Month: August 2019

Review: Case of the Shinigami by KC Hunter

DeAnneLeave a comment

When I saw this book available to me on Book Sirens I was immediately intrigued and excited to pick it up.

Case of the Shinigami is a prequel novella to the Kana Cold series and it a great introduction to the characters. Though it is short it is a great setup for what will be a paranormal series. This book is about Kana and her partner AJ as they tackle a case where a small child is being terrorized by an unseen force.

Glimpses of Kana’s personality and references to her past are few at first, but as the story goes on you start to learn some of the things that have shaped her and motivate her. She’s not the most likable person, doesn’t deal well with people and has a quick temper, but there are reasons that are slowly revealed.

I will definitely be picking up the first full book in the series as I feel like things that happened in this prequel will be playing a part in the series as a whole. This is creating a beginning to what looks to be an interesting and thrilling series full of adventure.

Be sure to check out this prequel and the series as it comes out if it sounds like it is up your alley, happy reading!

Review: Moonlocket by Peter Bunzl

DeAnneLeave a comment

After reading Cogheart and loving it I was super excited to get a chance to read Moonlocket. Moonlocket picks up about six months after the end of Cogheart. Though this is a new adventure for Lily and Robert, it still deal with a lot of the fallout (mostly emotional) from the first book. Lily is dealing with not only feeling like she’s different than everyone else, but also feels a little smothered by the people around her. Robert on the other hand is trying to figure out what his place in the world is while also dealing with grief.

Bunzl’s writing is descriptive while also being easy to relate to. I love the world he’s created and the soul that he gives to the mechanicals. This story really delves into the past and reveals more about not only the central characters, but the world that they live in. 

This is a great coming of age story (or on the way to coming of age) that discusses things such as family and found family and how different or alike each can be. Subjects such as grief and those family ties can be hard subjects to adequately express and explain, but Bunzl does it perfectly. Each character has depth and personal stories that make them real to the reader and relatable. The adventure has a ton of twists and turns that make the story just fly by. I can’t wait to see what else Lily and Robert get themselves into in Skycircus.

If you’re interested in this series, be sure to pick up the first book Cogheart as well. Moonlocket is available now from Jolly Fish Press.

Happy reading!

Review: Unpopular and Unplugged

DeAnneLeave a comment

unpluggedThis story follows Erin Song, a girl who lives in a technology driven world and who is not popular, but is also not the most unpopular person at school. After she makes a mistake and gets in trouble, her parents ground her and take away ALL screens and technology. It’s then that the story really gets started and Erin starts to realize that some weird things are going on, things that she is only aware of now that she isn’t staring at screens all day.

This story was super fun and perfectly tells some great truths about technology and relationships. Through her adventure a lot of things come into focus for Erin and she realizes that some of the things that were super important to her aren’t really that essential or integral to life. Through her actions she learns some lessons and gets closer to deciding what type of person she wants to be. Shout out to her grandma, who was one of my favorite characters in the story.

The art style and illustrations are full of bright colors and convey a young person’s view of the world around them. It was super easy to read and understand, with humor woven in that perfectly fit the story and would definitely appeal to the audience it’s targeted for.

Unplugged and Unpopular by Mat Heagerty comes out from Oni Press on October 15th, be sure to check it out!

Happy reading!