THE STORY

This story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world which was about by dark magic — evil necromancers to be precise — as well as the all-powerful Kin.

These necromancers turn humans into nasty flesh-eating monsters called Kravens (a type of lower Howl), which the Necromancers control and who have pretty much decimated the planet. Cities are now empty and our once bustling society has all but disappeared.

Only a group called Hunters can help to fight back in the war, given they themselves have magic – Hunters are attuned to one or two of the elemental magic spheres (there are five total). Our hero Tenn, for example, is attuned to Water and Earth.

So the book starts out right away with an intense fight scene in which Tenn and his other hunter friends are attacked by an army of Howls. During the battle, Tenn’s water element completely takes over him (which is unheard of) and he ends up performing magic at a level of power that any normal hunter should not have.

Because of this, he has attracted the attention of a one of the Kin (a more evolved fire-based Howl) — a super-hot and seductive Incubus named Tomas who does not appear to have Tenn’s best interest in mind and whose charms are proving to be difficult for Tenn to resist. Tenn has also attracted the attention of Jarrett, a hunter from another contingent and with whom Tenn has a past. Jarrett and Tenn both went to magic school together and during that time, Tenn had developed quite a crush on Jarrett.

So with Tomas and Jarrett both are interested in Tenn for different reasons, he finds himself kind of like a pawn in a much larger game – a game that he doesn’t quite as of yet understand.

But it doesn’t take him long to learn that he is supposedly “the chosen one” meaning only he has the power necessary to take on the Necromancers and the Kin, and regain control of their world before it’s completely destroyed.

Now Tenn wants no part of this chosen one foolishness and just wants to live a normal life (which were often see in these chosen one scenarios). But both Tomas, as well as Jarrett’s group of Hunters, are intent on Tenn fulfilling his destiny as the chosen one. It’s also worth mentioning that Jarett also has a crush on Tenn so there is a romantic element thrown into the works as well.

WHAT I LIKED

The book takes place in a terrifying world only recently turned post-apocalyptic so the cultural references, setting, and language are easily relatable to readers who don’t normally read in the fantasy genre. Thus, this new world that the author creates in extremely relatable and meticulously well done. As a fantasy reader, I really loved that our main protagonist and chosen one happens to be gay, something we don’t see a lot of in the genre.

I really enjoyed the magic system in this story. Here we have a mixture of elemental magic, rune magic, necromancy along with some very frightening zombie-like creatures so we definitely get a taste of more darker types of magics in this book. The magic system as it was explained really intrigued me though I would have liked to have learned more about it (hopefully, more will be explained in the next book). Speaking of the zombie-like creatures, I found the description of Howls quite fascinating, especially once we learn how they’re created.

I like my books with a lot of action, and Runebinder didn’t disappoint. This intense story pulls the reader right in with an immediate action scene and from that point forward, there was never a dull moment as the author moved us from one harrowing situation to another.

Though he was flawed, I really ended up liking Tenn’s character. I found him brave, selfless and relatable, quite a compelling character all in all. The other characters in the book were no less compelling and I felt that they were all wonderfully developed and intriguing.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The only thing that kind of bothered me was the relationship between Jarrett and Tenn. It felt way too rushed and it was extremely insta-lovey. Though they did know each other in magic school, they’d never dated or even let the other one know they were interested. Now within a couple of days times, they’re overtaken by an all-consuming love and ready to die for each other. I just had a difficult time buying into that and would have liked to have seen more build-up on the relationship front.

FINAL VERDICT

Gripping, compelling and somewhat haunting, I really ended up loving this book, especially given that it’s a Queer YA fantasy set in the contemporary world, which is unusual for the fantasy genre. The story has incredible world-building and wonderful character development — and truth be told, I’m kind of a sucker for the Chosen One trope.

The author crafts some gorgeous tension-filled scenes here that suck you right in. Kahler has a gift for bringing his characters to life and I found them stunning and evocative.

In Runebinder, we have a deadly monsters, witches, elemental magic, evil necromancers, rune magic, a race of all-powerful beings, a sizzling-hot Incubus, and two sexy hunters who are in lust with each other — oh, and then there are the powerful hunter twins who are haunted by the ghosts of their past. What’s not to love?

Anyway, this is the first book in the series (which did not end on a cliffhanger, by the way) and I definitely will be continuing on with the series when the next book comes out as I really want to see where the author takes this storyline. I ended up giving this book 4.5 stars. 1/2

You can check out Runebinder here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

The Story

This book follows 17-year-old Conor Archer, a musician in a Celtic band downtown Chicago whose mother is in the final stages of cancer. On the evening of his mother’s death, a strange biker named Rory — with rather sharp teeth as it turns out — yanks him outside the pub, bites him on the hand and tells him that he’s going to go through some major changes. On his way home, he encounters a beautiful woman by a fountain who bandages his wounded hand but then right before his eyes, transforms into an old hag, who tells him that he only has a short time to live unless he acts quickly.

When he returns home that night, his mother, right before she dies, tells him that he has to return to Tinker’s Grove, Wisconsin, an old Irish immigrant town along the banks of the Wisconsin River where he is to stay with his Aunt Emily. It was a hometown that he had never heard about nor had his mother ever mentioned it.

He takes a bus to Tinker’s Grove, and by the time he arrives, he’s almost delirious because of the infection and the heartbreak of his mother’s passing. He tells the people standing around him that his name is Conor Archer and someone decides to take him by a Native America burial mound in order to be healed. The evening holds in store some very bizarre events and Conor’s new friends watch in awe as he is mysteriously healed.

