Jessica

How would you feel if no one remembered you? That is something that is explored with our young protagonist, Addie La Rue, who is a peasant girl in a small village in France. She has dreams of exploring the outside world and being free. However, one of the villagers, a recent widow, wants to marry her. She has no desire to marry, especially a man with kids. However, her family expects her to accept the marriage offer. As her family prepares her for the wedding, she flees the village. It is dark, and she can hear the villagers searching for her. She makes a desperate plea for any god that is listening to her to set her free. Strangely enough, a god answers her wish in exchange for her soul when she is ready to die. With her wish granted, Addie is overjoyed, but should she be?

After the wish is granted, Addie notices that she doesn’t hear the villagers calling for her. When she goes back into the village, no one recognizes her, not even her family. She comes to realize that her wish was really a curse. For her to be “free”, the god prevents anyone from remembering Addie’s existence. For example, if someone is talking to Addie, leaves the room, and comes back, the person will have already forgotten about her. She treads along slowly in her cursed existence for 300 years. One day, she visits a local bookstore in New York. When she comes back the next day, she is surprised that the store employee remembers her. How does someone remember her after all these years? Addie is determined to find out.

How can someone go through life if no one knows they exist? That is what Addie discovers through her 300 years. Since no one can retain their memories of her, Addie’s life is extremely hard. She can’t hold a job because the person won’t remember that they hired her. She can’t own a home because no one will remember she paid for it. She can’t even leave her mark on the world. Anything she draws or writes disappears. She has to resort to morally questionable things to survive, like lying and stealing. Imagine not being able to make roots anywhere: no friends, family, or co-workers to rely on. It is a lonely and tired existence that could lead to so much misery. However, Addie continues to rise and meet the occasion with as much strength and bravery as possible. It is inspiring to see her continue living in a world that she can never be a part of as much as she wants to.

During the 1700s, it isn’t surprising that Addie had a lack of agency to start with, as many other women did during that time period. Misogyny was highly present, and men controlled everything. Women were expected to do what they were told, be pleasant, marry, and have a lot of kids. They weren’t expected to have dreams or goals.

When Addie meets the dark god Luc, he takes away any bit of agency she has left. Before her “wish”, she at least had a community to call her own. After her “wish”, her agency goes to zero. Luc wanted power over Addie and took a very important thing from her: Addie’s name. Addie couldn’t speak her name to anyone to prevent anyone from getting to know the real her. Luc is the only one able to call Addie’s name, forcing her to be as reliant on him as possible. Luc wants Addie to be his and doesn’t want to let anyone have access to her. Addie tries to resist, while Luc tries to break her down at every turn. It demonstrates how toxic a forced relationship is.

One of the things that I like about Addie is that she found ways to make herself known in little ways. She helped musicians and artists create their pieces even though they have no memory of her. She was a spy in the war, helping with intelligence, which worked to her advantage for several years because no one would remember her during her trips through war-torn countries.

Overall, I found the story heartbreaking. All Addie wanted to do was to escape the rules of society. Instead, a higher power decided to strip her of everything. In a sense, it is an allegory of what is going on with society right now. People are losing their agency left and right in the U.S.: women losing the rights over their own bodies, immigrants being deported, a ban on books and certain subjects being taught in school, and so much more. It is scary to realize how easily your agency and freedom can be taken away from you. However, I like to think that there are people out there like Addie, who rise to the occasion and continue to fight. She refuses to let her oppressors win, and neither should the rest of us. In the spirit of the book, I ask the following question: How would you feel if there were no reminders of you anywhere in the world?

The story is about a group of friends: Owen, Matty, Lore, Nick, and Hamish. They all become good friends because life at home isn’t good: Owen’s father tells him constantly that he wishes he was never born while his mother says nothing, Matty is constantly pressured by his parents to succeed in everything, Lore’s mother is never home, Nick’s mother is dead and his dad seems cool, but there is something odd with his household, and Hamish parents constantly fight with each other. The friends make a covenant together. If any of them are in trouble, all they have to do is say “covenant, “ and the others come running.

To escape from their households, the friends decide to camp in the woods. While going through the woods, they find a staircase that leads to nowhere. They all find it strange and ominous. They initially go away from the stairs, but Matty gets riled up and wants to climb them. None of the others wants to, though. Some are scared to, and others don’t see the point. However, Matty calls the covenant. The other balks at him and says that the covenant shouldn’t be used for something trivial like that. Matty doesn’t care and goes without them. The others gradually follow him, feeling guilty. When they got to the staircase, Matty had already started climbing the stairs. Owen climbs up after him. However, before Owen could stop him, Matty jumped from the top of the stairs and disappeared. Originally, they thought he was pranking them and checked behind the stairs, but he wasn’t there. Suddenly, the stairs vanish, and the remaining friends are left with more questions than answers.

