I'm excited to get to know more about Jackson. Up until now, if you've read the Winston Brothers series, we are only shown Jackson from the Winston's perspective. However, there is more to his personality than what they see. We get to see a more romantic and nuanced version of him here. Rae is also an interesting female lead with emotional barriers that give her trouble being vulnerable. This is a great intro to the upcoming book and I'm looking forward to reading the novel.

This story was incredibly heartwarming, and as a Latinx person myself, made me feel like I was joining a family and a new home. The way Kemp describes the atmosphere in the restaurant makes you feel like you are there in-person. She also has an accurate depiction about how a lot of Latinx families are not great at addressing mental health concerns and male figures in Latinx culture have difficulty expressing emotion. Pen and Xander embody the struggles of many Mexican and Mexican Americans youths in the United States. Pen wishes to follow her dream of owning her own business as her parents have done. However, she must fight against her family's expectations that she obtain a college education and take advantage of the opportunities that they have worked so hard for her to have. Xander deals with the abandonment of his parents as well as surviving in an atmosphere where illegal immigrants are not welcome. The characters also feel genuine and relatable and are independently engaging. I'm looking forward to future books published by Kemp. Hopefully her previously independently published The Girl in Between series will be traditionally published, or something similar in the future. I'm always down for a fantasy story.

It was so nice to read a story about the reuniting of past friends as well as the formation of new friendships. We get some of our more familiar characters like Bart Allen, Superboy (Conner Kent), Wondergirl (Cassie Sandsmark), and Robin (Tim Drake). We also are introduced to new team members, Amethyst, Jonah Hex, and Teen Lantern. The team ends up on an alien planet and bump into each other in the process. They are forced to work together despite some of them just meeting. It is hinted throughout the comic that the memory of original Young Justice team members is not intact and there are alien political interests at play as well. The story is entertaining and adventurous while still bringing the nostalgia of the original team. It's a great read if you are new to comics. It's easy to get into and fun. I would recommend for a younger demographic and adults alike.

The book starts off with Eva recklessly kidnapping Godric to stop him from seeking vengeance against her brother, Gabriel. At this point, Godric has already changed his mind about seeking retribution against Gabriel. However, now Godric and Eva are essentially forced into an arranged marriage because of the circumstances. Both of them spend a good chunk of their time bickering, but eventually take a liking to each other. Godric is about 15 years older than Eva and has lost a son and wife in the past. He has trouble being vulnerable secondary to this, but seeing him find joy with Eva again is very heartwarming. Eva on the other hand, is used to being undermined for her age, gender, and lack of maturity at times. Despite her lack of maturity being very apparent through her actions, she is a very capable young woman that wants to prove her worth. She has a talent with horses and because of the gender restrictions at the time, this is not a welcome hobby or craft for a woman. Godric, however, does not wish to restrict her in this pursuit even before he starts to take a liking to her. Their age gap plays a part in how Godric perceives her at first in the sense that he recognizes how young she is compared to him. His attraction to her does not come off as predatory, however, partially because of the context of the time period, and also because Godric likes Eva for her personality and her age is at no point mentioned as a part of his interest in her. I appreciated that a lot, because age gap romances can often come off as very creepy, but I didn't feel that was the case here. The romance dose occur quickly in the span of a few days, but Eva and Godric go through hell and back in those few days, so their strong attachment to one another is more understandable. All in all, I found this historical romance and enjoyable and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

We get a glimpse into Arthur's past as we meet his old crew, The Others. It was nice to see that despite Arthur being late to admitting some actions he regrets from his past, Mera continued to trust that Arthur is a good person. Arthur carries a lot of guilt and regret about many things he has done and it is clear that he has matured and changed just as The Others have. He loses more friends along the way as The Others and him hunt down Black Manta. When they finally are able to confront him, Arthur makes a wise decision that represents how revenge is not a solution. This storyline is thematically impactful and helps further establish Aquaman as a character in a way I highly appreciated.

This was an incredibly enjoyable read. The story has a lot of diversity with representation of a Muslim man of color, queer women, and polyamorous relationships. Themes such as discrimination and social stigma are explored very well. I was quite impressed. 

Gabriel and Drusilla are the main characters forced into an arranged marriage by circumstance. Drusilla has a long lasting crush (for the past 5 years) on Gabriel (he is the step brother of her best friend Eva). They agree to give their marriage the college try and make the best of it. It takes time for them to open up to each other, but when they do it is rewarding and they are compatible. Gabriel has a very interesting history that involves sexism, but by the time we meet him in the present he has resolved a lot of this as a teenager.  Drusilla has a strong sense of morality and is a feminist who works with related charities to help further the rights of women and the disenfranchised. After she gets married to Gabriel there is less of a focus on this, but she does express a strong interest in continuing her work. Gabriel is open with Drusilla about his past which allows them both to love each other for who they are, flaws and all. They do have misunderstandings, but they are minimal and easily resolved. The sex scenes were also written well with a strong emphasis on consent and communication about what each party wants in the bedroom. 

Eva and Drusilla have an argument at the beginning of the book, which sours their relationship for the majority of the story. They do eventually reconcile, but I feel like there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Eva.

She kidnaps Lord Visel for unknown reasons after all

I'll have to keep reading to find out more about that.

All in all, this was a great historical romance with strong character backstories involving a lot of diversity. There is a large discussion to be had in this book about cultural assimilation and what it was like for a Muslim man to integrate into English society in the 19th century. In addition, the social constraints of women and what life was like for women who did fit into stereotypical relationship expectations such as monogamy and heterosexuality are also explored. I highly recommend for anyone looking for diverse historical fiction.

ADDENDUM: There are points in the book when Gabriel is described as exotic, which is problematic at best, so keep that in mind when reading. 

This is a second chance romance including a reasonable amicable divorce and the rekindling of a prior relationship about 20 years after the fact. Mia is separated from Dan, her former husband and father of her two children, following his escalating drinking problem as well as his cheating. They continue to co-parent their children, while slowly attempting to separate their lives. I appreciated how overall amicable they were with each other. Dan and Mia attempt to be supportive of each other, while still having residual feelings for each other that are not necessarily romantic, but a sense of camaraderie and protectiveness I would expect between a couple that spent almost two decades together. 

Mia bumps into Adrian, her boyfriend from her teenage years, and they have a go at rekindling their relationship. Adrian has a teenage son of his own, so he is very accepting of Mia's children. Mia delays their meeting, which I think is appropriate given the circumstances and shows Mia's consideration for her children's feelings. When they finally do meet, Adrian is great with her children and they take an immediate liking to him. Adrian and Mia are very respectful of each other and it is clear that they only separated secondary to circumstances. They easily find themselves fitting  back into their lives and their compatibility is very high, which is always nice to see in a relationship. Overall, this was a very good second chance romance that shows a realistic depiction of people getting together who both have children but are willing to be welcoming to each other. 

I was disappointed by a lot of choices in the New 52, but thankfully, this run isn't going to be one of them. A lot of the misconceptions about Aquaman are addressed through dialogue in the story and Arthur's responses to those assumptions. It retcons a lot of his original backstory and overall, I am happy with the subversion of his prior backstory. In my opinion, Johns does a great job of reintroducing the character and giving him nuance. Despite having a claim to the throne, Arthur grapples with missing the surface world. He opts to try to live on the surface with Mera, and both of them are met with distrust. Despite being respected reagents in Atlantis,  Arthur is a decent person overall but surface dwellers are afraid of what they are not familiar with. The public also consistently gets facts about Aquaman wrong, and it becomes sort of a running joke. At the same time, it serves a humorous way of exposing the source of their distrust; they do not know him well, and therefore, do not trust him.

Arthur is forced to make morally questionable decisions for the greater good within the story. We explore the psychological implications of this for Arthur. He carries a sense of guilt for his decisions and requires reassurance from Mera. It allows him to be seen as someone with flaws who doesn't always know what the best decision might be. I find this quite fitting for his character in particular since rulers often have to make difficult decisions while also being in the public eye. While not currently being a ruler, Arthur holds the weight of important decisions while also being judged publicly for them. By the end of the volume, he has gained more trust from the public, but they still hold him at arm's length. I'm looking forward to seeing how his actions hopefully help him and Mera gain more of their trust. In addition, I think depending on the outcome of this, it will ultimately determine if Mera and Arthur remain on the surface or return to Atlantis.

This is a fast-paced adventure following Danny and friends as they try to avoid the murder of the dragons of Kun-Lun to maintain balance in the universe. Okoyo is one of the characters that plays a key role in the story. Overall, the story is very fast and there is not a lot of thorough explanation as you move from plot point to plot point. By the end, I was left with the impression that Danny is looking for a new beginning. However, I would have preferred a better explanation for his choice at the end

considering he gives up the power of the Iron Fist

. There isn't a strong focus on character development, but you still get interactions between the characters that let their personalities shine through. I assume this story is a set up for future Iron Fist storylines considering the implied aftermath. We will see what bigger plans Marvel has in future books.

We get a darker Oliver Queen story in this story by Grell. Dinah and Oliver discuss their future at some point and agree that the dangers of being in the hero business will prevent them from marrying and having children. An underground drug trafficking ring is investigated by Oliver and Dinah an their paths eventually overlap. Oliver also eventually meet Shado in the process and eventually they work together to an extent. If you're looking for classic 80s Oliver Queen, this is probably a good place to start.