It’s at this point the Conor realizes that Tinker’s Grove is a very mysterious place, with the odd web-fingered and web-toed children of the town called “Dark Ones” who seem to have animal-like powers, talk of a dangerous and ancient river demon named Piasa (the Devourer of Souls), and a strange being who, as myth holds it, came from the ancient Celtic lands centuries ago and who supposedly inhabits the Indian burial mound.

The days get even stranger from there as Conor begins to physically change — to transform — into something that’s not altogether human, and people seem to see Conor as a sort of savior who can save them from the imminent battle between good and evil, as an ancient evil is about to rise and destroy everything in its path.

As we learn as the story moves forward, it’s up to Conor Archer to bring the balance back, but he can only do so by embracing his true nature.

WHAT I LIKED

I love the folklore and mythology aspect of the story, in which the author incorporated figures from myth such as The Morrigan along with entirely new mythology creating a unique and fresh story. I love how this story weaved in aspects of Irish culture, Native American myths and even some of the old Celtic gods and goddesses.

The author also did a fantastic job of painting a vivid and lifelike picture of the mythical town of Tinker’s Grove, along with all of its strange inhabitants and the mystery surrounding it. This is a town where everyone has secrets, and Conor has to work hard to discover them. Yes, there is evil about to be unleashed, and I loved the way that the author slowly built it up in the realistic characters and the vivid description of place.

I also enjoyed how the story slowly unraveled to reveal more about the colorful characters and their motivations – those characters both human and not — and how every secondary character was essential to the story’s denouement. But not only were they essential, they were incredibly interesting as well.

It was fun how Conor discovers that his ancestry and life are not at all what he had always thought and in fact, he is part of a much larger destiny in which the future of Tinker’s Grove — the future of the world, in fact — depends on his decisions.

Speaking of Conor, he was completely relatable in all of his confusion, doubts, fumbling, struggles and insecurities so in this way, it was easy to empathize with all that he was going as he began changing into the being he was always meant to be and as a reader, I felt that I was living vicariously through him. I loved seeing Conor’s immense character growth as the novel progressed, as he moved to a frightened teen to the story’s hero who had to face an ultimate evil head-on.

It was especially fun that the author didn’t tell us right off the bat what it was that Conor was turning into, which really added to the story’s intrigue and kept me turning the pages. In fact, it wasn’t until the last part of the book that we learn what Conor was transforming into and why.

The villains — and yes, there are several — were delightfully wicked and one particular evil creature was something right out of our childhood nightmares. So often, the villains in novel ended up being clichéd and caricatures — not in this book. The villains were complicated, complex and had reasons for everything they did. Likewise, the heroes were equally complicated and multi-layered.

I found the many different types of meticulously thought-out creatures in this story to be mesmerizing. I loved their descriptions and especially liked learning about their abilities, their pasts, and their motivations.

I thought that the world building in this book was phenomenal and I felt the author did a fantastic job of blending — and then reshaping — elements of mythology, ancient culture, modern culture, science and realistic magic to create something genuinely original and believable.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

There really wasn’t too much that I didn’t like about the novel.

This novel is incredibly long, just shy of six hundred pages, which probably could have used some additional editing. Though I did appreciate the attention to detail, there were parts of the novel that could have been cut and that dragged in places. But that being said, because of the length of the novel, the author was really able to flesh out all the characters and engage in some remarkably complex world-building.

There were also a lot of characters and a time or two when the narrative was jumping back and forth, I did get a tad confused. I also did find the dialog to be overly formal and stilted in several places.

FINAL VERDICT

This was a captivating, classic story of good and evil that I absolutely loved. This epic story had it all: heroes, demons, gods, goddesses, druids, fantasy, mystery and plenty of action which kept my interest right until the final page turn. It was a beautiful, emotional and haunting story — at times dark but ultimately hopeful — that is at once powerful and inspirational.

It is also a creative, beautifully written story with rich, detailed prose and evocative descriptions bordering on the poetic that sucked me right into the story. This was an exciting, breathtaking story with numerous plot twists, turns and revelations and a perfect blend of Celtic legend, Native American lore, and modern-day Wisconsin.

This is a journey that I’m so glad I took, and I ended up giving this book five stars.

You can check out Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

My Brother’s Husband

So the story follows Yaichi, a single father raising his young daughter, Kana. So Yaichi and Kana’s lives suddenly change one day with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, lovable Canadian fellow named Mike Flanagan.

Mike tells Yaichi that he was married to Yaichi’s deceased twin brother Ryoji, whom I believe Yaichi hadn’t seen for around ten years. Mike, who is still relatively raw with grief, is kind of on a quest you could say, to explore Ryoji’s past.

So he planned this trip to Japan and getting to know Ryoji’s family was the first step.

What follows is Yaichi slowly coming to terms with his feelings about his brother and his brother’s homosexuality, and we see his struggle as he tries so hard to accept something he doesn’t really understand.

There was tension between Yaichi and Mike initially, a lot of it subtle, which I felt the artist did an excellent job portraying. It portrayed relationships as messy and complicated — not as cut and dry as we may sometimes think.

I got a good feeling for how difficult it was for Yaichi because he doesn’t quite know how to welcome Mike with an open heart.

This graphic novel is a wonderful representation of homophobia — even subtle homophobia — and the still very closeted Japanese gay culture. Heck, it’s usually the subtle homophobia and racism that we see rather than the shout in your face kind.

