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nerdinthelibrary's Reviews (926)
1) Son of the Dawn ★★★
2) Cast Long Shadows ★★
3) Every Exquisite Thing ★★★★★
4) Learn About Loss ★★
5) A Deeper Love ★★★★
6) The Wicked Ones ★★★★
7) The Land I Lost ★★★★★
8) Through Blood, Through Fire ★★★★
9) The Lost World ★★★★
10) Forever Fallen ★★★★½
content warnings: bullying, miscarriage
representation: british-chinese main character, disabled side character
“It lightens my heart to see you with it. We could all do with lighter hearts tonight.”
To be honest, The Last Hours and its characters have never really gotten me all that fired up. I like it in theory, but I always find it hard to keep the characters straight and a lot of the times I'm just really bored by it. That's probably a pretty big reason why I didn't like this as much as a lot of other people did.
This novella focuses on Matthew Fairchild grappling with a secret and meeting Brother Zachariah at the Shadow Market. I mostly just didn't care about this one. There was a super unnecessary and unresolved plot point in which Alastair Carstairs tells Matthew something that may or may not be true (it's probably not), and that entire aspect of it really bored me.
Even the Jem stuff bored me this time, which is never a good thing because I normally love seeing him no matter what. The saving grace of this entire novella was the friendship between James and Matthew, and I am really excited to see them together in The Last Hours. Other than that, this one just really didn't float my boat.
(side note: there's no way matthew's straight, right?? he loves oscar wilde wayyyy too much)
2) Cast Long Shadows ★★
3) Every Exquisite Thing ★★★★★
4) Learn About Loss ★★
5) A Deeper Love ★★★★
6) The Wicked Ones ★★★★
7) The Land I Lost ★★★★★
8) Through Blood, Through Fire ★★★★
9) The Lost World ★★★★
10) Forever Fallen ★★★★½
content warnings: bullying, miscarriage
representation: british-chinese main character, disabled side character
“It lightens my heart to see you with it. We could all do with lighter hearts tonight.”
To be honest, The Last Hours and its characters have never really gotten me all that fired up. I like it in theory, but I always find it hard to keep the characters straight and a lot of the times I'm just really bored by it. That's probably a pretty big reason why I didn't like this as much as a lot of other people did.
This novella focuses on Matthew Fairchild grappling with a secret and meeting Brother Zachariah at the Shadow Market. I mostly just didn't care about this one. There was a super unnecessary and unresolved plot point in which Alastair Carstairs tells Matthew something that may or may not be true (it's probably not), and that entire aspect of it really bored me.
Even the Jem stuff bored me this time, which is never a good thing because I normally love seeing him no matter what. The saving grace of this entire novella was the friendship between James and Matthew, and I am really excited to see them together in The Last Hours. Other than that, this one just really didn't float my boat.
(side note: there's no way matthew's straight, right?? he loves oscar wilde wayyyy too much)
Review also found on my blog.
1) Son of the Dawn ★★★
2) Cast Long Shadows ★★
3) Every Exquisite Thing ★★★★★
4) Learn About Loss ★★
5) A Deeper Love ★★★★
6) The Wicked Ones ★★★★
7) The Land I Lost ★★★★★
8) Through Blood, Through Fire ★★★★
9) The Lost World ★★★★
10) Forever Fallen ★★★★½
content warnings: violence, murder
representation: chinese main character, interracial main relationship
Finally, I'm all caught up! This is one of the most highly-rated novellas in this collection thus far, and even though I didn't love it quite as much as everyone else I can definitely see why. This follows Jem and Tessa as they try to help Rosemary Herondale and her son.
This is a very mournful story. There's both death happening in the present as well as the two main characters reflecting on the past, but the end is incredibly hopeful. Having read QoAaD first means that the end didn't quite have the impact on me that it likely would have if I had read this beforehand, but the ending was still absolutely beautiful. I would also still die for Kit, even though he's literally only on the page for two seconds.
I'm very excited to re-readall most of these stories again when the physical bind up is released, and I'm both excited and nervous to read the two extras.
