Today‘s reading is a YA best seller from Japan. Although once again I appear to be the odd one out, these books were adapted for an anime that is really popular. 🤷‍♀️ Who knew? I don‘t remember how I found this book, and its sequel, but it wasn‘t through Crunchyroll. Anyway, all the reviews are good so I‘m hoping for a fun read.

Apparently, I‘m one of the few readers who picked this up not thinking that I was getting a Six of Crows story. Honestly, while reading this one I kept thinking about Discovery of Witches (generally a better book), it definitely has that vibe. The world building is solid, there are some interesting characters, relationships could have been a little more fleshed out, the reasons for things a little more clear. Still, an entertaining read.

I‘m going to Mordor with Frodo and Sam!!!

Yes, this book is super pretty but I‘m happy to report that so far, 10 chapters in, it‘s also very entertaining.

This book is what would happen if Gladiator and The Count of Monte Christo had a baby and then let Red Rising babysit it. Or something like that. Mech suits with a hidden secret, gladiatorial combat, a space station population desperately waiting for the planet below to be terraformed, haves (and boy do they have) & have nots, murder, revenge, & political intrigue. Yep, everything. Oh, & a touch of romance too. Entertaining tension filled read.

#Two4Tuesday

1. For me the answer can only be Neil Gaiman. Comics, picture books, middle grade, YA, poetry, adult—he‘s a fabulous storyteller

2. The tagged book is probably my favorite favorite & the one I own the most editions of. Plus, it has two of my favorite characters ever—Mr. Croup & Mr. Vandemar. I‘m also inordinately fond of Fortunately, the Milk, The Graveyard Book, & Stardust…ok Coraline too. Alright, all the books!

@TheSpineView

Lots of new books out today including the tagged one which is the [undoubtedly epic] conclusion to one of my all-time favorite fantasy series. There‘s a book about a nine-tailed fox and trickster god, The God and the Gumiho, a YA book set on the Blackfeet reservation, Looking for Smoke, and last but not least, a contemporary fantasy, The Wren in the Holly Library, set in NYC. This is one of those days I‘m super excited to be a reader, 📚📚📚

This is a very pretty book—the pictures don‘t do it justice.

It also starts very fast. It‘s entertaining so far.

Weekend book haul…

Worth the wait…vol. 2 continues the story of Karen Reyes who feels out of place and different from her family as well as the other residents of the Chicago neighborhood she lives in. Set against the backdrop of the political turmoil of the 60s, this is a story about history, family, survival, identity, secrets, the hunt for truth, & so much more. The art is fantastic & these books are rightfully compared to Spiegelman and Ware. Excellent.

Another deep dive into my TBR stacks resulted in me pulling out this ARC of a middle grade novel in verse about a young girl whose family leaves Detroit for the suburbs just as she‘s entering a poetry contest only for residents of Detroit. It‘s a more or less satisfying story about losing and making friends, secrets, poetry, prejudice, & community.

This first book in a fantasy trilogy featuring mages, gods, mercenaries, regicide, blackmail, betrayal, and epic battles more than lives up to its title. French Revolution with wizards indeed. It‘s a fast-paced story told from multiple POVs (easy to distinguish) which starts fast & only occasionally gets bogged down in lengthy descriptions. Interesting magic system, great characters, entertaining story. I enjoyed this one more than I expected to.

Decided I needed to work on my TBR pile so I randomly grabbed a book and came up with this one. One blurb described it as the French Revolution with wizards and it is very much that. It is also surprisingly fun—10 chapters or so in and I‘m really enjoying it.

Hit the comic store today for #NCBD and picked up the tagged book. Super excited to continue the story and spend more time with Ferris‘ exquisite art. This is a great graphic novel, one that transcends the medium, that tells a really complex, compelling story.

If cozy fantasies are your thing, you‘ll likely enjoy this story about a dark wizard waking up with no eyebrows and no memories of his dark deeds—or the nefarious plot he is caught up in with a trio of other dark wizards—as much as I did. Goblins, a princess who is more than she seems, a talking rooster, a garlic festival, and the realization that maybe losing the memories of what made you so dark and evil is for the best make this a winning book.

