Summary:
In this volume, more keys are discovered and tension between the siblings is running high: Bode is sick of his siblings treating him like a baby and keeping secrets, and Tyler is angry because the other siblings have been showing keys to their friends. Before the siblings can get too upset with one another, they are forced to come together and battle all of the paranormal things that keep haunting them; like rabid dogs, vicious rose bushes and vines, attacking owls and squirrels, chains that have come to life to bind them, and a music box that forces anyone who hears it's music to do what it says.

Meanwhile, Tyler is onto their friend, Zack Wells. After mapping out all of the attacks and comparing that to when Zack is away, he thinks he understands what is going on. When Tyler goes to look for proof, Zack find out and things get very violent.


My thoughts:
Just like the other volumes, I really enjoyed the storyline, the color palettes and the banter of the characters.

Though this time, there were a few things that I didn't really care for...


Beware, the negatives.
First was the switch up of the artwork in the beginning. It was a nod to Calvin and Hobbes, so the characters didn't look like themselves. The organization of this section was also different; there were four panels centered on the page that carried the story with dialogue boxes that broke out of the boxes. Meanwhile, in the background of the page panels, there was more artwork related to those four panels. It was interesting, but I just didn't really care for it.

I was also a bit bummed because this volume felt either rushed, or careless to me...though I can't decide which it is. The transitions weren't as perfect as previous volumes. There were also many panels that showed us snapshots of what happened, but didn't give many details. Like the panel with the chains that were binding the siblings. We saw that it happened, but we didn't know why or how they got into that situation. It almost looked like they were under the house or in some kind of tomb. But who knows?! All we got was that one snapshot panel and no details.


My final thoughts:
I would still highly recommend this volume, even though I had a few gripes. I gave this volume 4 stars!

Because I am a born and raised Mainer, I followed the story about the "North Pond Hermit" in the news pretty closely when he was found. When I heard there was a book being written, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! I was seriously like a little kid that was about to be handed a giant ice cream cone when I heard it was available at my local library.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book at all. Reading it actually made me angry. So angry that I've been sitting on this review for a while so I could cool off.

It didn't help.

Summary:
I've tried to summarize this book numerous times, but I cannot come up with something pleasant. So instead, I am going to summarize the person and events behind the book.

Marked for spoilers just in case someone wants to know nothing about Christopher before reading the book.

Christopher Knight was only twenty years old in 1986 when he decided to leave society behind and live in isolation in the Maine woods. For twenty-seven years, Christopher battled the incredibly harsh Maine winters and the thick clouds of bugs that clog the air in warmer weather. He even survived the Ice Storm of '98. Through everything he remained unscathed. He prided himself in keeping his physical self as well as his camp clean and tidy.

To survive, he stole from cabins near Little North Pond. Each time he stole from someone, he felt incredibly guilty. Though he never took anything that looked valuable. He only took what he needed to survive; food, clothing, books and magazines, propane tanks, batteries, watches, and other important things. He was also very careful, only venturing out in the nighttime and during weather that wouldn't show his tracks.

Over the years, he became somewhat of an urban legend in the area. Many people reported the robberies, but began to think that it was a family member or a neighbor stealing from them because no one ever saw who did it. One day, a security camera caught a clean cut man on film, which added to the belief that it was just someone down the road that was stealing.

One day Christophers luck ran out and he was caught red handed stealing food from Pine Tree Camp. He was arrested.

My thoughts:
Other first five chapters totally captured me! I loved the way that these were written.


Beware, the negatives:
Unfortunately in the sixth chapter things started falling apart for me. The book turned away from the story-like format into a story that was incredibly unorganized. I had such a hard time following.

I also found this book to be incredibly repetitive. Rather than going from point a to point b, the storyline jumped forward or back in seemingly random intervals. So many things that we had already read were repeated to the reader as a refresher about a certain topic.

I also didn't care for all of the personal touches the author included. Like I didn't care about his family life or how he went on a silence retreat. I picked up this book to read about Christopher, not Michael.

I got really bored with the author constantly trying figure out the why behind Christopher's motives when Christopher himself said he had no reasoning. It was like he was reading far too deep into things an analyzing things that didn't need to be analyzed.

The authors insistent personality really rubbed me the wrong way. Mainers definitely appreciate their privacy. I was so irritated that he was told not to keep calling or visiting. Like my jaw dropped when Michael showed up at Christopher's parents house with a pie for Christopher's mother. I could not believe he dared to do that.