They left the woods with no explanation. Twenty years later, after being apart for so long, Nick summons the others to the woods with him. There, he shows the group that he has found another staircase. He wants the group to go up the staircase to see if they find Matty. The staircase looks different, and it is in a different location than last time. Will it really lead them to their missing friend?

I like the fact that the friends formed a found family with each other. They all had terrible home lives, and it was amazing that the four were able to come together and be there for each other. Even when it was inconvenient, they found the will and way to help each other. I also like the fact that they show how family changes when one person is missing. It causes cracks in the family and causes the remaining four to drift apart.

I also like the fact that what makes the house a home is the feelings that happen there. The feelings imbue a home, making its presence and memories known. Usually, when we think of that, it is of the good feelings and memories, like a happy couple moving in, adding a new child to the family, decorating the home in the family’s image, etc. However, through these characters, we also learn that negative feelings can leave a negative presence on the house: the ways we hurt each other physically, mentally, and emotionally. It can cause a physical, mental, and emotional toll on the residents of the house.

Overall, I liked the book. It challenges the thoughts on found family dynamics, especially when a person leaves, and how hatred and positivity can affect the mood in what makes a house a home, and how those feelings and memories inside the home can create a physical, mental, and emotional manifestation for us when we enter the home. The book also asks the same basic question that Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer did: How far would you go for a friend? It is a question that Owen, Hamish, Lore, and Nick struggle with throughout the entire book. Right now, it appears that the book is standalone, but there is room for a possible sequel. It is a really good psychological horror to dig deep into. I hope the author does decide to continue with this group of characters.

The story follows office drone Linus Baker. He works as a case worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He checks on the magical children in government-sanctioned orphanages. Although he believes he is making a difference in the lives of the children that he checks in on, the life he leads is very dreary. Not only does it constantly rain and look bleak outside, but he is not much liked by his neighbors or co-workers. His only companions are his cat Calliope, who is quite mischievous, and his old records.

Suddenly, he is given a Level Four classified assignment from the Extremely Upper Management to investigate the Marsyas Island Orphanage. All the information they would tell him upfront is that the company has stopped receiving communication from the orphanage, and they wanted Linus to check it out. The children there are highly unusual and possibly dangerous magical creatures. Extremely Upper Management wants to know if the children are okay and more information about the mysterious head of the orphanage, Arthur Parnassus.

Extremely Upper Management gives Linus a file on the six children and the head of the orphanage, but he is told not to open the file until he arrives at Marsyas Island. They give him a ticket that leaves the next morning, and he is to evaluate the residents of the orphanage for a month. Bristling, Linus goes forward with the assignment, and he and Calliope head to the orphanage by train.

Linus noticed the immediate change between the city and Marsyas Island. The sun is shining, and the sea is shining brightly, cerulean. It seems like the perfect vacation spot. When Linus gets off the train, he realizes that he doesn’t have a way to get through the island. Suddenly, he hears the phone ring at the station. He looks around and finds an orange phone. Linus picks it up and is informed by Zoe Chapelwhite, caretaker of Marsyas Island, that he is later than he was supposed to be and that she will pick him up in an hour.

Flustered, Linus decided to finally check out the files about the children and Arthur Parnassus, but he didn’t make it past the first page. He faints when he sees the first child mentioned at the orphanage: Lucy, also known as Lucifer. If the Antichrist is at the orphanage, what other great magical children could possibly be there? Even though Linus is absolutely terrified, he continues forward to find out.

There are several things that I find interesting about the book. One is that Linus is challenged about the rules that he follows so closely for his job. There are posters everywhere that say. “See something, say something.” It is mentioned quite a few times in the book. I didn’t think anything of it at first. However, it starts to have a nasty undertone. It is shown that it is often used to refer to magical creatures. If you see one, report it. In this world, magical creatures are segregated from the population, even in the orphanage. Linus has always thought of it as the right thing to do, but his time at Marsyas Island challenges that notion. Should magical creatures be separate? Shouldn’t magical beings be afforded the same opportunities as humans?

Another thing that was challenged in the book is the concept of a monster. You have the Antichrist, who is prophesied to destroy the whole world and other dangerous magical children at the orphanage. Does that make them automatically destined for evil and need to be eliminated? Or can nurture and family changes all that?

I also like how it explores the concept of hate. The village next to the Marsyas Island and the Extremely Upper Management has a very loose understanding of the inhabitants of the orphanage run by Arthur Parnassus. Mix that with the fear and apprehension of the general population, and you get hatred based on the unknown. Linus has to decide if he should agree with what society thinks about magical children or make up his own mind based on his interaction with them.

