leahrosereads's Reviews (1.04k)

Let's talk about CROOKED KINGDOM!

Up until a certain point, this was going to be a 4 star book for me. I was enjoying it but not quite as much as Six of Crows. Then something happened at some place in this book, and it clicked: I loved this story just as much.

The characters, already very fleshed out from the first book, continued to evolve and grow and it was spectacular to read. The plot had a little bit to be desired at first, but then, well read above. It worked incredibly well. The pacing was a little off for me, but again, read above, and yeah.

Leigh's writing is fanfuckingtastic, her world building is so special, and her characters - damaged and broken in their own ways - are some that I'll cherish for a very long time.

Overall, I'm incredibly fascinated by this world and will read more books from it in the future (not the OG three though).

Once again, my original review has spoilers. I don't recommend you reading past the 2014 numbers.

HEAD GAMES was an excellent second part to this story. I sometimes wish I had more to say when I love a book other than “holy shit, this is amazing…” However, I normally don’t.

I still very much suggest trying this series out if you haven't yet. It just gets better in this second volume. If I remember correctly, the head key is my favorite. It's a fascinating idea.


6/8 - 6/9 2014
Locke & Key Volume 2: Head Games was an excellent second part to this story. I sometimes wish I had more to say when I love a book other than “holy shit, this is amazing…” However, I normally don’t.

In Head Games, we continue to see the Locke family evolve, either for the better or worse in the wake of Rendell’s death. Tyler is still angry, wrapped in guilt; Kinsey is beginning to open up out of hiding, and well, Bode is still adventurous Bode. He’s also the one that finds the main key, again, in this story: the Head Key. Which is a freaking awesome key.


Oh, if I had the Head Key, I’d like to say I’d be like Bode - just willing to pop open my head and see all the worlds and memories in it. Maybe toss a few books or videos into my head for epic-ness, like learning martial arts or new languages. It would be amazing.

Of course, if I really did find the Head Key, having read this wonderful story by Joe Hill, I’d run far, far away. I know what comes with the keys - you know, crazy demon lady from the well. Yeah, is getting the Head Key worth being killed? Well maybe, it’s a pretty great key.


Joe Hill did an outstanding job at continuing the plot and his vision with Head Games, and Gabriel Rodriguez brought Hill’s words to life with his brilliant artwork. I really don’t have anything negative to say regarding this book or this series in general.

I’m ecstatic that I finally read this second volume, and once again with my pimping - seriously try this series out.

Huh, no spoilers in my old review, yay. And it still stands - at 30, still afraid of the dark and still plagued with night terrors. Go me.

6/10 - 6/13 2014
Oh what to say about Volume 3: CROWN OF SHADOWS?

Was I expecting more phenomenal storytelling by Joe Hill? Absolutely.

Was I expecting Gabriel Rodriguez to bring the words to life in a visual array of haunting beauty? You betcha!

And, I was no disappointed, at all.


The world evolves bringing the readers a new key that brings the horrors of shadows to life. Confession: at 26 years old, I’m still afraid of the dark, and I’m honestly terrified of shadows. So CROWN OF SHADOWS hit me on a deeper, more emotional level than either of the first two volumes. Rodriguez brought such haunting images to life for me, that I had nightmares the night I read this. When I woke up, there was a shadow spider above my bed, and let’s just say, it wasn’t a great night for me, sleeping wise.

But, hell, that’ll happen, and even having nightmares, this volume turned out to be my favorite of the series thus far. I love when each volume or book in a series is better than the last. When I can follow a journey and be so entranced by it, that I can’t put the book down..

Joe Hill, with this series being the first works I’ve read by him, has solidified himself in being an author I will constantly be on the lookout for. Also, I would love to see these two brilliant creators work together again in the future. The world they have created with the Locke & Key series has been a phenomenal one so far, and yeah, just more fangirling in this review.


Not all that sorry about it though.

Once again my old review has minor spoilers. Don't read below the 2014 date.

This was a perfect ending to this story. It made me feel all the things I had already felt, then added another 100 things on top of it.

I'll definitely revisit the Lockes in the future. For sure.




6/17 2014

What on earth can I say that I haven’t already said about this series? Joe Hill’s Locke & Key comes to its epic conclusion with Volume 6: Alpha & Omega, and what a spectacular conclusion it was!


