Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (28)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

It is that time of the week again, where I write up a little post talking about the books I have finished recently, the ones I am reading currently, and the books I am hoping to start very soon.

So I feel like today’s post is going to share a similar feel to several of these I have had before, you know, where I really don’t have much to share with you in terms of books finished. And that’s probably because I haven’t been doing much reading over the past week. My fiance and I have been playing quite a bit of Diablo III, and seeing what cool items we can get now that we’ve beat the story of the game and are now just doing fun little bounties and rifts and such. Honestly I’m not liking this part of the game all that much. I miss having a storyline to follow. We’ve also been watching more shows — at this moment I have him halfway through “Firefly,” and he is already trying to figure out why the show was canceled because he is really liking it. This led me to explain how the episodes were aired out of order, with a few never being aired at all, and how it was originally aired on FOX in the time slot commonly known as the Death Slot. Maybe I’ll have him tell me all of his thoughts about the show once we’ve finished “Firefly” and watched “Serenity.” That could be fun.

Anyway, back to books. I have read about 120-ish more pages of The Darkest Minds so I’m about halfway in. Honestly, it is still just an okay book to me. I can see how/why people liked it and speak so highly about it. Back when it came out and dystopian books were super popular, the elements of this story did make for a successful series. But I don’t know…it still isn’t really at that point for me, the point where I am so hooked and invested in the story and the characters and I want to read it all.

35099464

I really want to finish this book soon so that I can move on to other books without feeling guilty about it. Plus, I have a couple books coming in the mail that I really really want to read. These books include a sequel to a series that I absolutely fell in love with when I read the first one like a month ago, and also my most anticipated release of all of 2018. Those books should arrive in the mail probably Friday, so I need to try and finish my current read by then.

What I want to start reading (and probably finishing if they are as good as the previous books in their respective series are Shadowblack by Sebastien de Castell, and Access Restricted by Gregory Scott Katsoulis. I should actually probably write up a review for the first book in de Castell’s Spellslinger series, but you can find my review for Katsoulis’ previous release, All Rights Reserved, here.

That is all for today, everyone. What great books are you reading and/or looking forward to reading? I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Advertisements
Book Releases, Books!, Cover Reveal, Graphic Novel, Manga, Signal Boost

Most Anticipated Releases Fall 2018

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

How are we almost at fall already? Time is just flying by, and seriously, fall may have the most releases I’m looking forward to. There are just so many interesting sounding books coming out in the next few months. Because of that, I’m not actually going to spend a lot of time coming up with a fun or rambly introduction. Let’s just start talking about the book releases of September, October, and November that I’m looking forward to. Trust me, there are a lot of them.

First off is September. In September I have the third installment of a series that started off okay for me, but the second book was a definite improvement, so I’m excited to see where this next one leads. Then there is the conclusion to the Warcross duology, and I’m hoping it is as worthwhile as the first one. There is also a Pride and Prejudice retelling that has completely intrigued me, as well as a fantasy debut about three illegitimate daughters of the king fighting to inherit the crown, and of course the continuation of a series I recently discovered that is absolutely amazing (and the new covers are way better than the original ones).

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake (Sept 4), Rule by Ellen Goodlett (Sept 11), Wildcard by Marie Lu (Sept 18), Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Sept 18), and Charmcaster by Sebastien de Castell (new cover edition: Sept 18)

Next up is the craziness that is October releases. There is no way I will be able to buy all of these right when they are released, because there are just so many. Plus, some of these covers are just absolutely stunning. Cover design is just getting so good; there are so many covers I’d love to have art cards for so I could hang them up on my book art wall.

Anyway, October has a great number of fantasy reads, as well as a few manga and graphic novel releases that I really really can’t wait for. Oh, and then of course a new special B&N edition release of a book, and another Illustrated Harry Potter book. No, it isn’t Goblet of Fire, which I had been expecting for this year, but hopefully that one will come out next fall.

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Oct 2), Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor (Oct 2), Damsel by Elana K Arnold (Oct 2), Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep (Oct 2), My Hero Academia Vol 15 by Kohei Horikoshi (Oct 2), My Hero Academia Vigilantes Vol 2 by Hideyuki Furuhashi (Oct 2), What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli (Oct 9), The Wicked + The Divine Vol 7 by Kieron Gillen (Oct 9), The Tales of Beetle the Bard, Illustrated Edition (Oct 9), A Sorrow Fierce and Falling by Jessica Cluess (Oct 16), An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker (Oct 23), Red Rising (Signed B&N exclusive edition, Oct 23), Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas (Oct 23), and Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa (Oct 30)

Finally there is November, which is rather light after the release heaviness of October. Honestly, I am not complaining about that at all. And honestly one of the releases is just the screenplay, so it will be super fast to read.

