January Manga

Blue Period Vol. 3 by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
"There's no such thing as failure in the arts"
208 Pages

Vol. 4
It covers the first entrance exam and the prep.

208 Pages

Vol. 5
Everyone is preparing for the second exam--the oil painting exam,

and we get to see more of Ryuji....
and there's self-portrait work. 😅
210 Pages

Komi Can't Communicate Vol. 5 by Tomohito Oda
Komi's jealous, I continue to love Tadano.
190 Pages

Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun Vol. 11 by Izumi Tsubaki
Waka learning that Lorelai is Seo.
192 Pages

Vol. 12
When all the characters are realizing that they have crushes.
The shenanigans
162 Pages

Silver Spoon Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Ok but showing all of the farm life and the work that goes into it.
Also like...it makes me think of FFA competitions that demonstrate all of these skills. Also there are cows and horses and pigs and I love it.
192 Pages

Way of the House Husband. Vol. 6 by Kousuke Oono
Tatsu trying to join the women's association. Love it.
The SHIBA DOGE.
I love Masa.
Did I sit outside of the library in my car and cackle while I read this, and random strangers drove up and saw me....yes
168 Pages

Tim Reads - January

American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis by Adam Hochschild (432 pages)

An in-depth look at America following the end of World War I. The home front was as violent as the fields of France, from race riots to the jailing of antiwar protestors the country was learning lessons on what happens when you boil everything down to, “us vs. them”

Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution by H.W. Brands (512 pages)

A look at what causes a person to become a rebel (or a patriot depending on how you see it) and what causes another to do the opposite. Ben Franklin was one of the nation’s founding fathers but his own son saw him as a traitorous rebel. This book breaks down the battle between Patriots and Loyalists and shows how each side came to their final decisions

The Scandalous Hamiltons: A Gilded Age Grifter, a Founding Father's Disgraced Descendant, and a Trial at the Dawn of  Tabloid Journalism by Bill Shaffer (330 pages)

I could tell you that an heir of Alexander Hamilton and his con artist wife go on trial for stabbing their nurse and that’s not the whole of this book, it’s not even the whole of the first chapter. This book and its main characters, especially Evangeline Hamilton, are outrageous. Such an interesting look at this story and the reporters that managed to make it even tawdrier.  

The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism by Thomas Frank
(336 pages)

What is a populist? It seems like a simple question but the term and political movement that coalesced around it have changed. This book looks at the ever changing face of populism, the idea that the will of the people should reign supreme and shows how elites and political opposition have smeared it to make it almost unrecognizable to the people who founded the movement.

Friends, Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson by Gordon S. Wood (512 pages)

A lengthy look at the creation, break up, and reformation of the friendship of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. From the earliest days, these two titans had differing views about almost everything, and finally the strain of running a nation drove them apart. A look at their letter to each other (and to others about each other) show the different personalities of these two men and how they shaped the earliest history of the United States

The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians, and the Rise of Islam by Peter Crawford (392 pages)

As the Roman Empire finally defeats its longtime foe the Sassanid Persians, something they’ve been trying to do for centuries. Time to kick your feet up and…here comes the newly founded Islamic army from the desserts of Arabia. A look at the three way dance of the ancient world that saw the two established empires, Rome and Persia, get absolutely trucked and pushed to the brink of extinction

City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris by Holly Tucker (353 pages)

 There’s a poisoner in the court of the King of France, they’ve been picking off high ranking officials and members of the nobility, send for the police right? Well this is happening in the Court of Louis XIV and there isn’t one, so it’s up to the Nicolas de la Reynie who is appointed as the first police chief of Rome to stop the killing (and clean up the streets if he has time).

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

I have a theory. I have a theory. about the werewolf.
Also there's lots of Wednesday vibes.
Actually I have two theories.
Ok four theories. And my second isn't right, and the first probably isn't.
Ok but like...the mystery. The intrigue. The training.
also. Did I read about Jay and instantly connect him to Michael Moscovitz. Yes. Except he blonde.....He fix cars (we love Matilda), he in band...like...fjdks. Also he have motorcycle....
Like....he even said "Why me?"
Also the families are the days of the week. And it's Winnie Wednesday...like... wild.
336 Pages

The Queen's Resistance by Rebecca Ross

I love Rebecca Ross and her writing. I don't know why, but I do.
Cartier. jklfdjsfldajksfd. I love him.
The new characters. I will protect my babies.
496 Pages

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Ok but the last story mentioned....I feel like that's relevant for the next book...for reasons....
Me not knowing what time period it's in for the life of me.....Apparently it's 1909
SHADOW. JFDSAKJFLSDFLJAKF
I thought I hated Wendell. I was wrong. I love him....Assuming my 1% suspicion doesn't come to pass....because I trust no one.
I now understand what cozy means.
336 Pages

I'm Not Charlotte Lucas by Kasey Stockton

ARC: Publication Date: February 7, 2023
I guess I thought when it said in the summary that "life seems to be imitating fiction" it meant that the story was a spin-off....it was not.
Charlie's romance was going to mirror Charlotte's.....
I enjoyed like....80% of the book. It was cute and I loved Liam but then there came a point where I couldn't stand Charlie (probably because she reminded me of myself)
I kind of want to go on a rant about how Charlotte Lucas might have married Mr. Collins for convenience, but like...she was happy... There's nothing wrong with being a Charlotte...like....
Charlie: It's me, I'm the problem.
My brain:

But also, near the end:

240 Pages

TS Song: Babe, Untouchable

The Bone House by Emily Lloyd

 Pages: 352

"Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family, and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead.

