Tag: reading

Review: Hotel Dare

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Olive and her adopted siblings Charlotte and Darwin are spending the summer with their estranged grandma at her creepy hotel and it’s all work and no play. They’re stuck inside doing boring chores but they soon stumble upon an incredible secret… Behind each room door of the hotel lies a portal to a different strange and mysterious place. The simple turn of a knob transports them to a distant magical world filled with space pirates. Behind the next door are bearded wizards. Down the hall is a doorway to a cotton-candied kingdom. But once the doors are opened, worlds start colliding, and only one family can save them before they tear themselves apart. Written by Terry Blas (The Amazing World of Gumball) and illustrated by the talented Claudia Aguirre (Kim & Kim), this world-hopping fantasy tale breaks down the door to imagination and dares you to embrace the idea that family is everything.

This was such a fun and wild adventure! I love stories like this that weave diversity and real life issues so seamlessly. They aren’t overt, they are just there – and that’s something I applaud. This story follows three children going to visit their grandmother and help her with her hotel. What they fall into however is an intriguing mystery involving portals to other worlds, little sprinkles of mythology and tons of adventures.

The art style is so fluid and vibrant, plus the color palette is really punchy and bright, which made the story dynamic and fast paced. Overall it’s a story of family, even when that family is a found family and it was a great read!

Happy reading!

Review: Love Looks Pretty on You

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Filled with wisdom and encouragement, every single page is a testament to the power of words, and the impact they can have on the relationships you build with others. And most importantly, the one you have with yourself.

Lang Leav captures the intricacies of emotions like few others can. It’s no wonder she has been recognized as a major influencer of the modern poetry movement and her writing has inspired a whole new generation of poets to pick up a pen.

Love Looks Pretty on You is truly the must-have book for poetry lovers all over the world.

Here’s the story of my life. Hoping they would care about me or wishing they wouldn’t care so much.

I’ve never heard of Lang Leav before, but when I saw the cover of this book I was immediately sucked in. I picked it up on a whim and am so happy I did. While the writing perhaps isn’t as atmospheric or lyrical as a lot of other poets, it is very raw and compelling.

The poems and prose in this collection are empowering and honest while they cover a number of subjects such as love, loss, growth as we move through life and the relationships we build with others – especially females.

Leav’s poetry and prose were so easy to read and have a great flow. I will definitely be picking up more of her books in the future!

Happy reading!

Review: Nancy Drew – The Palace of Wisdom

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Nancy Drew is seventeen and good at everything…ESPECIALLY solving crimes. But her totally-in-control-and-obviously-running-perfectly-smooth-(but-not-really) life hits a snag when a mysterious message drags her back to the hometown she left behind. There she’ll have to find out which of her friends are still her friends, which are enemies, and who exactly is trying to kill her…and (hopefully) stop them before they succeed.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Nancy Drew, so when I saw a graphic novel version I had to check it out. This is definitely a new take on Nancy and while her attitude towards needing to solve mysteries came through, some of the other aspects of her personality were off for me.

I completely understand and appreciate the need to modernize and add diversity to make it current, but with characters as classic as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys it’s hard to do without too drastically changing things. This one, while enjoyable and a fun mystery/adventure, just fell a little flat for me in regards to the true legacy that is Nancy Drew. For people who’ve never been exposed to the originals or the case files, this would likely be a great introduction, but for me not so much.

Happy reading!

Review: We Were All Someone Else Yesterday

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A hybrid text that deals most urgently in the articulation of growth and grief. After the loss of his mother, Omar Holmon re-learns how to live by immersing himself in popular culture, becoming well-versed in using the many modes of pop culture to spell out his emotions. This book is made up of both poems and essays, drenched in both sadness and unmistakable humor. Teeming with references that are touchable, no matter what you do or don’t know, this book feels warm and inviting.

This poetry collection hit me super hard. As someone who lost a parent to cancer some of the poems were truly heartbreaking. Each one was a vignette into another facet of experiences the author had, whether it be the loss of his mother, things that happened in his family, relationships or other important events.

The writing was beautiful, even when there were changing tones and themes. It’s very much a collection about human experience, grief and more. I would definitely recommend it, but take note that there is definitely a trigger warning for death of a parent.

Happy reading!

