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August 2023


Rating System

5 stars: Completely enjoyable or compelling
4 stars: Good but flawed
3 stars: Average
2 stars: OK
1 star: Did not finish

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Canadian Book Challenge: 2024-2025

Beat the Backlist 2024

Ozathon: 12/2023-01/2025

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Elf Dog and Owl Head: 08/31/23

Elf Dog and Owl Head

Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson and Junyi Wu (Illustrator) (2023) begins with a royal hunt in the Kingdom Under the Mountain from the perspective of a young elfhound. When the prey ends up outside the mountain and the hunt follows, the elfhound is separated and befuddled by a modern human mountain town.

What had begun as a Tolkien inspired middle grade high fantasy, recontextualizes around Clive, his sisters, and their parents. A world wide pandemic (probably COVID, but it's never named) is keeping the children at home, away from school and friends. Clive is desperate for a friend or playmate and finds that in the very confused and somewhat skittish white dog with pointy red ears.

The dog opens up the hidden paths, ones that mankind has long forgotten how to traverse or even to see. Clive and his sisters (though mostly not together) explore well beyond the bounds of the forest they've grown up in and make friends they aren't supposed to know exist.

As Clive and Elphinore explore the woods and mountains, it also becomes clear that their world is definitely Tolkien inspired. Specifically it calls out landmarks from The Hobbit.

Clive's town is probably the village near the desolation of Smaug (aka Under the Mountain). Clive's forest home is probably in the Mirkwood. His otherworldly adventures are probably in the Mirkwood mountains. And I love it all the more for this twist.

That said, one doesn't have to be familiar with Tolkien to enjoy this fantasy.

Elphinore's story of becoming part of Clive's family also puts the novel on the Road Narrative Spectrum. Elphinore is an orphan traveler (FF), separated from the pack. Her destination is the city, namely modern day human civilization (00). Her route there is offroad, via the magic and mundane paths through the forest (66).

Five stars

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Superwomen in Love!, Volume 1: 08/29/23

Superwomen in Love!, Volume 1

Superwomen in Love!, Volume 1 by Sometime (2019) is a yuri enemies to lovers manga. Honey Trap defeats Rapid Rabbit and unmasks her. Blown away by how sexy she is, she decides not to kill her and is fired from her evil organization. Now she's living with R.R. and learning how to be a hero.

Beyond the new girlfriends angle, the series is a humorous look at how ridiculous the typical evil organization vs. hero plots are. It supposes a clunky bureaucracy for the evildoers and thus gets in some digs at salaryman/woman life.

I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series. It was recommended to me by someone who finds it both hilarious and cute. For me, the tropes and gags didn't hit the same.

There are five volumes in total.

Three stars

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Father's Day Murder: 08/28/23

Father's Day Murder

Father's Day Murder by Leslie Meier and Karen White (Narrator) (2003) is the tenth book in the Lucy Stone mystery series. Lucy has won an award for her journalism so she's off to Boston to receive it and attend a media conference.

From the title, one can tell that the book takes place in the week running up to Father's Day. Bill, ass that he is, expects a huge to-do each year and Lucy is usually the person behind all the preparation and waiting on him hand and foot. This year, though, the planning has be done by their four children: adults Toby and Elizabeth and the two younger daughters.

But I don't care about Lucy's family. They're all selfish horrible people and she should just file for divorce and leave them with Bill. Instead, we get to see her on her own in hours away in a big city. It was a nice and refreshing mystery getting away from Tinkers Cove.

The murder happens during the awards banquet. One of the men who is part of the large media conglomerate runs out of the room having an allergic reaction to something. In the rest room he dies. Being outside her element, Lucy needs more time to figure out who committed the crime and how.

In fact, this is one of those murders where had the murderer been patient, could have gotten away with it. The climax at the end was unnecessary, though it could have ended the series right then and there! It was just there to force a resolution and perhaps to give Lucy reason to never want to leave Tinkers Cove again.

