Just roll with it

Dungeons and Dragons is something I've always considered fun. It's taking a story and adding people and on the spot decisions. It's not something that's easy to do at times but does have a good time with it... usually. It isn't just for teens and adults either, there are children who can play with it, and they honestly love it! I started playing when I was away at school and it helped me make friends and actually understand my love for storytelling and meeting new people. I am able to play with friends still to this day and while it's not in person, I still have fun and give myself a chance to talk to new people. 

When I first read the book, I was iffy with it. I got frustrated and annoyed with some of the story because the parents and family come into the middle of the story, talking about things that I didn't even think mattered. I got the most annoyed with some of the storylines popping up out of nowhere. There were details that didn't need to be mentioned because they didn't affect the little girl who was the main character. 

But then I sat down and read the book again. I found a lot more information hiding within the story. Allow me to tell you the tale about Margaret, a little 6th grader girl who plays D&D and has a couple of worries hiding around the corners she doesn't look at. The idea of carrying a d20 with you is one that I wasn't expecting at first until I realized it was also a good way to get rid of fidgeting and kind of help decided on some details. Most of the ideas that we don't realize until later are unsaid and appear in her daydreams and nightmares. I found that this was a good representation of OCD and anxiety. It also takes in account of Margaret's feelings as a younger kiddo. 

It made me see the story through her eyes and how she was trying to understand all of these things happening with her, on top of trying to understand what monster is lurking on the school grounds. She's faced with a new school, making new friends and trying to understand all the things around her and her family. This is definitely a good way to talk about mental health with your friends or whoever you think would be interested in this book. 

