Umbrella Academy Reviews

To prelude this I’ve recently watched The Umbrella Academy on Netflix and decided to give the comics a try. I really enjoyed the show each character has their own important arc and I enjoyed the super powers and how everything came together, so this being said I should have enjoyed the comics. Should is the key word here.

So I read The Umbrella Academy Vol 1: The Apocalypse Suite as well as Vol 2: Dallas by Gerard Way. The premise for the Umbrella Academy is awesome 7 children with superhumans raised by a mysterious figure? Who wouldn’t be into that? However, I found that the actually comics fell short of my expectations.

I think what really lost me was the writing. I really do like the plot but the dialogue didn’t grab me. The characters didn’t get flushed out enough so I wasn’t super invested in the end results. The art style was unique but didn’t necessarily help the story along, simply because it was not always easy to comprehend what was happening in each panel.

 

Suffice to say I think I’ll be continuing with this story through the tv show.

 

A Red, White & Royal Blue Review

Happy release day to Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston!

Well I don’t even know where to start with this review. Firstly if you are curious if this book is worth all the hype around it, not only is it worth it, this book surpasses it! I love everything about this book! Whether it was the characters, the politcal aspects or the friendships that are developed throughout the book, this book had my heart from page. I strongly believe that this book is going to stick with me for awhile especially when reading romance. It made me smile and laugh, cry and cheer throughout the book. The way the characters are written, you can relate to all of them, and I think that’s because they feel so real. Honestly we all know an Alex and we all know a Nora too.

In this book we have Alex Claremont-Diaz a 21 year old Mexican-American who is the First Son of the United States. In the alternate timeline after President Obama a Alex’s mom, Ellen Claremont, won the election and is now up for re-election. We can dream right? Then there’s Henry, the Princes of Wales, I have such a soft spot for Henry. He always puts family and duty first suppressing so much of himself.

Now these two don’t necessarily seem like they would fit together and isn’t that the perfect start for the enemies-to-lovers trope? Alex and the presidential family head to England for Henry’s older brothers wedding, and after a scuffle between Alex and Henry they are forced to under a fake friendship for good press. Score a million for this book because who doesn’t love a wee written fake-friendship trope. And you can guess what comes next, some good old fashioned falling for each other.
I honestly had such a fantastic time reading this, Alex is so funny, witty and sarcastic that I found myself cackling at time. Henry is the typical hold it all in kind of character and I loved how well they suited each other. All the side characters have a special place in my heart and I would do anything for a Pez and June sequel or even a Nora and someone sequel! I think this is a great and my only negative would be there is a lot of political talk and if that isn’t your cup of tea you may not enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this for an unbiased review. 🙂

The Bride Test – passes my test! ARC Review

I delayed reading this book because I loved The Kiss Quotient so much and I was worried that this book wouldn’t hold up to it. I am very happy to say that I was wrong The Bride Test is a wonderfully heartwarming story with engaging and diverse characters.

I really loved Esme and Khai, Helen Hoang took the typical trope of mail-order bride and flipped it on it’s head. Khai, with all his hidden vulnerabilities and the belief that he can’t love. And Esme, strong and courageous willing to leave her family behind and try and find love and a better future for them. While these two might not seem ideal for each other they were perfect for each other, both willing to deal with and overcome the challenges thrown at them. Also have I mentioned that I love Khai? He’s seriously so perfect. From carrying Esme when she’s hurt, to helping her pursue her goals, he’s there for her throughout the novel even when he’s fighting his feelings.

The Bride Test was a great story cute and heartwrenching and everything in between. I can’t wait to read more books by Helen Hoang because her first two have been smashes I can’t wait for the next. (Which will hopefully be Quan’s story!)
Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this for an honest review! 🙂

Book Review: Roomies by Christina Lauren

Roomies is a super delightful book that completely takes you by surprise when snatching your heart. I found the first bit of the book a bit slow so it really was a shock when all of a sudden I couldn’t put it down.

Holland is a great heroine, she’s unsure about herself and how she’s living which is super easy to relate to and she isn’t unsure in an annoying way either. Are any of us on the right path? Who knows. Calvin is a subway musician who Holland has been secretly crushing on for awhile. It’s quite the crush I might add as she goes about ten subway stops out of her way to see him. Holland works off Broadway, in theatre, at a job given to her by her Uncle and she has always felt in tune with music. When an opening at the play comes up for a lead musician she has to get Calvin an interview. After he does amazing and enthralls the crowd we find a catch, he’s not here legally.

Holland isn’t known for being wild or making spur of the moment decision but she does in this case. She decides to marry Calvin so he can stay and legally work in the show. The marriage of convenience turns from friends to lovers and then builds to something more, how can either know if what they are feel is reciprocated though?

Every once in awhile I find myself completely and utterly invested in a book and that’s what happened with Roomies. Even though it started slow these characters grab at you from within the book to draw you back because there love story is one that needs to be read. Calvin and Holland suit each other so well but because of the Marriage of Convenience they doubt each other and their love. These characters are human and flawed and they both make some pretty rough decisions and mistakes regarding their relationship.

In the end the issue came down to Holland not being able to see herself as she was or even as the people who surround her did, and that Calvin was always there wanting what was best for her and trying to put her first. At the end of this book I found myself stopping and checking how many pages left and each time I’d be flabbergasted. There’s only 30 pages left? 20? 10? I craved more of their story because I fell in love with these characters so thanks to Christina Lauren for that I’ll be checking more of their books out! This wasn’t a fast paced romance by any means but be patient the love that’s developed in this book is well worth that wait.

 

Side note: My goal this year was to write reviews for most of the books I read however I read an abundance of historical romances throughout the years and I love all of them don’t get me wrong; but I am not committed to writing reviews for each one. So this was not the second book I read this year but it was definitely worth my second review of the year.

 

 

 

Reads!

Today I was working in the graphic novel section and I’ll admit I don’t usually read graphic novels. Not that I think they aren’t considered “books” they just aren’t my style. But today as I was working away I spotted these two books. And I Love Dragon Age. I’ve played all the games through at least twice I’m pretty read up on the lore too. So I decided to grab these and wow! Was I ever impressed! 10/10 would recommend!