Yaichi also has a quite a spirited young daughter who truly shines a light in every scene that she’s in. She still trying to understand what homosexuality is and the sweet, innocent questions she asks as she attempts to understand are illuminating and heartwarming. She’s also quite taken with Mike and doesn’t hesitate for a moment to refer to him as family.

So while there are twinges of homophobia, this story’s more about acceptance and how difficult it might be to actually open your heart to someone or something different than us. It was so endearing how this loveable Canadian man ended up touching the lives of everyone around him.

In summary, My Brother’s Husband was absolutely delightful and a pleasure to read. I’m so glad that I read it. There is supposedly a part 2 coming out — which will be released in September of 2018 — that I’ll definitely be checking out.

You can check out My Brother’s Husband Volume 1 here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

Before you ask: no, the sluggers have never probed my anus. I’m fairly certain they reserve that special treat for people who talk on their phones during movies, or text while driving.

THE STORY

We Are The Ants follows Henry Denton, a teen who for years now has been periodically abducted by aliens, whom Henry refers to as sluggers, because they resemble slugs to him. There’s been no probing though — or at least that’s when Henry tells us (see quote above).

So after these abductions have been going on for quite some time, the aliens finally communicate to Henry that the world is going to be destroyed in 144 days. But not all hope is lost. All Henry has to do is push a big red button to stop it and Wham! Earth saved.

The kicker is that Henry isn’t sure he wants to.

You see, Henry’s not all that pleased with his life at the moment. A year ago, Henry’s boyfriend and first love Jesse committed suicide, for which Henry seems to be blaming himself. He is continuously tortured and bullied at school, with one of the bullies — a popular jock named Marcus — using Henry for sex (though he tries to assure Henry that he genuinely does care for him — but it’s up to the reader to decide whether to believe him or not).

Then there are the constant taunts at school with the students referring to him as Space Boy because Charlie, his jerk of a brother, told everyone at school about the abductions. But there’s more: Henry’s grandmother has Alzheimer’s, and Henry recognizes her less and less as each day passes — and his mother is an alcoholic.

So the more Henry thinks about it, the more the idea of wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him because right now, he’s not feeling like the world deserves to be saved. Though he doesn’t explicitly say it, I felt that perhaps Henry found the idea of finally escaping from his daily suffering alluring. But he hasn’t made his decision yet. He’s desperately trying to find a good reason for saving the earth and thus far, has been unsuccessful.

And then one day, a new boy named Diego Vega arrives at school. Henry and the boy connect, and an unusual relationship develops between the two of them.

Up to this point, Henry was almost certain he wasn’t going to press the button. But now, there’s someone he can confide in, someone to support him. So Henry begins to weigh his pain with his happiness as the days count down to when he has to make the ultimate decision.

So does Henry push the button?

WHAT I LIKED

I really liked Henry’s character — he was sarcastic, witty, and funny, and you couldn’t help but fall in love with him. He had a way of adding a light and humorous twist to otherwise serious situations such as his alien abductions. I also liked how relatable and believable Henry’s character was. I think many readers can relate to the bullying that Henry went through in high school as well as some of the difficulties Henry had to deal with in his troubled home life.

No doubt most of us have experienced a grim view of the world from time to time when we’re going through tough times, like our protagonist. I felt that the author did an excellent job of portraying Henry’s struggles and I liked how brutally honest Henry is with himself through the process. Perhaps many of us have even wondered at times whether the world is worth saving. While reading this story, I wanted so badly for Henry to find some beauty in the world, to discover the peace he longed for — and the reader can’t help but empathize with him.

I’ve read a few Shaun David Hutchinson books, and as is typical, things get a lot worse for the main character before they get better — which means that things do get better for Henry once Diego enters the picture. He’s a bright light in Henry’s dark world, and I couldn’t help but love this charming, lovable character. But Diego doesn’t end up saving Henry; it’s up to Henry to save himself. So though this story is heartbreaking in places, it heartwarming in others, and ends up being a hopeful story at the end of it all.

What I also liked about this book was that though Henry was gay, he was not struggling with his homosexuality. In fact, he was quite comfortable with who he is, which I found refreshing.

Now though it might sound as though this is a grim, somewhat dark book, it’s not. It’s actually quite funny in places, so in spite of the serious subject matter, it isn’t all doom and gloom. Along with the darkness, there is light. There is levity, and there is lightheartedness, which makes the story all the more unique and likable in my opinion. This is the kind of story that will make you laugh, make you cry, make you happy and make you angry, and only a truly talented author can pull this off with the adeptness that Mr. Hutchinson does.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

There’s not anything that I didn’t like about this story. The only thing I was a teeny-tiny bit disappointed with was the sci-fi aspect of it — or should I say the lack thereof. Going in, I thought there would be a more significant focus on the alien abductions, but they actually played only a minute role in the plot line. This wasn’t really a science fiction novel at all and once I realized that, I was fine with it. Just a warning to those who are going in expecting a science fiction story — it’s not.

FINAL VERDICT

We Are The Ants ended up being quite an emotional rollercoaster of a book, so it was a tough one to read in places, as it dealt with some serious and complex issues such as violence, bullying, self-harm, abuse, rape, dementia and more. It’s also quite evident that Henry is broken — he’s depressed, grieving for his boyfriend and keeping every traumatizing experience he’s going through bottled up inside. So in this way, a lot of heartbreaking things happen to our hero, and it becomes clear that Henry’s not just some angsty teen, but he’s going through some serious shit. As a reader, I could feel Henry’s desperation pour out of the pages and because of this, the story was quite cringe-worthy at times as it veered off into some painful places.

