the ocean at the end of the lane

the ocean at the end of the lane
neil gaiman
fantasy
william morrow books
published 2013

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

There is something incredibly bewitching about Neil Gaiman's writing and it's only emphasized when you listen to the audiobook read by him.

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is creepy, haunting, terrifying, sad and magical.  A different kind of coming-of-age tale with the most wonderful of characters.  Lettie and her mother and grandmother were so rich and delicious.  I wanted to be friends with them.  I was desperate for them to come and save the boy from Ursula Monkton.

I loved how the character's names sounded coming from Gaiman.  Ursula Monkton, Lettie Hempstock....and how the narrator, the boy, had no name.

I kept thinking how freaking terrifying the entire experience would be.  How helpless he felt, how strong Lettie was and was heartbroken at the end.  I wanted him to remember.

All in all, a fantastic read (or listen)!

zita the spacegirl & legends of zita the spacegirl

zita the spacegirl
legends of zita the spacegirl
graphics/children/scifi
first second
published 2010-2012

Zita's life took a cosmic left turn in the blink of an eye.

When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet.  Humanoid chickens and neurotic robots are shocking enough as new experiences go, but Zita is even more surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero.  Before long, aliens in all shapes and sizes don't even phase her.  Neither do ancient prophecies, doomed planets, or even a friendly con man who takes a mysterious interest in Zita's quest.

This is a cute adventure series that is loads of fun to read, but not much appeal for adult readers except for the just the sheer fun of it.  I love the creatures (Zita's spaceship is probably my favorite) and the expressions Zita makes at times.  This is the perfect series for Emma who loved Cleopatra In Space!

saga, vol. 3

saga, volume 3
brian k. vaughn & fiona staples
graphics/sci-fi/fantasy
image comics
published 2014

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.  As new parents Marko and Alana travel to an alien world to visit their hero, the family's pursuers finally close in on their targets.

Although not nearly as sweepingly fantastic as the first two volumes this is still a really good, engaging read.  The end of each issue always had me reaching for the next and the issues are not long enough for my liking!  I could read 100 issues in one sitting and it wouldn't be enough Brian K. Vaughn or Fiona Staples for me.

sea of monsters

sea of monsters
percy jackson #2
rick riordan
ya/fantasy
disney hyperion
published 2006

After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet.  His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson - a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any "normal" friends.  But things don't stay quiet for long.  Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders which protect Half-Blood Hill have bee poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters.  To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been take prisoner by the Cyclops Polyphemus on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia - only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name ... the Bermuda Triangle.  Now Percy and his friends - Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson - must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes by the end of the summer of Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed.  But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family - one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

I can see why Emma likes these books so much.  They're full of action and the nuances of Greek mythology.  I enjoy how they relate the Greek mythology into the modern day things.

But the books don't feel as weighty as Harry Potter and they don't keep me engaged for very long.  Inevitably while reading, my mind will drift to other things.  I never find myself fully engrossed in the book.  I'm completely interested in the outcome, or what is coming throughout the journey, but for some reason I get easily distracted.  Which is why it took me so long to finish the book!

storm front

storm front
dresden files #1
jim butcher
fiction/fantasy
roc
published 2000

Lost items found.  Paranormal investigations.  Consulting.  Reasonable rates.  No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.  Harry Dresden is the best and technically the 'only' at what he does.  So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal capabilities, they come to him for answers.  For the 'everyday' world is actually full of strange and magical things - and most of them don't play well with humans.  That's where Harry comes in.  Takes a wizard to catch a - well, whatever.

This whole book reminded me a lot of Laurell K. Hamilton's first Anita Blake book, Guilty Pleasures.  Except, of course, Harry Dresden isn't a borderline sociopath.  Mostly, it was just the same sort of genre.  A world where people kind of half believe in the supernatural and some of them are out in the open, but a lot of what the regular people is is just the tip of the iceberg.  Harry works for the police in a semi-official capacity....there's just a lot of similarities.

