The annual BOOM! Box Mix Tape is an eclectic collection of stories featuring beloved characters from established BOOM! Box series as well as original stories showcasing up-and-coming creators and brand-new content. With original stories featuring Lumberjanes, Giant Days, Cyanide & Happiness, Goldie Vance, The Backstagers, and many more! Collects the BOOM! Box Mix Tape 2014, 2015, and 2016.
This collection was super fun and served as a great sampling of all of the different artists/authors included. Each story, even if it was from a specific series was easy to jump into and a great introduction to each author. While I didn’t love all of the stories, I really enjoyed all the different art styles and differing genres. There were more than a few that I immediately wanted more of, or wished they had continued, which is the best feeling to have when reading a collections such as this.
There were definitely some stand outs that make the collection worth reading overall and if you want a taste test of some of the featured series, this is a great way to find out if you enjoy the characters and art style.
Cardinal rule #1 for surviving school: Don’t get noticed by the mean kids.Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them.On her first day at her new school, Penelope–Peppi–Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she’s already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the “nerder girlfriend.” How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away!Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can’t help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he’s a member of her own club’s archrivals–the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!
I absolutely loved this little graphic novel. I would say it pretty perfectly captures some of the feelings people have at middle school age, feeling such as isolation, having a hard time making friends and fitting in and just how competitive cliques/groups can be.
So many of the characters were able to be identified with and there were some real issues that were discussed, as well as some humorous subjects that kept what could be heavier topics, refreshingly light.
I really loved the artwork as well, as it gave the story vibrancy and made sure that every setting was more than just a background.
Awkward is currently available on Kindle Unlimited so be sure to check it out. Happy reading!
When a new student from Japan shows up at Bibi Blocksberg’s school, she fits in immediately. But Bibi’s suspicious; she knows Miyu’s hiding something, and she’s determined to find out what! Bibi’s journey takes her all the way to Japan, and while learning about all the new rules and magic in this foreign land, she realizes that maybe she and Miyu can be friends after all!
I loved the sound of this manga and it instantly gave me Kiki’s Delivery Service vibes so I wanted to pick it up. The art style is vibrant and fun while still having that classic manga style. I did feel that the story moved along really quickly as it was really more vignettes of Bibi and Miyu’s adventures together.
I would definitely be interested in seeing where this series go and what other situations they get themselves into.
Smothered by her backwater hometown and frustrated by its 1980s cult-movie fame (The Gloomies…have you seen it? It’s a real classic, y’know.), Wilder is pretty sure she’s seen everything Cannon Cove has to offer. She’s desperate to get away from home as soon as she can, and move on to bigger, better, and less annoying things…even if that might mean leaving her best friends behind. But when Wilder discovers a centuries-old pirate map, she may find out that REAL adventure was in their tiny town all along…and they need each other to get to the bottom of it! It’s a rip-roaring adventure written by award-winning screenwriter Kiwi Smith (10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde) and Kurt Lustgarten, and illustrated by Naomi Franquiz.
I picked this one up since it was an obvious reference to The Goonies and that is something I love, so I wanted to check it out. There are tons of references and similarities as it follows teens in the town where The Gloomies was set. Some of them at least are unsatisfied with where they are in their lives and looking for something to catch their interests, so in a twist they find a map that could take them on an adventure similar to that found in the movie.
There are a wide range of characters, including villians that give the story a Scooby Doo type vibe, but all in all it fell just a little short for me. It felt a little too much like a mirror of the movie it took inspiration from. I would still continue on with the series because I did enjoy it, but it didn’t blow me away.
From Nancy Drew to Veronica Mars, we really dig girl detectives! Eisner award-winning writer Hope Larson (Batgirl) and Brittney Williams (Patsy Walker, A.K.A Hellcat!) present the newest gal sleuth on the block with Goldie Vance, an exciting, whodunnit? adventure that mixes the fun of Eloise with the charm of Lumberjanes. 16-year-old Marigold “Goldie” Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place, and dreams to one day become the hotel’s in-house detective. When Walter, the current detective, encounters a case he can’t crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help solving the mystery utilizing her smarts, random skills, and connections with the hotel staff and various folks in town.
I knew very little going in to Goldie Vance, but I had heard it compared to Nancy Drew so obviously wanted to check it out. It was adorable and fun, as well as fast paced. The characters were very easy to get to know as they were introduced and given individual identities pretty quickly. There were times that Goldie’s actions were very extreme, so that made some of it even less believable, but the whole story was a fun caper that you had to suspend disbelief for in some ways.
If you’re looking for a humorous whodunit with characters that practically jump off the pages with personality, this is definitely a great one.
Goldie Vance volume one is currently available in kindle unlimited, so if it interests you be sure to give it a try. Happy reading!
Frasier Anderson is one of the hottest teenage actors in the UK, but he’s virtually unknown in the US. Now he’s landed the leading role in a big-budget Hollywood film that could make him an international star.
