Review – Garrison Girl: An Attack on Titan Novel by Rachel Aaron

Garrison Girl: An Attack on Titan Novel
By: Rachel Aaron
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Quirk Books
Series: Attack on Titan
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


I was intrigued but wary when I first saw Garrison Girl: An Attack on Titan Novel by Rachel Aaron. I am usually always wary when I hear about spin offs. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised. Other times I’m left feeling disappointed. For a long time, I didn’t know how I felt about this novel. But, in the end, I’m glad I read it. Here’s why.

#ThrowbackThursday Review – JLA: Riddle of the Beast

JLA: Riddle of the Beast
By: Alan Grant
Illustrator: Michael Wm. Kaluta, Carl Critchlow, Simon Davis,s Glenn Fabry, Jon Foster, Rafa Garres, D. Alexander Gregory, Alex Horley, Kenny Lopez, Liam R. McCormack-Sharp, Hermann Mejia, Jim Murray, Andrew Robinson, Greg Staples, Saverio Tenuta, John Watson, and Martin T. William
Release Date: March 1, 2003
Publisher: DC Comics
Series: Justice League
Rating:


I knew nothing about this graphic novel when I picked it up at the library. All I knew was that it was a fantasy story and I liked the art when I was flipping through it. That was certainly enough for me, and I’m happy I took a chance on this title. JLA: Riddle of the Beast is written by Alan Grant with art by Michael Wm. Kaluta, Carl Critchlow, Simon Davis,s Glenn Fabry, Jon Foster, Rafa Garres, D. Alexander Gregory, Alex Horley, Kenny Lopez, Liam R. McCormack-Sharp, Hermann Mejia, Jim Murray, Andrew Robinson, Greg Staples, Saverio Tenuta, John Watson, and Martin T. William.

My Brother’s Husband Vol 2 by Gengoroh Tagame

My Brother's Husband Vol 2
By: Gengoroh Tagame
Illustrator: Gengoroh Togame
Translator: Anne Iishi
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Publisher: Pantheon
Series: My Brother's Husband
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


If there is any manga whose release date I’ve been looking forward to it would be My Brother’s Husband Vol 2 by Gengoroh Tagame. I was so ecstatic when a review copy was sent that I read the whole thing cover to cover as soon as I pulled it out of the packaging. My Brother’s Husband is a story about family, loss, grief, guilt, and acceptance. It is a story we can all relate to in our own ways, and it is a story that demands to be read.

My Brother’s Husband Vol 2 continues the story of Mike, Yaichi, and Kana. Plot in a nutshell – Yaichi’s divorced and his somewhat estranged brother recently deceased. One day Mike, a Canadian man and his brother’s widow, shows up on his doorstep looking to connect with the family he never knew.

Review – Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey

Taste of Marrow
By: Sarah Gailey
Release Date: September 12, 2018
Publisher: Tor.com
Series: River of Teeth
Rating:


I haven’t had quite this much fun with a series in a very long time. There is something inherently wonderful about a cast of flawed characters traipsing about in hippo infested waters of the American South. Today we are going to take a look at Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey, the second novella in the River of Teeth series.

This story picks up two months after the conclusion of River of Teeth. The characters who survived book one are split into two – Adelia and Hero in one place and Archie and Houndstooth in another. A lot of themes are touched up on this novella. There are discussions on love and what you must give up or not give up for love. Friendship, family, companionship.

Women in Translation Readathon Wrap-Up

Whoo boy. I did not get half as much reading done for this readathon as I’d hoped. Life just sort of snuck up on me and, well, here we are. I only finished two out of five things I had originally planned to read. Those two books were both by Japanese authors. One was a cozy female/female romance manga that was extremely adorable and I highly recommend. The other was a horror novel written in the 80s and only recently translated. I’d had my eye on this novel for a long time and only recently got a copy. Both were not only written by women, but translated by women as well.

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#MangaMonday Review – Again!! Vol 2 by Mitsurou Kubo

Again!! Vol 2
By: Mitsurou Kubo
Release Date: April 10, 2018 (English); November 17, 2011 (Original Japanese)
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Series: Again!!
Rating:


Earlier this year I read Again!! Vol 1. I enjoyed it, and said I was going to continue on with the series. So here I am having just finished the second volume, making good on my promise to report back you all on what I thought about Again!! Vol 2 by Mitsurou Kubo.

The story continues with Kinichirou trying to thwart the cheerleading club’s efforts to get rid of the ouendan club once and for all. The overall pacing of this volume was extremely fluid. Sections from Kinichirou and Akira’s points of view flowed together very naturally, more so than the previous volume. Several new characters are introduced with extremely varied personalities.

N.E.W.T.’s Readathon Wrap Up

Throughout the month of August I was participating in the N.E.W.T.’s Readathon hosted by BookTube channel Book Roast. This was a very fun readathon based off of the N.E.W.T. exams from Harry Potter. Which classes you participated in and did prompts for were based off of which O.W.L. classes you completed in a readathon held earlier this year.

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Review – The Graveyard Apartments by Mariko Kioke

The Graveyard Apartments
By: Mariko Kioke
Translator: Deborah Boliver Boehm
Release Date: (Original Japanese) 1986; (English) October 11, 2016
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Rating:


I tend to read a lot of horror in the summer, something which probably deserves an article on in itself. The latest scary read I delved into was the novel The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Kioke. This is a book translated from Japanese which tells the story of a young family who moves into an apartment building that overlooks an old graveyard. It is the story of past wrongs, of personal demons better off left buried, and just how far someone is willing to go in order to ignore the bad things in their life or the strange goings on around them.

#MangaMonday Review – Kase-san and Morning Glories by Hiromi Takashimi

Kase-san and Morning Glories
By: Hiromi Takashimi
Illustrator: Hiromi Takashimi
Translator: Jocelyne Allen (translator); Jenn Grunigen (adaptor)
Release Date: February 28, 2017 (English); July 28, 2012 (Japanese)
Publisher: Seven Seas
Series: Kase-san Series
Rating:


I’m not going to lie. I was completely drawn in by the cute characters on the cover and the pretty pastel colors. I picked up this manga during a BookOutlet binge. I’d never heard of it before, and am very happy I managed to stumble across a copy. Kase-san and Morning Glories is a one shot manga volume that was extremely sweet with endearing characters.

Review – The Book of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri

The Book of Hidden Things
By: Francesco Dimitri
Release Date: June 19, 2018
Publisher: Titan Books
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Ladies and gentlemen, let us talk about The Book of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri. I’ve sat on this review for a while. I wasn’t sure how I felt right after finishing this novel. The characters were unlikeable, I was angry with some of their actions and decisions, and there was at once not enough and too much magic. Yet I found the story still in my head, leaving me thinking about it days and then weeks later. It is this, I think, that hallmarks a good story, and maybe more importantly than that, a story that makes you think and question even if you’re not positive what it is you should really be questioning.