Book Review: Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, Vol. 1 by Yuu Watase

Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, Vol. 1 by Yuu Watase is the first volume of this story arch, but is part of a larger story. I have not read the previous parts but was still able to catch on to the story. I think those that know the previous parts will definitely get more out of the read than newcomers, but everyone should be able to enjoy the read. 

The year is 1923. Suzuno Ohsugi’s father, Takao, warns her to stay away from The Universe of the Four Gods, telling her it’s a book that only men can touch. He knows that in order to enact its story, the book needs one last heroine: the Priestess of Byakko! After the Great Kanto Earthquake strikes, Suzuno and Takao are trapped in their burning home. Takao has only one chance to save his young daughter, and that is to send her into The Universe of the Four Gods!

Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki is a manga style graphic novel that does a good job of laying the groundwork for a grand finale, without making this part of the story feel any less important that what happened earilier in the Fushigi Yûgi world.  Suzo's background and trauma over what happens in the first part of this book were really well done, although I struggled a bit with the more 'current' aspects of her life. As a whole I liked the story, there was a good blend of character building, world building, action, and emotion. The artwork matched the story well and kept it moving forward. I wish I had the broader knowledge that would have come from reading the earlier Fushigi Yûgi material, only because I have a feeling that the world building that has gone into the story is even better than this small sliver let me grasp. Of course, my only other issue was that just as big things were starting to come to a head the volume ended, which I should have expected with this adventure/fantasy style of series. It just made me sad to see that I had reached the end, and left me craving the next issue and the time to go back and read the previous story lines.

I think that those that have read the previous parts of the larger Fushigi Yûgi series will definitely want to pick this up, and newcomers might want to give it a look. 

Early Book Review: Storey's Curious Compendium of Practical and Obscure Skills: 214 Things You Can Actually Learn How to Do by How-To Experts at Storey Publishing

Storey's Curious Compendium of Practical and Obscure Skills: 214 Things You Can Actually Learn How to Do by How-To Experts at Storey Publishing is currently scheduled for release on September 15 2020. Readers with a hunger for knowledge and an interest in the myriad ways people have taught themselves to make, grow, and build will discover the ins and outs of how to do everything they’ve ever wondered about in this colorful, inviting volume. With dozens of useful and intriguing visual tutorials that cover how to carve a turkey, capture a swarm of bees, predict the weather by the clouds, darn socks, create a butterfly garden, set up a dog agility course, keep a nature sketchbook, navigate by the stars, and more, this rich compendium will educate, fascinate, spark conversation, and inspire new hobbies and experiences.

Storey's Curious Compendium of Practical and Obscure Skills is exactly what the title states, and is a helpful resource to have in the home, or to check out regularly from the library. I cannot tell you how many times I planned to do something or ran into one of the myriad of problems that come with home ownership and had to quick search up if my ideas of how to do something are right or will only make things worse. Is the solution in my head really something I remember reading or learning somewhere, and is it the best way to go? The variety of things covered in this book cover a wide range of projects, from the expected and fairly common gardening advice to making beer, candles, and herbal tinctures, to training your dog to run an agility course. A little bit of everything is covered- including many things I had never expected. The text and images come together nicely to make all of the instructions clear and concise. It was fun to look through, and I found many interested parts that I sat and studied. I think this is a great resource for every household, and a perfect gift to those striking out on their own for their first time.

Early Book Review: Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First by Luke Reynolds, M.S. Corley

Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First is a children's nonfiction book written by Luke Reynolds, with illustrations by M.S. Corley. It is currently scheduled for release on September 15 2020.

Kids today are under a lot of pressure to succeed, but failure has an important place in life as young people learn how to be a successful person. In his teaching career, Luke Reynolds saw the stress and anxiety his students suffered, whether it was over grades, fitting in, or simply getting things right the first time. Kids will read about a host of inspiring, courageous, and diverse people who have accomplished—or still are accomplishing—big things to make this world a better place. A wide range of stories about Barack Obama, Greta Thunberg, Nick Foles, Emma Gonzalez, Beyoncé, Ryan Coogler, John Cena, Socrates, and even the Jamaican national women’s soccer team, prove that the greatest mistakes and flops can turn into something amazing. In between these fun profiles, Reynolds features great scientists and other pivotal people whose game-changing discovery started as a failure. Each profile includes advice to readers on how to come back from their own flops and move forward to succeed.

Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First is a lovely read that takes the time to encourages readers to find their passion, their major interests, and make the most of it. I really enjoyed the fact that Reynolds pointed out that everyone has failures and stumbling blocks, but sometimes it is what we learn from those moments, and how we react, the help us grow and have the strength we need to succeed in the long run. I also like that the author offered yo his own struggles against expectations and personal interest, I think this helps readers relate even more to the subject and people included in the book. I liked how well the book was researched, and that each sections was annotated with its sources. I liked the additional tidbits about other people that struggled and worked toward change that were included in each section. I found that the people included were nicely varied, without focusing on any one field, gender, or other distinct category. To me this help show that there are a countless numbers of paths or interests that can lead to personal or professional success. It was a good reminder for me, and I learned more about some names I thought I already knew quite well, and some I should have. 

Even More Fantastic Failures True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First is an accessible and well written book that encourages readers to pursue their passions and keep working toward their goals, even when they go against the expectations of others. 

Early Book Review: The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn

The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn is a contemporary romance. Hadley cannot believe she has to go home to Nebraska for her sister’s wedding. She wants a wingman and a whole lot of vodka for this level of family interaction. Her bestie Web agreed he’d man up and help. Too bad he had to catch a different flight, then his plane got delayed, and finally (because bad things always happen in threes) instead of my best friend, his evil twin strolls out of the airport. If you looked up doesn’t-deserve-to-be-that-confident, way-too-hot-for-his-own-good billionaire in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of Will Holt. He’s awful. Horrible. The worst—even if his butt looks phenomenal in those jeans. Ten times worse? My buffer was supposed to be there to keep me away from the million and one family events. But Satan’s spawn just grins and signs us up for every. Single. Thing. Fine. “Cutthroat” Scrabble? I’m in. I can’t wait to take this guy down a notch. But somewhere between Pictionary and the teasing glint in his eyes, our bickering starts to feel like more than just a game.

The Wedding Date Disaster is an enjoyable read with a good number of moments that made me cringe for the characters- in the very best way. Hadley is a planner in the charity circuit, and while she loves her job she does not love the way she is treated. She wants to branch out and start her own business, as soon as money is no longer an issue, but that does not seem in the near future. Her best friend Web, and his twin brother Will, have plenty of money- but Had wants to stand on her own two feet. Sadly, Will has decided that she is a gold digger- and thus the explosive animosity blooms. I loved wanting Hadley and Will both fight the attraction and cling to the animosity they have in order to protect their own hearts. This made the relationship feel like a slow burn, even though the heart of the book takes place in a single week. I also liked that we got the perspectives from both Will and Hadley, it allowed me to have a much fuller picture of how everyone was feeling, and what mistake was coming to throw a wrench in the works. I thought that while the majority of the book was fairly light, the moments that touched on the painful pasts they both had help to make them both more understandable in their fears and coping mechanisms. I just made them more real to me.  I also greatly enjoyed the secondary characters, and hope to read more about Hadley's family and Web at some point in the future. 

The Wedding Date Disaster is a fun enemies to lovers romance with heat and heart. Fans of the author and plenty of "we really shouldn't/ this is a bad idea" will especially enjoy the read.

Audio Book Review: Absolutely Everything!: A History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rulers, Robots and Other Things Too Numerous to Mention by Christopher Lloyd

Absolutely Everything!: A History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rulers, Robots and Other Things Too Numerous to Mention is written and narrated by Christopher Lloyd. Buckle up for an extraordinary ride through the 14-billion year history of absolutely everything! This remarkable story (which is far more amazing than anything you can make up) sweeps through natural history with the creation of planet Earth, the beginning of life, the age of dinosaurs, mass extinctions, and the rise of prehistoric humans. The story then leaps through the ancient civilizations and into medieval times, where wars, revolutions, and scientific inventions reshape the world. Finally, we arrive in the modern age which brings with it new challenges of pollution, climate change, viral pandemics, and much more. How will a world of 8 billion humans survive in the future? 

Absolutely Everything! is fast paced and a fascinating overview of the history and science of our world. LLoyd's narration is very well done. I love audiobooks read by the author, because their excitement about the subject matter often shines through, and that is certainly true in this case. It does not hurt that he just has a wonderful voice, and I think I could listen to Llyod narrate just about anything quite happily.  I found myself stopping the other tasks I was attempting to do while listening, like cleaning or cooking dinner, to give the audio my full attention. It was just such a well done explanation of interesting information- some of which I knew, but most went well beyond what I already understood- and then connected those smaller topics together for a bigger picture.  I was very happy that the chapters were split up the way they were, because that allowed me to investigate and read further on some of the shared information before moving on to the next part. Perfect for car rides, or for inclusion in distance learning or home schooling to help understand the way the world itself was shaped, and the effect we and he rest of the living creatures of the world have on it.