So how do you prepare a Scot for a role as a Texas high school student? Give him a fake name, a fake accent, and embed him in a Texas high school. He only has to follow three rules:
No drama. No girls. And no telling who he really is.
Jenna Wiley is smart, funny, and has a few no-drama, no-dating rules of her own. Her friendship with new kid Ethan Smith is perfect and might even lead to something more. Except for a few things that don’t add up. Like his mom being afraid to have company. Or their house, which is more staged than lived in. Or his sister, whom nobody talks about.
It all comes to a boil when Frasier’s biggest secrets hit the tabloids and the paparazzi swarm Hillside with Jenna in their sights.
Can Frasier convince Jenna that shy, goofy Ethan Smith is closer to real than the image the tabloids have created?
And can she ever forgive him for breaking the most important rule of all? Because for Jenna, when it comes to love and science, the truth is all that matters.
If you’re looking for something lighthearted yet with an appropriate dose of angst, this will fit the bill. Though this is the 4th book in the Hickville High series it can be read as a standalone. It features Frasier and Jenna, the former being an actor from Scotland who is having to take a crash course in American high school so that he can better prepare for his new role.
I really enjoyed the humor in this story, it had it’s quirks while still being serious at times. It is written a little younger but is a fun story and a heartwarming romance.
Mary Karlik has always been a dreamer. When she was a teen, she read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and then sat in every wardrobe in her Nanna’s home, trying to open the door to Narnia. She didn’t find it, but she did discover her voice as an author: one filled with her young adult self, and grounded in her roots as a Texan and her Scottish heritage, nourished by obscure Scottish folklore.
You can find her Texas roots in her indie published, YA contemporary romance Hickville series , which has been described as “100% solid storytelling,” and begins with Welcome to Hickville High, a “lovely story about growing up.”
She digs deep into her Scottish roots – there is magic there, she just knows it – for her YA epic fantasy Fairy Trafficking series published by Ink Monster Publishing LLC. Her first book, Magic Harvest, debuted in September of 2018. It reached #1 in 3 categories of YA Fantasy on Amazon. Magic Heist, the second in the series has been described as “a fun twisty read which will never let you guess what will happen next.”
Mary recently moved from the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains of Northern New Mexico where she was a certified professional ski instructor to Texas. She loves visiting Scotland where she is currently earning a degree in Gaelic Language Studies at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye—part of the University of Highlands and Islands system. Mary also earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and is a Registered Nurse.
Mary is an active member of Romance Writers of America and serves on a national committee of RWA. She formerly served on the board of the Young Adult Romance Writers of America. She is an active member of the Dallas Area Romance Authors and looks forward to raising a glass or two of gin and tonic with her fellow writers every year at RWA’s national convention.
GIVEAWAY! Enter to win the Anderson tartan (her Scottish character is Anderson), a $25 Amazon gift card + 2x ebook copies of Hickville Crossroads Click Here to Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!
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When a little white lie becomes the story of your life, what if the truth comes out?
For three woman, it’s a life-changing trip: one finds the man of her dreams, another discovers inspiration amidst Italian food and culture, while a chance encounter with a handsome local ushers in the ultimate life change for the third. But most importantly, it’s the beginning of a deep and lasting friendship between all three.
Now years later, Kim Weston – entrepreneur and owner of internationally successful Italian food and lifestyle business, The Sweet Life – has bought and restored the tumble-down villa to its former glory — and plans to reopen Villa Dolce Vita as a wellness/cultural retreat – a fitting honor to the root of her business inspiration.
To celebrate the villa’s grand opening, she and her Italian business partners are throwing a huge three-day party; flying a group of family, business and media contacts to the Amalfi Coast to join in the celebrations. And most importantly, the (still) close friends who started the journey with her: Annie and husband Nate, whose love story began at the villa, and single mum Eva, whose son was the result of an ill-advised Italian fling.
But in the run up to the planned weekend in Italy, it becomes clear that not everyone is happy about the party, nor are they on board with such ambitious plans for the location. And, as Villa Dolce Vita’s grand relaunch draws closer, old memories and past secrets come to light, and the three old friends are forced to question if anything that happened on that first fateful trip to the villa is at all what it seemed.
I really enjoyed this story as it slowly unwound to reveal the different timelines for the three women featured. There were some moments that were perhaps predictable and the beginning did take a little getting time to really get invested, but as it continues on you get sucked into the three women and their respective stories. The descriptions of the Amalfi coast are vibrant and wonderful, really painting a picture of what the setting is.
I did really enjoy as things got more and more intense, what with the teasing of secrets and the feeling that something was coming. It was that fact that kept the story going and really picked up the pace of the book.
MELISSA HILL lives in south Dublin with her husband and daughter. A USA TODAY and international #1 bestseller, she is the author of 13 novels, including The Gift of a Charm and A Gift From Tiffany’s. The Gift of a Charm was a USA TODAY bestseller. Hailed “the queen of the big plot twist,” she combines all the warmth and humor of contemporary women’s fiction with plots that keep readers guessing from page to page. Melissa also cowrites forensic thrillers with her husband, Kevin, under the pseudonym Casey Hill, featuring crime scene investigator Reilly Steel. For more information, visit www.caseyhillbooks.com.
