As you may have guessed, this will be my review, or "wrap-up" of my August "To-Be-Read" list. I didn't read too many books this month, but I'm hoping to steadily increase my reading game throughout the next couple of months, including September, (my TBR for September is coming tomorrow). Unfortunately, there was one book on my TBR list last month that I did not get to, but it was due to the library not having it available, not because I didn't want to read it. It will show up in a future TBR I believe, but for now I'll let it slide. I got to all the other books I wanted to this month, so I'm happy with what I accomplished overall. For the books I'm reviewing below, I can't promise there won't be any spoilers for those of you who haven't read the series, but I'll try my best to keep it spoiler free. Shall we?
The first "book" I read this month was actually a comic book, or trade paperback in this case. Fables was amazing! I've read up to Volume 9 in this series so far and I can't wait to read more! This series is very similar to Once Upon a Time in the sense that the characters are very much fairy tale characters who have been exiled to our Earth for centuries. However, unlike Once Upon a Time, this series is NOT OK for children, since it contains some adult content. That being said, this is a very modern take on these storybook legends. This series starts off with a mystery and turns into a war zone, so I'm eager to pick up the next trade I can get my hands on.
Characters: The characters in this series are fantastic. I liked how everyone is dynamic enough to stand out on their own, even though we already know most of their histories. They are by all means immortal in our world, so they don't age, but they do adapt to the changing of the times. Everything you think you know about these characters, throw it out the window. The Big Bad Wolf has always been terrifying, but do you know anything about where he came from? Did you know Snow White has a twin sister, (I didn't), or that the Beast hasn't really gotten a hold on his curse yet? I enjoyed how the characters individual stories were still present, but tweaked to fit this particular world and situation. There is so much drama between characters and I LOVED IT. The relationships between the characters are also pretty interesting and very complex. The way everyone interacts with one another seems so natural that it's odd at times for you to see Little Boy Blue working with Snow White and a flying monkey from the Wizard of Oz, but it totally works. The characters are what makes this series great to read.
World Building: Like I mentioned earlier, this series takes place in the present-day New York City, where the Fables have taken up residence in one section of the city. I liked the setting and the inconveniences it brought to the story. In order to fit everyone in one area, the high-rises the Fables are using are somewhat "glamoured," or made to look normal on the outside to humans while accommodating them on the inside. Nothing is as it seems and sometimes it's not explained, but just accepted. There are portions of the story where they return to their own world and it's a vast and incredibly magical realm where anything is possible. A stark contrast to modern NYC. You can feel the frustration they have in our world, even after all these centuries of getting used to it. With the pictures, it's a lot easier to envision the worlds coexisting together, but even without them, I would still be able to picture them in my mind.
Plot: The plot of this series is all over the place. There are multiple antagonists and multiple protagonist, with the main one being Snow White. The series is interesting in the sense that each volume seems to have it's own sub plot within the larger plot of the series as a whole. The main, huge plot is that the Fables have been exiled to our modern world for the last few centuries due to an evil force they call "The Adversary." He has slowly taken over all of the Fables' kingdoms and left them with nothing, forcing them to flee and wait until the time is right to take back the world that was theirs. Within that larger plot, there are other various conflicts that come up throughout the story. For example, Snow White and her close colleagues, including Bigby Wolf, (The Big Bad Wolf), and Boy Blue, are investigating the supposed murder of her sister, Rose Red. From there, the sub-plots and conflicts get even more intense. This series is definitely on the darker side and covers some tough issues. Since I'm only on volume nine, the plot has just thickened for me and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
Overall, I gave this series a 5 out of 5 stars because I literally couldn't put it down. Not bad for my first comic book indulgence! I'm also only about half way through this series, so I can't wait to see if my rating changes or stays the same once I read the rest.
The next series I tackled was Mara, which is a 13-issue series, (very short). Mara follows a young star athlete in a futuristic, Dystopian society where sports are prized above all else. She discovers through a series of unfortunate events that she has special abilities that are apparently frowned upon in her society. She has to make some pretty tough decisions in order to escape imprisonment, or worse. This series was OK, but it wasn't my favorite. I picked it up mostly for my husband's sake because it's one of his favorites and we've met the artist, Ming Doyle, several times and I loved her art style. That being said, she wasn't the reason I disliked this series.
