Review: Skip Beat! Volume 18 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo 
Series: Volume 18 
Pages: 200 
Copyright: 2009  
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Kyoko hasn't had a Love Me Section job in a while, and this newest assignment is pushing her limits. She's now the personal assistant to Koo Hizuri, a Japanese actor turned Hollywood star, and everyone knows how assistants are treated in Hollywood! Can Kyoko see past Koo's meanness, or will his nastiness just make her demons worse?!

Feelings: 
Koo Hizuri has come back to Japan for the first time in a really long time. Kyoko is give a Love Me Section job taking care of him. He is really mean to her at first.

It seems like Koo and the President of LME are up to something. I enjoyed and recommend this volume.

Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Illustrator: Ellen Forney
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 240
Copyright: 2007
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

With a forward by Markus Zusak, interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney, and four-color interior art throughout, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.

Feelings:
This book had me crying in the first fourteen pages. I thought about putting it down then and not reading the rest of the book. However, I figured if the book could evoke that kind of emotion so quickly it would be worth reading. I should note I love dogs. The first fourteen pages might not have been a tear-jerker if I didn't like dogs.

I was curious why this book was banned in the schools and the only reason I could see was references to masturbation and boners. The narrator is a high school freshman and both masturbation and boners seem like topics that would be on the mind of a young boy.

This was not what I consider a gentle story it dealt with difficult topics: poverty, alcoholism, being an outsider, and death. Maybe because this story feels real and looks at a darker side of America is the real reason it was banned. However, I think students need to be exposed to things outside of the familiar. After finishing the book, I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a book that  will have you laughing and crying.

Review: Skip Beat! Volume 17 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo 
Series: Volume 17 
Pages: 200 
Copyright: 2009  
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC  
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Dark Moon is getting excellent ratings, and Kyoko is getting tons of offers for more acting jobs! But all the offers are for twisted, damaged characters like Mio. Kyoko doesn't want to get stuck as a character actor, and she certainly doesn't want to play freaks for the rest of her career. But if she refuses all these jobs, will she even have a career left?!
 
Feelings:
Kyoko goes to say good bye to the director after the shoot on site is over, and she runs into Reino. Reino sees her magic stone, corn, and tells her it is full of hate from the previous owner. They get into a fight, and Ren comes and saves Kyoko.

I enjoyed this volume. I saw a little more of the dark Ren although I'm not sure what causes him to be so dark. I really like this back story.

Review: Son of No One by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Genre: Fantasy
Series: A Dark-Hunter Novel
Pages: 351
Copyright: 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
It’s not easy being life’s own personal joke, but Josette Landry has made an unstable peace with the beast. Life will continue to throw every bad thing it has at her, and she will continue to not put her head in an oven. But that’s okay. That which doesn’t kill her will just require a few hours of mental insanity. Completely down on her luck, Josette takes a job with a local paranormal group trying to get their own cable show as a photographer and camerawoman. Yeah, they’re even crazier than she is. The only paranormal thing she believes in is the miracle that keeps her rusted out hoopty running. But when her group accidentally releases something truly evil into the world, they are forced to call in reinforcement.

From the moment Josette meets Cadegan, she knows something about him isn’t quite right. And it’s not just because she can’t even begin to pronounce his last name: Maboddimun. Mysterious and armed with lethal sarcasm, he seems a lot older than his apparent age…

Centuries ago, Cadegan sold his soul for vengeance against the betrayer who cursed him. Forced against his will to do good, he hates everything in life. All he wants is a way out. But for the damned there is only eternal suffering. And yet there is something about Josette that intrigues him as much as it irritates and frustrates him. Something he can’t seem to fight, and the last time he felt this way about a woman, it cost him his soul.

He knows he has to stay away from her, but the evil her friends unleashed is hellbent on consuming her soul. Something he cannot allow. If one more innocent is taken, he will be sent back to an unimaginable prison that makes his current hell look like paradise. But how can he keep her safe when his being with her is the greatest threat of all?

Feelings
Who knew demons and the paranormal could be so fun? When I picked out this book, I didn't know I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. This was romance with the sex, fantasy with magic and dragons, and humor what more could I want in a light read?

While this is part of the Dark-Hunter Series, of which there are currently 26 books, I understood the story line without having read any of the other novels. This was the first book by Sherrilyn Kenyon I've read, and I think I will be enjoying more of her books in the future. I can see that I wouldn't want to read her back to back but as a light novel between other books it was a great read.

Jo is funny and stubborn in a way that I found endearing. Cadegan is also a fun character and since we switched back and forth between their points of view it  was nice to have two characters that I liked reading about as the focus of the story.

If you are looking for a book that has fantasy, romance, and humor, I recommend this book. I'm planning on checking out other books by the author.

Review: Skip Beat! Volume 16 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo 
Series: Volume 16 
Pages: 210 
Copyright: 2009 
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC 
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Saving Kyoko from Reino's attack has finally knocked some sense into Sho's head, and he realizes how much he cares for her. But before he can declare his devotion, Ren shows up to ruin the moment. Both men realize that Kyoko has no idea of their true feelings for her and begin a secret battle for her affections!

Feelings:
Ren finds out what happened to Kyoko from Sho and looses it. Kyoko is worried that Ren will no longer want to talk to her, and Ren is worried that Kyoko will fear him.

I enjoyed the change in relationship between the characters. Kyoko is pretty clueless though.

Review: The House of the Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Genre: Adventure Fantasy 
Series: Book One of One Dozen Daughters  
Pages: 300 
Copyright: 2014  
Publisher: A Tor Book 
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
The tiny nation of Swansgaard is a lovely place with abundant natural resources, including the royal family, which has been blessed with twelve daughters and a son. As this boisterous baker's dozen approaches adulthood, the king and queen lovingly tell their daughters, "You must make your own fortune, for we cannot enrich you without impoverishing our people or leaving our lands defenseless, and that we will not do."