Of mysteries I've read so far in this series, Father's Day Murder is among my favorite. It's also a similar read to Death by Café Mocha by Alex Erickson and Melissa Moran (Narrator) (2019).

The eleventh book is Star Spangled Murder (2004)

Four stars

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Off the Map: 08/26/23

Off the Map

Off the Map by Trish Doller (2023) is the third book in the Beck Sisters romance series. Anna and Keane are getting married in Tralee, Ireland. Carla Black, her BFF from Ft. Lauderdale, is one of her bridesmaids. Keane's brother, Eamon is supposed to drive her from Dublin to the wedding. Except the two keep getting distracted by their own chemistry.

Eamon owns a 1973 Landrover. He's had plans to go overlanding across Europe but his previous girlfriend wasn't interested. Plus his family seems to have other plans for him. Now he meets Carla who has been doing everything he can only dream of. So they end up going camping, off roading, surfing, and taking the most circuitous route possible.

But it's not as simple as getting to the wedding and realizing they're in love. Carla has her own emotional baggage that holds her back. She needs to work through her own problems and that includes reconnecting with her father.

Although Trish Doller seems to have run out of obvious characters to hook up, I would love to revisit these characters. If not this series, maybe a future romance series. She's wonderful at connecting people and places into compelling, emotionally satisfying series.

As with the other two books, this one sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. As this one is a literal road trip, the narration pieces line up with the narrative: a couple (33) in the wildlands (99) via a somewhat offroad (66) path.

Five stars

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The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today Volume 2: 08/24/23

The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today Volume 2

The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again, Today, Volume 2 by Hitsuji Yamada (2019) continues to explore the relationship between Saku and her oversized cat, Yukichi. The two also spend more time with Saku's boss's niece, Yume-chan.

This is one of those stories where there's a huge weird thing — in this case, Yukichi — and Saku remains convinced that she has to keep him a secret. It's also becoming abundamtly clear that Yukichi isn't the big secret that Saku thinks. Nor does anyone else in the neighborhood seem to care that he's a human sized cat.

As Saku begins to realize that others know of Yukichi's existence, she also begins to glean details of legends of other extraordinary cats. I'm curious to see how Yukichi's story is expanded in future volumes.

Five stars

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If the Shoe Kills: 08/22/23

If the Shoe Kills

If the Shoe Kills by Lynn Cahoon and Susan Boyce (Narrator) (2014) is the third Tourist Trap mystery. The winter holidays are rapidly approaching and South Cove is taking part in an internship program to help people hard on their luck find work by gaining new skills. Before the program can even properly start, the man in charge of it is murdered.

This one has the classic set up for a cozy of the last decade. The murdered man has a long laundry list of reasons why people probably wanted him dead. He truly rivals some of murder victims of a Kate Carlisle mystery.

That said, Lynn Cahoon takes full advantage of the town she's created to sprinkle in clues in unexpected places. I honestly need to pay more attention when listening to the books in this series. I missed a couple key details because I didn't take them seriously.

The fourth book is Dressed to Kill (2015).

Four stars

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The Perfect Staging for Murder: 08/21/23

The Perfect Staging

The Perfect Staging for Murder by Kathleen Bridge and Vanessa Daniels (Narrator) (2023) is the seventh book in the Hamptons Home and Gardens mystery series. Meg Barrett is still helping with set dressing for the final season of Mr. and Mrs. Winslow. She's now dating the head writer, Patrick.

The director and Patrick don't get along. When the director is murdered, and Patrick is missing, Meg fears for the worst. She doesn't believe for an instant that he could actually kill someone but she's afraid that he'll be the prime suspect.

Ultimately the Patrick thread was a huge subplot that ended up being more padding than plot progression. Beyond one overheard argument there was no evidence that Patrick was anywhere near the manor when the murder happened.

