My Thoughts
I read this for a summer reading challenge the Summer of 2024 to fulfil my “Banned Book” and “A book with a purple cover” categories. I knew this book existed since it features the characters the main character was writing fan fiction about in “Fan Girl” but I hadn’t read the mainline book itself. And I have to say I did enjoy it. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, but I think that was a good thing in this respect. It doesn’t follow the normal “magical school” tropes that you would normally see in something like this, and that’s fine too. I think I felt the ending needed a little more to it than what we were given. It didn’t just end with no resolution, but it also didn’t feel abrupt. I think I wanted to have more from the characters before the story ended. It felt like we were just getting started to really learn about both of them and then it was over. I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with the series, but I think this might be a one-and-done read for me.
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Carry On
Formats: paperback -
Stumptown Series Vol 1-4
I’m a huge Greg Rucka fan. The first time I read his work was with the “Queen & Country” graphic novel seires. I loved this series so much, I went out and bought the novels that continued the story. His writing is something that is so GOOD! He makes you fall in love with all of his characters, feel for them as they go through their stories, and make you feel like you’re right there with them through their triumphs and their hardships. I felt the same way with the main character of this series – Dex Parios – who is my grown up version of Nancy Drew.
I loved this series so much that I was upset when it ended because I wanted to read more! Each book is it’s own complete story and can be read out of order, but do flow together if you read then back-to-back. Dex isn’t perfect. She makes mistakes. She does he best. She sometimes fails and she sometimes wins. But you love seeing her go through each volume because you can’t put them down. Drawn in a crime noir style, this story has lot of action, tense scenes, and mystery. Some of the story resolutions may make you happy, and some may make you angry, but I know I have a feeling you won’t realize how much time has passed after you put this down. I highly recommend this to anyone that’s a fan of the Criminal series, Reckless series, or grew up reading Nancy Drew and would love to find a mature version to add to their collection.
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Nemesis Reloaded
Favorite Quote
“It was him or me boss…and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me.”My Thoughts
The first thing I thought when I saw this was “Wait…how?! Didn’t the villian die at the end of the first story?” Well…yes. Yes he did. But now he’s back. How? Well, that would spoil the story, wouldn’t it? But I will definitely tell you, this is a reboot that was very well made, action packed, violent, and had a great story to go with it all. I really enjoyed the first story and I loved this one too. If you enjoyed the previous book, I say definitely read this one! You won’t regret it! -
I Hate Fairyland Vol 5: Gert’s Inferno
Favorite Quote
“Virgil, you suck at this job! You know that right?!”My Thoughts
Ever have a point in your life when you run into a string of jobs, where none of them seem to work out and you’re really down on your luck? That’s where we find our hero Gert at the beginning of this story. And she ends up getting the offer she can’t really refuse – return to Fairyland to find a rich guy’s missing kid and get a bunch of money as payment. And so, against all reason, Gert returns to Fairyland. And as you would expect, chaos ensues.You would probably feel like this would be more of the same from Skottie Young, but it really isn’t! It’s an older Gert trying to get a job done, while working out her frustrations on the baddies of Fairyland. I really loved this book! I loved that we return to a place we’re familiar with, but it’s reacting to Gert knowing how insane she really is. The art and story go hand-in-hand and flow well together like no time has passed at all from the previous volume. I can’t wait to see what we have in store for Gert in her return to Fairyland.
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I Hate Fairyland Vol 4: Sadly Never After
This was so great! It felt like the perfect ending to a story that I’m sure many of us have hoped to have at some point in our lives. I know I’ve wondered what it would be like to be in Fairyland and to get away from life for a little bit of time. I’m not sure if I would end up going ballistic like Gert did…but she was stuck there for a REALLY long time, so I know her mental health probably took a nosedive after a while lol. But yeah, this was great! I loved the ending and it felt like the best way to end the story. Not sure if it would be called a “Happily Ever After” but it was a great ending.
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Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse
A story well worth backing the Kickstarter and waiting for it to arrive. This is just like playing the game except it’s in a comic book format. The art is amazing and the writing is great. And I’m really enjoying how the story is moving along. I can’t wait to read the next volume when it comes out so I can see how things go for our characters. All praise the Lamb!
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Shackles From The Deep
Formats: hardback -
Wicked
Formats: paperbackFavorite Quote
“Remember this: Nothing is written in the stars. Not these stars, nor any others. No one controls your destiny.”My Thoughts
I read this book as part of a Summer Reading Challenge in 2024. It’s one that I’ve attempted to read a few times before, but never could get through the first chapter. This time, I was determined to read the book all the way through…and I finally did.And it was just okay. I usually love Gregory Maguire’s books. “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister” is probably my favorite book by him, followed by “Mirror Mirror” – both being my introduction to his writing style. He definitely writes in a different way, not having the focus being on the character you would expect when you first begin reading, but eventually leading to the main character and the continuation of the story. Even know this to be his style, I had a hard time getting through the beginning. I had no idea why I needed to know all of this info at first, but it did eventually explain why Elphaba thought and behaved the way she did, as well as how she viewed the world.
Overall, it was an okay story. I can understand why it works so well as a Broadway musical and the fans of both the book and musical. For me, I just felt it was okay. I probably won’t continue reading the rest of the series, but I’m glad it has such a huge following and it’s loved by so many. It’s just not for me.
