The series is gearing towards the end with this fifth volume, but
the story didn’t slow down at all. The contrary. After the cliffhanger ending
of the previous book, the start of this one was a bit of a let-down. It skipped
the action scene straight to the aftermath. Unsurprisingly, He Yu and Xie
Qingcheng survive. The plotline in the remote village, which was mostly
diversion anyway, is dropped and the men return home.
Xie Qingcheng believes that he and He Yu
should stay apart from now on. The upset triggers another mental episode in He
Yu, and this time he finally tells Xie Qingcheng that it’s caused by emotional
turmoil. He confesses his love to Xie Qingcheng who doesn’t believe him. But it
has the benefit of calming He Yu. He claims he’ll win Xie Qingcheng’s heart and
proceeds to date him. It’s no use.
They still need to find cure for Xie Xue’s
illness. A death of yet another actress involved in the movie production points
clearly at the producer whose name has popped up several times in their
investigation. Convinced that the source of the drug that caused Xie Xue’s
illness is the producer, the men set out to break into his compound. They find
many surprises there and get unexpected help too. That leads to a great showdown.
But the mysterious organisation acts before their secrets are revealed.
Not all is lost for the men though. They
have the drug and can create the antidote to cure Xie Xue. And the events at
the compound make Xie Qingcheng realise that He Yu might be serious about his
declaration of love. The book ends before we learn if it has permanent impact
on him. At any rate, it might be too late. Xie Qingcheng is holding several
secrets from He Yu—and the reader.
This was a good volume, with the plot
advancing on all fronts. There were no sex scenes of questionable consent or otherwise;
the men got along, and the impossible, Xie Qingcheng having a change of heart
about He Yu, happened. There was a good twist about the identity of one
villain, and some good diversion about the identity of another. But they aren’t any closer to catching the
mastermind. There are at least two more books to come, but I’m not sure it’ll
be enough to unravel the final mystery.
May turned out to be a surprising reading
month, partly because I struggled with getting into a reading mood, and partly because
I ended up reading books that weren’t on my list. I read five books and 18
manga, on the paper at least. Three of the manga/manhwa I’d read already before,
but only reviewed them in May.
Of the five novels I read, only one was a
review ARC, although I had a couple of others I was unable to finish for
various reasons. The ARC was for The Vengeance by Emma Newman, which was an ok
read that I ended up giving four stars to, though in hindsight it was maybe
more of a three-star book. After that, I read Love Between Fairy and Devil by Jiu
Lu Fei Xiang, which turned out to be completely different from the TV series
based on it, but equally good.
On the last week of May, I medicated my
reading slump with the two latest Stephanie Plum novels that I found in the
library and so weren’t on my list, Dirty Thirty and Now or Never. I’m now
almost caught up with the series. I’ve skipped book 29 as I was unable to
finish it back when it came out. They’re easy comfort reads and suited my mood
this time round.
I finished the month by a short historical
queer romance Copper Script by KJ Charles, which I only learned about a couple
of weeks earlier, so it wasn’t on my list for this month. I decided to read it right
away, and I’m glad I did. It was a great read despite its short length. The review
was written in June, but I count the book to May reads, as I finished it before
the month changed.
For my own pleasure I read manga vol. 14 of
The Apothecary Diaries by Nekokurage & Natsu Hyuuga. I’ve been reading it
on MangaUP! the publisher’s official site and could’ve reviewed it earlier, but
I kept hoping there would be more chapters published, which there hasn’t been
since March. The book version won’t come out until October. Solo Leveling vol 12 by singNsong came out in May, so I reviewed it this month, though I’ve already
completed the series on Tappytoon, which is the official webtoon publisher.
Also published in May was I Ship My Rival x Me vol. 3 by Pepa. This manhua I’ve
read in full too on an unofficial site, as the official publisher BiliBili
doesn’t support English content anymore. It’s only published on paperback, and
while I love the story, I’m not entirely happy with the print quality.
I read ten review copies of manga. Here
they are in the order they came out. Tune In to the Midnight Heart 1 by Masakuni
Igarashi was a cute high school manga about a boy on a mission to find a radio
host whose voice he used to love. Pink Heart Jam beat vol. 1 by Shikke is a
follow-up series of a BL romance about two college students. Palace of the Omega vol. 2 by Fumi Tsuyuhisa concluded the rather boring and a bit icky
omegaverse romance. Merry Witches’ Life vol 1 by Menota was a cute and cozy
story about grief. Cosmos vol. 1 by Ryuhei Tamura was a good start to a series
about a high school boy who can smell lies and gets recruited to an alien
insurance company.
The Villainess Is a Marionette vol. 1 by Manggle
is a double transmigration fantasy manhwa of a villainess trying to change her
fate. Murderous Lewellyn’s Candlelit Dinner vol. 1 by Muk_Bu is a very creepy
story of a young man who realises his neighbour might be a murderer yet can’t
do anything about it. String by Paul Tobin is fun and action-packed story of a
young woman who can see connections between murderers and victims as strings. Spacewalking with You 1 by Inuhiko Doronoda is an absolutely wonderful story of autism and
being different and making friends and being accepted as you are. Cat + Crazy vol 1 by Wataru Nadatani is a fun story about a school boy obsessed with cats and
his quest to become a cat-whisperer.