I found this a very interesting read. Given all the hateful things that are going on in society, I like it when a book forces us to examine how we treat people, especially when the law enforces stereotypes to keep portions of the population down and secluded. There are quite a few lessons that can be learned from this book.

So what happens when your friend accidentally unleashes supernatural forces on the whole neighborhood? You get Suburban Hell. We follow Amy and her group of friends: Melissa, Jess, and Liz. They have been the best of friends for several years, having met at the school their kids attend. They consider themselves the outsiders of the moms in their neighborhood because they are not obsessed with all the pageantry that their neighborhood subscribes to. The story starts innocuously enough. The girls are having one of their get-togethers at Liz’s house. She is excited to start work on her She Shed in the backyard. She wanted it to be the girls’ new hangout. She eagerly shows them the dig site, but when they look at the empty hole where the shed is supposed to be built, they notice a weird presence in the air and an odd smell.

They slowly dismissed everything, but then things started to change. Amy, Melissa, and Jess went to Liz’s house later and noticed she was acting strangely. Her facial expressions are off, she was dressing differently, her attitude drastically changed for the worse, and she didn’t seem to care about the house and kids anymore. Amy tried to reach out to Liz; however, Liz lured Amy outside. Liz’s face morphs into something sinister as she pushes Amy into the pit outside her house. While in the pit, Amy feels herself being sucked down by a supernatural force. She barely escaped, but she is left with a nasty wound. Amy knows that whatever she saw was not her friend, and she is determined that with the help of Melissa and Jess, they can save Liz. However, whatever is possessing Liz is not going out without a fight, and somehow Amy’s little daughter Emily seems to have a connection to the evil presence within Liz.

The books explore several main themes. Moms are expected to take on the household. They are expected to take care of the kids, have food ready, and plan activities. There is also a theme of women not being believed. I found it quite baffling that none of the husbands believed their wives about the supernatural things happening in the neighborhood, especially with the obvious changes with Liz. The husbands all assume that Liz is either having a tough time or a break in reality.

One of the things that I like in the book is that it asks the following question: How far would you go for your friend when they are in serious trouble, especially when it is beyond your comprehension? It is an interesting thing to think about. We see the women in the book struggle a lot with that question, which I found very realistic. I also like how they explore how friendships sometimes work. Sometimes, you are only with friends for a season. It may take you a while until you find your tribe.

There were a couple of things I didn’t like about the book. I didn’t like the way the husbands tried to explain away the supernatural events that were happening in the book when it was obvious something was off. I also hated Liz’s husband, Tim. I don’t understand how he could be so indifferent to the changes that were happening with his wife. Lastly, I didn’t like how the Emily situation was resolved. I thought that there would be more to it, but it just fell flat.

Overall, I did like the book. I liked how Amy was the anchor for all of them and how they worked together. The ending leaves an opening for a second possible book. I look forward to what comes next if they continue the story.

Ever wonder what would happen if you mixed the apocalypse, reality TV, and a game show altogether? You would get Dungeon Crawler Carl. The story starts off semi-normal. Carl’s life has been thrown into chaos. He found out his girlfriend had cheated on him while on vacation, and he broke up with her. He is still taking care of his girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, while she is on vacation, despite the breakup. He decides to take a smoke in the middle of the night. He opens the window to air the smoke out, and the cat jumps out. Carl decides to go outside to rescue the cat from the winter cold in his boxers, jacket, and his ex-girlfriend's Crocs. Then chaos ensues.

Every building and vehicle is crushed, killing the people inside. Stranded, Carl starts wandering the streets with Princess Donut. Suddenly, a staircase appears from the ground, leading downward. They entered the stairwell to try to survive the harsh winter temperature. At that point, they learned that aliens had taken over the Earth and created a dungeon crawl game for the rest of humanity to participate in. Their choices are to either fight through all 18 levels of the crawl, where the point is to kill your way to the top, or survive on the Earth’s surface with no supplies, food, or shelter.

Carl decides to risk the dungeon and carries along Princess Donut. Carl worries about how he is going to get Princess Donut through the game until she eats a prize biscuit that allows her to talk and use magic. She is very sassy and charismatic, which annoys Carl. However, it is a good thing that Carl brought Princess Donut with him. Not only is the cat smarter and stronger than him, which unnerves him to no end (she can shoot missiles out of her eyes), but her charisma is essential. Contestants in the crawl need audience support to survive, which isn’t a problem for Princess Donut because she is an award-winning show cat after all. They ended up forming the Royal Court of Princess Donut, with Princess Donut being the leader.

