Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Length: 5 hours and 13 minutes
Publisher: Sittin’ On A Goldmine Productions LLC
Release Date: November 22, 2021
ASIN: B09MDLWBMT
Stand Alone or Series: 7th book in the Mitzy Moon Mysteries series
Source: Bought Audiobook from Audible
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Mitzy Moon is no fan of the Renaissance Faire. But her interest is suddenly piqued when a jousting exhibition turns deadly. Following a clue from her magicked mood ring, she’s ready to take up the sword and fight for the realm.

Refusing to heed the handsome sheriff’s warnings, Mitzy dons a wench’s wardrobe and dives into the case. But she’ll need the help of her meddling Ghost-ma and spoiled feline to root out the canker. With doxies, scoundrels, and panderers aplenty, it won’t be easy to ferret out the truth!

Can Mitzy serve up the knave on a pike, or will she find herself on the wrong end of the lance?”

Series Info/Source: This is the 7th book in the Mitzy Moon Mysteries series. I bought this on audiobook from Audible.

Thoughts: This was a solid addition to the Mitzy Moon series. I liked the Renaissance festival theme to this one and enjoyed getting a peek at what Eric does for fun. I continue to listen to this series because the audiobooks are the perfect length for me to finish on a monthly road trip I need to take for work. They are light-hearted and easy to listen to without having to concentrate a lot.

Eric is taking Mitzy on a date to the local Renaissance festival (Mitzy didn’t even know that was a thing) when a jousting match goes horribly wrong. A jouster ends up dead, and there is evidence of foul play. Mitzy immediately decides to don festive dress and get a job at a pickle stand to infiltrate the festival and try to solve what she is certain is a murder.

I enjoyed the Ren Fest setting here and some of the mythology around the sword in the story. However, we didn’t spend as much time at the book shop so there was a lot less Piwacket and ghostma, and I missed them. It was nice to see Mitzy and Eric trying to make a go of things as a couple, they have some very cute scenes together.

The mystery was well done, and I also enjoyed finally getting to visit Silas’s house. He’s an intriguing character, and learning more about his background was interesting.

The audiobook quality is well done and easy to listen to; the narrator does a good job with character voices and emotion. I enjoy listening to these on audiobook.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a solid addition to the Mitzy Moon Mysteries. There were some things I liked more about this story and some things I liked less. I enjoyed the Ren Fair setting and getting to learn more about Silas. I also enjoyed getting to learn what Eric does in his spare time. I missed spending more time with Piwacket and ghostma. If you enjoy light-hearted paranormal mysteries and are looking for a series of shorter books that are quick and easy reads I would recommend this series.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: June 23, 2026
ASIN: B0FMS9W445
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“In the solar cities of the future, the humans relax in the sun and the animals work in the shadows. Genetically engineered Little Helpers, serving humanity—unseen, unheard.

Meet Skotch. Raccoon, PI—yours for a few buttons as long as the job isn’t too illegal, whatever that means.

A mouse has gone missing. Normally this wouldn’t raise any hackles, nor any alarms, but this mouse has something that everyone seems to want, though nobody appears particularly eager to say what that something is.

The fee is good—perhaps too good. Certainly not something Skotch can easily turn down.

If only Skotch can work out where the mouse is hiding, what he’s hiding, and why his secrets are upsetting a lot of animals caught up in the Green City wars.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.

Thoughts: I have read four other Tchaikovsky novels prior to reading this one, and he’s been a bit hit or miss for me. I absolutely loved “Service Model”, I also really enjoyed “Alien Clay” and “Children of Time”. However, “Shroud” was a bit of a miss for me.

“Green City Wars” was pretty different from all the above and was definitely a miss for me. I ended up putting it down at 20% of the way in. This book focuses on world-building and less on the story or characters. There is a lot of exposition in the first 20% of this book, and I kept loosing track of the story because of all the complex world-building and background we are told.

The story follows Skotch, a genetically altered raccoon, who is dependent on the drugs provided to sentient animals in order keep his wits and intelligence in working order. He is trying to freelance and escape the company that made him, but gets pulled back into the fold to lead an investigation looking for a mouse in the war zone. In this world, sentient animals support the labor required for human comfort and are dependent on the drugs provided to them to keep their mental capacities.

