Within the past few years, I’ve written about the sudden appearance of the otome-game isekai genre in both manga and anime format. Trying to keep up with the number of works is just impossible at this point; I’ve even attempted to update the manga page with additional manga when I get the chance! However, and happily, this genre has honestly just exploded both in popularity and amount of content. At this point, I’m going to be dropping the name “otome-game isekai” in favor of “otome survival.” Read on for why I’m doing this.
Forewarning that this may contain some spoilers about works! You’ve been warned!
Holy moly, the last time either of us posted a book round-up was summer 2019? I have a bunch of ARCs to review! I’m not going to post every single one just because that’d be so many, but here are some of the highlights within the past half year.
Note: ARCs have been received in exchange for an honest review from their publishers through NetGalley, and a number of these ARCs will be reviewed in full at a later date.
Ghoster by Jason Arnopp Published by Orbit Books Published on 10/22/2019 My rating 2/5
My short (NetGalley) review:
OK… I read through the entire book, and will do my best to avoid spoilers.
I love me some thrillers and stories that keep me flipping the pages to figure out what’s going on. Eventually, I ended up flipping through the pages in frustration in an attempt to get through the rest of it and find out what the heck is going on. It ends up feeling like a cop-out ending, and I felt so irritated that I spent the day reading the entire thing.
The authors writing isn’t terrible, which frustrated me even more… the direction it went just made me go “huh?” I enjoyed Kate, though did find the characters annoying at times, but some of the other characters were just like … there.
Unfortunately this isn’t a story that I would personally recommend.
The Dark Continent by Scott Reardon Published by Aspen Press Published on 01/28/2020 My rating 2/5
My NetGalley Review:
OK, so there was a point when reading this book where I just went… what happened. The first half really had me going with a horror thriller kind of vibe, trying to figure out what the heck the researchers were doing and all of this backstory, but then the second half left me scratching my head.
The book itself: Like it was really going somewhere with all of the “who did what” and “what happened here” among all the other things going on. It gave me the creepy vibes that I look for when I read horror books. I liked that! I also felt like I didn’t have to go back to read the first book and was just able to jump cheerily in to reading this one, which I’m grateful for.
The second half of the book was downhill from there, though. I wasn’t a fan of the fact that it just threw everything out of the boat and went a different direction, nor was I really happy with the sudden incredibly patriotic theme that overtook the rest of the book. It was grating, and it didn’t feel like it added anything additional to the plot this way, feeling more like an interjection of some weird feelings just because the author could (e.g. the note about the French Canadians being “backwardly cheerful” and the tidbit on tolerance/diversity).
TLDR: Not sure if I can recommend reading this just for the first half alone.
Celiac Disease Cookbook for the Newly Diagnosed by Rebecca Toutant Published by Callisto Media Published on 02/18/2020 My rating 5/5
My NetGalley Review:
So, if you know/follow me at all (likely you don’t but that’s okay), you’ll know that I write quite a bit about celiac disease given that I was only diagnosed within the recent past. Back then the gluten free diet was becoming a hot, trendy thing, and celiac disease was only starting to get more media attention. I had no idea what the heck the disease was until I was diagnosed.
This would’ve been an extremely helpful book for someone new to celiac disease or who doesn’t understand what it is.
Rather than just being a cookbook, the author discusses exactly WHAT celiac disease is, and bonus points to the author for pointing out that ***we can’t just have people picking crumbs off our salad***. She talked about STIGMA, which is a HUGE issue, and talking about the emotional/psychological issues relating to being diagnosed.
So this isn’t just a cookbook, it’s really an introduction to being diagnosed and how to handle the weight of the disease, which is HUGE. I mean — no one talks about the fact that you can’t just eat out anymore and you have to shell out a LOT of money for new equipment when you’re diagnosed. It’s kind of like you just get told “stop eating gluten” and that’s it.
The ONLY issue I have is that she notes that oats are OK for celiac disease if labeled gluten-free, but it has been consistently found that gluten-free optical-sorted oats are not safe for celiac sufferers and purity-protocol oats are really the best option.
I’m constantly on the look-out for GOOD horror and thriller books, especially if they’re paranormal! If you have any you’d like to suggest, leave me your recommendation in the comments. I’ve been really disappointed with the reads that I’ve come across lately.
Release Date: September 30, 2019 Author: A.M. Kherbash Publisher: N/A My Rating: 2/5 Find it on: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
My first-look review:
When I finished reading this book, I found myself to be more irritated than scared or unnerved. The author’s writing style wasn’t terrible, and I did enjoy it, but sometimes found it confusing and really hated the large amount of questions left unanswered by the end of the novel. I felt a bit bait and switched by the ending of the book, but can’t say any more without spoiling it.
What I liked:
There was a feeling of confusion and a bit of horror at the beginning as you follow along with Greg to figure out what’s going on inside of the building. There’s some other things going on in the building that are pretty ~creepy~ and unexplainable.
