Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book!

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti is one of the 2017 releases that I was most looking forward to reading this year. When I got an email letting me know that I had won a copy from a Goodreads giveaway, I was so excited! And I am very happy to say that this book did not disappoint!

Summary:
This story is about a teenage girl, named Loo, and her father, Samuel Hawley. These two have been moving from place to place for as long as Loo can remember. But now, Hawley wants to settle in Loo's mothers hometown to give Loo a shot at a "normal life." But after a couple run-ins with the locals, they're already off to a rocky start. Will they be able to stay in the town, or will Hawley's past come back to haunt him?

My Thoughts:
Right from page one of this book, I was hooked! However, I will say that I also found it to be bit slow moving and some bits seemed longwinded. But I was still totally captivated and needed to see what happened next.

The storyline was organized in a lovely way; the main storyline arc was focused on Loo and Hawley in the present, but the chapters were broken up by flashbacks where we got to learn more about Hawley and his past. Each of these flashbacks were focused on each of the bullets that Hawley had taken. Because of this organization, there was a bit of a mystery vibe to the story, which I really enjoyed.

The two main characters were very interesting, though it does take some time to really understand them. For example, with Hawley, he seemed super sketchy to me at first. But after reading a few of his flashbacks, I was able to understand why he acted the way he did. I also really enjoyed that we both got to see Loo grow up. Her struggle at being a "normal" kid was heartbreaking to me at first. But her character as a whole seemed so incredible. I loved how strong she was and how she always wanted to think for herself and not just take someone else's word.

Yes, there is violence in this story. But like I said above, once you find out more about Hawley's past, you'll understand why the violence is still present in their lives. I would also like to say that this story does not center on the violence; it centers on the love that the father has for his child and late wife, and the lengths that he will go to to protect his daughter.


My favorite passages:
It was a clear day. The leaves had abandoned their branches for the forest floor, a carpet of crimson, yellow and orange; crisp and rustling.

Each new place they travel to, she would wait until dark, spin the dial, set the right date and time, in the chart would reveal Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Taurus and Pegasus. Even if there were too many streetlights, and only the Big Dipper or Orion's Belt was visible, wherever they were would start to feel like home.

For a brief moment she was nothing but a person in a place and there was no past and there was no future, only the single moment where her life flashed open – and she was awake and she was alive and she was real.


My final thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend giving it a read! I gave my edition four stars, but I would love to re-read it once the finalized copy is released to see if the latest edits bumped this to a five star read.

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway (thanks so much!!). I enjoyed this book. I thought that the idea behind the story was very clever. It certainly gave me a Stephen King/Michael Crichton vibe because it was scientific and thrilling. However, the writing style made me only feel I could give it three stars.

Firstly, because I felt the dialogue needed some work. I found myself thinking that many of the conversations felt forced and a bit lame.

And second, I knew I would be kicking myself later for not marking down examples...but in quite a few situations, I found the text to be repetitive to the point where I was like, wait, didn't I just read that line a couple paragraphs back?

***Spoilers below***
Overall, I would suggest this book to others because I really enjoyed the story. If there is a book two, I would check it out because...HELLO?! WHAT HAPPENED TO ASH?! :)

Overall, I liked this book, but I do have to say that it really doesn't fall into one of my favorite genres. I also had some pretty big issues with the lack of development in both the story and the characters.

However, if light reads about angels and demons is your jam, I would definitely recommend giving this a read!

And please, don't let my personal feelings in this review affect your decision on whether or not to read this book.

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:
Melhara is a story about witches, angels, and demons and a struggle for power.

The demon, Alastor, wants to open the gates of Hell to free the demons. But there is a snag; he needs Kyra the Melhara to help him. Alastor puts Kyra's love of her family to the test and she does everything that she can to resist him. But his power is just too strong for her to cope with since she hasn't used her powers very much. She soon caves which allows him to use his power to get into her head and control her.

Now, the world is at risk. But can Kyra's friends and family save her before the world ends?


My thoughts:
This story began really quickly. We very briefly meet Kyra when she is younger in the prologue. Then we see her in a work setting. Next she's on a road trip with her family. And then boom, there's the demon and we are off and running right into the action.

When strictly considering the story, I can say that I enjoyed it. I liked that the action picked up almost immediately, but I do wish there had been a lot more backstory to really set the scene.