I liked the creative premise of an animal dystopia supporting human survival in the future. This is an intriguing idea and a thought-provoking premise. However, this is set-up to be more of a gum-shoe, detective type of story, and the complex explanations of the background kept getting in the way of the story.

I also wasn’t drawn to our main protagonist, Skotch. At least in the first part of the book, he bent to the whims of his maker and was very hard to engage with or relate to. We meet a lot of characters very quickly, and they seem to be more background than important parts of the story. The writing in general, was fairly dense and didn’t have anything to really engage and pull the reader through it.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this wasn’t for me. The idea is intriguing, but the world-building overshadowed any story plot or character development. If you enjoy exposition-heavy stories about complex world-building, you might enjoy this. If you were picking this up for an engaging mystery or intriguing characters, I would look elsewhere. Giving this three stars because I stopped reading it 20% in and there is always the chance it redeemed itself later on in the book.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 8 hours and 14 minutes
Publisher: NYLA
Release Date: January 28, 2026
ASIN: B0GGTLCCWR
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Breach Wars series
Source: Bought Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“We are at war. The interdimensional invasion brought us unimaginable suffering, but it also awoke talents slumbering deep within us, a means to repel and destroy our enemy. Every day new gates open, leading to breaches filled with monsters and valuable resources. If you are a Talent, your country needs you. The world needs you. Be the hero you were born to be.

Adaline is a Talent. Ten years ago, she had a happy marriage and a job she loved. The invasion shattered both. Now she works for the government, searching the breaches for magic metals and medicine to help Earth repel an interdimensional enemy. Two kids, one cat, bills, benefits, mortgage and school tuition…Risking her life became routine.

She had gone into the dimensional gates hundreds of times. She was always well protected. This time everything goes wrong. Now Ada is trapped in the labyrinth of alien caves unlike any other. Her only companion is a scared German Shepherd named Bear. Together they must uncover the breach’s secrets and escape, because Ada promised her children that she will come home.

The future of humanity depends on it.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Breach Wars seres. I bought a copy of this on audiobook from Audible.com.

Thoughts: While I love the Ilona Andrews writing team, I have been struggling with the fact that they start so many projects they don’t finish. Normally, I would have snapped this up right away, but I waited for a bit because I am worried that this is another side project where they are going to start something but not follow through on it. I am still waiting for the resolution to The Innkeeper Chronicles, the continuation of The Iron Covenant, the continuation of Aurelia Ryder, and possibly some more Wilmington Years…

This book is a near future sci-fi where inter dimensional portals called breaches started opening on Earth and flooding our planet with monsters/aliens. Oddly, at this same time humans started gaining special talents that help them to fight and repel these monsters. The story follows Adaline whose Talent is assessing material in breaches for their worth; she can identify valuable minerals, and dangerous objects. Things go very wrong in the current breach she is assigned to and Ada ends up trapped in the breach with a German Shepherd named Bear as her only companion. She needs to find a way to escape the breach or at least survive until a team comes in to rescue her.

This was very typical Ilona Andrews. There is a lot of action, some adventure, and a lot of overly dramatic angsting about kids. The story goes back and forth between two POVs. The first is Adaline, who we hear the majority of the story from. The second is the leader of the group that Adaline was working for, who needs to go into this Breach to find out what happened. While Ada is trying to survive, he’s trying to get a team put together to enter the breach to assess the situation.

While I enjoyed this, there was a lot in here that was very similar to other books this team has written. There are lots of very well done action scenes and some intriguing monsters. The world-building is a bit gimmicky and contrived feeling, but feels complete. The characters have sharp senses of humor but can be overly dramatic and a bit too in their own heads at points. I liked Adaline, but she is a very typical Ilona Andrews type protagonist; she is smart, tough, has a weak spot for children and pets, and gets way too powerful too quickly.

In the end, I felt like this was fine. If you are a big Ilona Andrews fan, then you are familiar with the style and types of characters here. This is more of the same from them. That isn’t necessarily bad; a lot of people want more of the same. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of anything new here. I liked the characters, but they are very similar to many other characters that this writing duo has come up with. The world-building was intricately done but seemed very contrived and implausible. The story went exactly as I expected it would go. Will I continue with this series? I think the bigger question is will Andrews actually finish one of their “side” projects…so we will see another book in this series?

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. There are two narrators, and they both do an excellent job with their parts of the story. If you enjoy audiobooks I would recommend listening to this on audiobook.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was fine, I enjoyed the action and adventure here. The characters were decent but similar to characters in other series by this writing team. The world-building was well done but felt immplausible and contrived. The story was very predictable. I am on the fence about whether or not I will finish this series. I really wish the Andrews team was working on finishing up some of their other spin-off series first.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: July 21, 2026
ASIN: B0FX7WZZQ2
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Jenny Sweet’s marriage is ending—and with it her band and maybe even her fragile relationship with her thirteen-year-old daughter, Neko. A reluctant wife and mother, Jenny plans a new journey of self-discovery after one more gig at Burning Man. But when Neko disappears amid the chaos of the festival, Jenny fears that everything that mattered to her has been lost. As she races against the dark, Jenny finds herself thrown into the past, and into the heart of a gathering storm.

Now twenty-five, Neko is a mudlark: a trained recruit who braves the rival factions and feral survivalists in the ruins of a crumbling, flooded Manhattan for resources that grow scarcer by the day. When she stumbles upon the master of her mother’s long-lost solo album and later hears that someone else is searching for it—someone who could be her mother, missing for over a decade—she embarks on a perilous adventure with a ragtag crew that will take her from treetop societies to decadent raves to the underground bunker where she will, finally, confront her mother’s fate—and her own.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.

Thoughts: This was okay. The book jumps back and forth between Jenny Sweet (a musician from the near past) and her daughter (Neko). The timeline is fairly fluid here and can be a bit hard to follow. Sometimes we are hearing from Jenny in the far past or in the near past and sometimes we are hearing from Neko in the current timeline or the near past (when she is a teen) or during her childhood. The jumping around in time and between POVs made this a meandering story, that took a lot of patience to read.

In the near past, Jenny is a musician and a reluctant mother. She knows her husband, Max, has been cheating on her but has been struggling to deal with this because her daughter, Neko, adores Max and Jenny doesn’t want to break up the family. Jenny and Max perform a last set with their band at Burning Man; they will be announcing the break up of both their marriage and the band soon. During this performance, Neko goes missing, and what follows will define Max’s, Neko’s, and Jenny’s lives.

In present day Neko is ekeing out a living with her partner, Iggy, and their crew in The Sink (what is left of parts of New York City after it flooded during a historic hurricane) as a mudlark. Neko and crew dive below the watery depths of the Sink to retrieve what others have lost. Then one day Neko retrieves a solo album from her mother, an album she didn’t know existed. She wants to know who requested this album and if it will lead to her mother, who is assumed to have died in the flooding of NYC.

This book is more poetry than story. It is written in a very lyrical and wandering way. The characters spend a lot of time thinking about the world around them in complex imagery. The story is dreamlike and dives into the relationship between daughters and mothers in a world that is a bit broken (both in the past and the present). These characters spend a lot of time in their heads questioning their own motives and whether or not their actions are selfish or necessary.

The post-apocalyptic world presented here is a bit vague. We know New York City flooded, as did some other areas of the Eastern seaboard. However, we don’t have a good idea of how that affected the rest of the world. We get small glimpses, but no broader picture. The story doesn’t have much resolution either; so if you like your stories with a clear ending, I would steer clear of this one.

If you have the patience and like this sort of wandering imagery that is more of a story-as-poetry you might enjoy this. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn’t wandered between timelines so much and had been a bit more concise.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I respect the imagery and idea behind this, however it wasn’t really for me. Things were just too ambiguous here, and the story took too long to get anywhere. The language and descriptions were a bit over the top for me, and we spent too much time in our characters’ heads. If you enjoy a sort of poetic post-apocalyptic book that focuses on mother/daughter relationships this might be for you.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: June 2, 2026
ASIN: B0FPL1PXN6
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Anne of Brittany was a child when France invaded and drove her royal father to his death. Now she is a young woman, sovereign duchess of an occupied realm, and France means to crown their conquest by marrying her to their king. Such an alliance would put her title, her lands, and her body forever in the hands of her enemies.

But Anne refuses to be the last duchess of Brittany.

Her only hope of resisting conquest is another alliance sealed with marriage, so Anne arranges a daring last gambit: a secret betrothal to Charles of France’s greatest rival. But secrets are hard to keep in a world where rival courts spy on each other with diviners.

The forest of Brocéliande was once the haunt of Merlin the Enchanter and the long-lost faerie queen. But magic is long gone from Broceliande, except for the occasional sight of a unicorn and one critical quirk: This ancient forest is completely hostile to divination.

While pretending compliance with France, Anne plans a unicorn hunt in Brocéliande. A bit of pointless pageantry. A diversion so she can wed in secret.

Or so she thinks.

In this rich and epic novel, the author of the acclaimed Winternight trilogy turns the real history of a remarkable woman into an unforgettable tale of mystery, enchantment, and the price of power.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.

Thoughts: This was an amazing fantasy read. It reminds me of a more classic fantasy read with kings and duchesses, wars and adventures, faerie and sorcerers. This was impossible to put down, and I absolutely loved the characters and world here. Prior to reading this I had read Arden’s Winternight Trilogy (loved it), Small Spaces series (liked it) and “The Warm Hands of Ghosts” (loved it). So I was thrilled to read this book as well.

Anne of Brittany was a child when France invaded, and then her father passed away. Now Anne is doing all she can to come up with a strategy to keep Brittany independent from France. She has a plan to delay the machinations of the French, who want to force her to marry their king. She has arranged a secret betrothal to France’s greatest enemy and convinced France’s general to go hunting for unicorns while she sets things in motion. Unfortunately, she never could have planned for some of the magical elements she accidentally set in motion; the unicorn is real and a man who was lost for hundreds of years has returned from the haunted forests of Broceliande.

This was a wonderful read. I love the world here; this is very much historical fiction with a touch of faerie magic. I also really love the characters. Anne is saddled with a big task, and she performs her duties with intelligence, grace, kindness, and a toughness that most don’t expect. I loved how supportive everyone is of each other and enjoy that Anne does find people to help support her. This really tackles the issue a strong woman faces when having to stand on her own and support a whole kingdom while being limited to the bounds of her era.

This is beautifully written; the plot keeps you guessing, the characters are intricate, and the writing flows seamlessly. I enjoyed every second of reading this book. I have really enjoyed all of Arden’s books, and this one was another fantastic story by her.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved everything about this book. The beautiful writing, the complex characters, the world, and the story were all masterfully done. I would highly recommend this read, especially if you enjoy a more classic historical fantasy featuring a strong female lead. I can’t wait to see what Arden comes up with next.

In May I read 10 books. You can see the reviews for all of them, which ones were my favorite, etc. below.

Hope you all had a great month of reading!

I started the following series:

• The Art of Piracy (Inspector Davidson Steampunk Mystery, Book 1) by Cecilia Dominic, Narrated by Alicia Foreman (3/5 stars)
• The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, Book 1) by Theodora Goss (2/5 stars)
• Letters from the Last Apothecary (Tressport Magic, Book 1) by Bita Behzadi (4/5 stars)
• The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton (4.5/5 stars)

I finished the following series:

• None

My Favorite Books of the Month Were:

• A Long and Speaking Silence (The Singing Hills Cycle, Book 7) by Nghi Vo (5/5 stars)
• A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 8) by Matt Dinniman (4.5/5 stars)
• First Sign of Danger (Haven’s Rock, Book 4) by Kelley Armstrong (5/5 stars)
• The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton (4.5/5 stars)

– Goodreads Reading Challenge (Progress: 39/150)

