Book Review

Moon Reads: Nagata Kabi Manga

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Today I am doing a review of multiple titles because it felt right to bundle them together.

Nagata Kabi has a very interesting set of manga at hand with My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and the follow-up stories. They are very much a reflection on her life and the challenges she encounters. The very first one talks about how she feels lonely even in company and also trying to discover her identity. Her making this into a manga and sharing it gives her the opportunity to be more “successful” and to have a career, but then she struggles with further mental and more books happen.

The books are intense and very honest about her perception of things as they go, but as you read more and more and get through the volumes she also self reflects on her previous works and how she may have got some things wrong and misunderstood things.

Part of it focuses on her sexuality and the loneliness she feels, that she feels like she cannot cope on her own. It also focuses on the concept of adulthood and what this implies, what success may be conceptualised as, and that sometimes we assume someone has it together but they do not .

The set also explores health and burnout, and other health issues, but overall there is a big focus on mental health and on figuring life out. I found I partly wanted to rush through it but also there was a lot to ponder and reflect on and at times it hit hard and made me ponder my past or decisions. It does have an interesting viewpoint and gives some insight I hadn’t expected to find in this manga and collection of them and I want to keep on reading on how her life goes on and does.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Payback’s a Witch

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Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Bought for myself

This book was slightly outside of my usual reads, but it sounded like a good change from those usual reads. And I am glad I did.

In Payback’s a Witch you meet Emmy who is on her way back to her home town where magic is real and she is about to venture into her past. She is convinced she left Thistle Grove for good and she has a great life where she is, but the pull of magic and the memories will do a number on her. And it is not only that but the chance to gain revenge on Gareth Blackmoore, the heir to the most powerful magical family in town.

She pairs up with her best friend Linden, and also with Talia, both also heirs to the other magical families, and when they realise they all want to get that sweet revenge, chaos turns interesting.

The book overall was really sassy and with awesome witchy vibes. It leans heavily on cliches, and preconceptions of magic types, but then it turns them don’t their head at times or adds an interesting spin on it to make it its own thing and it was so nice to read. It felt a little like one does when you read a cosy murder mystery, even if there was no murder or mystery in this book particularly. And there is some romance happening here and there, alongside a lot of self-discovery and loads of revenge and payback.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and then even had to share it with friends because it left a good fluffy feel and the revenge and payback vibes were awesome, alongside some of the discoveries in the story. If you like witchy vibes, friendship, romance, and a fun adventure of a contest happening in the background, then this is the book for you.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Magical Level-Up! Yume Twins

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Subscription box: YumeTwins

Theme/Month: Magical Level-Up!, November 2021

Ownership: One off purchase since I really enjoy the contents but it becomes too much for me on a monthly basis. I am not as cutesy and cuddly as the box is, so I pick and choose the ones I cannot resist.

Yume Twins is a monthly subscription box focused on the kawaii and cute of life. It is focused on fandoms and makes sure to include a lot of items from a variety of them. They are a favourite and you can see reviews of their boxes from even as far back as 2018 because they are always good quality.

So after the Magical Girl theme tempted me too much and I couldn’t resist it, here are the contents of it:

  • Underneath everything, there is a small blanket from Sakura CardCaptor, it is relatively small but it fits comfortably over a lap or to warm your feet.
  • Sailor Moon set of cards
  • Ghibli stationery set which is cute
  • Tiny round Sanrio figurine, you got a random one from a selection of potential options.
  • Coffin of notes, at first it surprised me and felt odd but I think they are cute and in a nice little tin.
  • A squishable super soft magical cat pillow which I adore

As usual, the cutness of this wins a lot and I am very happy with everything that came in the box. No complaints, so if you’re into cute boxes, this is a lovely one. Shipping is fast, and reliable.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Kindness (a user’s guide)

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Kindness (A User’s Guide) by Ali Catterall and Kitty Collins

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: The publisher did a giveaway of the books for Kindness Day and I got one

I am really bad with dates and remembering what day is meant to be what, so when I found out it was kindness day and there was this little book to be a “guide” I decided to give it a go. If you ever read Chicken Soup for Children/Teens, this is a more adult and less fun kinda book. It tries hard to be fun and it is presented in a very cute way with quotes and little tips, which were nice to read. But the stories had a very small font and not all of them had a little tip at the end. At first, I was interested to read a variety of them but slowly some became very focused on things that had happened in the UK or US and nowhere else, and I felt like there were missed opportunities of kindness.

It does explore things like the Japanese Skilled Veteran Corps or the meaning of ubuntu, but it would have also been really interesting to read about more recent acts of kindness, like the one included of Marcus Rashford. I felt like it had a lot of room for more unknown acts of kindness, the kind done less by rich or famous people and more the kind one does every day to that make people famous.

Still, some were new stories of kindness for me and I enjoyed those, I just wish there had been more of those. But overall it is a nice collection of stories and I will be passing it on to a friend because as soon as I saw it I already knew I had to pass on the favour and pass on the kindness.

I do think this book will be right for others and it will be a comforting book for many, it just wasn’t exactly what I hoped for with a title like this. But nevertheless, it is a kind book with lots of stories.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Fire Fox

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The Fire Fox by Alexandra Page and Stef Murphy

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered because it was my kind of book.

Book with foxes? Check! Book with a little bit of grief? Check! Illustrated? Check!

The Fire Fox is a lovely book with soft dreamy artwork that fits the story, and it is a lovely heartwarming, hope inspiring story. The story is about Freya and her mum going to a little cabin in the woods to get away since her dad has passed. This has made the colour leak a little away from their lives. But then Freya meets a magical fox in the snow that she befriends and follows into the forest. The trek around the area and is just beautiful to read, and I recommend it as a good night story, or to talk about grief and hope.

I also really like that it is inspired in the concept of fire foxes that spark the Northern Lights, which is a cute concept and I ended up reading up on that too.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Dark Academia Illumicrate

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Subscription box: Illumicrate

Theme/Month: Dark Academia, August 2021

Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.

Illumicrate is a book subscription box, it usually features fantasy and sci-fi but not exclusively young adult, sometimes it features adult too. It usually contains a new release, a pin and several bookish goodies.

Being someone who enjoys some dark academia books, this box sounded right up my street, but was it? Starting from the book on the left and going clockwise:

  • The Devil Makes Three, with a stunning cover and sprayed edges
  • First collectible teacup and saucer, this won my heart because the artwork is Mucha style, a goddess and it is about tea…
  • A reading journal, very fancy hardcover
  • Dark Academia page tabs to mark things int he book to your academic delight.
  • Monthly pin, which looks very interesting.
  • A Guid to Secret Societies ceramic book pot, which is quite pretty.
  • Academic and bookish washi tape to help with he reading journal.

Honestly if they had included a fountain pen and some tea, this would’ve been the perfect box, and so aesthetically and thematically pleasing. But even without those items it is a very good box and fighting for the spot of favourite box of the year from Illumicrate.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Under the Whispering Door

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Under The Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read Before: No

Ownership: Received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a review but also preordered.

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

Welcome to my blog tour post, but also my review, but also where I say I wish I could rate something over 5 foxes.

Under the Whispering Door is my absolute kind of book. It is about death and dying and about what comes next, but it is also about grief which is something that attracts me to books a lot [if you have been reading my reviews for a while, books with any of the themes around death and grief are huge for me]. And it is a book about a tea shop, yes, about tea, and cakes. And there is also a cosy and soft gentle aspect, but there is also fierceness and a touch of weird and I love it.

Wallace Price dies after having lived a corporate job life to the point that his job consumed and defined his life. So when he realizes he is dead and needs to move on, he isn’t quite ready for that. The book focuses on him coming to terms with the fact that maybe his life wasn’t what he thought it was or that maybe there was more to life than a job. But this means he doesn’t have much motivation to move on as he arrives at a cute tea shop where Hugo, the ferryman is there to help him be ready to move on.

There was a lot of focus on the fact that Wallace gets an ultimatum of seven days to move on, but this only really comes later in the book, and therefore it kept me guessing which took a bit off my enjoyment. However, overall the book is a little bit about Wallace learning to see himself in a different light but also to consider the privilege and also the lack of things he had in his life. But I also thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the main cast of characters and the reasons why they’re there.

If grief, death and wholesome but also intense self-review and considering what kind of human you may be, with a point to self-reflecting is not for you, then this book will miss the mark, but if you are open to this type of emotions and reflections, it is a wonderful read and it might bring tears to some readers. Not me but I have a very unusual perspective on grief and death so this was a nice read and some of the views were interesting to read, particularly because it leaves a lot open to fit various beliefs on what comes next in the afterlife, and that was nice to see that it didn’t try to pigeon hole into a single one.