Many chapters of the book really dragged for me because they were more like history lessons. There was a ton of information and quotes from various doctors, hermits, or scholars that I simply didn't care about. I felt that it was far too much information. And again, none of it seemed organized. Sure, it was grouped by topic, but other than that it was just lumped together. Most of it honestly seemed like it was just thrown in to take up space. It reminded me of a middle school student writing a science research paper... throwing quotes in left and right just to try to make their argument stronger, but ending up going way overboard.

I wanted more about Christopher. I didn't want to read a person trying to figure out Christopher and making all kinds of assumptions.


My favorite lines:
He doesn't know, at least not without calculating, the year or the decade.

...the Maine summer, as every local knows, is that rare lovely guest who leaves your house early.

Very early on I debated DNFing this book...but yet again, I pushed through because I had high hopes that it would get suspenseful and intense. It didn't. I thought that this entire book was incredibly boring.

Summary:
This book is from the perspective of two characters- Adele and Louise.

Adele is having trouble with her husband. Though they have just moved to town for a "fresh start" things don't seem to be going very well. Louise is a single mom who hooked up with a man at a bar one night. This man turns out to be married… and her new boss. Yes, the husband and the boss are one in the same. When the two women become friends without telling the man, things get complicated.


My thoughts:
I liked that this book swapped between the two perspectives while sprinkling some flashbacks in here and there. It added a nice layer to the story and at least kept me reading and interested for a short while.


Beware, the negatives:
So first off, both of the main characters whose perspectives the book is written from are horrible people. One is manipulative and the other is just plain pathetic. The main male role is also a disgusting human. So there was absolutely nothing I liked about any of the characters in this book.

I also didn’t like the storyline. It was so boring to me. And really, not much happened. It wasn't suspenseful to me in the slightest.

This book was horribly repetitive. It was all the same old thoughts by the same person over and over and over again. I mean, holy god... How many times do I have to read that Adele loves David, or that what Louise was doing was wrong?

When things blew up in the characters faces, I wanted to scream “WELL WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?!” And take this line for example, “Suddenly, this is all very real.” What?! Are you joking?! What was it before? A game? I so unimpressed.

I had heard that there was a twist, so I kept reading. When I finally made it, I was not thrilled. I definitely felt like I wasted my time reading this book (and I absolutely hate saying that!).


Favorite passage:
My feet are already aching in my two-inch heels. I always thought it was something you grew into, that ability to walk perfectly in high heels and always dress well. As it turns out – for me anyway – there's a small phase of that in the nightclubbing years of your twenties and then it's mainly jeans and jumpers and Converse with the ponytail, accessorized with life-envy of those who can still be bothered to make the effort.


My final thoughts:
I did not like this book. I gave it one star. However, I think this type of book simply isn't for me.

I would recommend this book to fans of Gone Girl. This is the first time I have ever made that statement... but it is very fitting; horrible characters making stupid decisions and sticking their nose where it doesn't belong, complete with a silly "twist" ending that really isn't that interesting.

Phew, this was quite a read. Right from page one I was hooked. I had such a hard time putting it down so I could go to work! I'd highly recommend picking this up on a day when you don't have any other plans because you'll certainly want to read the entire book in one sitting!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

Summary:

Appetite for Innocence is a book from the perspective of two teenage girls, Sarah and Ella. These girls are under control of a serial rapist that has captured them and locked them away in his sound-proof basement. Sarah has been there since she was twelve and now suffers from Stockholm syndrome. Ella is his latest victim that he is "grooming" until she is "ready."

One day, Ella risks it all to try to escape. The girls have heard stories that were passed down from girl to girl about how impossible it would be. Between the walls, the vicious dogs, and the bombs in the walls of the house... it seems incredibly difficult. But Ella makes it. She's in rough shape when she reaches the hospital. Luckily, her physical wounds will heal, but will she find a way to cope with the mental trauma?


My thoughts:

I thought this book was incredible! It was so suspenseful and incredibly dark. To say that this book was an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement; there were SO many ups and downs throughout the course of the story. Yes, there were a couple of rape scenes, but they were not super graphic, which I really appreciated. Just knowing what was happening was sickening enough. So I was really happy to see that rather than focusing on the graphic details, the writing focused more on the character trying to distance herself from what was happening.

I'm usually not a huge fan of the differing POV's or chapters that switch back and forth from current time and the past... And this book had both. But it was done SO wonderfully! I enjoyed the organization of this storyline very much because it really boosted the suspense! I was never confused, but I was always antsy to find out what, exactly, had happened, and how the girls were going to adjust.

The writing was also wonderful. It all flowed so well and even though the content was difficult, it was easy to get totally immersed in the story. And like I said above, I was hooked from page one and had a really hard time putting it down.

The characters were well developed. As a reader, I really felt a connection to the girls very early on, so reading what they went through was really difficult. Ella and Paige were my favorites. I couldn't believe how strong they were the entire time they were locked in the basement. I also really liked Sarah, but in a very different way from the other two girls. Sarah was very standoffish and of course struggled with major Stockholm syndrome, which made me so sad.

The male character, John, was incredibly creepy! I think his creepiness was elevated to an even higher level because you only learn about him through what the girls witness. So we didn't know where this house was, how he acquired it, what he did for a living, if he had a family, or anything like that.


My final thoughts:

Overall an incredible read! I would HIGHLY recommend this book! Snag it on Amazon today.

I've been interested in Norse Mythology for quite a while now. Of course the Marvel stories helped to really boost that interest when I started getting into the movies and comics! But I've also read a number of other works about these tales. So in this collection, many of the stories were familiar, but others were not.

Reading Neil Gaiman's renditions of these myths was such a treat! I would definitely recommend checking this out!


Summary:
This book begins with an excellent section called "The Players" that helps introduce all of the characters to the readers. The rest of the book is a collection of short stories that each cover a different myth ranging from the creation of Aesir to the battle of Ragnarok. Some stories are intense, a few center on love and family, while others are focused on Loki's trickery and humor.


My thoughts:
First of all, I need to discuss the cover! It's SO pretty and wonderfully simple. The title and author are written in a very simple golden font and are split by the main focus- a very decorative rendition of Mjölnir. Behind the hammer there is a celestial spattering, which I think is a lovely touch. Both Mjölnir and the text have elements of gold foil which makes them shine in the right lighting. I was so bummed that I couldn't get a better photo of it since my copy is from the library and has the plastic book jacket cover on it.

Now, I have to admit that I really didn't know anything about this book before diving in. So when I realized that it was a collection of short stories, I was just a little bummed simply because I'm not a huge fan of them. But the first half of the book totally hooked me! Like I said above, many of the stories were familiar from other books that I have read so I really enjoyed seeing them with a Neil Gaiman twist.

I really enjoyed the mix of drama, humor, and slight violence. I also really loved the tone that Neil Gaiman gave to each of the characters. And I will admit that I am totally biased; I LOVE Loki! So I enjoyed the stories where he played a role the most.

I also really enjoyed when Neil Gaiman added lines that broke the 4th wall a bit. For example, toward the end of the book, he threw in a line about tossing your leather scraps to help build a shoe for one of the gods.


Beware, the negatives:
As with all short story collections, I tend to lose steam... It doesn't help that I was in a major life slump while reading this book. I definitely want to give it a re-read sometime very soon because I don't think I gave it a fair shot.


My favorite passages:
"Because," said Thor, "when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki's fault. It saves a lot of time."

"Oh," said Thor. "She won't like that. Well, you can tell her the news. You're better at persuading people to do things than I am when I'm not holding my hammer."

Loki climbed out from under the table, in his original shape, and surveyed the carnage. "Well," he said, "you appear to have dealt with the problem."


My final thoughts:
Overall, I would highly recommend giving this a read! My copy is due back at the library soon, but I am looking forward to picking up my own copy so I can give it another shot!

Not for me, DNF.

I did not care for the main character right from the start. The writing was beautiful, but boring to me. A lot of it really dragged on. I didn't like the lack of quotations around dialogue and found myself backing up to re-read the phrase as dialogue many times. I also didn't really care for the use of all of the em dashes that were used to throw in other bits of information right in the middle of a sentence. And of course, I didn't like the aspect of her husband cheating.

Over all, I just did not care about the characters or the storyline... I read long enough to find out what happened to the husband. Then, again, realizing that I truly did not care, I had to call it.

I have been in a bit of a funk for a couple of weeks now. So I was definitely in need of a creepy read like this!

Summary:
The synopsis of this book is the perfect example of one that gives just enough information to make you want to read the book as soon as possible, while also being very careful not to give anything away.

My thoughts:
PHEW! What a read. I absolutely loved how creepy the tone was! It's very rare that I get spooked thinking about a story at nighttime... But thinking about this book made me take a running leap onto our bed after turning off the lamp one night.

The main character, Stevie, was so lovely. I found myself feeling very protective of him and I was rooting for him the whole time.

The pacing of the story was okay. It started with an intense and fast paced situation, but then slowed for awhile before picking up again.

The writing was very well done! I did have one small irk. But the authors style was wonderfully descriptive.


