Review: The Case Study of Vanitas vol. 8 by Jun Mochizuki

Title: The Case Study of Vanitas vol. 8
Series: The Case Study of Vanitas #8
Author: Jun Mochizuki
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Fantasy; Manga; Alternative History
Publisher/Publication Date: Yen Press; June 15, 2021

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Beast of Gévaudan is put to rest once and for all as Chloé makes peace with her truest desire—but Vanitas’s troubles continue as both he and Jeanne are struck with certain... ailments of the heart! There’s no time for him to dwell on this rather unwelcome development, though, as Domi is swept away in the machinations of a phantom from his past...

For the past few weeks, I’ve been pretty busy getting caught up with my Netgalley arcs, but I finally found the time to read vol. 8 of The Case Study of Vanitas. Action and emotion abound in this riveting 8th volume. There was so much going on. And I feel like I say this every time I pick up an installment in this series, but it’s true. The story can feel like it’s moving quickly—because it’s a page-turner—but overall it’s an extremely detail oriented series.

The Beast of Gévaudan arc has finally come to its close, and what a whirlwind it was. I’ve been looking forward to this moment since the arc hit its middle section. In the time between the releases of vol. 7 and vol. 8, I’ve been reading more about the actual history of the beast. I did like the way Mochizuki incorporated the historical fact into the story. The fictionalized events closely mirrored actual fact in some regard, but at the end of the day Mochizuki built the incident in a way that made sense in the context of the story.

I sympathized with a lot of the characters involved in this arc, namely Chloe and Astolfo—even Jeanne. One of the themes in the series is tragedy, so there were some heavy subjects present in vol. 8.

Moving on, a new arc begins in this volume as well. There were a couple of surprisingly lighthearted chapters with a few humorous moments. But that didn’t last long. There were more instances of vampire politics, and the few moments showing the dynamics in the De Sade family were intense, to say the least. It answered some of the questions I had regarding Noe’s childhood friend, Dominique. It seems like she will be part of the focus of the upcoming chapters, but I also feel like the story is gearing up to reveal more about Vanitas. I’m excited about that possibility since his past involves the vampire of the blue moon. I have my fingers crossed.

Overall, vol. 8 was excellent.

ARC Review: Small Town Monsters by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Title: Small Town Monsters
Series: n/a
Author: Diana Rodriguez Wallach
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Young Adult; Horror; Mystery
Publisher/Publication Date: Underlined; September 7, 2021

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Conjuring meets The Vow! This terrifying paperback original tells the unputdownable story of a girl, a dark angel, and the cult hellbent on taking over her small, coastal town. 

Vera Martinez wants nothing more than to escape Roaring Creek and her parents' reputation as demonologists. Not to mention she's the family outcast, lacking her parents' innate abilities, and is terrified of the occult things lurking in their basement. Maxwell Oliver is supposed to be enjoying the summer before his senior year, spending his days thinking about parties and friends. Instead he's taking care of his little sister while his mom slowly becomes someone he doesn't recognize. Soon he suspects that what he thought was grief over his father's death might be something more...sinister. When Maxwell and Vera join forces, they come face to face with deeply disturbing true stories of cults, death worship, and the very nature that drives people to evil.

Small towns make for great settings. Some of my recent favorite reads have been set in small towns. Including but not limited to cozy mysteries, middle grade horror, cosmic horror, and thrillers. Small Town Monsters is set in a small coastal town, and what a great story it was. It was part coming of age tale and partly about small town secrets, the danger of assumptions, community tragedy, grief, and cults. Oh, and a strong paranormal element that seemed to be the stuff of nightmares.

The story followed Vera Martinez, whose parents are demonologist. I sympathized with Vera. Her parent’s reputation had a negative effect on her and how she was perceived by people, while she also felt like the black sheep of the family. Part of the story dealt with how she grappled with that and came into her own as a person, while trying to untangle the mystery of the odd occurrences that were happening in her seemingly idyllic hometown. And it was done so well. Then there was Maxwell Oliver, who, despite his best efforts to hold his family together, is ultimately forced to seek help from Vera. He was a well written character, and I liked how much he looked out for his little sister. But everyone has a breaking point, and at the beginning of the story, he had already reached his.

The situation presented a bit of a mystery—and that was good too—but where the book shined was the horror elements. Wallach was clearly inspired by The Conjuring films and Ed and Lorraine Warren when writing Small Town Monsters. Elements of the story pulled a lot of inspiration from it, particularly with a basement full of objects with spooky and downright dangerous and creepy origins. Beyond the real world inspiration, the story ultimately goes down its own path.

Overall, Small Town Monsters delivered on everything the synopsis promised it would be. I sped through it in a couple days, and by the end, I wanted a sequel. And, like I said above, it was a great story. So if you’re looking for something to add to your October reading lists, Small Town Monsters would fit the bill.

About the author....

Diana Rodriguez Wallach is a multi-published author of young adult novels. Diana is a Creative Writing Instructor for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth, and she teaches Creative Writing Workshops in inner-city schools throughout the Philadelphia area through the nonprofit organization, Mighty Writers. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University, and currently lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband and two kids. Her most recent, Small Town Monsters, is a YA Latinx horror novel that will publish in Fall 2021 through Random House’s Underlined imprint. Additionally, Diana is the author of the Anastasia Phoenix Series (Entangled Publishing), a trilogy of young adult spy thrillers. The first book in the series, Proof of Lies, has been optioned for film and was chosen as a finalist for the 2018 International Thriller Awards for Best Young Adult Novel. Additionally, Bustle listed her as one of the “Top Nine Latinx Authors to Read for Women’s History Month 2017,” and Paste named Proof of Lies one of the “Top 10 Best Young Adult Books for March 2017.” Diana is also the author of three YA contemporary Latina novels: Amor and Summer Secrets, Amigas and School Scandals, and Adios to All The Drama (Kensington Books). Amor and Summer Secrets placed second at the 2009 International Latino Book Awards for Best Young Adult Novel. She also penned a YA short-story collection entitled Mirror, Mirror (Buzz Books, 2013).

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Underlined) via NetGalley for this review, thank you!

Music Monday (171): Charli XCX, Ultra Nate, Erykah Badu

  Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana:  Over the weekend, I was listening to a couple of new songs by a handful of my favorite artists. The best of the bunch was Good Ones by Charli XCX.

Adri: Hey, this week I'm listening to some of my favorite songs by Ultra Naté. The songs are Gone Like Yesterday, Desire, and This House.

Andrea: This week I'm listening to On & On by Erykah Badu.

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (205) & Book Beginnings: The Case Study of Vanitas vol. 8 by Jun Mochizuki

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Beast of Gévaudan is put to rest once and for all as Chloé makes peace with her truest desire—but Vanitas’s troubles continue as both he and Jeanne are struck with certain... ailments of the heart! There’s no time for him to dwell on this rather unwelcome development, though, as Domi is swept away in the machinations of a phantom from his past...

Beginning: "Isn't it time yet, Roland?"

56: "It's all over now...."

Comments: I finally got around to reading volume 8 of The Case Study of Vanitas. I know the quotes are kind of vague, but the rest of the dialogue contained too many spoilers for the current arc. What are you reading this week?

I Listened to Music by Magdalena Bay

Last month, I added another group to my playlist called Magdalena Bay. I really liked their song, Cheari, and spent some time exploring their backlist of music in preparation for their album, Mercurial World, which will be released on October 8, 2021.

My first foray was one of their 2020 releases: A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling. Totaling at eight tracks, this album was really good. The overall sound reminded me of the same style of Cheari, which was pop and electronic track (I mentioned it on a Music Monday post a few weeks back). The uniformity didn’t mean that it was boring though, far from it actually. There was plenty to find here.

Next, I tackled the first part out of two EPs called Mini Mix vol. 1. Magdalena Bay has a particular style to their music, which is easy enough to pick up on. Mini Mix vol.1 had the same kind of electronic/pop type sound as their album, except it had a slightly mellower feel to it than the upbeat tone to A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling. It often felt kind of experimental. The songs were way shorter here with the longest coming in at two minutes and twenty-three seconds. Another artist who did this was Tierra Whack (Whack World was a full length album with fifteen songs that were only a minute each). And just like with Whack World, I wished that a few of Mini Mix vol. 1 tracks were longer than they were such as Turning Off The Rain, Afternoon in Heaven, and U Wanna Dance?.

From there, I jumped right into Mini Mix vol. 2, which was their second 2020 release. I was much more prepared for the length of the songs, which were all under three minutes here as well. Still, there was so much to like about it. I won’t go on too long rehashing the type of music you’ll find, since much of what I said about Mini Mix vol. 1 also applies to the second EP. Some of my favorites from vol.2 were Sky2Fall, Body, Live 4ever, and Sky2Fall Reprise.

Despite the short length of the songs, Mini Mix vol. 1 and vol. 2 offered a good variety of bite-sized offerings of Magdalena Bay’s music.

Overall, I recommend all three. And now, I will be over here waiting for Mercurial World.

Music Monday (170): Halsey, Moon Boots, Fiora, Kane Brown & AJR

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm currently listening to Halsey's new album: If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power. One of my favorite songs is The Tradition.

Adri: This week I'm listening to some more chill music. It's I Want Your Attention by Moon Boots feat. Fiora

Andrea: Hi All, this week I am listening to Worship You by Kane Brown & Bang by AJR.

Until next time, have an amazing week and stay safe!

What are you listening to this week?

Short Stories I Read In July

It’s the twenty-ninth of August. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in July.

Eilam is Forever by Beth Dawkins (Apex Magazine, July 6, 2021)

The first of two short stories I read in July was Eliam is Forever by Beth Dawkins. This story was fine. I liked a few of its aspects, especially the themes. Some of it kind of reminded me of the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. In that the story is told from the point of view of what appeared to be a ship. But it was like SecUnit if SecUnit had only just hacked itself and discovered emotions.

Data Migration by Melanie Harding-Shaw (Strange Horizons; Issue: 12 July 2021)

The second and last story I read was Data Migration by Melanie Harding-Shaw. I liked this story. It was told in a somewhat mixed format that was equal parts homework and comments made by the person doing the assigning and reading of those assignments. The major theme here was climate change, and it was an interesting choice to explore that topic through the above mentioned format.

From around the web…

• Through A Thousand Eyes (Nisi Shawl; Uncanny Magazine Issue Forty-One)
• Explore the Culinary Delights of Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes (Elizabeth Lim; Tor.com, July 7, 2021)
• Print Run Podcast episode #143: Irreplaceable
• Understanding Horses: Yes, Riding Is a Sport (Judith Tar; Tor.com, July 12, 2021)

ARC Review: Seven-Year Witch by Angela M. Sanders

 Title: Seven-Year Witch

Series: Witch Way Librarian Mysteries #2
Author: Angela M. Sanders
Source/Format: Netgalley; eARC
More Details: Mystery; Paranormal
Publisher/Publication Date: Kensington; August 24, 2021

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Finding your feet in a new job isn't always easy. That goes double for Josie Way, who's settling in as Wilfred, Oregon's, new librarian--and has just discovered she's a witch. But will her fledgling powers be enough to save her from a spell of murder? 

While Josie develops her witchcraft with the help of letters left by her grandmother, there are other changes happening in her new hometown. A retreat center is being built at the old mill site, and rumor has it that the location is cursed. That piques Josie's interest almost as much as Sam Wilfred, handsome FBI agent and descendent of the town's founder. When Sam's soon-to-be ex-wife, Fiona, goes missing at the same time that a bloodied weapon is found, Josie enlists her witchy insight, and her cat familiar, to clear Sam's name. But then the mill project's architect is found dead, and it's clear that someone has been drawing up a vicious plan. Now Josie will have to divine her way out of fatal mischief, before this deadly trouble turns double...

 

Seven-Year Witch’s premise is what drew me to the story. There are a few cozy mystery series that I can think of off the top of my head that also involve witches and magic. I’m a total sucker for stories that have a contemporary setting with a supernatural edge, so I had high hopes for this book.

Overall, I liked the story. The setting was a small town, and there seemed to be secrets around every corner. The mystery portion of the story was good. It had a strong presence in the story. And while the characters went about their daily routines, I mostly liked the way they approached investigating the incident. There were a few stumbles with the main character putting too much focus on one possible scenario/cause, which didn’t really lead anywhere. But besides that, the mystery was good. 

Josie Way is a witch that’s technically in training. She’s also a librarian with an unrequited crush who also happens to live in the apartment above the library, which comes in handy since her magic is mostly book based. That alone, was quite an enjoyable aspect about the story. The books really stood out as a highlight, because of the way the quotes and their presence were used in Seven-Year Witch. At times, the library felt like a character in its own right.

There were a lot of good and interesting ideas here, which wrapped up with a nice but open-ended conclusion for some aspects of the story. Seven-Year Witch was a fun read.

About the author...

Angela grew up in rural Northern California building forts in the woods where she devoured Nancy Drew mysteries. She earned degrees in economics and public administration, and in graduate school studied six months in Paris, sparking a lifelong interest in French culture. After 11 years as a congressional investigator, Angela realized she was more fascinated by the stories at the edges of her investigations–the decrepit exercise equipment in the ladies room of a Czech oil company; the curious number of framed photographs of women on a nuclear weapons official’s desk; the stupendous speed by which a particular Agriculture undersecretary inhaled chili dogs–than by the policies she evaluated. She returned to the west coast to explore the world and her imagination through magazine stories and fiction.

Angela lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Kensington) via Netgalley for this review, thank you!

Music Monday (169): Jack Savoretti, Jennifer Hudson

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I recently added Secret Life by Jack Savoretti to my playlist. I really like this song, and the music video is fun.

 

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Here I Am (Singing My Way Home) by Jennifer Hudson. The song is from the Respect (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). I haven't listened to the full soundtrack, but so far, I like what I've heard. 

Have an amazing week! 

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (204) & Book Beginnings: Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her.

Beginning: "The bottom of the lake tasted like mud, salt, and regret."

56: "Nervously, I placed the scraps of paper on my lap, four in total." 

Comments: Last month, I read and reviewed Elizabeth Lim's Six Crimson Cranes. So far, it's one of my favorite reads of 2021. While I originally planned to do a 56 for it in July, my preorder from Mysterious Galaxy didn't arrive until recently. The wait was worth it, because the preorder goodies are really gorgeous (the picture is on my Instagram page HERE). What are you reading this week?