The Tea Dragon Festival (Tea Dragon #2) by Katie O'Neill

 
The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O'Neill
My Rating: ★★★★

Rinn loves venturing out to the forest to forage for supplies for her family and friends in the village. While she’s grown up with tea dragons, she’s in for a surprise when she stumbles across an entirely different dragon named Aedhan while foraging. Confused, Aedhan can’t understand how they fell asleep for eighty years. You see, they were appointed to protect the village, but somehow fell asleep for several decades and missed its progression! Thankfully, Rinn’s uncle’s, Erik and Hesekiel, are down with investigating what caused this mysteriously long nap while Rinn helps Aedhan come to terms with how much time has passed.

I absolutely loved the first book, so I was delighted when I saw that there was a second installment even though the first book seemingly closed the story at the end. When I started this one, I was surprised to learn that this is actually a prequel. The story picks up sometime before Erik and Hesekiel retire and start their own shop. While they are present in the story, we primarily follow Rinn’s adventures.

I loved Rinn. She’s such a sweet and warm character who loves to forage. When she stumbles upon Aedhan, she’s quickly becomes friends with the well-rested dragon who is baffled by their 80-year-nap. I loved following Rinn as well as learning more about dragons and the magic in the world that Rinn lives in. I also really enjoyed how Rinn found a way to make Aedhan feel at home in the village again and come to terms with the time they missed while sleeping.

As always, the artwork was absolutely stunning. Should there be a third installment, I hope we primarily follow Erik and Hesekiel so that we can learn more about their adventures as well as the magic that runs through their world.

The Hazards of Love Vol. 1: Bright World by Stan Stanley

 
The Hazards of Love Vol. 1: Bright World by Stan Stanley
My Rating: ★★★★

Amparo is always up to something and is known as a delinquent. When a talking cat comes in through their window and offers to grant one wish, Amparo is game. All they need to do is offer up a drop of blood and they’ll become a better person. What could possibly go wrong? Everything! The cat steals Amparo’s name and life, banishing them to some place called the Bright World. Nameless, shoeless, and confused, Amparo is left fighting to get their name and home back while trying not to get eaten along the way.

I received a copy from Oni Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say that this is one of the neatest graphic novel concepts I’ve seen in a while. I’m a fan of fantasy, and Bright World is an entirely new and fascinating world. I’m obsessed! We mainly follow Amparo as their life takes quite the turn when they become tapped in Bright World. The main rule of Bright World is that there are no rules. They’re always changing, so any humans who find themselves there can’t seem to find a way to escape. I’m fascinated by this world. I’m also interested in learning more about Amparo’s patron, El Ciervo, as the story continues.

We also loosely follow Amparo’s crush, Iolanthe, in the human world. Iolanthe is a straight edge, rule following, and serious person. When she gets looped into dating who she thinks is Amparo, she slowly becomes aware that something isn’t right when they seem to do a complete personality flip. Once the imposter everyone thinks is Amparo goes missing, we see her leading the search to find out what happened to them.

I wish that Iolanthe’s story was mapped out a little better between each issue. There were times that having the human world suddenly pop up side by side was out of place. In one instance, the human and bright world were depicted side by side across several panels, which was completely and utterly confusing. I had to read the human world panels and come back to read the bright world panels separately because it was just too confusing to read in the order it was laid out in.

The artwork was also absolutely beautiful. I loved looking at how rich and vibrant each panel was on top of the beautiful drawings. I’m super excited to eventually read the second volume and see where the story takes Amparo and company next.

Delicates (Sheets #2) by Brenna Thummler

 
Delicates by Brenna Thummler
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Oni Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A year after the events of the first book, Majorie Glatt is trying to figure out her life. She’s about to start eighth grade and has been trying to get the attention of her crush all summer but has found herself a new member of his mean group of friends instead. Her new friends have begun to target one of their classmates, Eliza Duncan. Eliza is obsessed with trying to photograph ghosts, which has made her even less popular than before. Bullied and feeling invisible everywhere else in her life, Eliza is getting closer to wanting to become one of the ghosts she has been trying to find.

I read the first book and loved it, so I knew I had to pick this one up when I saw it was becoming a series. I was a little confused since the first book wrapped up in a way that seemed like a stand-alone story, but I decided to pick it up anyway. The first book is about Majorie, who was trying to find her place in the world as well as figure out how to continue life without her mother. This time around, we see it’s been a year and she’s still trying to find her place. Unfortunately for her, she thinks that place might be with a group of mean people claiming to be her friends.

The story expands a bit, and we follow another character, Eliza, as well. Eliza is used to being bullied and her interests, ghosts and ghost photography, doesn’t help her make friends. She does try, but those who are not bullying her aren’t interested in befriending a girl dubbed as weird. Meanwhile, Majorie is busy trying to fit in with her new friends and stands on the sidelines as the bullying occurs.

As the book continues, we see the two of them begin to overcome their individual struggles. Depression and suicide are present in Eliza’s plot, so that is something to take into consideration before giving this book to younger readers. Bullying is also prevalent. I like that this book encourages readers to speak up about depression in addition to encouraging readers to look at how their actions and their friend’s actions impact others.

I think this is a great follow-up to the first book and it covers some very important topics. I’m interested in seeing if there will be a third book in the series or if this will end at two books.

The Witch and the Beast, Vol. 1 (The Witch and the Beast #1) by Kousuke Satake

The Witch and the Beast, Vol. 1 by Kousuke Satake
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Kodansha Comics through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Working for the Order of Magical Resonance, Ashaf and Guideau solve any magical problem that comes their way. Whether it’s murderous magical mischief or opening a chest locked by magic, the duo are on it. However, there’s more to the duo that meets the eye, and Guideau has some serious beef with any witch who crosses their path.

I picked this up because it looked and sounded like an interesting take on Beauty and the Beast, and I was certainly not disappointed. It opens with a fast-paced story that demonstrates how evil witches are viewed in the world the characters live in. Of course, there’s a seemingly nice witch who turns out not to be all that meets the eye, and that’s when we learn why Guideau is furious with any and all witches.

As the story progresses, we learn a tiny bit more about the Order of Magical Resonance, but not much. This volume is more of an introduction to the story than anything. Think of it as the opening episode to a new television series. It introduces us to the main characters and the plot, but it leaves its readers with many questions that will be answered throughout the series. I wasn’t expecting it to be anywhere near as dark as it was, but I did still enjoy it. I plan on checking out the next volume and seeing where the story goes next.

Secrets of Camp Whatever Vol. 1 by Chris Grine

 
Secrets of Camp Whatever Vol. 1 by Chris Grine
My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Oni Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Willow’s family moves to Nowhere, her dad insists on dropping her off at his old summer camp. The last thing Willow wants to do is attend camp Whatever, which is plagued with rumors of supernatural creatures on top of being surrounded by an eerie fog. Once Willow arrives, she discovers that camp Whatever isn’t so bad. In fact, she’s determined to get to the bottom of its secrets, especially mysterious supernatural creature that broke in and stole everyone’s snacks along with the batteries to her hearing aids.

This is such a fun graphic novel following Willow and her new group of friends at camp Whatever. I was excited to see Willow as the main character because representation matters, and it’s not often that I see deaf or hard of hearing characters represented in books. Willow goes back and forth between speaking and using sign language, and other characters show interest in learning sign language as they get to know her. Of course, there’s also some prejudiced characters who yell as loud as they can when talking to her and ignore what she has to say. I’m not deaf or hard of hearing myself, but this rings true based on what I know one of my friends often experiences.

I initially thought that Willow was a bit pushy and abrasive, but I grew to love her as the story continued. Once she gets comfortable at the camp, she and her group of new friends really shine. Each of her friends are wonderful on top of the supernatural characters we meet and learn about, which was pretty exciting.

I love how the supernatural world and its risk of being exposed to those who are not friendly is slowly revealed to Willow and company. It reveals a whole new world of interesting and funny characters that I quickly grew to love. I’m really interested in seeing how this aspect continues to expand as well as who they have to go up against to protect everyone in future volumes.

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang

 
Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang
My Rating: ★★★★★

First, Tillie Pembroke is involved in a horse-riding accident that shatters her shoulder. Then her missing sister is murdered, sending her entire life spinning. The Pembrokes are trying to move on as fast as possible, but Tillie is obsessed. Why is no one investigating Lucy’s murder? And was she really killed by a vampire as it appears? Tillie cannot rest until she gets the answers even if she has to put herself in the line of danger to get them.

I’ve been a fan of Lydia Kang for a few years now, so I was excited when I saw she had a new book coming out. There was an audiobook promotion when I was buying the book, so I got the book and then the audiobook free. Sadly, the audiobook really put me off, so I took a long break before returning and starting over on page one. I’m starting to think audiobooks aren’t for me because I’m taken straight out of the story any time I try to listen to them. I wish I just decided to start over on page one on the same day that I ditched the audiobook because I was sucked in right away. Kang has done it again with such a gripping tale!

We follow Tillie, a young lady living in New York City in the late 1800s. Tillie has always been the odd sister busy learning new things and questioning her surroundings. Because of this, she grew up in her seemingly perfect older sister’s shadow. When Lucy is murdered, not only is Tillie left with a huge hole in her heart, but she begins to discover that she didn’t know Lucy as well as she thought she did. On top of everything, poor Tillie is recovering from a terrible injury and quickly finds herself abusing pain medication. If drug abuse will trigger you, I advise skipping this book because her addiction along with her struggles with it is very detailed. As the story continues and more victims turn up, Tillie questions whether or not vampires are real. The victims certainly appear to have been killed by a vampire, especially with the fang marks accompanying the lack of blood left in their bodies.

I absolutely loved this story. I thought Tillie was an interesting character to follow, and the book has a great cast of characters full of good, bad, and everything in between. I love that there was such a variety of types of characters. We’ve got seemingly good people who are 100% smarmy right next to creepy characters who are actually good people. I can honestly say that I didn’t suspect the murderer once because of this.

While I wish the ending wasn’t wrapped up so quickly, I rather enjoyed the book. There are so many fascinating characters here and Kang really had me going with the potential supernatural aspect. I kept going back and forth on whether or not a real vampire was going to bust out during the first half of the book. Once I recovered from trying to listen to the audiobook rather than reading, I got sucked in so fast. I’m looking forward to checking out Kang’s next book.

Leave It to Fate by Beth Corby

 Leave It to Fate by Beth Corby
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Hodder & Stoughton through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As Ella inches her way toward thirty, she loses her job due to a hilarious and unfortunate event involving a yogurt thief and a trap set with yogurt spiked with hot sauce. A stranger urges her to leave it all up to fate and she does just that when Gillian, her estranged aunt, suffers a bad fall and needs someone to help her while she recovers. When Ella arrives, she discovers her aunt has been struggling with anger and grief after her long-time partner died, leading her to push everyone away. It seems fate has brought the pair together to repair their lives.

I read and loved Beth Corby’s first book, Where There's a Will, so I knew I had to check this out when I saw she published another book. While I did enjoy this one, I do have some mixed feelings that left me feeling a bit iffy about some things by the end. That said, I really did enjoy the story and great cast of characters.

We follow Ella, whose life has been floundering. Her art career never took off, she just lost what she was hoping would become her dream job, and she just had to go crawling back to her old soul sucking job so she can continue to make ends meet. Unsure about where her life is heading or what the point is, Ella is extremely relatable. She’s realistic, funny, creative, and a breath of fresh air. I also really liked her best friend. I wish we got to see more of her, but given Ella had to leave town to help her aunt, it makes sense that we didn’t see much of her.

We also closely follow Gillian, who is angry, and grief stricken after her long-time partner, Mike, suddenly passed away. Her house is a mess, she’s pushed everyone away, and now she needs help she doesn’t really want. The more time Ella spends with Gillian, the more we learn to love her. While abrasive, she’s smart, funny, and straight to the point. Gillian is someone who does not beat around the bushes and anyone who meets her will discover that right off the bat. 

The characters in Gillian’s small town are mostly wonderful. It made me wish I knew most of these fictional people. Plus, while Mike is dead before the story starts, he plays a large role in the story due to some secrets that came out at his funeral. This plays a large role in while Gillian is so angry on top of extremely anguished.

While the story is cute, funny, and even sad at times, I will say that the romance was beyond flat. Ella’s biological father his heavily implied all book long. The foreshadowing is there. Her mom is extremely illusive about it and dislikes her own sister along with this guy. Everything is there and then, surprise! It’s revealed that her biological father is someone else. I assumed the romance between Ella and Joe was super flat because it was super obvious who her father was from the start, and that would make her and Joe cousins. Then it’s revealed that her father is someone else and they’re free to be together with their extreme lack of chemistry. Maybe I could accept this revelation if their romance was on fire before they found out they’re cousins only to find out they’re not, but this isn’t the case.

All in all, I did enjoy this cute and funny slice of life story. It just seems silly to do all that buildup only to not go through with it so that the story ends with Ella getting a cherry on top of her ice-cream sundae. It was not necessary for her to find romance while finding her place in life, so the revelation at the end and the romance that comes from it doesn’t make sense.

Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) by Maureen Johnson

 
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
My Rating: ★

Stevie Bell is the new girl at Ellingham Academy, a prestigious private boarding school. Obsessed with true crime, she’s interested in the mysterious dark history of her school and wants to be the one to solve the mysterious unsolved cold case that haunts it. Unfortunately for her, she finds a different murder mystery on her hands, fulfilling one of her wishes in a way she did not expect.

I picked up this book after a friend told me she was reading it and wanted me to check it out and tell her what I thought of it. Unfortunately, it turns out I’m not a fan. I disliked nearly every character, including the protagonist. Of the three characters I did like, one immediately dies and the other two are hardly there. I think the book has everything there for me to like it, but it’s sadly a miss for me.

I think I would’ve liked the book better if it didn’t take place in two eras. Majority of the book follows Stevie in the present, but I found that I liked the chapters that take place in the 1930s the best. The characters during these chapters are interesting and there is an actual mystery taking place. The rest of the time, we follow Stevie and her classmates who are all trying a little too hard to be cool, mysterious, and artsy. They come off as one-dimensional versions of stereotypes out of a movie.

As far as the mystery goes, we have a double mystery here. The first is what happened to the school founder and his family, and the second is a lackluster murder mystery that starts a little over halfway through the book. I would have liked it better if it stuck to one mystery that continues throughout the series over having two in this book. It would have also been fun to see Stevie trying to investigate the abduction and murders on a much greater level, especially if she attended the school within 15 years of the events and not several decades later. I just think that too much time has passed to make her determination to solve the cold case and the school’s strange interest in encouraging her investigation make sense.

Weirdly enough, the most interesting thing that happened in the entire book occurs at the end of the final chapter. While I’m tempted to pick up the second book just to see where this revelation takes us, the bland characters and slow-moving plot are not enough to get me to continue the series. I’m sad to say that this is a miss for me.

Trauma is Really Strange by Steve Haines

 
Trauma is Really Strange by Steve Haines
My Rating: ★

This short graphic novel explains what trauma is, how it works, and how it can inwardly and outwardly present itself. The book really had me going with how well it simplified what dissociation is and how it works. I’ve never seen dissociation explained so well in such a simplified way. I’m impressed that it was done so well here since this is such a short graphic novel.

Sadly, I was not impressed by the rest of the book. I understand that it’s hard to simplify the different aspects of trauma, especially for a short graphic novel, but it ultimately came off insulting rather than an informative little guide. By the end, it makes it sound like we’re all built to overcome trauma and we’re not trying hard enough if we fail to overcome it. That’s just not how it works and I’m not sure if that’s the message they intended to give since it starts out as a simplified guide with some great info before it started to sour itself.