A Crochet World of Creepy Creatures and Cryptids by Rikki Gustafson

A Crochet World of Creepy Creatures and Cryptids by Rikki Gustafson

My Rating: ★★★★

If you’re a crocheter who enjoys making amigurumi and loves cryptids and other mythical beings, then this is the book for you! Inside, you will find 40 wonderful patterns separated into the following sections: cryptids, man-eaters, creatures of the deep, forest dwellers, mischief makers, and winged beasts. There’s a little bit of information on each being before the pattern, which I love!

I wouldn’t say that this is a beginner friendly pattern book, but there are patterns that will be easy for beginners to follow. However, the patterns do not have experience levels listed for anyone looking for that. If you’re newer to crocheting but still want to pick up this book, I say do it. You can determine which patterns will come easier to you based on your experience level after looking at the finished project photos and reading the patterns. Of course, you can always choose to challenge yourself based on what experience you have and what you’re ready to take on! Otherwise, you just have to be aware of what your typical gauge is using the same types of yarn the author uses because they did not include the gauge for the patterns.

All in all, I love this book and am excited to pick up some yarn to make some of these patterns in the future. The patterns are well written and easy to follow, and I never thought about painting safety eyes for my projects. I learned something new when I didn’t expect to!

A Vampire in the Bathhouse by Niko Izuki

 

A Vampire in the Bathhouse by Niko Izuki

My Rating: ★★★★★

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

Luka is not one to admit he’s suffering from a terrible hangover. He’s a vampire, and he’s way too powerful and regal to let alcohol get the best of him! So what’s his response? Well, a nice trip away from the demon world is in order! That’s how Luka finds himself taking a nice, rejuvenating dip at a bathhouse. His clothes may have gone missing when he was sent from the demon world to the human world, but now he needs to bond with someone so that he has more control over his vampire powers during his stay. What could possibly go wrong?

I picked this up hoping to find a cute and funny story, and that’s exactly what I got. What I didn’t expect was for it to also be a heartwarming story! We follow Luka and Sakura during their adventures during this fun story. Luka is a vampire in need of a vacation, and Sakura is the grandson of the bathhouse owner who works hard to take care of the bathhouse and his little brother. Together, hilarity ensues!

Throughout the story, we get to know the small cast of characters and what makes Sakura’s family bathhouse so amazing. We get to watch Luka discover their town’s sense of community all while growing close with Sakura and his family. I really loved the sense of found family we get in this story, but it’s also absolutely hilarious. If you’re looking for something sweet and funny, I urge you to pick this up.

A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash (Kingdom of Gods #1) by J.F. Johns

 

A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash by J.F. Johns

My Rating: ★★★★

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

Mal Blackburn has always been different. Born with purple eyes exclusive to witches, she’s always heard whispers about herself. A witch hasn’t been seen since the war that wiped them straight out of existence a century ago. Now Mal is facing an arranged marriage meant to unite the Kingdom of Darkness with the Kingdom of Fire. However, she doesn’t plan to help unite the kingdoms. She plans to kill the fire prince and break the curse that’s been waiting to take effect for the last century, but what will happen when she discovers that her future husband isn't the cruel man he’s rumored to be?

The first couple chapters had me so confused that I almost ditched this book. I decided to give it a chance anyway and I am so glad that I did because it turned out to be really good. We follow a range of characters through their rotating perspectives, and each chapter is broken up by bits of journal entries from the woman who cast the curse looming over the few who believe in it. There’s a huge cast of characters, but it works out because many are well developed and we hop around perspectives all book long. However, you might need to prepare yourself because it’s going to take a good minute to get everyone down.

The romance between the main couple, Mal and Ash, was nice but I didn’t feel the fire the two swore they felt burning between each other. If anything, they seemed doomed from the start, and without dropping spoilers… I still feel that way about them. The real chemistry was all between Kai and Alina. Those two were sizzling every time they even thought about each other!

I do think the author needs to find another way to describe facial expressions though. If anyone decides to take a shot every time someone’s lips curled, they’d have alcohol poisoning. I don’t think I want to ever see anyone’s lips curling in a book again after this, so I hope there’s a lot less of that in the next book.

That said, this was a really good read. If you’re looking for excellent world building, intricate plots, enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, great sibling dynamics, court politics, magic, and a good dose of betrayal, then I urge you to pick this up. When I reached the end of the book, I kept telling myself that I was going to read one more chapter and found myself still awake and totally blown away by some of the revelations at 3am. The foreshadowing was flawless, the story kept me entertained until the very end, and now I’m excited to see where this goes in the next book.

