The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride, Vol. 2 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru; Midori Yuma

The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride, Vol. 2 by Mamenosuke Fujimaru; Midori Yuma

My Rating: ★★★★★

After spending so many years being used and abused on top of being an outcast abandoned by even her own parents, Nanao still feels like her new life is a dream that can end at any time. However, she’s slowly learning that there’s an entire world out there who won’t consider her a tainted and impure person. It will be a long road to recovering for Nanao, but she’s learning that she has more in common with Yako than she expected. As the man known as the Tsubaki Demon, Yako knows what it’s like to have even your own family look at you in disgust. They will face their past as they try to run full speed ahead toward a better future. It’s just a question of whether or not that is something they will do together.

I absolutely loved the first volume, so you have no idea how excited I was when I learned that the second volume was out already. We pick up right where we left off and learn how deep Nanao’s scars truly run. I feel so bad for her, and I’m so happy to watch her slowly discover that she’s worthy. We’re also learning more about Yako and his past, and how he has more in common with Nanao than even he realized. It’s really great to see them slowly get to know each other and slowly fall in love during the process.

I’m also really excited to learn more about the supporting characters and see their friendships in action. Plus, we’re learning more about Nanao’s cousin and how deep her jealousy runs, so it’s also nice to see that karma is knocking on her door. Reito isn’t an ounce better than his wife, so I think they deserve each other. There’s so much going on that I can’t say because they’re spoilers, but phew. It looks like everyone from Nanao’s past is about to have a lot of in-fighting.

All in all, this was another amazing read and I can’t wait for the next volume. There are so many layers to this story that I truly cannot recommend it enough.

Creepy Cross-Stitch: 25 Spooky Projects to Haunt Your Halls by Lindsay Swearingen

Creepy Cross-Stitch: 25 Spooky Projects to Haunt Your Halls by Lindsay Swearingen

My Rating: ★★★★★

If you’re a cross stitcher and love all things spoopy, then this is the book for you! Inside, you will find 25 wonderfully spoopy patterns classified by dearly departed, haunted homes, dark florals, spooky rooms, creature feature, or vintage Halloween. Plus, there’s a comprehensive materials and techniques section that will help newer cross stitchers!

Other than loving the patterns, I’m particularly happy that the pattern charts are in full color. However, it won’t be hard to transfer them into black and white patterns yourself if that is your preference. I bought the ebook, and the majority of the patterns are single page patterns in the ebook. All in all, I am really happy with this book and am excited to get into the full Halloween spirit with it!

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.