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer (Nov 6), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald by J.K. Rowling (movie screenplay, Nov 16), The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman (Nov 27)

Okay then, well I guess that is about all from me for today. Let me know in the comments if any of these books are on your anticipated release list. Or, tell me some books that are on your list that didn’t make it on mine. I’d love to find more books to add to my never-ending TBR. All right, everyone, I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Book Review, Books!, Manga, Signal Boost

Manga Review: Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol 2

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to another installment in my Manga Monday posts, where I try to catch up on my backlog of manga reviews by writing one each week. Though, I ended up skipping a couple weeks already this month. I have not been doing a good job with keeping up with my blog in August. Sorry, everyone. Today I am talking about the second volume of the Ancient Magus’ Bride, so let’s just get started.

24464123

Summary

Great power comes at a price… 

Chise Hatori’s life has recently undergone shocking change. As a sleigh beggy–a person capable of generating and wielding tremendous magical power–she has transformed from an unwanted child to a magician’s apprentice who has been introduced to fae royalty. But Chise’s newly discovered abilities also mean a cruel fate awaits her.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

So this volume also gets five stars from me, but it is a five star that is slightly below the five stars of the first volume. There was just so much that happened in the first volume, and this one felt a little slower. Not that slower is a bad thing. It was nice to sort of sit back and get to understand the world a little better. And it’s possible that not everyone feels that way about this volume, because a lot still happens within the pages, but that’s just how I felt.

The artwork is still gorgeously detailed. If it weren’t for the fact that I get sucked into the story and have this compulsion to keep flipping through the pages, I would probably spend at least a minute or two just processing all of the images.

Chise still has a lot to learn, and it seems like quite a bit of it she has to figure out on her own. I think she’s doing a pretty decent job of adjusting to the new life that has been given to her, and I can’t wait to learn even more about Chise and Elias and honestly, all of the magic of this world. It is pretty darn interesting to me. I may even need to give the anime a try, because this is a rather entertaining series.

Where to Buy

You can pick up a copy of this volume from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Graphic Novel, Manga, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (27)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

So before I start talking about all of the books I’ve finished, or started, or want to read very soon, I first need to say that I watched the Netflix film adaptation of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and I thought it was so cute. I technically have only read like half of the book (I set it aside so I could read something else and accidentally forgot about it–that was months and months ago), but I could very well see myself picking up the book again because I adored the film. I liked the casting, the characters were pretty fun, and I’m honestly hoping they decide to adapt the rest of the trilogy.

Okay, enough of that. Let’s talk about books. Welcome back to my weekly post where I talk about the books I finished reading in the past week, what I am currently in the middle of reading, and what I’m hoping to start reading very soon. Let’s just jump into it then.

Here we go with the books that I’ve finished reading in the past week. Obviously I finished reading Blue Exorcist Vol 3, and then I finished reading The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, which was delightful. I hope to watch the film on Netflix pretty soon. Books with a letter format to them are just a nice change of pace from standard novel format. Then again, most of my reading lately has been manga, which is a graphic format.

Anyway, I am still really enjoying reading the Blue Exorcist series, and probably sometime pretty soon either myself or my fiance will buy more of the series, since we only own up to volume 6…I think.

I’m trying to decide if I will write a review for Guernsey Literary or not. Maybe I should do a combination book and film adaptation review? What do you guys think?

35099464

As for my current reads, I am in the middle of The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. No, I have never read this series before. I’m only about a quarter of the way through it so far, and while it is good, it is also like a great many other dystopians released around the time this book came out. I do really like these new covers though, so I guess I’m glad I waited until now to pick this one up. I’ll have to wait until I finish the book before I decide whether or not I’ll continue to the next book.

Finally, let’s talk about what I’m hoping to start reading in the next week. When I was sitting down to write this post, I realized that we are getting pretty close to the end of the month already. So I clearly need to get to work on my August TBR some more. Granted, I didn’t give myself that big of a to-read list because I knew this month would be a bit crazy. That being said, I’ve only read two out of the five books I planned on reading.

Obviously I still really want to read Now I Rise by Kiersten White, but it is a longer book, and I know that next week my most anticipated book release of 2018 will arrive. I don’t really want to get in the middle of the book and then have to set it aside. Then again, I read the first book really quickly, so maybe I could get away with fitting it in. I guess we’ll see.