Carl’s and Princess Donut’s dynamic is pretty entertaining while they try to work together, and Carl’s attempt to calm Princess Donut down about worrying about public perception. One of the things that I like about this book is the reality game show aspect of it. You have the creators of the game pitting crawlers against one another. The crawlers have to participate in talk shows in order to promote themselves in the game. Carl and Princess Donut even have a publicist representing them. It’s a crazy premise, but it works.

There are several books in the series now, and a TV show is being created on Peacock based on the book. I look forward to seeing the adventures that Carl and Princess Donut get into and how the live adaptation of the book pans out.

The book starts with a simple but unusual premise. Jesse, a college professor, wakes up to the house shaking. He notices that his husband Norman isn’t lying next to him. Scared and confused, Jesse looks throughout the house for him. However, he sees a strange light. He follows the light outside and sees his husband standing next to a beam of radiating light. Norman walks into the light and begins to beam up into the sky. Jesse tries to grab onto Norman and bring him back to the ground. However, Jesse loses his grip, and Norman vanishes into the night sky. What did Jesse just witness, and how will he survive without Norman?

The novel deals a lot with the concept of abandonment. Jesse has always felt a sense of abandonment because he never knew his father. His father had gone missing during the war. He believes that is the reason why he initially gravitated to Norman because he was older and seemed more put together. He never imagined a life without Norman by his side. Now that Norman chose to walk away, Jesse is not sure what to do with himself. Norman had always taken the lead, and now Jesse is faced with a life where he has to make decisions by himself, which seems rather daunting since he has taken a passive role in their relationship for 30 years. It is heartbreaking to watch Jesse discover who he is without Norman by his side and grow into his own person.

The novel is also an exploration of relationships. A lot of times, we don’t evaluate things in a relationship until something terrible has happened. This is the situation Jesse finds himself in. When Norman leaves, he takes stock of their relationship and realizes that things haven’t been right between them for a while. Norman had installed an app on his phone to help him communicate with the universe. Jesse would watch Norman as he had his arms outstretched to the sky with his phone for hours, waiting for something. Jesse tried to engage Norman in this, but ended up being pushed out. Not only that, but they were no longer intimate with each other and often traded barbs with each other instead of just talking with one another. It is a scary feeling seeing the person who is the closest to you start to slowly become a stranger. Jesse tries to fight these feelings, but it is too late.

I was very surprised at the twist of Norman returning as if nothing had actually happened. To him, his day-to-day hadn’t changed. However, to Jesse and the world around him, a year had passed. As Norman looks around at his house and his life in general, he sees how everyone has moved on without him. That is the thing with time, though. Things do not stay the same when you leave. Everything gradually moves along with or without you. It is a hard pill that Norman has to swallow because his choice has lasting consequences that he couldn’t have dreamed of.

Overall, I liked the book. It is a beautiful exploration of a relationship. A marriage is often viewed through rose colored glasses, but in this novel, we see how relationships are messy and take work. It isn’t something that is simple. It also explores becoming your own person and that you can’t reinsert yourself into a life you left so easily without any consequences. It is interesting to see how the relationship with Jesse and Norman ebbs and flows throughout the novel and see if they can resolve things not just between each other, but themselves as well. In the spirit of the book, I have the following question: Would you allow yourself to be beamed up by supernatural forces, or would you stay behind?

What would you do if you were the only one of your kind left in this world? That is a question answered by Atticus O’ Sullivan, the last living Druid. He has hidden himself for centuries from the god of love, Aneghus Og. Atticus took the magical sword Fragarach, which Aneghus thinks rightfully belongs to him because it will give him unlimited power to rule over the realm of the gods. Atticus has fought off Aneghus’ minions throughout the century.

Currently, Atticus pretends to be a 21-year-old in the college town of Tempe, Arizona. He likes it there because the Fae can’t travel there easily. Atticus runs a business called the Third Eye Books and Herbs. Despite the lack of Fae in the area, there are plenty of supernatural creatures around, including werewolves, vampires, witches, etc. Atticus is kept company by his loyal wolfhound, Oberon, with whom he is able to communicate telepathically.

Life is good for Atticus until he receives a warning from the Morrigan, a goddess of death. She tells him that Aneghus is near and will be coming for Atticus himself. Now, Atticus has to decide if he should keep running or finish Aneghus once and for all. What will he choose?

I liked the book that shows how supernatural beings fit into the modern world. They have regular jobs, but try to keep their magical side a secret. Seeing them try to blend into society is entertaining.

I also like how the book deals with the different gods. Each god has their own agenda and doesn’t mind messing with people’s lives to get to their goal, especially Atticus. It leads Atticus to wonder whom he should really trust or if he is really alone in dealing with the gods.

