Review: My Hero Academia volume 11 *spoilers*

 

This volume picks up right where volume 10 left off. All Might has shown up and is trying to rescue Bakugo from One For All. One For All is as strong as All Might and has blocked his punch in front of the students, which blows their minds.

Midoriya comes up with a plan to help All Might rescue Bakugo and it won't count as fighting even though the situation needs all hands on deck, the students are still not permitted to use their powers. They are counting on Kirishima and his friendship with Bakugo for him to actually take the help. Mt Lady and Gran Torino help the kids with their rescue mission. 

The one thing I do not like about reading action manga is that it is hard to follow who is actually doing the talking. I can't make out if One For All just did the whole villian monologue, or if it was All Might talking, which I doubt because he is losing steam and energy because his quirk is slowly killing him. 

Of course Bakugo is going to be screaming that he wasn't saved, just that the group being there and in the moment was the best option he had and he wanted to stay out of All Mights way. This right here shows a completely different side of Bakugo. He is tough and not wanting to look weak, but when it comes to the main Heroes fighting, he will respect them.

One For All is pissing All Might off with talking about Nana Shimura, who is the hero who previously had All Might's quirk and passed it along to him. Gran Torino has to stop All Might because it is the same way he was beaten and lost to All For One last time because he let him go off at the mouth. 

SHIGIRAKI IS NANA SHIMURA'S GRANDSON!!!!! Mind blown. Apparently my kids already knew this from playing the video games.... glad they didn't spoil me. Also everyone is seeing All Might in his true form, and they are shocked that he is skin and bones. Everyone is cheering All Might on and begging him to win and Bakugo and Deku scream at him "you can win  All Might" and honestly, this is such a powerful panel. 

Endeavor shows up and see All Might in his current state and he has the audacity to yell at All Might to explain himself about why he looks like that. I am with One for All on this one that he needs to shut up and sit down. Crime is down in the country because people have hope and a pillar of support in All Might and other heroes.

One for All knows that All Might has given his quirk to Midoriya and that he knows that he can't control it and that means that All Might has failed as a teacher. All Might finds the strength to defeat One For All and as he does so, he vows to teach Midoriya everything because All Might doesn't want to die and leave him helpless. Midoriya is crying and looking at All Might and Bakugo is just staring at Deku, like he just realized that he has All Might's quirk.

One For All is locked up where he can't sense sensors, which is part of his quirk and All Might is recovering. He has lost the remaining spark of his Ember, and he admits that the symbol of peace is dead. Endeavor is losing his mind because he is now the number 1 hero and he can't accept it. 

All Might and Midoriya meet up on the beach and All Might hits Midoriya because he still hasn't learn not to run into danger, and that All Might is officially retired and that he now has to raise Deku right. We learn that Best Jeanist is out on hiatus and that ragdoll can't use her quirk since she was kidnapped. The whole event is now known as the Kamino Nightmare. 

All Might is still teaching at U.A. High, and he and eraser head get sent on home visits for class A to get the parents permission for the students to stay in the dorms and to be a little safer. We meet Bakugo's parents, and I honestly cannot wait to see them in the show. His mom is exactly like him and his dad seems timid. 

All Might does the home test alone for Deku and his mom refuses to him stay in the dormitory. She is questioning whether Midoriya should continue going because he keeps getting injured. Midoriya begs his mom to keep letting him take hero classes, and then All Might gets down on his knees and bow to Deku's mom for forgiveness and to assure her that U.A. is going to be different and that Midoriya is going to be the next symbol of peace. 

Turns out the dorms are not just for the kids safety, but to also root out a potential spy within the students. 

The students move in and they all decide to peek into each other's rooms. Midoriya is a total fanboy and brought all of his All Might merch, which is kind of weird since he is a teacher. Tokoyami's room is a literal bat cave which gives dark and spooky vibes. The kid whose quirk comes out of his belly button describes his room as twinkly. Koda, who is one of my favorites, has a bunny in his room which fits his quirk perfectly. Sato ends up winning the vote for the best room, all because he baked a chiffon cake. 

The book ends with class a learning the success rate for getting their provisional licenses. Unfortunately, my library copy is missing the last few pages, so I do not know how this volume ends. 

Review: Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie by Harold Schechter

 

Book two in the Bloodlands series. This one immediately got my attention because it mentioned Laura Ingalls Wilder and I loved the little prairie books growing up. Now as an adult, I understand that they are problematic. It also mentions that Laura Ingalls Wilder did an interview as an adult and talked about the Bender Family which this book is about.