But there’s a part of me who wants to jump into some of my other recent purchases. I am trying to ignore that part, but that stack of books from my latest haul is just staring at me, begging to be read. Hopefully I can have those books at the top of my September TBR. That is probably the smart plan.

I just need more free time so I can read more.

Well, I do believe that is all for today. Let me know what awesome books you have read recently–or what awesome books you are currently reading. I’d love to know what I need to add to my never-ending TBR. I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Book Review, Books!, Manga, Signal Boost

Manga Review: My Hero Academia Vol 10

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Wow, I just realized that I have been really lazy this month when it comes to blog posts. I am sorry. Between starting the month with a vacation, and then work, and life, I have just been really tired the past couple of weeks. I think we’ve eaten more fast food or pizza delivery than anything else, because I wasn’t even up to doing the dishes. But we actually did some adulting over the weekend, and my dishes are clean, so cooking meals can continue again finally.

Which means I should also be trying to get back into the swing of writing up posts. So here we are at the review for the 10th volume of My Hero Academia. I recently read Volume 14, so I’m almost caught up with reviews for this series. Of course, I’m still planning on tackling a reread of Fullmetal Alchemist, and then I’d like to read all of Fairy Tail, so I have plenty more manga to get through.

Anyway, let’s just jump into the review.

34466633

Summary

Midoriya inherits the superpower of the world’s greatest hero, but greatness won’t come easy.

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks”? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

The League of Villains has grabbed Bakugo, and the resulting negative publicity has thrown U.A. into a huge uproar. With the public’s trust in heroes threatened, the faculty convene to figure out what to do. But Midoriya and the students of Class 1-A have plans of their own, even if their operation to rescue Bakugo could get them thrown out of school!

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

The villains have Bakugo and everything is getting pretty intense in the lives of the class 1-A students. Of all of the students the villains could have taken, I find it ridiculous that they took one of the most volatile. Now, fine, I get that they think his personality means that he will be potentially an easy sway to the dark side, but they don’t have the privilege of knowing this character like the reader does. While he is brash and egotistical and all, he is very much of the mindset of being a hero.

Then we have the rest of the 1-A class, and this volume really leads to conflict between them. Some very much want to rush in and try to find a way to save Bakugo. Others remember what they were told after previous encounters with villains and are adamant about letting the professional heroes and the police do their jobs. It is interesting to see which characters side which way, and how they present their arguments to the others. The character development with this volume is outstanding.

I actually just watched this part in the anime as well, and it was just so well done. This is definitely one of my favorite series, and I cannot wait to see what happens as it all continues.

Where to Buy

You can pick up this (or any other) volume from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local indie bookstore.

Book Releases, Books!, Graphic Novel, Manga, Readathon, Reading Challenge, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (26)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Okay, so this week I am proud to say that I have made a lot of progress when it comes to reading. August is starting to look like a productive reading month. And I hope to continue this pace over the next few weeks, so we’ll just see what happens.

And since I have been doing these weekly reading updates, I probably won’t be doing a Manga Madness Readathon post. You’ll get part of my reading progress today and then the rest will be in next week’s post.

All right, and with that I think I’m ready to jump in and talk about all the books I’ve finished reading in the past week.

Whew…that was a lot of books. Okay, yes, so many of these are manga or comic book/graphic novels. But still. It has actually been a pretty busy week. My fiance and I ended up buying Diablo III for our PS4 and we have been spending a lot of our non work time playing the game. I am really enjoying it, but I wish we could find more similar games that are multiplayer (without us needing to buy another TV/PS4/etc). We like playing together but a vast majority of non-PvP games are single player.

Anyway, let’s just move on to my current reads. I’m still trying to squeeze in as many volumes of manga as I can before the readathon ends this Friday, so naturally I am reading more of that. But I also picked up a book at the grocery store and I have read about 70 pages of it over the past few days as well…just so I can watch the movie on Netflix, because it looks pretty good too.

Reading Blue Exorcist just makes me want to watch the anime again, which isn’t the worst thing, because I rather liked it, and I’m sure I would pick up on more of what’s going on this second time viewing it, but it will have to wait because my current anime watches are dedicated to Fairy Tail and keeping up with the newest season of My Hero Academia.