Of course mysteries, especially ones in an on-going series, can have other plots. These are characters who have lives, jobs, loves, etc in their worlds. The other stuff in their lives helps to inform how they approach their role as an amateur sleuth. In Meg's case, though, she's so focused on Patrick's wellbeing that the investigation is put on hold midway through the book and ends up taking about a third of the novel's length.

Four stars

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Sisterhood of Sleuths: 08/19/23

Sisterhood of Sleuths

Sisterhood of Sleuths by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (2022) begins with a school project gone awry and a mysterious donation of vintage Nancy Drew books. Maizy loves making movies and her latest project was supposed to be Shelfish Holmes but the project gets away from her when her classmates turn it into something else. Normally Maizy would be upset but she's intrigued by how the Nancy Drew books tie to her grandmother.

I will admit that I didn't read the blurb when I bought this book. I've so thoroughly enjoyed Bertman's other middle grade novels that I bought this one on her name alone. Like Maizy's mother, I didn't grow up reading Nancy Drew because I was sucked into my mother's collection of Hardy Boys. I didn't come to appreciate the series in its various forms over the years until 2010 when my then four year old handed me a library copy of The Clue of the Tapping Heels (1939 / 1969) and insisted I read it. Since that book I've reviewed quite a number of Nancy Drew books, though mostly from the more recent Nancy Drew Diaries series.

Maizy and her two new class project partners become akin to Nancy, Bess and George, as they try to learn as much as they can about Nancy Drew, the authors behind the name Carolyn Keene, and how the books relate to an old photograph of Maizy's grandmother and two other women.

Although I loved this book, I can see that this book might have a limited appeal. It will hit hardest with readers who like Nancy Drew mysteries or are interested in learning more about the people behind the books without necessarily reading a pile of non fiction books. That said, those interested in learning more beyond what Maizy and friends learn, the author includes a lengthy bibliography.

Five stars

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Steeped in Malice: 08/17/23

Steeped in Malice

Steeped in Malice by Vicki Delany and Shaina Summerville (Narrator) (2023) is the fourth book in the Tea by the Sea mystery series. Lily Roberts is in need of new teacups for the tea room. She prefers antiques and finds a wonderful children's set featuring Beatrix Potter characters. But the very next day she has regrets when two different sisters and then her ex-boyfriend all want what was also in the basket.

Of course in this mad grab to get the other treasure in the tea hamper, one of the sisters ends up dead. Lily, her BFF, and her grandmother need to solve the mystery if they are ever going to get these odious guests out of the B&B.

This volume was Rose's chance to shine. Lily was too out of sorts by her abusive ex and his shenanigans to see the bigger picture. Give how we've been told over and over again about Rose's cunning nature and her ability to read people, it was refreshing to see her put it to use here.

Five stars

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xxxHOLiC Rei, Volume 1: 08/16/23

xxxHOLiC Rei, Volume 1

xxxHOLiC Rei, Volume 1 by CLAMP (2014) is the start of a coda series after the end of the nineteen volume manga series, xxxHOLiC, which I reviewed seventeen volumes, but read all nineteen. I had intended to continue with the series but never got past this first volume. I posted my review in 2014.

I decided to restart the Rei series after watching the 2022 live action film. The film starts at the beginning of the original series but is primarily focused on the last three volumes to set up Rei.

In this volume Watanuki is trying to return his life to as normal as possible. That means going to school with Himawari and Domeki. He wants to work for Yuko and cook for everyone except for Domeki. He wants to help Yuko's clients. He wants to help clients and grant wishes.

What he doesn't want is to acknowledge his ephemeral existence. It's not that he's mortal like anyone else. It's that he's something else— something other. And now he's being forced to reconcile with that fact.

A person could start the series here but it honestly helps to read the original volumes. And to fully understand things, one should also read the Reservoir Chronicle manga too.

Five stars

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Frozen Detective: 08/14/23

Frozen Detective

Frozen Detective by Amanda Flower and Laura Faye Smith (Narrator) (2022) is the next book in the Piper and Porter mystery series. Darby and Tate have been hired to investigate a series of threatening notes to a cosmetics company president.