Sweet Obsession (Dark Olympus #8) by Katee Robert

Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert

My Rating: ★★

When Icarus chose to sacrifice himself to make sure his sister could escape, he knew what it meant for him. He knows that if he plays his cards right, he may be able to turn being Poseidon’s captive into an advantage…

I was looking forward to reading this because Icarus and Poseidon had crazy chemistry the entire time they were at the dock. Plus, the events of the last book was a really good setup for the non-romance plot, so I was ready to jump straight into this. While they still had chemistry, most of it fizzled out before the romance could truly start. It didn’t help that we were being told basically everything rather than being shown it, so I was bored for much of the book. 

I really struggled my way through this one. I liked Poseidon, but I found Icarus to be extremely fake even in his own head. Between their chemistry taking a huge dip, the plot with Circe vs Olympus moving at a snail’s pace, and feeling like the characters were doing some kind of long-winded almost info dump in their minds, I was just slugging along. There were some interesting parts, but otherwise, I was just bored and waiting for something to happen.

I am interested in seeing the series through to the end because I want to see how everything pans out, so I’m still going to check out the next book. I think this one might’ve just been an accidental miss because I don’t think it was supposed to fizzle out the way that it did. However, I’m going to keep my expectations low and see what happens because I have been looking forward to reading Zeus and Hera’s book.

Elvira's Cookbook from Hell by Cassandra Peterson

Elvira's Cookbook from Hell by Cassandra Peterson

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re an Elvira fan and like to collect anything related to her, then this will be a good book for you! Inside, you will find a variety of spoopy recipes and crafts. While the ARC I received is a 29-page excerpt, I fully plan on buying the book.. From the 29-pages I did receive, it looks like a fun book full of tasty recipes and dining crafts with a spoopy spin on them. While there isn’t anything necessarily new, it’s perfect for the Halloween vibes whether or not you are an Elvira fan.

Stumpwork Embroidery & Thread Painting: Stitch 3-D Nature Motifs by Megan Zaniewski

 

Stumpwork Embroidery & Thread Painting: Stitch 3-D Nature Motifs by Megan Zaniewski

My Rating: ★★★★★

I was recently introduced to stumpwork embroidery, so of course I had to pick up this book when I saw it. Inside, you will find everything you need to know about stumpwork and thread painting along with information on materials, finishing techniques, and instructions for the other stitches used in the patterns. Of course, all of the templates are located at the back of the book.

This book is pretty comprehensive and easy to understand no matter what your skill level is. The step by step instructions and pictures that accompany them are really easy to understand and made me excited to stitch up some 3-D projects in the future. I love that there are some miniature projects featured, which really rounds out the range of patterns featured. All in all, I think this is a great book and it’s really opened my eyes to what’s possible with embroidery.

Loving You When the World Ended by Gene

Loving You When the World Ended by Gene

My Rating: ★★★★

Nuowan was breaking up with his fiance at a fancy hotel when the apocalypse hit. Knocked out for days, he wakes up to find that he’s being cared for by an employee who was with him when the apocalypse started. He and Yu Sen are complete opposites. Nuowan is a spoiled rich guy who has never had to put work into anything, while Yu Sen is an orphan and was previously in the military. Now that it seems like they’re the only two people left alive, these strangers must stick together to survive this new world.

I picked this book up expecting a cute read, and that’s exactly what I got! We follow Nuowan and Yu Sen starting right before the apocalypse starts. While they’re total opposites, they work well together, and slowly fall in love as time goes on. Yu Sen complains about how much work it is to take care of Nuowan, but since we’re privy to his thoughts, we also know he loves it. Meanwhile, Nuowan is not prepared to rough it for his own survival, but he slowly learns to adapt as well as he can. The duo bicker a lot, but it’s so cute to watch them slowly fall in love and see Nuowan find someone who loves him for him and not him and his family’s money.

If you’re looking for a book that dives heavily into the dystopian setting, this will not be the book for you. However, if you are looking for a cute and fun read that takes place in a dystopian setting, you should jump on it. It gets bleak here and there due to the setting as well as Nuowan and Yu Sen’s individual pasts, but it mostly sticks to the light side and will make you laugh. Plus, the artwork is beautiful and really helps bring the story to life.