Review: Rescuing the Ranger

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Gabe Preston’s been sent on a mission: clean out his beloved grandmother’s house in Havenport and help move her into senior living—or so he thinks. Havenport had always been a special place to visit while growing up, but during this ride into town he finds more than he bargained for. Surviving multiple deployments as an Army Ranger hadn’t ever proved this type of challenging. All Gabe desires is to ride his motorcycle, enjoy his time out of the Army, and figure out his next stop in life. The best laid plans don’t necessarily work out when you’ve got a meddling, matchmaking grandmother.

Francesca Montefiore loves Havenport, and her recently acquired florist shop. She’s finally made a fresh start in her life, one stem at a time. When she’s “adopted” by the local Garden Club members she treasures the ladies as family, something she’d been sorely lacking. When her past comes back to threaten her contentment, she’ll need the help of one hunky, visiting Army Ranger, the Garden Club President’s grandson to come to her rescue. But will she be the one doing the rescuing instead?

This was such a fun story. We’re introduced to Francesca and Gabe through their letters when he’s in the service, then pick up again when he goes to Havenport to see his grandmother. The story progresses very quickly and there’s definitely action mixed in.

I do feel like it would have been even better if it had been a little longer since there were some things that felt like they were glossed over or just got resolved really quickly. Still the story and characters were really fun and fast paced, so I really enjoyed it.

Happy reading!

Review: RWBY: The Official Manga Vol. 1

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Experience the introductory arc of the international smash hit series RWBY in a whole new way—manga!

In the world of Remnant, monsters known as Grimm wreak havoc. They’re kept in check by Huntsmen and Huntresses, highly skilled warriors experienced in monster extermination who utilize their special abilities on the field of battle. Ruby is a ferociously talented young girl who comes to Beacon Academy to hone her skills and serve as a Huntress herself. Alongside her sister Yang Xiao Long, rival Weiss Schnee and newfound friend Blake Belladonna, Ruby leads Team RWBY, the coolest new group at Beacon!

Ruby takes her first step on the road to becoming a Huntress by enrolling at Beacon Academy, eager to take on the battery of tests, challenges and difficulties that follow. Ruby knows her talents will take her to her goal, but is she ready to clash with Weiss Schnee, haughty scion of the Schnee Dust Company?

I was super excited to see a new manga version of RWBY coming out, especially since it’s starting out where the show started. Fans of the show RWBY will recognize this story arc as it starts off at the same point, with a robbery being committed and foiled by Ruby.

This is a great introduction to the main set of characters as well as the setting and world. That being said, a lot of the action sequences were a little hard to follow in the manga format. It’s understandable as action can be hard to portray, but if I hadn’t watched this part of the show already I may not have been able to follow the action sequences and what was happening.

Still, if you’re a lover of the series, this will definitely be something to add to your collection.

Happy reading!

Review: The Daughters of Ys

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An Atlantis-like city from Celtic legend is the setting of this mythical graphic novel fantasy from National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson and artist Jo Rioux.

Ys, city of wealth and wonder, has a history of dark secrets. Queen Malgven used magic to raise the great walls that keep Ys safe from the tumultuous sea. But after the queen’s inexplicable death, her daughters drift apart. Rozenn, the heir to the throne, spends her time on the moors communing with wild animals, while Dahut, the youngest, enjoys the splendors of royal life and is eager to take part in palace intrigue.

When Rozenn and Dahut’s bond is irrevocably changed, the fate of Ys is sealed, exposing the monsters that lurk in plain view. M. T. Anderson and Jo Rioux reimagine this classic Breton folktale of love, loss, and rebirth, revealing the secrets that lie beneath the surface.

I had never heard of or read the folktale this graphic novel was based on, but I was instantly intrigued when I read the description of the story. It’s a tale of how people can change depending on what they consider important. It also examines themes such as power, good and evil and family connections.

The art style was simple and more rustic, but it fit the theme and setting of the story perfectly. It definitely gave it the feel of the time period and the seaside setting. You could definitely see the influence of the original folktale and the time period that it came from.

All in all this is an enchanting tale that provides more than one good morality lesson woven into it.

Happy reading!

Review: Blue Flag Vol. 1

DeAnneLeave a comment

An unexpected love quadrangle with a dash of unrequited love as two classmates, a boy and a girl, begin to fall for each other when each of their best friends have already fallen for them.

It’s the last year of high school, and love is in the air. Romantic feelings that have been building up over years of friendship come to light. When Taichi’s classmate Futaba asks him to help her confess to his best friend, Toma, it sparks the catalyst that begins the sweet and heart-wrenching journey of their third and final year of high school.