The man's wife happens to own a nearby ski resort and she orders everyone, including Darby and Tate to a private event held there. Before they can even interview the man regarding the notes, he's murdered!

This mystery builds on the old trope of the mystery at the manor. It's honestly not that far removed thematically or even structurally from Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (1923). The only main differences are a setting, the time of year, and the inclusion of two likable main characters.

What kept me reading, and always keeps me reading with Amanda Flowers's mysteries, is the strong sense of place. The resort is well described and the approaching storm adds extra tension and urgency to the mystery.

The layout of the resort as well as some of the twists and turns, also makes this mystery a similar read to A Nancy Drew Christmas by Carolyn Keene (2018).

Four stars

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Girl Taking Over: 08/13/23

Komi Can't Communicate, Volume 2

Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story by Sarah Kuhn and Arielle Jovellanos (Illustrator) (2023) is a stand alone YA graphic novel that looks at a young Lois Lane, just starting out in her career as a journalist. It also imagines a Lois who is Japanese-American and has been driven to be the best to rise above racism she grew up around.

The novel is set in National City, which ultimately will mean Supergirl and Catco. But this is the early days of Catco, well before it's the established media giant it will someday be. In fact Lois's internship begins on the day that Cat Grant temporarily loses control of her company.

In her place is a white privileged man who has no interest in the type of readership Catco has garnered. He immediately fires or otherwise drives out most of the women and men who aren't white. He keeps Lana as one of his token ethnic employees.

The other half of the story is centered on Lana's childhood friend and now roommate. She's an actor hoping to put on a one woman show about how she finds joy in her life as an Asian American. She and her other actor friends all face struggles, trying to get their shows ready for the stage. It's clear that their mentor is purposely holding them back.

I throughly enjoyed this graphic novel. It gives more weight and thought to why Lois is the way she is once she's an established, well known journalist. It also makes Cat Grant a much more sympathetic character. She is sometimes mentioned as a friend and mentor of Lois but this is the first time I truly felt like that relationship worked beyond them both being women and journalists.

Five stars

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Komi Can't Communicate, Volume 5: 08/11/23

Komi Can't Communicate, Volume 2

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Volume 1 by Kagiji Kumanomata (2016) is the first volume in a manga about a kidnapped princess's desire to get a good night's sleep. The initial volume has 13 attempts.

Princess Syalis has been kidnapped by the Demon King and is bored. She decides to use the items and demons in the castle to craft what she needs for a good night of sleep.

Each night features a different craft and a different treasure or demon she's going after. She also sometimes dies in the process. The Demon King wanting a ransom for her (and not being all that bad of guy despite his role in life) makes sure she's revived every single time.

My only complaint is that some of the gags get repetitive. Sometimes also the princess just comes across as dumber than rocks. There are currently 24 volumes in Japanese and 21 one translated into English.

Four stars

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The Cats Came Back: 08/10/23

The Cats Came Back

The Cats Came Back by Sofie Kelly and Cassandra Campbell (2018) is the tenth book in the Magical Cats mystery series. Mayville Heights, Minnesota is hosting a music festival. Of course, there will be trouble and of course there will be a murder.

A highly talented singer known for her arias has come along with her sister and manager. While out on a photoshoot with Hercules and Owen, Kathleen and her artist friend, Ruby, find the body of who they believe was the singer.

What follows is a convoluted mystery to figure out who committed the crime and why. The mystery, though, kind of gets lost in the middle of the slice of life aspects of the novel: Ruby's photoshoot with the cats and Roma's upcoming wedding.

I really wish weddings, especially of side characters, could happen in between books. Especially here, it seems that the wedding cut into the actual reason I was reading, namely the mystery! Instead I find myself able to remember everything about the photoshoot and the wedding and barely anything about the murder and investigation.

The eleventh book is A Night's Tail (2019).