One of the most entertaining characters of the book is Oberon. His happy devotion to Atticus is adorable. He also has interesting commentary on the different beings that Atticus interacts with, which makes Atticus laugh a lot of the time.

Overall, I think the book was good. It is wonderful if you like mythology mixed with urban fantasy. There are ten books in this series. I am curious to see how the story continues. After reading this, my question to you is the following: What would you do if you were the last of your kind left on Earth, especially if there were forces against you?

The Road is an interesting novel. It follows a father and son as they travel alone through a dystopian country. One interesting thing about the novel is that we never learn the names of the characters in the book. They are referred to as man and boy. They are father and son as well.

Despite all of that, we learn that the man and boy are traveling because winter is about to hit, and they want to be someplace warm. They have limited supplies and worry about making it to their destination before winter hits.

The story is mostly about the journey instead of the destination. It follows how the father and son struggle through a wasteland. They survive by breaking into abandoned houses and stores, trying to find supplies. Their clothes are worse for wear, and their shoes are tattered. They have to find places to sleep as well, especially since they have to worry about other surviving humans with ill intentions finding them.

Spoiler Territory

The story really focuses on the relationship between father and son as they are experiencing a dire event. It is interesting how the father wants to stay positive on their situation, but can’t shield his son from the harsh reality of the world they live in. The father remembers positive times before the mysterious event happened that caused the wasteland. It seems like the son doesn’t have memories of life before the event, so the son often questions his father about whether there were really happier times.

The event itself is mysterious as well. They never explained what caused the apocalyptic events. We are given subtle clues. It seems like a fire destroyed everything because there is continuous ash everywhere. The sky is always grey, and the rivers, lakes, and oceans are not blue, but the color of lead. Whatever happened caused all plants and the majority of animal life to die, leaving few resources. They come across human remains that seemed to have been the result of what happened during the mysterious event. The people are burned beyond recognition. Seems that the remaining humans have resorted to cannibalism because of the lack of food and vegetation.

The book is an interesting exploration of what to do if there is little hope for survival. I think that the book is specifically vague about the characters and the apocalypse because it wants you to put yourself in the father and son’s situation. Do you keep trekking on during the apocalypse, or do you give up? It is an interesting question that I am still pondering after reading this book, and I think you will too if you give the book a chance.

What happens if you can randomly disappear without a trace? That is the state the world is in, in the book Absence. People are popping, also known as Spontaneous Human Absence. The only thing you hear before a person disappears is a loud pop, and then they are gone. This has caused chaos, including cults, mass suicides, and an uptick in murders and kidnappings. However, one of the people who is trying to control the chaos is Harvey Ellis, who works night shift for the Bureau of Depopulation Affairs. It is a government agency that investigates people who are believed to be Absence. If they are truly Absence, the Absence’s remainders get government stipends in an effort to boost morale in the country.

One day, Harvey is given an unexpected assignment: a claim of a Return. In Dawnville, Kansas, a woman who was thought to be Absent is claiming to have returned from the void. She is spreading the word that there is a life after popping. However, can Harvey truly trust the story the woman is spreading, or is she just another rising prophet looking for a flock? Harvey and his partner, Shonda, head to Dawnville to find out.

How would people randomly disappearing out of existence change society? It is an interesting concept that the novel explores. Being alone is considered a dangerous option. If you are alone and you pop, no one would know. There would be no way to tell if you disappeared of your own volition, kidnapped, or popped. It causes people instead to use monitoring systems on themselves so they can constantly update loved ones of their continued existence.

It was also interesting to see how technology changed during this. Transportation had to be automated, including planes, trains, buses, and cars, because if someone popped, there would be no one to control the vehicle. There are still transportation systems that could be run manually, but you couldn’t work it alone. You have to travel at least in pairs.

There is also the concept of a skeptic versus a believer. With people continuously disappearing at a rapid rate with no end in sight, people are looking for answers. In the book, Harvey came across a person who worshipped every known religion just in case one of them would prevent him from popping. In regard to the current case that Harvey is on, he constantly fights with Shonda over the woman who claims that she returned from the void. Harvey desperately wants to believe the woman because there is hope in her story that there is something beyond the popping. However, Shonda believes that the returned woman is pulling the wool over their eyes. The constant back and forth throughout the book illustrates the hope we put on people, especially when it is dealing with the unknown.

One of the things that I found fascinating in the book is how religion changed. People understand the concept of death, but how do you explain the concept of sudden disappearance? Do you treat it like a death or something unexplained? In the book, many different religions are explored. Some new religions are created to explain Absence. Cults had an uprising. Religions like the Catholic Church splinter off into smaller groups, not liking the original teachings. It is interesting to see people’s faith shaken and looking for answers anywhere they can get them. It is more about what makes a person feel safe versus what is right or wrong.