And like Guilty Pleasures, I really enjoyed Storm Front.  It was a pretty quick read once I finally sat down and got to reading.  I just hope it doesn't go down the same horrible hole that Anita Blake went.

This story was creepy and funny (Bob is probably my favorite character here), but there was lots of emotion, sadness too.  Harry's past, his childhood is something that he touches upon slightly, but it's his mother that I'm curious about.

I got this book as a deal.  The first 6 books in a set pretty cheap so I'll probably read those and see if I want to read the next EIGHT or so!  But as long as we don't go down Anita Blake's path this is looking to be a pretty good series!

winter's passage

winter's passage
the iron fey #1.5
julie kagawa
ya/fantasy/fae/romance
harlequin teen
published 2010

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl....until she discovered that she is really a faery princess.  After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron Fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash.  But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck - Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon - who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.  

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed.  They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter - a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat.

This was one of those short 'novellas' that I usually love because they give me a little more insight into certain characters.  This one was a little drab.  Good for someone who LOVES this series, but other than that it was all mostly rehashed (in some parts a complete copy & paste) in The Iron Daughter.  Not fun to read something and then read the exact same text in the next book.

Booo.

north world: the epic of conrad, book two

north world: the epic of conrad, book two
lars brown
graphics/fantasy/comedy
oni press
published 2009

Conrad has thrown down his sword and picked up the tax forms, and has returned to Coeur du Lac to live a normal life.  But what's normal, anyway?  Can anything ever be normal for Conrad ever again?  When Kailee shows up in town hunting a demon summoner, she throws everything he had been working towards into disarray.  In the midst of that confusion, Conrad discovers that he has to face down his past if he wants to take control of his future, and he'll have to decide whether his future will be swords and sorcery or semi-variable cost financing!

There were two major problems with this book for me.  The first was I shouldn't have waited so long to read this second part because I seemed to have forgotten some key parts.  I found myself lost at times, forgetting who was who or what the back story was concerning a certain characters.  The second was three of the characters, Conrad included, were so similar looking that most of the time I didn't know who was in the frame with him right away.  That always kind of bugs me and bums me out when reading black & white books.

I think if I read this right after reading the first book I would have been more into it, but as it was I couldn't fully immerse myself in the story.

saga, volumes 1 & 2

saga, volume 1
saga, volume 2
brian k. vaughn & fiona staples
graphics/fantasy
image comics
published 2012

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.

This is one of those books that I've seen a million times, heard about a million times, read about a million times, but never really felt like picking it up.  Maybe it's because it's written by Brian K. Vaughn and while I did enjoy Y: The Last Man, I didn't completely fall in love with it.  Plus, this sort of fantasy stuff isn't usually my go to.

But I started going through lists geek girls were writing about graphics you just have to read and across the board Saga is one of them.  I happened to be at the library (shocker, I know) one day and they had these two volumes sitting there so I figured, why the hell not?

And I'm so glad I did.  I enjoyed Saga much more than I ever expected.  There's strangely everything in this book.  Love, war, aliens, monsters, robots, villains, heroes, anti-heroes, betrayal, revenge.....you name it, it's in here.

Alana and Marko just want to find a peaceful way out of a war to raise a child that shouldn't exist.  The warring factions send out assassins to kill them because they represent a unity that the rulers just can't let people know is possible.  It's hard not to fall completely in love with Alana and Marko so it seems odd that I found myself sympathetic to almost every character introduced.  Everyone is just trying to make it through this war and amidst all the fighting what seems to be the unifying theme is family.  However you want to define that.

The dialogue is witty and sharp and the characters are vastly different across the board.  The art is flawless and moments jump out and either delight or disgust you.  Either way it's brilliant.

evernight

evernight
evernight #1
claudia gray
ya/vampires/romance
harper teen
published 2008

Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school when the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory.  Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas.  He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way.  Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful - even when it comes to caring about him.

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied.  Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

Fuck this book.

The ridiculous of the storytelling drove me insane.  I can't really review this without spoilers so just so you know SPOILERS AHEAD....

My first huge beef with this book is the prologue.  Bianca mentions her 'new friends'.  When we get to this scene in the book you realize she's known all but two of these people for maybe 3 minutes.  Wow, you make friends that fast?  The second thing?  In the prologue vampires are mentioned.  So there you go.  We now know this is a book about vampires (if you didn't already know).

What you're led to believe during the first almost half of the book is that something strange is going on and it has something to do with the school.  Lucas, Bianca's love interest (whom she falls in desperate love with IMMEDIATELY and is ridiculous about it ever after that) is suspicious of everyone and everything at the school and wants to protect Bianca, but she isn't sure there's anything to be protected from besides social outcast-ness despite the fact that she tried to run away from school the day of orientation.

Then, all of sudden, 40% into the book, Bianca BITES LUCAS WITH HER FANGS AND DRINKS HIS BLOOD.  WTF.  From then on we read about how she grew up knowing she was a vampire child and drank blood every morning with her breakfast and her father is 1,000 years old, blah, blah, blah.  Are you kidding me?  Again, WTF?!

Now it would be one thing if the story was told from Lucas's point of view and all of a sudden we're like, whoa the chick's a vampire!  Holy crap!  Because Lucas didn't know that.  But the story is Bianca's story.  We're in her head and she knows she's a vampire.  She knows her parents, her roommate, the headmistress, the teachers, she knows they're all vampires!  Therefore, we should know they're vampires.

And then this happens:

"A hundred dollars! That's only half what it cost!" I protested. And it was worth so much more than money. I'd worn it virtually every day for months, the visible symbol of the love I felt for Lucas. How could this man look at it so coldly?

Um, maybe because he's a pawnshop dealer, a stranger to you and you're an idiot?!

See, I already hate Bianca.  She's got no personality, not backbone, no spunk.  She's wishy washy and whiny.  She's completely oblivious to everything around her.  When the first meet, Lucas mentions his great-great grandfather went to Evernight 150 or some odd years ago and broke the stain glass window.  Now, we know (after we find out about vampires) that this is the first time Evernight has allowed humans into the school.  Therefore, something is not right about Lucas's story.  And she never puts it together.  Even though she remembers the story and even tells it to her parents and the only interesting character in the story, Balthazar.

I just can't stand her.  It gets worse and it makes me insane.  The book ends very incomplete.  There is no closure and it's obvious there is another book after (for the record, there's 5) but I don't even care.  I want to know nothing else about Bianca and Lucas.  I wish they would die and the story would move on to another character, but I doubt that will happen so I'll just leave now, thanks.

the lightning thief

the lightning thief
percy jackson & the olympians #1
rick riordan
ya/middle grades/fantasy
hyperion
published 2005

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper.  And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him.  When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe.  She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea.  Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

My daughter has read these and it's been driving her crazy that I haven't read them yet so we can watch the movies.  I told her I would start reading them this month and ever since the 1st of February she's been asking how much I've read.  While she doesn't love these as much as Harry Potter she sure does love them.

I love Greek mythology.  It's probably one of my favorite things I learned about in school so this series already has a point in its favor just because of the subject matter.  I love how Riordan brings the mythical characters into the real world.  The story moved along quickly and there was always something to keep you biting your nails.

What I didn't like?  The betrayer was too obvious to me.  And I felt like it should have been obvious after what happens in the Underworld, but no one ever saw it until the end.  Kinda lame.

But all in all I thought this was pretty good.  It's no Harry Potter, but it'll do.  ;)

ōoku: the inner chambers, vol. 2

ōoku: the inner chambers, vol. 2
fumi yoshinaga
graphics/historical/fantasy/manga
viz media
published 2009

Curious about why female lords must take on male names, the shogun Yoshimune seeks out the ancient scribe Murase and his archives of the last eighty years on the Inner Chambers - called the Chronicle of the Dying Day.  In its pages Yoshimune discovers the coming of the Redface Pox, the death of the last male shogun, and the birth of the new Japan....

