Tag: books

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!

Review: The Black Mage

DeAnneLeave a comment

the black mageWhen I first heard about this book I knew it centered around a black student going to a wizarding/magic school, but didn’t know much else. The story was fast paced and fun while also dealing with important themes of racism. There was also the inclusion of important figures from the civil war that added to the overall theme and story line.

I feel that stories like this are important, where difficult subjects are openly discussed and shown in a consumable format. While reading you don’t necessarily think about what the overarching message is because the story is a great adventure, but it’s there nonetheless.

The art style perfectly fits the story and the effects for spells were just what it needed. The colors were vibrant and were great with the fantasy aspects of the story.

The Black Mage comes out October 29th, from Oni Press, be sure to pick up a copy!

Happy Reading!

Review: The Ghost Hunter’s Daughter by Caroline Flarity

DeAnneLeave a comment

ghost hunter's daughterWhen I read the synopsis for The Ghost Hunter’s Daughter, I immediately got excited and had to check it out. This is the story of Anna, whose father is well known for being the town well, ghost hunter, and because of this she is known as Goblin Girl at school. Things start happening in her town during a number of solar flares, things of a paranormal nature, and it’s up to Anna to figure it out.

Before I go any further I would caution that there are trigger warnings for bullying, self harm and suicidal thoughts. Though these aren’t central themes in the book, there are situations that arise that could be triggering to people.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way – this story was so much fun! Yes, it got pretty dark at some points with some of the things discussed (um hello demons and ghosties). If you’re looking for something with Poltergeist/Ghostbusters vibes, this will fit the bill.

Anna’s struggles are very relatable regardless of the supernatural aspects and influences in the story. It delves a lot into her internal dialogue and talks about how the bullying she endures affects her, as well as other characters and their struggles. While these situations are influenced by the supernatural aspects, they are still very real experiences that teens have and humanized the story a bit more.

The writing was really easy to read and get into, which meant that I flew through it.  Overall I really enjoyed this book and all it’s twists and turns.  This book is already out, so if it sounds like something you would enjoy, be sure to check it out!

Review: Texts From Mittens by Angie Bailey

DeAnneLeave a comment

texts from mittensTexts from Mittens: The Friends and Family Edition is a great little novelty/coffee table book that would be relatable to anyone who has owned (or been owned by) a cat. Full of fun shenanigans in the form of text messages between Mittens and his mom, grandma, dog brother and other cats.

If you’re looking for a cute book that is sure to make you laugh and you understand the whims of felines, this would be right up your alley. As someone who has a cat and fully accepts that she rules the household, this 100% hit the spot. Many of the portrayed conversations perfectly show some of the more humorous aspects and motivations of cats, especially boxes.

I could probably read these and other text messages like them for days without getting bored. It would be a great book to have and pick a page at random for a quick laugh. Text from Mittens: Friends and Family Edition comes out September 3rd from Andrews McMeel publishing, be sure to check it out!

Happy reading!

Review: The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill

DeAnneLeave a comment

tea dragon festivalI cannot fully express how excited I was to get approved on NetGalley for this title, there may have been some squealing, just saying. The Tea Dragon Festival was definitely one of my most anticipated releases of the year and has fully cemented the fact that I will probably buy anything Katie O’Neill writes in the future.

This story is a prequel to The Tea Dragon Society and you do meet some characters in this story that are in that one as well, which was a great surprise. It really feels like O’Neill is building a world for these stories and I desperately hope there will be many more installments featuring tea dragons and these characters.

I love how seamlessly she works diversity and inclusiveness into her stories, it isn’t there as any kind of novelty or anything, it’s there because these things are part of everday life and part of people’s worlds. This book specifically features a non-binary character and also highlights the use of sign language. Along with that it featured information at the beginning and end for resources regarding sign language, which I thought was a great way to provide information for anyone who is curious after reading.

I will also forever love O’Neill’s art style, she has the perfect balance of simplicity and detail and the color are so vivid that the scenes easily come to life. These stories are whimsical and full of fantasy, but still grounded and full of important messages.

The Tea Dragon Festival is coming out on September 17th from Oni Press, make sure that you check it out and also check out The Tea Dragon Society while you’re at it!

Happy reading!

Review: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

DeAnneLeave a comment

mooncakesOh my heart! Mooncakes was such a fun and enjoyable read and was a perfect title to break up my reading. This story follows Nova (a witch) and Tam (a werewolf) as they reunite and face a danger while also exploring their feelings for each other. It was a beautiful story that put a smile on my face, seeing friendship and love blossom between all the characters.

This story discusses so much in the way of real life issues such as family, love, diversity, etc while also seamlessly blending in the supernatural aspects and the mystery they must solve. I would definitely love if there were more stories following these characters, but this also stands well on its own. The art style and color palette are beautiful and fit the tone of the story perfectly. It leans earth tone, but that is perfect for the setting and feel of the story.

Overall, Mooncakes is a beautiful story full of magic and the strength of friendship and love. I’m very interested in seeing more from both the author and the illustrator as their collaboration produced such an amazing tale.