I got a finality that I was longing for, and oh, the tears. While I’ll admit to being a crier during books, this series hadn’t made my waterworks start...until Alpha & Omega. Oh so many feels at the end, I couldn’t control myself.


I really loved the final evolution of all of the characters. Tyler matured in such a way, that I was just proud of the man he became in this volume. He was a fucking warrior, and he finally used the brains that I hoped he had. Tyler's anger diminished, and his love for his family overcame any fears or doubts he may have had. It was amazing to witness his transformation from high school teenager to man.

Kinsey got her feels back, and it was awesome to see as well. She was able to use her fears and tears for the betterment of herself and friends, and I think if she went through Alpha & Omega emotionless

she’d have been one of the first teens down for a demon

. So good on her for putting those feelings back into her head.

And then Bode...just really no words...well, I can’t really say much without ruining the plot from the two previous volumes about Bode, but Oh My Fucking God.

It was sad to see several smaller characters leave in this volume, but they each went out as heroes, so you know what, their bravery really did make up for their losses, to me. I know that in my other reviews I really focused on the Lockes, but there were so many minor and not so minor characters in the Locke & Key world, that you just have to read them to really see their awesomeness. Because, every character was...awesome that is. They each had individual, strong personalities that enhanced the hell out of this journey.


I know that each of these reviews have been me just throwing out the same glowing reviews with slightly different words in each one, but I really don’t have a negative thing to say about these novels.


The world that Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez took me to in these six volumes is one that I will remember fondly, and I’m definitely planning on revisiting, often.

So, my final pimping of this series: get the books! Get them now, and I hope that you fall in love with it as much as I did!

3 reluctantly given stars.

I really enjoyed the story but didn't realize it was so short and this was primarily for the interview, some art, and behind the scenes/process of how the comic is made. That's my fault for not realizing that but I'm allowed to be annoyed.

The story itself was good. I liked seeing an earlier Locke generation and how they used the key and hinted at how open they were with the other keys.

As always, the art and writing worked well together.

I just wish a "deluxe edition" felt more, you know, deluxe? I would suggest looking for just the single issue version and saving some money.

I had so much fun reading DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING.  That's the best way to describe my experience in a nutshell.


The writing was pretty typical for a YA novel, but the plot and setting is one I don't see too often in YA, which is weird.  I think pirates lend themselves incredibly well to this genre.  The bloodshed, the intrigue, the adventure... seriously, this is YA gold.  More authors should look into it.


I really liked most of the characters introduced.  Alosa was almost a Mary Sue - she was just a little too good at everything.  However, it all had purpose.  When you hear the backstory you get interweaved with the main plot, it's easy to see why she's so good at everything.  She had to be.


Riden was everything.  And I hope he continues to be.


Draxen was terrible.  And I hope he continues to be as well.  I don't need nor want any stinking love triangles.


I wish we saw more of Alosa’s crew, but I'm hoping we'll see them in the second book.  I really want to see how Alosa really is when she's in charge.


The other pirates were neat and interesting, but I can take em or leave em at this moment.  I pretty much only care about Alosa's adventures.



Finally, there's an element in this story that I have never read before.  I know this element exists in other books, I just wasn't privy to it before this book.  It made DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING that much more interesting to me.  I'm really looking forward to the second book and am so happy I waited so long to read this.  



Now, I'll be able to get book 2 really really soon.

I wanted to like this more than I did.

This had so much promise - from a premise that I personally don't read often (a spin on the Midas story) to really decent writing, I was hoping I'd love it. But I didn't due to the one dimensional and forgettable characters, awkward world building, and an uncomfortable romance.

Let's ignore those negatives for now, though, because I don't want to be a negative nelly right away.

So the writing was good. It kept me interested in the story, even when I wasn't interested in the characters, which is pretty freaking hard to do if you ask me. It just had a nice pace and was incredibly fluid. Not overly floral but still explained what was happening on each page relatively well. I have to say relatively well, because when the world building happened, it was a bit of a mess, and even good writing couldn't save it.