1) Son of the Dawn ★★★
2) Cast Long Shadows ★★
3) Every Exquisite Thing ★★★★★
4) Learn About Loss ★★
5) A Deeper Love ★★★★
6) The Wicked Ones ★★★★
7) The Land I Lost ★★★★★
8) Through Blood, Through Fire ★★★★
9) The Lost World ★★★★
10) Forever Fallen ★★★★½
content warnings: violence, murder
representation: chinese main character, interracial main relationship
“The light winked out. Jem and Tessa were already in motion. In the century and a half they’d known each other, much had changed, but this truth endured: when a Herondale called, they would answer.”
Finally, I'm all caught up! This is one of the most highly-rated novellas in this collection thus far, and even though I didn't love it quite as much as everyone else I can definitely see why. This follows Jem and Tessa as they try to help Rosemary Herondale and her son.
This is a very mournful story. There's both death happening in the present as well as the two main characters reflecting on the past, but the end is incredibly hopeful. Having read QoAaD first means that the end didn't quite have the impact on me that it likely would have if I had read this beforehand, but the ending was still absolutely beautiful. I would also still die for Kit, even though he's literally only on the page for two seconds.
I'm very excited to re-read
This is a short story entirely about Leslie, Irial and Niall so, yeah, I loved it.
Review also posted to my blog.
1) When Dimple Met Rishi ★★★★
representation: main and side indian characters, side fat indian character
This was incredibly adorable! It's definitely not essential reading or anything, but if you enjoyed WDMR then I can't see this being too disappointing for you.
It's nearly Dimple and Rishi's one year anniversary and the dreaded topic of marriage keeps coming up, which puts the two of them at a crossroads because of their polar opposite views on the subject.
This novella has a lot of angst, particularly in the middle, but it balances it out well with some adorable moments, and not just ones between the two leads. My favourite moments would be whenever either of them would be talking with their parents. Sandhya Menon is really damn good at writing realistic, loving parents, and it's hard not to smile when you read about them talking to their kids.
Sweetie is also introduced in this novella! Towards the end, you see her and Ashish, and I'm already in love with her. This also contained a little sneak preview for There's Something About Sweetie, and it remains one of my most anticipated books of the year because that small teaser was great.
If you loved WDMR, then I would highly recommend this. If you were kind of lukewarm or hated it though, then I wouldn't bother because this certainly isn't going to change your mind about anything.
1) When Dimple Met Rishi ★★★★
representation: main and side indian characters, side fat indian character
“‘The first time he came over here for dinner, I told your Papa, you know. I said, Vijay, that boy looks at Dimple like that Edward looks at Bella.’
Dimple snorted. ‘Mamma, a Twilight reference? Really?’”
This was incredibly adorable! It's definitely not essential reading or anything, but if you enjoyed WDMR then I can't see this being too disappointing for you.
It's nearly Dimple and Rishi's one year anniversary and the dreaded topic of marriage keeps coming up, which puts the two of them at a crossroads because of their polar opposite views on the subject.
This novella has a lot of angst, particularly in the middle, but it balances it out well with some adorable moments, and not just ones between the two leads. My favourite moments would be whenever either of them would be talking with their parents. Sandhya Menon is really damn good at writing realistic, loving parents, and it's hard not to smile when you read about them talking to their kids.
Sweetie is also introduced in this novella! Towards the end, you see her and Ashish, and I'm already in love with her. This also contained a little sneak preview for There's Something About Sweetie, and it remains one of my most anticipated books of the year because that small teaser was great.
If you loved WDMR, then I would highly recommend this. If you were kind of lukewarm or hated it though, then I wouldn't bother because this certainly isn't going to change your mind about anything.
I can't believe that this parody poetry collection nearly made me cry wtf. I would highly recommend the entire collection because I think it's really fun and has cute dog pics, but I would especially recommend the poem STICKS (ARE GREAT BUT SO ARE YOU) which made me surprisingly super emotional.
Buzzword readathon #9
Ugh, I wanted to love this so bad. And there were things I did love! We all know that my love for my sons Billy Kaplan and Teddy Altman runs deep, as well as my everlasting devotion for Doreen Green. That final showdown between Billy and [redacted] is amazing and this is probably my third or fourth time reading it, though this time I had context. Seeing Clint, even as brief as it was, was super cool, and I think I'm already in love with Danielle Cage. I also really liked the art for the showdown in Billy's head and the flash-forward at the very end of issue 6.
