Tag: Books

Book Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnimen(Dungeon Crawler Carl #1)

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Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnimen is the first book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl Lit-RPG series. When aliens destroy Earth the few survivors are allowed to enter a Dungeon and Dragons style dungeon where if you can make it to the end of all eighteen levels you get to decide what happens to Earth.

We follow Carl who enters the dungeon with his ex-girlfriend’s cat Princess Donut and they are trying to make it out alive and maybe save Earth but this is anything but a game. The events of the dungeon are also broadcast across the universe as a reality show that what the reader sees how that works is almost a weird cross between the Hungers and a reality show live Survivor.

I loved this book and Donut is my favorite character so far and I love how in many ways after she starts talking she is more the main character then Carl is but she needs Carl and loves him. This is my first Lit-RPG book and I’m interested in seeing what other books in the genre do differently. So far Lit-RPG does remind me of isakai anime without as many tropes. While these are different genres and have different tropes I do feel like I you like some isakai anime you will like Dungeon Crawler Carl and vice versa.

I plan to keep reading the series and I will say that I feel like I’m now part of a cult.

March 2026 Wrap Up

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In March I read five book including starting and finishing a trillogy.

Books:

The first book I read was A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. This is the first book in a dark academia fantasy set in a magical school where students learn but the school is also trying to kill them. We follow El who is powerful but is hiding what her power truly is. When she is saved by Orion who is trying to save as many of his fellow students as possible El starts to realize that to survive to graduation she will need some help. I liked the concept and ideas of this first book however it does at times feel a little info dumpy and I feel like the pacing could have been better.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood is the sequel to the Handmaids Tale and is set about fifteen years after the events of the Handmaids Tale. Told through three different perspectives the focus of the story is on the young women growing up in Gilead. While still very readable I found myself sometimes confused on whose perspective I was reading and I still think that how Gilead functions doesn’t make much sense.

Markiplier from North Korea by Sunok Frank is a book written by Markiplier’s mother and is the story of their family. This is something that Markiplier fans will probably enjoy but I don’t think many others will. I do think that some events are embellished or at least could be interpreted differently by others in the family.

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik is the second book in the Scholomance series and the sequel to A Deadly Education. El is now in her final year and with graduation looming not everyone is expected to make it out. While I enjoyed El learning about the school and what is truly is this book does suffer some from middle book syndrome and I personally hate the ending.

The Golden Enclave by Naomi Novik is the last book of the Scholomance series. El and almost everyone have escaped the school but someone is now destroying the enclaves and El is trying to find a way back into the school to save Orion. This book dumps a lot of information on you very quickly and I feel that for a final book it could have been better paced and written. Overall, I like the concepts of the series but not the pacing. I think that I would have enjoyed the series more if the first two book had been condensed into one.

February 2026 Wrap Up

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In February I read three books and watched one movie.

Books:

The first book I read was Slayers of Old by Jim C Hines which is a fantasy novel following several former chosen ones who have retired but are being called back to save the world once again. We follow Jenny, Amet, and Temple who think they are done fighting evil and work more to heal but someone is summoning an ancient evil. I loved how everyone you met is connected to the others and come together to save the world.

Next I read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. This is a dystopian where due to declining fertility rates the Republic of Gilead has forced both men and women but primarly women into very strict social orders. We follow Offred a Handmaid whose job and purpose is to have children for those who can’t but this has been forced upon her. I liked the concept but not how it was written. The writing at times feels disjointed and I had trouble following the timeline of events. Also how Gilead is formed and stays in power doesn’t make logical sense.

The last book I read in February was The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. This is a historical fantasy that follows Amina who was a pirate but is trying to no longer live that life. When she is contacted by a crewmate’s mother to go after her “kidnapped” granddaughter Amina gathers her crew for one las adventure. I loved how the story unfolded and what is really going on with the granddaughter. This could be read as a standalone but I’m looking forward to the sequel.