One of the things I want to highlight it that obviously it is centered on death and therefore it touches on a variety of deaths and what brings them on, alongside mental health and other circumstances that may cause anxiety in some readers, or be sensitive subjects to them, so read with care, but if you can dip your toes into this book I recommend doing so.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The House in the Cerulean Sea

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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered Waterstones paperback edition

I had heard a lot of good things about this book, but I am also wary of “hype” because it is usually not my thing. However, the premise of the story sounded like my kind of thing, wholesome but with a tinge of sadness, melancholia and grief. And it was exactly that, but softer and much better.

Linus has a predictable life, he has stuck to his job, he cares about doing his job well but only to complete his task. As a caseworker for magical children in government orphanages, he investigates incidents and helps to oversee their wellbeing. He is almost clinical about this, but he also cares and doesn’t want to be swayed by the adults. So when he is asked to report to the most high level of management, he is terrified.

They give him a very special assignment with little information since everything is classified, but the main thing is to go visit this particular orphanage that has extremely dangerous magical children: a female gnome, a powerful sprite, a wyvern, a green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and finally the AntiChrist.

But what ends up surprising Linus the most is Arthur, the caretaker of the children who works hard on helping them grow to the best of their magical capabilities while retaining dreams and their “humanity”.

Overall the story is about Linus finding what happens when your dreams suddenly fall onto your lap with some interesting strings attached and you have a choice. But it is also about equality and that being magical is not something to be afraid of just because it is different. And there are also a myriad of secrets kept in this house and in the surroundings, which Linus slowly starts finding out.

Overall, it was a feel-good story with some interesting social and cultural commentary about our times, with the help of magic it touches some intense aspects about what it is to be different and rejected, or to be labelled something and therefore dealing with prejudice, but also, about being allowed to dream even if it seems impossible.

This was a book that once I got going, I had to stay up until 2 am to finish it because I could not put it down and also because it felt like a balm to my soul. It was the exact right amount of sad, heartwarming and cosy I needed.

Writing

Moon Writes: come, come

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come, come,
look for me.
run, run,
you can find me.

stop,
don’t you know 
where
i am?

wait,
if you listen hard, 
if you glance this way,
you may catch me off guard.

A glimpse of a curl, 
pale paper skin peeking through my clothes,
the rise and fall of my chest,
hands holding breasts,
to protect the rhythm that hides.

A head full of dreams,
cradled in the sleep of the just,
’til it’s interrupted by screams…

oh wake me,
WAKE me! 
save me,
if you must…

here, here,
hold my head against your skin,
wrap your arms tight around me,
we’re free, we’re meant to be.

Little odd poem about many things, but mostly about panic attacks coming in the middle of the night and needing comfort and gentleness to deal with them. Again, something a little old since I haven’t written any new poetry in years, but I still like these little snippets of a time gone by that thankfully is now far away enough to look back to.

Subscription Boxes

Moon Hauls: Dark Academia Owlcrate

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Subscription box: Owlcrate

Theme/Month: Dark Academia, August 2021

Ownership: One-off purchase since the shipping and tax have made Owlcrate too expensive.

When they announced the theme of Dark Academia and the hints for the book alongside the fandoms I had to order it even if it was a bit expensive. And I do not regret my choices. So let’s unbox it and see what was inside, starting from the top left and going clockwise:

  • A stationery set that looks like a school journal kinda thing and it has page tabs, sticky notes, a pen and a notepad in it. All very cute.
  • Raven Boys Book Sleeve.
  • From the Library Of stamp which is a nice design and you just need an ink pad in your favourite colour to mark all your books so no one steals them when they borrow them.
  • Riddle’s Tea Shoppe blend based on Truly Devious series.
  • Book tin from V.E. Schwab’s Darker Shade of Magic series, White London in this case. Sadly I don’t have the rest but this one is gorgeous.
  • Monthly Pin with a typewriter
  • A very delicate moon bookmark based on The Secret History.
  • The main book was A Lesson in Vengeance in a very soft and not dark academia type of cover which was a surprise for me.

Overall it had the right vibe with all the items in it and it felt delicate and yet dark, even if the exclusive cover was a bit of a surprise, but I liked the items and felt it was worth getting however it was still a bit steep for a regular box. Probably worth it if you are in the US and shipping isn’t prohibitive.