Do you like dragons, magic, and talking wolves?

Trick question! Everyone likes dragons, magic, and talking wolves! Luckily, the book I'm reviewing today has all 3 plus myths, sword fights, and turnips. (I think the turnips must have a significance to the rest of the series because they keep reappearing.)  I'm talking about Turik and the Lost Woman (Turik Saga Book 1) by Jonas Lau. This is the first book in a series for middle grade readers although that shouldn't put off readers of other ages. :-) Turik is your typical 12 year old who is trying to become a sage, save people from evil forces, and fulfill ancient prophecies. No biggie. I resisted the pull of this book until about 3/4 of the way through because I was determined not to get sucked into another series...I failed. (In fact, I decided to support the author by buying the second book in the series, Turik and the Elven Queen.) If you're a fan of adventure stories, the Viking era (there are no mention of Vikings but I keep picturing them for some reason), and magic then you really can't go wrong here. Lau is an imaginative writer and while the plot tends to drag in places it really picks up after the midpoint and barrels right through to the conclusion. I defy you to finish this book and not want to learn what happens to all of the characters. (Will we get to see Bernard again? What's the deal with Noam?) Solid 6.5/10 for this one.

Source: Amazon's listing of the book

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **


PS I was sent Turik and the Lost Woman by the author, Jonas Lau, for review purposes. This has in no way altered my opinion of the book. XD

Drama Llama: The Epic Conclusion

Yes, I've reached the end of my journey with Jillian Tamaki. I just finished her first work with her cousin Mariko entitled Skim. One thing is for certain...Tamaki has the corner market on teenage angst. (As you can probably tell, I'm over the angst.) The story follows a girl named Kim who is your typical teen who believes she's a practicing witch. (Normal for Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer so...) You might be wondering why Kim is nicknamed Skim. Me too. The explanation given didn't make much sense to me so I'm not going to even bother telling you. In Kim's school there is a preoccupation with suicide and depression. Most of the other students believe that Kim is at risk and as a result a lot of unwanted attention is turner her way. She develops an unconventional relationship with someone (I'm vague to avoid spoilers) and her relationships with others suffer. SO MUCH ANGST. I did enjoy this one more than This One Summer but it is by no means the best graphic novel I've ever read (that honor goes to Through the Woods by Emily Carroll). If you like manga type illustrations then you might enjoy this one for the aesthetic value alone but if you're looking for a WHOA kind of book then you might want to keep looking.

An example of the artistic style:

Source: http://theliterarysisters.wordpress.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Anniversary of Death + The Dark Angel's Lover

I'm very thankful to have been sent copies of the following books by the lovely Emma at Wunderkind PR. Both of these books were published by Thomas & Mercer and are out now.

I jokingly referred to this book as Murder Murder Murder in homage to my mother and cousin who are seemingly obsessed with the ID channel. (Who knows why with those awful reenactments.) The book's actual title is Baggage and the author is S.G. Redling. Anna Ray has led what could be considered a cursed life. At 12 years of age, her father was murdered and her mother imprisoned as the perpetrator. That was on February 17th. Fast forward to another February 17 (generally spent in torturous remembrance) when she comes home to a ghastly sight…and so it continues. I have to say that I was genuinely surprised at the conclusion…and disappointed somewhat. I didn't get that satisfactory "just solved a case" feeling which generally accompanies this type of story. However, I was kept on my toes wondering whodunit (and giggling at the references to work in Higher Education as I know them to be all too true). If you're easily triggered by references to substance abuse and/or child abuse then I suggest you steer clear of this one. If you think you can stomach such things and enjoy a fast paced psychological thriller then this might be the book for you. (You know the feeling of gratification when you stumble upon the reference for the book's title? Yeah you're not gonna get that here.)

Also, sent to me was Journey to Death by Leigh Russell. This is another psychological thriller but I believed it was a supernatural mystery right up until the last few chapters. The story begins with George Hall who has arrived in Seychelles (it's an archipelago off the coast of East Africa) as the new accountant of the Garden of Eden Hotel. He meets a beautiful woman named Veronique and falls in love. They are separated and the story jumps to present day when George accompanied by his wife and daughter arrive in Seychelles on vacation. It seems that his prior stay has not been forgotten by everyone...I can't give away  more than this because SPOILERS but there's quite a bit of drama, mystery, and walks along the beach. I wasn't a huge fan of this one to be honest. I found the narrative to be plodding and not all that interesting. The fact that it felt more like a supernatural mystery as opposed to a psychological thriller might be the key. I just didn't feel invested in the characters and as a result wasn't drawn into the story. If you like books that follow a straight trajectory from A to B then you'll probably like this one but if you prefer to have a lot of WHOA moments...this book will be a disappointment.

