Mordred tells his side of the Arthur legends, how as a baby he was saved from certain death by a lowly fisherwoman, grew up in the castle of King Lothien, and made his way to Camelot as a young knight, where he was reviled and scorned because he was the illegitimate son of King Arthur. Merlin's prophecy that Mordred would someday kill his own father in battle tears Mordred's soul apart, and he spends most of his youth fighting against his destiny.

I enjoyed this book mainly because of the excellent writing style. The writing is concise and powerful, with many beautiful turns of phrase that perfectly set the scene and create a mystical mood for the story.

I didn't really connect with Mordred as a character. I felt for him, but I wasn't cheering for him. I was interested in his story, but in a detached sort of way. Sure, I wanted him to find happiness, but I didn't cry when he did. He's an excellent character, well-written and engaging, but I don't love him. I'm mildly amused by his story, but I'm not going to cherish the book forever.

I truly enjoyed reading this story! I was delighted with the way the Arthur legends are reimagined from such a different perspective. I was especially impressed with the way the ending stays true to the Arthur legends, but also manages to have a hopeful ending in the midst of the despair.

This graphic novel retelling of Homer's Iliad was not quite what I expected. It's much too word-heavy for a graphic novel, and I found myself bogged down in the text. Most of the panels have so much text that there is barely room for the artwork. And the artwork itself is nothing special. I didn't care for the cartoony look, and it just didn't grab my attention. It looks somewhat amateur, or hastily drawn.

If you are a big fan of the Iliad, you might like this, but I did not enjoy reading it. Usually I love classical literature, and I have read The Iliad before, so I was happy to be revisiting the story of the Trojan War with all the drama. But this book does not deliver drama. It feels stale and static, like the characters are all made of stone.

Disappointed in this one.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Memphis and her friends are wizards, using elemental power over Water and Fire to create a unique magic. But the rules of their magic guild are very clear; each guild must have exactly five members, no more, no less. When a member of their guild dies, Memphis scrambles to find someone to fill the empty place before their elemental magic spirals out of balance. Flynn seems like the perfect candidate to join the WaterFire guild, and Memphis senses a strange connection to him from the beginning. As the wizards work together to keep the balance within their guild, they must face ancient mysteries, and travel to the headquarters of the WaterFire elders to uncover the dark secrets of the deepest elemental power.

I loved this plot! There is plenty of action, and the mystery kept me wondering right down to the last page. I was surprised at every turn and twist, and it kept me absorbed in the story. The magic system is fantastic, and I was so interested in how the elements work together in different forms. I was especially fascinated to see how the elemental magic can be combined with technology, and the different approaches to magic from different wizards.

I immediately fell in love with Memphis. She is smart, and quick to jump into adventure. I like how she quickly sees to the heart of an issue with a clear vision of what needs to be done.

There IS insta-love between Memphis and Flynn, but it is attributed to some sort of mystical magical unknown reason. I'm hoping that might be satisfactorily explained in future books. I don't mind insta-love if it's because of magic, or past lives, or something. But it was annoying not to have that explained.

My only other complaint is that there are a few punctuation and capitalization errors in the book, and that was annoying and pulled me out of the story. Nothing a good editor couldn't correct.
There are also a few times when a character sits down, and then two paragraphs later he sits down again. And it confused me. Why is he sitting down AGAIN? He just did that. Did he get up and then sit down twice?
Or a character shrugs and then one sentence later shrugs again. Why is he shrugging so much? Weirdo just loves to shrug his shoulders or something?
I think it just needs a careful editor to catch those little things.
However, the story was Just. So. Good. It was easy to overlook those little details in the enjoyment of the story.

This book left me wanting more, because it ends on a minor cliffhanger! Can't wait to read more from this series.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

I got some really good ideas from this book, and got inspired to polish up my vlogging in a more professional way. Some of the tips were things that I already knew or had learned myself from over 4 years of vlogging on YouTube, but some of the advice was new to me. I wish that I had read this book when I was first starting out, and I might have grown my brand much more quickly.

I like that the author goes in depth into the structure of a video, how to engage your audience, how to film with good lighting, how to promote your brand, how to include a call to action for new subscribers, how to set up a collaboration with another vlogger or company, and a dozen other subjects that come up in the world of vlogging and interacting through social media. And she gives examples, and practical tips, and good solid ideas, that you can immediately use to create a plan and take action.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in vlogging, filming, and creating their own brand on social media.

Jennifer wishes she could be beautiful, but feels ugly and dumpy. When she buys a talking toad at the Magic Shop, her entire life changes, and she is whisked on an adventure where she will have to choose between pursuing beauty or saving her friends.

I loved this hilarious story, and read it all in one sitting! The madcap plot is full of surprises, and the snappy dialogue makes every page interesting. I enjoyed the magic system and how it interacts in strange ways with the modern world.

I thought Jennifer was sweet and REAL and beautifully awkward. Her family is quirky and weird, and her friends are peppery and unreliable. The best part of the book was Jennifer's various relationships with her parents, siblings, and school friends, and of course, her magical talking toad.

I adored every chapter! Can't wait to read more from this series.