For my own amusement, I read Punks Triangle
by Yuho Okita, a sweet BL story of two fashion students, one of whom isn’t who
he seems. My Classmate Ren-kun is Kinda Scary by Kusege is another stand-alone
BL romance of two high school boys who don’t realise they’re in love. I read volumes
1 and 2 of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun by Izumi Tsubaki. It’s a fun slice of life
high school comedy of a manga artist and a girl who has a crush on him, available on MangaUP!. I also
read The World After the Fall vol 1 by Undead Gamja & singNsong. It’s a
manhwa by the same author as Solo Leveling, but it wasn’t as interesting as SL.
I probably won’t continue with it. Official version is available on Webtoon.
So, a great reading month. I read a lot of
web manga beside these, mostly to medicate the reading slump. I’ll likely
review all of those at some point too. June is already geared to be a busy
month, so here’s hoping I don’t fall into another reading slump.
Copper Script is a stand-alone historical
queer romance with a dab of mystery. It takes place in 1920s London and
features Aaron Fowler, a detective sergeant in the Metropolitan Police, and
Joel Wildsmith, a self-taught graphologist with an uncanny skill at
understanding a person’s character through their handwriting. Both men are in
their late twenties and veterans of the Great War, where Joel has lost his left,
dominant, hand. Both are also gay at a time when that could land them in prison.
The two come in touch when Aaron’s cousin
asks him to check Joel for fraud, having lost his fiancé because of Joel’s
character assessment of him. Under a false name, armed with three letters, Aaron
asks Joel to give assessments of each person. The results stun him, not least
because one of the letters was written by him. Unable to leave be, he devices a
blind test for Joel about an ongoing case. Not only does Joel call the perp, he
tells that one of the writers is a very bad person. Unfortunately for Aaron,
that letter was one of the control letters and belongs to a person he knows.
Joel is a graphologist because that’s the
only way he’s able to support himself and work towards buying a better prosthetic
hand than the government is willing to give him. He doesn’t trust the police—or
Aaron—ecause a cop had tricked him into a sexual act, which had landed him in
prison for two months. But when he reads Aaron’s letter, he’s instantly
interested in the man, and aroused by him too. He knows he should push the
other man away, but can’t help doing the opposite.
The mystery isn’t a typical whodunnit, and it
doesn’t dominate the story. Aaron knows who; he doesn’t know the crime. He has
a hunch though, as he tries to solve a death of a private investigator. The
more he investigates, the greater the pressure on him to leave be becomes. But
when the pressure lands on Joel too in the form of the biggest crime
organisation in London, he knows he must do something. Problem is how to do it
without ruining their reputations, landing them in prison—or losing their
lives.
This was an excellent novella. It’s not
long; sixteen chapters and a little over 200 pages on my e-reader. But it tells
a complete, satisfying story of love that needs to be kept hidden, but which is
so strong it’s worth the risks. Aaron and Joel were wonderful characters, with
Aaron having a more complex backstory. Joel was more at ease with being gay,
even though he had lost a lot because of it. He’s more emotional of the two,
but with equally strong character as Aaron; a survivor willing to keep surviving.
Aaron has had it easier in life to an extent, but he has maybe more to lose if
they’re discovered.
Like always in KJ Charles’ books, the
historical setting is well-researched and comes alive in small details. The
solution to the men’s problems was maybe easily achieved, and mostly done
behind the scenes, but it was satisfying. The ending isn’t necessarily a
happily ever after, but it is a chance for the men to achieve it. All in all, a
great small read.
Now or Never, or Thirty-one on the Run, is
book 31 in Stephanie Plum series, and I went and read it right after the
previous one. Pulled an over-nighter with it even, so it was entertaining enough. Then
again, these books aren’t very long.
For once, the book began where the previous
ended, a few days later. Not that the author always remembered that there wasn’t
as long a gap between the events as there was between books, and the characters
spoke of events of the previous book like they’d taken place long ago. For
example, Lula is ‘still’ dating a guy she met in the previous book, which was
less than a week ago. Even with her dating history, dating a man for a week isn’t
that great a surprise.
But at least the previous events were
acknowledged, which doesn’t happen often with these books that seem to exist in
their own vacuums. Stephanie’s sister, Valerie, who barely gets a mention throughout
the series, even makes an appearance. I did call it though, that Stephanie
would return to her apartment where she was evicted from at the end of the
previous book. It would’ve been too much of a change for a series where nothing ever
changes if she’d moved.
Stephanie’s big dilemma was introduced from
the outset: she said yes to both Ranger and Morelli when they proposed, and didn’t’
tell either of them about the other proposal. As an added complication, there’s
a fear of a contraceptive failure. Apparently she’d gone to bed with both men—which
didn’t happen on page, not even a hint—and doesn’t want to commit to either of
them before she knows for sure if she’s pregnant. So, in her typical fashion,
she ignores the problem and concentrates on catching skips.
The collection of FTAs is fairly
entertaining and keeps Stephanie and Lula busy for days. Like so often, the one
that seems on the outset to be the most dangerous of them turned out to be less
so, even if he was difficult to catch. The other skips would’ve been easier to
apprehend if Stephanie wasn’t such a pushover, constantly giving them leeway. The
most dangerous FTA is the one who they thought would be a harmless fool.
