#ad #gifted | thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

this book is heavily experimental, playful and absurd (in a good way!), with a wide range of different poetic structures and forms covering a variety of topics from the genres of sci-fi, fantasy and contemporary literature, with references to music, literary allusions and lots and lots of bizarreness

an enjoyable collection to read and experience, but a lot to wrap your head around of what was going on, which is common is wacky poetry like this, so keep a dictionary in hand when reading because the diction choices  do get overtly complicated at times 

#PRproduct #AD #gifted || Thank you so much to Marvel, Aconyte Books, and to the Book Network for giving me the opportunity to take part in this Book Tour. This book was given to be in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Publication Dates: US On Sale Date: March 15 2022; UK On Sale Date: June 9 2022; Global Ebook On Sale Date: March 1 2022

Felicia Hardy always puts her own interests first, but the appearance of a mythical golden apple in New York has everybody with a hint of power scrambling for it. And who’s everyone’s number one choice to nab it for them? The Black Cat, of course. Yet that isn’t the only job on Felicia’s radar. When a smart aleck kid turns up demanding her help, Felicia finds herself caught between the mob, her morals and some very insistent supervillains. It’ll take all nine lives to wriggle out of this one intact, but Felicia has more than one trick up her sleeve.

Review (spoiler-free)

From the first page, Cath Lauria demonstrated her writing style with vivid descriptions, incredible puns, and in doing so, takes the well-loved, yet somewhat under-appreciated, character of Felicia Hardy, and puts her own spin on her narrative voice. 

“An antihero or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions that are morally correct, it is not always for the right reasons, often acting primarily out of self-interest or in ways that defy conventional ethical codes.” [Wikipedia Definition]

To build and establish a character who is both a convincing anti-heroine, who is still likeable, is a hard task, but one that Cath Lauria pulls off so successfully. age or morality, Felicia is extremely courageous, and definitely has a moral compass, however, it’s not the moral compass of your typical hero archetype. Felicia Hardy, also known as Black Cat, is cunning, witty character and I could immediately root for her, even when the way she goes about doing the right thing isn’t always the typical route, or for the typical reasons, breaking laws on her way to do what she thinks is right. I think this is why I loved reading from her perspective compared to traditional heroes’ perspectives – because she never does the predictable thing, instead opting for unconventional tactics, making the plot much more engaging…

Another element of this book which I adored was seeing how Black Cat’s relationships between herself and those around her were fleshed out. Even for the characters I was not as familiar with, I immediately understood her history with them, whether it be with her exes, her (somewhat begrudging) allies, her found family, and her enemies, every relationship was given the time to understand, without it feeling overly explained or repetitive. 

Within such a large multi-media universe, like the Marvel universe, where a large number of contributors are involved, there is bound to be cross-contradictions and inconsistencies because of the wide numbers of interpretations of events and characters. This is a fact that comic book and marvel nerds have always accepted, the same way that musical theatre fans understand that every production is different but all are equally valid. 

I have to admit, this book includes some of my most favourite Marvel literary interpretations of characters such as Black Cat, the Storm Siblings, Daredevil and Kingpin, and I think that is down to Cath Lauria’s writing. I could not put the book down, it was incredibly gripping, and the book ended full-circle, leaving me speechless and desperate to read more of Lauria’s view on the Marvel world.

Publisher Link & Purchase Link: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Black-Cat-Discord/Cath-Lauria/Marvel-Heroines/9781839081354

CATH LAURIA is a Colorado girl who loves snow and sunshine. She is a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, suspense and romance fiction, and has a vast collection of beautiful, edged weapons. Twitter: Cath Lauria (Twitter: @author_cariz). 

#gifted | thanks for publisher and to netgalley for sending me this in exchange for an honest review

ughhhh i really wish i could like this book; the premise was so so good, and the message and heart of the story was there, but i just couldn’t

1. i hated noah, he was not likeable at all, and had like no redeeming qualities (which is bad for the main character). he was way to absorbed in the diary, and was very codependent 

2. the whole meet cute diary main-plot was just overly complicated and i was just bored, rather than invested

3. i hated noah. like he was such a dick to the people he loved, and was so selfish. 

4. the ending felt too neat and tidy for it to be realistic

5. the relationship with devin was not enjoyable, as it only occurred in the end. felt wayyy to rushed

6. devin deserved better than noah. ey could do way better

7. the characters were just so flat, i couldn’t root for anyone

on a positive note, the narration was good - it was the only thing keeping me from DNFing

AD/ PR product. Thanks so much to the publisher, the author Imogen Greenberg, the illustrator Isbael Greenberg, and to Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

As an aspiring classicist, and overall classical enthusiast, I was so thrilled to discover a new children’s book about greek mythology, especially about mythological figures that aren’t often talked about it children’s non-fiction, such as Gaia. I also did really enjoy how this book discussed the Gigantomachy, as again, it is rarely discussed in children’s retellings. I also loved the occasional references to other myths and I also enjoyed the occasional pop culture reference too, including “Get in, loser. we’re going on an adventure”.

Isabel Greenberg’s illustrations in this book are absolutely gorgeous. Vivid colours, diverse characters and each gods’ personalities shone through. My favourite piece of artwork featured was one of Gaia with flowing green hair, and animals and creatures living inside it. It was vibrant and I could feel the momentum and movement within.

However, I do have a lot of critiques for this book. I felt that the creation of the world was very Christianised. In accurate mythology, it was Prometheus and Epimetheus (under Zeus’ request) who created humans and animals, yet in this version, it was Gaia who created all, whilst Prometheus and Epimetheus were not mentioned. I felt that the Ancient Greek creation story was altered so heavily that it appeared to mimic the Christian Genesis creation story, and in doing so, felt extremely distanced itself from actual mythology.

On top of that, the story of the Titans was told extremely out of order, with humans being created during Ouranus’ rule, instead of after Cronos’ defeat. And the Olympians were established as ruling over the own domains all along, even before they had won the Titan war. Elements like this felt confusing and pointless to me, as the book discusses from the creation of the universe, to the Titan War, to the battle of the giants and the gods, so why couldn’t the events be told a more accurate order? I understand that interpretations differ, but the order of events discussed in this book was so far off any interpretation I have read or studied that it felt, at times, lazy. Especially when discussing false details such as Aphrodite being called Athena’s sister, instead of born from Ouranous.

Whilst I understand that having such a large array of figures and events in such a short children’s book who be confusing (and some topics would be far too inappropriate for children), I felt that the mythology was handled quite poorly, which for a book which acts as a re-telling and introduction to mythology, is a big problem. Many other children’s books on mythology have managed to find a balance between accurate retellings and interesting and digestible information for children, this book falls a bit flat on that. 

However, the concept of introducing children to the Classics is something I am a firm supporter and believer in. Although I have not read all of their books, I do know that the Greenberg sisters have published other works on Greek mythology and history, so I am inclined to check those out to see how they compare to this book. I also loved how this book did not romanticise the gods, and instead, encourages children to not adopt the selfish behaviours of them. It also encourages children to treat the environment with love.

This book is a brief re-telling of the lead-up to the Titanomachy and Giantomachy, as well as the aftermath and the gods’ relations with humans. I’d say, if you are to read this book, or give this book to a loved one, I would consider that. more detailed discussions and children’s books may be needed to learn a bit more. Overall, I’d rate this book 3.75 stars out of 5. It was a visually appealing introduction to the mythology, which would be able to act as a decent stepping stone to learning about Greek mythological origins for children, and also ends of a call-to-action about changing the world through environmentalism.

#ARC #Gifted - I’ve been a fan of Ocean Vuong’s poetry for a while now, and was delighted to hear that my Netgalley request for the ARC of his latest poetry collection “Time is a Mother” had been accepted!! Thank you very much to the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Time is a Mother” is an exquisite collection of raw poems, exploring the themes of grief, identity, the American Dream and culture, in an extremely experimental and spiritual way. By page 5, I was already tearing up. All of the poems are experimental in format, and whilst I was taking notes and annotations of this collection, I wrote that Ocean Vuong crafts poetry like divinity, a statement I stand by now.

Vuong possibly references the traditional poem, ‘the Ballad of Mulan, where it concludes with the line “When a pair of rabbits run side by side, who can distinguish male from female?” I think Vuong alludes to this in the poem "You Guys", especially in the line “the rabbits are lovers or sisters sometimes// it’s hard to tell gender// from breathing”. The theme of gender conversation recurs throughout the collection, and through Ocean Vuong's other works, which supports my theory that this is what the line is in reference to. These poems also allude to the Genesis creation and to Greek mythology, building such vivid imagery of large-scale events to reflect such personal, intimate feelings. 

