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Manga Review: My Hero Academia Vol 11

October 15, 2018October 13, 2018 daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Okay, so I’ve been a little lax with my Manga Monday reviews, and for that I’m sorry. Once again I have a nice buildup of reviews to write, so I can safely say that this series of posts should be able to continue for a few more months, at least. Though probably longer since I do plan to continue reading manga in future.

Anyway, I will be reading Vol 15 of My Hero Academia very soon, so I am pretty close to catching up on reviews for these reads, which means I’ll have to get back around to some of my other manga series.

Oh, and at the beginning of this month, my fiance and I went to the movies and saw the new My Hero Academia movie, and it was just so darn good. This is an anime series I am probably going to end up buying on DVD, because I will definitely want to watch it again at some point. The movie takes place right before this current season starts, so I do recommend watching it then, or else watching the episodes and movies according to their release dates.

With that out of the way, let’s just go ahead and jump into the review.

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Summary

Bakugo’s abduction by the League of Villains was a carefully calculated move designed to draw out the heroes—All Might in particular—and destroy them. Midoriya and his friends set out on a rescue mission that eventually pulls in not only All Might but also several other heroes! The casualties mount, until at last the mastermind of the plot appears—All for One, the only villain powerful enough to take on All Might head-to-head and possibly win!

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

This was such a great and intense volume. After I first read this one I considered this particular story arc to be my favorite of the series thus far, with good reason. There was so much going on, not just action, but also seeing how all the students continue to keep handling these extreme situations with powerful forces that seem against them.

Plus that All Might vs All for One situation. We have been waiting for it for quite some time, and the tension has been building for it so now it is time to see what sort of fallout will come from this encounter.

This is going to be an interesting storyline to follow, and I am so glad that I am caught up with both the show and the manga series–well, at least the manga that has been released over here in the United States. Obviously I will never wholly be caught up with what has been released weekly in Japan. I mean, unless I learned how to read Japanese, and I’m afraid I don’t currently have enough free time to take on learning a new language.

I know I say this in pretty much each of my reviews for My Hero Academia, but if you like superhero based stories, especially if you also like stories with a school setting, then I definitely recommend checking this series out.

Where to Buy

You can pick up Volume 11 of My Hero Academia, or any of the rest of the series, from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent book store.

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon TBR — October 2018

October 12, 2018October 11, 2018 daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

I’m back with another readathon announcement. This is a readathon I definitely look forward to twice a year–err, three times this year, since they did the reverse readathon this summer. You can get all the details about the history of the event by visiting the web site.

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Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon has been a major part of my reading life for pretty much three years now. I discovered it back in 2016 and have participated each time since. So every April and October I try and figure out a good variety of books to try and devour in one twenty-four hour period.

Now I have had attempts at this readathon that I’ve done really well with, and some that I did just okay. But what is important is that I manage to get some reading accomplished and that I have fun. And I honestly do. I love popping on Instagram and seeing how everyone is doing with their reading.

Oh, so I think before this next session I’m going to write up a post with some of my tips and tricks for preparing for a readathon, as well as participating in one. I mean, if any of you would be interested in that sort of post anyway.

This next session of Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018. It starts at 8 a.m. EST (which thankfully is the time zone I live in) and will continue until 7:59 a.m. EST on Sunday, October 21, 2018. You can figure out your start time by going here.

Okay, so I guess it is time to go over my tentative TBR for the readathon. I don’t know how successful I will be at this, because we will have friends over for 5 or 6 hours in the middle of the readathon, but oh well. That has never deterred me from participating.

First up, Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel. I have been wanting to read this book since I saw the cover last year before its release. And the companion/sequel is out now (also with a gorgeous cover), so I’d like to give this one a try.

Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells is a re-read for me, so I’m predicting that I can read it fairly quickly. Also, it takes place in a fictional city in Northern Ohio, so I find that to be pretty cool. And the grittiness of it, plus the cool magic system, just makes me want to read it again.

Next is Borrowed Souls by Chelsea Mueller. I have followed the Vampire Book Club for a couple years now, and Chelsea is the founder of the blog/group, which now includes a handful of wonderful ladies who review all sorts of paranormal and fantasy stories, typically ones with romance in them. So when I heard that Chelsea was getting published I wanted to support her. That was last year, and I bought her book. The sequel is now out, so I’d like to actually finally read this book.

Then I want to talk about All the Feels by Danika Stone. It sounds like a fun and geeky contemporary, and I’ve read quite a few of those and really enjoyed them. This one has a focus on fandom and conventions and a science fiction show, so I am really excited to finally read it.