The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?"

I wish this author has more standalone fantasy novels. I really enjoyed the Drowned Woods with is quirky magic (and the corgi!!) and strong characters. This one was a twist of more welsh folktales with more of a horror twist and another fun sidekick/pet in the goat.

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

 

Pages: 304

"Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season - but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs. 

If Dora's reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul."

One store describes this novel as Bridgerton meets Howl's Moving Castle and I cannot agree more. With such a short story, there was a lot packed in with dealings with cruel fae, a slow burn romance with scheming mothers, and a mysterious plague that is somehow connected with Dora's condition. Definitely recommend as a feel good romance.

The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye

*googles Russia 1825.....
"fear always flourished in the dark of night" .....Alexa play "In the Dark of the Night" from Anastasia.
I was expecting like...three different endings, so I'm not upset about the one that we got.
Nikolai. fsjkldajklsfd
432 Pages

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

It's a re-read because I don't remember what happened.
I appreciate the characters more because I actually know what's going on and why they were doing what they were doing.
There's some LOTR vibes with like...trying to make a party of people for a mission.
Also... I still love the squire.
592 Pages

Spare by Prince Harry

......I don't care what anyone says, I love him. I don't care if he's 10+ years older than me, I will protect him. I just want to hug him.
The way he says zebra, oregano, and basil: zeh-bruh, oh-ray-gah-no, and bah-sil....like...
...Head squirrels and hover monkeys.
I see metaphors. I see metaphors everywhere.
Do I want to talk about trauma and PTSD....
Laughs because the American is being American and speaking their mind and hugging people--because we might be anxious, but we hug.

I went into the book with no regard for what the media said, because primary sources > secondary sources; and people are people who have emotions no matter how famous. Some of it echoes the Netflix documentary, but we see more of his childhood and his years in the military.

410 Pages

TS Songs (yes there are songs): Time to Go, Peace, a little bit of Anti-Hero

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Darlington!!
....you can't just talk about statues and stained glass and libraries and not expect me to not obsess over it...
oh the rabbit makes sense now.
"we do what we have to. that's the job of a survivor"

TIL that these guys (Pygmy Slow Loris) are venomous:

......I'm looking up symbolism, everyone shut up.
COSMO. I LOVE HIM.
Can I make Danny Phantom jokes? Cause.... Danny Arlington
OH MI GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
496 Pages

TS Song: Vigilante Ish, Mad Woman, Labyrinth

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

The re-read before Hell Bent.
Me realizing that I was distracted by all the Ivy League vibes and missed all the Trauma.
The second read was so much better.
480 Pages

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

I'm re-reading it because I didn't pay attention the first time and I'm gonna read the next book.
when you want to be sympathetic to a character cause they have trauma....but also they're kind of crappy....but also they have to be crappy to survive......
540 Pages

Julie's January Reads!

Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.

But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.

Pages: 591

Terry Jo Duperrault was 11 when her family was murdered at sea aboard a chartered sailboat off the coast of Florida. She jumped overboard just in time to escape. Surviving four days on a cork float in the middle of the ocean, Terry Jo’s rescue pictures graced LIFE Magazine soon after she was found.

This is the first time Terry Jo, now known as Tere Duperrault Fassbender, has been able to fully tell her story. In September 1988 Oprah Winfrey reunited her with the freighter captain who saved her but, even then, she was not healed enough to reveal what it took to survive for four days adrift and alone at sea.

Pages: 208

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Pages: 377

It feels like a fairy tale when Alberta ”Bert” Monte receives a letter addressed to “Countess Alberta Montebianco” at her Hudson Valley, New York, home that claims she’s inherited a noble title, money, and a castle in Italy. While Bert is more than a little skeptical, the mystery of her aristocratic family’s past, and the chance to escape her stressful life for a luxury holiday in Italy, is too good to pass up.

At first, her inheritance seems like a dream come true: a champagne-drenched trip on a private jet to Turin, Italy; lawyers with lists of artwork and jewels bequeathed to Bert; a helicopter ride to an ancestral castle nestled in the Italian Alps below Mont Blanc; a portrait gallery of ancestors Bert never knew existed; and a cellar of expensive vintage wine for Bert to drink.

But her ancestry has a dark side, and Bert soon learns that her family history is particularly complicated. As Bert begins to unravel the Montebianco secrets, she begins to realize her true inheritance lies not in a legacy of ancestral treasures, but in her very genes.