The full list of books that I read this month are shown below:
1. The Art of Piracy (Inspector Davidson Steampunk Mystery, Book 1) by Cecilia Dominic, Narrated by Alicia Foreman (3/5 stars)
2. The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, Book 1) by Theodora Goss (2/5 stars)
3. A Long and Speaking Silence (The Singing Hills Cycle, Book 7) by Nghi Vo (5/5 stars)
4. Charms and Firearms (Mitzy Moon Mysteries, Book 5) by Trixie Silvertale, Narrated by Coleen Marlo (4/5 stars)
5. Letters from the Last Apothecary (Tressport Magic, Book 1) by Bita Behzadi (4/5 stars)
6. A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 8) by Matt Dinniman (4.5/5 stars)
7. Bars and Boxcars (Mitzy Moon Mysteries, Book 6) by Trixie Silvertale, Narrated by Coleen Marlo (4/5 stars)
8. Witch Hat Atelier Vol 14 by Kamome Shirahama (4/5 stars)
9. First Sign of Danger (Haven’s Rock, Book 4) by Kelley Armstrong (5/5 stars)
10. The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Romance/Humor
Length: 378 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 23, 2024
ASIN: B0CLN6XSD7
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Love’s Academic series
Source: Borrowed ebook from library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“Beth Pickering is on the verge of finally capturing the rare deathwhistler bird when Professor Devon Lockley swoops in, stealing both her bird and her imagination like a villain. Albeit a handsome and charming villain, but that’s beside the point. As someone highly educated in the ruthless discipline of ornithology, Beth knows trouble when she sees it, and she is determined to keep her distance from Devon.

For his part, Devon has never been more smitten than when he first set eyes on Professor Beth Pickering. She’s so pretty, so polite, so capable of bringing down a fiery, deadly bird using only her wits. In other words, an angel. Devon understands he must not get close to her, however, since they’re professional rivals.

When a competition to become Birder of the Year by capturing an endangered caladrius bird is announced, Beth and Devon are forced to team up to have any chance of winning. Now keeping their distance becomes a question of one bed or two. But they must take the risk, because fowl play is afoot, and they can’t trust anyone else—for all may be fair in love and war, but this is ornithology.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Love’s Academic series. I borrowed this on ebook from the library.

Thoughts: This started a bit slow but picked up the pace about 25% of the way in. This is a Victorian alternate history sort of fantasy romance. It is set in England (mostly) but an England where the birds are deadly and magical, and ornithologists play a major role in the safety of people in general.

Beth is a rare female ornithologist professor and, when a contest to capture the rare caladrius bird is announced (with tenure as the prize) she must participate. Unfortunately, all the ornithologists dive right into this challenge, including the incredibly smart and handsome Professor Devon Lockley. As Devon and Beth are forced to team up, they are incredibly attracted to each other, and both are forced to admit there are more important things in life than winning Birder of the Year (of course, nothing is more important than the birds). As the chase for this rare bird continues, they both realize that there is more behind this contest than they initially thought.

This is a very fun and cute read. The beginning missed the mark for me a bit. Beth was just too timid and the characters felt a bit too stereotypical, however that was quickly remedied as we got further into the story. There is a lot of action here, and a lot of the story is a bit tongue-in-cheek. I mean the ornithologists are so famous and so important, at times it all feels a bit over characterized and silly, but in a fun way.

The story does jump between a few different POVs. However, the majority of the story is told from Beth’s and Devon’s points of view. I enjoyed both Beth and Devon as characters. At first, they seem a bit stereotypical to this type of alternate history Victorian story, but I think that is part of the point. As they get to know each other better, we also get to know them better. They are both exceptional characters with deep intelligence and interests.

This was a fun romp, was effortless to read, and was well written. I enjoyed it immensely.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall, though the start of this was a bit rough for me, I thought the story really hit it’s stride about 25% of the way in and I really started to love it. I loved this alternate history Victorian London setting with deadly magical birds, the quirky characters, the fast pace, the romance, and the mystery that is unraveled. I would recommend to those who enjoy alternate history Victorian romance with some magic, adventure, and mystery in it. I will definitely be picking up the second book in the series, “The Geographer’s Map to Romance.”

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 344 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: February 17, 2026
ASIN: B0F5PDG8NF
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Haven’s Rock series
Source: Borrowed ebook from library
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are entering a new chapter of life as parents to their six-month-old baby. Their family is hidden away in the sanctuary town of Haven’s Rock where they can live safe and private lives. But when they encounter hikers too close to the borders of Haven’s Rock, they realize they’re in danger of being exposed.

