My next reading recommendations graphic brings you some comics and graphic novels to try! I’ve been really into more visual books lately and I’ve found all of these very enjoyable.
The Lost City was a pretty feel-good fantasy in that the stakes didn’t seem super high, but it was still enjoyable to read. The characters are charming and while the plot didn’t totally grip me, I feel like tonally this was a nice pandemic read that let me ponder a while about a fantasy world that is parallel to our own world.
I should say that this is my first Amanda Hocking book and I believe this is the start of a spin-off series to her earlier books. So I didn’t have the background of previous knowledge about this fantasy work. While I don’t think this greatly deterred my enjoyment, I did struggle a bit with understanding the scope of the world-building. It felt like there was lots of info-dumping at times in the narration or even just in the characters’ dialogue that felt kind of unnatural for me to believe that these characters would actually explain to one another verbatim. I do think this world has interesting potential with a lot of background and history for the different groups of trolls and other creatures featured in the story.
My major gripe was that it felt like a middle grade read, even though the main characters were firmly in YA. The language often seemed juvenile and the plot seemed to steer clear of taking risks and getting into the real nitty-gritty of what I think was intended to be a pretty dark fantasy world.
Overall, I was underwhelmed, but still intrigued enough to keep reading Hocking’s other novels!
Comparable books:
Tithe by Holly Black
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn
***I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
It’s part two of my reading recommendations series! Here are some contemporary books (from romance to mystery!) that I think you should try.
I enjoyed What I Like About You because it felt really grounded in something that’s very relatable to my own life: book fandoms and the publishing community. The main character Halle is a book blogger and her major conflict comes from her anonymous identity online causing issues when she moves to a new town and meets her online best friend and crush Nash in real life. I haven’t read many books that are so in-touch with the present-day YA book community. Yes, tons of contemporary novels feature protagonists who LOVE to read, but rarely do they actively engage with reading beyond stating it as a hobby to seem more *relatable*.
I did find some of Halle’s friends to act in off-putting ways at times, but it seemed kind of realistic because you can’t always control or expect the ways people will react, especially when all your interactions are behind a screen. It was also pretty unrealistic (at least, to me!) that Halle would just choose not tell Nash about her real identity. They start becoming really close friends and I feel like there is no way that a normal teenager would keep that from their friend for *so long* since the stakes were pretty low (Like they’re friends online and now they’re friends IRL, what’s the big deal?). But once you suspend your disbelief, it is a really interesting conflict to drive the novel and help explore their relationships through two totally different platforms.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, relatable contemporary read. Also, it gave me a bit of nostalgia for *the old days* before this whole pandemic turned the world upside down. Book Con, author signings, even going to the library!! These are all things that I miss and can experience by living vicariously through Halle in this story.
Comparable Titles:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
***My review is also posted on my blog!
Hello all! I’m bringing you a new series with fun *infographics* for reading recommendations by genre. I hope you enjoy and find yourself a new book or three for your TBR:
Witchy was a bit of an unexpected surprise that I got in my OwlCrate subscription box last month. I’ve been really in the graphic novel mood lately, so I figured this would be a fun one to pick up. And I have to say I was really impressed! I loved Ries’ art style and found the story itself to be captivating and honestly adorable (although it can get super dark, don’t get me wrong!).
The characters felt very dynamic and complex despite the story being relatively short. If you enjoy YA fantasy books set in a magical school setting (but with a twist!) or adventure novels, this will be your cup of tea! The main character Nyneve is just so lovable and all of her friends and allies were really interesting to get to know as well.
My main complaint would be that the book felt like two different plots in the first and second half. There wasn’t really a satisfying resolution, which leads me to believe that this may be just one installment in a larger series, but this is the only one I could find that has been released yet. If there is another book, I would definitely be interested in reading it! It looks like it’s a webcomic, so I will be looking into seeing if the chapters on there are updated past the end of the book.
Comparable Titles:
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn
Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter by Marcus Sedgwick
***My review is also posted on Goodreads and Tumblr!
UnapologeticallYA Book Reviews! 