Review of Mister Miracle: The Great Escape by Varian Johnson (earc)

 

Mister Miracle: The Great Escape by Varian Johnson and Daniel Esles

Falling in love was never part of the escape plan.

Scott Free is a student at the Goodness Academy, on the planet Apokolips, ruled by Lord Darkseid. Sounds pretty cool, right? Wrong. Scott Free wants nothing more than to leave Apokolips for planet Earth; the only problem is that no one has ever left Apokolips of their own free will…or alive.

Scott Free has a plan, a foolproof plan, a plan that his found family depends on for their own freedom. But that plan never involved falling in love with the head of the Female Furies, Big Barda-the one person tasked with ensuring he never escapes.

From the Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of The Parker Inheritance, Varian Johnson, and afrofuturist artist Daniel Isles (DirtyRobot) comes the story of an escape plan that will take a miracle to pull off. Lucky for Scott, everyone calls him MISTER MIRACLE! Okay, fine, no one calls him that…yet.

Review of Squire by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas (physical arc)

 

Squire by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas 

Born a second-class citizen, Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It’s the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the Ornu people, her only path to full citizenship.

Now, ravaged by famine, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again. This means Aiza can finally enlist to the competitive Squire training program.

The camp is nothing like she imagined. Hiding her Ornu status in order to blend in, Aiza must navigate friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the merciless General Hende. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the “greater good” Bayt-Sajji’s military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in more danger than she ever imagined.”

Review of The Heart Hunter by Mickey George and V. Gagnon (paperback)

 

 

The Heart Hunter by Mickey George and V Gagnon 

On the cursed island of Envecor, everyone is doomed to wear their heart outside their bodies, and are immortal—unable to die, to change, to have children— until they find their soul mate. Paired soul mates are then turned mortal, freed from the curse, and able to leave. But all fairy tales have a dark side: those who don’t want to lose their immortality pay “Heart Hunters” to find their soul mates and kill them so they may remain immortal. Psyche, a Heart Hunter, is hired by the king to kill his soulmate. As she sets out on her quest, she begins her own journey of mending her broken heart and learning to trust again.

Expected publication: August 3rd 2021 by Legendary Comics

Review of Ghosted In LA Volume One by Sina Grace (earc)

 

Ghosted In LA by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan, Cathy Le

Daphne Walters moves to Los Angeles and finds that the only ones who can help her find love and live life to the fullest are the ghosts of her new home!

In Los Angeles, finding an apartment is killer—unless you live with the dead. Daphne Walters moves to Los Angeles for her boyfriend Ronnie, ready to live her happily ever after. But when happily ever after turns into happily for a month, she’s stuck in a strange city with no friends, family, or prospects for fun. Desperate to escape the lingering ghost of Ronnie’s presence everywhere, Daphne sets out to explore the city—and ends up encountering ghosts of a more literal kind! Rycroft Manor is abandoned, beautiful, and haunted. Will the dead be able to help Daphne find the life she’s been missing in the big city? From GLAAD Award-nominated Sina Grace (Iceman) and illustrator Siobhan Keenan (Jem and the Holograms) comes a story about learning how to make friends, find love, and live life to the fullest with a little help from some friends whose lives didn’t end at death. Collects Ghosted In L.A #1-4.

Expected publication: May 14th 2020 by BOOM! Box

Review of Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz #InPartnershipwithDC

 

I was thrilled to be contacted by DC and asked to review Gotham High.  I was given access to read the book on my computer.  Thank you so much DC!  #InPartnershipwithDC

 

GOTHAM HIGH

Written by Melissa de la Cruz

Art by Thomas Pitilli

 

 YA Spring Break Reads  ∙ Anticipated 2020 Reads ∙ Diverse Reads  

∙ Fierce Heroines ∙ First Love ∙ Love Triangles ∙ Teen Angst ∙ Friendship 

∙ Asian-American Protagonists

 

∙ Books to add to your Guy-briary  ∙ What to read after watching Riverdale/Gossip Girl

∙ New twists on classic characters 

Review of Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir (earc)

 

Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir

Summer camp is supposed to be about finding nirvana in a rock garden… But Elodie prefers Nirvana and Soundgarden. Can she confront rambunctious kids, confusing feelings, and supernatural horrors all at once?

Summer 1994: with just two months left before college, Elodie is forced by her mother to take a job as a camp counselor. She doesn’t know the first thing about nature, or sports, of kids for that matter, and isn’t especially interested in learning… but now she’s responsible for a foul-mouthed horde of red-headed girls who just might win her over, whether she likes it or not. Just as Elodie starts getting used to her new environment, though — and close to one of the other counselors — a dark mystery lurking around the camp begins to haunt her dreams.

Expected publication: April 14th 2020 by Top Shelf Productions

Short Review of Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (physical paperback)

 

 

 

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

 

Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends.

Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.

But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.

Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .

What if their last shift was an adventure?

Promo for Born To Run (Last Pick #2) by Jason Walz

 

I was able to do a promo post for Last Pick for Jason Walz last year, so I was really happy to hear from him for the second book.

 

 

Last Pick: Born to Run by Jason Walz

Four years ago, aliens kidnapped most of mankind, leaving behind those they deemed unworthy—the “last picked.”

The future for Sam is bleak and unthinkable. A galaxy away from her twin brother, she is a pawn in the aliens’ bloody civil war. But with her new friend Mia, Sam has found a way to resist her captors and hold onto her humanity.

Back on Earth, Sam’s twin, Wyatt, is leading a resistance of his own. With a ragtag army of the old, the young, and the disabled, he has a plan to bring the fight to his alien captors. But to defeat the aliens, Wyatt may need to befriend one.

“An extraordinary sequel that is thrilling, inclusive, and unforgettable.”―Kirkus Review, starred review

Paperback, 240 pages

Expected publication: October 8th 2019 by First Second

Review of Mooncakes (graphic novel) by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu (artist) Digital ARC

 

 

 

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

 

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

 

Paperback, 256 pages

Expected publication: October 15th 2019 by Lion Forge

Blog Tour for Shades of Magic Volume 1: The Steel Prince by V.E. Schwab

 

I am thrilled to be a part of the blog tour promoting Shades of Magic Volume 1:  The Steel Prince.  I have to be honest and say that I still have to read the Darker Shades of Magic books, but I thought this would be great since it’s a prequel.

 

 

 

The Steel Prince by VE Schwab

 

Written by #1 New York Times bestselling author V.E. Schwab and torn from the universe of the Shades of Magic sequence, this all-original comic book prequel to A Darker Shade of Magic is perfect for fans of bloody, swashbuckling adventure and gritty fantasy!

Delve into the thrilling, epic tale of the young and arrogant prince Maxim Maresh, long before he became the king of Red London and adoptive father to Kell, the lead of A Darker Shade of Magic!

The youthful Maresh is sent to a violent and unmanageable port city on the Blood Coast of Verose, on strict orders from his father, King Nokil Maresh, to cut his military teeth in this lawless landscape.

There, he encounters an unruly band of soldiers, a lawless landscape, and the intoxicatingly deadly presence of the newly returned pirate queen, Arisa…

Collects Shades of Magic: The Steel Prince #1-4.