This Princess Kills Monsters: The Misadventures of a Fairy-Tale Stepsister by Ry Herman

 

This Princess Kills Monsters: The Misadventures of a Fairy-Tale Stepsister by Ry Herman

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Dial Press Trade Paperback through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this hilarious retelling of The Twelve Huntsmen, we follow Princess Melilot, and she’s extremely tired of being sent on ridiculous and dangerous quests that she can’t complete by her stepmother. Things take a strange turn when she’s told that a marriage to some king she’s never heard of has been arranged. Not only was her journey just to meet this king an adventure she’d like to forget, but she’s now also saddled with a strange group of identical huntsmen who are extremely suspicious of her. At least her fiancé's sister is hot, right? Wait. That’s not who Melilot’s here to marry!

Honestly, this book had me at a satirical lesbian retelling of The Twelve Huntsmen. I knew I was in for a real treat! We follow Princess Melilot in a story peppered with nods to other fairy tales. There were a few easter eggs that flew over my head, but that’s because I’m not familiar with all of the fairy tales that were referenced. That said, it was a lot of fun spotting each reference whether or not I was familiar with the fairy tale in question. If that isn’t your thing, this might not be the book for you, but if you’re looking for a hilarious story that doesn’t take itself seriously and you also love fairytales, I highly recommend it.

This was such a fun read. I love how whimsical it was while remaining absolutely hilarious. I really liked Melilot from the start. The fact that King Gervase couldn’t recognize his ex-fiancé just because she wore pants was utterly delightful. The romance was cute and heavy handed but still done really well. Above all, it’s just a hilarious read. I had so much fun reading about all the different characters and their shenanigans. It was so much fun and the perfect book to round off 2024 with.

House of Elephants (Witchlings #3) by Claribel A. Ortega

House of Elephants by Claribel A. Ortega

My Rating: ★★★★

With each failed attempt to cure the effects of stone hex, Seven is becoming increasingly worried that they will not find the cure in time. Plus, the prejudice toward Spares is at an all-time high, and the Hill Society is trying to take away every last right Spares have. Just when Seven’s life couldn’t get any crazier, the Black Moon Ceremony throws everyone through a whole new loop: all of this year’s witchlings are Spares! Something crazy is happening with magic, and a whole bunch of people are trying to blame all Spares!

I have been absolutely loving this series. I was so excited to get my hands on this book, but unfortunately, the first half suffered pacing issues because there were so many open plot points. While I loved the book, it really felt like two books got squished together and published as a single book. It’s great for me because I feel like I just read two books in the series back to back, but I don’t know if everyone’s going to love that.

The second half of the book was excellent, but it was so fast paced and worked to wrap up so many open plot points that I honestly thought this was the final book. I was like, oh. I guess this is a trilogy! As I got closer to the end, it became clear that this was NOT the final book. I’m so happy that this is not the end!

That said, phew. My poor emotions! This book was heavier than the previous ones as the prejudices against Spares reached new heights in the past and present. There were a lot of revelations that were just crazy while still making perfect sense to the story. While it feels like there were two books jammed into a single book with some pacing issues, it was still an excellent read. The epilogue has me BEYOND excited for the next book, so count me in for book four!

Pupposites Attract, Vol. 2 by Hono Natsuna

Pupposites Attract, Vol. 2 by Hono Natsuna

My Rating: ★★★★★

Volume 2 shows us how Chiharu and Kiyotaka’s friendship and budding romance continues to develop while bringing us all the adorable dogs! While I’m super invested in the super sweet and wholesome romance, it was pretty neat to see some new characters in the story! I think the new characters are going to work out because they fit in so well with everyone.

One of the things I loved about this volume is that we got to learn more about some of the main character’s past. I love a good sibling dynamic, so I loved how the flashbacks worked on that while also giving us Monjuro's backstory. While time moves fairly slowly in this story, there was a lot covered that made the characters feel a lot more realistic than they seemed in the first volume.

All in all, I enjoyed this even more than the opening volume! It may not be something you’re interested in if you don’t like slow burns, but I do think a lot of people will enjoy it. Plus, the artwork is beautiful and I love seeing all the dogs that pop in and out of the story!

Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris

Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris

My Rating: ★★★

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

Samantha Harker has always wanted something more than life as a researcher. It’s why she jumped at the chance to get some hands-on experience with her new partner, Dr. Helena Moriarty. Unfortunately, Hel doesn’t have a good track record with partners because they always die under strange circumstances. While their partnership is still fresh, they work against the clock to find the werewolf-like beast that’s been on a murder spree.