But in spite of the serious themes of this novel, it ends with hope, reminding us that things won’t always stay the way they are now and that we shouldn’t allow the bad things to overshadow the good. It also illustrated nicely how it’s up to us to pull ourselves up out of the darkness by making the conscious decision to let the past go and to move on.

This is a beautiful, unique and memorable book and is so worth the read, IMHO. I ended up loving it. It’s beautifully written, and it asks some super tough questions, giving the reader plenty to think about well after the last page of the story. Additionally, all the characters in this book are phenomenal: complex, multilayered with each one being relevant to the story. I can state pretty truthfully that I will without a doubt be rereading this book in the near future.

Once again, Shaun David Hutchinson hit a home run for me. This was a brilliantly written, refreshing and unputdownable novel and I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

You can check out We Are The Ants here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

This story follows a witty, young Native American man named Jonny Appleseed, member of the Peguis First Nation, who has left the reservation to live in the big city of Winnipeg. There, Jonny reinvents himself and runs his own business as a cybersex worker, in which he fetishizes himself via webcam to earn a living. As the story begins, Jonny has just received the news that his Stepfather Roger has passed away and he has only seven days to earn enough cash to return to the Rez for the funeral.

What follows is a brief, non-linear peak into Jonny’s life as he recalls memories of his strong, no-nonsense Kokum (his Grandmother), his mother, his homophobic stepfather, and his relationship with Tias. During the novel, we flash back and forth from Jonny’s life back on the Reservation to the present where he is working as a sex worker and maintaining his romantic yet complicated relationship with Tias, with whom he’s been friends/lovers with since childhood.

Through Jonny’s first-person narrative, we explore such issues as racism, anti-gay violence, friendship, love, loss, Native American identity, trauma, the challenges of being “Indigiqueer” (identifying as both Indigenous and queer), sexual awakening and most of all, survival.

In this way, the story is sometimes a bit harrowing and cringeworthy, while other times tender, funny and beautiful. This is a real, relevant, and eye-opening book — an intense yet beautiful story written for voices that need to be heard. Jonny Appleseed is a sincere, honest story about a person’s growth despite sometimes seemingly suffocating racism and homophobia.

I especially enjoyed the intimate passages where Jonny reflects upon his life with Tias — how they met, how they became lovers and friends, and the somewhat strange relationship they maintain in the present day. There was also plenty of laugh-out-loud humor in this story, especially revolving around Jonny and his Kokum.

Overall, I found Jonny Appleseed to be a refreshing, brilliant work that’s gorgeously expressive and poetic yet with a certain rawness to it that makes it real and relatable for the reader. I felt that the author does a superb job taking us back into the mind of our two-spirit protagonist. I also liked how the story came together in the end, with everything wrapping up nicely during the last few pages. Overall, an impactful, diverse and important book from a great author. Recommended!

Warning: Given that our protagonist earns a living as a sex worker, there are quite a few graphic descriptions of sexual situations and profanity — so more sensitive readers be warned.

You can check out Jonny Appleseed here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

THE STORY

Social Intercourse is a romantic comedy that follows Beckett Gains, an out and proud gay teen living in a conservative town in South Carolina with his father. When his father begins dating the recently single (and supposedly lesbian) mom of former bully, Jaxon Parker, Beck is not amused. His father is emotionally fragile after Beckett’s mother left them and Beckett doesn’t want to see his father get hurt again. Jaxon (Jax) isn’t happy about the situation either and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring his two moms back together again.

Putting aside their past differences (and there is one serious one), the two boys form an unlikely alliance and concoct a plan to break up their parents. During their scheming, however, the boys begin to grow closer and the situation becomes even more complicated and confusing. And of course, nothing goes according to plan, leading to much drama and comic hijinks.

WHAT I LIKED

First off, this story was hilarious! This was a wild and fun romp whose witty and sarcastic lines had me laughing out loud nearly to the point of tears on more than one occasion. Beckett’s inner running commentary was especially humorous, and I liked him more and more with each page. The Golden Girls references were also a lot of fun. In the story, Beckett called his father “Rose,” the naive character on the Golden Girls whereas Beckett’s father called Beck “Dorothy,” the tough, more cynical character. The nicknames actually fit the characters quite nicely.

The story is told from the dual first-person point of view of Beckett and Jaxon, and it was fun seeing the world from each of their perspectives. I especially loved Beckett’s character – he was witty, sassy, irreverent, sarcastic, self-confident and absolutely lovable, and his snappy one-liners kept me laughing. I liked how he looked out for his dad and did whatever was necessary to ensure that his dad didn’t end up getting hurt. Speaking of relationships, I thought the positive portrayal of each boy’s relationship with his parents was sweet and refreshing.

I also enjoy Jax’s character. Though everybody thought of him as “The Great Jaxon Parker,” he was as insecure and unsure of himself as any of us, as he tried to find his place in the world. Not only that, he’s begun to question his sexuality and whether he is genuinely the hard-core heterosexual jock that everyone believes him to be.

So underneath his womanizing jock exterior, he was actually quite a likable character, and we see how one cannot tell what a person is really like from outward appearances.

What’s interesting, is that Jax and Beck’s rocky past brings up an important issue of how one should react when someone is being bullied. As we learned from this story, sometimes doing nothing when there’s abuse or bullying going on can cause even more harm than those who are actually doing the bullying. In this way, the story causes us to take a good hard look at our actions — or inactions — and how they can affect those around us.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

For me, there wasn’t too much to dislike about the story. My only real niggle was the familiar and often clichéd trope of the characters. For example, Beck was a choir-singing geeky gay kid, Jax was the super-hot star quarterback, JoJo was the extremely masculine lesbian, Tiffany, the “mean girl” cheerleader who is dating the football jock, and Shelby, the fat best friend. I would have preferred to see characters without the standard clichéd over-exaggerations.

