Page Turner Reviews

So, I did not even know who Jim Benton was before picking up this book. Despite the fact that I have seen his work being shared on social media a lot recently. I can honestly say I am now a fan. I thought it was going to be another average artist with poorly done jokes. That was not the case, however, and I am glad I was proven otherwise. While the illustrations were not the best, I still found them to be enjoyable. The jokes, situations, and humor was the real winner of the show, making it the best graphic novel I have read all year.

5/5 Stars

I just absolutely loved the humor.

Received by NetGalley for an honest review.

This novel just felt incomplete. Not only was the story lacking (in which they did nothing but go around and point out things they saw around them) but the illustrations were off. It felt as if there where two different styles of graphic novels going on throughout the story. Don't get me wrong, both drawing styles were nice, but putting them together did not do the story any justice.

1.5/5 Stars

Granted this story is not meant for me, but even children would find it a difficult novel to appreciate due to the lack of story and poorly rendered images.  

Received through NetGalley for an honest review.

It was just an okay novel. I really wanted to like this book, but I just had too many problems with the writing. While not perfect, the first half was well written. I was enjoying the story until, halfway in, it it just seemed to go downhill quickly. My main issue was the reasoning of the characters. They just seemed unrealistic or made no sense. I wanted more from the plot, but was given an easy and boring way out of the situation.

2/5 Stars

"My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster."

Lately I have read a lot of lacking novels. Many of which I had been anticipation for a year from my favorite Authors. Imagine my surprise when the first novel to move me emotionally in over a month turns out to be a contemporary novel. A genre that I usually have trouble connecting to and enjoying.

5/5 Stars
I would definitely recommend Everything, Everything to all of my friends. I cannot think of a single negative thing to say about the novel. The characters and their developments were great. The plot was heartfelt and emotional. The romance was realistic and beautiful.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

          “Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

            Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.”

          Alienated far exceeded my expectations. This was just a book I had bought based off a quick glance at an interesting summary. It wasn't until a friend on Goodreads had reviewed and recommended it that I even remembered I had it on my shelf. I tend to listen to her recommendations since we share reading tastes and her review was a glowing one.

          During the first few chapters I was a bit hesitant as it is a novel that takes place in high school (a theme I am not too fond of anymore due to my inability to connect to whiny teens and drama filled halls). As you read the story, I found that the setting did not bother me as much as I would have thought. The story just would not have made sense any other way.

          Basically, the novel is a science fiction romance that takes place in high school. When I say that I do mean a romance novel with hints of science fiction. For some reason, despite not being a fan of romances (with the occasional exception) I found myself devouring this novel.

4.5/5 Stars-

          Alienated was not perfect but it was still a fantastic novel. There were times were I just hated the decisions made, despite understanding the character's reasoning. This made me want to just slap the characters for adding complications that were unnecessary. Surprisingly, despite anger inducing decisions, I loved both of the main characters and have already purchased the next book in the series.

            “Portland has a ghost problem. Sixteen-year-old Claire wants her father back. His death left her only memories and an empty locket. After six difficult years in foster care, her vocabulary no longer includes "hope" and "trust". Everything changes when Justin rides his magical horse into her path and takes her under his wing. Like the rest of the elite men who serve as Spirit Knights, he hunts restless ghosts that devour the living. When an evil spirit threatens Claire's life, she'll need Justin's help to survive. And how could she bear the Knights' mark on her soul? Everybody knows Girls Can't Be Knights. “

            Girls Can't Be Knights is a younger urban fantasy style book. The story mixes fantasy elements in a modern day setting. Usually this is limited to older protagonists from the age 25-30. I love urban fantasy style books but the first few pages slightly put me off due to it being about a teenage girl being bullied in high school (which is one of those themes that I tend to avoid). The topic of bullying, books about kids being in the system or the death of parents are too draining emotionally. I read to be uplifted and escape into a wonderful or entertaining world.

             I must say that I was glad that it was different from the usual paranormal twist to a teenage love story. Focused on the struggles of the main character and her attempts to persevere no matter the obstacle faced. I originally found the main character, Claire, to be strong w/o being annoying or abrasive (except to those who treat her harshly). However, over the course of the novel I found that her character was too unbelievable and devolved in many areas. For example, no matter what was told to her or who it was said by, without any shred of evidence, she would believe and accept anything. In the first few chapters she went off w/ Justin to his house based on a feeling of him being a safe bet despite him just robbing a historical museum. She also immediately accepted the idea of knights and a secret dimension (the palace) without any proof.

3.5/5 Stars

            I thoroughly enjoyed the plot presented in the story and would have given it a higher rating if it were not for the characters. All of the characters were a bit unbelievable and portrayed in an extreme manner. If one character was nice then they would gladly adopt someone they met two days ago, and if they were mean they would abuse a teenager.

             Lately I have found that female characters are increasingly being better portrayed by male authors. This further showed this situation. I had so much trouble with the “development” of the Claire that it heavily took away from the novel.

I received this for review through Net Galley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Heroes: Volume One is a collection of the 34 online comics that were created based off of season one for the popular NBC show Heroes. These comics depict a mix of characters that have abilities and their path toward overcoming the problems and dangers that arise as a result.