The bender family was a family of four who owned a tavern or inn on the Osage trail. It was on the way to the city of Independence in Kansas and they were right down the road from the Wilders. The descriptions of these family members made them not intriguing and seemed downright rude. There was a rumor of incest and I automatically think hillbillies and hills have eyes type shit. 

There starts to be alot of missing people coming up and it is always right on the Osage trail near the Bender Inn. The book goes into detail of how the victims were slaughtered. There was no rhyme or reason for the murders. They could be wealthy or have pennies. There was one instance where it made me so angry and it was a father that was murdered and he was with his 18 month old daughter and when they found his grave, they discovered that the baby was buried alive with his body.

The Bender family also would drive the horses and wagons into the rivers and woods and when the horses would be found, they were found starving or starved to death. The Benders get caught and they go on the run. They are never found. The rumors abound that they went to Mexico, Florida and even all the way to Paris. We get vigilantes from the government and learn of corruption in the Kansas senate. 

We get information about a trial of two women from Michigan who looked like the Kate Bender and Ma Bender. A woman turns them in because she has a dream of someone standing behind her and trying to kill her and who killed her father by pushing him down some stairs. They get aquitted because they have people for them and even people from the location around the Inn say that they do not resemble or do. They get sympathy and the defense also finds out that the woman who could be Ma Bender was in prison at the time during the murders. 

Countdown to 2026 pt. 2// Sunday Post #77

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Week 2 done and dusted for the month. I am so excited for Christmas this year. I am usually stressed and not into Christmas, but this year, it just feels different.

I am still trying to reach my goodreads goal and I am reading Mangas and amazon original stories. I am utilizing my kindle when we go to library events. Onto the prompts. Most of these I read this year and then day 14 is the one I am hoping will be my final read of the year. 

Day 8: Baubles/ Ornaments: A very colorful cover

Day 9: Fairy lights: Something magical

Day 10: Under the Tree: Book you forgot you owned

Day 11: Mistletoe: A little bit of Romance

Day 12: Holly & Ivy: Book with great world building

Day 13: Feast: Book that was magnificent

Day 14: Christmas Pudding: One more book to squeeze in this year

Review: The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

 

Still continuing in this series and I have to say the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore is still my favorite. I am just obsessed with this cover because of the cabin and the little Westie on the cover. This is the third book in the Dream Harbor series and with every book I read, I want to move to Dream Harbor.

This installment follows Kira, a girl from Georgia who is trying to figure out who she is after her twin and other half, up and got married and moved to Denmark. Kira is a doomscroller and loves to follow homesteading profiles... which is so relatable. I follow so many homesteaders and renovating people. 

She ends up using her remaining trust fund to buy the christmas tree farm and delapitated farm house. She has no heating and she seriously underestimated the amount of work that would need to be done. The love interest is Bennet, who is the brother to Jeanie who owns the Pumpkin Spice Cafe.

Bennet is the helper and wants to help everyone with everything. He has three dogs and honestly, I wish that the were characterized better because their names are said so much, that I did not know which one was being talked about. Kira is obsessed with animals and she meets the dogs on her property and she is an absolute bitch to Bennet. 

My thoughts throughout the first half of the book was she is deserving of the cold and not having heat in her house because of the bitchy way she is acting towards Bennett and everyone. She doesn't want help, but then later she is reminiscing about the maid that she had growing up and how she finally noticed her when the maid missed a day of work because she was sick. 

She finally noticed because her breakfast didn't taste the same.... HOW FUCKING SHALLOW! Even though there is supposed to be some redemption for her character when she gave half her trust funds to charities... just to spite her mom because god forbid "what would their friends say"?

I really thought the town went to far when they recruited Bennett to snoop of the farm for a dead body because of the rumors of the previous owner. I also think that Kira and Bennett are not a good match for each other and that the sex scenes were boring. The only hot thing about it was in front of the fireplace during a snowstorm. 

I do kind of wish that when Bennett left to go back to California, he would have made Kira sweat out the wait a little longer before running back like a dog with a bone. Also Kira getting pitbull named Benny which is Bennett nickname is very tacky. 

I was uncomfortable with the dogs meeting because it was not a safe way. Bennett lets his three dogs run straight to Kira without knowing about the new dog and the pitbull was scared and timid and growling. It is realistic, but I feel that it would send the wrong message to people who read this book and have never owned dogs, and they suddenly get one and think this behavior is ok.

Review: The Pirate by Harold Schechter

 It is the end of the year and I am trying to hit my Goodreads goal and that means reading shirt stories and getting around to the amazon original stories that I have had my eye on forever. I got 3 months of free kindle unlimited a couple months ago and I have not utilized it because out of site, out of mind. I decided to dive into this series during spooky season, but never got around to it and now I am.

I went in knowing nothing about this installment or the whole series, and I was surprised that while I was reading, it was sounding like nonfiction and it had pictures. I googled and the Bloodlands series is in fact nonfiction which I had a hard time believing because one of my favorite things about good nonfiction is when he feels like a story and it is not boring at all. It keeps you engaged and makes you want to know the facts.

This installment is about a man named Albert Hicks who was charged with piracy after he committed murder on a Oyster slooper in New York. He could not be charged with murder outright because they never recovered the bodies of the captain and two crew members. The only punishment for murder back in this time was death by hanging. With the missing bodies, Hicks thinks he will be a free man, but then the U.S. government decided to charge him with piracy because he took around 300 dollars with his roughtly estimated to be a little over 1000 dollars today.

Piracy is punishable by death and Hicks lawyer tries to claim that it was not committed in open water, but if any type of robbery is committed on any type of body of water in the US, it is considered piracy. 

Hicks was found guilty and was hanged or more like strangled to death where the statue of liberty is currently standing. It was a big spectacle with people coming and watching and even P.T. Barnum bought the clothes that Hicks wore during his trial to display in his museum.

While reading this, the crowds and the entertainment outlook that was put on this trial reminded me of the Luigi Mangione perp walk earlier this year, and how it was just one big show and attention seeking for the politians and goverment. 

Countdown to 2026// Sunday Post #76

 

 The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

I follow a couple of book bloggers who do this countdown every year, where they share books that they have read throughout the year and fit it to the daily prompt. I have been wanting to do this for the past two years, but haven't done it.

I am going to be sharing a week's worth of daily prompts in my Sunday Posts because I cannot post daily because of work and kids.

December 1st-7th prompts:

1. Snow – a book set in a cold or wintry climate

2. Shopping- last book you added to your wishlist

3. Wrapping Paper- A lovely cover

4. Gifts- a book you enjoyed more than you expected too.

5. Chocolate- a book that was simply delicious

6. Christmas stocking- Novella or short story

7. Christmas Tree- a winter read

Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness *SPOILERS*

 

My hubby and I watched the first season of the show back in September and he liked it so much. I told him I haven't read the second book and I finally finished it and he has been going on and on, like have you finished it. Sadly, I didn't really enjoy this installment. It reminded me too much of the second book in the Outlander series, where Claire and Jaime go to France.

Diana and Matthew have timewalked and went back in time to 1590. Elizabethan London. As soon as they get the the old lodge, they find some members of the school of night. Very influential people who we study today, are ordinary people back then. They are surprised that Matthew has shown up days later in England and married. All of the men can smell that Diana is a witch and both sides learn that things are happening.

Matthew is still keeping secrets from Diana, mainly about the witch hunts and executions in Scotland. She learns that he has many hats and has to do all of these things to keep the congregation happy, the queen happy, and the brotherhood happy. Right away he gets a letter from Phillippe demanding that he return to sept-tours.

His character was not a favorite of mine upon meeting and how he was treating Diana, but near the end of his storyline, I was wanting a hug from him because it showed that with strangers he is hesitant, but to family and those he cares for he will do anything. 

During this time, they are trying to find Ashmole 782 and a witch to help teach Diana. There are so many times that they look for witches and find one only for them to be afraid because of retaliation or to tell a preacher to get good favor.

They eventually go to London because they are fleeing one such preacher who wants to question Diana. They spend some time in London where they find a group of witches who is able to teach Diana how to become the weaver she is and Diana forms her familiar which turns out to be a Firedrake. They also find out that Ashmole 782 was taken by the Emperor of Prague and that is their next stop.

The Emperor is really gross and he developes an infatuation with Diana. She hosts a play and she ends up gaing a favor from the Emperor and she demands to see the book. They see it with the three pages that were missing in modern time. They also learn the grisly and disgusting truth about the book which was very shocking.

There is a whole lot more, but otherwise, I ended up giving this a 3 out of 5. There was so much detail about the clothing and the food and the furniture that it got boring. But when it came to Gallowglass and Matthew stealing the book from the emperor, there was nothing. Just plans to do it and then the next paragraph was Matthew and Gallowglass walking into the house holding the book. I was fed up. 

I was also waiting for something bad to happen to Diana because of course something would, and it ended up being at the very end with an influential person and Matthew's sister Louisa. I really liked that Diana got to speak and see her dad in Elizabethan England and he helped her let go of her fears.

This took me so long to read and I am hoping that the show will be somewhat better.