Finally, as for what I’m hoping to read over the next week…well,a bunch more manga, that’s for sure. I think I own through Volume 6 for Blue Exorcist, so I’m going to try and finish that, and then maybe I’ll try to finish reading the volumes of The Ancient Magus’ Bride that I have. Oh, and I just got the first volume of Black Clover in the mail, so perhaps I can squeeze that in to my reading schedule as well.

Then I suppose I’d like to finish reading Guernsey Society and then I’ll probably jump into a couple other books.

That’s all for today. Let me know what you’re reading and loving in the comments below, because I would love to know what else to add to my TBR. I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Books!, Graphic Novel, Manga, Readathon, Reading Challenge, Signal Boost

What I’m Reading (25)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

As can be predicted, I actually did not accomplish a lot of reading over the last week. That tends to happen when it comes to going to conventions. But I did manage to finish one book and start a few others, so I’ll talk about all of those here.

But first, Gen Con was actually a lot of fun. I bought a lot of books, a few games, several sets of dice, and I just had a wonderful time hanging out with a bunch of awesome geeks. My fiance and I are already planning on attending again next year. If you’re interested in hearing more about my Gen Con experience, let me know in the comments and I can write up a post about the whole trip.

Okay, so for the book that I finished in the past week, it was a good read, and it didn’t take me all that long to actually finish it, so that was nice. I had hoped to finish it before we left for Indianapolis, but that didn’t happen. Still, I enjoyed reading Game of Secrets by Kim Foster. The concept was an interesting one and I’m glad I gave it a try.

34138306

Then there’s the books I started while at Gen Con or over the past couple of days. Needless to say, I am in the middle of a good number of reads, but sometimes that just happens. With any luck I’ll finish most of these in the next couple of days and move on to the next books on my TBR…oh, and of course seeing how many volumes of manga I can read because the next round of Manga Madness Readathon starts very soon.

Anyway, here’s everything I’m currently reading.

The first book I started reading is the Looking for Group Omnibus, which contains Volumes 1-3 of the web comic print bind-ups. Back in college I read Looking for Group online for awhile, but it has been so long that I don’t remember specifics. I’ve only read about 20 or 30 pages, but it is fun being reintroduced to the characters. The second book is another gaming guidebook from Kobold Press. I love their worldbuilding book, and actually recommend it for not just game masters, but also authors. The great thing is that I don’t have to read this book all at once or anything since it is just a collection of essays, but I am really looking forward to reading most of the advice I’m sure to get from all these amazing gamers and writers. Finally, I just started Beyond a Darkened Shore on Monday as my work read, and I am really enjoying it. Actually, I think I should be able to finish it soon.

Oh, I almost forgot about the books I want to start reading soon. Obviously my focus is going to switch to manga starting on Friday and going until next Friday. I imagine that I’ll be starting with Volume 14 of My Hero Academia, but I also definitely want to read the first volume of Dawn of the Arcana. After that I’m not sure what I’ll read, but hopefully I will have a lot of updates for next week.

Thanks for reading everyone. Let me know in the comments if you’ve recently finished or are currently reading something interesting. I think that is all for today, and I will be back soon with more bookish content.

Books!, Calendar Girls, Signal Boost

Calendar Girls: August 2018

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

So, at the end of last year I told myself that in 2018 I was going to join the Calendar Girls, because I loved the posts, and had found some great new blogs because of the monthly meme. But then Calendar Girls went on hiatus, so it changed up a few of my planned posts for the year. Now though, Calendar Girls has found a new home, and today is the first month  of the meme. This was originally created by Flavia and Melanie, and is now being hosted by Katie at Never Not Reading and Adrienne at Darque Dreams Reader. So, feel free to go check out all of their blogs, because they are all wonderful ladies.

katie-and-adrienne1

First, more about the Calendar Girls. It is designed to ignite bookish discussions among readers, and was inspired by the 1961 Neil Sedaka song, Calendar Girl.

Just like the song, each month has a different theme. Each blogger picks their favorite book from the theme, and on the first Monday of the month reveals their pick in a Calendar Girls post. Make sure to post back to the hostess’s post, and I will make a master list for the month. The master lists allow everyone to see the other Calendar Girls’ picks and to pop on over to their blogs. Thus, we all get to chat about books and even make some new friends!

Dog Days of Summer
Best Novel Set in Summer

The theme for August is Dog Days of Summer, and we are supposed to select our best/favorite novel set in summer.

Before I get into my choice for this month, I first want to include a couple honorable mentions, and both are actually series. First is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. These books came around while I was in high school, so I related to them quite a bit, and they were nice quick summer reads. And then the fifth book was released years later while I was in grad school, so once again, I really felt like I understood all of the characters. I still own these books, and talking about them now makes me want to reread the whole series.