Hilarious and relatable comics about one young woman’s life, relationships, and day-to-day humorous musings on why it’s good to leave the house sometimes—and when it’s better to stay home.
Cassandra Calin’s ability to document the hilarity of relatable everyday events in a series of webcomics has generated a huge following on social media. This beautifully illustrated compendium of first-person comics about the trials of the single life, school, stress, junk food, shaving, and maintaining a healthy self-image. Cassandra Calin’s comics frequently highlight the humorous gap between expectations and reality, especially when it comes to appearance and how much she can accomplish in one day. This book is funny, lighthearted, introspective, and artistically stunning—the perfect gift for young women, recent graduates, and anyone who might need a little comedic incentive to leave the house today.
I’ve been really enjoying the comic collections of web comics that have been coming out as of late, so as soon as I saw this one I wanted to pick it up. There are so many of these comics that were relatable and real. It was so nice to see these comics which could take such awkward everyday moments and find humor in them. I also really liked Calin’s art style, it’s clear that she has a range when it comes to her art and utilizes in order to create her comics. All in all it was hilarious and so easy to connect to that I flew through it.
I Left the House Today comes out June 2nd, from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Be sure to pick up a copy if it sounds interesting to you.
I’ve been seeing a number of graphic novels when I’ve been perusing Kindle Unlimited, so I’ve decided to check some of them out. This one is one of the one’s I’ve picked up lately and enjoyed.
Brianna Jakobsson has big cooking dreams, and when her ailing restaurateur father poses a challenge to his only daughter and fifteen sons, she seizes the opportunity. She’s going to have the best restaurant around and earn the family empire. Thing is, the only place she can afford to set up shop is in Monster City. Her menu is full of weird delicacies, her kitchen is run by a half-bird harpy, and her dining room is filled with skeleton businessmen. Add on the nefarious Madame Cron, some highly competitive siblings and Brianna’s plate is literally . . . full. Brave Chef Brianna from writer Sam Sykes (Munchkin) and artist Selina Espiritu explores one woman’s incredible journey to realize her dreams in the unlikeliest of places. Welcome to Monster City!
I’ve never heard about this one before, but when I read the synopsis I immediately wanted to pick it up. Brianna wants to make a name for herself, initially to win a competition her father has set up between she and her 15 brothers, and finds herself in Monster City. She’s alone in an unfamiliar environment and has a steep learning curve. With the help of her new friends she has to try and navigate running her own restaurant.
Trigger warnings for self doubt and low self esteem should definitely be included, but it’s great to see Brianna work through those negative feelings. I also really appreciate the way her negative thoughts and self doubt were visualized through the art, representing the way those feelings can take over. It’s definitely a good story with some quirky twists and was really fun to read.
Set deep underground in a sunken city, a young wizard and his two companions embark on a journey to escape the clutches of an evil cult.
Dig is having a very bad day. His bag is broken, he can’t catch a break at the local market, and just when things are looking up, he’s kidnapped by a couple of Blood Cultists and taken to the underground city that serves as their base, where he’ll make a tasty human sacrifice for an unspeakably horrible monster. Thrown into a dungeon, he’s left to feel sorry for himself. But his new cellmates, Iana and Crina, are ecstatic about Dig’s appearance. He’s a wizard, which means he knows magic, which means he can help get them all out of this terrible sunken city for good! If Iana can get her hands on a sword, and Crina can remember the way to the giant tower that leads to the surface, then everything will go smoothly. That is, until the Blood Cultists catch up with them, and Dig’s magical abilities are put to the ultimate test. Because Dig’s been keeping a secret. And if it’s found out… he may never see the surface again.
I think the best word for this graphic novel is fun, because it is exactly that. We follow Digby (or Dig), whose past we don’t know much about, as he tries to survive and unfortunately gets captured to be part of a sacrifice. What follows is a hilarious adventure while he and his new found friends do their best to escape. This is a misadventure with a number of twists and turns and an astounding sense of humor. I did enjoy the art style which was very quirky and perfectly fit the story.
I think this is meant as a standalone, but I wouldn’t say no to further volumes that delved more into who the characters are as I feel that’s the only area where it was a little lacking. You don’t really know much about who the main characters are, even Dig. It would be nice to explore that more and I could definitely see them having more misadventures together.
Giveaway time! Oni Press has been nice enough to offer to send a free copy of The Sunken Tower to one of you!
Some general housekeeping – you must be at least 18 years old to win and this giveaway is U.S. only. After the winner has been chosen I will be providing their mailing address to Oni Press and they will be sending out the prize.
To enter click here (or on the gif below) to go to the Rafflecopter giveaway, there are a number of ways to get entries!
The Wandering Wordsmith 