Review | Lobizona by Romina Garber

October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

Some people ARE illegal.

Lobizonas do NOT exist.

Both of these statements are false.

Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who’s on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida.

Until Manu’s protective bubble is shattered.

Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past–a mysterious “Z” emblem—which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong.

As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.

I am so excited about the number of books coming out as of late which are timely and have themes that tie into some of the difficulties people are facing in every day life. Romina Garber tells Manu’s story really well, from the every day challenges she faces in our world to the similar problems she faces in another more magical world. Going into this book knowing very little is better in my opinion as things will have more impact that way.

I really appreciated how Garber addressed and explored different issues such as immigration and gender roles while also including so much culture and folklore in the tapestry of the story. I felt the flow of the writing was paced well, though there were some spots that slowed down, it still kept me invested in the story.

Happy reading!

Review | Crema by Johnnie Christmas

October 6, 2020October 6, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

Esme, a barista, feels invisible, like a ghost…. Also, when Esme drinks too much coffee she actually sees ghosts. Yara, the elegant heir to a coffee plantation, is always seen, but only has eyes for Esme.

Their world is turned upside down when the strange ghost of an old-world nobleman begs Esme to take his letter from NYC to a haunted coffee farm in Brazil, to reunite him with his lost love of a century ago. Bringing sinister tidings of unrequited love.

#1 New York Times Best-Selling cartoonist Johnnie Christmas (writer) and Prism Award Nominee Dante L. (artist) bring you a haunted tale of love, ghosts and coffee beans.

In this story we follow Esme who can see ghosts when she drinks caffeine, she has one ghost in particular that she regularly communicates with, but other than that her life is consumed with her job at a coffee shop. We don’t get a ton of information on Esme in the beginning, just a few tidbits, but it does build from there once she meets Yara and goes on a journey to find love as well as discover the truth about some characters they meet along the way. I definitely enjoyed the story itself, but it left me wanting more. I wanted more backstory and foundation on some of the characters. Overall it was a fun read and told a good story.

Happy reading!

Review | Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

October 5, 2020October 5, 2020 DeAnne1 Comment

After watching her circle of friends seemingly fade away, Lora is determined to still have fun on her own, so when a tea party leads Lora to discovering Alexa, the ghost that haunts her house, they soon become best friends.

I saw the cover of this one and just had to pick it up based on that alone. In this we follow Lora, who is on the cusp between being a kid and starting to grow up – and she doesn’t want to grow up. She watches all of her friends move into more grown up things and doesn’t know what to do. While playing pretend by herself she holds a séance tea party and meets the ghost haunting her house.

This is a wonderful representation of what can happen when a child is in that transitional age and it was so fun to read. Lora’s journey to figuring out who she wants to be while still clinging to the magic of childhood was so touching and relatable. The art style had that wonderful sense of whimsy that I enjoy and the coloring perfectly fit the mood of the scenes.

Happy reading!

Review | Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back by Alicia Cook

October 4, 2020October 3, 2020 DeAnne2 Comments

Sorry I haven’t texted you back, (I’ve been so anxious and depressed) I haven’t had time to catch my breath, you know how life gets!

Returning to the form of Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately, Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back is a poetic mixtape dedicated to those who struggle or have struggled with their mental health. Divided into two parts, “Side A” holds 92 poems, titled as “tracks,” and “Side B” holds the “remixes,” or blackout-poetry versions, of those 92 poems. The book includes the evergreen themes of love, grief, and hope. Named after Cook’s viral Instagram poem, Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back lands in the crossroads of self-help and poetry.

First and foremost, be aware that there are trigger warnings for anxiety, depression, talk of suicide and death. This was definitely a collection of poems that I had to take in multiple settings as to me they rang extremely true.

I really enjoyed the format of this collection, with the first half being more traditional poem formats and the second half being black out or other styles that isolated specific words of the poems. Both halves went really well together and captured the feelings invoked in the collection as a whole. Each poem also comes with a song – which if you don’t know the song listed I highly recommend looking them up since they add another layer to the experience. It’s definitely an emotional read, but the language used and the way the poems flow just add beauty to the overall collection.

Happy reading!

Review | Yokai Stories by Zack Davisson

October 3, 2020October 3, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

Beware the trickster Yokai of ancient Japanese mythology. In these contemporary, original stories, young narrators must outfox the supernatural shapeshifters.

I originally picked up this title when I went to the 2019 Portland Book Festival. I would have loved to pick up other titles from this publisher as a few of them sounded interesting to me, but I was trying to keep myself to a budget. I was immediately drawn to this one from its description and the artwork so it was the one I picked up, and I managed to score a signed edition which made me even more excited.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up Yokai Stories, but I like anything having to do with Asian folklore/mythology/etc. so I know I wanted to give it a read. What’s inside is a number of reimagined stories, some which take from source material some which are inspired by the Yokai and their legends. The artwork included by Eleonora D’onofrio was a perfect companion to these short stories. Though the stories may not be 100% the original legends/folklore, I really loved the modernization and reimaginings that were applied to these creatures, making them accessible for people today.

Happy reading!

Review | Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

October 2, 2020October 2, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.