This takes us back almost eighty years beginning around 6 years after the death of the last male shogun.  In the previous volume Yoshimune goes to Murase to ask about the Chronicle of the Dying Day and in this volume two the Chronicle plays out.

In the first volume there was some humor and attempts at lightheartedness.  Here is just a lot of bleakness, violence and tragedy.  Kasuga will not let anything stop her from saving the Tokugawa name.  Murder, kidnapping, whatever, she'll do it.  She is a terrifying character.

There was just a lot of sadness, but we got to see the transition from being a place that housed women for the shogun to a place that housed men who thought that their male shogun was still alive and favored men.  The secrets that were kept and doled out to a select few who were then doomed never to leave the Inner Chambers.

I am anxious to get back to Yoshimune to see how she will have taken this account and what she will do, if anything, to change the state of affairs in Japan.  And also, how she will deal with the Inner Chambers.

ōoku: the inner chamber, vol. 1

ōoku: the inner chamber, vol. 1

fumi yoshinaga

graphic/historical/fantasy/manga

viz media

published 2009

In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country's men.  Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent.  Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to me, even that of the Shogun.  The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected.  And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chamber...

At first glance this is very similar to Y: The Last Man and while I did enjoy those, Ōoku is telling a story much more intriguing to me.  I think maybe because it is written by a female we're missing those moments of annoying sexism that were pretty prevalent in Y: The Last Man.  Also, in Y the decimation of the male population is much more present.  Here, we're 80 years past the first case in a time when some people don't even remember when there were just as many men as women.  So we're focused less on why this has happened and more so on 'now what?'.

I really enjoy Fumi Yoshigana's art and storytelling.  While this is much more serious than Antique Bakery (my only other exposure to Yoshigana's work) she still inserts small moments of humor into the panels to break up the tension.  She's written something much more complicated and revealing than I expected.

The story begins with the introduction of the Redface Pox and it's devastating effects.  Shorty thereafter we skip ahead 80 years and get a glimpse of life as it stands with women in power and carrying the burdens of a country reinvented.  Yunoshin is a handsome man who has very little care until his mother arranges for him a fortunate marriage.  Instead he offers to put himself in service to the Shogun at the Ōoku.  Once there he learns quickly that living with only men has its downsides.

When the young Shogun dies a newer, more experienced and shrewd Shogun steps into her place and she has big plans for turning everything around.  She is smart and no-nonsense, yet she is compassionate and caring in her dealings with the men in her employ.  She has suspicions of the state of affairs in her country and she intends to get to the bottom of everything.

So you have some romance and some political intrigue all wrapped up with some gorgeous art!

tiger lily

tiger lily
jodi lynn anderson
ya/fantasy
harper teen
published 2012

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair.... Tiger Lily.  When fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan deep in the forbidden woods of Neverland, the two form a bond that's impossible to break, but also impossible to hold on to.  As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants.  Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily.  However, when Wendy Darling, a girl who is everything Tiger Lily is not, arrives on the island, Tiger Lily discovers how far she is willing to go to keep Peter with her, and in Neverland.

The minute I saw this book I knew that I would love it.  Usually, when I see I cover I love I expect it will probably not stand up to my expectations, but this time I knew because it was Peter Pan.

Peter Pan has always secretly been my favorite of Disney movies.  And not because of Peter or Wendy, but Tinker Bell & Tiger Lily.  I thought Tiger Lily was beautiful in the cartoon movie.  I wanted to know her story and I wanted Peter to love only her.  I thought Wendy was bossy and silly and didn't deserve Peter.  Tinker Bell has just always been my favorite.  Feisty and animated.  She couldn't talk, but boy did you know how she felt.  Since then Tink has had her own series of movies and it's been so fun to see that world from her eyes, but still, the silent Tink holds a place in my heart.

Jodi Lynn Anderson has done an amazing job at making the story of Peter Pan the story of Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell.  She's weaved in bits of J.M. Barrie's tale into hers and reminded us of Disney's classic, but there is no humor and this is not a children's tale.

