Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan book thoughts

Title: Saga Volume 1
Series: Yes Saga #1
Author: Brian K. Vaughan
Published Date: October 10th, 2012
Publisher: Image Comics
Source: I bought it
# of Pages: 160
Format: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi/Comic
Days to Read: 3
Rating: 5 stars
Would I recommend it?: Yes
Would I read more books by this Author?: Yes
My Social Media: Goodreads/Instagram/Twitter

Goodreads Synopsis

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.

From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.

Collecting: Saga 1-6

My Thoughts

I read this in 3 days but really I could have read it in one. Summer seems to be reading slump time for me. However that isn’t against the book, i’ve just been doing other things. I had heard so much hype for this book, and now i’m adding to it because this book was amazing and imo truly deserves the hype!

It’s one weird world with crazy different alien species. Yes, this book can be strange, but it’s still so impactful. It’s moving, full of emotion, thought-provoking and made me feel like it was clenching my heart and yes, made me cry, on more than one occasion, and all that in a fast-paced graphic novel!

Alana and Marko are from 2 different worlds, well sort of. Alana is from landfall, a large planet, while Marko is from Wreath, it’s moon thing. Their worlds have been at war for as long as anyone can remember, but because the destruction of one would cause the other to spin out of orbit they’ve brought the war to the entire galaxy.

Alana and Marko end up having a little girl, and as you can imagine that does not sit well with people! They just want to keep their little girl safe, and trying to do that is no easy task when people want them dead!

It manages to hit on so many different themes, I really should have been taking notes. It hits on so many important messages, even ones you wouldn’t think of for this story. I don’t want to spoil anything anyway, this is a book you just have to experience for yourself!

I fell in love with the characters. They have their own stories, their own opinions based on how they were raised and what they believe in, their own personalities and flaws. I can't wait to get the rest of the volumes to see where this story goes!

I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young book thoughts

Title: I Hate Fairyland, Vol 1: Madly Ever After
Series: Yes I Hate Fairyland #1
Author: Skottie Young
Published Date: April 20th, 2016
Publisher: Image Comics
Source: I bought it
# of Pages: 128
Format: Paperback
Genre: Comic/Fantasy/Humor
Days to Read: 1
Rating: 5 stars
Would I recommend it?: Yes
Would I read more books by this Author?: Yes
My Social Media: Goodreads/Instagram/Twitter

Goodreads Synopsis

From superstar writer and artist Skottie Young (Rocket Raccoon, Wizard of OZ, Fortunately, The Milk), comes the first volume of an all-new series of adventure and mayhem.

An Adventure Time/Alice in Wonderland-style epic that smashes its cute little face against grown-up, Tank Girl/Deadpool-esque violent madness. Follow Gert, a forty year old woman stuck in a six year old's body who has been trapped in the magical world of Fairyland for nearly thirty years. Join her and her giant battle-axe on a delightfully blood-soaked journey to see who will survive the girl who HATES FAIRYLAND.

Collecting: I Hate Fairyland 1-5

My Thoughts

Poor Gertrude was just a little girl wanting some fun when she fell into fairyland...and she needs to find a key in order to get back home..and 27 years later she still can't find it and she is not a happy camper! She's a woman in her 30s stuck in a child's body in fairyland, a place she's grown to hate. The Queen of fairyland just wants her out as she wrecks havoc, but can you blame her? I'd be angry too in her situation!

The Queen sends all kinds of stuff Gert's way, but it just doesn't work. I loved Gert! And her sarcastic sidekick/guide Larry!

It's quirky, violent, gory, and hilarious! It's quite the contrast too. A happy vibrant fairyland, with one mad as fluff Gert! And that ending, omg yes! I must get volume 2 now! Oh, and this comic is definitely not for kids!

Since you've been gone by Morgan Matson book thoughts

Title: Since you've been gone
Series: N/A
Author: Morgan Matson
Published Date: May 6th, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's
Source: I bought it
# of Pages: 449
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Days to Read: 5
Rating: 4.5 stars
Would I recommend it?: Yes
Would I read more books by this Author?: Yes
My Social Media: Goodreads/Instagram/Twitter

Goodreads Synopsis

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um...

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what?

My Thoughts

I've heard so many good things about this and it sounded interesting enough, so I picked it up. And i'm so glad I did! I related to Emily so much with how shy she is. Painfully shy and just everything about her, except the running part. Basically I went "Emily is me, I am Emily, we are one". I really didn't like Sloane at first, but I loved getting flashbacks and learning more about her as time went on and this book, for both Emily and Sloane, screams character development! And I loved every bit of it! Anytime I got worried about something, it did end up being addressed! The pacing was steady, it was readable and still made me think. It made me laugh out loud as well cry and even hug the book!

I don't want to spoil anything and this book is already very hyped, and now I understand why! If you like contemporaries i'd highly recommend checking this book out!

The Lonely Merman by Kay Berrisford book thoughts

Title: The Lonely Merman
Series: Yes (Landlocked Heart #1)
Author: Kay Berrisford
Published Date: July 5th, 2017
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Source: Netgalley
# of Pages: 99 pages
Format: Ebook
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Queer
Days to Read: 1
Rating: 4.25
Would I recommend it?: Yes
Would I read more books by this Author?: Yes
My Social Media: Goodreads/Instagram/Twitter

Goodreads Synopsis

It's Friday afternoon, and the last thing Ben wants to be doing is trudging through a wet forest in search of a public hazard. But duty calls, and turns out more exciting than Ben imagined when he encounters a magical ruin, an enchanted pool, and Lyle—a merman who's cursed to be landlocked many miles from the sea.

Lyle is flamboyant and exciting—he's got tentacles, for goodness sake!—and Ben falls hard. But Lyle's been hurt before and finds trust difficult, refusing even to reveal how to break the curse that imprisons him. Ben's just an ordinary guy, and can't help wondering if he can ever be the hero Lyle needs.

My Thoughts

I wanted to read this book because it involves a queer merman, and it involves a romance between said gay merman and a gay male human. And I got so much more than that and in a short book to boot! Kindle doesn't tell me how many pages it is nor does Goodreads but I read it in one day, not sure how long I actually spent reading it though, my guess is a few hours total.

I really enjoyed the plot. It's a light fantasy read. Lyle is a trapped merman, landlocked in the woods as part of a curse and he longs to return to the ocean. Due to his experiences he finds it hard to trust. Lyle is an interesting character who, while at first I found annoying, I grew to love and really felt for him. He's a bit of a drama llama but he's been hurt. Ben is an ordinary guy who is a bit bored with his uneventful life. I ultimately found Lyle relate-able too. Lyle is an undine and I loved the part about how undines can choose their gender during their formative years.

I wish I had more to say but it is a short story. Still it's a fun quick read with interesting characters, a nice plot, magic, gay romance including a merman, and also managed to make me think and question some things while still being a light short read. It even made me teary and talk out loud to the book (which isn't exactly hard for me but that's never happened with a short story before). I loved the romance and fell in love with the characters. It ties up nicely but I am looking forward to more time with the characters in book 2!

Edit: Amazon says it's 99 pages

July 2017 Book Haul #2

Physical books

Kindle Books

All the kindle book were free (bookbub, netgalley, instafreebie, from author etc.)

I got Antisocial from Netgalley but only because I saw a tweet saying "Antisocial is on netgalley" and thought "I'm antisocial! What is this book about?" as I hadn't heard of it and clicked the link, only for it to be auto-added to my shelf and I didn't want it. I went back and looked (I've seen many tweets about books on netgalley and they had never auto-added the book before, just shown you the book page so you could click "request" or "read now" if you wanted to after checking it out) and saw the link had the word "redeem" in it but I didn't notice before because I didn't know that was a thing and like I said, had seen many tweets about netgalley books before that didn't do that (So I assumed and you know what they say about assuming). So who knows when i'll get to it since now I kinda of have to read a book I didn't want in the first place....however I saw I had another book by the same author checked as want to read on Goodreads and Antisocial sounds like I might like it, so I mean I can see if I like it or the author...

Other Netgalley books I did get on purpose are: The Lonely Merman, Savage Woods, Halloween Carnival, Dark Goddess Craft, and The Last Savanna.

What books have you gotten recently? :)

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton book thoughts

Title: Jurassic Park
Series: Yes #1
Author: Michael Crichton
Published Date: 1990
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Source: I bought it
# of Pages: 448
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller
Days to Read: 6
Rating: 4 stars
Would I recommend it?: Yes
Would I read more books by this Author?: Yes
My Social Media: Goodreads/Instagram/Twitter

Goodreads Synopsis

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price.

Until something goes wrong. . . .

My Thoughts

People bring dinosaurs back to life to create a park with them, a tourist attraction, a way to make money. Obviously stuff goes wrong. I have not seen the movie, so naturally I read the book first. I really enjoyed Jurassic Park!

I was interested from the beginning. I would have thought with all the science and learning going on that it would have felt pretentious. I'm sort of sensitive when it comes to books feeling pretentious and it irks me, but that was not the case here! Rather than feeling irritated, I was interesting in learning about this world. I don't believe all the science is actually true (and as much is mentioned in the back of the book) but it was still very fun to read as well as got me interested to learn about things now. I've never cared about Dinosaurs but this book may have changed that.

The characters mostly felt real and fun to read about. Lex, an 8 year old girl, was rather annoying and at times didn't feel like an actual kid to me but that could have just been me. She didn't feel older, it was more like she was constantly a brat and in the face of danger no less. Also she didn't get to eat for a long time (because things) and when food was within reach, despite being starving for quite awhile, she was still picky and bratty about it. Girl, obviously you ain't as hungry as you claim then...insisting on non-existent Ice cream.

What gets me about her is in relation to her 10 year old brother Tim who was apparently very smart and responsible, while his 8 year old sister was an unbelievable brat, annoying and putting them in danger, but Tim, the barely older boy, was amazing and helped save the day. Yeah..that kinda irked me. At the same time what do I know? They are kids and people are different and how does one know how people would react to seeing live dinosaurs anyway, it's fiction.

That makes it sound like I was more irked than I actually was. For the most part I loved everything about this book! I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next. It was also thought-provoking at times and had me think about things. The pacing was steady, it was readable, fun, exciting, and thought-provoking. I have to watch the movie!

It can be read as a stand-alone and if I heard correctly was originally ment to be a stand-alone, but he was pressured by the movie people and fans to create a sequel, The Lost World. I am interested to know what happens next and hope to get to it someday.

July 2017 Book Haul #1

I'm going to be lazy here because reasons, but here are the physical books I've bought and then the kindle books I got (most free but not all).

I mostly just do these so I can keep track of when I got stuff etc.

Have you read and enjoyed any of these? What books have you got recently?