Sunday Post

Let's chat about what's going on this week... on my blog.. on other blogs... on the internet... and just everywhere!    I link up my post to Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Reader.

Hello everyone.  It has been a busy few months.  I've been in TX for a long time helping my sister. I've been trying to get a lot of reading done during this time.  So I should have some reviews coming up.  If you ever check out my blog about my diabetic cats then you know we had to send one of my cats over the rainbow bridge.  It was so sad and hard. It was awful. But we did have an amazing experience by having a veterinarian come to our house to do it.  Then end of 2016 has pretty much just sucked.  I'm so ready for 2017.  I did participate in a book secret Santa exchange hosted by True Book Addict.   When I get my package and open it, I'll post a picture of it on here. I received my package from Truth, Beauty, Freedom, & Books.  I loved every book I received!  Thanks so much.  The blogger I received for the exchange is Readerbuzz.  She should have her package by now and I'm so excited for her to open it (if she hasn't already).  I scrambled to get it together since I unexpectedly ended up out of town while the Secret Bookish Santa event was going on. 

It's so odd to be in TX over the month of December.  No snow.  But the weather is nuts.  With one day being 54 and then next day 78.  I also miss the snow.  I did get to see Rouge One on opening night.  I thought it was pretty fantastic.  A great story that leads into the Star Wars movies.  I would recommend you all going to see it.  I'm currently watching 11/22/63 that finally came in from the library.  I loved the book so I am hoping the show lives up to it.   I love looking for the Stephen King easter eggs in the show.  I had to google some that I didn't spot. 

I'm back in the gym tomorrow.  I've had to take a lot of time off with my sister and with one of our vehicles out of service for about 3 months (the body shop had it that WHOLE time). I'm going to look like one of those new years resolution people who only go for a month!  I'm really dreading getting back in.  Ughhh... the beginning of getting in shape is always the hardest! 

Happy 2017 everyone!  Hope you reach all your reading goals this year. 

Also... it's time for me to sign up for some reading challenges.  My favorite one is of course the Graphic Novel Challenge. I'm going for the Golden Age. 104 books!  Here are the rules:

It's time to start signing up for the 2017 challenge.  This is the 10th anniversary of this challenge and my 6th year as host

• Please write a sign-up post on your blog and then sign-up below with a link to your specific sign-up post (NOT to your home page).  

• What counts:  graphic novels, collected trade editions, manga, comic strip collections, comic books or combinations of text and bubbles all in the same book. In print or digital. Anything else you feel is suitable.  My personal criteria is if it has either frames OR speech bubbles it counts.  I'm not going to be the comic police but if you are unsure, ask me in the comments any given month.

• You must write a review and link to it for it to count towards the challenge. Reviews may be posted on your blog or goodreads or similar places. Several reviews may be gathered and posted in one link on your blog, but each book must be linked back here in the monthly linkies to count. Come back every month to record your progress.

Here is how the Challenge plays out:

Runs from Jan.1 - Dec. 31, 2017

Levels

Modern Age: read and review 12 books during the year (that's only 1 book a month)

Bronze Age: read and review 24 books during the year (Can you handle 2 books a month.)

Silver Age: read and review 52 books during the year (Are you up to a book a week!)
Golden Age: read and review 104 books during the year (Are you addicted? 2 books a week!)

 You must sign up for a level, but once you complete that level you may move up and try for the next one.

Please spread the word everyone!  

Comic Adventures Issue #48

I read a lot of comics and rarely review them here on the blog. That's because I really don't have a lot to say for an entire post.  So I thought I would review several comics on one post.  I will still review graphic novels on their own now and then, but this is where I will talk about super-hero type comics (DC/Marvel) or sequels to some that I have already reviewed.

This issue I talk about Saga vol. 6, Lumberjanes Vol 3 A Terrible Plan,  Wayword Volume 1 String Theory, and Kanan Star Wars vol 2.

I can't get enough of this series!  It's just so unique compared to any other comic that I am reading right now. Yeah... this issue kind of hit the filler volume.  But I am still into the characters. Hazel is now a little girl in this comic so we get to know her and see her growing up. There's a couple of new characters in this volume that I though was ... meh.  A couple of reporters who get mixed up into everything.  Ok.... just boring.  The Will is back and I still like him... he's flipping out a little and becoming more and more depressing.  I like it.  I like that we get to see him go through all these emotions.  There are a few genitals drawn in this comic and one genital had me shocked!  Meaning.. I just wasn't expecting it.  Good things happen at the end of this comic too!  Things that have me really excited for volume 7. Apparently there is no release date for volume 7!  How long do I have to wait then?? 2017!  I look forward to Alana and Marko's continuing story and see how everything comes together with Hazel. 
3 out of 5

This is another comic I've been enjoying so much.  I look forward to reading it.  New artist this time around but I still felt like it was still the fun quirky art.  I don't know why comics switch artists so often.  I just think that one artist should be contracted till the series is done.  I don't know much about comic book rules though when it comes to writing them/drawing them.  The book starts out with all the girls from camp telling their own ghost stories.  I thought these were great! I like how the girls are also getting their own stories.  By getting to know the girls a little better as individuals the comic is finding it's way to be a long running comic. The creepy camp vibe is still around.  There are dinosaurs, bears, and all that fun stuff!  You can still read about all the different patches they earn.  I always want to try to earn these badges. Why isn't there any cool camps like this for adults? There's a fun badge called Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fondant... a cake decorating challenge that including a funny raccoon!  
5 out of 5

I saw someone reading this on the Graphic Novel Challenge 2016 so I thought I'd check it out.  I mean... there are tons of cats on the cover! Sold. The art is fantastic and the characters are also fun to get to know. Each characters turns out to have some sort of super power. Monsters start appearing here and there and of course they battle. The plot is a little rushed to me. Like there is really no explanation as to why the monsters are there.  I know it will be revealed later but I feel like we still should've known a little bit more now. I like how the comic takes place in Japan. Makes me feel like I'm reading a Manga.  Yeah, I know it's not one but I still felt cool. The story almost feels like one I've read before. Teen kids with superpowers in a team, bad guys showing up to be defeated.  Missing parents (like all YA novels).  I'll for sure check out the next volume just out of curiosity.  That volume will determine whether or not I stick with the series. 
3 out of 5

I loved the first volume of this come.  It was the first time I had been introduced to Kanan.  This issue was such a let down compared to that one.  It was all about Kanan as a child when he was becoming a jedi.  Same story we've heard before.  I wanted more of Kanan's adventures with his group.  They were interesting.  How much back story do we need? The comic needs to start moving on into the present. It's not a terrible comic.. just average.  None of the Star Wars comics has been phenomenal to me. I thought Kanan was going to be the comic that stood out in a flood of average Star Wars story but this one didn't help it do that. Honestly the most interesting character was the one Kanan is becoming a padawan for.  She (Billaba) has just got back from battle and lost most of her troops and is going through a lot mentally to try to be one with the force again.  I did enjoy reading about a Jedi Master having those issues. 
2 out of 5 

This counts for 61 comics towards my 2016 Graphic Novels Challenge.

 

Comic Adventures Issue #47

I read a lot of comics and rarely review them here on the blog. That's because I really don't have a lot to say for an entire post.  So I thought I would review several comics on one post.  I will still review graphic novels on their own now and then, but this is where I will talk about super-hero type comics (DC/Marvel) or sequels to some that I have already reviewed.

This issue I talk about Wytches Vol. 1, Ms. Marvel Vol. 5,  The Mighty Thor vol. 1, and Darth Vader Vol 2.

I tend to find out about new and different comics from the Graphics Novel Challenge I participate in every year. This was one of the comics I saw someone on there review. The story is about Wytches... nasty things that live underground. The Wytches eat children who have been marked by their familes. Sometimes the art was hard to follow.  There was the pencil and there was some ink mixed in so I didn't always know what was going on.  Though that did help with the creep factor.  The end of the book was pretty unbelievable to me.  But I do want to read the next volume.  Oh speaking of next volume... who knows when that's coming out.  I wish I had known before starting this that the next Wytches isn't in the works at all yet.  Who knows when?  The story is the same old horror you find every where else though so don't expect a new witch story.  Do you ever find when you read reviews it starts to change your point of view of a book you read? That happened to me with this book... what I thought was fantastic was actually just another horror story.   I started reading other reviews and realized it wasn't such a great book! 
3 out of 5