Captain Joey and her space crew are approaching a hidden planet, known only in the ancient past as Earth. They have heard rumors that a weapon transformed the entire planet into gold, and they are searching for that weapon to protect their people against the dreaded Federation. But when the "weapon" turns out to be the perfectly preserved body of the legendary King Midas, can Joey and her friends still find a way to stop the power-crazed Federation general from enslaving their home planets?

This epic space saga covers a lot of ground, from the total destruction of several planets to long-forgotten mysteries of the ancient past, and Captain Joey and her intrepid crew are just the rebels to boldly adventure through it all and still find time for snarky one-liners and peppery dialogue. The plot is never dull, and does a good job of giving a lot of world-building information in small chunks that fit in with the action.

I was surprised at every turn in the plot, and I kept thinking, "There is no way they are gonna make it out of this one." But somehow the team would pull through, only to be confronted by another impossible challenge!

I was immediately attracted to the gorgeous artwork. Each panel is full of action and drama. I loved the colors and movement, and felt connected to the characters through their facial expressions and body language.

I adored every single character, and loved slowly finding out more about their backstories and how they became a team of crazy explorers rebelling against the Federation.

There is some violence and death in this story, but nothing seriously nasty. I mean, there is an arm amputated, and a finger cut off, and an entire planet of innocent people is wiped out, but it wasn't excessive violence just for the sake of being gross. (I usually hate anything too violent or disturbing, and it didn't bother me.)

I would recommend this book to ages 10-100!

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

This hilarious collection of Jane Austen's early attempts at writing show how witty and sharp she could be even at a young age. It's such a pity that all the short stories here are unfinished.
I was laughing and chuckling at every page, because of the sketches of ridiculous characters in awkward situations.

"Love and Friendship" follows the life of Laura through her love-at-first-sight encounter with a handsome stranger, her ill-advised marriage, and how she was thrown upon the kindness of friends for financial support. It's full of fainting women, comical misunderstandings, and a rich old grandfather who shows up at the most convenient times. Full of true Austenian satire.

"Lesley Castle" is no less hilarious, as two very tall sisters meet their new extremely-short stepmother. All the ladies hate each other upon sight, and complain to their friends about the others' shortcomings with spiteful and snarky dialogue.

"The Three Sisters" tells the story of Mary and her sisters, Sophy and Georgiana, who must decide which of them will marry the odious Mr. Watts for his money and fortune in jewels. Mary especially hates Mr. Watts, who is very unpleasant, but she wants to lord it over her sisters by being the first to be married and flaunt her new jewels. She spends almost the entire story wavering between accepting or rejecting Mr. Watts' proposal with humorous results.

In the writing style, you can see this delightful little kernel of the author she would become. I enjoyed reading this so much!

Changed my Christian life! Incredible look into the reality of spiritual warfare.

I always enjoy rereading this one, especially for the commentary from Dumbledore. Very clever.

Allegra is a violinist entering a prestigious Mozart music competition. At 12 years of age, she is the youngest finalist in the competition, and works closely with her violin teacher to be prepared. But as she memorizes the Mozart concerto, other things in her life begin to affect her music.
Her mother's emotionally wounded friend, Deirdre, who is a genius vocalist, makes Allegra wonder about how pain can find a voice through music. Allegra's grandmother, who escaped the Nazi death camps, urges Allegra to embrace her Jewish heritage, and Allegra reflects on her identity as a musician. And there is a mysterious homeless man who haunts all the local concerts in the park, dancing by himself in the back and searching for a song he can't remember.

As a musician, I enjoyed this story so much. The writing is quite accurate about how one feels about learning music, and embracing it, and connecting with the composers; how you can make yourself crazy practicing too much, how your nerves will go haywire before or after a performance, how music shapes everything you do and everything you are.

I was immediately drawn into the story, because the first scene is a music lesson with Allegra's teacher, and I was reminded of myself as a music teacher, urging my students to practice, trying to inspire them to believe in themselves and feel the music as a part of themselves. I saw myself in the story, both as Allegra, remembering when I was a young piano student, and as Allegra's teacher, as I am now, passing on my love of music to my students.

The very best part of this book was Allegra's relationship with her music teacher and her parents. They are such lovely authority figures in her life, ready to guide and listen and comfort, but also giving her the space to figure things out for herself and stretch her wings.

I really loved finding a kindred voice in this little girl musician, wrestling with her family identity, wrestling with Mozart, wrestling with ideas in her head. She is always looking for connections between the elements of her life, and she revolves those thoughts around in her mind over and over again until she sees their meaning. She's incredibly sensitive, as all good musicians are, and everything she sees and hears makes a deep impact on her.

My one suggestion would be to include a glossary for the musical terms that non-musicians wouldn't know. Or read along with a dictionary close by.

As I was reading, I would stop and look up recordings of the various classical songs that are mentioned. And I listened to Allegra's main song for competition, Mozart Concert No. 4 in D, over and over as I read. (The recording I listened to was with Hilary Hahn as the violinist.) It really enhanced the story to be able to hear the nuances of the pieces.

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." And yet this book does a wonderful job of describing music, how musicians feel, and how audiences respond at performances. Beautiful from beginning to end!