I also didn’t care for the way that Beckett referred to Jax’s mother as “Big Titties” throughout the story, which really bothered me. From Beck’s inner monologue, it’s easy to see that he has a low opinion of her solely because of the fact she’s dating his dad. It would have been nice for Beckett to soften his view of her as the story progressed — perhaps give him the opportunity to get to know her a bit, which, unfortunately, never happened.

FINAL VERDICT

The couple niggles aside, I ended up loving this book! This was a fun, lighthearted and somewhat messy romance that brought a wonderful grin to my face during the final pages. Though this book was quite funny, it also dealt with some serious issues such as parental abandonment, bullying, bigotry, and divorce.

This was a quirky and poignant romance with plenty of humor and complex, well-developed characters. Nothing feels rushed in this story, so I enjoyed everything this enemies-to-lovers book had to offer. It was a truly captivating read that I didn’t want to end. I hope the author gifts us with a sequel to this story in the future because I’d love to see more of Jax, Beck, Shelby and all the other lovable secondary characters. Recommended!

You can check out Social Intercourse here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

The Story

When Mila’s best friend Riley shows up dead in a nearby creek and police label her death a suicide, Mila is beside herself. Though devastated and stricken with grief, she knows deep in her heart that Riley would never kill herself and repeatedly insists to her parents as well as school administrators that Riley was murdered. Moreover, Riley’s is the third death at her school in the past week, which smells like too much of a coincidence for Mila.

Mila and Riley were both Wiccan and up to this point, had done some minor spells together. But when a curious ancient grimoire that contains a resurrection spell appears on Mila’s doorstep, she can’t resist the temptation. Given that none of the authority figures in her life believe her theory about Riley’s death, she decides to take matters into her own hands and cast the spell. It’s the only way to find out what really happened to her friend.

The spell, however, not only brings back Riley but also snobby mean-girls June and Dayton, her two classmates who had supposedly hung themselves a week earlier in some sort of suicide pact. Unfortunately, none of the girls can recall the specifics of their death, but they are all certain that they would never commit suicide.

Now with only seven days until the spell wears off meaning that the three girls will return to their graves, Mila along with her three undead friends race against the clock to find out how murdered them before he can find his next victim.

WHAT I LIKED

I enjoyed having a Wiccan main character in the book which I found fascinating and refreshing. I thought the author did an excellent job in portraying Wicca and delineating the difference between Wicca and Witchcraft. One of the tenants of Wicca is the Law of Three in which everything a witch does — especially spell work — comes back to them threefold, for good or ill. So I found it especially clever that Mila, instead of bringing only her friend back to life, ended up restoring life to all three of her recently deceased classmates, a humorous nod to the Law of Three (though we do learn at the end of the book why June and Dayton came back to life in addition to Riley).

I loved our main character Mila — a plus-sized snarky Mexican witch who could care less what other people thought about her and who did whatever was necessary to find justice for her friend Riley and her two undead compatriots. Her confidence and determination were impressive as was her devotion to Riley and her two new undead friends. That being said, Undead Girl Gang was an exploration of not only grief and loss but also friendship.

And the fact the Mila is fat has nothing to do with the plot, and the story doesn’t dwell on this fact at all. So in this way, I found the representation in this book refreshing. There’s also a scene in the book where the characters are called out for implying that “normal” is white. Though this was a small scene, it was one that especially stood out for me. The exact quote is below:

“And, for fuck’s sake, stop using ‘normal’ as code for ‘white’,” I snap. “Your life isn’t the ruler that the rest of the world gets measured against.”

I thought this book was wildly creative. There was one stipulation of the spell which I found clever and which made the three undead girls especially frightening should anyone encounter them. I loved the author’s original and entertaining take on the zombies in this story. Instead of giving us terrifying brain-eating zombies, we get three cranky and snarky undead teenagers who, much to Mila’s chagrin, are impossible to control and think nothing of walking down the street during broad daylight in the town where they were killed or even showing up to terrorize people at their own memorial.

That being said, it was also fun watching the girls interact with each other. It’s worth mentioning that Riley and Mila were not on friendly terms with June and Dayton while they were alive, so there were some major personality clashes going on in the story, which resulted in some great humor. The snarkiness, feistiness, sarcasm, back-handed insults and cattiness had me laughing out loud on several occasions. The interaction of these four girls was so much fun and warmed my heart, especially when unlikely friendships develop between them. It’s at this point the reader discovers that the book is not just about zombies and a serial killer, but it’s also about the complex relationships between teenage girls.

In addition to the outstanding humor, I found the magic system especially intriguing. I enjoyed reading about the different spells as well the materials and rituals necessary for the spells to work. It was in the magic system where the difference between Wicca and Witchcraft came into play. We learn that though Mila adhered to the Wiccan faith, the magic she was now using from the old grimoire was not Wiccan magic at all but rather a darker, more ancient magic, and as is the case with most magic systems, magic always comes with a price.

The mystery aspect of the story was well done, and the story took several exciting twists and turns until the killer is finally revealed. As the clocked ticked down, I found myself entirely invested in finding out who killed the girls and though I did suspect the murderer’s identity, I wasn’t quite sure, and I was still surprised when it all unfolded. The big reveal at the end was perfect, I felt, with the story being nicely tied up at the end.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

There honestly wasn’t a whole lot that I disliked about this book. There were a couple of pacing issues with the book, I felt. The middle of the story dragged a bit for me, and the ending felt rushed.