When they find one of the hikers dead the next day, they realize that their paranoia was justified, but they’re no closer to finding out who these people were and what they were doing in the vicinity of Haven’s Rock. Only by tracing the hikers’ movements, as well as examining the recent behavior of their closest neighbors, the workers of a secretive mining camp, will they be able to figure out where the threat is coming from and shut it down. Otherwise, the lives of everyone in Haven’s Rock–and their safe, secure new existence–are at risk.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 4th book in the Haven’s Rock series. I borrowed this on ebook from the library.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this continuation of the Haven’s Rock series. The mystery is well done, and it was great to see how the new sanctuary town of Haven’t Rock is progressing. I am a big fan of Armstrong and have read the majority of her other series and enjoyed them. I would recommend reading the Rockton series before reading this one because there is quite a bit of background there that ties in with this story. However, this whole series does stand alone fine on its own.

In this book, Casey and Eric are juggling being new parents while ensuring that Haven’s Rock runs smoothly. The autumn is in full swing and they are surprised when they stumble upon a couple of lost hikers. This makes them both a bit paranoid about why the hikers were really out in the middle of the Yukon forest this late in the year. When one of the hikers is found dead the next day, their worry deepens. Exposure is always a danger, and Haven’s Rock has already been dealing with a group of nearby miners, not to mention rumors about possible spies from Rockton.

This story is another wonderful blend of survival elements, combined with a good mysterious police procedural. We get some closure around the mystery of the nearby mining company and also get some insight into what has been happening at Rockton since Casey and Eric left there.

I really enjoyed watching Casey and Eric move onto a new stage of life with their young daughter. Many people seem to want their new baby to be a liability, but instead, they are approaching this new stage of life in a way that brings the people of Haven’s Rock closer together.

This was a quick and easy read that was fast paced, kept you guessing, and well written. I can’t wait to see what the fifth, and final, book of the series holds.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this book and thought it did a wonderful job of progressing the story. I really enjoyed the police procedural and survival elements to this story. I also enjoyed seeing Casey and Eric enter a new stage of their lives together. I am eager to see what happens in the final book in the series. I would recommend to Rockton fans, or to those who think survival combined with a good murder mystery sounds intriguing.

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Manga
Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: March 17, 2026
ASIN: B0FDJHS1ZP
Stand Alone or Series: 14th volume in the Witch Hat Atelier series
Source: Bought paperback
Rating: 4/5 stars

“At long last, Dagda and Custas are back together, reunited in the medical tower. All they should have to do now is wait for the doctors to treat them. But at that moment, Qifrey has a terrible premonition. Meanwhile, Coco has a plan to defend the town from the rampaging valance leeches. But it’s a long shot that’ll need all the town’s witches to work together…”

Series Info/Source: This is the 14th volume in the Witch Hat Atelier series. I bought this in paperback to read.
Thoughts: This volume continues the storyline of the valance leeches and follows our witches as they try to fight it. When Coco comes up with an amazing idea to defend the town her idea is challenged by the knights. While both the knights and the witches want to save people, they have very different beliefs on how that should be done. Unfortunately, for them, the valance leeches latch onto a new location to unleash their deadly chaos.

I love the illustration in this manga series, it is absolutely beautiful and a joy to look at. I continue to enjoy the theme of family and teamwork throughout. This volume really drives home that idea that you need amazing ideas from a team of people to solve a complex situation. I also loved that a lot of our apprentice witches are gaining confidence and really stepping up to help solve complicated problems.

While I was happy to see this storyline make more progress, I was a bit disappointed that the valance leech storyline is still going strong at the end of this volume. I feel like it’s time to wrap that up. Although at this point, I am not even sure what would come next for our characters.

My Summary (4/5 ):Overall I really love the artwork throughout this volume and love that our characters are growing and becoming more confident. I am happy the storyline made some progress, but felt like it didn’t make enough progress. I definitely plan to continue with this series because I want to know if Coco’s plan will work! I would recommend this manga series to those who enjoy cozy magic fantasy stories.