However, despite those many things, they were all relatively small elements and weren't enough for me to truly enjoy this. I found the plot super boring and the villain was even more so. It's a good thing I already knew characters like Billy, Teddy and Doreen, because all the new characters left absolutely no impression on me and I've already forgotten most of them. I also really didn't like any of the art outside of what previously mentioned.
This just ain't it chief. Read Young Avengers instead.
Ugh, I wanted to love this so bad. And there were things I did love! We all know that my love for my sons Billy Kaplan and Teddy Altman runs deep, as well as my everlasting devotion for Doreen Green. That final showdown between Billy and [redacted] is amazing and this is probably my third or fourth time reading it, though this time I had context. Seeing Clint, even as brief as it was, was super cool, and I think I'm already in love with Danielle Cage. I also really liked the art for the showdown in Billy's head and the flash-forward at the very end of issue 6.
However, despite those many things, they were all relatively small elements and weren't enough for me to truly enjoy this. I found the plot super boring and the villain was even more so. It's a good thing I already knew characters like Billy, Teddy and Doreen, because all the new characters left absolutely no impression on me and I've already forgotten most of them. I also really didn't like any of the art outside of what previously mentioned.
This just ain't it chief. Read Young Avengers instead.
1) Iceman, Vol. 1: Thawing Out ★★★
2) Iceman, Vol. 2: Absolute Zero ★★★½
I love Bobby Drake so much!! The fact that we got a third volume of this was so exciting for me and it luckily was exactly what I wanted. This series isn't perfect by any means, especially when it comes to plot and villains, but if I were just rating it based on how well it dissects Bobby Drake's character it would get an easy five stars. This volume might be my favourite of the series thus far. One thing I want to highlight in particular is how much I appreciate the fact that Jean Grey outing Bobby was finally addressed and discussed as being a shitty thing, and even though Bobby acknowledges that it needed to happen it still wasn't her place to out him. This series won't win any awards for it's spectacular storytelling, but I will read it until the end of time because it's just so fun and gives my favourite X-Man some well-deserved love.
2) Iceman, Vol. 2: Absolute Zero ★★★½
I love Bobby Drake so much!! The fact that we got a third volume of this was so exciting for me and it luckily was exactly what I wanted. This series isn't perfect by any means, especially when it comes to plot and villains, but if I were just rating it based on how well it dissects Bobby Drake's character it would get an easy five stars. This volume might be my favourite of the series thus far. One thing I want to highlight in particular is how much I appreciate the fact that Jean Grey outing Bobby was finally addressed and discussed as being a shitty thing, and even though Bobby acknowledges that it needed to happen it still wasn't her place to out him. This series won't win any awards for it's spectacular storytelling, but I will read it until the end of time because it's just so fun and gives my favourite X-Man some well-deserved love.
content warnings: anxiety attacks, mentions of homophobia and racism, violence, referenced suicide attempt
representation: gay main character, mlm main character with anxiety/depression, main m/m romance, black main character, vietnamese main character, chinese-american main character, biracial main character
Yes, after this being out since 2018, I've finally read the physical copy of Check, Please! volume one. This is probably my third or fourth read of this because I've reread the webcomic so much, but I was still desperate to have the experience of physically holding it in my hands and reading it. And, god, I forgot how much I adore this series.
Check, Please! follows Eric “Bitty” Bittle, a freshman at Samwell University who has joined the hockey team, and all the shenanigans that ensue. The first few chapters of this are very vignette-y, something which works really well here because those first chapters exist exclusively to introduce you to all the main characters.
The characters are where I really think Ukazu shines. Bitty is so goddamn sweet and I would die for him, as I would for all the main characters. Jack, Shitty, Lardo, Ransom, Holster, Chowder, Nursey and Dex are all such lovable, well-rounded characters who all get their time in the sun. A lot of lesser writers would struggle to include eight compelling major side characters, but Ukazu makes it look effortless. A large part of this is due to the way she staggers their introductions; at first you only meet Jack, Shitty, Ransom and Holster, and then as the comic goes on she slowly introduces you to the other main characters, as well as so many interesting minor characters.