I also wished the book would have gone into more detail about the Wiccan faith. It would have been interesting to learn more about how Riley and Mila got into Wicca and their past experiences with it. A little more in-depth explanation of the differences between Wicca and Witchcraft might also have been helpful.

The undead girls were also extremely stereotypical — the mean girls who rule the school trope. There were a couple of times when I felt their depiction was a tad over the top and initially, the girls felt more like caricatures than real people.

There was also one little thing that bugged me. Mila’s sister gives her a rubber hair band that she’s supposed to snap against her wrist whenever grief overcomes her, and she does so on several occasions. The idea of harming yourself or causing yourself pain to overcome grief did not sit well with me at all, and I found it rather disconcerting.

I’m also not sure if I’m entirely on board with the murderer’s reasoning for killing the girls. It seemed far-fetched and perhaps more than a bit unbelievable.

FINAL VERDICT

Zombies, witches, serial killers and a mystery to solve — what’s not to love? This was a fun, light-hearted yet serious look at friendship, redemption, grief and moving on. It was a fast read with a whole lot going on that kept me turning the pages. Though there were a murder and mystery elements to the story, it was about so much more than that. We have here a candid social commentary on high school hierarchies, on keeping up appearances, on belonging, and on friendship, with a particular focus on relationships. This is one of those books that keeps you thinking long after the last page is turned. This was a story with depth to it.

Though Undead Girl Gang deals with some serious topics, it does so in a humous over-the-top way. This may have been one of the funniest books I’ve read so far this year. The four girls ended up being wholly lovable and relatable, and I loved how they all came together at the end. It was also satisfying to see the depth each character had by the end of the book and the growth that took place for each of them.

This was a clever, charming and entertaining read with a beautiful ending and an engaging plot. The author really brought her characters to life in this story. So overall, I ended up loving this book, and I give it 5 stars.

You can check out Undead Girl Gang here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

The story follows Anna Fox, an agoraphobic child psychologist who is holed up in her home, unable to leave the house for the past ten months. Separated from her husband and daughter, she passes the days drinking too much wine, taking too many pills, chatting online with other people living with Agoraphobia and watching old black & white movies. She also has developed the bad habit of spying on her neighbors, using her Nikon camera’s zoom lens.

She becomes especially intrigued by the Russell family — Jane, Alister and their teenage son Ethan — who recently moved in across the street. Much like the characters in a Hitchcock film, Anna becomes obsessed with her new neighbors until one night while spying at the Russell’s window, Anna sees something she shouldn’t have. Or did she?

From this point forward, Anna’s world quickly crumbles around her as we learn that nothing is as it seems. Now she has to convince everyone around her that though she was heavily medicated and drunk, what she saw was real and not a hallucination.

WHAT I LIKED

I listened to this on audiobook, and as the story unfolded, I felt as though I were listening to a Hitchcockian thriller with a modern twist. There seems to be a strong Hitchcock film influence here, and the entire story felt quite cinematic to me. In fact, the plot line did make me think of Rear Window. The story unraveled slowly (much like poor Anna’s supposedly safe world) and the numerous twists, turns, and direction changes all added to the story’s element of suspense. I also especially enjoyed the countless old movie references peppered throughout the story.

I found Anna to be a simply enchanting protagonist. The detailed depiction of her struggle with Agoraphobia was compelling and mesmerizing, and because of this, the book was unputdownable for me. The story was told in a diary style from Anna’s first-person point of view, and I found the peek into her mind fascinating, especially once she began to doubt her own sanity.

Because of the drinking and drugs, we come to realize that Anna is an unreliable narrator, making the story even all the more compelling when we’re not entirely sure that what she sees or believes is real. Not only is she an unreliable narrator, but police also consider her an unreliable witness. She is such a complex character, one moment clear and sure of herself, while other moments muddled and dreamlike. Though we’re not sure whether to trust her — especially given that she appears to be a compulsive liar — Anna’s character is likable, sympathetic and for many of us, relatable (I mean who doesn’t drink wine and spy on their neighbors?) So though she’s flawed, she’s also incredibly complex.

I found the intrigue surrounding her family especially fascinating. Though Anna has regular phone conversations with her husband and eight-year-old daughter, the reader doesn’t know why they are separated. We do know that some horrible — possibly tragic — event occurred to cause Anna’s Agoraphobia, causing us to suspect that this same event was responsible for Anna’s estrangement from her family. As Anna’s story unfolds, flashbacks slowly reveal bits and pieces of what brought Anna to the point in her life where she’s a drunken, pill-popping recluse, unable to leave her house.

The secondary character development was phenomenal as well. Though we suspect that Anna is delusional and an unreliable narrator, we’re not quite sure because most of the other characters in the book are kind of creepy or otherwise off-putting. So we definitely have a case of not knowing who we can trust.

What I especially liked is that I did not guess the ending. Just when I thought I had the story all figured out, the author went and changed the entire storyline, and I found myself on an entirely different path. I also could see no plot holes or inconsistencies in this story — everything made perfect sense to me, and I felt it was brilliantly plotted.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

I enjoyed the second part of the book much more than the first, probably because of the pacing. The first part was more on the slower to moderately paced side as it set the scene for the faster-paced more intense second half. Though it didn’t exactly drag — because the characters became more developed and intriguing as the story progressed — it also didn’t move as quickly as the second half. There was also a fair amount of repetition in the first half which became more and more evident as the novel progressed.

