It’s been a Minute…

No, I know, it’s been a lot of minutes. The past couple months have been entirely new kinds of trash fires I didn’t even know existed and who thought that was possible at this point? If I owe you a review, it’s coming; even if it seems as though it’s been so long, I’ve forgotten about it. I haven’t, I promise. It’s just taking me longer than anticipated. I really, really appreciate your patience as I continue to work through my kids’ unpredictable school schedule and some health issues.

Enough of the doom and gloom, though! Because I have, at least, managed to read some really phenomenal stuff while spending more time than even I, introvert extraordinaire, have ever wanted to spend trapped in my house. To the tracking sheets!

Bungo Stray Dogs Vol. 11-20 by Asagiri Kafka and Harukawa SanGO

The continuing tales of these fucking weirdos. I love them so. For those of you have not yet partaken, the short version is: the members of The Armed Detective Agency, each of whom is named after a famous Japanese author and has supernatural abilities linked to their namesakes’ works, solve crimes perpetuated by The Mafia, whose members enjoy a similar setup, and other insidious groups who draw from American and British authors. Of course, things are more bizarre, more literary, and more dangerous, than even the the leaders of the three factions know…

This is one that you will want to pay attention to; some of the plot points are very subtle and I had to go back and double check details several times, but the payoff when it all comes together is 100% worth the effort. There are still two (I believe) volumes yet to come out in translation and the cliff hanger the team left us on… my friends, all I’ll say is I am very worried for one of my angry, goth sons.

If you prefer to watch there is an anime that I am reliably informed by the hubs is also excellent. It’s a couple of volumes behind the manga.

The Way of the Househusband Vol. 7 by OONO Kousuke

Tatsu, the Immortal Dragon, holds onto his place as #1 househusband without even breaking a sweat. From typhoon-proofing the apartment he shares with Miku to giving a little girl a visit from her favorite hero in the hospital, planning and crafting the perfect gift for his former boss’ pooch to penning a gorgeous haiku about the grossness of crickets, he cannot be defeated.

This book continues to be clever, funny, sweet, bizarre, and romantic in turns. I always think Oono will eventually run out of things to write about and yet, as I say every time a new volume comes out, he continues to surprise me with his sharp observations about how important the smallest interactions and most seemingly insignificant moments can be. In perpetuity, I can’t recommend The Way of the Househusband highly enough.

Suicide Kings (Eric Carter #7) by Stephen Blackmoore (August 27, 2022)

I love Eric Carter because he’s not entirely likable.

Not all people are and that, the humanity of the series tagonist (? I can’t really call him pro- or an-) along with a solid, tangible, breathing sense of place is what grounds Blackmoore’s phenomenal and compulsively readable urban fantasy/noir series in a world that’s just slightly to the left of ours. In a world that exists in those shadows that flicker in the corner of your eye and right over your shoulder and in your bedroom in the dark. It could be there. It might be there. And if it is, you are so. Very. Fucked.

I don’t want to ruin the details of the story for you because to take away the experience of Suicide Kings would be cruel but I will tell you that when you confine this universe to a version of Hill House that has an unpredictable spirit butler, discontented pocket dimensions, and family dinner you get the Quetzalcoatl incident in a tiny box.

So good. So, so good.

And book eight later this year.

Damn, we’re lucky.

The Breaker Omnibus Vol. 2 by Geuk-Jin Jean and Park Jin-Hean

A mysterious, martial arts master. A student with powers he didn’t know he had. Gangs on a rampage. A sexy assassin.

A standard manhua?

Not exactly.

The Breaker is one of those rare projects that is both the thing and a commentary on said, a cohesive story and parody of the genre it explores. Many try to do this and few succeed in doing so without being obvious, clunky, and, crude. The Breaker is up there with The Witcher novels as an example of the potential of this specific sub-genre, of the power it holds when composed thoughtfully, carefully, and honestly, with an eye toward that which is, quite frankly, silly and overplayed — even stereotypical — and pushes it over into full on comedy, while preserving what’s interesting, culturally significant, weird, dark, and, I’m not ashamed to say, cool.

Adventure? Excitement? This reader does crave these things. With some trope poking on the side.

Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe by Anthony Summers

My current writing project focuses on Marilyn Monroe so I’ve read several biographies of the actress and singer in the last few months. I also watched the CNN special that aired in January (which is really good and you should also watch it). Goddess has some good history where facts and dates are concerned but I wouldn’t recommend this one as a single read in a vacuum. It very much plays on the idea of Marilyn as a dumb blonde and really revels in the more salacious details of her relationships. She was, in fact, deprived of the opportunity for formal education but extremely intelligent (2) according to her friend, extremely pragmatic in her relationships and (3) a woman at the vanguard of the sexual revolution and remembered as a “slut” because that’s how men, who had all the power at the time, painted her. And that’s just the top layer.

The Scum and Villany Self-Saving System by MXTX

Man dies in apoplectic rage while reading bad web novel. Man is reincarnated as character in web novel. Man realizes he has horrible fate and decides he doesn’t want to end up as corpse with no arms or legs. Man sets out to change his future but must do so within parameters set by System.

This book is bonkers. It is absolutely and utterly ridiculous. It is silly and very strange and at least every third page I found myself thinking, “What the fuck?”

I love it with my whole weird heart.

The Hourglass Throne (The Tarot Cycle #3) by K.D. Edwards (May 17, 2022)

I have been waiting for this book for a very long time. There are many people who have been waiting longer. Waiting for something for a long time is difficult. Waiting for a book for a long time, especially when you absolutely adored the ones that came before is downright painful and then it comes and you sit there and stare at the cover because it’s a little scary to actually have it. There are so many what ifs…

No what ifs here, fellow Tarot Cycle fans. The Hourglass Throne blows the first two books out of the water and I say that as some who thought the The Last Sun and The Hanged Man were absolutely phenomenal. And as a writer who knows how difficult transitions are I am duly impressed that Edwards could integrate so many of them into a story that hurled like a meteor while doing so much background heavy lifting. Character growth? Check. Expand the lore? Check. Adjust existing relationships? Check. Forge new relationships? Check. Murder? Check. Plot twists? Check. Gremlin Children? Check. Redacted? BIG FUCKING CHECK.

I was sweating just reading it.

This is one of those books I devoured because I adored it and I’m also a bit sad to have read because I can never read it again for the first time.

So I would like the next one. Now, please.

Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare (April 19,2022)

Allow me to preface this by saying I don’t read a ton of het romance. Even het witch romance. There’s a lot of it and it has a lot of readers so when I’m in the mood for “enemies to lovers” or “there’s only one bed” or “is that the point of your sword under my chin or are you just happy to see me?” I try to highlight my fellow LGBTQIA+ authors.

That said, I was intrigued by the witch/familiar twist and I do like myself a old-lady trouble-maker witch so I went for it and I have to tell you…

… I really liked it.

Yes, Go Hex Yourself is a het romance but both Reggie (female lead) and Ben (male lead) are well- and fully developed characters with personality quirks for which we’re given reasons and backstory instead of just “isn’t that cute” or “broody man is broody so cute girl can fix.” Neither of them has a perfect life and neither has made, or always makes, good decisions but they’re willing to work to understand one another and to forgive one another. They have their moments of drama but, like so many of us, they realize relatively quickly and are willing to go to the other and apologize rather than waiting for the other to come to them. Each can admit they’re not perfect and because of that, accept the other’s foibles in return.

And yes, Auntie is fabulous as is the rest of the ensemble, playing their assigned roles admirably, everyone who gets “screen time” having enough detail and personality added via interactions and narration to define them as actual people instead of furniture.

Definitely a fun read for my brain, which very much needed a break from the trash fire world in which we live. Do recommend.

Whew. Hope you find something that floats your boat in here. If not, the plan is to go back to once a week (every other max) so I’ll cross my fingers I have something in the stack.

Thanks for being patient!