The author’s writing isn’t terrible — which makes me sad about the low rating. I feel that this needed some more work because this could be adequately wrapped up in one book.
What I disliked:
I WAS SO CONFUSED THROUGHOUT MOST OF THIS BOOK. OK, sorry for the caps, but I found myself extremely irritated by the time I reached the ending (and then found out this was going to have another novel after?). I felt like I could’ve made some assumptions based on the information given, but it felt like long shots because the author was not entirely clear on a lot of points.
The spooky concept isn’t entirely explored — and that sucked. I picked this book up because it was billed as a psychological horror, yet found myself not very horrified. I felt interested at the beginning of the story. However, as the story progressed, I was mainly just trying to reach the end to see if any of the strings attached anywhere and found myself disappointed.
The problem is that a lot of the things that I disliked about this story are things that would spoil the story entirely. I’m not comfortable exactly doing so, but I will just say that I was disappointed because it felt like it was going in one direction in the beginning and suddenly veered to a different one towards the end. Jeeze!
Who should read this?
Maybe if you like horror? I’m not sure if I can recommend this book as it is, unfortunately. 😦
Another book round-up! We’ve been super busy handling some work-related drama, so there hasn’t been a lot of time to blog between resting and just all of the other stuff. I have a lot of recent books that I’ve read through and want to share with you all. 🙂 Unfortunately, I got a real hit-or-miss group of books to share this time, so hold on tight…
Jade City by Fonda Lee Published by Orbit My rating: 5/5
I need to do a full review of this series because I seriously just got thrown off my other hobbies and immediately got sucked into this story. My cuz and hubs has been raving about this book (and talking about it and spoiling it in front of me, but jokes on them, I forgot what they said), so I finally said FINE. I’ll try it. I don’t really read fiction but I’ll do it.
Absolutely no regrets. I’m a sucker for yakuza/gang stories, and this is right up that alleyway, along with heavy Asian inspiration and fantasy and romance and hnnng. It’s all a hapa lady could hope for. It really had me holding my breath and feeling anxious at some points, so it was a great ride.
I’m now onto Jade War, and really hope to meet Fonda Lee for signatures at some point……..
Exposing the 20 Medical Myths by Arthur Garson Jr and Ryan Holeywell Published by Rowman & Littlefield Releases on Sept 15, 2019 My rating: 3/5
My NetGalley review:
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.
I’m a healthcare nut — I study healthcare, work in healthcare, and live in the industry. So when I picked this up I was looking for an interesting read on the industry, but found myself quickly skipping through pages.
I found this to be a really dry read. It feels like it’s meant for clinical staff, mainly physicians, to understand the state of the healthcare industry in the United States. There’s a lot of explaining of terminology that I already knew working back end but that someone in the clinical realm often doesn’t know.
While I think this might be a good educational read for someone with little exposure to healthcare, I quickly found myself bored with the content.
The Nani Iro Sewing Studio by Naomi Ito Published by Zakka Workshop Released on Jun 25, 2019 My rating: 4/5
My NetGalley review:
*** I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. ***
As someone getting into sewing, I’ve seen Nani Iro pop up quite a bit. There are some basic clothes to make, but a lot of the clothes are of what’s popular in Japan right now: big and baggy shirts, dresses and pants. There’s nothing wrong with that trend (esp as someone who does follow some parts of that fashion), but not everyone may be interested in these styles.
Thankfully, I was happy to see that they had smaller sizes, which has been a struggle when looking for patterns for some reason.
Each project is laid out in detail. You get finished sizes, the materials needed, and how to lay the patterns on the fabric to cut the pieces. The construction steps are very detailed but easy to understand for even a newer sewer, especially given that they include illustrations on what needs to be done. There’s not a lot of guesswork that needs to happen when putting the clothing together.
I reviewed some cookbooks and craft books within the past few weeks as well, but they’re not coming out for a few months so it’s a tad too early. I’m really excited for some of the things coming out, especially since one has a really good cookie recipe! (Making gluten-free baked goods is an ART y’all.)
I’m open to any suggestions for books similar to Jade City/Jade War. I love yakuza/gang family fiction and manga, so anything up that alley I’d be willing to look at. 🙂
This is just a quick book round-up of the books I’ve completed reading (and haven’t done a full review on yet) and ones that are in progress. I have a lot of outstanding books still in my TBR that I’m slowly getting through… and for some reason I keep getting more to add to my list. 🙂 That added up with a busy work schedule makes for slow reading.
Note: ARCs have been received in exchange for an honest review from their publishers through NetGalley, and a number of these ARCs will be reviewed in full at a later date.
Releases August 13, 2019
Diagnosis by Dr. Lisa Sanders Published by Crown Publishing My rating 5/5
My short (NetGalley) review:
If you liked House or like to follow any type of medical mysteries, this book is for you. This book is chock full of a variety of short experiences about patients with weird problems being diagnosed with a variety of illnesses that aren’t always what they seem. Not every story is a happy one, but in real life it is unfortunately what happens.