We learn as the story unfolds that Anna did something “big” to cause her separation from her family. When we finally learn what that was, it just didn’t feel right to me. It felt out of character for the person we’ve come to know throughout the story. So because of this, I think a little more buildup and backstory would have been helpful, perhaps explaining why Anna did what she did. As it stood, it just didn’t feel like something her character would do.

FINAL VERDICT

This is a strong, character-driven suspenseful story that I found engrossing and suspenseful, especially once the pace picked up during the second half of the book. The prose was lush and beautifully written, and because of that, this superb tale was a treat to read — or should I say listen to. I’m so glad that I listened to this in audiobook format as Anne Marie Lee is one hell of a narrator!

The Woman in the Window was a highly emotional and truly captivating tale that I didn’t want to end. It was a rich, riveting and intoxicating novel with gorgeous tension-filled scenes that sucked me right in.

I’d recommend this novel to anyone who loves suspense, psychological thrillers, old movies and tales with a little darker twist to them and I ended up giving it 5 stars.

You can check out the book here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

THE STORY

So the story picks up on year after the events where Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda left off. Leah on the Offbeat is a continuation of the Creekwood series, with Simon vs. The Homo sapiens Agenda being Creekwood #1. Though it can be read as a standalone, it is advisable to read Simon first as this would help to give you a better feel for the characters. Not only that, Simon is well worth the read!

Leah and her friends are busy getting things in order for their senior year, including where to go to University. Because of this pressure of which school to go to and whether that will mean leaving a boyfriend/girlfriend behind, tensions are running high, especially once friends of hers begins to fight and her rock-solid circle of friends begins to crumble slowly.

But this novel really revolves around the fact Leah is bisexual, though she hasn’t told any of her friends, not even Simon. It’s not that Leah’s bisexuality is a big deal — she’s entirely comfortable with her sexuality.

What’s throwing her for a loop is that she’s falling hard for a girl in her circle of friends with whom she’s not even all that close. In fact, Leah seems to have deliberately kept this person at an arms distance…and now we know why.

Once Leah realizes the depth of her crush on this girl, she then has to figure out what to do: Should she pursue the girl of her heart and break her own heart in the process because Leah’s nearly 100% sure she’s straight? Or deny her feelings, keep her sights on her future and put the drama aside?

But when this girl begins flirting with Leah and throwing her all kinds of crazy mixed signals, Leah doesn’t know how to deal, fearful that she’s misinterpreting the girl’s signals. So instead of risking her heart and entering into a potentially humiliating situation, she shuts it all down. Risk averted. The question is: what it the right thing to do?

WHAT I LIKED

I felt a bit nostalgic given that this book takes place near the end of our favorite characters’ senior year. It reminded me of the uncertainty and anxiety that I felt during that time as well as the fear of losing friends and the fear of the unknown.

And that’s not even mentioning what was going to happen to those long distance relationships? Did they even stand a chance? I thought the author did an excellent job of fleshing out all these aspects and in so doing, brought back my own vivid memories of that time period in my own life.

The struggles of Leah and her friends were things most teens face, especially during their last year of high school so, in this way, the story was entirely relatable. I felt like I was back in high school (with both the good and the bad).

I thought Abertalli handled the romance aspect quite well and liked how it wasn’t hurried or rushed. The angst and drama surrounding the Leah and her crush was cute and worked for me, so that made it extra sweet when Leah and her crush finally get together; though I wish it would have occurred a bit sooner.

It was cute that Leah’s crush was seriously flirting with Leah though she refused to see any of the signs, convinced that the object of her affections is 100% hetero. Hence the angst.

I also enjoyed the banter between Leah and her crush — as well as the banter between all the other character’s as well, a lovely device I’ve noticed in all of Abertalli’s novels.

I also loved the fact that there was a road trip — I’ve already said in the past that I’m a sucker for a road trip story. While this wasn’t such a story per se, I did enjoy the trip that Leah and her crush took while they were both still trying to figure the other one out.

And of course, the “event” that occurred during the trip marked a turning point in the novel, followed by plenty of drama and just the right about of angst.

I loved that we got to see many of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) characters from the first book: Simon, Blue, Nick, Abby, Anna, Morgan, Garrett and even the dreaded Martin. We also get some sweet Simon and Blue coverage, for which I was especially grateful.

I also really loved the secondary character of Leah’s mother. She was the ultimate cool mom who possessed an extraordinary amount of patience with Leah. She was also quite funny, and her comments caused me to giggle out loud quite a few times.

What’s nice about these characters, is that though they are a lovable and fun group of people (well, maybe except for Martin), they are also flawed, which renders them all the more human and relatable. We see this is Abertalli’s other novels as well, and she always does an excellent job of pulling it off.

What especially worked for me in this book was that though this story followed a plus-sized protagonist, her weight was not the focus of the story. In fact, Leah doesn’t give a damn about what anyone thinks about her size — she is perfectly happy with her body, and she sums it up nicely when she says:

I swear, people can’t wrap their minds around the concept of a fat girl who doesn’t diet. Is it that hard to believe I might actually like my body?

So rather, this story was about those things that many teenagers have to deal with in discovering who they are in their rapidly changing world.

I also loved how comfortable Leah was with her own bisexuality, though it did confuse me why she hadn’t yet told her friends — especially the gay ones — that she was bisexual.

Maybe to her, it wasn’t something that needed explaining. It simply “was.” As with the Simon book, I feel the author does a masterful job of normalizing LGBTQ relationships and once again, I was overjoyed to see the positive portrayal of LGBTQ people.

