The Haunting of Bellington Cottage by Laura Parnum

The Haunting of Bellington Cottage by Laura Parnum

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Storytide through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Iris has been looking forward to finally seeing Violet again after years because it’s sure to be even better than the last time their families took a trip together. She’s ready to repeat the fun they had giving their previous rental a spoopy makeover, but when Violet arrives, nothing is the same. She now goes by Vee, and not only does she not want to be there, but also doesn’t want to do much with Iris. Things only get worse when it turns out that their current rental is haunted and everyone thinks Iris and Vee are behind the ghost’s activities. It’s up to them to figure out who is haunting the house and help put them to rest!

If you’re looking for a paranormal coming of age story, then you can’t possibly go wrong with this book! We follow Iris as she’s finally reunited with her old friend Vee. Unfortunately for her, Vee isn’t excited to be on this trip, and she’s changed a lot since the last time they saw each other. Between getting the blame for the ghost’s activities and the struggles Iris and Vee are silently going through, it’s hard for the two to get on the same page. Thankfully, teaming up to help the restless ghost does them and the ghost a lot of good.

I love that this is a paranormal mystery that helps these former friends reconnect and discover the power of communication. It’s a great message for middle school readers who may relate to Iris and Violet. It’s also a story about change, and I think a lot of the target audience will relate to this, especially because it also involves navigating friendships that are changing due to various reasons. I like that it’s not afraid to touch on jealousy and loneliness as well as figuring out how to deal with it.

All in all, this was an excellent read. It’s also something I would’ve especially loved when I was in middle school. Plus, there’s a paranormal mystery that is sure to draw readers in. I think it’s an excellent read and that you really can’t go wrong with picking this up.

Witchy Stitching: 25 Patterns to Haunt Your Home by Meg Black

Witchy Stitching: 25 Patterns to Haunt Your Home by Meg Black

My Rating: ★★★★★

If you’re looking for some spoopy cross stitching patterns, then this is the book for you! Inside, you will find 25 wonderful patterns along with a couple extras. Other than the great patterns that are both fun and spoopy, I really like that there’s a comprehensive materials guide on top of all the information you need on how to actually cross stitch. I love this because it means that people who have never cross stitched before can pick this up and learn how to cross stitch and read patterns. It’s also the first time I’ve seen a solid guide on what needles to use!

Plus, there’s a tutorial on how Meg likes to make bookmarks and a section on how to stitch with beads. I thought that this was really cool, especially the section on stitching with beads. I’ve been cross stitching and doing embroidery for years now, but I haven’t started using beads yet either. Seeing this section really inspired me to buy some beads and start adding it to some of my projects. I already use glow in the dark floss from DMC and Kreinik, but now I’m excited to start adding beads!

All in all, this is an excellent book. If you’re on the fence and not familiar with The Witchy Stitcher aka Meg, I urge you to look up their shop or check out their social media to see what kind of patterns they have available to see if you like their style. Personally, I think you really can’t go wrong with this pattern book if you like anything Halloween or otherwise spoopy!

Amari and the Despicable Wonders (Supernatural Investigations #3) by B.B. Alston

Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston

My Rating: ★★

Dylan Van Helsing has officially declared war on the supernatural world, and it’s up to Amari and her friends to beat him to the final punch that will destroy everything. But first… she needs to hide out because she’s now public enemy #1! Magicless, on the run, and trying to save the world, Amari has her work cut out for her!

I’ve really been enjoying this series, but unfortunately, this one was a bit of a dud. There was a lot of filler, which didn’t help with the pacing issues. We were either going at a snail’s pace or straight into full action. Plus, there’s some major plot holes and I’m still trying to figure out how a certain event that occurs at the end even makes sense, especially with how the laws of magic work in this world. I’m not even going to get into how middle school age readers are given a lesson about hotheaded decisions before throwing that lesson straight out the window.

That said, there were some things about it. I really enjoyed the new characters along with seeing all of our old favorites. There are some funny moments and some pretty solid emotional moments. I liked seeing some of the characters grow as well as one of the characters realizing how far they’ve come since the start of the series.

All in all, I’m feeling iffy about this book. It feels like it was meant to be the final book. If the book had a slightly different ending, this would stand up very well as the end of the series. However, there are some good things going for it, and the previous two books were excellent reads. I’m going to give the series a chance and check out the next book because I think this will likely be the lone dud.