Overall, I really like the book. It makes you wonder how you feel safe in a world where you could randomly disappear without any warning, whether it's through community, religion, or technology. In the spirit of the book, I have the following question: How would you continue to live life with people randomly disappearing out of existence?

The Seven Year Slip revolves around Clementine. She just broke up with her boyfriend, but she doesn’t have any qualms about it. She has been afraid to get too close to anyone after the death of her aunt six months ago. Trying to avoid her grief, she puts everything she has into her work in the publishing industry.

She lives in her aunt’s old apartment. One day, as she goes home, she is surprised to see a stranger at the apartment, Iwan. He claims that Clementine’s aunt is allowing him to stay there for the summer. Clementine initially doesn’t believe him until she starts noticing that the apartment has reverted to how her aunt had it decorated when she was alive. It was then that Clementine realized that her aunt’s warnings about the apartment were true: It can randomly take you seven years into the past.

Spellbound by this knowledge, Clementine starts to get to know Iwan, who is very attractive and keeps her on her toes. He has a zest for life and a deep appreciation for food. Slowly, she realizes that she is falling in love with a man who is seven years in the past. What makes things weirder is that she meets him in person during her timeline. However, he is not the Iwan she is starting to love. He seems more hesitant and closed off, and goes by James now. What made Iwan change from the man Clementine knew and cared about?

For a romance novel, this story really surprised me with how it handled grief. Clementine’s aunt committed suicide, and the book showed how Clementine struggled with that loss. Clementine always saw her aunt as vibrant and the center of attention. She was constantly taking Clementine across the globe for all different types of adventures. Clementine wondered why she didn’t see the signs of her aunt being depressed. That is how it is in real life. Oftentimes, the reason behind a person’s suicide is unknown, and it keeps family and friends wondering if there was anything they could have done to stop it.

The novel also goes into how time changes people. Normally, that is not necessarily a problem, but in Clementine’s case, she is seeing past and present Iwan at the same time, so the changes with him are startling to her. However, throughout the novel, she realized that it is natural for people to change over the years. She wasn’t the same as she was seven years ago, and she shouldn’t expect him not to change either.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting concept for a romance novel. It drew me in with its time travel shenanigans. It also captures how time and grief can change people throughout the years. It is definitely a good book to check out. In the spirit of the book, I have the following question: Would You Love Someone From a Different Timeline?

The story starts with Noemi Taboada, a socialite in 1950s Mexico. Her father has received word from her cousin, Catalina, begging them to rescue her. Catalina claims that she is being poisoned by her husband and is haunted by ghosts. Catalina had recently gotten married to Englishman Virgil Doyle, and they both moved to the countryside in Mexico to live in Virgil’s family home called High Place. Noemi’s father believes that Catalina is possibly being abused or mistreated and wants Noemi to check on her. Noemi is more interested in her debutante lifestyle, but her father offered her something she couldn’t refuse: to pay for her degree from the university. Determined, Noemi sets off to High Place to see what exactly is happening to her cousin.

Noemi is used to being in a bustling city full of life, color, and adventure. However, when she gets to the village where High Place resides, it is quiet, grey, and not much is going on because the mining business in town has failed. When she gets to High Place, she is able to see Catalina, but she isn’t doing so well. She claims to have seen ghosts still and that something is altering her body. Noemi wants her to be evaluated, but Virgil and Florence refuse, saying that they know what’s best for her and limit Cantalina’s time with Noemi. They are also restrictive of Noemi’s pleasures (smoking) and her going to the village by herself. They want someone to accompany her at all times.

Originally, Noemi thinks that it is all the rules of the house that are causing the fire in Catalina to dim, but she starts to have some of the same visions of ghosts that Catalina has. It doesn’t help that the house is so foreboding, with it being unkempt, without electricity, and mold growing everywhere. Noemi begins to think that maybe Catlina isn’t insane and that the house is doing things to warp their perception. Will Noemi and Catalina be able to survive the house?

There were several different things that I found interesting about the book. One is the rights of women. Rights in this period were limited for women. However, Noemi did get to do things on her own accord, like going to parties, dating, driving, and hanging out with family. However, once Noemi enters High Place, she sees how Virgil’s family views women. They were to be quiet, obedient, bear children, and attend to the house. Women weren’t allowed to do much else. Noemi feels bad because she believes the family made Catalina feel small by restricting her movements. Catalina is restricted to her room at all times to rest and has limited visitors. Noemi feels the restrictions when she is reprimanded for going into the village several times without permission.

The story also had topics of race. The first thing that Noemi is told when she gets to High Place is that she can only speak English instead of Spanish there, or Howard, Virgil’s father, wouldn’t like it. She was also told that Howard brought soil from England to build his house on top of, so that he could still be considered an English home. Noemi’s views of Howard worsen when he observes that Noemi’s skin is much darker than her cousin, Catalina. He then goes on to explain the concept of eugenics to her. He claims that it is the only way to create a superior species, which Noemi finds offensive. Howard took it further by explaining how his family has kept their bloodline pure by marrying blood relatives, which Noemi finds horrifying. However, Virgil’s family thinks that the whole process is natural.

The concept of family is also explored in the novel. Other than the inbreeding, Noemi notices that the Doyles have a different concept of family than what she does. Her family hangs out together, talks during meal times, socializes with the servants, and supports each other’s interests. However, at High Place, everyone is expected to do what Howard Doyle says. There is to be quiet at all times, even during meals, avoid talking to the servants, and nothing in the house can be changed or updated. He expects their deep loyalty and devotion. Noemi finds the house stifling and without love, which makes her miss the warmth of home.

The concept of the supernatural is also explored. Throughout the story, Noemi is forced to wonder if the visions that Catalina and she have are real or not. It also doesn’t help that the townspeople have warned Noemi of High Place. Many people think that the Doyles are cursed because an illness swept through and killed the majority of the people who work at High Place and in the mines. Noemi has to discover if these are natural occurrences or if something sinister is going on.

As far as horror goes, Mexican Gothic is a good one to read. It has a lot of unexpected twists and turns that will keep you on your toes. In the spirit of the book, I ask the following question: Would you stay in a house that you believed to be haunted?

Every time I read this book, I hear the song Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin. I think the song fits perfectly with the book. The sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea is told from the perspective of Arthur Parnassus. Like in the song, Arthur finally has everything he wants: his children (Lucy, Chauncy, Talia, Phee, Theodore, and Sal), his fiancée Linus Baker, and his friends Zoe and Helen. He has a place that is safe that he can call his own with the people he loves and cares about the most. Not only that, but the village beside the island seems to be more accepting of magical creatures. All the See Something, Say Something posters have been taken down throughout the village, and magical creatures can roam the village without being marginalized.

Everything seems to be going great. However, there is a storm brewing. Arthur has been called to testify before government officials about his dark times in the orphanage as a child. However, the government officials are not holding back on their hesitation and doubts about Arthur’s story. After Arthur loses his temper and brings out the phoenix in front of the government, his parenting is now called into question. Now, DICOMY wants to send a case worker to observe Arthur and his children to see if they are safe with him. Also, throughout this, Arthur and Linus take in another kid to the house, David, who has alternative views of their family dynamics. Will Arthur be able to keep his family together with so many forces against him?

There are several things that I like about this book. In the first book of the series, Arthur is often portrayed as very knowledgeable and calm. Nothing seems to really rattle him to make him lose his cool. However, we get to see a new side of Arthur in this book. The abuse he received as a child still haunts him and affects his decision. He feels like he has to be the bright light in the room for everyone so that everyone can survive and be happy. However, he soon discovers that he can’t take on the world’s problems by himself and that he has to work on fixing himself before he can help others.

I also like how the children progressed in the story. Not only are they thriving with their new powers, but they also work together to make their voices known. They have calm and productive conversations with Linus and Arthur to make them see their point of view. It was very refreshing to see the kids voice their opinions on things, and that they don’t back down. Sal, in particular, has become the leader among the kids and helps to make sure all of their voices are heard.

The one concept that I am glad that they focused on is the definition of “monster”. Despite the government saying that they are trying to do the best for magical children, they still use the propaganda of See Something, Say Something to instill fear of the magical community and that humans need to be separated from them for their own safety. However, the new character, David, brings his own definition of monster to the island. He thinks that it is great to be a monster because he knows that people sometimes like to be scared for fun. He doesn’t think of being a monster as negative, but as a service to provide people. It is interesting to see him reclaim a word that has caused so many problems on Marsyas Island, and allows the inhabitants to have a new perspective on the word.

Overall, I really liked the book because it illustrates how a family will fight with everything they have to protect one another. I also like how it exposes how governments try to keep certain groups of people marginalized. It illustrates that we as a society have to fight for those who are marginalized to make the world a better place. In the spirit of the book, I ask the following question: How far would you go to protect those that you love?

Japanese Gothic deals with two different characters across timelines: Lee Turner is from the year 2026 and has fled from America and gone to his father’s home in Japan after killing his roommate. Sen is a young girl in Japan in 1877, trying to become a samurai. Both live in the same house across centuries. However, Sen and Lee find a closet door that breaches between timelines and allows them to visit and communicate with each other. Will going back and forth throughout time change Lee and Sen’s destiny?