Movies:

The only movie I watched was 28 Weeks Later. 28 Weeks Later is a zombie movie and the sequel to 28 Days Later where after 28 weeks most of those infected with the rage virus have starved and there is now a military run protected zone in London. When two kids sneak out to their old home they find their mother who while infected shows no symptoms she is brought into the protected zone, her husband get infected, and the spreading virus destroys everything. While not a bad movie in comparison to 28 Days which felt like it had something to say about society 28 Weeks is just another zombie movie.

Book Review: The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley (Dearly Beloathed #1)

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The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is the first book in a slow burn enemies to lovers romantasy. While this is not a complete reworking of a Draco/Hermione fanfiction the author does write that and you can see the influence in this novel. Personally, I feel like whatever your opinion of Harry Potter and JK Rowling are, you can have. However, I don’t believe that authors who have written Harry Potter fanfiction and are now reworking them into original stories should be attacked or blamed in anyway.

The story follows Osric a member of an order of assassins whose magic is slowly dying. He forces Aurienne a healer to help him by funding a cure for a plague. I loved how their relationship slowly develops thought the book. While this story is focused on the relationship we do learn about the world, what is happening in society, and that other important things are going on. The focus is on Aurienne attempting to heal Osric and their antagonist relationship. They do end up investigating the deadly pox and incidentally finding information that is important to the wider world.

I really enjoyed this story. However, this does feel like only the first part of the story as most of the mysteries of the pox and Osric’s healing have not had a conclusion. You will definitely need to read the sequel to get a satisfying ending.

December 2025 Wrap Up

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In December I read four books, most of them fairly short. December is one of the busiest months for me as I work in retail and the holidays are the biggest sales season.

Books:

The first books I finished was Saiyuki Reload volumes nine and ten. These volumes finish off this portion of the Saiyuki story and I plan to post a full review in the future. Also to note volume ten was never officially published in English therefore to finish the story I had to find online fan translations. These volumes have the first but probably not the last confrontation with Ukoku Sanzo and brings our main group back together. Hazel’s story is also brought to a close thou I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows back up in the future. I love Saiyuki but it is a series I’m not sure is the best to recommend.

The next book I read was Pocket Potters: Harry Potter. These are children’s picture books that introduce characters from the Harry Potter series. I liked this and found it cute but I think fans will like it more than those just getting into the series.

The final book I read by The Nightblood Prince by Molly X. Chang and I already have a full review posted. This is a young adult Chinese inspired fantasy with vampires. We follow Fei who is believed to be the prophesized Empress of All Empresses. However, she wants control of her life and her decisions. While I enjoyed the story I do think it is slightly miss marketed (which I go more into in my full review) but I do think young adult audiences would also enjoy it.

Book Review: The Nightblood Prince by Molly X. Chang

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The Nightblood Prince is a young adult Chinese inspired fantasy novel. We follow Fei, when she was born a prophecy stated that she will become the Empress of All Empresses. She has been raised in the place to marry the crown prince but Fei wants more in her life. When she sets out to hunt a legendary tiger she runs into Yexue, a runaway prince from a rival kingdom who also controls an army of vampires.

I liked the concept of this book but I feel like it’s a bit miss marketed. The author states that it is a cross of Mulan and Helen of Troy with vampires and double villain love interests. That description I find very interesting and I can see how its described that way but from that description I thought the villain’s would be more so, there would be more vampires, and the Mulan retelling section seems to have come from left field.

While I loved Fei as a character and how she is operating in this world when she takes her father’s place in the army. The love triangle and most of the vampires are not a major aspect until about sixty percent of the book. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I had gone in with lower expectations but I do think that the intended YA audience would love this.

Book Review: Mate (Bride #2) by Ali Hazelwood

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Mate is the sequel to Ali Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance and omega verse book Bride. We follow Serena, the first known human were hybrid who had become the target of pretty much everyone. The Alpha of the Northwest pack Koen Alexander turns out to me her mate but doesn’t seem to want a relationship or does he? Serena has been feeling sick and thinks that she might be dying but to keep Anna, a child hybrid, safe Serena is willing to take on the world.