While I was reading, I had a ton of questions. I would catch myself thinking things along the lines of, "Oh wait, but that doesn't make sense," or "how is that possible?" More than a few times I bookmarked a section to review later only to find my question was answered in the very next paragraph. So I loved that the author took things that could throw off the reader and immediately resolved them.


Beware, the negatives:
Unfortunately this really just wasn't a book for me.

First of all, I was a bit lost while reading this book. It almost felt like I had jumped into the second book of a series and missed all of the character building and backstories. Because of this, I didn't care for any of the characters simply because I didn't know much about them.

When it came to the magical elements, I was also very confused. I didn't really understand how their powers even worked or how strong any of them were. I was especially confused about the main character, Kyra. It was clear that she has some powers, but it was also mentioned that she didn't use her powers very often. So when she suddenly announced that she had mastered them with Alastor, I was totally thrown off.

I think the whole angel/demon/witch thing could have been neat, but it was just lacking the information to really make it interesting for me. Simply learning what a Malhara is, and what her role was in the prophecy was just wasn't enough.

There wasn't a sense of time within the story, so I couldn't tell how quickly the situations played out. Did this happen over a weekend, or a span of months? I have no idea.

I had a hard time with the silly actions of the characters. A lot of it seemed very oddly immature for the crisis-centered storyline. For example, the characters stuck their tongues out at each other, they poked each other, and they stomped around. Not knowing how old any of the characters were added to my confusion here.

I also struggled with the dialogue, which also seemed very immature. This was especially the case when it came to the demons.

There were a few editing errors, but nothing too major. Examples:

"You are a foolish woman," he scolded her. "Very creativity though."

"...that moved throughout the flowers before circling back to pumped through the cycle again."

"The police used something similar when they'd run out if actual handcuffs during a mass arrest."


My final thoughts:
Of course, that all being said, I would like to remind readers that this genre just really isn't my thing. I also need a lot of backstory in order to be pulled into a story like this. So overall I gave this book two stars.*

As always, please do NOT let my negative review affect your decision to give this book a try! I think this would be a hit for many readers.

If you're looking for a light read about angles and demons, I would recommend giving this one a read!

I was a little nervous going into this book simply because I have read a ton of really bad books about vampires... However, my hesitation was totally forgotten as I began to read the very first chapter of The Beast of London. This was such a fun and action packed read! It was also beautifully written! If you're looking for a page-turning, dark adventure story, I would highly recommend this!

Click here to read the rest of my review!

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.

Lumberjanes Vol. 4 was definitely my least favorite volume of the series so far. Of course, it was still a fun read and there was plenty that I enjoyed! I just didn't like the art very much... and that really affected my overall feeling about this one.


Summary:
In this issue, Jen gets separated from the girls during a freak blizzard in the middle of the summer. Luckily, the girls are able to get to safety while Jen is rescued by a woman that has ties to the Lumberjanes. Jen loves the peacefulness of her rescuers home, but things may not be as safe as Jen thinks. This woman has an obsession with hunting animals from the forest and stuffing them. But her next kill may put all of the campers lives at risk.


My thoughts:
Overall, I thought that the storyline in this issue was interesting! Even though it jumped between two different groups, it flowed very well. The pacing was quick, but not rushed. I really enjoyed that we got to learn a little bit more about the history of the camp and the wooded area around it.

As always, I loved seeing the shenanigans that these characters got themselves into. I also really enjoyed the continuation of all the pop-culture references, especially when they weren't super obvious.

I liked the scenes with the Grootslang a lot more than anything else in this issue. One panel specifically totally caught me off guard!! And per usual the violence was very exaggerated. With any other comic it wouldn't have makes sense, but in this one, the ridiculousness totally works.

One very interesting story development that occurred in this volume is that Joe's parents call and seem to think that they've only been at camp for less than half a week. But of the campers it seems much longer!

Beware, the negatives:
I cruised through this volume much faster than the others volumes because I just didn't care to really look at the art... which really bummed me out.

Maybe it was just the specific copy that I got... But the artwork in this one was definitely the worst of the series so far. It was even more cartoonish than the last and the quality went way downhill.

For example there's a character named Barney who has a cat, and most of the time I couldn't even tell what the heck it was supposed to be. Also, in more than a few panels I could see the lines left over that seemed like they were from the original sketch. Specifically there's one side view of Abigail and then another of Jo that really stood out to me. Their noses are triangles but you can still see the line that marked the edge of their faces that I shouldn't be there. In the panel with Abigail, the rest of the lines around her face were super blurry.

The coloring quality wasn't great either, which again, could just be my copy. But there was a lot of color overlapping strangely, and color showing up outside of the lines.

Overall, it wasn't terrible. All of the sloppiness just drove me crazy.

The End Diary by R.A. Desilets is the type of book that you will finish reading and then just sit there for a while reflecting on it. This book took a number of important topics and wove them together wonderfully to create a truly captivating story. These topics include sexuality, bullying, family dynamics, friendship, race, therapy, health care, mental health, medications, and more.

While this was a bit of a tough read for me content-wise, I would highly recommend it! The writing style was lovely, the author nailed the main characters persona, and the plot was so well done. I know this is a book that is going to stick with me for a long time.

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:
The End Diary is about a girl named Megan P. Whitford, a teenage girl living in a town she hates surrounded by people that just don't understand her.

One day, a new girl named Carly Jacobs walks into the classroom and sits next to Megan. Megan's attraction to Carly was instant and intense. While the two become fast friends, the adults in Megan's life are worried that there is something unhealthy going on. When Megan's parents bring her to a therapist, Megan begins to write her story down. This book is that story.


My thoughts:
I thought this book was so wonderful. Of course the subject matter was a bit difficult at times, but it was so well done.

The set up was absolutely brilliant! As a reader I found myself struggling with my own thoughts as the story developed. Of course, because this story was written from Megan's perspective, I felt so sympathetic toward her and wanted to believe her. However, from the start it was also clear that there was something not quite right with Megan's mental state. So while I wanted to remain aware that there was something more going on, it was just so easy to get sucked into Megan's version of reality and take things as she presented them.

The author absolutely nailed the teenage persona. I mean, just check out some of these passages:

"You're talking to the wrong person," Deirdre chimed in, looking me up and down with her horns growing an inch farther out of her skull.

Doctor Cynthia Suskin. My therapist. Pleased to meet her? Because I wasn't.

Many times throughout the book, Megan would stop the story to address the readers, her therapist, family members, or friends. Many times, as she stopped to make a comment to the readers, or to fill us in on something, she would then write, "Anyway, on we go," or something similar, and then we dove right back into the story. I really enjoyed all of these breaks. I thought that it really added depth to the story. Some great examples of this include:

There shouldn't be a knight in shining armor coming in at the last second- or riding in? Is that a better visual?

Fact: I'm purposefully being a little melodramatic.

Heck, I don't know if anyone will see this story, because they may pay someone to cover it up. I'm spending the time writing it in hopes someone reads it... and because my therapist is making me. But two birds, one stone. Whatever.

...but I did, dear reader, I did.

I digress. Again. Sorry, readers, I'm not good at this "retrospective without spoiling the story" thing.

I really enjoyed all of the characters, even the ones that Megan didn't personally like. This was a case where all of the characters seemed so real. But of course, they were also marred with Megan's perception of them.

Gavin was by far the most intriguing character to me. I adored him. He was so lovely to Megan. She really needed someone in her life like him.

There was also an interesting suspense/mystery element to this story. As a reader, I knew that Megan was planning something, and that something had happened between her and Carly... But we didn't learn what either of those things were until the end of the book.



My favorite passages:
Shopping and I never got along. Mostly because jeans love hugging my butt in all the wrong ways.

I hadn't realized that being a girl meant I had to play nice with boys.

I wanted to be me, free from all the expectations other people placed on me. I wanted to be Megan P. Whitford, the doer of whatever she wanted to do. Confident. I wanted to be nice to myself, not to the people who didn't deserve it.

Her eyes danced with mischief.

Sometimes, I wish my emotions were so thick that people could taste them. My anger and frustration would taste like pomegranates or cherries, something dark, bitter, with just a hint of sweetness.

We had one moment which dared to touch the edges of infinity.

People can be the cruelest to those who don't deserve it.

Carly liked her secrets. I should know... I was her biggest one.

Sometimes the scariest monsters aren't the ones lying under our beds, but the people who promise us the world.

I was all of these things and none of them. Labels are used to help us connect to the world around us, but we are not our labels. Some people go their whole lives without learning this.


My final thoughts:
Because this story really centers on the mental health of the main character, I would just like to warn readers to tread lightly here if that is one of your personal triggers.

I personally found this story to be incredible and I would highly recommend it. I gave this book four stars!

I think i jinxed myself when I said, "Lumberjanes Vol. 4 was definitely my least favorite volume of the series so far,"... This one was much worse.

First, what I liked:
I LOVED that chapter seventeen covered the girls arrival stories and first adventure at camp. Getting to know a little of their backstories was lovely!

The panel referencing the The Princess Bride movie made me chuckle.

Beware, the negatives:
In chapter eighteen, we pick up where Volume 4 left off. And yet again, I was not thrilled to see another switch with the artwork in this one... the rest of the collection continued in this fashion.

I felt that this volume took a major turn, one I didn’t like. It all seemed incredibly childish. The artwork was very boring to me, the dialogue was lacking its usual oomph, and the storyline wasn't very exciting. This volume also felt very rushed to me.

This was a total miss for me. If it weren't for the very first chapter in the collection, I would not recommend this volume.

I read these out of order; I started with book two, Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection, and then picked up book one only a couple of days ago.

Just like in the second book, I thought the artwork was wonderful and I enjoyed the humor. Many panels made me chuckle out lout, but not nearly as many as in her second book.
This collection was very history heavy, which makes sense because the author has a history degree. But sometimes the strips about historical/political events or figures go a bit over my head because I’m not a history buff.

I was very happy to see that there were Nancy Drew panels in this collection as well! I love those so much!

This graphic novel was recently suggested to me, and I am SO glad that I was able to get my hands on it so quickly! What a read!

My thoughts:
I’ll admit, I was a little confused when I started reading this. I actually jumped on Goodreads to see if I had missed a series before this one. But soon, we started getting a little backstory here and there. Then things really started to fall into place. When I finished reading, I decided that I like that we were thrown into the action right away and that we very slowly learned why Fabian has his “condition.” Though I certainly would have appreciated just a little more background earlier on.

I see a lot of people ragging on this collection because of it’s unoriginal features, but I personally really loved it. It’s like they writer took aspects of all of my favorite comics and novels and merged them into one!

I really enjoyed the idea itself behind the comic. I thought it was so interesting that Fabian, a looting adventurer, had a bad encounter with a dreamstone, which allowed him to access the powers of five ghosts; the wizard, the archer, the detective, the samurai, and the vampire. It has been suggested each of these ghosts correspond to Merlin, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Miyamoto Musashi, and Count Dracula.

I thought it was a great touch that when he called upon his other powers, that the specific ghost who held that power would also appear in the frame.

I really enjoyed the two main characters; Fabian and Sebastian. They're a great MC and sidekick duo! Sebastian is definitely my favorite. I love his sarcastic and dry one liners.

The pacing was very quick! The storyline was guided by the action, which was present on almost every page.

And then there’s the artwork…

I LOVED the pulp-esque style! And the color palette was absolutely incredible! If I had to pick just one favorite feature of this collection, I would definitely go with the coloring. I mean…just LOOK at these examples:

I also loved that the artwork really carried the storyline. Of course the dialogue was added frequently but some action sequences flowed very well without any text.


My final thoughts:
Though confusing to start, I really enjoyed reading this and I adored the artwork. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this series develops! Four stars!

Immediately after reading Vol. 1: The Haunting of Fabian Gray, I had to dive right into Volume Two!

My thoughts:
I enjoyed this volume a lot! I found it far less confusing than the first and less rushed. Of course, this volume was much longer than the first, so we were able to get more content as well.

I really enjoyed learning about Fabian's past in this volume and how he and his sister had trained together once long ago. I also enjoyed that we were introduced to a new character named Jezebel, who also has dreamstone embedded in her face and also has a "ghost."

Again, I thought that the artwork and coloring was absolutely stunning. There were many pages where the artwork guided the story, which I always love.

My favorite line:
We've all made deals with the devil. It's where we go from there that counts.

I could not put this volume down! I cannot wait to get my hands on Volume 3. Unfortunately, it isn't available in my local library system...so it may be awhile. :(