I was excited to read this because it sounded like an interesting supernatural gothic story that combined the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. Instead of following the usual suspects, we’re following the daughters of the characters we know very well. With a romance brewing between the characters, it was sure to be a hit!

The main plot is pretty interesting. Sam and Hel travel to France to investigate the mysterious and seemingly random murders committed by a beast. However, this beast seems to be a werewolf when werewolves are long gone. Along the way, they struggle against society, each other, and Sam’s abilities as a channel. I found the mystery plot pretty interesting, but I do think it started to drag somewhere around the halfway point. It was different and had me excited about the world it takes place in even though I would never want to visit it.

That said, I am extremely disappointed in the romance. Sam and Hel have absolutely no romantic chemistry, so I don’t know about the “unmistakable attraction” that was described when I requested the ARC. They don’t even have almost friend chemistry, which sold their rocky partnership, but not the romance that develops out of the blue at the end. If you manage to find the romance plot before it suddenly materializes with nothing to back it up, I will give you a gold star because I certainly didn’t find it before it suddenly smacked me in the face.

All in all, I liked a good portion of the paranormal mystery and I think there is a ton of potential there. There’s a cast of interesting characters for us to love and hate, and if the friendship and romance between Sam and Hel actually worked, I think I would’ve loved to see this turn into a series.

Pupposites Attract, Vol. 1 by Hono Natsuna

 

Pupposites Attract, Vol. 1 by Hono Natsuna

My Rating: ★★★★

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

When Chiharu and Kiyotaka keep running into each other while walking their dogs, sparks fly. Now that their dogs are becoming best buds, will these two get together or will they continue the shy friendship they have formed?

This looked like a cute and light read, and that’s exactly what it was! We follow Kiyotaka and Chiharu along with their adorable dogs who complement their personalities well. It’s a cute slice of life story that’s funny, charming, and memorable. If you’re looking for a light read that will also warm your heart, this will be a good book for you. The romance is very cute and wholesome, the dogs are adorable, and I enjoyed following the characters.

Hearts That Cut (Threads That Bind #2) by Kika Hatzopoulou

Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou

My Rating: ★★★

When Io started looking for the most powerful people she’s ever known to exist, she wasn’t sure what she’d find. Now she and Bianca are on a wild chase that’s taking much longer than they expected. What’s worse is that they don’t seem to be any closer to finding the person at the other end of the golden fate thread. Instead, they stumble upon a mystery that appears to be connected to the people they hope to find.

I freaking loved the first book in this series! I was so excited to start reading this only to find myself feeling disappointed for the first half of the book. The story dragged for a smidge over half the book and I feel like Io and Bianca were getting almost nowhere with their mission. It just seemed like not much truly happened on that front until everyone was back together. Plus, as much as I loved the banter between Io and Bianca, they became irritating to follow as a duo after a while.

I loved being able to see and learn about everywhere they went, but I wish there was a map I could reference. It would’ve helped me get a better idea of where everything was and how far they had traveled. I think it would’ve been pretty cool to reference whenever Io mentioned what direction someone’s threads led her to believe they were at as well. That said, I loved learning about every place they went as well as the different gods. It would be so cool if there was ever another book in the same world that takes place in a different location and a different point in time. There’s so much potential here if the author ever wanted to expand on this universe.

The second half of the book was pretty good. I really enjoyed it from this point on. There was so much going on and the story pulled together really well. I loved seeing so many characters pulling together and unraveling exactly what was going on. I do think that some of the plot was rushed as we got closer to the end and that spending more time on developing some of the revelations would’ve been excellent. However, I’m ultimately happy with how things unfolded as well as how the story wrapped up.

Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy Activities by Jennie Powe Runde, MFT, REAT

 

Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy Activities by Jennie Powe Runde, MFT, REAT

My Rating: ★★★★★

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

If you’re interested in art therapy, this might be something you’ll be interested in! Inside, you’ll find that the book is split into two parts: an overview of mindfulness-based art therapy and five chapters covering different mediums one may use to explore this type of therapy.

As an artist, this book really excited me! I’ve heard that there’s all kinds of different forms of therapy outside of therapy including art therapy, animal-assisted therapy, and horticultural therapy. This is my first step in exploring art therapy, or in this case, mindfulness-based art therapy! Here I learned about how one can benefit from it, how to prepare oneself to begin, and different types of exercises and approaches. I also liked that the book covered the following mediums across five chapters: painting and drawing, digital art and photography, sculpture and textiles, writing, and collages.

All in all, I think this is an excellent book. It’s not intimidating, it explains the science behind the method, and it shows readers how they can explore a different form of therapy. It’s a great way to get the ball rolling, especially when working through traditional therapy at the same time!