Incredible book. And that ending!! 😱

I finished reading Opium and Absinthe over a week ago, but I needed some time to figure out how I felt about it. I’ve read some of Kang’s previous work and really enjoyed them - but this particular book didn’t really sit right with me. 

Tillie’s sister is viciously murdered the same day Tillie is injured while horseback riding. Her injury leads to her addiction to pain medication - opium, morphine and eventually heroin. 

Tillie is determined to figure out who killed her sister, but spends most of the time fighting her own demons. The murder mystery is treated like a footnote, with most of the story focused on Tillie’s addiction. The story felt very unbalanced, and the ‘villain’ was ridiculously comical. I couldn’t take the resolution of the mystery seriously, and the whole thing left me disappointed. 

If you’d like to read a much better book written by Kang, I strongly recommend The Impossible Girl instead. 

Thank you Black Panel Press for a copy of this incredible book. 

Illegal Cargo tells the story of Jose, a father in El Salvador searching for his grown daughter, Helena. She had been attempting to migrate to the US in search of the ‘American dream’, but disappeared in Mexico. 

There is incredible risk in the journey, and Mora doesn’t sugar coat it. It’s not a story that gets wrapped up in a pretty bow at the end - it’s messy and realistic. As someone with little knowledge about that kind of journey and the risk involved, this graphic novel was quite the education. 

The illustrations are stunning and raw; they compliment the story really well and send a message you don’t need to read to understand. The back of the book contains more information about this kind of journey - make sure to read that as well. Yes, I’m assuming you’re going to go read it - because everyone should.  

I’m really impressed with this graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby. The story sticks closely to the original novel, with the illustrations perfectly filling in the narrative gaps. 

I love the art in this book - it has a dreamy, watercolour-like quality that fits the tone of the story quite well. I found myself flipping back through the pages once I had finished, just to explore more of the detail. 

You don’t need to have read the original book in order to follow along in this version. So if you’re thinking of getting into some of Fitzgerald’s work, this is an easy way to start. 

I'm a bit late to the Leigh Bardugo party. I've only recently read the Six of Crows duology, and her other books in the same universe have now been added to my TBR. So I guess you could say I've become a fan! 

But when I heard about Warbringer, I was a bit hesitant. A YA novelization of Wonder Woman? That could easily go sideways. The last thing WW needs is to be portrayed as a lovesick teen. Happily, I think Bardugo has done her justice.

Warbringer provides a fresh new approach to Wonder Woman that I quite enjoyed. Yes, Diana is a teen. And yes, she has doubts, fears, and is still coming into her own. But you can see a glimmer of the superhero she will eventually become. 

Bardugo's world building is excellent, and the pacing kept me interested throughout. There was a twist that I totally did not see coming, which was refreshing! The ending though - it didn't really sit right with me. It seemed a bit too clean and simple. But it ends on a positive note, which was pretty nice. Overall, I'd definitely recommend it.