Page from Wytches

Ms. Marvel is a series I really enjoy. This issue though kind of is a crossover.  What I mean by that is something happened with Kamala Khan in another issue where she joins the Avengers.  I'm not sure what happens during that time because well.. it's in some other issue. That's ok though... what I like about the Ms. Marvel comics is we get to deal with Kamala's real life.  Her crush Bruno has found another girlfriend since Kamala is so busy and Aamir (her brother) is getting married. I love Kamala's relationship with her brother, it's so funny. In this volume a real estate company comes in to take over her neighborhood.  We find out later that it's HYDRA. There is another fun story line in the book where Kamala is so burned out that she tried to make a clone of herself on a 3D printer and then chaos comes.  I don't think Ms. Marvel has lost any of it's charm yet.  The writing is still young and mainstream.  I can't wait for the next issue!

5 out of 5

Let's be honest, after Thor Vol. 2 I wasn't going to keep reading. I just didn't love it.. but apparently I put this one on hold without remembering so when it came into the library I went ahead and read it.  And really enjoyed it.  I'm not sure why it's not volume 3?  I guess it's 'The Mighty Thor' now?  So we are back to volume 1?  Whatever.  So we all know now that Jane Foster is Thor right?  Well I hope so. Apparently she has cancer and every time she picks up Mjolnir (Thor's Hammer) her cancer gets worse.  Chemo won't help at all because the Hammer pretty much erases everything the treatments have done. Odin has gone crazy because he believes the Hammer belongs to him and some girl has it.  The Elvish world is introduced in this comic so I look forward to seeing more of it in the next volume. I like that Marvel has put cancer in their comic.  I think most people know someone who has cancer, even children know someone.  So I think everyone can relate to that part.  There is only about 200 ratings on goodreads so I'm not sure how many people are really reading this series. 
4 out of 5

I don't know... I'm not totally in love with the Star Wars comics yet. I've given plenty of them a go.  I almost didn't finish this one.  Luckily I checked someone's review on goodreads which explained what was going on and I continued.  So Vader now knows Luke is his son and still tries to find him.  Vader continues to build a droid army by stealing supplies from the Empire.  Vader gets another inspector following him around which is odd to me because why would Vader even put up with that. This comic also visits Naboo, bleh.  Some flashbacks of the prequels.  Honestly, I don't know if I'm going to continue on with this comic. I thought it was going to be way more evil (this was the problem I had with the Maleficent movie, they made her into a good guy). There is this side character in the book (see her on the cover?) and that confuses me because she gets a lot of the plot for her own story and this is supposed to a comic about Vader!  It's like the writers just didn't have enough ideas to come up with a great story about Vader.
1 out of 5

This counts for 57 comics towards my 2016 Graphic Novels Challenge.

 

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas

Title: Heir of Fire
Author:  Sarah J Maas
Pages: 565
Published: September 2nd 2014 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: Ebook
Links: goodreads,  Sarah J Maas

Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak―but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth . . . a truth about her heritage that could change her life―and her future―forever. Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed? The bestselling series that has captured readers all over the world reaches new heights in this sequel to the New York Times best-selling Crown of Midnight. Packed with heart-pounding action, fierce new characters, and swoon-worthy romance, this third book will enthrall readers from start to finish.

I really love this series. I like that this book, the third book in the series, was able to add more characters. Of course when you add more characters the ones you have grown to love get less page time.  There were times in this book I thought should've been less wordy.  This caused the pacing to be off a little.  I was happy that this book traveled a little more throughout the world Maas has created.  We get to read about where the Fae live.  Plus Celaena's magic gets tested and finally advances.  That did take a while to get going in the story but I really love how Celaena's story is turning out.  Also.. what do I call the lead female character now?  Celaena?  Aelin? I'm confused.

So Manon is a witch and a new character in this book.  I really enjoyed her chapters.  I love a villain. Even though I think she is going to become a good person in future books from some foreshadowing. Dorian has a new love interest.  I didn't think there was enough time to really love her.  Rowan was a new character that we get to read a lot about.  I loved him.  He starts out so mysterious and then comes around to being a character that I really looked forward to reading about. I want to learn more about his history.

