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!

My Roommate from Hell by Cale Dietrich

 

My Roommate from Hell by Cale Dietrich

My Rating: ★

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

Owen’s college life was already not going as planned when he finds out that not only is Zarmenus, the literal prince of Hell, going to his college, but he’s also his new roommate. It wouldn’t be so bad if they got along, but they’re rarely on the same page. When Zar’s activities begin to put the already fragile demon-human relations on the line, Owen finds himself agreeing to pretend to be the prince of Hell’s boyfriend. What will happen when these fake boyfriends begin to develop real feelings?

I was excited to start reading this because enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and fake dating? Sign me up! Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that I didn’t particularly care for Owen, and he’s the narrator of the story, so you can just imagine the kind of pickle I was in. I think I would’ve liked it a lot more if Owen’s narration didn’t go overboard at times. It felt like we were getting a blow by blow narration of every little thing, which made the story drag for me.

That said, I do like that there are some realistic issues thrown in. For example, there’s a lot of issues that could’ve been solved with some basic communication, but these are a bunch of brand new adults at a university and communication isn’t always the first choice. The usual college life shenanigans were also fun to see play out.

All in all, I really wish I enjoyed the book more than I did, but I only made it about halfway through before I gave up. It was getting harder and harder to follow Owen as he seemed to narrate every second. I liked Owen and Zar’s parents, and Zar didn’t seem so bad, but I think that me not liking Owen or his narration put a huge damper on the book. Is this a book for you? It could be! It just wasn’t for me.

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon

My Rating: ★★★★

When Princess Candra learns she’s about to spend the next seven years of her life bricked away in a tower, she’s pissed. Now she has mere days to prepare to trade her pampered life full of games and lovers for a life of solitude by candlelight. Candra would give anything to escape her fate, but she knows that running away will doom her people to the wrath of their goddess. It’s even worse when she’s reminded it’s seven years with a Fellian prince because they come from enemy kingdoms… or is it? Nemeth is certainly different from everything she’s been told about the Fellians.

I love Ruby’s other books, so I had been dying to pick this up. We follow Candra from the moment she realizes that her life is about to change in this Rapunzel inspired story. I thought Candra being forced to live in a tower with a prince was a fun twist. We’re served enemies to lovers with a nice side of forced proximity. If that’s not your thing, you should probably skip this book. However, if that’s up your alley, I urge you to pick this up. There’s so many layers to this story that I was fully sucked in until the very end.

While I loved reading this, I do think that the pacing was a bit off, and that we sped straight through the ending and into the epilogue while skipping over some things. Plus, the entire saga around the magical knife could’ve gone better. Otherwise, I enjoyed the characters and the romance. It was mostly a pretty good read and different from what I’m used to seeing from Ruby.

SOS Hotel: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay! (SOS Hotel #1) by Adam Vex, Ariana Nash

SOS Hotel: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay! by Adam Vex, Ariana Nash

My Rating: ★★★

When Adam Vex decided to open a hotel that’s a safe haven for the supernatural with his sex demon business partner, he thought it was a great idea. Then opening day came and not a single thing went right. The hotel has a bunch of protestors, there’s a reporter questioning how he managed to buy the property out from a very rich and very angry real estate mogul, and his only client is an elite vampire who doesn’t like demons. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, a dead body turns up. Poor Adam doesn’t have time for a murder mystery because this hotel must stay open at all costs!

The story is narrated by Adam, a not-so-human guy, from the moment he opens SOS Hotel. He needs this hotel to make it because the safety its wards provide will keep him alive in the event someone figures out what he is. It’s  one of those books that is a really easy read. It has some great characters, it’s funny, and it feels like it could go in any direction at any moment. It feels like I’m just lounging inside Adam’s brain and watching his life unfold.

However, I thought it was weird that the story is not very forthcoming about his biggest secret when it’s the main reason behind Adam opening the hotel. The pacing is pretty fast, but sometimes it seems like we’re spending too much time on the most random moments. It was a really entertaining read, so I don’t think that it’s that big of a deal, though.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this. Zodiac and Tom are my favorite characters, and I’m interested in seeing how the story unfolds. It’ll also be interesting to see what exciting new characters will be entering the pictures along with all the hilarious interactions and other shenanigans.

Of Swamp & Sea, Vol. 1 by Mia Jay Boulton; Laurel Boulton

Of Swamp & Sea, Vol. 1 by Mia Jay Boulton; Laurel Boulton

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from 23rd St. through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Mercy Gray Harding hired a monster hunter, she thought he’d hunt down the monster that brutally murdered her father. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned, and now she’s possessed by a mist wolf! Now Mercy and the wolf seem to be merging into one, and Jonah is determined to do his best to fix things since it was his hunt that went wrong.

When I picked this up, I didn’t know just how much I was going to love it! We follow Mercy, a young woman who is mourning her late father. Once she gets possessed by the wolf, we see her and Jonah become a team of sorts as the story continues. I really liked how much we began to get to know the two of them while also confirming that Jonah has a lot of layers just waiting to slowly be revealed.

I really like Mercy, so it’ll be interesting to see if she and the wolf possessing her eventually happily merge… or if it’ll go how Jonah fears. I also really liked seeing one of the judgmental folks from town get to discover that Mercy isn’t one to mess with. The budding romance looks promising and I really liked the style of humor as well as the artwork. I’m looking forward to checking out the next volume!

My Instructor Won't Yield by Deme Kingyobachi

 

My Instructor Won't Yield by Deme Kingyobachi

My Rating: ★★★★★

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

Chiba is a driving instructor with such a shining personality that everyone can’t help but fall in love with him. However, his last relationship ended so badly that he’s sworn off love all together! Everything changes when a nervous driving student, Yaotome, gets in his car. His coworkers call Yaotome the sharp-suited prince, but it turns out he’s an easy going and accident prone guy with a heart of gold. What other secrets are about to come out between this love-scorned driving instructor and his shy student?!

This is such a cute and funny contemporary romance following a driving instructor and his shy student. What starts as a slow accidental friendship slowly blossoms into a sweet romance as Chiba and Yaotome slowly get to know each other. While it’s mostly light and fluffy, we do see their individual struggles and how Chiba became so jaded by romance.

If you like contemporary romances with a touch of humor, I think this will be an excellent read for you. It’s a pretty quick read, but it’s a sweet and funny one at that. Plus, the artwork is nice and helps bring the story to life. You can’t go wrong by picking this up! I liked it so much that I’m excited to check out the author’s other work in the future.

Amigurumi Critters: 25 Imaginative Crochet Designs for All Skill Levels by Amy Ting

 

Amigurumi Critters: 25 Imaginative Crochet Designs for All Skill Levels by Amy Ting

My Rating: ★★★★★

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

If you’re looking for a super cute and comprehensive crochet pattern book, then this is the book for you! Inside, you will find 25 adorable patterns along with a pretty good guide to crocheting. I also like that there’s QR codes included for anyone who needs them, whether it’s yarn recommendations or tutorial videos. Plus, the patterns are well written, have difficulty levels listed, and include multiple photos that will be helpful to crocheters of all skill levels.

My favorite pattern is Perry the Pug. It’s the pattern that really caught my eye and I can’t wait to crochet that up! That said, every single pattern is super cute, and I’m excited to see capybaras included because I’m obsessed with them.