Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle

Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle

My Rating: ★★★★

Julie and the woman of her dreams and fellow werewolf, Selena, go on a date at a mysterious magic show. Things go well until Julie’s close friend, Chet, volunteers as the magician’s assistant and gets turned into a human. Determined to catch the evil magician and return Chet to his former centaur glory before it’s too late, the three hatch a plan to find the magician and teach him a thing or two about using magic for evil purposes.

This is such a cute story! It’s so refreshing to see plus size characters lead the story as well as a story that takes mythology and puts it in a modern setting. I love how rich the story is and how many characters there are without making it seem confusing or character heavy to the point where readers can’t keep up. Plus, the artwork is beautiful. I really wish I could get some of the pages in poster size so I can put them on my wall!

The characters are adorable and relatable as well as hilarious. I think that Chet might be my favorite character at this point. I love Julie, but she seemed to get angry or upset at every turn, which threw the story off a little at some point. I understand that she’s insecure, but it was really pushing it when she and Selena were arguing because Julie assumed that her girlfriend thinks she’s dumb over a difference in ideas on how to get Chet back to himself. I’d love to see more of the characters, especially Chet, Cass, and Selena, and see how they develop in the next volume. Hopefully Julie will grow a little bit and talk to her friends and girlfriend about what she’s feeling instead of lashing out or running away.

All in all, it’s such a cute story that I don’t think anyone should pass up. I’m looking forward to checking out the next volume as soon as it drops.

The Girl Without Skin (Greenland #1) by Mads Peder Nordbo

The Girl Without Skin by Mads Peder Nordbo

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Text Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Matthew Cave was sent to cover the discovery of a mummified Viking man, he never expected to get tangled up in a 40-year-old murder mystery. What started as simply reporting on an exciting discovery quickly turns tragic when the body is stolen and the man guarding him is murdered and flayed just like the victims of a series of murders that occurred decades ago. Matthew finds himself drawn into the original case only to discover that very powerful people are involved, and those people are willing to kill to keep him quiet.

Nordbo tells such a sad and frightening story through duel perspectives, one set in the present and one set in the early 1970s. We follow Matthew Cave in the present as he reports on a story that quickly turns into a murder mystery, which is when he dives into our second narrator’s notebook from the 70s, Jakob. Matt has a sad backstory that drives him until he becomes obsessed with the murder mystery that is much more horrific than it appears on the surface. However, once start to read chapters from Jakob’s perspective, it becomes even more glaringly obvious that Matt is a flat character. As the story continued, I found myself wishing that the book was told entirely from Jakob’s perspective or from Jakob and Tupaarnaq’s perspective with Matt as a supporting character.

Aside from my issues with Matt as a character, it is a heart wrenching novel that gives a glimpse into Greenland’s history as well as its culture. On the sad and horrific side, it shines a glaring light on how people with a lot of power can shutdown those who investigate them if they do wrong. The deeper that Matt digs into the case, the more danger he is in because there are people who hold the power to either frame him or shut him up for good. The case is a combination of a social and political crimes, which make it difficult for him and Jakob in the past to investigate because they’re playing with fire if they get too close to the truth.

There was some confusion with the transitions between the past and present. It was almost always unexpected when we jump 40 years into the past. However, Jakob is an interesting and complex character and I do wish that he was the primary narrator of the story. We also follow another character, Tupaarnaq, who is a great character that could’ve been a solid narrator for the present portion of the novel. I wish that we saw more of her and got to know her as a character past the surface through Matt’s perspective.

Despite my issues with the transitions and Matt, it is a heart wrenching novel that is difficult to read at times because of the nature of the crimes Matt and Jakob investigate. It’s a bit slow at times as well, but the ball really gets rolling toward the end and the story ends on a lighter note for the characters. I think that Nordbo is onto something here and I’m not sure if the issues I have are things that just got lost in translation, but I will check out the second novel in the series.