For some reason, Taichi Ichinose just can’t tolerate Futaba Kuze. But at the start of his third year in high school, he finds himself in the same homeroom as her, along with his childhood friend and school sports star Toma Mita. But one day Futaba opens up to Taichi, admitting she has a crush on Toma and asking for his help in confessing to him! There’s just one problem—Toma seems to already have a secret crush on someone else…

I really felt that this one was a great first volume to a series. It sets up the characters well as well as establishing their existing relationships, or lack thereof. It immediately starts discussing typical status’ that happen in high school, how people end up in different cliques and how those cliques may be treated by others. While this isn’t a focus of the story, it’s important that it’s set up in the beginning to differentiate the roles.

Taichi is portrayed in a very raw way, perfectly displaying his conflicting emotions as we progress through the story. You really get to see his internal struggle as well as his growing emotions for those he’s spending time with and helping.

When you reach the end of this first volume, there’s definitely quite a lot hanging in the air that you have to wonder how all these things will resolve. It will be interesting to see where this series goes.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour: Before He Vanished

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Today’s post is another blog tour for a book in Harlequin’s Intrigue line. I’ve really been enjoying this line and the mystery/suspense storylines they feature. Thank you again to Harlequin for inviting me to participate in their blog tours!

Twenty-five years ago, Halle Lane’s best friend vanished from their Tennessee town. When a childhood photo brings Liam Hart to Winchester, Halle is certain the man is the same child who vanished. Now Liam seeks out Halle to help him investigate the circumstances of his mysterious past. Can Liam and Halle uncover the truth before a killer buries all traces of the boy Halle loved—and the man he may have become—forever?

This was only my second title from Debra Webb and I’m swiftly discovering that I really enjoy her writing in general. I was sucked in from the beginning of the story and there weren’t any points where I felt the story dragged.

The characters were very compelling and it really felt like their emotions and feelings were really well fleshed out. Plus the suspense and mystery was definitely not an afterthought and was full of so many surprises and twists. The romance didn’t overshadow it and was balanced really well.

I really applaud Debra Webb on creating mysteries that are full of heart and keep you on your toes. I will be picking up more of her books in the future!

DEBRA WEBB is the award winning, USA Today bestselling author of more than 150 novels, including reader favorites the Faces of Evil, the Colby Agency, and the Shades of Death series. With more than four million books sold in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood on a farm in Alabama. Visit Debra at http://www.DebraWebb.com or write to her at PO Box 176, Madison, AL 35758.

Harlequin Series celebrates 70 years of feel-good entertainment! Founded in May 1949 and a pioneer of the category Series romance model, Harlequin is a globally recognized brand with offices all over the world.

Unique to Harlequin are the category romance novels, which are short romance novels, usually no more than 200 pages, and about 55,000 words. That means you can finish a book in 2-4 hours, making them perfect binge-reading! Plus, they’re great for the budget-conscious reader, with print prices starting at $4.99 and ebook prices starting at $1.99.

Before He Vanished is out now, so be sure to pick up a copy if it interests you – happy reading!

Review: Odriel’s Heirs

DeAnneLeave a comment

The brave, burning with fire, harnessed the Dragon’s Rage….

As the Dragon Heir, seventeen-year-old Kaia inherited the power of flame to protect her homeland from a godlike necromancer’s undead army. But after centuries of peace, the necromancer has faded to myth, and the Dragon Heir is feared by the people. Persecuted and cast out, Kaia struggles to embrace and control her seemingly useless gift while confined to her family’s farm.

But when the necromancer’s undead terrorize the land once again, Kaia runs away to join the battle.

With the help of her childhood rival, the handsome Shadow Heir, and a snarky, cursed cat, Kaia must figure out how to control both her fire and her confidence in time to save Okarria. If she fails, she will sacrifice her family, her new friends, and the enchanting world she has only just begun to see.

And time is running out. 

This story is non stop, there was never a slow point or a point where it felt like it lagged. I really enjoyed the fact that it was so fast but also full of detail. Some of the author’s descriptions were rich and perfectly painted an image. There were certainly some elements of the story which were similar to other fantasies, but you are going to see that in a lot of stories, especially if they are following a hero’s journey.

I loved the little glimmers of personalities and felt that Kaia was a complex character. She definitely had the most depth out of everyone, but I could see other characters growing and becoming more fully fledged in further books.

I do hope that there is a little bit more world building in the next book as I feel like I don’t completely understand the world and it may be a little confusing for some at first. Still, it was a fun read and great start to a series.

Happy reading!