Author: L.M. Montgomery, Crystal Chan

Illustrator: Kuma Chan
​
Title: Manga Classics Anne of Green Gables

Pages: 319

Genre: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction

Date Published: September 1, 2020

Publisher: Manga Classics

Format: e-book

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: ​Siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert were planning to adopt an orphaned boy to help out around their farm, Green Gables - instead, they got Anne Shirley. A plucky redheaded girl with a vibrant imagination, Anne turns first Green Gables and then the rest of Prince Edward Island on its ear.

Manga Classics® is proud to be the only authorized manga adaption of Anne of Green Gables by the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery, with a foreword by Kate McDonald Butler - granddaughter of the original author!

This volume presents a faithful recreation of this classic kids novel, from the Lake of Shining Waters to the Dryad's Bubble!

​I saw this was available on Netgalley for review and was quite excited.  I LOVE Anne of Green Gables.  But then, once I had it on the app for reading graphic novels I was nervous.  What if it was a big mistake?  I had just put myself at risk for a massive disappointment.  The amount of times I enjoy a comic version of a book is quite low.  So, because I'm an adult and I do what I want, I waited until the last minute to read it.

And you know what?  I freaking loved it!

The artwork is so wonderful.  The characters are just as I hoped they'd be, both detailed in their proper appearances and able to pull off the emotions I knew would come with them.  I laughed, a lot.  Anne is a lot to take in, and she's such a cheeky little thing.  I was so pleased to see how her personality shown through the entirely of this story.  I also cried at certain bits.  I shan't say, because spoilers.  And I'm so glad to say this book did such a successful job keeping up with the original work.

There are missing parts, as is usual for a graphic novel "translation".  But, ultimately, it flows in such a way that you'd never know unless you were someone who knew the story by heart.  See, my biggest problem with graphic novel translations is it cuts out scenes and becomes choppy or awkward.  That doesn't happen in this.  I can honestly say that this was the best graphic novel retelling I've read thus far... and I'll be looking into their entirely catalog for my personal library.

Author: Tommy Siegel
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Title: I Hope This Helps: 500 Days of Comics and Extremely Helpful Guides

Pages: 176

Genre: Comedy

Date Published: October 6, 2020

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Format: e-book

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: An illustrated guide to the absurdities of our phone-obsessed modern life from one of the sharpest wits in webcomics2

Tommy Siegel's writing is sweet, sarcastic, and hilarious — targeting specific aspects of pop culture while still appealing to a general audience. Through simple doodles and amusing characters, Tommy's comics express endless amusement about our phone-obsessed modern society, including the stages of gentrification, how to cope with anxiety, and what your method of coffee preparation says about you. This collection includes highlights from Tommy's viral "500 Days of Comics" project, along with three essays about the experience of being a creative person in the age of social media and how our phones are changing our brains and relationships. Tommy's writing is as scathing as it is sincere, while always keeping a funny, lighthearted tone. This collection also introduces the Candy Hearts characters, a brilliant vehicle for expressing all the ways in which romantic couples are not always on the same page. A must-read for comics-lovers of all ages and backgrounds.

I've seen this artist's work around the interwebs randomly, so I thought it would be a good idea to check out his book when I saw it on Netgalley.  And, for the most part, I didn't regret my life choices.

About half of the comics were amusing, and of those only a small amount made me actually laugh.  Which is sad, because I am one of the easiest people to make laugh.  The biggest problem is that I don't believe I was the target audience for much of the jokes.  I don't drink coffee, okay?!  Accept me as I am!  That, and everything seemed to be thrown in willy-nilly.  There just wasn't any real flow... and that is something important for comics especially, else they get repetitious and lose their comedic power.

Tommy Siegel is amusing and someone I enjoy seeing stuff from every now and again, but I don't think these comics are worth me spending money to buy a whole book of them.  And I feel I should note that I own a whole lot of books published by webcomic artists, because I love them.

​It was an okay read.  I wouldn't go through it again, but I didn't hate it.