An Appetite for Murder

Alrighty, time to buckle in once again and get back in business! This book was a doozy - I thought that I'd pick up a couple of new mysteries to just give myself the opportunity to catch up on some reading and just enjoy bits and pieces of my summer vacation. One of the books that I decided to get my hands on was "An Appetite for Murder" and it was....... interesting. I'm back on my cozy mystery kick and I will be honest - this wasn't the one for me. I was honestly more frustrated than amused by the story. It's the first in the series and it's about Hayley Snow who follows her then boyfriend to Key West and finds out that oops, she's the one that he cheated with. As she tries to work with her new lifestyle, her mom is trying to convince her to come back to New Jersey. When she goes to get back her things, she finds a dead body in her ex's place! Things turn for the worst when she finds out it was her soon to be boss and that Hayley's been framed and charged for the crime! 

~~~~~

Hayley is jobless, living with her college best friend in a boat house and yet somehow is able to pay for cat food and some really high-end places?? She's also able to pay $20 for a tarot reading every week? 

The cops keep going back to HER specifically for plotting this murder and don't think about hmmm, I don't maybe the receptionist could be a suspect, the other exes, MAYBE EVEN THE JERK BOYFRIEND? Hayley keeps talking about the ex and it honestly frustrated me and if I didn't get 200 pages in already, I would have dropped the book and gone "no, never again." Whenever she's not worried about the murder, she's obsessed with the ex-boyfriend and trying to get back her stuff from her ex. At 200 pages, there was nothing new on the murder, but Hayley had been taken to the police station two times at least. at 259, there was a glimpse that Chad might have been aimed at for the murder, but it was lackluster and didn't really bake anything fun in my brain. It's not needed and she's acting more like a 20-something than the 30-year-old she is. It's a red flag to be talking about him that much and he honestly didn't want anything to do with her half the time. 

I didn't mind the food quotes at the beginning of the chapters, but it got boring after a while. I would have liked to have seen some tips, or something found at the beginning of the chapters to kind of keep people going and interested. Another thing that threw me off was a HUGE lack of recipes. There's only 3 found in the back of the book and it's all having to do with eggplants, cookies and coffee cakes. There's not a single mention of this key lime pie that kills the girlfriend because if something is to die for, THEN GIVE THE RECIPE SO WE MAY TRY IT OURSELVES. As she goes through the different places for food critics, there's no recipe, there's no tips about the food itself. She talks about all of these delicious foods and that's.... it. She doesn't even show us the reviews that she writes fully, only small bits and pieces of it. We as the readers are left out of the loop, somehow being expected to know exactly how to make the food from her reviews. 

Kaiju Preservation Society

I am not usually a science fiction kind of gal, but this one opened my eyes to the books I had been missing out on. This takes place in a modern world and is written in first person (which is my favorite). When most people don't say judge a book by its cover, the cover is actually what made me want to read the book because it drew my attention in immediately. What I also liked was that this story took place during the pandemic - where people were losing their jobs left and right, companies were having to go and move things around to help save money. When doing so, Jamie is offered a job working with animals in hopes of helping the world out and make some pretty good money while doing so. 

Of course.... they don't tell you what the actual job is until after you sign the contract and paperwork and who doesn't love a little secrecy? Jamie finds out after the fact that he signed up to be a grunt in helping preserve Kaiju on a different Earth - one that has no human life on it whatsoever. Most of the people who are part of the team are only there for about 3 years before they retire and continue to live their "boring" lives. An interesting fact that John Scalzi used in this story is that the Kaiju are their own power sources of nuclear reactors. Once they hit puberty, there are two things that can happen - their body is able to regulate the power that they give off or they basically explode and the Kaiju in the area go, feed off the energy and try to take the power for themselves.

I'd like to say that I pretty much devoured the book in two days while I was off work because the pandemic was still very relevant to some of the studies we were doing in school. The pandemic was still a very large factor to how some of the community behaved at my local libraries. I would honestly love to reread this for a summer program or even own a copy of this book - there's plenty of good pop culture references, plenty of humor for adults and a couple of interesting twists and turns. When I finished reading this book, I immediately went to three of my coworkers and said, "You have to read this - this is right up your alley." 

Hannah L.’s review of The Kaiju Preservation Society | Goodreads

Blue Exorcist

This is a series that I would recommend to anyone who wants a start into reading manga. It's about a set of twins, Rin and Yukio, who are the sons of Satan, adopted by a priest who raises them. They both go to exorcist school to learn more about them and learn how to fight them. The designs are easy to study and very nice to look at! I really like how the series has done so far - giving us character development, different ways to go about studying and even a little bit of explanations as to how certain demons have power over others. 

Rin is probably my favorite character by far because I see myself in him and understand where he's coming from. He's got a big heart and he's trying to understand why people don't see things as simple as he does. He also has a lot of power and needs to control it in his own way. What I do appreciate is that people don't believe in his dream and think he would be better off dead or used as a weapon for training other exorcists. It's not an overnight fix either - he sees the mistakes that are around them and he also knows that he needs to believe in the same people that are willing to help him out. 

While there are several arcs that happen throughout the main story, the story doesn't make the reader feel bored. The "filler" chapters still hold a significant part of the story and who the characters are. I have found myself easily binge reading the series because each book gives enough information to keep you guessing on what happened. When I had found out that there was a animated series about this... I might have also binged watched it a couple of times after schoolwork had been finished. 

Through The Grinder

Through The Grinder is book two of the Coffeehouse Mysteries and brings back the wonderful cast of characters at the Village Blend.

Your favorite characters (and new ones) have come together for round two of a murder mystery which wasn't on the Brew of the Day! This time, female customers are committing suicide left and right and the connection they all have? They all go to the speed dating night that the Village Blends hosts and Detective Quinn doesn't like the way some of the guys are looking at Clare... Clare claims to join it due to Joyce's encouragement but she's actually been trying to make sure that she doesn't choose one at all! Will one of the connections she makes while "undercover" a little too close for her comfort?

This one is a little heavier on the dark side and faces some heavier situations and scenarios. Otherwise, the book kept me up for the most of the night because I couldn't simply put it down!

Guts

Guts by the same classic author who did the books, Smile and Sisters, Raina Telemeger! And this one isn't gory at all, trust me on that. This one is a little more close to home for those who are looking for a reassurance in teenager trouble and anxieties. Rana is having troubles with the flu and often finds herself feeling sick to her stomach, thinking she's going to puke and is self conscious in a lot of things. She won't even eat certain foods because they're giving her those weird feelings of puking. What's even more interesting? Rana is going to a therapist to help her with her troubles! Will puberty help her discover who she is or give Rana more trouble than she thought possible?

This one is something I wish I had growing up. It talks about anxiety and how it's a little troublesome in your day to day life - that and puberty. I find myself following the tips and tricks that Rana uses a couple times a week. There are different things which cause us to stress out or become anxious that may not have the same effect on others. But we can all help each other get through our troubles. Stress management hasn't always been my strong suite but it's starting to help me get the stress out in a creative outlet - writing or doodling when I need it.

Death of a Chocoholic

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I've posted and I apologize for not updating my blog a little more regularly. Let's just say that life has been a little crazy for me during the past year or so. But I've rediscovered an old passion of mine: food themed mysteries!

This week's food themed mystery is "Death of a Chocoholic" by Lee Hollis. Hiding within these pages are at least 5 different chocolate recipes and a whole lot of cats. The story starts off a little weird with the main character, Hayley Powell, going on a blind date who shows up 30 minutes later than the planned time. But there seems to be a silver lining in the clouds when Hayley is told that she'll be running her food column and someone else's crime column with double the paycheck.

Things actually take a while to get rolling and the actual mystery doesn't start until chapter 12, a third of the way through the book. There are a lot more characters than I expected but Hollis makes sure to keep things clear and simple for the new readers. I will admit the love interests are slightly cliched with the young vet who's just recently moved into town and mentions of a few too many heartthrob celebrities. It keeps a bit of a small town feel though where the only thing you can do is either go to the local bowling/bar or go to another town for something fun! Minor warning though: there is a large mention of alcohol in the story (for younger readers or those who wish to avoid the mention) and a couple of mentions of doing the dirty but a good book otherwise!