**If you're interested in buying these books or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Save the drama for your mama

I enjoyed SuperMutant Magic Academy so naturally I picked up another one of Jillian Tamaki's books called This One Summer which was written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian. Well, I didn't love it. I didn't hate it either. This is one of those times where I'm genuinely ambivalent. I appreciated the artwork but the story didn't really do anything for me. The entire book is drawn in shades of purple and black which lends an almost dreamlike quality to it. The main character is Rose who is spending the summer with her family in a cottage where they visit every summer. Her friend Windy is there with her mother and it seems that the majority of their interactions with one another over the years have been here in this little village community. Windy is younger than Rose and that age difference (1 1/2 years) is evident in the way they interact with one another and those around them. (This is important to the narrative.) Rose is on the cusp of puberty and therefore the maelstrom of emotions that accompany that are present on nearly every page. I think one of the reasons why I didn't necessarily love this is that the angst was never really resolved and overshadowed everything else. (I'm over angsty book for a while.) Rose's parents are struggling in their marriage, there is talk of a baby that never materialized, and a relationship between two young adults plays a significant role in the day-to-day activities of the girls. If you want to look at something that is visually appealing you can't go wrong as This One Summer is a Caldecott Medal winner. However, if you're not really into teenage angst then this is probably not the right fit.

Some full spreads that I found visually striking:

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Nicholas Sparks meets Bridget Jones meets Love Actually

There are some books that actually make you angry while reading them. This might happen for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you disagree with the choices that the characters are making. Maybe there are a ton of grammatical errors and it makes you want to punch the author in the face. For me, this book made me angry because it was so, so good and it ended way before I was ready. The book I'm talking about is Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and it emotionally wrecked me in the best way possible. I saw the trailer for the upcoming film (June!!) and felt intrigued enough to check it out from the library...and the rest is history. The book is primarily told from the perspective of Louisa Clark who is a twentysomething living in a small English town who has found herself looking for a job in an area where jobs are few and far between. That's when she meets Will, a quadriplegic, who needs a caregiver. (I've just realized that I have no idea how to continue this synopsis without giving any spoilers...) The point of view flips a few times between a few other characters but the focus is mostly on Louisa and I liked that just fine. This is a story about hopelessness, love, determination, and questionable fashion sense. Simply put, Me Before You is a love story about two vastly different people who are thrust together in circumstances neither one could have predicted. IT IS BRILLIANT AND YOU SHOULD READ IT.


**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

This is not Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

At first blush, I didn't think I was cool enough to totally get this book. It starts off fast-paced and in your face. The humor is quite specialized...I don't know how else to describe it except 'hipster'. That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it, however. One of my favorite booktubers (look it up), Ariel Bissett, kept talking about the graphic novel SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki and how much she loved it. She flipped through its pages and the artwork which is primarily in black and white really appealed to me. The story follows a group of high school seniors as they navigate their way through the pitfalls of youth...except they're in a school full of mutants and magicians. After a time you forget that it's unusual for a character to be able to change its shape at will or travel through space. It becomes more about the relationships between the characters. My three favorites were Frances, Marsha, and Cheddar. Their cynical worldview and sarcastic wit had me chuckling with glee while on the train. Frances is a performance artist whose expression changes little from panel to panel. Marsha is in love with her female best friend and instead of telling her derides her at every opportunity. Cheddar just wants to get out of high school and undermines his teachers every chance that he gets (like Bender in The Breakfast Club). There are poignant moments about the fleetingness (I Googled this and its a real word so there) of youth and the seeming insignificance that most teenagers (and adults) have felt at one time or another. I do want to warn those with sensitive sensibilities because there is vulgar language and dirty jokes but since this is about teenage angst I think it's to be expected. (When does that kind of humor cease to be funny? For me, it't still going quite strong.) Overall, a quick, witty read that I think will appeal to those with an ability to laugh at themselves.

Here are two quick peeks:

The smoker is Frances. I love her.

See what I mean about the wit?

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

So it wasn't Nero after all! (Trekkies will get this.)

One of my favorite things about libraries is that you stand a very good chance of just happening upon an interesting book. Over the weekend, I stopped into the library so that a friend could drop off a DVD. Another friend pointed out a book that spelled out Vulcan proudly on its cover. And just like that I had checked it out and stowed it away in my bag. The book was The Hunt for Vulcan:...And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe by Thomas Levenson. I have to applaud them for the gorgeous cover which not only loudly proclaims the home planet of some super rad aliens but features our galaxy and the elliptical paths of our planets. It's the kind of cover I'd love to have as decoration on my wall. Levenson takes the reader on an historical journey through physics, cosmology, and mathematics. From Newton to Einstein, a detailed exploration is made explaining why scientists from the past believed that a small planet named Vulcan caused Mercury to bend near the Sun and deform its elliptical orbit. He talks about the scientific method and how science is so unique because it is a system of theories and hypotheses which is constantly changing. Scientists seek to shed light on the mysteries of the universe and to do so means that there will inevitably be errors that must be corrected over time as instruments improve and knowledge expands. Einstein's theory of relativity and the relationship of gravity between the planets threw Newton's theories for a loop (I hope that planet joke went down well for you) and changed the way we see the cosmos. It's a really great little book that I think all science nerds can appreciate. (It was super quick also!)