Not to spoil anything, but the romance in this comic truly means the world to me. Ever since I first read this back in 2016, the main couple of this series has remained one of my all-time favourites and this reread only served to remind me of that.
The art style is also absolutely incredible. It's really fun reading the first two years of this all in one go because you get to see the way that Ukazu's style developed, and in this physical copy you also get to see the way that the first few chapters were coloured.
The second book comes out extremely soon, and hopefully I won't be as late reading that in physical form as I was this. On this reread I found a lot of the stuff with the team reminding me of the movie Everybody Wants Some!! so I guess if you liked that you might like this. But even if you didn't like or have never heard of that, you should still read this because it's fantastic and somehow still underrated.
representation: gay main character, mlm main character with anxiety/depression, main m/m romance, black main character, vietnamese main character, chinese-american main character, biracial main character
“But the prince would concoct a plan. He would venture back to the land of the queen. There, he would reclaim greatness... And thereby gain entrance to the kingdom. And all was going well. Until, of course... This little shit came along.”
Yes, after this being out since 2018, I've finally read the physical copy of Check, Please! volume one. This is probably my third or fourth read of this because I've reread the webcomic so much, but I was still desperate to have the experience of physically holding it in my hands and reading it. And, god, I forgot how much I adore this series.
Check, Please! follows Eric “Bitty” Bittle, a freshman at Samwell University who has joined the hockey team, and all the shenanigans that ensue. The first few chapters of this are very vignette-y, something which works really well here because those first chapters exist exclusively to introduce you to all the main characters.
The characters are where I really think Ukazu shines. Bitty is so goddamn sweet and I would die for him, as I would for all the main characters. Jack, Shitty, Lardo, Ransom, Holster, Chowder, Nursey and Dex are all such lovable, well-rounded characters who all get their time in the sun. A lot of lesser writers would struggle to include eight compelling major side characters, but Ukazu makes it look effortless. A large part of this is due to the way she staggers their introductions; at first you only meet Jack, Shitty, Ransom and Holster, and then as the comic goes on she slowly introduces you to the other main characters, as well as so many interesting minor characters.
Not to spoil anything, but the romance in this comic truly means the world to me. Ever since I first read this back in 2016, the main couple of this series has remained one of my all-time favourites and this reread only served to remind me of that.
The art style is also absolutely incredible. It's really fun reading the first two years of this all in one go because you get to see the way that Ukazu's style developed, and in this physical copy you also get to see the way that the first few chapters were coloured.
The second book comes out extremely soon, and hopefully I won't be as late reading that in physical form as I was this. On this reread I found a lot of the stuff with the team reminding me of the movie Everybody Wants Some!! so I guess if you liked that you might like this. But even if you didn't like or have never heard of that, you should still read this because it's fantastic and somehow still underrated.
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“Aren’t you keeping cool enough with your whole midriff out?”
“You leave my midriff out of this.”
The new She-Ra is one of my favourite shows so finding out that they were going to be coming out with graphic novels about the series was so exciting for me, and this certainly did not disappoint.
This tells a story from inside the She-Ra universe we haven't seen before, set sometime around season 2 or 3 I'd guess, and follows our main characters as they attempt to find the legendary fire runestone which has been lost for a long time after its princess destroyed her kingdom with it. I love that this feels like it could realistically be a side quest from the show that we just never saw even if it never makes it completely clear when it's set.
In general I'm always a little iffy on art drawn of any animated property, whether its fanart or comics, but once I was able to get past the different style I really enjoyed Paulina Ganucheau's art. It feels very in tone with the show while also being different, something which I'm probably not explaining right but it makes sense if you've read it.
This is full of tiny character moments, which is my favourite part of She-Ra in general. Gigi D.G. and Ganucheau really understand the dynamics between the characters, from the ex-girlfriends feeling of Adora and Catra's relationship to the ride-or-die found family dynamic that Adora, Glimmer and Bow have. This graphic novel also singlehandedly made me way more on board with Scorpia and Catra as a pairing, something which the show and fan works have never been able to do.
If you're a She-Ra fan then I can't see you not liking this. It feels exactly like a more fillery episode from the show in the best way possible and I would highly recommend (I don't know if this needs to be said, but if you haven't seen the show then don't read it, you probably won't enjoy it).