Soul Eater, Volume 1 by Atsushi Ohkubo

Soul Eater, Volume 1 by Atsushi Ohkubo

Soul Eater #1, 208 pages

⭐⭐⭐.5/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Maka is a weapon meister, determined to turn her partner, a living scythe named Soul Eater, into a powerful death scythe - the ultimate weapon of Death himself! Charged with the task of collecting and devouring the tainted souls of ninety-nine humans and one witch, Maka and her fellow meisters strive to master their weapons as they face off against the bizarre and dangerous minions of the underworld. But the meisters' own personal quirks may prove a bigger obstacle than any sultry enchantress!

Any Trope But You

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine | 327 pages | 2025

Beloved romance author Margot Bradley has a dark secret: she doesn’t believe in Happily Ever Afters. Not for herself, not for her readers, and not even for her characters, for whom she secretly writes alternate endings that swap weddings and babies for divorce papers and the occasional slashed tire. When her Happily Never After document is hacked and released to the public, she finds herself canceled by her readers and dropped by her publisher.

Desperate to find a way to continue supporting her chronically ill sister, Savannah, Margot decides to trade meet-cutes for murder. The fictional kind. Probably. But when Savannah books Margot a six-week stay in a remote Alaskan resort to pen her first murder mystery, Margot finds herself running from a moose and leaping into the arms of the handsome proprietor, making her fear she’s just landed in a romance novel instead.

The last thing Dr. Forrest Wakefield ever expected was to leave his dream job as a cancer researcher to become a glorified bellhop. What he’s really doing at his family’s resort is caring for his stubborn, ailing father, and his puzzle-loving mind is slowly freezing over—until Margot shows up. But Forrest doesn’t have any room in his life for another person he could lose, especially one with a checkout date.

As long snowy nights and one unlikely trope after another draw Margot and Forrest together, they’ll each have to learn to overcome their fears and set their aside assumptions before Margot leaves—or risk becoming a Happily Never After story themselves.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson by Lydia Corry

 Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson by Lydia Corry (112 Pages)

Summary: Emily Dickinson is one of America’s greatest and most original poets of all time. When you hear her name, you may imagine the famous recluse whose withdrawal from society became legendary. But it’s time to meet a new side of Emily, one that is powerful, adventurous, and joyful. Follow along as we delve into Emily Dickinson’s childhood, revealing a young girl desperate to go out exploring―to meet the flowers in their own homes. Wade through tall grasses to gather butterfly weed and goldenrod, the air alive with the “buccaneers of buzz.” And, don’t forget to keep a hot potato in your pocket to keep your fingers warm. This is Emily Dickinson as you’ve never seen her before, embarking on an unforgettable journey in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, with her trusty four-legged companion, Carlo.

Opinion: This is a children's non-fiction (and a bit fiction) book told mostly through graphic novel format which made the read a lot more fun. I really enjoyed the illustration style and getting to learn more about her home life. Throughout the story a few of her poems are sprinkled in which I enjoyed as Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poets. I also really enjoyed reading the facts about her at the end of the book. 

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

The Tenant - 368 pages

Freida McFadden

Summary (From Goodreads)

There’s no place like home…

Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege, and secrets turned sour…

Review

This was my first time reading a book by this author.  From what I understand, choosing to focus on a male perspective in this book is outside the norm for her, and I think it served well to establish Blake as an unreliable narrator.  However, I'm not a big fan of the epilogue; I don't think it added much - if anything - to the story.  Given how it was executed, it felt more like an interesting idea than a twist that would actually provide the reader with an explanation or closure.  

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

 This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (224 Pages)

Summary: Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?

Opinion: This book is so good, not what I expected, but so good. This is talked about as a sci-fi book and it is, but really it is a romance book at its core. While the sci-fi aspect is important to the context of the story, the relationship building between Red and Blue is the story. In particular, I loved the writing in this novel, especially the letters between the two main characters which were especially profound. This book is only 200 pages, but it took a while to read as this book constantly makes one think about the true meaning of the authors' words. Would highly recommend. 

Raven Flight

Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier | 416 pages | 2013

Neryn has finally found the rebel group at Shadowfell, and now her task is to seek out the elusive Guardians, vital to her training as a Caller. These four powerful beings have been increasingly at odds with human kind, and Neryn must prove her worth to them. She desperately needs their help to use her gift without compromising herself or the cause of overthrowing the evil King Keldec.

Neryn must journey with the tough and steadfast Tali, who looks on Neryn's love for the double agent Flint as a needless vulnerability. And perhaps it is. What Flint learns from the king will change the battlefield entirely—but in whose favor, no one knows. 

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, Stephen King’s extraordinary novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, tells a powerful tale of crushing despair and liberating hope through the eyes of Ellis “Red” Redding. Red’s a guy who can get you whatever you want here in Maine’s corrupt and hard-edged Shawshank State Penitentiary (for a price, of course), but the one thing he doesn’t count on is an unexpected friendship forged with fellow inmate Andy Dufresne—an inscrutable one-time banker perhaps falsely convicted of brutal, calculated murder who will go on to transform everyone’s lives within these prison walls.