Finally, there is The Monster of Selkirk: The Duality of Nature by C.E. Clayton. This is the first book of a series that has I have watched my book blogger buddy Kathy from Books & Munches rave about over and over again. And honestly, with such high praise, how could I not pick it up? Actually, I bought the first two books. The third book is due to be published on October 16th, so now seems a perfect time to jump into the series.

Of course, my TBR can possibly change, and might shift to include some quicker reads like some volumes of manga. But we’ll see what happens during the readathon itself.

Are any of you participating? Let me know what social media accounts you’re using so I can follow your readathon progress.

That is all from me today. I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

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

What I’m Reading (34)

October 10, 2018October 9, 2018 daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

It has been a good week, but not a very productive reading week. Doctor Who came back on, and I’m liking the Thirteenth Doctor so far. And my fiance and I took my mom to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday–it was her first time there and she had a great time. It was Highland Weekend, so there were lots of kilts and a great deal of bagpipe music going on. Oh, and I met one of the most fierce and badass women, named Dame Jaclyn. She was one of the full-armored knights for the joust. On the first pass she took a poorly aimed lance that hit pretty much in the gut/ovary area. Then on the second pass she was unhorsed. But she got back up and mounted the horse again to go for the third pass. Dame Jaclyn said that in armor she weighs about 200 pounds and her opponent weighs more like 500 pounds in armor. It was an impressive showing, and I’m glad I got to talk to her and get her autograph after the joust was completed.

I read two books in the last week. Actually, I read both of these last night. But again, they are choose your own adventure books so they are pretty darn quick reads. With Big Trouble, I made a couple of bad decisions so it took about three tries to make it all the way through the adventure. Oddly enough, I made it through the first try with To Catch A Thief. So what did I learn from these four Endless Quest books (the fighter, the cleric, the wizard, and the rogue)? Well, apparently I have the easiest time surviving if I am in the mindset of a rogue. Which is weird to me because I tend to play clerics the most and I am generally pretty good at surviving in D&D.

Anyway, on to what I am currently reading.

Well, I’m still reading Access Restricted by Gregory Scott Katsoulis. I am really into the story, but I can admit that part of me is worried that this is the last book in the series or that it will leave off on a massive cliffhanger. Either way I don’t know that I’m ready for the book to end, which I think has slowed my reading speed a bit. Plus, obviously I got distracted by other books.

Okay, so I made it another 20 pages into Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Overall I’m not doing too bad with my progress on this, especially since I’ve been in a Highlander mood. Granted, this one doesn’t have nearly as many Scots in kilts in it, but it’s still a good read. If I keep this up then I should reach my goal of reaching at least page 400 by the end of the month.

I also started reading a poetry book I picked up at the end of last month and I am so loving it. The poems are definitely resonating with me, and I plan on having a gushing review of the book up shortly after I finish it. For now I’m a little over halfway finished and I can definitely say that I recommend Fierce Fairytales: Poems & Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill.

What I plan on reading next is probably…hmm…I’m thinking the next book I’ll pick up is Rule by Ellen Goodlett.

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This book is giving me some Three Dark Crowns vibes, sort of. So I can definitely say that I am looking forward to diving into this read, and hopefully I enjoy it.

So what books are you reading? I’d love to know, so let’s talk books in the comments. I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

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

What I’m Reading (33)

October 3, 2018October 2, 2018 daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome back to another post in my series where I talk about books I have read recently, books I am currently reading, and books I plan to start reading soon. My reading plans for October are pretty extensive, so it will be an interesting month. Actually as I was adding in the book cover images for this post I realized that my current reads totally fit the October/Halloween mood. They are both orange books.

So…the only books I’ve finished reading in the past week are short reads, because they are choose your own adventure books. But they were pretty fun to read, and I look forward to grabbing the other books in the series.

Obviously these are Dungeons and Dragons based stories, and they are both inspired by campaigns I am currently running or have recently completed. So I thought that I would be able to make it through these books easily since I already was familiar with the stories. Guess what? I was completely wrong. I made the wrong decisions multiple times and ended up dying, which was sad. But I started over each time and tried again. Eventually, after four or five tries, I managed to successfully reach the conclusion of the adventures. It was a fun time, especially since my fiance and I were sitting on the couch trying to survive these tales together. Well, we were each reading a different book, and then swapping them when we failed. Anyway, these books are aimed at ages 8-12, but I would recommend them to any fan of D&D.