This book does remind me of a second book syndrome book. The ones where you spend a lot of time getting to places in the plot.  Basically Celaena is trying to find her magic, and trying to get to the places she needs to go.  The book really isn't moving the plot along much.  There is a lot of back story revealed which helps the reader understand Celaena more.

I still really enjoy this book despite the slower pace.  I'm looking forward to starting book 4.  I also noticed that there is now a coloring book!  Must check that out.

Reviews of other books in the series:
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Sunday Post

Let's chat about what's going on this week... on my blog.. on other blogs... on the internet... and just everywhere!    I link up my post to Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Reader.

Hello all!  Sunday!  I'm so happy football is back.  One of my favorite things about this time of year.  Of course Halloween, and the leaves too.  I put up all my decorations today... I get so excited to see orange and purple glowing at night. Fall TV is back too.  I'm pretty much caught up on all the summer shows I'm watching so the DVR is open.  Of course I am about to marathon Luke Cage.  Can't just watch one of those episodes ... I have to watch them ALL.   

I've been trying to catch up on some reviews for the blog.  I'm really behind on reviewing comics.  Slowly catching up.  I plan on reading all the Throne of Glass novels so watch for the reviews for the next two books soon. I'm glad to be reading a series all at once, though I am sure those who follow the blog and don't read those books might find those posts a little boring.  I'm also reading the 3 compendiums of The Walking Dead.  Just finished the first one and am about to start the second one. So different then the show.  

We've started planning for the two Halloween parties we've been invited to and finally turned one down.  You are going to be shocked, but it's a Harry Potter party. A lot of characters had already been taken.  I picked the Grey Lady but seriously that's a hard costume.  I researched long and hard.  Most of the Harry Potter character costumes are hard to create unless you just wear robes.  Then I thought about being Cho Chang but when I went to Amazon the small/medium Ravenclaw robes were sold out.  I thought about being the fat lady and holding up a frame all night.  It was just drama so we nixed it. The other party we are going to is a 1920's theme and it's so much easier. 

Hope you are having a fantastic fall! 

Comic Adventures Issue #46

I read a lot of comics and rarely review them here on the blog. That's because I really don't have a lot to say for an entire post.  So I thought I would review several comics on one post.  I will still review graphic novels on their own now and then, but this is where I will talk about super-hero type comics (DC/Marvel) or sequels to some that I have already reviewed.

This week I talk about Batwoman Vol. 6,  Supergirl Vol. 6 Crucible, Teen Titans Vol. 1 Blinded by the Light, and Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4 Dark Truth.

So apparently this was the final issue in the Batwoman New 52 run. I really loved this comic when it first started.  I had never really read or knew much about Batwoman prior to the New 52. Odd things happen in this comic to not even finish a good story about Kate Kane.  Her sister is brought in for a little bit.  She is now Red Alice and she was really an evil killer.  Now she is teaming up with her sister Batwoman.  OK.  Then Morgan Le Fey turns up into this comic as a side story.  There is still the story about vampires. I really didn't like the art either.  It is messy.  I think this comic was kind of rushed.  Like... we have a contract for one more issue so let's just through it together. The characters on the cover are some sort of team pulled together for this comic.  Clayface, Etrigan, and Ragman.  Maybe they are some sort of team in another comic but I had never heard of them working together before.  But hey... let's just throw whatever in this final issue.  Really disappointing end to a comic that started out amazing.  Another comic that failed because behind the scenes there was drama with the writes and DC so the comic and the readers ended up suffering because of it. 