Four stars

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The Bawk-ness Monster: 08/09/23

Komi Can't Communicate, Volume 2

The Bawk-ness Monster by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter (2023) is a graphic novel about a group of friends trying to say thank you to a cryptid who saved one of them from drowning. In the end of the day they end up having to save the cryptid and a bunch of others too.

A year ago Penny nearly drowned. She was saved by Bessie, a half chicken, half sea serpent. Now she's run out of time because her mother has found a job in a new town and they're about to move. In a last ditch effort to say thank you, Penny manages to convince Mom to take her and her two best friends, Luc and K camping at the lake.

I expected a single joke graphic novel, namely Bessie. But Riess and Goetter have created an alternate world where cryptids are real but they are all different than the ones in our stories. They are delightful combinations of creatures which I shan't spoil here.

This is a novel where there is an adult present, Penny's mother, but her desire to do things like an adult cause a whole set of problems on top of the ones the children and cryptids face. I like too that the cryptids are sentient, capable individuals who can and do help the children in ways that even Penny's mother can't or won't.

This volume is apparently the start of a new series called "Cryptid Kids." I certainly hope that's the case as I am eager to read more.

Five stars

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Komi Can't Communicate, Volume 5: 08/07/23

Komi Can't Communicate, Volume 2

Komi Can’t Communicate, Volume 5 Tomohito Oda takes place primarily during the school's annual culture festival. Komi's class ends up hosting a very popular maid cafe but Najimi's shenanigans cost them the award for being the most profitable.

Before the festival there's a fun one about everyone going out to eat. We learn that one of the girls is popular food blogger. Of course the restaurant owners mistake Komi for the reviewer and completely ignore the actual reviewer.

But the first couple of chapters involved the obsessed student again trying to look up Komi's skirt. That she's also female doesn't make this scenario any less cringey.

Thankfully volume 5 ends on an incredibly funny note: a cross over with Sleepy Princess in the Demon King's Castle

Four stars

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Frank and Bert: 08/06/23

Frank and Bert

Frank and Bert by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros is a picture book about friendship and a love of hide-and-seek. Frank is a fox and Bert is a bear. Although they love to play together, they aren't evenly matched.

Frank always wins at hide-and-seek. He'll count to ten and then find Bert. Bert is slow and big and in the little time he has, there just aren't good places to hide.

So this time, the two decide to do something different. What if Bert is given more time? What if Frank counts to one hundred? Surely then Bert can win? Right?

Maybe, if he hadn't had a spot of bad luck. So now the question is, what will Frank do to keep the game fun for Bert? That's ultimately the lesson here. How does a friend help another friend have fun if they are unevenly skilled at a favorite game?

Five stars

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Murder is a Piece of Cake: 08/05/23

Murder is a Piece of Cake

Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns and Jasmin Walker (Narrator) (2023) is the second book in the Baker Street mysteries. A second bakery is opening soon and it's owned by the sheriff's estranged husband. But before Maddy can even focus on the competition, the man is murdered, his body left in her bakery!

This second volume has early Book Town mystery vibes, but with a younger, tech savvy, diverse cast of characters. New Bison is small even for a small town, meaning there just aren't that many people to murder a newcomer. Everything good and bad is tied up in small town politics and gossip.

I was so absorbed in Maddy's investigations and her race to get the store ready for its re-grand opening that the book flew by. I was honestly surprised when it came to an end. Although this particular mystery is solved there seems to be some dangling plot threads that might reappear in a future volume.

Five stars

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Like a Sister: 08/04/23

Like a Sister

Like a Sister by Kellye Garrett (2022) is a standalone mystery set in New York City. Lena Scott wants to prove to the police that her former celebrity star sister, Desiree Pierce didn't either accidentally overdose or use drugs to commit suicide. The process will force her to reexamine her own family ties and quite possibly put herself in danger.

A Lena wasn't with her sister when she died this mystery centers primarily on retracing Desiree's steps. The mysteries I typically read begin by introducing a cast of characters and a situation where the protagonist can overhear an argument or witness a fight. Then later they will discover one of the people in the fight dead.