This is a great paranormal romance that allows the relationship to grow and is a little bit of a slow burn. However, I didn’t like is how long it took other characters to realize that Serena was going into hear when it felt like that I something they picked up on when she spoke to different were doctors. I’m surprised that no one sat Serena down and explained were society and biology to her as we are told she is an orphan and doesn’t know what everyone else does. I also didn’t enjoy the cult that becomes the main antagonists.

I know that the main characters would have to get together and that it’s more of a slow burn but at a certain point the will they/won’t they got a little tedious. Overall, a good paranormal romance but I did enjoy Bride more than this one and at times plot point just seemed very convenient.

Book Review: Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup

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Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup is a fantasy/comedy story with similarities to the Princess Bride. We follow Caroline an author trying to write a fantasy romance book but her characters just won’t listen and take the story is an unexpected direction. For the Fantasy parts we follow Lady Rosamund a thirty-six year old widow who with the help of Captain Collins must stop a war and who has no time for fantasy tropes.

The book is inspired by the Fantasy Heroine YouTube Shorts where Jill plays all of the characters including the author and all the different characters in “her” book. The shorts and the book play up a lot of the tropes of Fantasy and Fantasy Romance. Specifically, Caroline is trying for enemies to lovers but the characters are not in that headspace and end up changing the plans.

I would love more and the book and shorts while wrapped up could continue but Jill Bearup has stated that she is not really an author and it was the fans who more or less bullied her into writing this and doesn’t plan to continue it. The book itself is very meta and is probably not for everyone but I loved it. I would recommend checking of the YouTube shorts first because if you enjoy those or not will tell you if this book is for you.

June 2025 Wrap Up

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In June I read five books. All of them which I enjoyed.

Books:

The first book I finished was The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski which is a collection of short stories set in the world of The Witcher and is chronologically set before the first novel. This is where many people recommend to start the Witcher series as we met Geralt and many others before the events of the novels and can better understand the character relationships. I liked the short stories but some I found too long and I didn’t personally like the ones that put so much focus on Dandelion.

Next I read John Green’s new book Everything is Tuberculosis. This is a nonfiction about Tuberculosis how it has shaped the world and Green’s personal obsession with it. While interesting and thought provoking at times it doesn’t seem like it goes far enough but I can see this as a small step stone towards change.

Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski is another collection of short stories following Geralt of Rivia set in the world of The Witcher. While some of the stories are hit and miss the last one goes directly into the events of the first novel. I do feel like if you are just starting the Witcher series you should start with the short stories collections.

From the Wizarding World Archive: Curated Writing from the World of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling is a collection of articles and anecdotes about the world of Harry Potter. Though it does contain interesting information I didn’t feel like there was a lot of new information or stuff. I personally would only recommend this to fans who like to read everything.

The last book I read in June was Queen B by Juno Dawson. Queen B is a prequel novella in the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series. This follows Anne Boleyn who really is a witch and her coven in the aftermath of her beheading. I loved this historical fantasy and look forward to reading more in the series.

Book Review: The Bitter End by Alexa Donne

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The Bitter End by Alexa Donne is a young adult thriller where a winter storm traps eight teens at a remote ski cabin and they start dying. It becomes clear that one of them is the killer. I received a review copy from the publisher on Netgalley. This is a very well written thriller with multiple points of view. It did take me a bit to get a feel for all of the characters and I suspected different people at different times.

The story switches between the current events at the ski lodge and a party several years ago that created drama between everyone. Based on the information that we get about the party early on I was suspecting that someone died at the party and that is the problem. However, the actual reason for the conflict was not what I was expecting. I didn’t see who the killer was or what their reasoning form killing their peers. I loved the ending and I feel like this would make a good TV show or movie. It reminded me of the video game Until Dawn but without the supernatural elements.