I reread so many of the poems after I finished the collection. They were just so beautifully crafted, and memorable. My two favourite of the lines were "Sometimes when I can't sleep, I imagine Van Gogh singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah' into his cut ear & feeling peace" and "I want to take care of our planet because I need a beautiful graveyard". Both lines made me put down my e-reader just to process the weight and beauty of what I just read. 

I would rate this collection five stars. It has became one of my favourite books I have read this year, and plan to purchase a physical copy myself to re-read and annotate. Thank you so much again for the publisher and to Netgalley for sending me this ARC. If you enjoyed this review, be sure to order 'Time is a Mother' for the 5th of April, 2022.

Thank you so much for the publisher, to Netgalley and to Amy Clennell for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Poetry has many goals and paths it can take. Some poems create, some poems mourn, some poems reach through the page and speak to you in a way only described as “ours”. This collection achieves, and excels, at all three of these.

It is hard to believe this is a debut collection, it was so intricately woven and so breathtaking. I’ll definitely be buying myself a copy once it is published. This is the exact sort of poetry I could recommend and rave about for hours on end. Everything from the subtle and delicate haikus, to the deep cutting grief explored through long stanzas, every word was precise and crafted and chosen. 

My personal favourite poem was “My Alfie”. I am autistic myself, I really felt seen by the poem’s illustration of the fatigue constant explaining and justifying our existence to others brings.

Throughout many of the poems, Amy retells or references fairytales in such a charming way. She combines fairytales and various mythical and folklore allusions with the well-placed diction choices and language devices, meaning these poems both rolled off the tongue and off the page into my heart. Each poem felt well-rounded, and not one felt overtly repetitive or same-sy. Each brought their own factors to the table, and contributed to a stunning collection.

To conclude, I would rate this collection of poems 4.25 stars. I would have rated it as a 4.5 star read, but I wasn’t a fan of the limericks near the end - they felt forced and out of place.

Thank you very much to D.E Night, Stories Untold and Netgalley for providing me with a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I made the choice to DNF this book at the 31% mark.

This book is about 16 year old orphan Ivy, who discovers her magical family and powers, and is invited to attend the ‘Halls of Ivy’ magical school.

At the start of the book, we are thrown into an extremely complicated magical world, however, the book’s world building in the book was far too vague and over-complex, meaning I was left very confused throughout most of the book. This was not helped by the overly simplistic writing.

I found Ivy’s character very bland with no discernible traits, which meant I found it impossible to root for her. Her dialogue felt unnatural, and she spoke and acted more like a 12 year old than a 16 year old - throughout reading the book, I was surprised at reminders of how she was my age! Since this was a middle grade book, it was probably more suitable to have the protagonist be roughly the same age as the target audience (the general rule of thumb for middle-grade, YA and NA books). I speculate that Izy was made 16 to avoid too many comparisons to Harry Potter.

As a writer and artist myself, I understand that all pieces of art are in some way or another inspired by others, which is perfectly fine. However, the inspiration this book draws from the Harry Potter universe does show very heavily in this book, so bare that in mind before reading. I think this book is a definite example of how Harry Potter influenced the middle-grade fiction scene - whether the influence was ultimately for better or for worse is debatable.

Some of the plot points and twists were very spoon-feed - although this book is aimed at youngish audiences, I think a lot of middle grade books don’t give their audience enough credit, and the plot is told in unnatural explanation dialogue, rather than shown in the story.

Although this book is written in 3rd person, scattered throughout the book are random, unnecessary and harmful comments negative comments about how people’s bodies look, including a ‘comedic’ line about how one character’s face was as “unfortunate looking as a [dragon’s] back end” because it was full of scars. These horrible and negative views aren’t the sort of views we want to teach children. Scars are not ever something to be ashamed of. I have a lot because of my physical disability, and that’s fine!!! They are my battle scars.

If this line as a one-off occurrence, I would have been happier to overlook it as an error in wording, but it is accompanied by a range of overtly fatphobic comments, disguised as ‘comedy’. I’ll include some hear, as I cannot describe them myself. “Helga was the type who considered eating the best sort of bodybuilding.”

To conclude, I had to DNF this book for a variety of reasons. I mean no disrespect towards the author or publisher, these are criticisms combined with my personal taste in books.