For my current reads, I am working on two books–and by that I mean that I am focused on one and the other is an ongoing backburner read that I’m kinda in the mood for right now so I’m reading it more than I have in the past couple months.

The book I’m focused on is Access Restricted by Gregory Scott Katsoulis. Currently I am a little more than halfway finished with it, and so far it is totally meeting my expectations. I totally admit that I had set super high expectations on this book because of how much I loved the first one, and that had made me nervous to start it. That’s why I actually didn’t get around to reading this one last month. But I am pleased to say that it is just as intriguing and thought provoking as the first. So hopefully I will finish it soon and then get a review up.

My backburner read is still Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. I’m around 250 pages in, and I suppose my goal for the month is to read up to around page 400. I’ve had this book on my currently reading shelf on Goodreads for something like six months now and I’d like to finish it so I can watch the second season of the show, as well as start reading the third book.

As for what I’m hoping to start reading soon…well, a few different books spring to mind.

Oh, wait, that’s my planned TBR for this month. I’m pretty much sticking to mood reading for October, so whichever of these books calls out to me loudest will be the one that I read next. Of course, I may also pick up more volumes of Fairy Tail, so we’ll see what happens.

Anyway, that is it for today. I will be back soon with more bookish content. Let me know in the comments what great books you’re reading; I’d love to know.

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

September Wrap-Up and October TBR

October 2, 2018October 1, 2018 daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

September has come and gone, and now we have opened our calendars up to October. That is just such a crazy thought to me. How are we this close to the end of 2018 already? The weather is starting to cool down where I am and the leaves are beginning to change color.

What I love is that as it gets colder outside, all I want to do is to curl up under a blanket inside. Oh, and naturally I want to have that cozy beverage of hot tea or hot cocoa beside me while I’m enjoying all the extra reading time. This is definitely the time of year where I want to delve into longer fantasy reads, or just larger TBR stacks in general. The cold weather and I just do not get along.

Anyway, it is time once again to wrap up everything I both read and watched over the last month, before diving into my book haul, my monthly OwlCrate unboxing, and my tentative TBR for this lovely and spooky October. It has been a pretty good month, so I’m excited to talk about everything with all of you.

First up, let’s go over everything I managed to read in the month of September.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco — 5 stars

Fairy Tail Vol 1 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars

Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry — 4 stars

Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep — 5 stars

Fairy Tail Vol 2 by Hiro Mashima — 5 stars

Queens of Fennbirn by Kendare Blake — 4.5 stars

Captain Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Hero Vol 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick — 4 stars

Shadowblack by Sebastien de Castell — 4.5 stars

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake — 5 stars

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco — 5 stars

Endless Quest: Into the Jungle by Matt Forbeck — 4 stars

Endless Quest: Escape the Underdark by Matt Forbeck — 4 stars

Next up is what I watched for the month. Now, I can’t exactly fully count some of my watches, because while we were at our hotel for our renaissance faire weekend, SyFy was doing a Star Wars movie marathon, and we ended up watching part of Episodes 2, 3, and 4, but not enough of any of them to fully count them as a watch.

The Emperor’s New Groove (5 stars), Princess Diaries 2 (5 stars), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (4 stars), The Princess Bride (5 stars), Scott Pilgrim vs the World (5 stars), My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (5 stars), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (5 stars), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (5 stars). As always we are continuing with watching Critical Role Campaign 2, as well as keeping up with My Hero Academia’s current season. Oh, and we are continuing with our watch through of Fairy Tail, and have finished season three of the show. I am currently so obsessed with the characters and the world of this anime. So, expect to see me start reviewing the manga volumes that I have read very soon. The final watch I need to mention is the fact that I managed to get my fiance to watch A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning (5 stars) on Netflix, and he actually really enjoyed it; I believe we will be watching the rest of the series soon. Our main focus right now is Fairy Tail because the final season of the anime will be airing starting at the end of the month, and it would be really cool if I am caught up by then.

Oh boy…now it is time for my book haul for the month. We went to Barnes & Noble twice this month, and made a trip to Half-Price Books as well. Pretty much that alone should tell you about my lack of self-control when it comes to adding to my library.

Wow, okay, that was a big haul. Let’s just move on to my OwlCrate unboxing. This month’s box was pretty cool too. I’m definitely happy about the fingerless gloves. Oh, and apparently the October box will have two hardcover books in it, so I am absolutely looking forward to getting this next box.