It is dark and dangerous.  And it feels real.  She took each and every character and made them as real as they could be living on an island almost impossible to reach by ship where hardly anyone grows old.  Captain Hook is desperate to catch Peter and in Disney's story I always wondered what would really happen if he did catch him.  In Anderson's tale I knew that when he did catch him Peter would die.  He isn't a bumbling captain to a ragtag group of pirates, but a madman looking not so much for treasure as much as he just wants to kill.  Smee isn't the sweet, reluctant pirate, but a dark and dangerous serial killer.

The tale is told from Tinker Bell's perspective as she has abandoned her own people to live with Tiger Lily whom she loves and admires but doesn't think knows she exists.  Able to read human's minds through their feelings she is the perfect storyteller.  The story is dark and beautiful and heartbreaking and I loved every word of it.

the name of the wind

the name of the wind
kingkiller chronicles #1
patrick rothfuss
fiction/high fantasy
daw
published 2007

The riveting first-person narrative of a young man who grows to be the most notorious magician his world has ever seen.  From his childhood in a troupe of traveling players to years spent as near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic.

The Name of the Wind is one of those books that can be described as epic because that's really what it is, an epic.  Kvothe is an unassuming innkeeper at the Waystone Inn serving the very few patrons of farmers and the very infrequent traveler.  In the past few months the roads have become increasingly unsafe so Waystone Inn has not seen a new face in quite some time.  And that's mostly okay with Kvothe who just wants to polish his bottles and listen to stories that the villagers tell.

Until a battered and terrified regular comes in carrying a bundle of nightmares.  Now Kvothe knows that the quiet in his life might be coming to and end.  When he comes across a Chronicler he decides that now is the perfect time to tell the story of his life.

This book is what one might also describe as a brick.  The paperback that was lent to me is a cool 722.  It's no The Game of Thrones, but it's pretty long nonetheless.  It was recommended to me by a friend and has been sitting on my shelf for many, many months.  It took me awhile to get into the book at all.  I'm not a big fantasy reader, especially not these sort of epic high fantasy books (I just learned what the term high fantasy means!) so I was a little lost until I found the rhythm.  Then the pages seemed to fly by until I got to the last 20-30 pages.  Then it sort of slowed down.

Also called The Name of the Wind: Day One, the book is Kvothe's telling of the story of his life to the Chronicler while they are sitting in his deserted inn.  He takes us from his childhood days all the way through his teens.  I think by the time he takes a break for the day he is about 17 or 18 years old.

Kvothe is one of the luckiest and yet, unluckiest people ever.  He's arrogant, having discovered at a young age that he was scarily intelligent and apt at sympathy, a sort of alchemist/magician sort of thing.  And his high opinion of himself is generally what gets him into rough spots.  The book is packed with adventure, mystery and sadness and it ends with a sort of cliffhanger.  There is still so much story to tell!

If you're a reader of fantasy you've probably already read this.  If you're not you should definitely give it a try.  Fans of The Game of Thrones books will enjoy this as well.

the last dragonslayer

the last dragonslayer
jasper fforde
ya/fantasy
hmh
published 2012

In the good old days, magic was indispensable - it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain.  But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery.  Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians - but it's hard to stay in business when magic is drying up.  And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world's last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer.  If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam - and for Jennifer.  Because something is coming.  Something known as .... Big Magic.

Jennifer.  Quite a common name for such an interesting character.  Maybe that's why Fforde gave her the last name 'Strange'.

There are funny bits.  Like how money is called 'moolah' and just all around silliness.  There is adventure and mystery.  Sweetness and sadness.  It has all the elements to make a really good book, but it was just okay.  I never really could get into it.  I can't say why, I just found my mind wandering in spots.  I wasn't really paying attention.  Even now, I can't think of anything that I really loved or felt a pull towards in the book.  It wasn't bad, it was just okay.  And I guess every once in a while okay is enough.

the unwritten, vol. 1-5

the unwritten
tommy taylor & the bogus identity
inside man
dead man's knock
leviathan
on to genesis
mike carey & peter gross
graphic novel/literary/mystery/fantasy
vertigo
published 2009

Tom Taylor's life was screwed from go.  His father created the Tommy Taylor fantasy series, boy-wizard novels with popularity on par with Harry Potter.  The problem is Dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom's real life that fans are constantly comparing him to his counterpart, turning him into the lamest variety of Z-level celebrity.  In the final novel, it's even implied that the fictional Tommy will cross over into the real world, giving delusional fans more excuses to harass Tom.