Stephanie needs a lot of help to finally capture him.
The comedic relief comes in the form of
Stephanie’s old schoolmate who after a brief hello decides they’re now dating
and won’t leave her alone. But since he does nice things for her, like
redecorates her firebombed apartment and gets her a TV, she finds it difficult
to get rid of him.
What makes this book stand out are two
major changes for Stephanie that’ll have an impact later. One, she finally
learned how to shoot, thanks to Ranger who put his foot down and made her. Her
unwillingness to touch firearms has been a running gag in the series. She even
gets to put her new skill to use.
And the biggest change of all: Stephanie
finally chooses between her suitors.
It happens out of page, which was bit of a
let-down, but while her relationships with her men have been a staple
throughout the series, they’re not the main focus, so it can be forgiven that
it doesn’t steal the stage. The reader has to wait until the very end to find
which one it is. The choice isn’t surprising.
This wasn’t the last book, as indicated by ‘not
the end’ at the end. I hope that this will turn out to be a new start for Stephanie, to freshen up the formula,
but I’m fairly sure things will continue as they’ve always been. There’s a bet
of box of donuts that her marriage won’t last more than two months. We’ll see
how that goes.
It’s book number 30 in the series, thirty
years of Stephanie Plum. I’ve been reading the series almost as long, which doesn’t make
me feel as old as it should. Stephanie definitely hasn’t aged. Technology has followed the date though (hence the wholly unironical covid masks here), and isn’t stuck in the mid-nineties where the books should take place.
Everything else has stayed pretty much the same
for thirty years. The formula of Stephanie and Lula going after FTAs with more
determination than skill works, so why change. You’d think that in all this
time they’d learned something, but not so much, although Stephanie’s started to
taze the difficult skips first and ask questions later. It turns out to be an
improvement, and the duo manages to bring in quite a number of FTAs without
much damage to their person. Stephanie’s car obviously suffers. How else could
she get a loaner from Ranger.
The zaniness that took over the books
somewhere during the mid-point, has been toned down recently, which is a return
to earlier books. Grandma barely does anything silly, and the comedic reliefs are
a helpful graverobber and Morelli’s dog Bob, neither of which is over the top
silly. Even Lula’s Grendel stalker turns out to have an almost normal
explanation. The real bad guy is, like in all books, fairly deadly and causes
great damage, but, like always, a bit of an afterthought within everything else
that is going on.
The two men in Stephanie’s life are the
same too: Morelli and Ranger. This time, Morelli is out of town, giving Ranger
time to make his move. And he manages to surprise both Stephanie and the
reader. And when Morelli returns, he manages to pull the same move. It only
took the men thirty years to get there. It seems though, that Stephanie still
needs another decade or two to choose between them.
But she’ll need to change something,
because after all these years, several break-ins and a couple of fires,
Stephanie has to give up her apartment. Will she choose to move in with one of
her suitors? Or will this be one of those story-lines that disappear by the
next book, like so often? I guess I’ll have to read on to find out.
Despite all the sameness, this book managed
to get me out of a reading slump, which I’ll count in its great favour, hence the four-star rating. Maybe I’ll
even go back and read the previous book in the series, which I couldn’t finish.
Not because it’s necessary to read it to understand the subsequent books, but
to keep my thirty-year run intact.
This is the original novel on which the TV series of the same name is based. However, as becomes clear already from the
description, the original and adaptation share the premise and that’s about it.
The two stories are completely different. So, if you’re looking for something
that deepens the story of the TV adaptation, this isn’t it. The two are so different that there’s no point in trying to compare them either. (There's also an animated version that appears to follow the plot of the book more faithfully, but I haven’t watched it myself.)
The start of the book is maybe the weakest
point of the story and very vague about how events have unfolded before the
opening scene. Demon Lord Dongfang Qingcang has resurrected after a hundred
thousand years, having been bested by Lady of the Scarlet Wastes, the god of
war, and immediately captured by the officials of the heavenly realm. But he
has had time to take a hostage, an orchid fairy Xiao Lanhua, and forced her to
switch souls with him, so that he occupies her body and vice versa. He then
uses her mouth to convince the troops that she’ll spend the rest of eternity
imprisoned with him to make sure he never escapes.
He escapes, of course, and there’s nothing Xiao
Lanhua can do, as she’s behind bars inside Dongfang Qingcang’s body. But as she
tries to prevent him from leaving, she accidentally destroys her own body. Now
the Demon Lord’s soul has escaped and she’s trapped inside his body with no
body of her own to return to. So, out of options, she heads to the ghost realm
to find his soul. She finds it, but when he tries to take his body back, she
refuses to leave until he provides her with a new body.
The first volume is about the two of them travelling
mostly in the mortal realm looking for a suitable body for her. But she soon
realises he has an agenda of his own and he’s only helping her because it
temporarily aligns with his interests. They get into hairy situations, and despite
his better judgement, he finds himself saving her time and again. But he
betrays her equally often, and by the time the first volume ends, the two are
still together only because she’s managed to force his hand to keep her alive.
The first volume isn’t much of a romance,
but it’s a good start to that direction. Dongfang Qingcang starts—and continues—as
a truly evil character, but the presence of Xiao Lanhua, first inside his body
and later with her own, starts changing him, and he occasionally finds himself
doing things to please her—in his own fashion. She has no romantic feelings
about him either, and the volume ends with her wholly disillusioned about him.