My second honorable mention is the Percy Jackson series. With the exception of I believe one book, these all start at the end of the school year and then lead Percy to his summer at Camp Half-Blood. I discovered these books in the summer after my first year of college, but I couldn’t help but be sucked into the story thanks to all of the wonderful mythology and adventure within the pages. The fact that I am still a huge Rick Riordan fan (at the age of 30) is a testament to how great his books are, regardless of your age.

All right, I guess now it is time to reveal my actual choice for Best Novel Set in Summer. This one took a little bit of thought and debate, but in the end, I couldn’t help but pick this fun contemporary read that I flew through, even though it was over 500 pages long.

17838528

My choice is The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, and I talked about this book as one of my favorite reads in 2016, as well as in my Contemporary Recommendations post. But I guess I never actually wrote a review post for this one. Hmm…I may have to reread it so I can refresh my memory on the book before I write up a nice review.

But anyway, this story follows Andie, who has everything all planned out for her summer, including a nice internship that will help her with preparing for her future. But then a political scandal around her dad changes everything and she has to scramble to figure out a new plan for the summer. This ends up including a job as a dog walker, and meeting the adorable geek Clark.

I flew through this book, and I enjoyed the way the relationship developed between Andie and Clark, as well as watching the growing and changing relationship dynamic between Andie and her dad. Plus, in true Morgan Matson fashion, there are little cameos from her previous books in this one, because all of the books take place in the same area. (Andie and Clark end up making an appearance in Matson’s newest book release, Save the Date).

But when it comes to books set in summer/released in summer/read in summer, I tend to go for ones that are quick reads. Sometimes they are cutesy contemporary reads like this one, and sometimes they are filled with magic and adventure.

I do believe that is all for today. The announcement of the September Calendar Girls theme should be up on Katie’s and Adrienne’s blogs next week. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon with more bookish content.

Books!, Manga, Readathon, Reading Challenge, Signal Boost

Manga Madness Readathon (Round 3)

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Today is Day Two of Gen Con, and when this post goes live, my fiance and I will be wrapping up our time at the convention center and be heading across the city to the theater where we will watch a live episode of Critical Role, and we are both very excited about it. Anyway, I am not here to talk about my convention fun (yet…I will have a con wrap up post coming after the weekend is over).

I guess I’m just really in a readathon mood lately. Plus, my fiance and I just bought a bunch more manga to add to our collection. So it seems appropriate to announce that we are participating in the upcoming round of the Manga Madness Readathon.

It will be taking place from August 10th-18th, and the goal is to read as many manga as possible in that time. Now, there are a couple more specific ways to participate, like trying to complete a bingo board of different types, themes, or genres of manga, or focusing your attention on one specific series, but I just want to read some manga instead of trying to find a specific TBR for the event.

You can find out all the details on Jade’s blog here.

As for what the two of us will be reading, well it will probably be something on these shelves, though we may have added more volumes since this photo was taken. Oh and the shelving of the manga is not my decision. This bookcase is my fiance’s and he has complete control over where they all go and how they are stacked. He’s still figuring out his shelving preferences.


That is a really vague TBR, isn’t it? Well, I personally want to read the rest of Ancient Magus’ Bride, read the newest volume of My Hero Academia, since it comes out on August 7th, and then I’ll start reading whatever sounds interesting. I believe my fiance will be trying to work on getting manga completed and reviews formulated so he can start posting. We’ve already figured out his bio blurb and his review policy, so those are both up on the blog. Now we just need content.

So really, I do believe that is all for today. I just wanted to announce that I am doing another readathon. Let me know if you plan on participating as well, or let me know if you have any manga recommendations. I will be back soon with more bookish content.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Conventions, Graphic Novel, Manga, Readathon, Reading Challenge, Self-Published Books, Signal Boost

July Wrap Up and August TBR

daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to August. At the time this post goes live, I will probably be sitting in an Irish pub in Indianapolis, relaxing before the start of Gen Con. Why an Irish pub, you may ask? Well, as today is my birthday I got to choose where to eat dinner, and I just really wanted to hang out with my fiance and our nerd friends who came with us, and have a nice adult beverage…because I turned 30 today, so I can do that.

Also, heads up, sorry if I am not as quick at liking or responding to your comments over the next several days. Gen Con runs from Thursday through Sunday, and I will likely be soaking in all the nerd gear and books and gaming equipment, instead of playing on my phone. But I promise, I’m still here, and I will get back to you as soon as I am able.

Okay, let’s get started. First up, the books I read over the month of July. I feel like this past month was a pretty good one for reading. I participated in two different readathons and just generally was in a mood for devouring stories. As always, if I have a review up, I will include the link back to it, just in case you are interested or missed it.

The Emerald Sea by Richelle Mead — 5 stars

All of This is True by Lygia Day Penaflor — 4 stars

Save the Date by Morgan Matson — 4.5 stars

Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone — 5 stars

Little Moments of Love by Catana Chetwynd — 5 stars

My Hero Academia Vigilantes, Vol 1 by Hideyuki Furuhashi — 4 stars

And I Darken by Kiersten White — 5 stars

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse — 4.5 stars

Blackened White by Brian W Foster — 4 stars

Terminal Alliance by Jim C Hines — 4.5 stars

Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell — 5 stars

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S Dawson and Kevin Hearne — 5 stars

Game of Secrets by Kim Foster — 4 stars

Vox Machina Origins by Matthew Coville, Chris Northrop, Olivia Samson, and Matthew Mercer — 5 stars

All right, and then there were the other stories I consumed over the month, namely movies and TV shows. I kept track of them just in case anyone was interested, and I guess I enjoy having a record of what I’ve seen, so this segment of my monthly wrap up may be here to stay.

Pokemon: the series — Sun & Moon (season 1) — 4 stars, Kung Fu Panda 3 — 4.5 stars, Ant-Man and the Wasp — 5 stars, The Princess Diaries (again) — 5 stars, Ella Enchanted (again) — 4 stars, Happy Gilmore (again) — 5 stars, The Mummy — 4 stars, The Mummy Returns — 4.5 stars, Journey to the Center of the Earth — 4 stars

Also, as usual I am still watching “Critical Role” each week and things got really intense and emotional in July. I am so looking forward to seeing the show live and in person this weekend. My fiance and I also started watching a summer show on the CW called “The Outpost,” and it is really interesting so far. The show is created by the same people who did the Mythica series of movies, and those movies are what my fiance and I watched on our first date, so obviously we feel a special connection to all five films. This new series actually has a couple of the same cast members and has a similar feel to the magic as Mythica, so I’m excited to see where it goes from here. Finally, my fiance and I decided that we had taken enough of a break to separate Avatar from Korra, so we started watching The Legend of Korra. We finished Books One and Two, and are almost finished with Book Three, and I am really enjoying it so far. So many of the characters are either connected to characters from the original series or act in a similar manner, and it is really entertaining to watch.

I do believe that is all for what I saw this month.

Next up is the book haul and OwlCrate unboxing portions of this post. This month is a little special because I am separating my fiance’s haul into its own section. There was a manga sale on Barnes & Noble and he decided to stock up on some reads and start prepping posts, because he is getting really excited about joining me here on this blog. He has figured out what name he wants to go by, because he doesn’t want to use his real name, so like me he has come up with a pen name, and now we are just figuring out his review policy and rating system. So his debut should be soon. Okay, let’s just get into his haul already.

There are a few of these manga volumes that I plan to check out as well, so we may see me switch to mini reviews on the manga when he starts doing his reviews.

Next up is my haul, and I also purchased some manga because that deal was too good to pass up. Plus I got a few other books I was pretty excited about. And I am so happy with the OwlCrate for July, though it was a book I had recently purchased, so I now have two copies. I actually do prefer the OwlCrate cover, so I may end up unhauling the original.

img_20180712_1632574953184432.jpg

Finally, there is my August TBR to announce. And I can honestly say that I haven’t exactly planned out a TBR really just yet for this one. Oh boy, I guess I need to go stare at my shelves and figure that out. Hold on a moment.

Okay, so the next volume of My Hero Academia will be released in August, as will the fifth volume of Rat Queens. I will most likely be getting and reading both of those. My most anticipated release of the year will be out in August, but not until the 28th, so I don’t exactly think I can include it on my TBR, but you can definitely expect Access Restricted by Gregory Scott Katsoulis to be on my September TBR. Oh, and the next round of the Manga Madness Readathon is taking place in August as well, so I will probably be reading quite a few volumes, but I’ll have a TBR announcement post up for that one soon.

img_20180729_1019288461726936533.jpg

There, that seems like a decent TBR, though I could always change those up or add more, depending on how the month goes. And I do believe that is all for today. Thanks for reading and commenting and being awesome bookish friends. I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.