I found myself flipping through a lot of the stories in one sitting. They’re interesting enough to just keep going, and each experience is so unique you just want to see what the next person’s experience was. It is written in such a way that a person doesn’t need a lot of medical knowledge, just some basic understanding of the human body and disease, to get what’s going on.
This is definitely a unique read, and as someone who dealt with being misdiagnosed for almost a decade, I felt somewhat vindicated by the commentary and stories in the book. Would definitely suggest reading this.
Released June 5, 2012
Redshirts by John Scalzi Published by Tor Books My rating: 4/5
My short review:
For some reason I found this in the horror section at a Half Price Books, and this is totally not a horror story (but still good nonetheless). If you know anything about Star Trek, you’ll likely know about the idea behind red shirts, or also known as dispensable extras on the television series.
So with that in mind, this book was a fun read that had some unexpectedly emotional feels along with some interesting concepts and theories around the whole red shirt concept. I found it to be fun! This was also my first Scalzi read and got a kick out of him just writing that a character died, straight up, no frills.
Some of the bits of his writing are a little hard to get through, like some of the long character conversations going back and forth between multiple characters, but I found it to be an enjoyable read that complaint aside.
Released July 18, 2019
The Watanabe Name by Sakura Nobeyama Published by Black Rose Writing My rating: 4/5
I just reviewed this the other week! Go take a look at my full review to see all of my thoughts. Suffice to say, I thought it was a good read.
Releases September 3, 2019
Fentanyl, Inc. by Ben Westhoff Published by Grove Atlantic My rating: 5/5
You like drugs? Public health? Policy? Politics? Interested in the current opioid epidemic? This is a good fit to itch those likes.
I was expecting a book more focused on personal stories of drug users and fentanyl, but what I got instead was an interesting telling of the drug situation not only in the United States but around the world as well. The history around designer drugs is told in length.
The international politics, especially between the US and China, is discussed and made me think about whether there were some historical reasons around China’s current lax attitude about the drug labs.
I found this to be very educational, especially as I start taking classes on population health and societal health issues. Would recommend. It’s not a dry read like some other drug books I’ve picked up recently.
Be ready for more books soon, and maybe an update to by webcomic for the first time in half a year! 🙂 Anyone reading anything they’d like to suggest I add to my big pile of TBRs?
Title: The Watanabe Name Author: Sakura Nobeyama Release Date: July 18, 2019 Publisher: Black Rose Writing My Rating: 4/5 Trigger Warning: violence, sexual assault Find it on: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
My NetGalley review:
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.
This is a book that starts extremely sluggishly but picks up and goes full-throttle until the end, keeping you reading for more to figure out what happens next. I was really slogging through the first bit and was super close to DNF’ing it until a major event finally occurred. The rest of the novel makes up for the slow start.
The Watanabe Name is a thriller/historical fiction about a traditional Japanese family that has some notoriety due to the war. When the patriarch is found dead, the story really unfolds into a thrilling telling around the family itself and who might have wanted him gone.
Those who are familiar with the atrocities around the Japanese occupation will understand references in the book, especially to some heinous, problematic aspects of the occupation.
What I liked:
If you’re familiar with the Asian family hierarchy, you’ll find that the author does a very good job of illustrating the frustration of respect and the politics around handling traditional relatives. You can really feel yourself getting frustrated on behalf of the different family members (ok, maybe not everyone) for the way that the patriarch handles everything with an iron fist… just like in real life!
If you’re not familiar with Asian culture, the beginning of the book (albeit a bit slow paced) will be a good introduction and guide you right in to the mentality around decisions made throughout the story, which is incredibly important.
This book dives into Japanese/Chinese history around the time of the wars earlier in the 20th century. I felt that she did a good job of portraying the situation, including tidbits about some notorious parts of the occupation that were extremely problematic, and tied it into the mystery of who killed the general. I told Mr. Renzol that it was appreciated that she didn’t glaze over or trivialize the treatment of people during the occupation.
She also did a great job of humanizing all of the characters: most of the characters had reasons for acting the way they did, like being selfish or playing political games to get the desired outcome they’re looking for. I found myself sympathizing with different characters, especially as the mystery unfolded and the killer(s) became obvious.
What I disliked:
Trigger warning: this is a book that includes portrayal of the occupation by Japan and includes violence, sexual assault, and related topics.
The first part of the book was extremely slow to me, but it may be because I’m already familiar with the family hierarchy and Asian culture in general, so it was a lot of rehashing of previous knowledge. I felt that some of it could have been shortened, but for Western readers without that background it might be important.
The time-shifting between the past, near-past, and present was a bit confusing to me. There was a point where I was reading a chapter on the present but first thought it was the near-past and had to double-check what time period the chapter was set in. I would actually like if the author had grouped them together by time periods AND the date to make it easier to follow along.
Who should read this?
If you enjoy an Asian-style thriller mystery with adult content, take a peek at this book! I had a slight inkling of who the killer(s) might have been, but the story was interesting enough to keep me reading until it was confirmed.
Two Boring Hapas 