Characters: The characters are pretty generic. I liked the fact that this was a more futuristic world and the characters reflected the necessities and inklings of this environment. There were no real character interactions, besides those from her teammates and the government. It was very much a Mara show, focusing solely on her, which was the point of the series. Even when it was just her in frame, I felt like she was trying too hard to be profound in some areas and she changed personalities too quickly. I just would've like to have seen more dynamic characters and her interacting with them instead of running away from everyone.
World Building: There wasn't much world building either. You start the comic and BOOM, you're in their world, nothing is really explained and you have to kind of figure it out for yourself how things are done in this world. I got the futuristic-Dystopian vibe right away, but other than that, nothing much in the way of world building. The illustrations depicting the world were GORGEOUS, thanks to Ming Doyle, but I'm sad that they weren't put to better use in the textual elements of this series. There was some minor explanation of what happened to turn the world into what it is here, but you might miss it if you read too quickly.
Plot: The plot was pretty generic. I've seen it before: girl tries to act normally, girl discovers she has super powers, other important figures find out she has super powers, girl goes on the run from said people and winds up hurting some other innocent people before running away for good. From my husbands description, I was expecting a little too much from this series. I'm sorry that I got my hopes up. If you enjoy Dystopian literature that kind of feels like Captain America meets Hulk meets Ms. Marvel plus space, this might be your things.
I feel like this series could have gone on from where it ended and been so much better for it. Unfortunately, the ending left me confused and wanting more from this series. I gave it a 2 out of 5 stars, just because I loved the artwork and some of the concept.
The last comic book I read this month was Saga, which is a Star Wars-esq, Romeo and Juliet story surrounding two warring planetoids and two star-crossed lovers who have recently had a baby. They are running through the galaxy to escape persecution, but also to save their family and get some answers. This series was also recommended to me by my husband and I love him even more for it. I enjoyed this series just as much as I enjoyed Fables, and that's saying a lot. This series has action, drama, political intrigue and much more. It also has adult content, so this is definitely NOT for children or adults who do not like mature content in their reading material. I've read the first book, which includes issues 1-18, so I am not finished with this one yet either, but I'm eager to get the next issue to keep going!
Characters: Alana and Marko should be your true relationship goals. They are so real and genuine in the way they interact with each other that they are completely relatable, even though they are basically aliens. Although the story focuses mainly on their relationship and how it not only spawned a huge man hunt, but also a baby. The other characters in this story lend themselves to the plot very well and everyone serves their own purpose. All of the characters are intricately woven into the main story and their paths constantly cross over each other, sometimes meeting up and other times narrowly missing a face-to-face encounter. The tension the other characters bring to the story is great as well.
World Building: The world is basically space, so it's enormous, but it doesn't feel that way. They spend a lot of their time on other planets and in other galaxies. In the issues I read, they were only on about three or four different planets, including those of the other characters and side stories, so it focused the world in on a much smaller and manageable frame. We also spent some time in space, but not too much that I got bored, (I never liked Star Trek for that reason...they are ALWAYS in space).
Plot: The plot is similar to Fables in the sense that there is one large plot surrounded by sub plots for our main characters as well as the other characters. The main plot is that Alana and Marko fell in love, but they are from rival civilizations, so their union is considered treason, as is their child, so they are on the run indefinitely from both of their governments and armies. This is the backdrop to this whole story and within this plot are others, including some from side characters, such as a love story between two assassins or a prince awaiting the birth of his heir while trying to track down the star-crossed lovers. There is always something happening with twists around every corner.
Again, I couldn't put this one down. I read the whole book in about a day or less I believe. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars for the sheer magic that is Saga and I can't wait to pick up the rest of this series. I have no idea what I am going to do when it ends...
You remember this, right? I only read two books this month and this was one of them. The Mime Order is the second book in the Bone Season trilogy by Samantha Shannon. This book continues the story of Paige Mahoney as she adjusts to being Scion London's number one criminal and contemplates her life as a clairvoyant mollisher, (second in command), to a popular Mime Lord of the underground syndicate. I will say this book was better than the first one and I can't wait to read the third. Very well done!