​

​Author: Antoine Bandele
​
Title: By Sea & Sky

Series: The Sky Pirate Chronicles, #1

Pages: 414

Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy

Date Published: June 19, 2020 

Publisher: Bandele Books

Format: Audio

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis:
The sickness was severe…

…and there was one known potion that could save him.

Was piracy the only chance they had?

Zala wasn’t skilled with a sword. She wasn’t blessed with magic. But she knew the Sapphire Seas well. Plundering and raiding was an art of its own, and she got by on her wits.

Yet she was running out of time. She needed the big score to save her husband.

What was her next move?

Before she even knew it…

…the game changed.

High above them, off the coast of the Ibabi Isles, a strange airship was headed their way. Zala had never seen anything like it. The battle was imminent.

And she was going to need more than her bag of tricks.

You’ll love this adventure inspired by the West Indies, The Swahili Coast, and Arabia, because Zala will encounter ruthless raiders, arrogant aristocrats, and imperial secrets. It will keep you turning the pages.

**I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

There were a few characters that I really liked, especially Zala, and so that had me staying with the book despite my issues with it.  It isn't that the story is bad, because the concept behind it is pretty fascinating actually, I love myself a good sky pirate story.  But it was written in a way that made everything drag on, even the scenes that were supposed to be exciting.  I'm over here, trying to sympathize with a character but at the same time I'm falling asleep because the story is drawing out and just not keeping my attention.

I don't think I can blame John Rogers, the audio narrator, because honestly I think the story itself lacked depth and clarity.  There is only so much someone can do to with a world that felt so one dimensional.  I thought his portrayal of the different characters was done acceptably.

As for the end... the thing is, I don't mind cliff hangers, and the book absolutely ended on one.  I get their point, to make the reader go back for more.  But I just don't care what happens to anyone in this series... and I almost feel bad about it.  What this story needs is a good content editor.  It has a cool plot and the characters have potential, but it is just... boring.

Author: Deborah Wilde
​
Title: Blood & Ash

Series: The Jezebel Files, #1

Pages: 316

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Date Published: January 14, 2020

Publisher: Te Da Media

Format: Audio

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis:
Cold-blooded kidnappers. Long-lost magic. When things get serious, she goes full Sherlock.

Ashira Cohen takes pride in being the only female private investigator in Vancouver. With her skills, her missing persons case should be a piece of cake.

She wasn’t counting on getting bashed in the skull, revealing a hidden tattoo and supernatural powers she shouldn’t possess.

Or the bitter icing on top: a spree of abductions and terrifying ghostly creatures on a deadly bender.

And don’t even get her started on the golems.

Reluctantly partnered with her long-time nemesis Levi, the infuriating leader of the magic community, Ash resolves to keep her focus on the clue trail and off their sexual tension because WTF is up with that?

But with a mastermind organization pulling strings from the shadows and Levi’s arrogance driving her to pick out his body bag, can Ash rescue the captives and uncover the truth or will the next blood spilled be her own? 

​I was peer pressured into going back to NetGalley by my arch nemesis.  Everything is new and scary since it has been a few years, but I was excited to discover that there were audiobooks.  Not only that, but one of the audiobooks happened to be by Deborah Wilde.  I just read though her Nava Katz series earlier this year and loved it.  So I needed to try this one out and this was the perfect excuse to do it.

First of all, I absolutely love how strong this author makes the lead female characters.  It makes it really easy to love them... even when they're dumb about their relationships and they make me want to shake them.  Even the side characters are freaking awesome.

I noticed multiple similarities between Ash and Nava, the main character in the other series I read.  I can't say them all, because spoilers and whatnot.  Good news is I love both characters.  But I do recommend other people have more of a break between reading the two and maybe it'll be less obvious.

The setting for this book is pretty spiffy as well.  You've got this world in which there are magical users and there is all sorts of drama with just that alone.  Then when you throw in a guy she's disliked since childhood, but he's also sexy times and also incredibly frustrating.

Ultimately, this book was really hard to put down.  The narration is fantastic and the story is captivating.  I cannot wait to continue this series.  Another gem from the brain of Deborah Wilde!

