Blodeuedd's Monday Review: The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

Format: 368 pages, Hardcover

Published:  May 27, 2025 by Titan

Urban fantasy/own

Well this was different, and it really has a lot to do with the PTA.

Vivian´s daughter is horribly mutilated and bit by a werewolf...and now she is one! Wtf to do?! The werewolf clan gets them into a magical school, but life is hard.

Everyone has powers. There are sirens, wizards, you name it. And Aria stands out, not everyone is all shifter friendly. And who knew kindergarten was a cut throat business? You have to do well in 3 trials cos else you are kicked out of school.

Vivian navigates trying to prepare her child for kindergarten, the trials, a scary prophecy going around, and even scarier PTA ladies. It is hard to know who your friend is.

I liked it, but it took a few chapters, mostly cos we were as thrown into this world as Vivian was.

Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.

When Vivian’s kindergartner, Aria, gets bitten by a werewolf, she is rapidly inducted into the hidden community of magical schools. Reeling from their sudden move, Vivian finds herself having to pick the right sacrificial dagger for Aria, keep stocked up on chew toys and play PTA politics with sirens and chthonic nymphs and people who literally can set her hair on fire.

As Vivian careens from hellhounds in the school corridors and demons at the talent show, she races to keep up with all the arcane secrets of her new society – shops only accessible by magic portal, the brutal Trials to enter high school, and the eternal inferno that is the parents’ WhatsApp group.

And looming over everything is a prophecy of doom that sounds suspiciously like it’s about Aria. Vivian might be facing the end of days, just as soon as she can get her daughter dressed and out of the door…

Best of April

It's gonna be MAAAAAAAAAY.

Here are our faves for April. 

Best Book of the Month:

Blodeuedd - This Kingdom will not kill me by Ilona Andrews

"Best book, cos omg amazing."

Carole -  The Reunion by Meghan Quinn

"So dang good. I want to re-read it!!!"

Best Movie of the Month:

Carole -  Hamnet (2025)

"I was in awe. So good. Beautiful."

Blodeuedd - Thrash (2026)

"Best movie, because sharks are scary."

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Mentalist (s1) & Ena: Queen Victoria Eugenia

"I finally watched s1 of The Mentalist, I also watched Ena, which I really enjoyed."

Carole - St Denis Medical (S2)

"I'm really liking this show. Love the cast. Sooo funny and oddly heart-warming."

Best Cover of the Month:

Carole's - "Creepy and cool!"

Blodeuedd's - "Cute!"

Honorable Mention:

Blodeuedd - Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

"People were right! It is even better in audio!"

Carole - The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig

"It was so nice re-reading this! So dang good."

Book Review: Schemes and Scandals by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Title: Schemes and Scandals

Series: A Rip Through Time #3.5

Genre: Mystery, SciFi, Historical Fiction, Novella

Format: ebook

Pages: 159

Published: December 3, 2024

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

It’s Mallory Atkinson’s first Christmas in Scotland. Victorian Scotland, that is. Also, as the twenty-first-century detective learns, Christmas really isn’t a thing in Victorian Scotland. It’s all about Hogmanay. But her boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, treats her to an early gift of tickets to the event of the a Charles Dickens reading. There, they bump into Lady Inglis—the lovely widow who has sent Gray sexy letters trying to entice him back to her bed.

Lady Inglis introduces Mallory to Dickens—the meeting of a lifetime—but in return she wants their help. She’s being blackmailed. Someone stole letters she wrote to another lover and is threatening to publish them.

Mallory isn’t sure what to make of Lady Inglis, but no woman deserves that, so she insists on taking the case with or without Gray’s help. Growing tension between them soon tells Mallory that Gray is hiding a secret of his own. She has until Hogmanay to uncover the blackmailer…and, hopefully, to put things right with Gray so they can enjoy the holiday together.

Review:

I am simply LOVING this series. I can't get enough of it! The next book is already downloaded and ready to go ;)

We are back in time with Mallory. This is her first Christmas season in Victorian Scotland. Scotland still doesn't really celebrate Christmas, but instead Hogmanay. Dr Gray, her boss and friend, gets tickets to a Charles Dickens show. Mallory LOVES his works and is excited....until a mystery lands in her lap. Lady Inglis is being blackmailed. The letters she wrote to her lover have been stolen, and now she is being threatened with having them published. Inglis was Dr Gray's former lover, but Mallory won't allow this blackmail to go unpunished. She has until Hogmanay to figure it out. 

Sadly, my library didn't have the audio of this, but the ebook was JUST as good. At this point, this narrator's voice is the voice and only voice I hear when I read this story. The ebook did fine enough. EEEE. I should just buy all the audios at this point. I see myself revisiting this series in the future. 

But yes, there is a nasty blackmailer out and about. It's up to Mallory and Dr Gray. We didn't get to see much of the other cast during this. Just a little bit of the one sister and Jack. We did get to meet Charles Dickens and it made my heart happy...but then sad because we know his time is limited before he passes. *cries*

The mystery was easily solvable...maybe a bit too easy. But it is a novella, and we didn't want it too long and stretched out, I suppose. 

I can't wait to get started on the next book. 

100% recommend. 

4 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Library Love #10

DNF: Highland Gladiator by Kathryn Le Veque

Author: Kathryn Le Veque

Narrator: Brad Wills
Title: Highland Gladiator

Series: Scots and Swords #1

Genre: Historical Romance
Format: Audiobook
Published:  August 25, 2020
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible) 

Summary: 

When Lor Careston's quiet Highland village was attacked and burned, he felt helpless against the raiders who destroyed his home. Seeking revenge, but lacking the fighting skills he needs to execute his mission, he sets out to find the Ludus Caledonia―a mysterious fight guild that turns men into warriors.

Lor trains hard, proves himself in the ring, and earns a place with the very clan that decimated his home, having decided to set his plan for revenge in motion from inside the clan. But his plan didn't include Isabail Keith, a fiery lass who prefers broadswords to embroidery and isn't afraid to stand with the warriors of her clan. Lor thought the Keiths were his enemies, but when Isabail is threatened, he'll have to decide what he's willing to risk for the woman who has captured his heart and the clan that has become his home.

Review:

This was another random pick up while looking for something else. Why not?

Lor's village is attacked and burned to the ground. He felt so helpless against the raiders that he set out to learn how to fight. Lor trains hard at the mysterious fight guild. He proves himself in the ring and earns a place with the clan that destroyed his home. He didn't plan that his old love, Isabail, who is part of this clan. Will he put everything he holds on the line for the woman he loves?

Whelp. I gave up. I got to about 30%, and I called it done. I didn't want to read/listen anymore. Nothing truly went wrong, but I zoned out 10 times, and I just didn't care. 

Lor seems like a good enough fella. Isabail seems...okay. I didn't get a chance to learn more about her. 

Maybe I will try this again someday, but today I had to DNF. Bummer, because this had promise, and the narrator sounded good. 

Darn two meh books in a row to end the month. :( 

Oh! One positive....this is the first DNF of 2026! Took 4 months so I'll count that as a win. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #16