothes like that...like fuck him, man. I’m glad she didn’t take the deal, because I would be angry if she did. But the ENDING...the EPILOGUE….CAIYAN’S POINT OF VIEW...he’s a sooth, and he orchestrated ALL OF THIS. Like...THE FUCKERY, MY BROHIEM?? MY BROHAM??? BUT WHY??? I want answers so bad, but at the same time I kinda understand too, but THE ENDING. WHY.

I loved this book so much, and I wish there was a second book so I can read it.

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Book Review: Tokyo Ghoul:re vol.1 by Sui Ishida

東京喰種トーキョーグール:re 1 [Tokyo Guru:re 1] by Sui Ishida
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This manga fell flat for me. Honestly, it was so confusing that I didn’t enjoy it like I thought I would. The only thing I liked about this story was the artwork and the one instance that Kaneki showed up. Other than that, the agents having to investigate ghouls with weird names like the Torso and Orochi, though when I saw that name the first thing that came to my mind was Orochimaru, oddly, and was actually looking for him.

So this manga is about a group of investigators who got implanted by a kagune, which is a ghoul organ of predation, which is weird as hell. They work for a organization called The Commission of Counter Ghoul (or CCG-weird, once again) and they’re trying to look for this ghoul called the Torso, who steals the Torso of women near hospitals, and they didn’t find him, but then Orochi showed up, and one of the investigators, Haise Sasaki...has the powers of Kaneki Ken inside him??? Weirdly??? Like...that part confuses me so much. I thought, ‘oh Kaneki is alive, working in Anteiku serving coffee, and living his best half ghoul life’ but I’m confused as to what happened to him and how he ended up in a nice, soft boy like Haise Sasaki?? I feel like I need a backstory to understand how that happen...or is Haise Sasaki IS Kaneki??? This is so confusing and I need someone to explain this to me.

There was one trans character, but I didn’t like what the Torso did to him, which is fucked up and that automatically turned me the fuck off because I really liked her. The other two-Shiraku and Urie?? I...I honestly didn’t care about them. I know it sounds like I’m bashing this manga, but I’m not. I’m just confused with the whole thing, and I feel like I need to read the first Tokyo Ghoul to understand it (I did watch the anime, but the first season). This one...felt like a let down because everything was so confusing that once I was done, I felt...unsatisfied. The action was okay, it lacked a bit, but it was an okay manga.

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Book Review: Trinity Blood vol. 1: The Star of Sorrow by Sunao Yoshida

Trinity Blood: Reborn on the Mars, Volume 1: The Star of Sorrow by Sunao Yoshida
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

CW: Mention of Rape, Brittany cusses out two people

This is my first and only Trinity Blood novel I have in my possession, and I would love to get more of them when I can. But for now i’m going to review the only book I have, and hope and pray that one day I can get more.

So this light novel is about AX Agent Abel Nightroad coming to the city of Istavan, a city where he was going to be a priest of a local church, Saint Matthias. When he gets there, he has to deal with the City Police, which is run by one Gergey Radcon, who is a horrible piece of shit who nearly (and I mean this) NEARLY raped Esther in the trainstaton, which is really fucked up. Thank god for Tres, who stopped it. After that horrible piece of shit ruins Abel and Esther’s day, they go to Saint Matthias Church, which is run by Bishop Vitez. Abel settles down...and that’s when the shit goes DOWN.

The Istavan City Police and the Partisans engage in a all-out war in the streets, and the Marquess of Hungary, Guyla Kadar (sounds like a dick, and he does, but keep reading), and he wants to get revenge on the Terrans that somehow killed his wife.

I’m sorry, kid....DRACULA FROM CASTLEVANIA DID IT BETTER. You had a fucking “ace” up your sleeve called the Star of Sorrow, and you thought that’ll help...awe, poor baby, bless your dead heart….but I’m sorry. DRACULA. THE DRACULA TEPES FROM CASTLEVANIA DID REVENGE BETTER, CLASSIER AND BETTER THAN YOU. Yes, your excuse was to get revenge on the people that killed your wife, but did you actually go down there, travel like a human and EXPERIENCED human life? No, you probably sat up in your fancy-smancy castle, drink your fancy-smancy blood wine, whatever the hell it is you drink, and when you heard about what happened to your wife, what did you do? Throw a fuckin’ hissy fit, use the Star for your revenvge, only to get it taken away like a bitch and have it being controled by ya boy, Dietrich, WHOM I ALSO HATE AS A PASSION, BUT OMG HE GIVES ME A WHOLE LOT OF NIKOLAI (not Lanstov, because Nikolai is better than this piece of shit, but my oc demon) VIBES GOOD LORD.

About Dietrich von Lohengrin...first off, he’s a sly dog (not like our boy Nikolai) and he pretends to be friends and help Esther with her cause...only to betray her, saying that he loves her and that he’d do anything for her...but he uses some kind of control mechanism to fucking control her, making her shoot poor Abel, WHO DIDN’T DO A DAMN THING TO THEM, really, he’s a good boy, damn, and then turns around and betrays Guyla, as he fucking deserves.

And when Tres shot Radcon after he DISGUSTINGLY fucking says what he did to Bishop Vitez (like, he says thirty men raped her….VERY FUCKING DISGUSTING)...I was so glad that he shot him and took him in, because I really, REALLY fucking hate him because he’s a cruel son of a bitch and I wanted him dead the moment I saw him.

All in all, this was a really good book, all except the mention of rape that made me put the book down and make me go “WTF”. I also loved the characters (Abel, Tres, Caterina, the young Pope, Esther) and hated a lot of them (Francesco, Dietrich, Radcon, Guyla). I wish I had more of these books so I can read all of them, but maybe one day I’ll read them.

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Book Review: It Happened One Night by Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D'Alessandro & Candice Hern

It Happened One Night by Stephanie Laurens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It Happened One Night is a four stories about four couples who haven’t seen each other in a long time (like ten years-ish) and they spend one night together, one beautiful, incredible night together, and then they go off on their happily ever afters. I quite like the premise of the stories, and all of the authors coming together to create the same thing, but different couples? I love that. So for this review, I’m going to break the stories down, because the titles sound like D&D stories, honestly.

The Fall of Rouge Gerrard: This story was written by Stephanie Laurens, and shockingly, no acid damage or people dying happened in the making of this story. Basically this one is about a man named Gerrard who all around England is called the Rouge Gerrard. He stops at an country inn to rest for a night, when he sees Lydia Makepeace there. Why was Lydia Makepeace there? Well, she’s trying to get into someone’s house to retrieve a letter for her sister. Well of course he had to go to protect her, to make sure no one finds out about them, and they sneak in (Lydia pretending to be a courtesan) and they go into the office to look around. They found it before the owner of the house showed up, but at least they made out before the spice happened. At the end, they went back to the inn and made love again, and the next morning Lydia’s sister and their parents appeared, and oh boy, was Lydia embarrassed. But at the end, after trying to get Ro to not marry her….her parents and sister is just like, ‘It took y’all THIS long to get together? THIS LONG?!” but at the end, Lydia said yes, and the story throughout the ton of how the Rouge Gerrard fell.

Spellbound: Now this story is one hell of a mess. Picture it: you’re sitting in the inn, having a drink, and your partner, whom you haven’t seen in a LONG time, walks in and they’re penniless, don’t even have no money, and they’re basically about to be turned away when you get up and walk up to that inn keeper, and you say bravely, having NO IDEA what or why or HOW this happened, but you say, as clear as day, ‘That’s my partner/wife/husband.’ Well that’s what happened when Richard Kemp saw his wife Nora walking in the inn and was about to be turned around. Holy hell this is a second chance story, and it was pretty good. Nora was shocked to see said husband, because she remembered her father saying that she’s not married to this man anymore. But she finds out that she was actually still his wife after everything her father had done to them, and after that, they ran off and lived happily ever after.

Only You (cw: abuse): This one might have to be one my favorites, because it’s about old friends who hasn’t seen each other in a long time, and they spent the whole day together. They learn a lot about each other-Cassandra is a survivor of abuse, both physical and mental abuse, and she’d never had a night of romance, where she can experience someone truly making love, asking questions like, “Is this what ecstasy feels like?” or “Is this what real happiness feel like?” and I ended up crying. Because no one should go through what she went though. She even told Ethan that her husband thought coming to her was a chore, and when she couldn’t conceive, he basically cheated on her and had gotten so many of his mistresses pregnant, and I think he flaunted them in front of her, making her feel worse. And Ethan-sweet, inn owning Ethan. He actually had a life after Cassandra’s father threw him out and gave him the scar. He went to the war to stop Napoleon, he took the inn off the hands off an old friend, and he stood up to Cassandra’s father who was going to slap her. But honestly, this was a sweet story and I’m glad it was written.

From This Moment On: How to sum up this story...let’s say Victor and Nikki (yep, I know who that is thanks to my grandmama) haven’t seen each other in ten years. They see each other again, and Nikki plans all these funny things (breaking a wheel twice, second time letting the pigs run through and stomping on the wheel) just so they can spend one last day together. Well all of that happened and more-with Wilhelmina and Sam. This must be one of my favorite stories of all time throughout this book, because it’s about a second chance romance. I liked how Willie had fears about Sam’s feelings because she’s a demimonde/courtesan, and she turned him down after their night of passion. Sam, confused as hell, tried to tell her that it wasn't the case, but she didn’t want to hear it. Then at the end, while going their separate ways, somehow Willie’s horse got lame because of the horseshoes...that Sam rigged himself. And, like all the stories, they rode off to their happily ever after.

I’ve read this book a long time ago, like back in middle/high school, and I haven’t thought about this book until now, and I’m so glad that I read it now, because these stories, though different, were pretty damned good, just like the first time I read it when I was in middle/high school.

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