Finally, I guess all that is left is my October TBR. I’m going to start with a smaller list, because I’m definitely in a bit of mood reader time right now. Also, October is when the next session of Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is being held (Oct 20th), so I will be posting a TBR for that when we get a bit closer to that time.

Clearly based on my September reading, I need to read Escaping From Houdini soon, and the same goes for Charmcaster. These are both series that I am enjoying so so much. Then I have a little fairy tale poetry collection, which I’m sure will be a pretty quick read, so that will be nice. Rule is about three illegitimate daughters fighting for the crown, and honestly I sort of get a little Three Dark Crowns vibe from it all. Finally, The Lost Queen is a story about the sister of the man who would come to be known as Merlin, and it is described as appealing to fans of Outlander, so I am willing to give it a shot.

Oh, and I do think that I have selected my TBR for Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, but I’m just going to prep the post, and you all will see it in another week or so.

That should be all for today, but I will be back soon with more bookish content. Let me know in the comments what your favorite book purchase was in September.

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

What I’m Reading (32)

September 26, 2018September 25, 2018 daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

After last week’s impressive update, I can say that this week just might be a little disappointing. I did not have nearly as much reading time. Or, I guess I technically had about the same amount of time where I could have been reading but I didn’t because of other things. That happens sometimes.

I’m still having a pretty good reading month for September though, and I’m looking forward to my reading for the rest of the week, as well as coming up with my October TBR…because, yikes, October is right around the corner.

In other bookish related news, I just watched the final trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald, and can it be November already so I can see this movie? I love Newt, and I think Jacob is one of my favorite characters. After watching this trailer, my fiance said that he thinks the Fantastic Beasts series could be something he ranks higher than Harry Potter, and honestly, I agree with him on that. And I love Harry Potter.

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Anyway, let’s talk about books. Over the last week, mostly during break times at work, I managed to finish reading Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco. Just like with the first book in the series, this one snatched hold of my thoughts and interest and just didn’t want to let go. These are such interesting characters and plots and I’m glad that I finally gave these books a chance. Expect me to get around to reading the third book pretty soon.

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Moving on to current reads. So, I guess I’ll mention that I finally picked Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon up again. This is an interesting series, and I have enjoyed everything I’ve read so far, but I can also say that this isn’t a series that I fully focus on. I read 100 pages of this book a few months ago and then set the book aside. Well this week I picked it up again and have read another 100 pages. I definitely consider this to be a side read or a backburner read. Could I keep reading and finish this book in just a few days or so? Well, yes, and that could happen, but if it doesn’t then I’m not super concerned about it. Besides, this way I don’t really ever need to worry about “droughtlander,” like some people. Of course, when If finally finish reading this book then I’ll be able to watch the second season of the show. Because I’m trying to avoid spoilers so I’m not watching ahead of what I’ve read.

My other current read is one that I have been putting off all month, but no longer. It is my most highly anticipated release of the year, and it is about time I start reading. I am so nervous and excited to read Access Restricted by Gregory Scott Katsoulis.

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I don’t know what I’ll read after I finish this book. It honestly depends on how quickly I get through this one, and what mood strikes me next.

So what books are you reading? Anything you’d recommend? I’m always looking for new reads to add to my impossibly large TBR. Thanks for reading everyone, and I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Book Releases, Book Review, Books!, Recommendations, Signal Boost

Blog Tour Review: Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep

September 25, 2018September 26, 2018 daniellethamasa

Hey all, Dani here.

I am so happy to be posting this review today, as part of the blog tour for Jennifer Estep’s new fantasy novel, Kill the Queen. This book will be out in the world in just one week, on October 2nd, but I have had my eye on it for a few months now. So when I was offered the chance to sign up for the blog tour, I jumped on it, and thankfully I was approved.

Because of this I must give a huge thank you to Let’s Talk! Promotions for approving me to be on the book tour, and I must also thank Edelweiss, as well as the publisher Harper Voyager for granting me early access to this novel. As always, I need to say that being granted a galley (or being part of the blog tour) did not affect my rating or review in any way.

I have read six of Estep’s Elemental Assassin series, plus the first novel in her Mythos Academy series. In all actuality I own about a dozen of her books that I haven’t read yet. She is an author whose work I follow, but I don’t desperately reach for the newest release as soon as it is available.

But this one sounded really interesting to me, and I wanted to see how a primarily urban fantasy and paranormal author took on a more epic fantasy style tale. Plus it is tagged as Gladiator meets Game of Thrones, so I was definitely intrigued.

Okay, let’s just jump into the review.

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