Monstress is a fantastic tale in a time of magic and monsters, where we follow the journey of Maika Halfwolf in the aftermath of a cataclysmic war between the Arcanics and Humans. Her Arcanic heritage of being part animal comes with a huge peril, as humans have taken to experimenting and torture of their arch enemies.
Read MoreHi-Fi audio enthusiasts rejoice! In this video review of the Astell & Kern AK100 II, we show you how to stream music from DLNA enabled media servers using AK Connect (in this example, a Windows 10 laptop) and shows the latest firmware release that included the Tidal music service.
Read MoreA series of increasingly strange events have been reported at Uchihama Academy’s soon-to-be-replaced aging school building.
Read MoreSaya is part human, part monster, and has one thing on her mind: REVENGE. Visions of twisted experiments and creatures slaughtering everyone she loved fuel her thirst for vengeance.
Read MoreIn the time of the Hundred Years’ War, a young and powerful witch known as Maria leads a reclusive existence.
Read MorePlayful banter and misunderstandings are the flavor of the week in this comedy series that takes a light-hearted look at the everyday drama surrounding the adorable boys working at a local café.
Read More*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+
With her kingdom, Bara, captured by the Destrye, Oria gambles on a marriage with the conquering leader; Lonen. Since Bara is ruled by magic, the highly powerful and sensitive Oria takes a huge risk in marrying Lonen since he cannot use magic and Bara has never had a non-magic using ruler. The main reason for this gamble is Oria's cruel and despotic brother, Yar; who may likely begin another war despite the peace her kingdom has just attained.
Having not read the first part, there is enough here to make you understand there was a brutal war and that our main pair would like to spare their respective kingdoms any further bloodshed. Oria and Lonen are well developed enough and the writing is competent enough for you to get emotionally invested enough to want them to succeed. But the book does spend a great deal of time meandering around Lonen and Oria's obvious attraction to one another and their hope to overcome Oria's inability to even touch Lonen without her magic causing her pain. The pacing lost it's sense of urgency when the book spends so much time on the romance. The love story didn't distract from the major fantasy elements but once Yar came back into the picture, I felt the characters should have spent less time making gooily eyes and more time getting ready.
Don't get me wrong; Lonen and Oria have good chemistry and the overall story kept me interested enough to not only finish it but to want to know what happens in the next installment. If you like fantasy in your romance, this isn't a bad offering despite being pretty short and ending on a cliffhanger. 3.7 out of 5.
Yuki Akamatsu desperately needs to work on his social interactions—at least according to the 2nd Newspaper Club president. And by that, she means getting him a girlfriend! After a barrage of personal insults, she assigns him to work the Life Counseling section of the paper. Yuki has no idea what this really means for him until he meets the three cuties responsible for providing advice. Rino Endo specializes in the sciences, Fumi Kujo covers humanities, while Ikumi Suzuki handles the world of sports—and snacks! Unfortunately, these three girls cannot agree on anything. Which means Yuki has to keep them on track and guide them to the answers that will help their classmates in need. Can he survive the onslaught of their boisterous personalities and compromising positions a plenty? There’s only so much a teenage boy can take!h
*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.
In this parody of Goodnight Moon, Batman is lounging in his cave when some bad guys show up. He beats them up, then goes to bed. The whole rogue's gallery is there and the character design calls back to the Batman: The Animated Series character designs.
This book is clever and funny. The joke works better if you're familiar with Goodnight moon and I read this to my kid (who loves comics) and she laughed and did want a copy of her own.
For a book put out by MAD Magazine, it's pretty kid friendly. The art is in their typical style but there's nothing in it I would feel hesitant to show a kid who is already familiar with comics. There's a justifiable amount of violence (superheroes don't tend to cuddle the villains to jail) and I think this will give both kids and adults a few good chuckles. I read this on my Kindle but I think this is worth a hardcover purchase if you love Batman and love MAD. 4.5 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated for 18+
Tim Chalmers is a drummer for an up and coming band named Spiral. The stress of his new fame and recent tabloid fodder breakup with a supermodel sends him to a dive bar for what he thinks is a one night stand. Turns out the man; Carter Hamilton-Temple, is a friend of a friend and Tim runs into him at a birthday party. As one night turns into three then four, both men find themselves wanting more but the stress of Tim's fame and Carter's painful past dealings with bisexual men keep them from taking the next step.
First the good stuff. The writing starts off strong and sets a great scene. Despite it being from Tim's perspective, you can glean a lot of what Carter's feelings are just from Tim's observations; as they are detailed and well written. Tim is just the right amount of sassy and Carter has this reserved strength and power that makes him likable and fun.
The "bad" stuff. The band is TOO good. Dropping little bombs like breaking The Beatles records felt kinda silly; like Bella being the most beautiful girl in the world. Spiral could have easily been a hugely popular band without making them seem overly perfect.
As for the relationship, this is another case of the conflict persisting because the plot demands that the characters don't offer any reasonable explanation. I think Carter gave up too easily after it was made clear to him that Tim's ex-was a manipulative liar. Yes, Tim has other issues but I feel Carter jumped the gun and could have been as understanding as he was presented at the beginning.
Overall, not terrible but not great either. The writing was OK, the setup was OK, and eve the sex scenes were OK... All of it just OK. Nothing stood out to me as being particularly memorable but I did enjoy it so I give this a 3.5 out of 5.
Coming off the heels of WWE 2K16, which earned critical press and fan acclaim - including an 8.8 out of 10 from IGN.com - WWE 2K17 arrives as the reigning and defending flagship WWE video game franchise champion!
