Up From The Deep by Ray FawkesMy rating: 2 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.The main issue I had with this comic was the format in which it was provided and the difficulties I had reading it; the pages would jump back and forth by up to 50 pages and it looked like various frames were cut off. Just prior to reading this comic I read another one and a collection of poetry in the same file type and with the same program and encountered no problems at all.This plus the fact that the story is meant to begin by…

The Witch Doesn’t Burn in this One by Amanda LovelaceMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.As the introduction to this collection of poems states, it deals with abuse, assault, body issues, eating disorders and childhood trauma. Having had personal experience with a few of these topics myself, reading these poems was truly a journey through a range of intense emotions.I appreciated the poet taking her time and exploring the emotions before moving on and almost guiding the reader to begin the healing process. The anger and hurt and suppression felt leads the way to stand up, speak up…

I’m Not Your Sweet Babboo! by Charles M. SchulzMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.How I love Peanuts comics! I grew up with them and I still enjoy curling up on the couch with the stories of Charlie Brown and Snoopy.This collection focused a bit more on Peppermint Patty and I found myself chuckling quite a bit.Overall, this is a good collection of Peanuts stories and I would definitely recommend it. View all my reviews

Ink & Fire: by R.K. RyalsMy rating: 1 of 5 stars I received this ARC from Red Coat Publishing and the author in exchange for an honest review.I was looking forward to reading another novella in this series, but ended up being rather confused by the halfway point.The characters came across as flat and uninteresting. A lot of time was spent on the description of the protagonist; how she felt, what she did, contemplating everything, which made her seem self-centred. The secondary characters, few as they were, added no depth to the story in general and only existed to move the plot/protagonist forward.The writing was too elaborate in explaining everything…

Herding Cats by Sarah AndersenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.I love Sarah’s Scribbles. They show what I feel, think, waste my time fretting about and do all that with a sense of humour that has me laughing out loud every time I read her comics.As soon as I finished her newest installment I wanted to go back and read the entire series from the beginning. It lightens one’s mood when they are feeling down (trust me on this one) and keep the reader feeling happy when they are already in a good place that day.Overall, I would…

The Power Club by Greg GildersleeveMy rating: 3 of 5 stars I received this ARC from Red Coat Publishing and the author in exchange for an honest review.It has been a while since I last read a middle grade school story and I was surprised by the amount of details and depth of fantasy this one contained.Personally, I found that the characters, more than anything else in this story maintained the reader’s interest. They were well thought out and highly developed, not only for a book geared to a younger audience, but one that belongs in the fantasy genre in general.The plot was good and straight forward, with the added…

Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda HockingMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.A few months ago, the museum in my hometown began their run of a special exhibition about Vikings and Norse mythology and since then I have visited it three times. One can only imagine my excitement when I found this little gem of a story on NetGalley, which combines futuristic elements with Norse mythology. I must confess that recently I took a small step back from reading Young Adult fiction, because of the overused stock characters that came to dominate this genre. The reader…

Another Backwards Christmas by Brooke WilliamsMy rating: 1 of 5 stars I received this ARC from Red Coat Publishing and the author in exchange for an honest review.I have a feeling that this is going to be a very unpopular opinion, but this story wasn’t for me in every possible way. The characters, specifically the female protagonist, were extremely naive and had unrealistic romantic views that make the reading experience rather less than joyful. I could understand the male romantic interest’s motivation slightly better, but with the focus placed on the female character, the reader does not get much of a chance to fully appreciate the character.The plot is a…

Edinburgh Twilight by Carole LawrenceMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.A serial killer, a detective with his own demons and lots of possible suspects and all set in one of the most captivating cities I ever had the pleasure of visiting. They combine to make for a great detective story that keeps the reader bound in its world long after the story is over.The characters were fully and richly developed. From the protagonist to the over enthusiastic want-to-be assistant, they all had character traits that kept the reader on their toes. A detective with a few issues that…

Alpha’s Queen by Lila FelixMy rating: 3 of 5 stars I received this ARC from Red Coat Publishing and the author in exchange for an honest review.I needed a few days to think about this story. It left me divided in my opinion and confused as to how I should rate and review it.At the beginning, the main characters held great promise to be well developed and complex, with spunk and their own little quirks, but somewhere towards the middle of the story they lost their way. The entire story was mainly focused around the two central characters with the stock bad guy, the stock bad-guy-in-training and a whiff of…