Here though, despite the sisters closeness, Lena isn't with her sister at her death. Her death is the first event, having already happened before page one. Her method of retracing her sisters steps also highlights a way in which I'm fundamentally different from the characters in this book: Instagram.

On social media one can follow celebrities and other public people. One can follow friends. Or one can follow strangers with similar interests. I'm primarily a stranger with interests follower. My one sibling isn't on social media at all, although his wife is. I wouldn't be able to track down anyone's timeline and location via Instagram or similar because the people I follow don't post like that. Nor do people regularly message me through apps.

My point is, Like a Sister will probably hit harder for a reader who is younger than I am. I think it would resonate best with Millennials. Certainly anyone who is active on social media and enjoys checking in a places and tagging friends and posting selfie videos would find this mystery more relatable.

That said, I did enjoy Lena's observation on class, race, and gentrification. It's a good character study beyond being a mystery that hangs on reconstructing a timeline.

Three stars

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A Year Down Yonder: 08/02/23

A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2000) is the second book in the Long Way from Chicago series, also sometimes known as the Grandma Dowdel series. It's 1937 and Mary Alice has returned to live with her grandmother while her father looks for work.

Each chapter is it's own self contained situation related to the time of year. There's some overlap with things Grandma Dowdel has done previously having longer lasting consequences. Yet, each chapter feels more like a thematically linked short story than a chapter in a progressing story.

Richard Peck uses slang that is strongly tied to the region (a small, poor, rural town in Illinois) and to the time period, the Great Depression. He doesn't include a glossary but the words can be understood from context.

The novel by more recent middle grade books is short. It's just over a hundred pages. The edition I read came in at about 110 pages.

The third book is A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (2009).

Three stars

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July 2023 Sources: 08/02/23

Previous month's book sources

July was dry and mostly cool. Summer school took the entire month.

ROOB Score for the last three years

In July I read 21 TBR books, up seven from the previous month. No books were published in July. One book was for research and there were no review copies. None were from the library. My ROOB score for July is -4.91, down from -3.86. It is my best month ever in fourteen years of tracking.

The current year's data is represented by a triangle on the graph below.

ROOB score mapped year after year to compare trends

I predicted a -3.75 for July. My actual score was a lower because I was slower than expected in reading my new books. For August, I'm predicting -4.5 as I have a lot of older books I'm interested in getting through.

ROOB monthly averages

My average for July improved, going from -3.06 to -3.19.

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The Golden Frog Games: 08/01/23

The Golden Frog Games

The Golden Frog Games by Claribel A. Ortega (2023) is the sequel to Witchlings (2022). It's set during a competition that involves the Twelve Towns. Meanwhile, Seven is struggling with the reality that she's been picked to be the next Uncle and the fact that her magic seems more attuned to monstruos than the forest animals she's supposed to communicate with. Finally the anti-spare rhetoric is heating up and covenless witches might lose even more of their rights.

This middle grade fantasy novel is almost 400 pages long and it's full of the continuing strife and corruption uncovered in the first book. All of the interesting stuff is pushed to the back-burner to make room for what's essentially a tournament arc. Tournaments are hard to write, hard to keep the reader's interest, and hard to keep plot relevant without becoming elaborate padding.

Unfortunately The Golden Frog Games — the actual twelve town competition that Thorn is part of — gets in the way of all the high stakes stuff. Save for some awful attacks aimed at keeping the spares out of the games and/or framing them for the attacks, the games aren't very interesting compared to everything Seven is going through.

Three stars

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July 2023 Summary: 08/01/23

Reading report

July was completely dedicated to summer school for Kay, so my schedule revolved around when I had to drive to or from the college.

I read the same books in July as June, 22. Of my read books, 16 were diverse and three were queer. I reviewed 25 books, the same mount as the previous month. On the reviews front, 15 were diverse and five were queer.

I have 11 books left to review of of the 176 I've read.

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