Absolutely Everything! is a wonderful book for all ages. It gives a nice broad understanding of the world and Lloyd's narration is engaging and animated. 

Book Review: Casting Shadows (Magicsmith) by L.R. Braden

Casting Shadows is the forth book in the Magicsmith series by L.R. Braden. I highly recommend reading this series in order. With Purity growing in political power and bigotry on the rise across the Realms, Alex’s short-term goals are to stay under the PTF's radar and as far from the fae Courts as she can. But her plans go up in smoke when May, the younger sister of her good friend Emma, goes missing. The fae are involved. Alex will do everything she can to find May, but to mount a rescue she'll have to avoid PTF raids, conquer old ghosts, and risk coming face to face with her fae grandfather again. War is coming. Lines are being drawn. No one is safe. To survive, Alex will have to choose a side.

Casting Shadows is a nice addition to the series, and although it took me a bit to remember all the details of the past books I was engaged again quickly. The book is just as much about Alex figuring herself out and character growth for her and her closest circle of friends as it is the dangers of rescuing missing kids. Danger seems to be coming from all sides, and Alex's band of friends is just as fractured as the rest of the world. The pressure is on, and one wrong choice could have dire consequences. I like how much of the focus was not about choosing sides necessarily, but figuring out what was most important and how to do right by those you want to protect. 

Casting Shadows is a good continuation of the story with a nice balance of resolutions and warning of more danger to come. Those that have been reading the series will want to continue with this volume, and if you are like me, beyond as it continues.

Early Book Review: Little Bookshop of Murder (Beach Reads Mystery) by Maggie Blackburn

Little Bookshop of Murder is the first book in the Beach Reads Mystery series by Maggie Blackburn and is currently scheduled for release on September 8 2020. Summer Merriweather's career as a Shakespeare professor hangs by a bookbinder's thread. Academic life at her Virginia university is a viper's pit, so Summer spends her summer in England, researching a scholarly paper that, with any luck, will finally get her published, impress the Dean, and save her job. But her English idyll ends when her mother, Hildy, dies from an apparent heart attack. Returning to Brigid's Island, NC, for the funeral, Summer is impatient to settle the estate, sell her mom's embarrassingly romance-themed bookstore, Beach Reads, and go home. But as she drops by Beach Reads, Summer finds threatening notes addressed to Hildy: "Sell the bookstore or die."

Little Bookshop of Murder is a mystery that had some really great moments, but also had some aspects that really fell flat for me. I loved that as a cozy mystery there was no attempt to add a romance arch for Summer. I really works in some stories, but not in others, and I do not think it would have added anything here. I thought parts of Summer's character were very realistic- the academic scholar that looks down on popular literature- even though most of the classics were the popular literature of its day. I have run into that attitude from teachers, librarians, and others just as often as those like myself that have the attitude of Hildy that as long as people are reading (and enjoying what they are reading) the particulars are not terribly important.  Parts of the mystery were very nicely done, as were a good number of he secondary characters. However, there were moments that missed for me. There were hints about the killer from the very start, enough so that I knew something was up with them though the entire book and I never really swayed from that or was surprised by them. I kept waiting for that bookclub meeting to happen, because it was talked about so much, and for it to be the big reveal. I kept waiting for some big dramatic something, and there was, but by the time it happened I was just waiting to see if the killer ended up dead or if the police would take them in but I was no longer invested. I just wanted to see the wrap up.

Little Bookshop of Murder is a decent mystery, but I was not invested or overly impressed.

Early Book Review: Wild Style: Amazing Animal Adornments by Jenna Grodzicki

Wild Style: Amazing Animal Adornments by Jenna Grodzicki is currently scheduled for release on September 1 2020. What do a crab waving pom-poms, a bug with a backpack of dead ants, and a mud-spattered vulture have in common? Meet animals including crabs in sponge hats, caddisfly larvae wearing suits of armor, lacewing larvae dressing up with jewelry to hide themselves from ladybug predators in this fun and fascinating photo book!

Wild Style is a book that balances wonderful photography of animals showing off the ways they adorn their body for protection, comfort, hunting, and more. The pictures are bright and bold, and worth looking at all on their own. The text is well written, sharing interesting information in accessible terms and phrasing. I learned some things, and think that young readers (and their adults) will get a great deal from this read and want to revisit it on occasion.