Read MoreThe Urbana Mini by Moshi is one of those rare designer bags that not only look elegant and kawaii-cute, but is also designed with padding to protect your tablet, ultrabook and/or cellphone at the same time. A thoughtful convenience added for the tech savvy and modern gal who's likely to carry around an iPad or an ebook reader.
Read More*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+.
Stefan Joss has been invited to be in his best friend's wedding. Not only does his boss take this as a chance to take on a sales deal to the trip to Texas, Stefan has to deal with his friend's brother, Rand Holloway; who has made no effort to restrain his hatred of Stefan. With the chaos of the wedding and meeting with his client, Stefan learns there is more to Rand's feelings than hatred and his business deal ends up risking his life.
While meant as a romantic mystery kind of story like Mystery of Nevermore, the mystery in this book took far back seat to the romance. Not a criticism, just something I noticed. I can see either adding more of the mystery or taking it out entirely and just having the wedding be the backdrop that brings Stephan and Rand together.
Anyways, Rand as a hard-ass cowboy coming to terms with how he fucked up and will do his part to fix it and Stefan putting in effort too worked for me. I liked them both and I wanted to see them together. The smexy times are prevalent and positively indulgent so if you want a healthy dose of manluvin, this book is more than happy to dole it out along with some romantic sappiness.
When it came to the action/mystery parts, I kinda got whiplash. You're crusin along in this lovey dovey romance and WHAM! Rape! Murder! Guns!
"Well... That took an uncomfortable turn..."
Even so, I enjoyed this book. You can feel the love all over; even aside for our main pair. The details in describing ranch life (Rand owns a ranch) were written well enough to get a real feel for the setting and I ended this book with a cheesy grin because it was so damn sweet. 4 out of 5.
It's one of the best looking bags I've ever seen. Smart and elegant, it isn't just slapped together as a "good enough" product to sell to everyone for a quick buck - no, this belongs on the back of a sophisticated professional who can appreciate good workmanship and attention to detail. It's smaller than the Helios, its big brother, but I think the Lite version is a great size for use everyday (as long as you don't have a huge laptop to carry around or thick stacks of court papers.) And it comes with a built-in secret - a secret compartment!
Read MoreThese headphones have got to be one of the most comfortable things I've ever put on my head. For under $50, it's one of the most affordable with great sound and a mic function that you can use for game consoles, chat and cellphone convos.
Read MoreYona of the Dawn is a tale of growth, redemption, friendship, love, adventure, and betrayal, all taking place in an ancient land and a princess, who needs to find 4 dragon allies to take her place back on the throne after her father gets killed.
Read More*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is intended for 18+
Ever walk into work and find a pig heart under a dislodged floorboard? Me neither but Sebastian Snow has. Now he's caught up in a mystery involving the works of Edgar Allen Poe and falling for the lead detective on the case - Calvin Winter - despite being in a rocky relationship with another cop, Neil Millett. More important than his now complicated relationships, Sebastian can't resist being nosy and may very well end up the next victim.
First off, it was interesting having the main character; Sebastian, have achromatopsia. I didn't know that was a thing and learning about it through our main character didn't slow down the pacing of the book.
As for the rest, the mystery itself was compelling and I'm not a fan of mysteries. To be fair, it's likely because I'm a literature geek and it was based around Poe's work. Sadly, I have to take a point off for (er, spoilers, kinda?) damaging a rare book. I'm a bibliophile and a librarian. You just don't hurt books.
But seriously, this book was a fast, fun, and naughty read. Sebastian and Calvin are characters you can empathize with and have a decent amount of chemistry. The mystery itself I can't really comment on as I don't have much experience in this genre but I found it interesting. I would consider reading more in this series in the future. 4 out of 5.
Issei and his harem of hotties are back to take on their biggest, boldest, bounciest adventure yet as they fight to prevent Ragnarok (aka the end of the underworld)!
With summer vacation just around the corner, Issei’s got one thing on his mind—spending sunny days with bikini-clad babes. Unfortunately, the Chaos Brigade is planning something big, and with heavy-hitters like the Norse God Loki in their corner, the House of Gremory is going to have to survive Rias’ underworld boot camp if they hope to stand a chance. While they prepare, dark forces gather strength behind the scenes, Koneko’s family reunion turns into a real catfight, and Asia must survive an indecent proposal from a high-ranking demon. With plenty of balls-to-the-wall battles and bare-it-all beauties, fans of High School DxD should start making room on the shelf—their perfect pair is about to become a ménage à trois.
After the battle with Itona, the students of Class 3-E settle back into a normal routine. Well, normal for a class filled with would-be assassins! As the weather turns warm, the class can’t afford to laze about, and up their training under the guidance of Karasuma.
Read More*This volume was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is intended for 18+.
Even after agreeing to keep his distance, Kurose still has feelings for Shirotani. Shirotani however, has virtually shut down after Kurose insisted on not seeing him anymore. With the help of his co-worker, Mikami, Shirotani finally agrees to meet up with Kurose; who confesses he wanted to stay away because it was not appropriate for a counselor to be in love with his patient. Not only that but Kurose wants to touch Shirotani; whose condition makes him sick at the thought of being contaminated. Shirotani finds that while his germaphobia still affects him, Kurose's touch also makes him excited.
And WHOA does it ever make him excited! Remember in the last review when I said there was no smut but a good build with the characters? This volume earns its M rating. Kurose and Shirotani go from tentative interaction to touching naughty bits. But as sensual as they get, there is still something traumatic in Shirotani's past that's only being hinted at in quick flashbacks. Shirotani "endures" very intimate touches but something simple like Kurose ruffling his hair sets him off. We'll have to wait to find out what happened but I give this volume a 4 out of 5.
This volume will be released November 8th, 2016.
For more of Lenni's writing and reviews, head over to Haunting Hypatia.
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