I definitely recommend picking up a copy.  Mooncakes comes out October 15th from Lion Forge.  I know I’ll be adding it to my shelf!

Happy reading!

Review: Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa

DeAnneLeave a comment

soul of the swordShadow of The Fox was pretty much my favorite book of 2018 (see my review of it here) I was VERY eagerly anticipating Soul of the Sword, so was over the moon when I got approved for an eARC.  This was easily my most anticipated book of the year.

First things first, Soul of the Sword pretty much picks up where Shadow of the Fox left off and has the same anime like feel. Many scenes felt like they were a transcript of an anime and it was amazing. In this way the book was very similar to Shadow of the Fox. While there are a few new characters thrown in, it is mostly the same cast of characters. The overall character development and building of relationships in this book were top notch and I’ll admit, makes me worry a bit about what is going to happen in the third book and how much Julie Kagawa is going to break my heart.

In this installment the POVs are Yumeko, Hakaimono/Tatsumi and Suki. Kagawa has a way of writing the different character arcs and their journeys that it is seamless when they all come together.  I love how if you read carefully there are little hints here and there regarding character’s motivations/intentions. She also made sure that more of the history of the dragon scroll and the wishes bestowed was revealed without it being too much of an info dump.

I absolutely loved how she wove in Japanese mythology and legends, she made the world and culture that she wrote feel absolutely real.  Sure there may have been some character traits or actions by characters that I didn’t love, but those things weren’t out of character for the people she had written.  Besides the slight slowness of the first half there wasn’t anything I actually disliked about the book.

I did feel that this story suffered a little from 2nd book syndrome and the first half was a bit slow, which is understandable considering all the set up that was happening but the rich settings, characters and characters more than make up for the slowness. This book had to be a bit of a bridge just so we can get to what I’m sure if going to be an amazing conclusion.  The last 20% was a thrilling journey where the action was non-stop and had me on the edge of my seat.

It will be very interesting to see where the final book goes as so many loose ends are going to need to be tied up. It’s definitely going to be a long wait until it’s available!

Soul of the Sword is out now! Make sure to pick up a copy of this book and its predecessor Shadow of the Fox if you’re interested in a thrilling adventure full of Japanese mythology.

Happy Reading!

Review: Where I Ache by Megan O’Keeffe

DeAnne4 Comments

where I ache coverThough my history with modern poetry is rocky, I have really been enjoying the hard hitting collections this year, so I was delighted when Megan reached out to me and asked if I would review her poetry collection. She described it as a poetry collection broken up into 6 chapters ranging from themes such as depression, jealousy, grief, and strength and it was certainly that. Each chapter had a different feel and theme to it, but the transition and flow of the collection was really paced well and a natural progression.

We’re making angels out of monsters in the dark. – from “Please Don’t Sugar Coat this for Me”

Trigger warnings for this collection include what she mentioned above as well as insecurities/self esteem issues and there were some references to abuse. At some points it was like reading someone’s diaries as they were going through sometimes joyful, sometimes more traumatic events. I think the underlying theme to all of it was strength and survival through it all.

I definitely had some favorites when it came to this collection including “Lost at Sea,” “Fragile” and “To My Knees” among others.  As each part progresses, you can definitely see the journey of the author.  The illustrations by Kevin Furey also add a great contribution to the work, at some times very poignant.

Sand isn’t stable ground to rely on, but even concrete can crack – from “Ocean Blues and You”

This was a great exploration of poetry and there were some truly beautiful moments in her poems. Did every poem call to something in me? No, but that’s as it should be. I’ve always felt that poetry is something that can speak to the soul, but is different for every person and in saying that I think different people will definitely get different things out of this collection.

Where I Ache comes out on June 10th, be sure to check it out if it sounds like something you would enjoy.  Thank you again to Megan for giving me the opportunity to read it.

Happy reading!

Review: Under the Moon by Lauren Myracle

DeAnneLeave a comment

under the moonI wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, but was intrigued and wanted to check it out since one of my favorite characters from the Batman universe was Catwoman. This was an interesting take on her younger years and the events that lead up to her being who she was. I did feel like some points were a little too overemphasized, but overall the story was interesting and enjoyable.

This story begins when Selina as a child and discusses her adolescent life into high school. We are shown struggles she goes through both at home and at school and there are certainly a number of pivotal moments that lead her to her journey to becoming Catwoman. I’m not sure if this follows canon at all since I’m not super familiar with the original comics, but you can definitely see some of the things that could have led to her later beliefs and actions in this story. This story is definitely more modernized in the technology shown, which I believe is a benefit for younger audiences that may not be super familiar with the original genesis/backstory of the character.

I loved the art style and the more monochromatic theme, especially when past and present had different color schemes. The characters are richly done and easily recognizable once they are introduced.  I have to wonder if this will be a story that will be continued as it would be interesting to see where else Lauren Myracle could take the character.

Under The Moon: A Catwoman Tale is out now, be sure to grab a copy if you want to add it to your collection!

Happy Reading!