When an enormous scandal reveals that Tom might really be a boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a very mysterious, very deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life.  Now, to protect his own life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, eventually finding himself at locations all featured on a very special map.  And in the process of figuring out what it all means, Tom will find himself having to figure out a huge conspiracy mystery that spans the entirety of the history of fiction.

This is what one might call the graphic novel for book lovers.  The whole idea is that books fuel the world.  That people can come together to all love a book, think about a book and that will fuel the magic that the world is lacking yet needs.  But there's this group of people who age incredibly slowly and they control the world by controlling the literature that the world is exposed to and they'll do whatever it takes to get that control.

I think.

These books have a lot going on and mostly at times I feel slightly confused.  Still, they are exciting and, well, graphic.  The only one I had a hard time with was Leviathan.  All that Moby Dick talk bored the heck out of me.  Not a fan.

But if you love books this could possibly be the best series of graphic novels you've ever read.

lies beneath

lies beneath

lies beneath #1

anne greenwood brown

fantasy/ya/romance/thriller

delacorte press

published 2012

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans and absorb their positive energy. Usually, they select their victims at random, but this time around, the underwater clan chooses its target for a reason: revenge. They want to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother's death.

It's going to take a concerted effort to lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the water. Calder's job is to gain Hancock's trust by getting close to his family. Relying on his irresistible good looks and charm, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter Lily. Easy enough, but Calder screws everything up by falling in love--just as Lily starts to suspect there's more to the monster-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined, and just as the mermaids threaten to take matters into their own hands, forcing Calder to choose between them and the girl he loves.

One thing's for sure: whatever Calder decides, the outcome won't be pretty.

This was much better than I expected!

Kind of Twilighty with the whole dangerous guy, girl falls for him anyway, but other than that it was unique and fun.

Mermaids and mermen, or rather, merman.  Lots of betrayal and mystery surrounding Calder and his sisters.  At first I was a little bummed to find out this was the first in a series, but after reading it I felt like we just scratched the surface and I'm interested to see where Brown goes with this.

But if you didn't want to start another series you could just read this one and be pretty satisfied.  I think it ends well, leaving it up in the air a little, but at the same time there's closure there too.  Like I said, I'm interested to see where she goes with this so I'm in for the next one whenever I can get my hands on it!

the wizard heir

the wizard heir

the heir chronicles #2

cinda williams chima

ya/fantasy/suspense

hyperion

published 2009

Sixteen-year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. And it's not his attitude that's the problem. It's the trail of magical accidents--lately, disasters--that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained--and his powers are escalating out of control.

After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys' school on the coast of Maine. At first, it seems like the answer to his prayers. Gregory Leicester, the headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his mysterious order of wizards. But Seph's enthusiasm dampens when he learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students' powers to serve his own dangerous agenda.

In this companion novel to the exciting fantasy The Warrior Heir, everyone's got a secret to keep: Jason Haley, a fellow student who's been warned to keep away from Seph; the enchanter Linda Downey, who knew his parents; the rogue wizard Leander Hastings, and the warriors Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson. This wizard war is one that Seph may not have the strength to survive.

My review the first time I read wasn't very revealing:

A great follow-up to The Warrior Heir! I love books that introduce new characters while still showcasing the original players. I can't wait to see what happens in the Dragon Heir. 

Let's see if I can elaborate on that pitiful review....

The Wizard Heir takes place a some months after the events at Raven's Ghyll.  Seph is a wizard without any sort of training.  He knows what he is, but he's an orphan brought up by a sorcerer with a mistrust of wizards so his knowledge is very limited.  He lands himself at Haven, a school for boys with issues.  When he learns there's a wizard there who will train him he's thrilled, until he starts getting glimpses of something terribly wrong at Haven.

He meets Jason who wants nothing more than to escape Haven and find The Dragon, a mysterious rebel who is turning the Wizard Council against each other and strengthening the Anawizard weir.

Basically, we're introduced to Seph, Jason & Madison and eventually the major players from the first book come together.  Cinda Williams Chima is awesome at creating characters like Dr. Gregory Leicester whom you just can't stand.  The perfect villain to our stoic heroes!  She did write an amazing follow-up and set us up quite well to be eager for The Dragon Heir.  So I guess my review wasn't as bad as I thought!

the night circus

the night circus

erin morgenstern

fiction/fantasy/scifi

anchor

published 2011

The circus arrives without warning.  No announcements precede it.  It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.  Within the black-and-white striped canvas tnts is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements.  It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.  Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.  Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

The book jumps back in forth in time to tell the story of before and during and then and while it should be confusing with a jumble of different characters it's not.  You yearn to know how everyone is intertwined - because you know they must be - and you revel in each little step taken through their journey.

Sometimes when I'm reading a book where there is an ensemble of characters I get frustrated when the focus shifts from one character to the next.  Inevitably there is always at least one character I don't care where their story take them.  That is not so with The Night Circus.

I'm enthralled by Bailey, Poppet & Widget and their mysterious adventures.  What Bailey's future holds for him and Poppet & Widget's easy acceptance and friendship.  Isobel is at times seemingly bitter and cunning, but then maybe that's just what I expect her to be and not what she really is.  Of course, Celia and Marco.  Tsukiko, Chandresh, Tante, Lainie & Tara, Mr. Barris, Herr Thiessen....they're all incredibly fascinating and add bits and bits of revelation to the mystery at hand.  

I found Hector/Prospero to be completely horrid.  Alexander showed more love for Marco than Hector ever did for Celia.  Everything Hector ever did was done to Celia, not for her.  The affection he showed her was merely a fake face.  Alexander was the genuine one.  Though that doesn't make him exempt from his choices it does make him more human.

I did get a little confused during October 21-November 1, 1901 & 1902.  Because it was switching back and forth so quickly I would have to double back and see what year I was in.  There were questions and mysteries I felt were never answered, but for some reason I wasn't disappointed.  Some mysterious are better left as mysteries.

warrior heir

warrior heir

the heir chronicles #1

cinda williams chima

fantasy/suspense/ya

hyperion

published 2007

Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity.  Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers.  Then one day Jack skips his medicine.  Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before.  And it feels great - until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us.  At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game - a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death.  The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind - he's one of the last of the warriors - at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.

This was a re-read for me that falls between the older Nora Roberts books I've been re-reading where I know I've read them, but it's been so long it's almost a new book to me and Twilight where I've read it so many times I almost know it by heart.  I first read Warrior Heir in 2009 when I was really starting to read more YA fantasy novels.  I fell in love with Jack, Ellen, Fitch & Will.  I enjoyed the pacing of the novel.  It was a quick read in the sense that I couldn't put it down.

I thought this was simply a trilogy and I flew through all three pretty quickly.  I think at that point it was kind of billed as only being three books, but then a few weeks ago I saw a free short story set in this universe and that Cinda William Chima is releasing another two books!  The Enchanter Heir & The Sorcerer Heir which totally makes sense.  smh

My review from the first reading:

Fast paced and nail biting!  The story and mythology within the story were fantastic!  Each character was likeable or easily despised, whichever needed!  I loved that Jack was the all around hero.  He was strong and brave and also compassionate and humble.  Fitch and Will were wonderful and the unlikely heroes/true friends and Linda and Hastings were strong and full of chemistry.  I can't wait to see what happens next!

Even though I remembered most of this story I still felt like it was a good idea to refresh my memory and the book is so good and so enjoyable that I wasn't bored reading it again.  It's one of those series that I would certainly recommend!