Blue Exorcist Vol. 1 / Kazue Kato (Japanese author) / 202 pages / Color in the title

Rin Okumura was always a rebellious orphan, but when he’s jumped by a gang, a blue flame he never knew he could use reveals that not only is he half-human-half-demon, but he is the illegitimate son of the Devil himself.  After his father kills someone close to him, Rin vows to get his revenge on him and joins the True Cross Academy to become an exorcist.  His teacher is his more intelligent, somehow-whole-human, younger twin brother Yukio; hilarity ensues (for the most part).  The first demon they had to exorcise was within a girl’s legs, making her immobile, because it had tricked her into thinking it was her grandmother’s spirit.  This girl, Shiemi, joins the True Cross Academy alongside Rin thanks to a kind conversation they had with each other.

Another recommendation I got, and my first impression was more towards Miss Kato’s illustrations and the careful detail she put into them, especially with the architecture—that alone is worth a peek into the book.

His Wicked Reputation/Madeline Hunter/432 pgs

This is the first book in a trilogy. Gareth is the bastard son of a duke who's made a fairly good life for himself both in business and in pleasure. He returns to England from Europe upon news of his oldest legitimate brother's death. He and the oldest brother did not get along but once he arrives back it's clear that he has a much closer relationship with his other two half-brothers. One of the brothers enlists Gareth to help track down some missing paintings.

With no other family but a younger sister, Eva has had to make her own way for years. She's an artist who is currently "borrowing" paintings from the attic of one of the ducal properties, copying them, and then selling the copies through a middleman.

I really liked both characters in this story--Eva was a level-headed heroine and Gareth was a down-to-earth hero but I don't think they spent nearly enough time together. They seemed to be heading in opposite directions much of the time. The subplot of the missing paintings did not intrigue me at all, mostly because their being found would have no impact on the main couple. In fact, the paintings were not even found by the end of the book and I suspect this subplot will play into the other two books in the trilogy. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I've already figured what happened to the paintings, not that I really care.

So, great characters, wonderful writing (Hunter never fails there), too much subplot, too little romance. I'm unsure if I'll read the other two books in the series.

Prodigal Son/Danielle Steel/318 pages

Peter McDowell broke away from his parents and his twin Michael after high school. His trips back to see them were limited to seeing his sick parents once before they died and then their funerals. His life in the New York financial world was complete with a luxury apartment and a wife and two boys until the stock market crashes, and he loses everything. With his wife moving back to her father's home in LA with the boys, Peter restarts his life by moving back to the lake house his parents left him. He tries to stay out his brother's way in town, but Michael seeks him out and makes an attempt to bury the past. Peter happily decides to let go of the past until more information about his brother, the beloved town doctor, comes to light.

This is part of my project of reconnecting with authors I used to enjoy decades ago but no longer read. First up was Mary Higgins Clark a couple of months ago. The book I read did not convince me to start reading her books again. I never was a devout Steel fan, but I had read a couple I had enjoyed. This one started out promisingly, but the last third of the book was just too easy. I wanted a twist, a surprise, something other than what I got. I give this one a "pass."