Pages: 349

The Betrothed by Kiera Cass

.......Ummmmm......Kiera I know you didn't just do that to me. It better be fake. Even if it was insta-love
400 Pages

TS Song: High Infidelity (for like...the first half of the book), Ivy,

Do I Know You by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

ARC, Publication Date: Jan 24, 2023
I loved this book so much. Like. Just the entire concept of falling in love with your spouse again as strangers--it's adorbs, and it was used to help mend the actual relationship.
I will protect David with my life. I will also protect Graham and Eliza
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
352 Pages

TS Song: Exile (but only a little bit--like in the hypothetical sense), and like....maybe a little bit of Message in a Bottle. 

EDIT: I’m an idiot. The Story of Us but like. Happy at the end. 

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

 

Pages: 465

"When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar. But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love."

Spinning Silver is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin anchored in reality. Miryem gains a reputation as a moneylender who turns silver into gold through investments and interest. Unfortunately mysterious creatures called the Staryk covet gold and want her to make some for them. The clever solutions to the challenges are amazing and the universe that the author weaves is so magically atmospheric. The story is told through six different perspectives, but it does not get muddled and confusing like other multiple pov stories. The separate threads flowed with each other so well and kept me excited to see each one instead of waiting to go back to the original.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullmann

 

Pages: 399

"Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other."

I am not sure if this fits in the genre of Science Fiction or Fantasy as elements from both were blended together in this book. I read this when I was younger but re-reading it I pick up on more details. I think this book could be enjoyed by both children and adults, though it is geared towards a younger audience. The audiobook was amazing with the host of great voice actors and the narrator's voice is so soothing I fell asleep listening a few times.

Begin Again by Emma Lord

Publication Date: January 24
It's cute and it's fluffy.
I love Milo. Like so much. his caffeine addiction.
tell me you base your self-worth on how useful you are without telling me.

352 Pages
TS Song: the obvious choice would be Begin Again, but there's a little bit of Dear Reader and Never Grow Up

Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon

So Lord John is trying to protect his cousin from getting into a sketchy marriage and now there's murder.
334 Pages

Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham

.....the author character sus....Like he gives me Jake Gyllenhaal vibes. Like I Bet You Think About Me vibes.
I hate Josephine. I hate her so much.
415 Pages

TS Song: I Bet You Think About Me, King of My Heart

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

I will protect Wells with everything I own. Like.... I would kill for him.
The WMC is from St. Louis. Take note. Missouri does exist.
I feel like there might have been too much going on, but like....I love Wells so I don't care.
384 Pages

TS Song: Long Live,

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Ok but spoons.
Yes I want a boy who has tattoos and a motorcycle. I want what I want.
I love Red. I love him so much. It's the protectiveness and the caring for me.
373 Pages

TS: in honor of Chloe's list, I Did Something Bad, and in honor of her cardigans: cardigan.

The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park

Everything seemed a bit too easily resolved, but also like....it's a Y-YA so like.....it's idealistic.
368 Pages

So This Is Love by Tracy Andreen

....how did they manage to call me out with the redheaded roommate who's always in the room
368 Pages

TS Song: This Love, Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

Istg if my ship doesn't make it.

JACK THE RIPPER TOUR JACK THE RIPPER TOUR.
Ok so I figured out who did it pretty easily....but I'm also essentially a genius, not to brag.
I love Nate. Like... Precious little writer boi.
I will protect David with my life. I will not be taking criticism. 
I really wanted to throw my phone at the last chapter....There better be another book....
464 Pages

TS Songs: a little bit of The Great War, this is me trying.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare

 Pages: 617

"The Shadow Market is a meeting point for faeries, werewolves, warlocks and vampires. There the Downworlders buy and sell magical objects, make dark bargains, and whisper secrets they do not want the Nephilim to know. Through two centuries, however, there has been a frequent visitor to the Shadow Market from the City of Bones, Brother Zachariah.  Follow and see, against the backdrop of the Shadow Market’s dark dealings and festive celebrations, Anna Lightwood’s first romance, Matthew Fairchild’s great sin and Tessa Gray plunged into a world war. Valentine Morgenstern buys a soul at the Market and a young Jace Wayland’s soul finds safe harbor. In the Market is hidden a lost heir and a beloved ghost, and no one can save you once you have traded away your heart. Not even Brother Zachariah..."

I will read anything from the Shadowhunter universe at this rate and getting to follow Jem and Tessa even more? Sold! My favorite part of this universe is still the Clockwork trilogy with the Dark Artifices a close second. This brings them both together with eight short stories that all had me smiling (my favorite being The Land I Lost). 

Technically, You Started it by Lana Wood Johnson

 Pages: 384

"When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate. A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they're becoming addicted to each other. There's just one problem: Haley doesn't know who Martin is. And Martin doesn't know that Haley doesn't know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . ."

This was a cute little fluff book written in texting format. The twist was fun if a little predictable and reminds me how oblivious a teenager can be when figuring out dating and feelings of attraction.