Review: The Case Study of Vanitas Volume 2 by Jun Mochizuki

Title: The Case Study of Vanitas
Series: The Case Study of Vanitas #2
Author: Jun Mochizuki
Source/Format: Gift; Paperback
More Details: Manga; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Yen Press; May 23, 2017

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Now installed at a hotel in Paris with the help of Count Orlok, Noé and Vanitas take their awkward partnership on the road...to a vampire masquerade ball! The order of the evening may be small talk and hobnobbing with fellow guests, but the mystery of the curse-bearers is never too far behind. The intrigue swirls as quickly as the dancers twirl, a blue moon ascends upon the guests...and all hell breaks loose!

Well…that escalated quickly. If you know anything about Pandora’s Hearts, there was tragedy all over the place in that series. Now, some of the darker themes of The Case Study of Vanitas are starting to show through. While the first volume was already exciting enough, it was more of an introduction to the story, characters, and world. While volume two, on the other hand, starts the next arc of the story. It also ramps up the action and world building as Noe and Vanitas take on more curse-bearers set against the dazzling backdrop of a masquerade ball.

So far, Mochizuki’s take on vampires is proving to be one of my favorites. They have some of the usual traits—super strength, immortality—but they don’t need to drink blood to live (it seems like more of an indulgence, so far) and they live in another world entirely. The artwork for Altus Paris was gorgeous. I loved the style of the city, and how different it was from the steampunk Paris the story began in—just by changing one aspect about the sky. I also liked the details about names. Names have meaning and importance. It comes up all the time in fiction, in particular fairy tales or stories based on them (think Spinning Silver, The Cruel Prince, and most stories involving fairies). Names, true names, have power in this story, and I was surprised at how closely linked it was to curse-bearers. I’m looking forward to seeing how that develops later on.

I also enjoyed how quickly volume 2 delved into talking more about the world, and mentioned some occurrence called Babel. I found this quote—“Babel really was an astounding incident, wasn’t it? Rewriting the principles of the world like that…”—pretty interesting since the magic-type system in this world is related to world formula revisions.

As for the events in this volume, it presented some interesting questions as to the source of curse-bearers themselves. It also fleshed-out the dynamic between the dual protagonist, and it directly showcased more of the vampire society/politics that were hinted about in the last volume. That also included the introduction of a few new characters.

With the way the twists keep coming, The Case Study of Vanitas is shaping up to be one of my favorite series. The current arc of the story isn’t over quite yet, and now more than ever I’m excited to read volume 3.

Music Monday (105): Tinashe, Moods, Sister Sledge

   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 know I talked about Save Room For Us by Tinashe featuring MAKJ on a different music Monday post (here). But I wanted to mention it again, because it now has a music video. The choreography is great, and it fits the song so well.  

Adri: I've been listening to music with a chill/low-fi vibe. So my pick today is Where I Met You by Moods. 

Andrea: Flashback to the oldies! I'm currently listening to We Are Family by Sister Sledge.

What are you listening to this week?

Short Break...

I'm feeling under the weather, so there won't be any new blog posts this week.  See you all next week....

Favorite Recipe: Pie Crust + Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

During our break from blogging, Adri and I did some baking, and we wanted to share two of the new recipes we tried out.

The first was this All Butter Flaky Pie Crust from Modern Honey. We had some leftovers of a chicken dish from the night before, and we wanted to make it into a chicken-pot-pie (not pictured). During the whole process, we ended up trying this recipe for the crust. We had never made this particular kind of pie crust before and were looking forward to seeing if it was something we would use again in the future.

Adri: When we put the dough together and we went to form it into the ball, the texture before baking was amazing. I can’t even describe it.

Breana: That’s true. I’ve made standard pie crust before, and I did notice the difference in texture. The main difference—in ingredients—between this recipe and others was the buttermilk and vinegar, instead of just butter and cold water.

Adri: When it cooked, it had a light, flaky, and buttery taste that I hardly ever get from store-bought crust.

Breana: I agree with everything you said, Adri. One of the things I was worried about was if the vinegar flavor would be too strong, but there was nothing to fear. The flavor of the butter really came through. As the recipe says, remember to put the pie shields or foil to keep the exposed crust from overbaking.

After we made the chicken-pot-pie, we had some crust left over, and we decided to put it to good use. We also had some leftover pumpkin puree and half of an eight ounce block of cream cheese, and those were also going to be put to good use. The second recipe we tried was the Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie from Will Cook For Smiles; although, we cut the amount in half + used half-and-half instead of cream (because that’s all we had enough for, but we’ll likely make the full recipe when we try this one again).

Breana: I was happy with how it came out. Overall it was just good, and I got enough of the pumpkin and cream cheese flavors.

Adri: It was delicious. There’s nothing else to say except for: go try it out for yourself.

What recipes did you make this holiday season? If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments down below.

Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Series: n/a
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Historical; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Del Rey; July 23, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.... 

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld...

Gods of Jade and Shadow was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2019, but it ended up being the first book I read in 2020. Gods of Jade and Shadow was such a complex and amazing tale. It was a coming-of-age story set against a glittering jazz age Mexico setting, with folklore elements and a quest involving a Mayan god of death. It had a fairytale kind of vibe to it, which reminded me a of the type of atmosphere in stories like Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, as well as the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. Gods of Jade and Shadow was everything I was looking for, and I loved it as much as I thought I would.

Casiopea Tun believes she’s unfortunate, and she is in a lot of ways. Her situation was explored in the early chapters of the story, and right away, I liked her character. I also disliked her family. The casual sort of cruelty they displayed toward Casiopea did not endear them to me, and for much of the story they were dual-antagonists in the ongoing conflict between the gods—particularly Casiopea’s cousin, Martín. That being said, all of the characters were pretty complex, and for the main ones, I enjoyed their individual character arcs. Though Casiopea’s journey is the main focus—and one of my favorite aspects about Gods of Jade and Shadow—and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of her story of adventure and self-discovery.

The overall story was one of my favorites. It was a quest kind of story, with certain objects that had to be found, and there was a good deal of travel as well—it wasn’t until later in the story when the pace picked up. Even so, Gods of Jade and Shadow was fantastic, and I loved all of the mythological elements present in the story. The end wrapped up the story in a bittersweet but satisfying way.

Gods of Jade and Shadow was the first book I read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to her next novel, Mexican Gothic, which comes out on June 30, 2020.

Have you read Gods of Jade and Shadow? If so, what did you think of it?