Spirit Circle, v. 2 by Satoshi Mizukami

Spirit Circle, v. 2 by Satoshi Mizukami - 180 pages

Fuuta decides to figure our his past lives by himself.  He sees his life as Rune, a builder of a sphinx who was lonely.

I just don't really care about the characters.  I'm giving up on this series.

Spirit Circle, v.1 by Satoshi Mizukami

Spirit Circle, v. 1 by Satoshi Mizukami - 180 pages

Fuuta is a high school student who can see ghosts.  Other than that his life is ordinary until a new girl moves to his school.  He wants to be friends with Ishigami but she swears he is her enemy.  She is determined to reveal his past lives to him before she kills him.

This is the first volume in a manga series.  I'm not sure if I liked it or not.  The characters didn't really grab me.  The story in this volume mainly consisted of Fuuta remembering two of his past lives.  It might be interesting to keep reading to find out where the original hatred comes from.

The White Mirror by Elsa hart

The White Mirror: A Mystery by Elsa Hart --- 310 pages

Sequel to Jade Dragon Mountain.  Author Elsa Hart admits to being a fan of Agatha Christie and this is a fine example of the classic "locked room" mystery so beloved of Christie fans.

In this case, the "locked room" is a snowed-in valley high in the mountains of southwest China, where the local lord and his family offer shelter to a tea caravan bound for Lhasa, and an odd assortment of other travelers, all seeking refuge from an early blizzard.

Li Du, a former imperial librarian, is traveling with the caravan along the Tea Horse Road. Heading for the manor of the local lord, Doso, the caravan discovers the body of a dead monk, with a strange symbol painted on the corpse,  propped on a bridge over a deep chasm on the path leading to the manor. When they finally reach shelter, they report this unsettling news to their host.

The monk’s name was Dhamo, a hermit who lived in a small temple further up the mountain from the manor house. He had a reputation as a painter of mystical thangkas --- symbolic paintings on cloth --- much prized by wealthy monasteries of the Empire. But Dhamo was also haunted by strange visions and portents, so no one at the manor is surprised at what they all assume to be his suicide.

But when Dhamo’s final, unfinished thangka disappears from his studio,  Li Du suspects there’s more here than meets the eye. He soon determines that  the inhabitants of the manor and their guests are all hiding secrets, and none of them are there just by chance.

This is Hart's second mystery novel featuring Li Du, who also has secrets of his own that he must confront to come to terms with his own painful past.

Hart seamlessly weaves the political and religious intrigue of 18th century China into her plot and creates believable, complex characters. The end result: a book that is almost impossible to put down.
I read it from start to finish in just one day. A third book has just been published: City of Ink.

Elsa Hart currently lives in St. Louis. She and her husband, a botanist at the Missouri Botanical Garden,  spent two years living in the mountains of southwest China, while he studied the flora of the region.

Click HERE to read a Q&A with Elsa Hart published by Criminal Element.com

Click HERE to read an interview with Hart from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read a review of White Mirror from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read a review from Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE to read a review from the Washington Times.

Kamisama Kiss, v. 24 by Julietta Suzuki

Kamisama Kiss, v. 24 by Julietta Suzuki - 200 pages

Nanami and Tomoe go after Yatori who has taken Akura-Oh's body.  Will Tomoe give up on his chance for humanity to stop Yatori?  Another great entry in the series.

Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts

Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts - 368 pages

Declan bought Manet Hall when it went on the market after seeing once in college.  Now he's moved to New Orleans to restore the old plantation manor.  What he didn't expect was to meet the love of his life . . . or that the plantation was haunted by malevolent ghosts.

This was an interesting read by Nora Roberts.  The main stories were the romance and ghost story.  You could tell it was an older book as the character smoked and this is the first time I've read a book in a long time that had main character that smoked.

Victories by Mercedes Lackey

Victories by Mercedes Lackey - 255 pages
A Shadow Grail Novel #4

Spirit, Loch, Burke and Addie have escaped from Oakhurst Academy.  Now they must figure out a battle plan to fight Mordred and his plan to annihilate the world through nuclear war.

This is the final volume in the Shadow Grail series.  While I really liked the first three books, I did not think this final book lived up to the others.  It was too rushed.  Everything happened way too conveniently for the good guys.

Sacrifices by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill

Sacrifices by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill - 300 pages
A Shadow Grail Novel - book 3

It appears as if the evil forces attacking Oakhurst Academy have been repelled by the students and Breakthrough Adventure Systems company run by former school alumni.  However, the attacks continue against the school, students and teachers are disappearing at an alarming rate, and now the nearby town is being drawn into the battle.
This is the third book in the Shadow Grail series.  I believe it is the best book so far.  The true villains are finally revealed after much suspicion and the other students are finally waking up to the danger they are in.  I'm eager to read the final book in the series.

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz, 302 pages
Book 1 of the Blue Bloods series

An interesting twist on Vampires. In the story, they are actually fallen angels trying to make their way back into heaven. They prey on human blood because that is what gives them the ability to keep living their lives (reincarnation) until they "get it right" and get back into heaven.
Schuyler Van Alen is part of Manhattan's most elite and exclusive circle. She attends a private school with very few students. When a student is murdered, Schuyler discovers things about her society that she had never imagined possible before. With the help of her friends, she must discover the mystery of who/what is hunting the elite and why. She will also find keys to her past that unwrap a whole new world of questions.