This issue strangely felt like a summary rather than a full blown story. I am not following the No Justice storyline and this is a tie-in, so that's probably why. Since I'm not super familiar with the over-arching storyline I don't have many solid comments on the issue. I do wish this annual was more inclusive for all readers whether the No Justice storyline is being followed or not, but you can't have everything.

So, future Tim Drake sacrificed himself to save Superboy. However, I didn't feel like there was as much of an emotional impact as the writer probably wanted me to have. It didn't really feel like a loss since we don't know really know this future version of Tim. I actually didn't enjoy this arc as much as I wanted to because it feels very inconclusive. I want to know more about the superhero team that met the Teen Titans from the future. We didn't even really get a feel for their connection with the future Tim Drake. Also, the decision to not make Superboy an official Teen Titan, even if just part time, doesn't make sense to me. He's proven himself to be valuable time and time again and I thought they'd all be for it. One of the more positive things was the reinforcement of the friendship between Superboy and Robin. They are there to look out for each other in the long run, and I trust this alternate future won't come to pass for them. I'm hoping the next arc has better plot development.

I've never read any TMNT comics before and this was an enjoyable read for me despite being an anthology of stories rather than a chronological, cohesive story arc. I had people warn me about how gritty the older comics were, but I found that I really didn't mind it. At some point one of the characters breaks a rat's spine in a fight. I know, that sounds strange out of context, but my point is, it is kind of gritty. I actually want to start reading the 2009 run so I can get a greater feel for the comics.

This was a nice adaptation of the original Greek myth. I like how each character has their own personality and is multi faceted. Rachel Alexander makes the characters believable and likeable. Despite being immortal gods, Persephone and Hades have a human aspect to them that still makes them quite human.

I don't read children's books very often, but I'd definitely equate this to the Grim's fairy tales of the wizarding world. The stories are short and each have their own lessons. Some are gorier than others, but I mean, Grim's fairy tales are pretty dark. In comparison, I'd say this is much lighter. This is good to pick up if you want a quick and easy read that's still entertaining.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this. It starts off with Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy already married, so to me that was fast. However, it follows a similar series of events as the original story of Pride & Prejudice, except Elizabeth begins to get to know and fall in love with Darcy after marrying him. I actually really liked the fact that she saw herself having to marry him out of necessity after her father's death rather than for love at first because I'd say it's more historically accurate. I'm sure many women went through similar circumstances during this time period. Thankfully for Elizabeth, Fitzwilliam proves to be a caring husband who loves her as she is despite his many foot in the mouth moments and the abundance of misunderstandings they experience. As she gets to know the man beneath all the cold layers be presents, she truly begins to care for him and by the end of the novel, all their misunderstandings are cleared up. Really good retelling, I think. I recommend it for anyone that is a fan of the original.

I had heard a lot of mixed reviews about this series and I had a friend that started reading it and wanted to be able to talk about it with me. So, I decided to pick it up. A lot of the negative reviews on this book criticize it for the wrong reasons, in my opinion. This includes citing a villain without much motivation and abusive behavior within the book. This isn't to say that there aren't things that suggest unhealthy behaviors in the book, but I find it really hard to believe that Sarah J. Maas isn't aware that they are there and doesn't plan to do something with them. I am okay with unsavory and unhealthy behaviors in books by characters if it is purposeful and relevant to the development of the plot, depending on how it is done.

I absolutely loved the villain, Amarantha. She's completely off her rocker and unnecessarily cruel because she wishes to have control of everything around her. It seems to have become very popular for villains to have super complicated motivations and backstories within literature as well as many other forms of entertainment. While I often appreciate that, I think that it's something I don't need for every single villain in every single story. Amarantha is a good example of that. We don't really get a full blown background on her, just enough for us to understand the motivation behind her actions. The rest of her behavior is easily explained by her lack of sanity and for me that's all the explanation I need to be satisfied.

I can say that for me this book is a first in the sense that this is the first time I have not shipped the main couple in a book even though I liked the book. I'm really not a huge fan of Tamlin and Feyre as a couple. I don't particularly dislike either of them as individual characters, but I just don't necessarily feel much chemistry between them. I have a feeling that Tamlin is not the best person for her to be in a relationship with because his actions are often morally questionable and he can come off as controlling. I specifically refer to the events that occured during and after the Fire Rite. A lot of things about that celebration are borderline rapey, if not that. I'm sure that was done on purpose by the author, though. I genuinely have trouble believing that Tamlin is completely trustworthy despite how much Feyre feels for him.

Feyre isn't a bad protagonist at all to me. She works as hard as possible and does everything she can for those she cares for, even her ungrateful family. She isn't afraid to voice her opinions and stand up for what she believes in even if she has to fight tooth and nail and suffer for it. She is a strong character, but to her chagrin is ignorant of the way many things work in the faerie world. This does cause her a lot of grief, but a lot of the trouble she gets in isn't her fault and she is super resourceful whenever she is in a sticky situation. It's something that I really appreciated in her as a character. 

My favorite character by far was Lucien. I am a sucker for characters with dry humor on their side, and Lucien is the king of it. He loves to get under everyone's skin in a playful way and I loved reading the banter between him and the rest of the characters, especially Feyre. 

This isn't the most amazing book I've ever read, but it's not anywhere near being a bad book. If you are a fan of fantasy and want to give a retelling of Beauty and the Beast a try, I'd say this isn't a bad place to start at all.

This is one of the best fairy tail retellings I've read in a while, if not THE best. The only issue I had as I was reading it was that there are no time stamps telling you when something is an event that happened in the past or in the present. Therefore, at first I thought Lynett and Mina were the same age. Come to find out that they are about 20 years apart, but there are flashbacks to Mina's past when she was 16. I eventually figured it out, though, and the storytelling and character development was amazing. Mina and Lynett both suffer due to the lies they are told by both their father's. Eventually, Lynett finds out that she was actually conjured by magic and is made of snow. Mina, on the other hand, had a damaged heart and had it replaced with magic for a heart of glass. Mina is unfortunately, taught that she is unable to love due to her condition, and seeks to redeem herself through her beauty. She succeeds in marrying the king, but does not find the love she believes she is missing. Throughout the entire book, it's very hard to tell who is truly evil because the characters are all complex and have various motivations for their actions. Sometimes they even come to regret their actions. I think the largest lesson the book has is that love can be found in the most unusual of places and that we sometimes seek it in the wrong form. Mina and Lynett 's relationship has a lot of growing pains but is filled with love and beauty that I think the author built up to beautifully. Just to clarify, their relationship is not romantic, but that of a stepmother and stepdaughter. The humanity of both Mina and Lynett is shown through all the growing pains their relationship goes through. They have misunderstandings and at times feel that they are pitted against each other by fate, but they grow as characters and people as they do so. This book is not super plot heavy. It is very much a character driven story, which some people may not like. For me personally, if I don't like the characters, it doesn't matter how amazing the setting and plot premise is. However, for anyone who cares a lot about elaborate plots where something is consistently happening, this may not be the book for you. Overall, an amazing debut!