I liked this story very much. It didn’t
matter that it didn’t match the adaptation. It’s fast-paced, funny, and well-written.
The stakes are high from the start and they don’t lessen by the end of the
volume. I didn’t miss the side-plots and other characters that filled the
adaptation. The two were enough to carry the story. I liked Xiao Lanhua
especially. She was strong and resourceful and not a clueless, wide-eyed
creature wholly at the mercy of Dongfang Qingcang like in the adaptation, even when she was at his
mercy. And he was truly evil and selfish, not just posturing.
The ending wasn’t a cliffhanger as such,
but it doesn’t conclude anything either. The story has only begun and I really
have to find out how this original version continues from here.
The Vengeance starts The Vampires of Dumas
series, which I find both an intriguing and a slightly misleading series name. Vampires
barely make an appearance, and it isn’t set in Dumas’ own time either. But it is inspired
by his novels set centuries before, in the era of musketeers and swashbuckling
pirates.
The book starts as a pirate story. Morgaine
is a daughter of a female pirate captain sailing in the Caribbean. She’s lived
her entire life at sea and loves it, and knows nothing of her mother’s life
back in France. But on her deathbed, her mother makes a confession that sends
her reeling—and heading across the ocean to France.
Morgaine isn’t her daughter. The real
mother has searched for her for twenty years and she needs Morgaine’s help.
Fired up by her anger towards the fake mother, but also anger towards the
person who ordered her death, she sails to France to rescue her mother and
avenge the death of the woman she thought of as her mother.
She is wholly unprepared for the polite
society. But so is the society unprepared for her. And she isn’t given a chance
to find her land legs. People are after her, trying to kidnap her left and
right. One of them succeeds. He claims to be her father, and tells her not to
go after her mother. She doesn’t listen.
Joining her on her quest is a young woman,
Lisette, whom Morgaine’s father has hired as her (much needed) governess. Together,
they go to see and rescue Morgaine’s mother. But things aren’t at all like she
had imagined. And it may turn out that the one person she needs revenge on is
the one she wanted to connect with.
This was a good, complete story, and clearly a
stand-alone. Either there are different characters in the next book, like often
in Ms Newman’s series, or Morgaine’s next adventure will be something completely
different. It wasn’t a long book though, and the pacing was a bit off.
Too much time was spent on the voyage to France, even though it didn’t affect the story in any way. And the book was closer to 70% mark before the women headed out to find Morgaine’s
mother. That journey was mostly skipped, even though it had a great impact on the endgame. Perhaps the story wasn’t meant to conclude here originally, with maybe the second book about the events with Morgaine’s mother, which would explain the pacing.
Biggest sufferer was the relationship
between Morgaine and Lisette, which happened sort of behind the scenes. One
minute it didn’t exist and the next it was there. It was lovely that the women
found each other, but if you’re reading this for a romance, heightened emotions
and angst, that won’t be there.
The supernatural element was sidelined too.
If there hadn’t been the series title revealing it, I wouldn’t have expected it
when it emerged around 65% mark. It would’ve been an excellent plot twist. Now,
I kept expecting it the entire book and was a little disappointed with how long
it took. But we got an intriguing glimpse and I hope the follow-ups will dwell
in the supernatural world more.
The ending was a bit hasty, and the reader
is left with many questions about the other players who wanted to kidnap
Morgaine, and what their agenda was. It was slightly too convenient as well,
but it was done on Morgaine’s terms, and it was good. The writing was great and kept me engaged. I’d read more of this series, whether it’s about her or other characters.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange
for an honest review.
April wasn’t quite as hectic a reading
month for me as March was. I finished five novels and ten manga. Three of the novels were
review copies and of those, A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennet was
by far the best. The second Ana and Din mystery set in a very unique world is maybe the best novel of the year so far. (Click the book title for my review.) In comparison,
I liked A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang considerably less, mostly because I
found it under-developed. Saint Death’s Herald by C.S.E. Cooney was good, but
not as mind-blowing as the first book in the series. Still, I’d read more.
I also read two novels for myself, both of
them Chinese boylove novels. Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory Vol. 1 by Fei Tian
Ye Xiang is a contemporary romance set in an imaginary Chinese city, and it was a
good start to a series. You’ve Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post Vol. 3 by
Blackegg continued the historical series with a volume that was maybe the best
so far.
I read eight manga review copies. Among
them were three follow-ups. Worst Soulmate Ever: Proposal by Haruta is the
second volume about a dysfunctional alpha-omega couple who despite their
constant arguing manage to tie the knot. Tokyo Alien Bros., Vol. 2 by Keigo
Shinzo is about two aliens trying unsuccessfully to assimilate among humans as
they are scouting the earth for potential invasion. The second volume was better
than the first. Firefly Wedding, Vol. 2 by Oreco Tachibana continues the story of
a kidnapped heiress stuck on an island of prostitutes with her kidnapper. It’s
still not my favourite series, but the second volume was better than the first.
Ask and You Will Receive by Niyama was a very
good start of a gay romance about two men, one of whom doesn’t know he’s gay
and another who can’t stand the first. I’ll definitely continue with this one. A Vampire in the Bathhouse by Niko Izuki was a sweet story of a found family. No
romance yet, though that may come later.
Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards 1 by Masamitsu
Nigatsu was a bit boring and a lot violent high school romance about a secret
daughter of a yakuza boss who is surrounded by a class full of bodyguards. The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé 1 by Fumito was a fun and very awkward comedy
romance of an older man suffering from erectile dysfunction and a younger man
who admires him. The romance didn’t really get anywhere here as the older man
doesn’t know he’s gay.
I also had a review copy for an unofficial
BTS biopic that was so bad I had to stop reading, so I won’t mention the maker.
And I read a manhwa that I wish I’d stopped reading: Lady Devil, Vol. 1 by Choco
FUKI. It’s an unapologetic romance based on incest between twins, on top of
which the story is really stupid, boring and badly written. I don’t recommend it.
Luckily, I had a couple of manga that I read
for myself and really loved. My favourite feel-good manga, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity by Saka Mikami, has reached sixth volume. Here, Rintaro and
Kaoruko, the two sweetest protagonists, finally start dating. And I read Tanaka-kun Is Always Listless vol 1 by Nozomi Uda. It’s a fun slice of life high school
comedy about a boy who has absolutely no energy and dedicates his life for
finding ways to avoid everything. I’m reading it on MangaUp! and there are no
English versions published yet. I’ve caught up with the story there, so I’ve probably
read at least half of the 13 volumes out in Japanese so far, but I’ll only list
the first one here.
I’ve caught up with The Apothecary Diaries
on MagnaUp! too and will add vol 14 soon, as I didn’t have time to add it in April. I’ve
read other manga there this month as well that don’t have published versions
in any language yet, like the fun high school romance Otaku x Gal by 138neco and
Souchu. I’ll list those if they ever get Goodreads entries.
So, a fun reading month again, despite the
couple of misses. Stay tuned for more.
The second book in Saint Death series
(trilogy?) took its time to arrive. The first book, Saint Death’s Daughter (2022), blew my mind and I was
eagerly waiting for the follow-up. In many ways, it was worth the wait. In
others, a slight let down.
Miscellaneous Stone, the best and only
necromancer in the world, is on a hunt for her great-grandfather Irradiant Stone’s
ghost. Problem is, he’s a necromancer too, even if not alive anymore, and her
teacher, so he’s not easy to catch. She’s followed his trail towards north. She
knows he’ll head to Skakhmat where he has unfinished business of genocide kind
to take care of.
She’s accompanied by Duantri, the gyrfalcon
lady bodyguard, and Stripes, the tiger rug she accidentally brought to life in
the previous book, and—once Grandpa Rad abandons his body—Cracchen
Skrathmandan, the once enemy who is now filled with spirits of dead Skakhmat wizards
bent on revenging on Grandpa Rad.
The hunt is difficult, but they almost
catch Grandpa Rad several times, only for him to pull a disappearance act by
jumping to a different body. It becomes especially difficult to best him when
he finds the city of skinchangers and can become anything he wants after
jumping to them. But she’s not above asking for help, from her gods and friends
alike, and eventually they manage to best him.
This was a very straightforward book from
start to finish: find Grandpa Rad and lay his spirit to rest. No side quests,
no distractions from subplots. And while it worked as a story, with good twists
and action scenes, it was not quite compelling enough to hold my full interest.
It took me over a week to finish this as I kept putting it down.
The first book had two elements that made
it one of the best reads of the year it came out. One was Lanie as an underdog,
trying to prevail against her murderous family in a very macabre house. The other
was the found family of her brother-in-law Makkovian and his daughter Datu, and
the falcon ladies Tanaliín and Duantri.
Here Lanie and Duantri were mostly alone,
with brief visits from the rest of the family or chapters from their point of
view showing what they were doing elsewhere. Mak is on a pilgrimage that he
apparently can’t abandon for his sister, and for some reason Tanaliín needs to
stay with him and Datu, which strains her bond with Duantri. Mak is the third
in their relationship, so they both pine after Duantri, but that’s as emotional
as it gets.
The narrative was from several points of
view, unlike the first book which was mostly from Lanie’s. Most of the time,
they didn’t add anything to the story as such. They only seemed to highlight
the fact that Lanie didn’t have enough to do in her own story to carry it like the first book. Even the final
battle is mostly from other characters’ points of view.
But the biggest reason why this wasn’t as
compelling is that Lanie is now overwhelmingly powerful. She’s not the underdog;
she’s the final boss. And I never find characters like that interesting. She had
no true enemies throughout the story to keep the reader fearing and rooting for
her. Even Grandpa Rad was merely fleeing. She never had to face a true
opposition like in the first book, where everything was stacked against her.
For every problem, she had a larger-than-life
solution, or a literal deus ex machina in the form of her goddess, Saint Death. Even
when her friend, Haaken Skrathmandan, rushes in to a rescue, he shows up with a
flying tower he’s only now learned how to create. It’s nice that things go
well, but it’s not very interesting if a reader knows everything’s going to be all
right from the start.
That being said, this was a well-written,
good book; cozy rather than gothic. Lanie was as lovely as before and endearing in her enthusiasm about
bones. The ending was good and open enough that there will hopefully be more
books. Something was building between Lanie and Haaken, and while he’s not my
favourite love interest, (Mak would’ve been better, but he’s happy in his
threesome) and he wasn’t as interesting a character as in the first
book, it’s something to look forward to.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
Riverbay Road Men's Dormitory by Fei Tian Ye Xiang
Riverbay Road Men's Dormitory is a
contemporary BL novel by Fei Tian Ye Xiang, the author of historical xianxia
BLs, of which I’ve started Dinghai Fusheng Records and Legend of Exorcism. It’s
set in a large Chinese city and focuses on lives of five men that come together
by chance.
Zhang Yuwen is a wealthy man in his late
twenties who for some reason that isn’t really understandable decides to
abandon a career on a rise as a film director and become an author, for which
it turns out he has no true skill. His publisher tells him directly that his
characters are not realistic.
He comes up with a brilliant idea. Since he
owns a large mansion where he lives alone, he decides to rent out four rooms
cheaply and observe his lodgers in order to learn about real people. He chooses
only gay men, being gay himself. He thinks he’s chosen them carefully, but he
mostly went with their looks. Turns out, all of them have something to hide.
The biggest lie is told by Zhang Yuwen
himself. He doesn’t want to disclose he’s rich, so he tells the house belongs
to someone else and he’s only a caretaker. He goes to great lengths to maintain
the lie.
Yan Jun is an office worker with a fairly
steady income. He tells Zhang Yuwen he occasionally needs to take care of his baby
niece, hiding the fact that that he’s her guardian and the child lives with him
permanently. Obviously, Zhang Yuwen soon finds out the truth.
Zheng Weize is the youngest of the lot at
22. He tells Zhang Yuwen he’s a college student, but he’s never attended and he
supports himself, unsuccessfully, with live streaming. He’s in constant need of
money and caring attention.
Chen Hong is 29 and moments away from
having to close his gym business, but he doesn’t disclose his financial
troubles. For him too, cheap housing comes as a saving. Last tenant is Chang
Jinxing, a photographer without a steady income. He’s the most handsome of the
lot and knows it himself. He pretends to be successful and educated and is neither.
Because of the lies, it takes a while for
the group to become comfortable with each other. But Chen Hong is good at forming
groups by activating them. He takes them laser tagging and hiking and very soon
they start to become a family. A family who needs love and sex and lusts after
each other and eventually falls for one or more of them.
Zhang Yuwen has forbidden them from hooking
up with one another. But that doesn’t stop emotions from forming. Most of them
fall for Zhang Yuwen or Chang Jinxing. Things change though, when a straight
guy the group meets in one of their outings, Huo Sichen, turns out to be gay and
he and Zhang Yuwen hook up. Drama starts to climax during a New Year’s stay at
a resort, but the book ends before we learn what comes of it.
This was a good start to a series. It’s
told from several points of view, so we get a good understanding of everyone. The
characters with their lies and needs were interesting and easy to root for,
even Chang Jinxing. I wanted all of them to find their love and each man seemed
to suit everyone else, one way or another. But I think the pairings that began
to form here are only the beginning, and everything will change several times
during the story.
Author’s views of relationships and sex, gay
and straight, were rather odd, based on stereotypes and stiff traditions. These
views were repeated and rehashed constantly throughout the story and they were
rather annoying, something that would get the story trashed by readers if it
was written by a western author. It lessened my enjoyment of the story a
little, but not so much that I would abandon it. I have to know what will
become of all characters and if they will find their happily ever afters.
You've Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post by Blackegg
Volume 3 sees Wu Xingzi leave Guan Shanjin
so that the latter can be happy with Mr. Lu, and head to the nation’s capital.
He’s helped on his journey by Hei-er, who’s acting as Wu Xingzi’s bodyguard on Guan
Shanjin’s orders—not that Wu Xingzi knows about it—and Mr. Rancui, the
proprietor of the local peng society. He’s eager for Wu Xingzi to forget Guan
Shanjin and so he introduces him to Ping Yifan, a successful merchant. The man
is almost perfect down to his pengornis and scent that is very much like Guan
Shanjin’s. It doesn’t take long for Wu Xingzi to decide that he’s going to
spend the rest of his life with Ping Yifan.
But Wu Xingzi can’t entirely escape seeing Guan
Shanjin in the capital, often in the company of Mr. Lu. Guan Shanjin is very
busy with unravelling the origins of the treasonous plot that he took care of
at the Horse Face city. It turns out the perpetrator is no other than Wu Xingzi’s
long lost love, Yan Wenxin, now an important minister. And it appears Yan Wenxin
knows of Wu Xingzi’s connection with Guan Shanjin, because he seeks Wu Xingzi out,
ostensibly to reminisce, but obviously to influence him.
Wu Xingzi, usually very placid and
forgiving person, isn’t that easy to persuade though. He’s very loyal to Guan
Shanjin and knows him very well. So well, that he’s seen through Guan Shanjin’s
ruse: he’s in fact Ping Yifan in disguise. The two clear the air between them.
They just can’t be together until the plot against the emperor has been solved.
It’s not going well for Guan Shanjin though, and the emperor has him arrested. But
Wu Xingzi won’t sit idle and do nothing to help. The book ends before we learn
how his plan will work.
This was somewhat different from the
earlier two books. The plot is stronger and dominates the narrative, with the
romance at the back. It does have some very good moments though, even if it
relies on the excellence of some very odd masks. The sex scenes are fewer and
less over the top. Guan Shanjin comes out better here as well. He shows in
deeds, if not in words, that he cares about Wu Xingzi very much, as himself and
as Ping Yifan. And Wu Xingzi shows that he’s not quite so helpless as he appears.
We also learn that his father used to be an important person in the capital.
There were some side plots that were hinted
at and then discarded, like what is happening with Mr. Lu, what is going on
between Rancui and Hei-er, and who is the mysterious person behind the peng society. There’s also a long extra story about Man Yue, Guan
Shanjin’s longsuffering vice general, and Su Yang who owns a restaurant in Wu Xingzi’s hometown, which will be interesting to follow as well. Nevertheless, this was maybe the best book so far.
A Palace Near the Wind starts Natural
Engines series (duology?) set in a unique secondary world. Liu Lufeng is fighting the windmills
of modernity that threaten to destroy the habitat and way of life of her Feng
(wind) people. It’s an uphill struggle on the home front too, as many of her
people have left the habitat for the palace of the king for easier life and
human technology.
To keep the king’s constructions at bay, one
member of Lufeng’s family is sent to the palace every year to marry the king.
Now it’s her turn, after which only her youngest sister is left. She’s determined
to save her, so the only option is to kill the king.
At the palace, Lufeng, a creature of
branches and leaves, has to adjust to wearing clothes, sleeping in a bed,
travelling by engine powered contraptions, and eating meat. But she endures, so
that when the marriage ceremony takes place, she can kill the king.
But the marriage isn’t what she believes, the king
turns out to be not who she expected, and he’s not the enemy she thought. There’s a
place of even more destructive technology beyond the palace, and those in
charge there aren’t above cruel atrocities.
Killing the king would be useless, so Lufeng’s
entire family has to flee. Easier said than done, when some of them are
perfectly happy where they are, and others need to stay in place for the safety
of the rest. But she’s not about to give up. With the help of a couple of
friends she’s made, she acts on a hastily concocted plan. The book ends before
we learn how that’ll turn out.
This was a short, straightforward story
with a couple of twists to keep things interesting. The pace was fast, with no
time wasted on secondary plots, character development, or worldbuilding, which
was mostly a collection of interesting concepts.
I was especially disappointed
in the Feng. As a plant-based life-form, they were such an interesting idea,
but then the unique physiology didn’t play any role in the story. Even their
element turned out to be wind, which I found really odd. I didn’t particularly
like Lufeng either, but it would be interesting to see where she ends up from
here.
I received a free copy from the NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book in the Shadow of
the Leviathan series. It’s set in a wonderfully unique secondary world where
the centuries old emperor, the last remnant of the original people, rule over a
population modified with blood from humongous sea creatures who once a year
make to the land, destroying everything. The entire empire is harnessed to
either fight the leviathans or to make use of them.
This time, we follow the investigative duo,
Dinios Kol, the narrator, and his superior officer in the law department, Ana
Dolabra, outside the empire to Yarrowdale, a small seaside kingdom that the
empire has rented for a century for its practical geography. The dead
leviathans are floated there to The Shroud, a secret facility where everything
useful is extracted of them. It’s dangerous work, as the leviathan blood
mutates everything around it instantly, but necessary. Now the century is up
and the empire is trying to negotiate a new contract with the king.
One of the negotiators has been killed in a
bizarre fashion and the body disappeared from inside a locked, upper-floor
room. Ana and Din have arrived to investigate. Well, Din investigates and Ana
stays in her room to avoid overpowering herself with too much stimulus like
always. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take her long to figure out how it was done.
That turns out to be the easiest part of the case.
A conspiracy against the empire seems to be
afoot, and the perpetrator is not only capable of changing their appearances,
but highly intelligent too, thanks to illegal modifications. Poor Din has his
hands full as he hunts the killer through swamps to king’s court and even to
The Shroud itself, all the while risking his life to instant mutation by
leviathan blood stolen by the killer who has made it into a weapon.
Even Ana seems stumped, her behaviour
turning more bizarre by the day. But nothing escapes her, and in the end, the truth
turns out to be fairly simple and, as she says, banal. She’s very disappointed.
Reader is less so. I sort of guessed where the case was headed to, but allowed
myself to be distracted by the false leads. And even if the killer’s
motivations were fairly simple in the end, the case was entertaining.
Murder wasn’t the only crime committed. Ana
learns that the officers working for the empire at the Shroud have misused
their power and illegally modified the workers. All in the name of greater
good. In the end, the only arrest she’s able to make are these people. But it’s
a lesson for Din as well, about the importance of the work they’re doing for
the empire and the meaning of justice.
The greatness of the series is in the
characters. Din, the engraver with perfect memory, thanks to his mods, has
personal troubles. His father’s debts are his to pay, and the bank is doubling
the payments, now that he’s working in such a high-risk area. He has difficulty
sleeping, so he finds willing bed-fellows, men and women, where ever he goes to
avoid his own bed. He dreams of joining the legion to fight the leviathans, and
returning to the man he left behind, but he knows that the bank will never
allow that.
With the amount of sleep he got in this
book, it’s a wonder he’s able to function through it, let alone have several
sword fights. But he’s ever curious and able to detect the smallest details,
thanks to his modifications. And in the end, after several talks with Ana, he’s
even able to make up his mind about the legion.
There was maybe a character discrepancy with
the previous book though. I don’t remember well, but I seem to recall Din had
trouble reading, which was only once referenced to in this book when letters
danced in his eyes. Yet he seemed to be able to read well throughout the book. Maybe
I misremember, but it caught my eye.
Din was joined in his investigation by a
new side-kick, Malo. She’s a warden, a local working for the empire with a modified
sense of smell and sight. Her job is to track and fight smugglers in the swamps.
She’s a fun, rough character and not a love-interest or bed-fellow, which I
found refreshing. The end saw her needing to change her life, and maybe we’ll
see her in later books too.
The most interesting character is, like before,
Ana. She starts as her usual cantankerous, highly intelligent, and easily
distracted self. But as the case progresses, she morphs into something else,
and some of it is clearly deliberate. Din doesn’t know what to make of it, and
she won’t talk. It could even be that she can’t talk about what kinds of modifications
she has. She can hint though, and what Din learns through his investigation is
so mind-boggling he refuses to believe it.
This was another great book. It retained
the cozy feel despite the gruesome mutations and sword fights, the world
remained intriguing, even if this one didn’t have mushroom houses, and the
case, despite the banal ending, was good. I’m very eager to read more of Din
and Ana’s investigations.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
Here’s another recap of a busy reading
month. I read and reviewed 35 items in March, 31 of which were mangas. Almost
half of that was The Apothecary Diaries by Nekokurage and Natsu Hyuuga, 13
volumes so far. Well, 14, but the last one isn't out yet officially. I’ve been reading it on Manga Up!, the publisher’s official
site, chapter at a time, and even though I’ve tried to pace myself, I ended up reading
it all. Now I have to wait for the next chapters to be published at the end of
this month.
If you haven’t read it, it’s a wonderful story
set in maybe 19th century China, based on references to western cultures. It
follows Maomao, an apothecary who is abducted and sold as a servant to the
inner court of the imperial palace. She saves the life of an infant princess
and gets to work as a food taster for the concubine, her dream job. The stories
consist of mysteries she solves, tasked by the head eunuch with secrets of his
own. Maomao is a delightful character with penchant for poisons and Sir Jinshi
makes for a great romantic lead—even if after 14 volumes there’s still no
romance. There’s also anime series on Crunchyroll and coming to Netflix soon.
I reviewed eleven mangas for NetGalley and
Edelweiss. Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volume 1 by Sonoda Kenichi is a reissue from
the 90s and follows two bounty hunter women. It’s action-packed and fun. Dead Rock 1
by Hiro Mashima is a fun story about a school for demons. Four Lives Remain: Tatsuya Endo Before Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo is a collection of Endo’s
older stories. They weren’t good. 23:45 by Ohana is a lovely story of a young
college student who lets a ghost of a young man to move in with him.
Soul Taker by Jeannine Acheson and Thomas
E. Sniegoski is a contemporary horror/fantasy of a woman who has lived for
centuries hunted by the Church. Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts Heir: White Rabbit and the Prince of Beasts, Vol. 1 by Yu Tomofuji is a spinoff
of the original Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts Heir series, a cute
story of a little prince needing to find his magic and courage. Veil vol 1 by
Kotteri is a rather odd, artistic comic of a woman who can’t see and a police
officer helping her. Not much of a story, but very beautiful art.
I read two novels I had ARCs for, both
books that I would’ve read anyway. The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison,
book 3 in the Cemeteries of Amalo series, was as wonderful as the other books.
It has a feel of the last volume and a start of a new arc.
The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal is book 4 in the Lady Astronaut
series. It was good, but not as interesting as the earlier books.
Three of the manhwas I reviewed I’d
actually read earlier, but they were officially published last month so I added
them on Goodreads as read. Technically I could leave them out of the count, but
since I haven’t counted them in the month that I read them, here they are.
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint vol 6 by singNsong.
The story is in early stages yet here, as this volume reaches about episode 60
of 250 or so. I’ve been reading this one on Webtoons and am almost finished. Solo Leveling Vol. 11 by
Chugong and Dubu I’d read earlier too, on Tappytoons. I’ve now finished the
series there, but I’ll review them on GR when they come out in print, which will
take a while yet. And lastly, the first volume of Shutline, a very
graphic BL I’m reading on Lezhin where it’s ongoing, about a car mechanic and a
gangster. It was recently added on GR when the Korean edition was published
in print, so I added it too. No English version in print yet.
And then, finally, my favourite comfort read:
Mr. Villain's Day Off vol. 6 by Yuu Morikawa. The evil (or not so evil) general
enjoying pandas and ice cream is such a delight. And it’s an anime too! On
Crunchyroll. I’ve only watched one episode so far (I’m watching The Apothecary
Diaries first), but it’s equally delightful, with the added delight of being in
colour.
So, there it is, my insane reading month.
On top of this, I started a couple of books in my favourite series, but had to put aside
to make room for other reading. I’ll finish those later. And I prepared my own
book for publication and read it a couple of times, but that’s work and doesn’t
count.