Beware, the negatives:
I only have two slight irks with this book. The first is that at times, I just found myself a bit bored with the story. Normally I don't mind when the story gets slow in order to add to the anticipation of figuring out what was going to happen. But in this case, I found myself getting annoyed with how long it was taking the story to move along.

The second is the overuse of similes. There was practically one on every page! Each of them were very clever, but once I realized how often one was thrown in, they started to lose their magic.


My favorite passages:
Hearing the sharp edges of that curse word come from a kid had left Stevie's nerves fizzing like a bag of wet Pop Rocks.

The house's paint job was just as bad as the roof; giant white strips of the stuff peeling from the clapboard siding like dirty old bandages that had lost their stick.

Mr. G. straightened his crooked back, and Stevie cringed when he heard a succession of pop-pop-pops, like someone dragging a tiny mallet across the spine of a percussion frog.

He couldn't sleep. Closing his eyes while simultaneously trying to keep his imagination in check was a form of brain gymnastics that Stevie hadn't trained for.


My final thoughts:
I know this was a bit short, but I really didn't want to give anything away! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys thrillers with a splash of mystery!

This was such a FUN graphic novel! I need to get my hands on Volume 2 ASAP!

Summary (potential spoilers):
In this first volume, we dive right into the action of modern day New York City.

First, we see Jack rushing to report a crime to Bigby Wolf. Meanwhile, a pretty woman and a beastly looking man are talking to Snow White, Director of Operations of an underground government. Through this conversation, we learn that some of the Fable folk are now living in NYC after being lucky enough to have escaped their lands when a savage creature called the Adversary attacked. Though many of the folk did not escape. But in this new land, the folk must be able to keep their magical nature a secret from the Mundanes (regular folk). If they cannot afford a glamour or keep it secret on their own, then they are relocated to a farm upstate. Phew!

We soon discover that the crime Jack was reporting happened at Snow White's sisters apartment and that Rose Red is missing. For the rest of the volume, we follow Bigby and Snow as they work to solve the crime.


My thoughts:
I loved that this graphic novel takes elements of classic fairy tales and ads a modern twist to them. Right from page one I was hooked! I really enjoyed seeing the personalities of each of the characters that we met and I can't wait to meet more characters!

The pacing of the volume was quick, but the author also made sure to include the perfect amount of information to let the reader know what the situation was. I really appreciated how we were given the backstory because it was done in a way that was interesting and natural rather than relying on info-dumping.

The use of humor had me chuckling a lot! I also really enjoyed the artwork! It wasn't too over the top and the colors were lovely!


My final thoughts:
This was definitely a wonderful first volume of a series! I loved how quickly I became hooked. I can't wait to check out volume 2!

I'm so sad that I'm nearing the end of this series!

Summary:
In this volume, we are shown a lot of the past. First, we learn about a group of minutemen who are trapped deep in the cave during the Revolutionary War. In the cave, the black door is open and a young Ben Locke must to find a way to close it. We also really get to know Rendell Locke (the Locke siblings father), Erin Voss, Kim Topher, Ellie Whedon, Mark Cho, and Luke "Dodge" Caravaggio when they were all teenagers and enjoyed messing around with the keys. One day, the group makes a very poor decision, which changed their path forever.

In present time, Tyler and Kinsey use a key that allows them to travel through time so they can learn more about the keys.


My thoughts:
This volume is another really great collection! My review here is going to be pretty short because I don't want to spoil anything.

I will say that I loved that this collection was mainly focused in the past so I could get answers to a lot of questions that I have been mulling over. I also really enjoyed learning more about the history of the keys and how they were used during different times.

Getting to know Rendell Locke, Luke "Dodge" Caravaggio, and the crew was really interesting! I loved that we were given the chance to read more about them. It added even more depth to this already amazing story!

I was dreading reaching the end of this series because I love it SO much. But this is the most wonderful conclusion that I could have ever imagined.

Summary:
Because this is the concluding volume I will not be providing a summary because I don't want to give anything away! :)

My thoughts:
Oh my god. The way that Joe tied up all of the loose ends was absolutely incredible! So many things came up that made me go, "OH YEAH! I forgot about that!" All of my questions were finally answered. The action was amazing. My heart was pumping so fast during many of the situations that the Locke siblings ran into here.

I have become so attached to these characters over the course of this series. So of course, when there were a couple of sad/upsetting scenes in this volume, I couldn't help but tear up.

My final thoughts:
I really do feel that this was the most perfect conclusion to the series. I would very highly recommend checking it out if you haven't read them yet. I gave this volume another five stars!