Characters: I loved that we got a deeper look into the criminal underworld of Scion London in this book. The first installment really didn't focus on London as much as Oxford, so it was nice to get a better view of what Paige did before she was abducted. There are also way more characters this time around, (or maybe it just feels that way because everyone is split up into sections). We meet other clairvoyant criminals and Mime Lords and Ladies from other sections of the city as Paige tries to figure out who's corrupting the Syndicate. We actually barely see the Rephaite in this book, which I was OK with, seeing as they took up most of the first book. You're focus is on Paige's friends and associates who all have distinct personalities. It was great to see the interaction between them all.
World Building: The world building in this book was SO much better than the first one. I spent most of the first half of The Bone Season confused as hell, trying to figure out where I was and what was happening. Not in this book! Shannon paints such a pretty and dreary picture of this version of London that this is one of my favorite depictions of Dystopian London. I could really see what was happening and where I was throughout this book with all the great descriptions, as opposed to the first book where I could barely picture my surroundings until I got to Oxford halfway through. Besides the setting, the world of the Underground was so thoroughly executed and beautifully written that I felt like I was attending a meeting of pirates. It is a very dark book with a lot of mystery and you could really feel it.
Plot: The plot in this book was phenomenal! Again, a lot of little plots surrounding a big one, but they all worked together in the end. Paige is currently on the run from Scion and the Rephaite queen Nashira, who is controlling Scion from the inside. While this is happening throughout the book, Paige is also trying to uncover a conspiracy within her own underground criminal organization. There are murders and secrets and shocking revelations to propel this story forward. The ending is ridiculous and I was shocked, but I could kind of see it coming from the way they hinted at it throughout the book, more so than they did in the first. I just loved the contrast between the first and second book and how they set each other up for what is surely to happen in the third.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because I really liked it and it was definitely better than the first one, but it was still missing some key elements for me to absolutely love it. I'm looking forward to the third book!
This is the second and final book I read this month. I spent more time reading comics this month than actual books, but I'm hoping to have an equal amount for next month so I can keep on top of both. This book took me longer to read than I thought, which is why the blog is late, but I didn't really get into it until the very end. Rook is another Dystopian novel set in a regressed futuristic Paris where a mysterious vigilante is setting prisoners free and leaving behind a feather of hope.
Characters: There weren't too many characters in this book, which I liked, because if there were any more it would be too much for me to focus on. I liked the interaction between the characters more towards the end than at the beginning. I'm also torn on the alternative perspective POV. There were some passages of text from alternative characters' point of views and sometimes it was confusing, others it was great and towards the end it was too much. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it took away from the story for me. I didn't really enjoy the standard love triangle either, although I loved the scenes with the two who actually have a romance. It was quite painful to read actually, especially towards the end, but that made the drama more intriguing. Some of the characters were funny and had personality and depth while others didn't and I have no idea why they existed in the first place.
World Building: The world building in this book was a little slow for me. It took me awhile to get into this book and it was because I had such a hard time picturing the setting. It's not as vivid as Sarah J. Maas typically writes, but I should have been able to easily picture Paris in my mind and I couldn't. I could barely picture the Commonwealth, (I think that's supposed to be their version of the UK). That being said, I think it was easier towards the end because the chapters weren't that long anymore and there was much more action than political deception going on. Less plotting someones demise and more straight-up swordplay. Huzzah!
Plot: I thought the plot was a bit generic as well. You basically have a glorified Robin Hood story line with a strong female protagonist in a Dystopian, regressed society where technology is the devil. The beginning dragged A LOT and the only thing to focus on was the protagonist's impending marriage. Then the second half of the book hooked me in and I was able to finish. The dramatic ending and twist made it worth it and I'm glad they picked up the pace with some action. I will say that the main antagonist was a bit too over the top for me and the other one was a bit of a wet blanket really, especially considering he really didn't serve a purpose at all in the end.
Overall, I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars. I didn't absolutely love it like some of the others, but I didn't hate it. I loved parts of it, but not enough. I was expecting more from this book based on other reviews, so I was a little disappointed, especially when I seemed unable to finish due to lack of interest. I'm glad it picked back up and ended well.
So there you have it, my wrap-up for August! That took forever! Tomorrow I'll be posting my TBR list for the month of September and hopefully I'll be able to complete it this time. So far I'm already reading one of the books, so so far so good! If you've read or want to read any of the books I reviewed here or have any book recommendations for me, leave a comment below! Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.
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