While I enjoy graphic novels and mangas, I have always struggled to read comics. The short format and story plots just never seemed to grab my attention. That being said, I found this volume to be wonderful. It had everything I loved about the series and more. While I wished it went into more depth for my favorite character, Hiro and Peter, I found the background and stories for the lesser known characters to be a nice addition. Hannah Gitelman (aka Wireless) is a perfect example. Wireless was someone I did not really think much of in the show but grew to admire immensely from the comics.

5/5 Stars

I would recommend this collection of comics to anyone who likes a story about people with abilities or stories with an action packed plot. While it is geared towards those who have watched the show, it would still be enjoyable to those who have not. I am very much looking forward to reading the second volume.

 “Mercy is a shapeshifting coyote and honorary member of the Tri-Cities werewolf pack. When the pack stumbles upon the buried bones of numerous dead children, she shapeshifts into a mystery of the legendary fae - a mystery that draws Mercy's stepdaughter Jesse into the fray!”

I really hoped that I was going to enjoy this bind up of the six- issue comics. In the past I have read many of the novels in the Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series. The idea of shape shifters has been an immediate sell for me since I read the Kate Daniel series by Ilona Andrews.

The pacing and point of view of this novel prevented me from being able to delve into the world. While I understand that graphic novels are a quick read and as a result they will not cover as much as a traditional novel, I didn’t feel that it fit in this case. The novel continuously switched back and forth between both Mercy and Jesse. I found this to be a bit disjointed and annoying at times.

1.5/5 Stars

The plot was an interesting concept, but I was just unable to stay focused for the duration of the novel. I found myself forcing my way through and eventually I had to give up (only making it halfway through). I believe that this graphic novel would be more enjoyable for those who may not have read the original series and as a result do not have high hopes that will inevitably be crushed.

 I received this for review from NetGalley.

The Worrier's Guide to Life was a quick and quirky read. While at times 
I found myself pushing to get through, overall it was an okay read. I 
mainly had a problem with the fact that the title does not fit the 
book. Yes, at times there are items related to anxiety and introversion
but that was only a small portion of the book. 

2/5 Stars 
It was okay, but I would not have paid $14.99 for the book.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The summary:

“This is the story about one world on the peak of civilization. They have a source of pure energy so they don't have to eat, sleep, work or die. Therefore, you have to gain your place under the sun obtaining human skills through seven circles of the Rejectown. What can be issues of such a world? What does it take to be a Human and what does it take away? “

Review:

I thought that the cover art was beautiful but the internal artwork is subpar at best and overall feels rushed and unfinished. It also had formatting errors as it did not fill up the entire page, in fact it took up less than half a page. There were also times in which the images would be turned on its side, which also made it difficult to read. This made it difficult and at times impossible to read some of the sentences .

Most of the commentary did not make sense . It sounded like something a person that was high would spout. ( or maybe a child) I did not enjoy the writing at all. For example a portion goes, “Not in more important direction. Much more significant thing will be when it passes through this same door, but the big one and in the opposite direction. If that ever happens. And to make that happen it was to do its best to deserve it.”.....what?! And this was present throughout the entire story.

I can forgive grammatical errors in an ebook story put into the world by its creator (even though it is so short that they should have easily been able to skim and fix any errors). I cannot forgive, however, the utter nonsense and lack of story. It was basically some strange rant created by someone out of their mind.

It also gave no explanation towards the concept of the humans and non-humans. The most it mentioned was that there were those that were once human, are human, or will become human (if I remember correctly). It did not explain what species or life forms the non humans were or how they changed from one to the other.

0/5 Stars

This graphic “novel” does not even deserve one star. A novel is supposed to have a story, conflicts, characterization, and resolvement. This story had none of those things and was the worst thing I have read all year. It only took me about 15 minutes to read, and I wish I had that time back because it was not worth the time. The only good thing about the entire story was the cool looking cover.

VOX is an original raphic concept artbook that combines musical instruments, women, and electric colors.

I thought that the art styles of many of the images were creative and well executed. I do, however, have a problem with the amount of female nudity present. It was almost as if it was on every page. I wanted to enjoy this artbook but I just found myself feeling increasingly repulsed as I continued through the book.

2/5 Stars

I received this from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. If there was not as much nudity to the extent it is currently at the point of being both vulgar and sexist I would have found it more enjoyable. Also, despite the artistry being creative, the topics of sex and rock n' roll is not. 

Henni lives in a world where old traditions and religion dominate. Unlike most in her village, she questions and wonders what the world is like as she comes of age. Striking out on her own, Henni goes out in search of truth, adventure, and more.

Henni is a graphic novel that portrays a society of cat people that are content to live a life devoted to a morally corrupt religious government. Henni grew up questioning everything, and as a result, she faces many hardships as she continues her path to finding out the truth. The setting had the feel of a dystopian novel but mixed with graphic novels and cat people. The character grows over the course of the story as she learns of the lies she has been fed as a child (despite at time doubting herself). The plot portrayed very relevant problems that many must face as they come of age.

3.5/5 Stars

I received this for review from Net Galley. Henni is a novel that is fast and enjoyable to read. I did, however, feel that the ending was too abrupt and the story was not as long as I would have hoped. Despite that, the plot as well as the illustrations are creatively depicted.