I thoroughly enjoyed this creepy exploration of a knockoff Ikea where employees get more than they bargained for when they stay overnight, but I sadly think it was a little overhyped for me. I had heard numerous people talk about how creepy this book is and how they couldn’t read it after dark, etc. Hearing those things I was super excited, but I would get to pages that were noted as being extra creepy and while they were creepy and the descriptions were done really well – it didn’t scare me or send chills down my spine. Granted, this is totally a me problem, it may be because I’m just desensitized to some stuff and it doesn’t really affect me as bad.

That being said I really enjoyed the adventure of this story, and the creepy twists that were thrown in. The backstory that Hendrix created was perfect and fit in with everything depicted really well. Many of the characters aren’t necessarily likeable, but they all fit into the puzzle and the events that happen. All in all, it was a great read to start off October and a really good story.

Happy reading!

Review | Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones

October 1, 2020September 30, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both?

I’ve only read two of Stephen Graham Jones’ books so far, but I’m thinking he’s definitely going on my auto-buy list. I spent a lot of Night of the Mannequins wondering what was really going on and even when I reached the end there was a part of me that was left guessing, I loved it!

Graham Jones’ writing is masterful, it flows so well and is so immersive that you really don’t notice the time passing. I read this one pretty much in one sitting and just couldn’t put it down. I don’t want to get into the actual plot of the book because with this one I think it’s a great idea to go into this book knowing as little as possible – that way it’s even more twisty when things ramp up. I really enjoy more psychologically bent horror and this one definitely fit the bill. This book had the perfect amount of humor tossed in while also being really twisted and dark. It was just amazing and great for this time of year.

Did this just break into my top 5 reads of the year? I think it did. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see about adding more of his books to my wishlist.

Bonus! The ebook is currently $3.99 on Amazon – go pick it up!

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | The Love Study by Kris Ripper | Review

September 30, 2020September 30, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

What happens when the search for the perfect date goes perfectly wrong? Don’t miss this charming romantic comedy from critically acclaimed author Kris Ripper.

Declan has commitment issues. He’s been an office temp for literally years now, and his friends delight in telling people that he left his last boyfriend at the altar.

And that’s all true. But he’s starting to think it’s time to start working on his issues. Maybe.

When Declan meets Sidney—a popular nonbinary YouTuber with an advice show—an opportunity presents itself: as part of The Love Study, Declan will go on a series of dates arranged by Sidney and report back on how the date went in the next episode.

The dates are…sort of blah. It’s not Sidney’s fault; the folks participating are (mostly) great people, but there’s no chemistry there. Maybe Declan’s just broken.

Or maybe the problem is that the only person he’s feeling chemistry with is Sidney.

I really enjoyed this story and found it cute and entertaining, while also wonderfully inclusive. While it was very obviously a sweet rom-com there were also a lot of moments that were deeper and more introspective, especially for Declan. Seeing him and Sidney explore relationships and their perceptions of what dating and relationships are was both hilarious and heart warming. I did kindof want Declan to show more growth over the entire story, but not everyone can do that.

The cast was both racially and sexually diverse, and I loved how that cast of characters fit together and interacted. Overall it was a story I really enjoyed, and feel multiple age groups could enjoy this book as the steamier portions were fade to black, so it’s something YA readers could enjoy as well if they don’t like explicit scenes.

Kris Ripper lives in the great state of California and zir pronouns are ze/zir. Kris shares a converted garage with a kid, can do two pull-ups in a row, and can write backwards. (No, really.) Ze has been writing fiction since ze learned how to write, and boring zir stuffed animals with stories long before that.

Happy reading!

Review | Aggretsuko: Metal to the Max

September 29, 2020September 29, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

Aggretsuko, the hit Netflix show in production for season three, stars Retsuko the Red Panda, a young office worker stuck in a thankless job, whose only stress release is singing death metal at the local karaoke joint. With the help of her friends, can she ever find the job satisfaction she craves – – not to mention adventure, the approval of her mother, and even… love?! These comics explore all these issues and more, brought to life by today’s top talent!

I haven’t yet watched the anime of Aggretsuko, but I’ve heard a ton about it and have wanted to check it out. When I saw there was going to be a comics series featuring her and her fellow characters, I had to pick it up. The art style perfectly matched what I have seen of the characters and anime and Retsuko was a great character to follow. Her bouts of using karaoke to blow off steam was hilarious and relatable at the same time. If you’re a fan of the anime or if you just want to get acquainted with the characters and feel it out, check out this one!

Happy reading!

Review | Space Battle Lunchtime Vol 1 by Natalie Riess

September 27, 2020September 27, 2020 DeAnneLeave a comment

Collecting the first four issues of Natalie Riess’s delectable series, SPACE BATTLE LUNCHTIME! Earth baker Peony gets the deal of a lifetime when she agrees to be a contestant on the Universe’s hottest reality TV show, Space Battle Lunchtime! But that was before she knew that it shoots on location… on a spaceship… and her alien competitors don’t play nice! Does Peony really have what it takes to be the best cook in the Galaxy? Tune in and find out!

I heard about this one ages ago and wanted to pick it up, so I was excited when I saw it making the rounds and had to pick it up. In it we follow Peony, who is suddenly whisked away from Earth to join an intergalactic cooking competition (similar to Chopped). She’s met by all types of creatures from different worlds, some who are ambivalent or nice, and some who aren’t so nice.

The art style is quirky, and every character is unique. It was a thoroughly enjoyable journey as we watch them all compete. There’s definitely the starting of more underhanded happenings that are hinted at, and the cliffhanger at the end makes me want to pick up the sequel.

Happy reading!