Author: Deborah Wilde
​
Title: The Unlikeable Demon Hunter: Need

Series: Nava Katz, #3

Pages: 428

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Date Published: August 18, 2017

Publisher: Te Da Media

Format: Audio

Source: Overdrive

Synopsis:
Nava Katz has a lot on her plate:

Brotherhood: unmask.

Demons: slaughter.

Guy problems: terminate with extreme prejudice.
​
Nava is hot on the heels of a demonic serial killer and finally working with her brother. The assignment should be a dream come true, not a nightmarish power struggle made worse by her twin's refusal to believe there's corruption within the Brotherhood.

She's determined to find proof of their dirty dealings, even as she risks irrefutably breaking her sibling bond.

And speaking of clocking annoying males upside the head...

Nava is also totally over smoking hot rock star and fellow hunter Rohan Mitra. There is a veritable buffet of boy options out there, and this girl is now all-you-can-eat.

So when her demon hunt brings her first love, Cole, back into her life, her revenge fantasies for closure-on all fronts-are a go.

Except neither her old wounds nor her new ones are as healed as she believes. It’s Less Hopelessly Devoted, more Worse Things I Could Do.

Author: Siera Maley
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Title: Colorblind

Pages: 229

Genre: YA LGBT Contemporary Romancec

Date Published: March 2, 2016

Format: Audiobook

Source: Audible Romance Package

Synopsis:
Harper has a secret... and it’s not that she likes girls. She has a rare and special gift: she can see how old other people will be when they pass away. Nothing she does changes this number, and that becomes especially clear when her mother dies in a car crash. With only one other person in the world who knows about and shares her gift, Harper is determined to keep her distance from everyone. Then she falls for Chloe… whose number is 16.
That means that Chloe doesn’t have twelve months to live. She doesn’t even have six.
She is going to be dead by the end of the summer, unless Harper can find a way to stop it.

​Author: Jill Mansell
​
Title: Don't Want to Miss a Thing

Pages: 352

Genre: Women's Fiction

Date Published: January 31, 2013

Publisher: Headline Review

Format: Audiobook

Source: Audible Romance Package

Synopsis:
Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London life; he has money, looks and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope?

Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood. When it comes to relationships, she has a history of choosing all the wrong men. Leaving the city behind, Dex moves to Briarwood - a much better place to work on his parenting skills - and he and Molly become neighbours. There's an undeniable connection between them. But if Dexter's going to adapt, he first has a lot to learn about Molly, about other people's secrets...and about himself.

​Author: Tillie Walden
​
Title: Spinning

Pages: 400

Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir

Date Published: September 12, 2017

Publisher: First Second

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Synopsis:
Poignant and captivating, Ignatz Award winner Tillie Walden's powerful graphic memoir, Spinning, captures what it's like to come of age, come out, and come to terms with leaving behind everything you used to know.

It was the same every morning. Wake up, grab the ice skates, and head to the rink while the world was still dark.

Weekends were spent in glitter and tights at competitions. Perform. Smile. And do it again.

She was good. She won. And she hated it.

For ten years, figure skating was Tillie Walden's life. She woke before dawn for morning lessons, went straight to group practice after school, and spent weekends competing at ice rinks across the state. It was a central piece of her identity, her safe haven from the stress of school, bullies, and family. But over time, as she switched schools, got into art, and fell in love with her first girlfriend, she began to question how the close-minded world of figure skating fit in with the rest of her life, and whether all the work was worth it given the reality: that she, and her friends on the figure skating team, were nowhere close to Olympic hopefuls. It all led to one question: What was the point?The more Tillie thought about it, the more Tillie realized she'd outgrown her passion--and she finally needed to find her own voice.

Author: Aya Nakahara​
​
Title: Love★Com 1-17

Series: Lovely★Complex

Pages: Approx. 3,000

Genre: Shojo Manga

Date Published: July 3, 2007 

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC

Format: ebook

Source: Comixology

Synopsis: ​Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi Otoni, the shortest guy. Fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo. Rather than bow to the inevitable, Risa and Atsushi join forces to pursue their true objects of affection. But in the quest for love, will their budding friendship become something more complex?