The story of Lee and Sen is a tragic one. Both have horrible family lives. Lee’s mother disappeared when he was a child while on vacation. She is presumed to be in a sex trafficking ring or dead. Lee’s father avoids communicating fully with him, which makes Lee feel alone. To avoid the pain of this, he self-medicates in order not to feel anything. Sen’s father is abusive. He and his friends are trying to force the government to bring the way of the samurai back. However, he came back as the sole survivor. Now, Sen had her family go into hiding from the government to stay alive. Ever since Sen’s father came back, he has been abusive to Sen, her brothers, and her mother. He especially focuses on Sen, making her think all the time that she is not worthy of becoming a samurai and is a constant disappointment.

The grief the characters feel is overwhelming. Lee is constantly haunted by the fact that he couldn’t save his mom. He hears her in his dreams asking him to save her, and he feels hopeless each time that he is not able to do anything. Sen is constantly worried about pleasing her father to her own detriment. She trains to the point that she is tired. She also refuses to argue with him, even though it is against her best self-interest, like when she was asked to watch her younger sister die and to cut off her mother’s fingers.

There is also a concept of an unreliable narrator. Lee had been drugging himself for years when the story starts, and he stops cold turkey once he gets to Japan. Because of the drugs, he doesn’t remember all the details of killing his roommate or even where he hid the body. It makes you wonder if he really killed anybody or not.

There is also the aspect of the memory being reliable as well. Both Lee and Sen have situations that their mothers put them through, some things that may have been more horrifying than they realized when they analyze events from an adult point of view. It shows how children try to think of a situation as safe, because no child wants to believe that their parent would actually hurt them. However, Lee and Sen slowly realize that their mothers caused them more trauma during their childhood than they would have liked.

The story is a very gripping tale of grief and tragedy. You feel for the characters during their struggles throughout the book, and how they go about trying to prepare for their destiny. In honor of the book, I have the following questions: If you had the chance to learn about your future, would you take it?

Chaos, Comedy, and Chosen Family: The Dystopian Adventure You Didn't Know You Needed

This book takes place after Dungeon Crawler Carl. In this installment, Carl, Princess Donut, and her pet Mongo (yes, Princess Donut, the cat, has her own pet, a dinosaur, of all things) go to the third level (which is called Over City) of the dungeon game.

On the third floor, they get to choose a race and class. Carl and Princess Donut realize they need to be careful because whatever they choose can affect how the audience supports them in the game. After some thought, Carl chose to become a Primal. Not much is known about them, and no one knows what they look like, so he still appears human. He chooses the Compensated Anachist class, which helps him find important markers on the floor. Princess Donut decided to remain a cat because she believes they are perfect. However, Carl convinces her to take the class of Former Child Actor because it would force Mordecai to be her manager. They did this so they could exploit his knowledge of the game, and so he could be summoned to any safe room they are in.

And the trio definitely needs help on this level. The stakes are up now that they are in Over City. The trio discovers that the game has side quests (or storylines) that players can be drawn into against their will. And those storylines don’t necessarily end just on that floor either. They also have to participate in different talk shows, which pit players against each other. They also discover that the audience has a way to distort their images as well (poor Carl has a deepfake video of him floating around across the universe, and Princess Donut is caught drinking, of all things). Will Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo survive all the chaos in this level?

It was interesting to see the trio fight their way through Over City. I like that Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo are a found family. You see a lot of scenes where Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo support each other (even with Mongo being a wild card at times). Given the direness of their situation, it reiterates the importance of having a tribe to support you. I also like how Carl slowly realizes Princess Donut’s emotional and mental intelligence. She is not just a show cat that she portrays herself to be. She has lots of independent thoughts and observations to share.

I have several predictions of what comes next in the books. I think we might learn more about the Primal species. So little is known about them. I wondered if they will make an emergence in the universe. Or I wonder if Carl will find more information about them from a mysterious source. Odette, a TV talk show host, has been offering Carl bits and pieces of information because she is invested in Carl and Princess Donut for her own self-interests. I wonder if others in the universe will become invested in them as well.

Another prediction that I have is that we will learn more about the outside world. Every time the group gets transported to the interview trailer, Carl gets glimpses of the ocean and other interview trailers. I am curious to see if other surviving humans who opted not to participate in the game will make an appearance, or if we will see what the Earth looks like now that the aliens are mining it for materials.

Overall, I really like the book and look forward to reading the next book in the series. If you like a dystopian comedy adventure that has reality show elements, this is definitely the book for you. Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo are a riot together. You will definitely be entertained and eager to finish the book quickly.