The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal by Yossi Yovel

 

The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal by Yossi Yovel

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for a book on bats, this might be for you! Inside, you will find a lot of information on bats covering everything from their roosting habits to their evolution. While there’s almost 1500 species of bats, some good coverage on a smaller selection of bats without touching on everything. I think that if you’re super interested in echolocation, this will be up your alley for sure.

That said, while this book was an interesting read, a lot more time was spent on covering the research community and travels than I expected. I was expecting a lot more information on bats, less echolocation coverage, and less research and travel coverage. I think that it was an enjoyable read, but it was different from what I was expecting. If you’re interested in this book, just know that it’s selective about the bat species covered and that there’s a huge emphasis on echolocation before jumping in. It’s all about adjusting your expectations so you’re not in for a surprise later because I was hoping for more bat species coverage than what was actually covered.

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 3-4 by Ushio Shirotori; Ichibu Saki

 

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 3-4  by Ushio Shirotori; Ichibu Saki

My Rating: ★★★★

Claire Martino has managed to land on her feet in Paffuto. Thanks to her hard work and dedication paired with her honest personality, she’s starting to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, that also means she’s caught the attention of the people behind her mother’s death. At least she has the protection of the crown, but her new engagement to Vik also means she will have to face the people she ran away from.

I’ve been really enjoying this series. Following Claire as she creates a new life for herself and getting to know all the characters has been wonderful. I really liked that we didn’t see anything about Claire’s life being a dating game for a while, but then it came in and shook things up just when things were getting really interesting!

Thankfully, the story is still good, but I’m a little iffy about how we suddenly speed through events to get to where the story can get going again. It’ll be interesting to see where we go from here and what Claire will choose to do about the different game saves that are the different paths her life can take. I’m most interested in seeing what her sister, Charlotte, does this time around. We got to see exactly how far she’s willing to go to make things go her way, so it’ll be interesting to see what the similarities and differences will be this time around.

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 1-2 by Ushio Shirotori; Ichibu Saki

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 1-2 by Ushio Shirotori; Ichibu Saki

My Rating: ★★★★

Claire Martino’s life had been planned from the second she was born. Everything changed when it turned out she had weak magical abilities. Her family turned on her, her fiancé prepared to marry her younger sister, and every single good thing in her life slipped straight through her fingers. When it turns out her little sister is behind setting her up to lose everything, Claire sneaks away to start over. Now that she’s in Paffuto, it turns out that even her magical abilities are far stronger than anyone could’ve ever imagined, and now she’s a governess who is attending the royal academy to learn how to control her magic.

When I picked up the first volume, I was not expecting to get so sucked into the story. I read the first two volumes back to back because I just couldn’t get enough. We follow Claire as she discreetly slips away from her life to start over, but she accidentally finds herself close friends with the future king of Paffuto and discovers that her magical abilities are crazy strong!

I love seeing Claire start over and slowly uncover the mystery behind her mother’s birth. The characters are interesting, the plot is top tier, and the artwork is stunning. I’m particularly interested in seeing how things slowly unfold with her jealous younger sister as the story progresses. Plus, it’ll be interesting to see just how much Claire can do and how many people have figured out who her mother really is.

All in all, I’m really enjoying this series and I look forward to checking out the novels as well. My only complaint is that it turns out that Claire’s life is also a video game. At this point, it doesn’t really make sense because we’ve barely spent any time with her in our world. The things she’s learned from the brief moments she’s been in our world hasn’t added anything to the story because she either already had that information or was headed in that direction anyway. So far, this plot point has only disrupted the pace of the story, but I hope to see it pan out as I continue to read.

Penguin & House, Vol. 1 by Akiho Ieda

 

Penguin & House, Vol. 1 by Akiho Ieda

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Kodansha Comics through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pen and Hayakawa are best buds, but Pen isn’t just anyone. He’s a penguin! He loves to cook, bake, and hang out with his best friend. Hayakawa is a bit of a mess, but he means well, and he loves Pen with his whole heart! What shenanigans will Pen get up to in the name of Hayakawa?!

This is such an adorable book. We follow Pen the penguin and his best friend and owner, Hayakawa, who is a university student. Hayakawa is lazy and accident prone, but he’s also nice and loves Pen with every ounce of his being. It’s too bad that his thoughtlessness leads to a lot of grief for poor little Pen!

If you’re looking for a feel good story told through a series of short chapters that are a lot like short comics following the characters, then I think this will be a pretty solid read for you! It’s so cute and funny, and we get to see Pen bond with more than just Hayakawa. I loved it!