Could I go to the bookstore, see this cover and resist buying the book? 😂😂😂 No, no I could not. In fairness, I DID read the description on the back and was intrigued after learning the story begins with the main character waking up “…in a half-destroyed evil wizard‘s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories…”

This middle grade graphic novel series continues to delight with a compelling story, engaging characters, & stunning artwork. What makes the art so compelling—& in turn the story that much more exciting for young readers—is that so much of the setting is at night or in places where there‘s no light. Probert is excellent at drawing darkness—always pierced by a little light somewhere—& shadows. Atmospheric, optimistic/hopeful & there‘s more to come!

This book is garnering rave reviews & I expect it will be nominated for many awards but I just didn‘t love it. That has something to do in large part with the source material for the retelling, never loved Huckleberry Finn & the author‘s use of a device which I didn‘t like & which left me feeling disconnected from the story. The writing is generally good, however, & many readers will surely like it. I suspect my opinion is an unpopular one.

Excited about today‘s bookmail. Now for the hard part, deciding which to read first…

This book has a deceptively slow start but what French is actually doing is moving the pieces around on the chessboard, making sure the connections, the secrets, the king/queen are revealed subtly but incontrovertibly all the while slowly ratcheting up the tension until the inevitably hinted at crime occurs…but perhaps not the EXACT crime you expect. From there it is a race to the finish which leaves you ready & hoping for another book. Excellent.

Going with Tana French today…

Just as fun the second time as it was the first. Gods (old and new, wicked and maybe not SO wicked), knights, mercenaries, pilgrims, and secrets collide and unravel in this fast-paced, entertaining fantasy. And, now that I‘ve refreshed my memory, I can read the sequel!

Death Note, a notebook belonging to a Shinigami death god in hand, Light continues pursuing his goal. At first, Light punishes criminals who have gotten away with it/only received light sentences but as his activities draw attention, he casts a wider net. This is a cat & mouse thriller which has you rooting for the good guys AND the bad ones but it‘s also an interesting examination of the means justify the ends. Can good come from something bad?

Going to continue the series—readers tend to like this one even more than the first in the series (Jade City) so I‘m expecting a good read.

Some books are literary masterpieces, some are summer blockbuster movies rendered in written word—this book is the latter type. Five people with no reason to trust each other (and every reason not to) come together to do the impossible—kill the king. The book is told from multiple POVs & moves along, in mostly expected & some unexpected, ways racing to the end of the first book in a series. Beautiful design, entertaining if predictable story.

And then the expected bookmail arrived a day early and I have to say, the design is gorgeous. If I remember correctly, Rebecca Roanhorse blurbed it (cool) and I‘m hoping for a great read.

I especially love the colors in the endpapers.

Going with another reread this rainy morning because I have the sequel waiting in the wings…and I‘m expecting some book mail tomorrow which will probably interrupt whatever I‘m currently reading. 😬 I really enjoyed this one the first time I read it and am excited to refresh my memory and continue the story.

#RainyDayReading

When I first read this (in 2017) I liked it but not enough that I bought the second and third books as soon as they came out—that only happened this weekend after I started rereading the tagged book. I liked this story of an island where the wearing of jade imbues some people with special powers (more or less) a bit more the second time around and I look forward to seeing where Lee takes the story—most reviewers say the third book is the best!

Skottie Young & Jorge Corona—the team that brought us Middlewest—have done it again. Ain‘t No Grave is a compelling, visually stunning (there are two full page spreads that are simply mesmerizing) comic about a [mostly] reformed bandit who decides, after receiving some bad news, to take matters into her own hands because there‘s no way death is going to take her from her family. The first of five issues, this is a great read.

Now to start filling the shelves…the plan is for them to hold the tv as well as books…and more books…and then a few more books with the occasional Lego set thrown in for some variety. We have a thunderstorm moving through right now which is all the excuse I need to get to work!

Oops, forgot to post my review! 😬 I really enjoyed this fantastical journey through 1920s Mexico that begins with a young woman freeing a mysterious god only to discover that in doing so, she‘s attached herself to him in a way that puts her life at risk. (Things aren‘t necessarily great for the god either.) Moreno-Garcia does a great job, as always, in establishing a sense of place & writing fun, interesting characters. A fun, entertaining book.

Yay book mail!!! I started rereading Jade City and decided it was time to finish the trilogy. Tagged book is also a sequel I‘m looking forward to reading and then what more needs to be said about Tana French other than…it‘s Tana French.

Tracked a used copy of this story collection I came across while reading another book from South Korea. The title itself is certainly interesting. Hopefully it‘ll be an entertaining read.