I also really liked the premise of a person whose touch can hurt/kill. I've read one other YA book with this premise (Shatter Me) and despised it so much that I won't read anything else by that author. This one worked for me better, because even though these characters were also not done well, they at least had promise. I could see with some more work, that the characters in THE GLASS SPARE could be interesting. Not like whatsherface or the psychopath from that other book.

Now let's talk about why I didn't like this book, starting with the world building and setting in general. I guess I was under the impression that this was a fantasy book, but part of the world had newer technology (automobiles, telephones, electricity), while other parts didn't. It was weird, and I didn't really grasp the why for it. Because alchemy was king in the less developed areas? It was an awkward way to explain it to me and fell flat. If I'm just an idiot that didn't get it, please please let me know.

The other reason I didn't care for this book too much is that I genuinely forgot about the characters. For the life of me, I cannot remember all of Wil's siblings names, including the one that she was closest to (after the heir). And I feel like this is going to be an issue in book 2, because I think her siblings are going to be major players in it. That's where I'm anticipating the story going anyway.

And finally, the love interest/romance of this book. Just ugh! I get it(ish). I just didn't like it.


However even with everything I didn't like, since I enjoyed the premise and the writing, I will be continuing on at least with the second book to see if it gets better. I know it's hard for a second book in a series to top the first, but it doesn't have to do too much to top this one in my eyes.

I'm definitely going to pick this up in Trade, but it was in at the comic store, so I decided to pick up the first issue.

I know absolutely nothing about Spider-Man or any of the different universes, and yes, I could look it up on Wikipedia or somewhere, but I haven't yet. I will probably check out some of the world building before the first volume comes out, just so I have an idea of what's going on and the different villains.

So, knowing nothing about the world or who Gwen Stacy really is, I enjoyed this issue. I thought her as the Spider-Woman of this universe was fun and different. I'm not sure about all the underlying issues between her and her father, but I get why the City seems to hate her and find her to be a vigilante. Again, I'm sure if I read up on the universe, I'll have a better understanding.


While I didn't find a the writing or the art exceptional, both are solid. I will say it was an absolutely brilliant decision to make use of negative space with Spider-Gwen's costume. It just felt fresh and inventive and very NOW. Sometimes costumes feel outdated to me, but not this one.


I'm definitely looking forward to checking this out later on when the first couple of volumes come out, and when I get home, I'll put some images of the comic in this, because that costume.



Complete Side Note: This is my first Marvel single issue, and I'm just recently collecting comics, so I'm not sure if this is normal, but it hasn't been with my current experience - WTH is up with all those ads in the issue? This says there are 32 pages, but it's really only 22 pages of Spider-Gwen content. I find that really ridiculous.

This was over all a pretty mediocre read. Which sucks because I wanted an epic fantasy filled with fantastic adventures and intrigue and wonderfully developed characters.

But I got none of that.

Mira (the MC) is a chosen one who everyone follows and trusts to guide them through a treaty bearing her name. She's a POC which rocks with anxiety and compulsion difficulties and some major vanity nonsense. She has a lot of political responsibilities and few friends. It seems to be a pretty lonely existence.

And had she been a more developed character, maybe I'd feel more empathetic towards her. But she wasn't, so I wasn't.

The secondary characters were pretty center pieces. They had nice qualities but were pretty much forgettable. Which is a bummer. I don't want to forget about characters. I want them to be memorable and interesting and important to the story.

The world building was also just OK. I wish there was more so I could become more invested in everything going on with Mira and the islands, but again, it was lacking, and I felt my interest waning while reading this.

The writing was decent, but with how underdeveloped everything felt in this, I don't have a desire to continue with the series. Maybe if the hype for the second book is high enough, I'll give it another try.

Maybe.

Decent follow up but definitely suffered from the second book syndrome. Once again, I scanned some parts that just couldn't keep my interest, but overall, I really loved where the main story went. The subplots and drama, well, felt a tad unnecessary.

The characters became more developed and more interesting. This plot beat out The Raven Boys for me, so no complaints there.

And of course, no surprise to me, but Ronan is easily still my favorite character of this series. I also really enjoyed seeing more of the characters outside the Raven Boys and am definitely invested in most of them.

Also, feeling real glad that I'm just binge reading these now because holy cliffhanger Batman!!