Here's a picture of the cover which I think is gorgeous:


Source: Penguinrandomhouse.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Round trip ticket from Spain to London

The following books were kindly sent to me by the self-published author, Steven Hugh, who requested a review. :-)

The first in the trilogy, Barbara Baker, focuses on a woman who is struggling to raise her young son on a nurse's salary in England. It's not quite as cut and dry as that, however. At the very beginning of the novel something quite shocking happens to her which thrusts her into the path of recently retired Roy Sterling. Soon (shockingly soon) the three are living together in Roy's home and he is more or less financially taking care of them all. There is a dark cloud which hovers over Barbara but which she makes no mention to anyone not even her son, Tony. The hardest part about this book were the sudden jumps in time without any forewarning. Luckily, it was very linear so the reader wasn't left wondering if they were reading a passage from the present, past, or future of the characters. I felt it was pretty slow going but by the end I was too invested not to continue on with the series. (The end is a bit of a shock which I enjoyed.)

Having finished the sequel, Ian Pemberton, I felt that these books are less a series and more a collection of character pieces. There is the briefest mention of Barbara and Roy from the first book but besides that this is a standalone piece. Ian Pemberton revolves around a couple who move from Leicester to Spain to start up a garden furniture business. No, I'm not making this up. The entire book is about a couple trying to make it in Spain selling statues, fountains, and garden gnomes. I found the wife, Madeleine, the most annoying character I've encountered in literature in quite some time. She's vapid, self-obsessed, and obnoxious. Hugh has a gift for descriptive prose and characterization. It's obvious that the locations that are described are very familiar to the author. Despite not finding the majority of the characters in this book likable they all felt believable. Downside: Many passages were in Spanish without direct translation. I found this device tedious but I understand why it was used (they are in Spain after all). Also, there is an undercurrent of racism against Muslims in both this book and its predecessor which I feel needs to be mentioned.

It wasn't until I reached this last book in the series, Verity Xuereb-Smith, that I figured out the reoccurring theme of all three books. (I was helped along a bit by the title of the trilogy, Beginning Again, which I had forgotten until looking back at my initial email from Steven (sorry!).) All of these title characters are looking for a fresh start. They're turning away from the people that they were and discovering who they always wanted to be. Barbara wanted solitude and respite. This was natural as she had already suffered so much turmoil (spoilers!). Ian was tired of his boring job and the drab scenery of Leicester (fool!). He wanted to be in charge of his own life and he fell in love with Spain. Now there's Verity who is an aging actress who has definitely seen her fair share of drama (ha ha ha I am hilarious). I found this one to be the most enjoyable of the three and I think a lot of that had to do with the structure. The moving plot device is that Verity is being interviewed while on a plane ride from Spain to London. The chapters flip flop between interview style question and answers about Verity's career and snippets of her scripts. Apparently I really enjoy reading scripts. I felt the ending was rather abrupt but overall quite good.

I wanted to give an overall summary of my thoughts on this trilogy but I find myself indecisive. On the one hand, I found them quite slow moving at times and not exactly action packed. On the other hand, I found them to be interesting character studies and now that the theme is obvious to me I think they're rather charmingly optimistic. If you're looking for something easygoing that won't take terribly long to get through (I read each book in a couple of hours) then this trilogy is for you.

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Attack of the clones!

If you haven't figured it out by now, my other passion besides books are movies. I watched Home which came out last year and starred (the voices of) Jim Parsons, Rihanna, and J. Lo. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it was based on a middle grade (I struggled over this designation) novel entitled The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. (Do you see where this post is headed?) Both storylines focus on a little girl named Gratuity "Tip" Tucci as she tries to find her mom in the aftermath of an alien takeover. The aliens are called the Boov and they've corralled the humans into a centralized location and taken over everything. This is where the similarities mostly end. The relationship between Tip and her mom, Lucy, is less than ideal. Her mother drinks a lot, is financially irresponsible, and relies heavily on her daughter who is only eleven. I appreciated that Rex wrote this in a matter-of-fact way. It's a reality that exists for many children and I think realistic relationships such as these are underrepresented. What's important is that despite all of that Tip is determined to find her mother so that they can be reunited. Of course, it's not as easy as that. She's in Philadelphia and the majority of humanity have been sent to Florida. She buys a car with the emergency savings they have in their apartment and sets out with her pet cat, Pig. (That wasn't a typo.) She meets a Boov named J. Lo (Firstly, it's a boy Boov which is awesome. Secondly, the book is actually dedicated to J. Lo and as mentioned above she voices a character (the mom to be exact) in the movie.) who enhances her car so that it hovers. They go on a rollicking, dangerous adventure to find her mom while dodging the Boov and another race of aliens called Gorg (actual race is Nimrogs but they are all named Gorg) who have also arrived to colonize Earth. Rex uses illustration in a clever way throughout the book. There are "polaroids" (pencil drawings) of different parts of their trip as well as comic strip illustrations from J. Lo with written explanations by Tip. It's a quick, fun read that I think would especially benefit reluctant readers. It had a lot of heart and touched on a lot of topics such as substance abuse, race, and loyalty. I really enjoyed it. :-D

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **