howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

 I'm sad to see this series end, particularly because for some reason, this final volume was my least favorite of the series. I'm not sure what happened to the plot there at the end, but it felt like things were just all being thrown at the wall to see what would stick and it didn't work for me. That said, I'm still really happy that I picked this series back up and I loved the series overall, so I absolutely recommend it!
 

 I'm so glad I finally picked this series back up. I had forgotten how funny and over-the-top it was, and it was really fun to get back into Gert's angry, violent little shenanigans. I don't remember if I've noticed this before, but while reading last night, I kept thinking that I would totally recommend these graphic novels to Invader ZIM fans or fans of Roman Dirge's work.
 

 I usually love cutesy, fluffy MG graphic novels like this one appears to be, so I had high hopes for a cute little best-friend duo finding their way through junior high relationships, but The Love Report felt like a huge case of "good intentions, bad execution".

The art is cute and Lola's a pretty lovable main character, but every other character is either awful or totally flat, and the dialogue is incredibly off-putting at times. For such a young audience, there's a lot of slut-shaming (including Grace, the protagonist's best friend, frequently calling a character a "bimbo" as an insult) and there is some general treatment of other kids that should have been addressed better.

The book tries to do too much, juggling commentary on divorce, preteen relationships, sexual assault, parental abuse, absent parents, and more, all in such a short span of pages that very little of it is actually fleshed out. I don't recommend this graphic novel and certainly won't be continuing the series.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 This graphic novel was absolutely lovely. I haven't read the original version of the book yet, so I can't speak to it as an adaptation, but being brand new to this particular story, I thought this was brilliantly well done. The art was lovely and expressive, serving as a very effective vehicle for such an important story! Dita's circumstances broke my heart just as I knew they would, but I was amazed by how much hope she and some of the other characters held in their hearts. I couldn't imagine being in that position and still having so much heart and fight left in me.
 

 I wasn't sure if I would be into this at first because I don't usually have much of an attachment to Babs, but wow, I loved this so much! The book starts off with Barbara in a really rough place, mentally. She's angry and scared and hurting because she's just been seriously injured and is learning to adapt to life using a wheelchair, so she lashes out a lot and keeps people at a distance. She quickly starts lowering those walls, though, and I loved her as she came out of her shell and began to form friendships with the other kids at the ACI. I really enjoyed the mystery and the slightly spooky elements to it, too. I'm so glad I picked this up and I highly recommend it.
 

 I think every book in this series is my new favorite. This was absolutely incredible. It gave me the most wonderful Howl's Moving Castle vibes in some ways, and Antsy is one of my favorite protagonists from Wayward Children so far. I also think this may have been the saddest book in the series so far. ♥ Full review coming soon!
 

 Oh my gosh, this was one of the cutest, best graphic novels I've read all year and I adored everything about this. Snapdragon is about a spunky young girl who finds herself unexpectedly befriending the "town witch", who is actually an incredible old butch woman whose hobby is collecting roadkill carcasses and articulating their skeletons (to then hand off to collectors, museums, etc.).

I thought the plot was so unique and fun, and I loved the art and dialogue, but what sold me on Snapdragon most of all was the way I fell for these characters! Snap is so lovable, Jacks is a trip, and Lu is precious and wholesome as pie. I even loved Snap's mom and granny, and I absolutely lost it over the backstory with Jessamine, Snap's grandmother. Also, the fox?! I won't spoil anything, but my heart. ♥

If there is one graphic novel I can convince you to pick up this year, please let it be this one!

✨ Representation: Snapdragon and her family are Black, Lu is Black and trans, Snap is GNC (uses she/her & identifies as a girl but dresses masc), Jacks is a lesbian and is missing an eye, Snap's grandmother Jessamine is bi or pan (unspecified) 

 I've been in a romance rut for a while and haven't been in the mood for the genre (which has been a real bummer, since it's usually one of my favorites!), but I'm happy to say that this one mostly managed to break through the rut and worked out pretty well for me. First, let me say that I ended up listening to the audiobook and the narrator was lovely!