So many LGBTQ books in the past were depressing and tragic, so it’s refreshing to read once again a story that’s uplifting and positive.

That being said, I loved the amount of diversity in this book: we had people who were bisexual, gay, straight, fat, skinny, as well as plenty of characters of color. I also loved how the one racist comment was jumped upon immediately and was not merely allowed to slide by.

And for someone who loves Harry Potter, the many Harry Potter references are always appreciated.

Okay, so now let me address the negative points.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Okay, so I hate to say it, but I didn’t like Leah at all. I loved her a lot in Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda but in this book, she rubbed me the wrong way.

Her overly abrasive personality got in the way of me enjoying this book, and because of it, she was for me an unsympathetic character. She was nearly always snarky, angry, negative, sarcastic, cynical, exceptionally moody, and pretty much rude to everyone around her.

It’s challenging to empathize with a character who seems so hostile to everyone and everything.

I just had a tough time connecting to Leah’s character, especially when she shuts down anytime something goes wrong, or somebody says something she doesn’t like. I found myself thinking quite a few times that she was a whiny brat.

I can’t deny it: she was pretty much a shitty person throughout the majority of the time in the book. She rarely apologized to anyone and treated her mom like absolute crap, which I found especially annoying, considering how nice her mom was to her and how she supported Leah in everything she did.

There’s a huge difference being a character being self-confident and outspoken, and a character being an asshole.

Oh, and there was also the lying, such as when she lied to Garrett about attending his game. Speaking of Garrett, I also didn’t like the way Leah strung Garret along. It was apparent that he had a massive crush on her but she never once thought of letting him down gently and telling him she wasn’t interested.

I have to admit that I also found it a bit difficult buying into the premise of the story. In Simon Vs. The Homo sapiens agenda, we are introduced to Leah, and the girl (I”ll refer to Leah’s crush as “the girl” in order not to give anything away) and they are both completely straight — Leah even confesses her crush on Simon.

Now in this book, Leah is all of a sudden bisexual, and she has a HUGE crush on the girl and supposedly has for quite some time — and the girl, who was also very straight in the last book, now suddenly has a crush on Leah. I had a difficult time buying it.

It also didn’t seem like the book at all that much of a plot — or at least not that engaging of one. There really weren’t any plot twists or surprises to mention of.  It was basically thus: angry bi-girl falls for a girl whom she thinks is straight. Straight girl flirts with bi-girl. Bi-girl is mean to straight girl. Will straight girl and bi-girl get together?

VERDICT

The writing itself was excellent and engaging, and I enjoyed the angst and conflict between the characters. I also enjoyed spending time with all of my favorite characters again from the Simonverse, and there was plenty of humor and snark to keep it light and entertaining.

I laughed out loud on plenty of occasions. I also enjoyed getting inside of Leah’s head and seeing the world from her point of view.

Unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. There was no point in this book that pulled on my heartstrings at all.

I think that the change in Leah’s personality from the Simon book to this one was a little too jarring for me and I ended up, much to my surprise, somewhat disliking her character — and it’s not easy to love a book when you don’t like with the main protagonist.

Overall, while I did have some problems with Leah’s characters, I didn’t hate this book. But I didn’t love it either.

I just didn’t connect with the characters as much as I did with the first book in this series. I do love Becky Abertalli’s writing and will definitely continue to read her books in the future. In fact, I can’t wait for her collaboration with Adam Silvera (I already preordered it).

This book, however, just wasn’t quite a home run for me.

You can check out Leah on the Offbeat here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Our hero in this story is a lonely and isolated young man, and through these beautifully drawn panels, we follow Craig’s journey from childhood to adulthood as he navigates the oftentimes challenging world of trying to please one’s parents and doing “what’s right .” In so doing, Craig tries to be true to himself …or should I say, discover himself while trying to fit in.

Through the engaging pages, Craig experiences the joy and exhilaration of — as well as the heartbreak following — a first love, and all the while trying to reconcile it all with his religion or the religion of his parents, which was a small town Fundamentalist Christian religion. I was also brought up in a strict, Fundamentalist religion growing up so, I was able to relate to this on so many levels. So in this way, the story was at times heartbreaking and at other times joyful — painful to read in some parts, hopeful in others. Good memories, as well as bad and I, ended by tearing up on some pages, and smiling in others.

This was one of those books that I absolutely devoured and though it was enormous, flew through it in a couple of sittings. I thought that the illustrations were expressive and moving, and the author’s ability to capture so much emotion in facial expressions of these drawings captivated me.

It’s the kind of story that you can completely lose yourself in — or at least, I did. By way of his brilliant artwork, the author was able to pull me from my world into the mind of an adolescent and all the uncertainty and fear that goes along with that, bringing me back to my childhood as though it were yesterday.

It’s funny — as I was reading this, I thought of it as a quiet read, and it really was. So much was said in the drawings without the need for extraneous words — and that is a difficult feat for an artist to pull it. Craig Thompson did it amazingly well, in my opinion.

And there was so much snow in this book — something those of us who live in the Midwest can definitely relate to so in this way, it would make a perfect winter read.

Overall, I loved this book. It was an emotional and comforting read about discovering one’s relationship with faith, regardless of the type of religion or even lack of any spiritual belief system whatsoever. This book isn’t about having a crisis of faith but rather finding one’s own personal path — the path that’s right for each of us.

I think anyone should be able to appreciate this novel regardless of whether or not one is religious because again, it’s not about religion — it’s about slowly putting ourself together until all the pieces fit properly. Recommended!

You can check out Blankets here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.