This light novel was of the erotic variety.  In this world, most people have a second “sex” that rears around age 19.  Most are either Dom or Sub.  In the main character’s case, his parents are two prominent Dom’s who created life to ensure their heritage is passed on.  However, when their son Anthony, turns out to be a sub, they sell, or parcel him off to a rich guy for business connections.  After the diagnosis, Anthony’s dad’s Sub (who is a switch) has to initiate him so he is ready for the prominent businessman and knows the basics of being a sub and obeying orders.  Anthony is taken to a fancy glass house where his new “owner” keeps him locked up and naked.  Until the day the house is broken into, and Anthony begs the thief to take him away.  And he does.  I DNFed this story.  The main reason, there is blood play, which I do not care for.  I also do not care for the forceful nature of the world.  Where you are commanded and cannot resist even if you want to.  It was just a huge turn off.  And all the biting to draw blood… hard line NO.  

 

This was interesting, but not in the best way.  It feels very much like a rehash of the movie The Craft.  The group of kids is bigger, and there are multiple genders, but this is a retelling of the Craft, with a tad bit of Something is killing the children thrown in.  It’s not a bad story, but it jumps, frequently.  The ideas are mostly smooth, but the action goes forward, jumps, goes forward, jumps etc.  That is annoying.  There is not time to develop a feel for the characters of how they feel about the situations taking place around them.  Overall, this is a good start, but I will reserve more judgement until the next volume is released.  This could either go on to become a great series, or flush itself-down the toilet. 

 

This book was great.  It was easy to understand, follow, and gave simple but great examples to help home, school, and work be more gender neutral.  While the book mentions laying it out or passing it around at work, it is simplistic enough for kids to understand as well.  I would be a great addition to any collection, library, personal, or professional. 

 

This boy’s love manga starts out wordy.  You have speech bubble, action bubbles, thought bubbles, and other “talk”.  The story is not strait forward.  It’s a workplace romance, with a bit of spice, so there are anatomical illustrations of penetration.  At first this was annoying, and I almost DNFed it.  But for some reason I kept up the story and did enjoy it.  It was a close call, and it is not something I would want to read again, but it was decently done. 

 

DNF – this is about a 25-year-old woman who is a fangirl.  She spends all her excess money being devoted to one musical actor.  She forgoes lunch to spend time with his live stream, and to save money. But due to workplace politics she does not want to be “out” as a fan girl at work.  One day a lovely young man feeds her in the park after a bird takes off with her lunch. She tells him everything. Turns out this random guy is her new coworker.  I just could not do this book any longer.  I do not get “fandom” life or idols, so to me this is just a young woman acting like a 10-year-old and playing at being an adult.  Even the way things are written is dumbed down and childlike, and very unenjoyable. 

 

This is a boys-love standalone title.  It is the middle of winter, Haruki is a native to the snowy land.  He has never lived anywhere else.  Akihito is a wildlife photographer trying to get an elusive shot of snow fairies.  But the winter weather is too much and Akithito is snowed in with Haruki.  They find friendship and eventually love.  This is a quite tale about a shy boy, finding new meaning in life through an adventurous boy.  This was a wonderfully lovely story that would put a smile on the readers face. 

 

Kate is an unexpected Netflix star in the new series Dirty Pretty Things.  What makes this so unusual is she is a size 16, and the character in the book is not.  But the director falls in love with her, and new stardom is made.  However, when it comes out that her co-star Bella (who is legal 18, meaning NOT 18) is having an affair with the married director, the show is shut down and Kate has to get a “real job “even though she is only 17.  Her parents would prefer she goes to college, but if she wants to work, then she is going to work and pay for herself.  She gets a job at her best friend’s father’s law firm as a file clerk.  She can do it after hours, so she can still go to auditions and everything else she needs to be a real actress.  One night she sees a double murder in the window across the way.  However, NO one believes her.  

 

This book was slow.  I loved Kate as a character, and this read is mostly a character study.  It takes half the book to get to the first murder, and then the ending is so action packed, that it speeds to the finish line.  Overall, I Iiked this story, and I loved Kate, but I didn’t love the book.  If someone has seen the Get Dirty series on Netflix, which is based on another series by Gretchen McNeil, and loved it, then they will love this book. It fits right in.  For this reader, they love Gretchen for the Murder Trending books, and this title pales in comparison.  It’s not bad, but it’s not edge of your seat either. 

 

This was the ending of a trilogy no one was seeking.  The readers are back with both gangs from the first two books that are all now mingled together as the Murder Crew.  A billboard says, a new came is started and there is just one rule…  It was nice to revisit the characters that I loved from the first book, and the ones I liked from the second book.  There are just a few new characters in this book, but the love just isn’t there.  Most of this book is character studies.  What is happening to who, how are they living with themselves, etc.  There is a kidnapping, and 2 deaths, but unlike the prequels they were not exciting.  It was boring.  It took over half the book to get to the first death, and then it rushed to the end.  I liked revisiting the characters, but it wasn’t something I needed to do.  This book is only for the fans.  It will not stop me from reading other McManus books, because I usually love them, but please, let this franchise die. 

 

WOW!  I own many books by this author, but this is the first one I have read.  While this is not in my normal genera (and the others are) there is just something so compelling about this book. From the first five minutes of the audio book I could not stop listening.  Not a bit.  I was glued.  It is the story of theft.  Idea theft. Of passing the work of one person off as another, damn the consequences.  And not only passing it off as yours, truly believing that it is yours.  It is your work, and the other author just did the basics.  It was interesting to be inside the main character’s head, and her thought process through the events of this book.  I saw myself as a reader on many of the pages, and in many of the events.  I see influencers I recognized as the parodies they are.  And I saw behind the eyes of someone reaching for the unattainable, just to have it crash around them for their own folly.  I loved everything about this book, and come fall, when they start handing out awards, this will be on the top of the list.!! 

 

This book was magical. It’s part graphic novel, part, heavily illustrated middle grade fantasy. Knell lives on a star farm. Her best friend is a fairy, her second-best friend is a thumbkin, and the school know it all is a centaur. They were all getting ready to start new apprenticeships. Nell wants to be an artist however, her teacher assigned her to work with the Lore keeper. This book is expository in nature as it’s told in journal entries, and it’s very well done. The reader keeps flipping pages not only because they can feel and understand the way Nell is feeling, but you want to know what’s happening in this unique town. When some strangers come to town saying they’re descendants of the king, and they want to make this a new roller coaster loving tourist attraction, it’s up to Knell, and her friends find information and the keys to the kingdom to keep the new people out. This was a fun and loving book and I really truly hope that there is a sequel.