[Book Review] The Noel Diary

BY: Richard Paul Evans
SERIES: The Noel Collection (#1)
RELEASES: November 7, 2017 by Gallery Books
GENRE: Romance, Holiday Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Domestic Fiction
AGE RANGE: Adult
RATING: 2 out 5
SYNOPSIS: Bestselling romance author Jacob Churcher hasn't been home for almost twenty years—not since his mentally ill mother kicked him out of the house when he was just sixteen. When a lawyer calls, days before Christmas, to inform him that his estranged mother has passed away and left her house to him, Jacob returns not just to settle the estate but to try and reconcile with the past and the pain and abuse he experienced as a child. Also, maybe cleaning out her house will be slightly less depressing than spending the holidays alone, watching re-runs of Christmas classics.

But as it turns out, the house holds more than just difficult memories, Jacob’s mother had become a hoarder and he must excavate through two decades worth of clutter. As Jacob digs through the detritus, like an archaeologist, he uncovers many puzzling items including a diary left by someone named Noel, a young woman he has no recollection of, who stayed with Jacob’s family during her pregnancy. That’s not the only echo from the past. Jacob has an unexpected visitor, Rachel, a woman looking for the mother who put her up for adoption thirty years before. United by their quest to make sense of the past and rewrite their futures, Jacob and Rachel begin a search for Noel. Along the way they find more than they possibly imagined, including grace, forgiveness and a chance at love.

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[Manga Review] Common-Sense Monster, Vol. 1

BY: Warugi Wanai (Original Author), Shinobu Shinotsuki (Artist)
SERIES: フツーと化け物 [Futsū to Bakemono] (#1)
RELEASES: August 26, 2025 by Yen Press
GENRE: Horror, Drama, LGBTQ
AGE RANGE: Teen
RATING: 3 out 5
SYNOPSIS: Socially awkward teenager Itou is jealous of her kind, unassuming classmate Takahashi who gets along with everyone. One day, however, she witnesses Takahashi...devour someone whole. It turns out the girl’s actually a monster-and one who can blend in with humans, no less! Full of admiration, Itou really, really wants to be her friend. Takahashi begins to teach her how to act “normally,” but...will Itou succeed? And what is Takahashi truly after?

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[Manga Review] A Condition Called Love 1

BY: Megumi Morino
SERIES: 花野井くんと恋の病 [Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai] (#1)
RELEASES: January 24, 2023 by Kodansha Comics
GENRE: Romance
AGE RANGE: Teen
RATING: 2 out 5
SYNOPSIS: Hotaru doesn't need a boyfriend. But an act of kindness to a classmate going through a breakup opens a door she never thought to step through, in and everything begins to change... A sweet new shojo romance manga from the creator of Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty!

Hotaru is a 16-year-old high school first year who has always been ambivalent about love, preferring instead to have a lively life with her family and friends. So when she sees her schoolmate, Hananoi-kun, sitting in the snow after a messy, public breakup, she thinks nothing of offering to share her umbrella. But when he asks her out in the middle of her classroom the next day, she can't help but feel that her life is about to change in a big way...

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