Celeste had my heart from the very beginning of the book, and she only got better as it progressed. She's such a wholesome, genuinely kind character who simply wants freedom to do as she pleases, and the entire storyline made me think a lot about how many women throughout history (and even now) have been kept in cages for no reason other than their femininity. Even though Celeste's family truly does love her, their situation is so standard for their time and setting that they push her into situations she's immensely unhappy in "for her own good".

Kieran, on the other hand, had to win me over. I always start off with a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to rakes because I worry that they won't truly "reform", but with Kieran, you quickly begin to realize that, despite his reputation, he's respectful and holds consent and free will in very high regards. It doesn't hurt that he's already pining over Celeste when the story begins, but it could've gone south because she's his best friend's younger sister and I worried that too much of his angst would revolve around his friend, and not Celeste's own feelings; thankfully, that wasn't the case at all—Kieran genuinely wanted nothing but Celeste's happiness and freedom. By the end of the book, I was fully rooting for him.

As for complaints: the writing felt repetitive at times (especially in one scene, where Kieran frequently reminds them both that it's "just one night"), and all of the side characters felt like one-dimensional props, especially Dominic. I know we're being set up for his book later in the series, but he was so pointlessly violent and obnoxious that it made me lose any interest whatsoever in reading his book. I might pick up book 2, since I did somewhat enjoy Kieran's brother Finn, but I'll most likely leave The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes as a standalone in my mind.

All of those minor problems aside, this was a fun, spicy read with a lot of really neat settings for Celeste and Kieran's adventures, and I enjoyed the underlying themes of feminism and empowerment tremendously. I definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoys historical romance! 

 I don't usually like to DNF novellas since they're such quick reads, but I'm really not a fan of this writing or these characters, so I'm gonna go ahead and say this one isn't for me.
 

 

This review is so overdue as it's been nearly a year since I read Vespertine, but I'm trying to finally catch up on my unwritten reviews and it says a lot that, despite my poor memory in general, I still remember this reading experience vividly enough to warrant a full review! In case you couldn't tell, Margaret Rogerson's books have made a tremendous impact on me, every last one of them, and while I can't possibly choose a favorite of her titles, I can tell you that Vespertine is as flawless as can be.

First, I have to say that I love fantasy books with interesting religious backdrops (especially with flawed churches and leaders—blame it on the religious trauma✨ of my upbringing), and this book does it so well! I was absolutely enthralled by the entire setting of the convents and the back story of the nuns' jobs. Most of all, I loved the orders of the spirits and the fact that they differed from one another so much, as well as how intricate the revenants were! I'd love a short story collection about each of them if the urge ever tickled Margaret's fancy because they were totally fascinating to me.

Of course, our revenant was the best of them, and honestly, I don't have words for how much I adored his banter with Artemisia. These two characters are so brilliantly suited to work alongside one another with their dry outlooks and senses of humor. I'm tempted to include a photo of my copy of this book at the end of the review just to show how many tabs I put in this book, because 90% of them were me highlighting bits of dialogue that made me smile or snicker.

More than anything else that I loved about this book, though, is the pure adoration I hold in my heart for Artemisia herself. She is brilliant, brave, kind, and incredibly over it—the sort of heroine who would give her last breath to save someone as long as they promise not to make too big a fuss about it at her headstone afterward. She doesn't fit in well with other people at all because she accidentally terrifies everyone, and as someone who was "the weird kid" who didn't know how to blend in or mask my matter-of-fact nature and macabre interests until the damage was done... well, let's just say that I felt very seen, and I'm pretty sure Artemisia and I would get along great (calmly, from opposite sides of the room, in contented silence).

In case I haven't gushed enough, let me be clear: Margaret Rogerson has hit it out of the park again and I fully recommend picking up a copy of Vespertine as soon as you can (along with all of her other books, because they're all delightful). I can't wait to see what she writes next.

I read a final copy I purchased myself, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also sent an early review copy by the author/publisher. All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Artemisia is aromantic, asexual, has PTSD, and has physical scarring