“Words are seeds…With words you embroider narratives, and the narratives breed myths, and there‘s power in the myth. Yes, the things you name have power.”

Diving deep into my TBR stacks for my first read of May…

The second InCryptid book was just as fun as the first. McGuire populates her urban fantasy with memorable, entertaining characters—take Istas who walks around asking “if there will be carnage,” for example—and sets them in a world where dragons, talking mice (who happen to really like cake), & other such creatures hide & thrive amongst humans…until the Covenant of St. George shows up to purge them. Humorous with a good dash of danger & mayhem.

#Two4Tuesday

1. Tagged book, a phenomenal short story collection, was my favorite book of April.

2. I‘m looking forward to reading Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland in May. (And not just because it‘s super pretty—Rebecca Roanhorse blurbed it which is all the recommendation I need!)

@TheSpineView

Set in 1970s New York, this book tells the story of a young woman who moves from Florida to NYC to work in the comics industry. It‘s not easy to break in as a woman however & then a betrayal by a friend, found murdered shortly after, leaves her reeling. This is a fun mystery, particularly for fans of comics, that dives deep into the world of comics, the pressures, the rivalries, the creative process. An entertaining read.

C2E2 this weekend and while I didn‘t make it, I did send my husband and daughter with a list of tasks to accomplish. Fortunately, they succeeded in the most important one—getting a sketch from Dustin Nguyen, one of my favorite comic artists. He drew Dream from The Sandman and honestly, I can‘t look away. Love it and now sorta feel like I might have to revisit the comic soon.

Unpacked another book I‘ve wanted to reread—loved it the first time I read it but somehow never got around to continuing the series…which I surely need to do! I‘ve only ever heard great things about each of the books in the series so I‘m anticipating a great read. Now, to start again…

While the Six of crows duology remains my favorite of Bardugo‘s books—more Kaz please & thank you—this one is probably my second favorite…I think. Bardugo is a fantastic world builder & this story, set in medieval Madrid, about a young woman, working as a servant, with a secret to hide & an unyielding desire to be MORE makes for a quiet but entertaining read that I enjoyed. If you‘re a fan of Bardugo, you‘ll likely like it.

#Two4Tuesday

1. City person—love stepping out of my front door into the middle of everything.

2. The tagged book is an entertaining read and one that has several scenes set in my neighborhood—including one in the self-storage building where we have a locker! Such a random and utterly fantastic “it‘s a small world” moment.

@TheSpineView

I haven‘t been around—haven‘t done much reading—the past couple of days as I work to unpack 100+ boxes of books. The process is…a messy one. Excited to start putting my library back together (after a months long renovation project) and even more excited that the tagged book was in one of the boxes I unpacked today. The Poppy War is at the top of my “I want to reread this one” list so finding it is a definite win!

Starting my weekend reading with this one…

After a fast start, & a very powerful author‘s note about the inspiration for the story, this YA fantasy, a tale of colonization, oppression, & rebellion never quite comes together even though it has many of the necessary ingredients—magic, technology, danger, romance. It‘s a book that evokes strong emotions—reading reviews on Goodreads is…something. This is the first in a series which I probably won‘t continue reading.

Started this one last night and so far, the story is as entertaining as the cover is gorgeous.

Excellent translation of this YA science fiction story first published in South Korea. In a world where those living outside Snowglobe exist in -50F degree weather, those inside live a life of a luxury…in front of the cameras as actors in tv shows. When one unexpectedly dies & Chobahm is offered the opportunity to step into her shoes, a web of secrets & the truth will be revealed. A little scattered but still entertaining enough.

Nothing better than the arrival of a new book right before storms hit. The cover is awesome and the endpapers are something else! 😍

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A powerhouse collection of short stories that announces itself right away with a story titled “How to Eat Your Own Heart” before then interrogating motherhood, family, mother-daughter relationships, love, diaspora, tradition, culture and more in a fascinating, compelling group of stories. Once I started reading, I could not put it down. A wonderful collection and perfect for anyone who enjoys reading short stories. Highly recommended.

Ancco made a name for herself in Korea when she started publishing diary comics in the early 2000s. The comics in this book, a collection of vignettes from/inspired by her life, meander through the highs and lows of adolescence, family, friendship, love, and the process of growing up. Render in start black and white art, the book offers a fascinating & intriguing look at contemporary life in Korea. An entertaining read.