Happily, the princesses of Swansgaard are eager to meet this challenge, for they yearn for adventures both near and far from home.

Clarice, an expert swordswoman, is the first to depart. Disguising herself as Clarence, she signs on for a voyage to the New World. The captain is vile and blackhearted, and the crew soon mutinies. Clarice becomes first mate - and finds her heart captured by the new captain, Dominick, who is, to his own surprise, increasingly attracted to Clarence.

Now outlaws, Dominick and his crew turn to piracy - though their hearts are not entirely in it. They soon run afoul of the Pirate Council, who orders them to retrieve the Heart of Light. All who have searched for this great treasure have vanished, with neither ships nor crews ever seen again and no sign of their fates ever discovered.

But none before have carried with them the sorceress Shamal, who stakes a claim of her own on Dominick's heart.

Feelings:
This book says it is Book One of One Dozen Daughters, however, I see no indication that there will be more books to come.

I'm going to admit to doing something when I go to the library to pick books that adds some randomness to what I read. When I don't have a lot of time to look at books or I can't find the book I was looking for, I will pick up the first book I see with a fantasy sticker on the spine. This was such a book. Looking at the cover, I knew it was not going to be the best book I've ever read. Sometimes though reading a book with mediocre writing is alright if the story is interesting. That being said I enjoyed the story, but at times the dialogue felt fake.

Clarice is an interesting character and I enjoyed reading from her point of view. The story starts with her leaving home, and then we skip six months of her adventures to when she decides to book passage on a ship to the New World. She is told that three ships will be leaving soon, and the first two ships she tries to book passage on she finds do not have any room for a passenger. The third ship is not highly recommended but as the only option she books passage on it. While she doesn't like the captain of the ship, she find Dominick, the navigator, enjoyable company and decides if he is sailing on the ship it can't be too bad.

Once out to sea things do not look good though, and Clarice wonders at her choice. This is when the book dragged a bit for me. It wasn't until the second half when they get to the pirate haven that it started to pick up for me, and I started to enjoy it more.

Every once in a while a pirate book can be great fun, and this was that for me. The writing wasn't great, but I did enjoy reading it.

Review: Skip Beat! Volume 15 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Genre: Shoujo
Series: Volume 15
Pages: 210
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!


Sho decides to take the high road rather than confront Vie Ghoul about their theft of his song. But VG frontman Reino doesn't take kindly to being ignored and devises a devious plan to get Sho's attention--he's going after Kyoko! Normally, Kyoko's not the type of girl that needs rescuing. But for some reason, Reino's presence petrifies her. Will Reino's evil scheme work better than anyone imagined?

Feelings:
The cover of this volume is Reino the singer from Vie Ghoul. It took me a while to realize who it was.

Reino is a strange character. However, he adds an interesting element to the story. He stalks Kyoko and causes a situation that could be compromising for Kyoko. Sho intervenes with director Oritaga but it doesn't look good. 

Ren knows something is wrong but since he isn't there he sends his manager, who only finds out part of what happened. 

This volume made me laugh out loud. I am not sure that was the intention, but I enjoyed the laugh.

Review: Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb

Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy #2
Pages:768
Copyright: 2015
Publisher: Del Ray
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Acclaimed and bestselling author Robin Hobb continues her Fitz and the Fool trilogy with this second entry, following Fool’s Assassin, ramping up the tension and the intrigue as disaster continues to strike at Fitz’s life and heart.

After nearly killing his oldest friend, the Fool, and finding his daughter stolen away by those who were once targeting the Fool, FitzChivarly Farseer is out for blood. And who better to wreak havoc than a highly trained and deadly former royal assassin? Fitz might have let his skills go fallow over his years of peace, but such things, once learned, are not so easily forgotten. And nothing is more dangerous than a man who has nothing left to lose…

Feelings:
***Warning this review has spoilers for the previous novel***

FitzChilvalry and the Fool are at odds about how to deal with the Servants. This book picks up exactly were the last book left off and for a while Fitz is unaware of the fact that Bee has been taken. As a reader this added to the tension I felt watching him struggle to be a good father.

We again follow Bee and Fitz. Although, more chapters are dedicated to Fitz's point of view. I liked the alternation and seeing the world from two points of view.

When I write about series, I worry about giving something important about the first book away in my review. To say anything about this plot of this book is impossible without giving away crucial points from the first book. I already ruined the ending if you haven't read the first book. That being said, I recommend looking at the first book in the trilogy, Fool's Assassin, or the first set in this world, Assassin's Apprentice. At the time that I read the start of this trilogy I had not read the Farseer trilogy. I had read the Rain Wild Chronicles. It is beneficial to start at the beginning of the world Robin Hobb creates. The Rain Wild Chronicles stood by themselves, but I wonder how much I missed not having read from the beginning of this world. I intend to go back and start at the beginning. I realize I have drifted from my topic though, so let me get back to my thoughts about Fool's Quest.

The first book in the series covers about 14 years of time. This book covers less than six months. While I enjoyed the first book, this one was a much quicker read. After the first few chapters, the book read very quickly. The slow pace worked for the first novel, and this one benefited from the quicker pace and tension it created.


I liked that this novel developed Perseverance, Lent, and Shun. They served their purpose in the first novel, but now they are becoming people and I really liked seeing them develop.

This was a great second novel, and I highly recommend it. If you are looking for an introduction to Robin Hobb and the world she has created I recommend you start at the beginning. I feel like I missed a lot not starting at the beginning.