Audio Book Review: Playing To Win (Ice Kings) by Stacey Lynn, Narrated by Liam DiCosimo, Stella Hunter

 Playing To Win is the first book in the Ice Kings series written by Stacey Lynn and narrated by Liam DiCosimo and Stella Hunter. It was a three-week fling. Nothing more than a couple of college kids having some fun, but then I did the stupid thing and fell for Jude Taylor quicker than he can score a goal on the ice. And after one beautiful night together, he left for the pros before I could make my first cup of coffee. I thought I’d put him behind me. I thought I’d moved on. Then he hobbles into my physical therapy office and I realize how absolutely wrong I’ve been - there’s no getting over Jude Taylor. But now things are complicated. Jude lives half a country away and his career is in direct opposition to my need for stability. Most of all, getting involved with him could mean losing my job and everything I’ve worked so hard for. Jude doesn’t seem to mind one bit and he’s all in. He might be a patient in my office, but he’s no longer the patient guy I remember.

Playing To Win is the third or fourth book I have read (or listened to) from this author. I rarely listen to romance, usually choosing to read rather than listen, but the narrators might have made me a bit more willing to listen, at least with my headphones though maybe not in my car. I enjoyed the voice work and thought the tension and emotions were well done, and I really enjoyed the effect of dual narrators. I liked the characters, and the build up of their story. Second chance romances are not my favorite trope, but when done well they are fantastic and this story does it well. Jude is a good guy that just happens to be a hockey player. He fell hard for Kate, but just when he had his chance with her he made it pro in hockey and it never had a chance to grow. Now they have another chance, but her career may be on the line and fears about his injury bringing his career to an end way too early are huge obstacles that need to be faced.  I really enjoyed them finding their way back to each other, and I liked the secondary characters. I felt like there was plenty of room left for this series to continue with more books. My biggest complaint was not finding out why two of the secondary characters seem to dislike others with no explanation, and why a couple I am sure will have their own book soon are clinging so hard to just being friends. I fully expect to keep following this series just to see if I get those answers.

Playing To Win is an entertaining and engaging romance novel, fans of second chance romance and sports romance will particularly enjoy it. 

Early Book Review: Best Laid Plaids (Kilty Pleasures) by Ella Stainton

Best Laid Plaids is the first book in the Kilty Pleasures series by Ella Stainton and is currently scheduled for release on August 31 2020. In Scotland, 1928, Dr. Ainsley Graham is cultivating a reputation as an eccentric. Two years ago, he catastrophically ended his academic career by publicly claiming to talk to ghosts. When Joachim Cockburn, a WWI veteran studying the power of delusional thinking, arrives at his door, Ainsley quickly catalogs him as yet another tiresome Englishman determined to mock his life’s work. But Joachim is tenacious and open-hearted, and Ainsley’s intrigued despite himself. He agrees to motor his handsome new friend around to Scotland’s most unmistakable hauntings. If he can convince Joachim, Ainsley might be able to win back his good name and then some. He knows he’s not crazy-- he just needs someone else to know it, too. Joachim is one thesis away from realizing his dream of becoming a psychology professor, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, not even an enchanting ginger with a penchant for tartan and lewd jokes. But as the two travel across Scotland’s lovely-- and definitely, definitely haunted-- landscape, Joachim’s resolve starts to melt. And he’s beginning to think that an empty teaching post without the charming Dr. Graham would make a very poor consolation prize indeed. 

Best Laid Plaids is a book that left me with mixed feelings. I really liked the set up, the characters, and much of how everything happened. I thought that Ainsley's character was very well done, and I liked how open and directly neuro diversity was handled. I was equally pleased with Joachim's character and the way he dealt with the aftermath of war and trying to figure out his future. I liked that consent was covered, and how honestly the mistakes, concerns, and fears the two of them had were dealt with. I liked the secondary characters as well, and think the balance of personalities was well done. However, for some reason this felt like a very slow read for me. I liked it, but was fully able to put the book down and delay getting back to it without feeling that drive to see what happened next. I am not sure what it was about the style that just did not capture me, because all of the actual story elements worked. It was something in the voice or writing style that I could not connect with, but I cannot put my finger on what it was. I did like the read, it just did not capture me the way I expected it to. 

Best Laid Plaids is a solid romance with several layers to the love story. It had a number of great elements, but never grabbed my attention completely.