2 out of 5

Another new costume on a superhero.  Supergirl's new outfit isn't too bad though. The comic is about Kara spending time at a school for superheros.  I like that... it's like Monster High (which I secretly love every time I go to my cousin's house and she wants to watch it). Apparently this was the last issue of Supergirl in New 52.... so .. I'm not sure I loved how they ended the series either. I suppose maybe DC knew that the New 52 was coming to an end so they went ahead and started canceling all the titles. I kind of remember now finding out it was canceled right when the show was about to start airing on CBS. I thought the show was really good.  I'm glad that it wasn't completely canceled and it moving to the CW now.  The only thing is our local CW still hasn't bothered to upgrade to HD.  What is this??  2005?  When Smallville used to be on CW we would contact them all the time about getting switched to HD and they would always tell us it was happening next year.  It's 2016 now....  Anyways, I totally just went off on a tangent. I feel like now that this series is finished it never really fleshed out Supergirl.  She was whinny through the whole series, always wondering who she was.  Constantly fighting with Superman.  Never really getting along with the human race.  I think if you haven't read this series you should just go ahead and skip it.
3 out of 5

So... I really enjoy Teen Titans.  I'm not sure why DC had to revamp it in the middle of the New 52 but they did and here it is.  I actually also received a copy of it with my purchase of Justice League vs Teen Titans DC movie (which was pretty good).  The art in the comic was amazing.  Sometimes I had a hard time reading it but that's because the comics that come with the Best Buy special editions of the DC animated movies are small (fitting in the DVD box) so the lettering is tiny. There aren't a lot of introductions of the characters so hopefully you know who everyone is. I also don't know if Power Girl really looks like a teenager?  She looks like a full grown woman! I think this series is continuing into the Rebirth but I'm not sure.  I know it's going up to volume 3 at least. Have you ever checked out the show Teen Titans Go?  It's actually pretty funny.  Blinded by the Light has a lot to do with STARR labs.  I really enjoy reading about STARR Labs so if you enjoy learning more about them this is a good comic for that. 

4 out of 5

Best Buy Edition

This series!  This tiny review will be filled with spoilers so beware.  Clark is all upset because Lois revealed who he was in another comic.  So the whole world knows Clark is Superman and he is trying to hide that.  Wonder Woman is trying to be there for him through all this.  He is so stressed out that he breaks up with her telling her he doesn't love her.  WHAT THE?  I mean... this comic probably doesn't have much time before the New 52 is over.  They couldn't just keep them together?  She is going to be there for him though no matter what (barf) and they end up fighting the New Suicide Squad and just pretty much squashing them.  I don't know.. I feel like a strong woman like Wonder Woman would be pretty ticked at Clark for kicking her to the curb for no reason.  I don't even know how the comic can go on if they are broke up?  I guess there is a volume 5 coming and that's the final volume it seems. This has a little more crossover then I would like from the Superman New 52 and I haven't really kept up with those as much as I would've liked. 

3 out of 5 

This counts for 53 comics towards my 2016 Graphic Novels Challenge.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Title: Crown of Midnight
Author: Sarah J Maas
Pages: 418
Published: August 27th 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens 
Source: Ebook
Links: goodreads, Sarah J Maas.com

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart. Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

I am really enjoying this series. I am so happy to be reading a series where all the books are out! YES! I think this book series is so addictive.  The way Maas does world building is fantastic. So this book picks up immediately where the last book ends.  Celaena is now the King's Champion and so she has to do what he says. She not only has that to worry about but also the Wyrdmarks.  There is of course a little love drama. Chaol, Dorian and Celaena are kind of a love triangle.  I like how the author just nips it in the butt and it's not an annoying love triangle.  Nehemia is an amazing character in this book.  She is so strong and what Celaena should be.

One thing I  liked about this book was that we get to explore a little bit more or Celaena's past.  Not too much.  But enough.  Some of her past I didn't totally expect which is something I really really enjoy.  I love to be surprised when I read.  I had no idea what was going to happen in this book.  The previous book had a straightforward plot.  We knew Celaena needed to be the champion and win. But then ... nothing.  So when this book started I was excited to see what were her missions going to be. I also like how flawed the characters are.  They all make mistakes.  Things they wish they hadn't done, or actually don't have a problem with the choice they made.  This book does a good job of making the reader hate the villain, the King of Adarlan. One character that did not get enough page time is Mort.  An ancient talking doorknob. I really wanted more from him.

This is a decent sequel.  Sometimes series suffer from second book syndrome where it is really just a filler book. Crown of Midnight really moves the story along.  I am pretty much almost done with book three so be sure to look for that review soon.

Reviews of other books in the series:
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas