The Wingsnatchers: Carmer & Grit Book One

This is a review for The Wingsnatchers: Carmer and Grit Book One by Sarah Jean Horwitz
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Felix Cassius Tiberius Carmer III is a magician's apprentice and aspiring inventor.  He travels with Antoine the Amazifier around a rural circuit but their show is not doing well.  They are one rotten tomato from going under!  A contest in Skemantis city could save their act and Skemantis just happens to be hosting an engineering exhibition that Carmer really wants to see as well.  The Magician and his apprentice pack up their box of tricks and head for the city.

Grettifrida is a fairy with one wing and a hatred of her name, call her Grit please!  Grit lives in Oldtown Arboretum in Skemantis.  She is an impossible being; the only fairy born with one wing.  Grit dreams of being outside the walls of the Arboretum and exploring the world.  She frequently sneaks outside the walls to explore the city.

Carmer and Grit meet by chance in the city and that one meeting will change both of their lives.  Carmer and the Amazifier are going to lose the magic contest their competition has a huge advantage.  Grit's people are being attacked and carried off by something in the night.  Can Carmer & Grit work together to solve both of their problems?

Carmer is a flawed child who tries hard.  He has trouble saying what he means, he feels like his mouth betrays him sometimes.  He has eloquent responses in mind but stutters out the exact opposite of what he wants to say.  He is not a great magician's apprentice, he messes up and makes mistakes. 

Grit is a sheltered child who wants to see more of the world.  Her mother wants to keep her safe and close but doesn't realize that she is stifling her daughter's growth.  Grit is headstrong and gets angry really easily. 

I adored this book.  I could barely put it down.  The story is fascinating and the characters are intriguing.  Carmer and Grit both have flaws and strengths.  They have disagreements and problems that they have to work through.  Neither one would be able to solve their problems alone. 

This book has a bit of a steampunk fantasy feel to it, automatons and fairies existing side by side.  If you like Howl's Moving Castle you will like this book.  I highly recommend this.  I will be over here in my little corner waiting for a sequel!

I received an advance copy free for review purposes.  This review is my personal opinion and is in no way influenced by the publisher, author or any third party.

The Raven Boys

This is a review of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Blue is the daughter of a powerful psychic.  She has been told her whole life that if she kisses her true love he will die.  Blue is not a psychic, the only one in her entire family to not be a psychic.  Blue lives by two rules 1. Stay away from boys. 2. Stay away from Raven boys.  Her entire life changes the night she sees her first spirit.

I loved this book.  It is not uncommon for me to stay up reading a book until 2am.  It is uncommon for me to then wake up before 7am to finish the book!  The characters in this book are each so different and so vibrant.  They are fully formed and fluid.  There is change, there is growth.  The world has vast amounts of detail but it is given in a natural way.  It doesn't feel heavy, forced, or boring; it is also not tacked on as an afterthought.

I was absolutely captivated by this story.  Everything in it was interconnected in surprising ways.  The different narratives merged beautifully to create a story that feels real.  I am half tempted to go put on some hiking boots and search for ley-lines myself!  Before going to find any ley-lines though, I am going to go find the next book in this series!

I highly recommend this book.  I absolutely devoured it.  It went from a simple "oh the library has this available and I have heard good things about it" to "Holy crap!  I can't put this book down" within the first 5 minutes of the story.  If you enjoy stories about supernatural things you will enjoy this book!  If you are on the fence about the legitimacy of the supernatural this might be the book to make you a believer.

The Night Voyage

This is a review for The Night Voyage by Daria Song.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Daria Song is an internationally known artist and author.  She has had art exhibited at numerous galleries and museums in Korea, Singapore, Turkey, and Hong Kong.  She grew up in both San Fransisco and Korea.  Her art style shows a blending of both Western and Eastern culture and style.

The Night Voyage is the third adult coloring book in Daria Song's series "The Time Coloring Books" The other coloring books in the series are The Time Garden and The Time Chamber. 

Each of Song's coloring books has a short set up story.  The story of The Night Voyage is that tomorrow is the young girl's birthday.  She woke up to find mountains of presents from her parents along with a note saying they would miss her birthday because of a business trip.  The girl is lonely and wants to give her presents to other children and hopefully make some new friends.  After the set up story the pictures take the thread of the story and lead the reader along through magical worlds.

Every page in The Night Voyage is simply gorgeous.  Every picture is beautiful.  Even the repeating pattern pages are gorgeous and somehow fit into the story.  This particular book has a motif of stars, paper cranes and hot air balloons that appear on each page.

I really enjoyed this coloring book.  Both the story it tells and the beauty of the art.  I am sure it will provide me with many hours of pleasant coloring!  I highly recommend it.  Now if you will excuse me, I need to go start sharpening my colored pencils!

I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Marked in Ink

This is a review of Marked in Ink by Megan Massacre.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 3 stars, I liked it.

Megan Massacre is a tattoo artist on NY Ink & America's Worst Tattoos.  If, like me, you are unfamiliar with those shows, NY Ink is a competition show to find the best tattoo artist and America's Worst Tattoos is a show where good artists cover up bad tattoos.  Megan Massacre has a very popular style of tattoos and has used her style to create this coloring book in hopes that both tattoo artists and tattoo fans will enjoy it.

Marked in Ink is full of delightful coloring pages done in various tattoo styles. There are all kinds of designs from sugar skulls, to animals, to geometric designs.  The designs have more lines than a tattoo generally would, this is to give you more to color when you are using this book.  There are some really cool pages in here.  There is a filigree bat that is pretty awesome, a heart made of waves, and some really detailed dream catchers that I just love!

There are a few things that bother me about this book though.  There are only two pages with text on the design.  One of them is a knife stabbing a heart with the text "Shot through the heart" which makes no sense with a knife in the image.  The other one is a ship being destroyed by a kraken with the words "lost my way" on it.  Again, the text doesn't fit with the image very well.  You can really tell that Megan Massacre really likes sugar skulls and day of the dead designs as there are more of those than anything else.

Some of the designs here are really amazing, others are less so.  As a coloring book they look like great fun to color, as tattoos there are very few I would want to have on my skin permanently.  That is definitely a benefit to having this coloring book!  All the fun of cool tattoos with none of the permanence of a tattoo.  Overall it was a decent coloring book.  It doesn't wow me but it isn't bad either.  If you like sugar skulls and day of the dead designs you will probably like this one a lot!

I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Cook Korean!

This is a review of Cook Korean! by Robin Ha.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Cook Korean! is a comic book with recipes.  It says it right on the cover and that is exactly what it is.  Ha drew beautiful comics throughout the entire book.  There are comics that show you how to prepare and cook amazing Korean food, there are comics explaining the historic and cultural significance of the food and other items draw in this book.  It is beautifully drawn and easy to follow.

This cook book is broken down into chapters for kimchi, vegetable side dishes, meat, seafood, soup, porridges, noodles, snacks, drinks & Korean fusion food.  You can start at the beginning or jump around to the recipes that interest you most. 

The introduction chapter gives you a quick rundown of the most common staples in a Korean pantry, the Korean table, the way to cook rice and a breakdown of Korea by region and most common foods.  It is very informative and accompanied by great visuals. 

Each recipe is chapter starts with a quick information page that explains what the foods in the chapter are, when they are eaten, how they are prepared and how to do it in America.  Each recipe has the English name of the food and the Korean name.  Each recipe has a clearly marked ingredient list as well as stating how long the prep takes, how the long the cooking takes and how many people the recipe will serve.  Each step of the instructions is accompanied by an illustration to show how to do something or what it should look like.

I have always been a little intimidated by Korean food.  It looks like it is complicated or takes a long time to prepare.  This cook book breaks down that illusion and shows you how simple it is.  Some things do take a long time to prepare but it appears that a lot of the prep time is actually marinading time where you don't have to do a lot.  I am really excited to give these recipes a try!  First though, I have to make a trip to the Asian grocery store for some Korean food essentials!

I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

The Gods Lie

This is a review of The Gods Lie by Kaori Ozaki.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4 stars, I liked it a lot.

 Natsuru Nanao is a 6th grader who lives alone with his mom and just moved to a new town.  His dad passed away when he was little and it is just the two of them.  Natsuru is a good soccer player but he doesn't like his new coach.  He skips his summer soccer camp without telling his mom and spends time with one of his classmates instead.

Her life is very different from his.  She is very responsible.  She does all of the housework and shopping for her household and takes care of her younger brother.  Natsuru enjoys staying with them and fits into their family really well.  There is a terrible secret in her house that could destroy everything, plus his mom doesn't know where he is and the soccer coach called her to ask about refunding the camp fee.  Everything is about to come crashing down on them and reality has an ugly face.

I really enjoyed this book.  The characters are multifaceted and endearing.  The art is wonderful and really moves the story along.  I highly recommend it.  It is really bittersweet and moving.  You should definitely check it out!

Pop Manga Coloring Book

This is a review of Pop Manga Coloring Book by Camilla d'Errico.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Camilla d'Errico is a widely acclaimed illustrator who has worked with Dark Horse, Sanrio, Disney, Hasbro & Neil Gaiman.  She has been nominated for several awards.  Her most well known works are her "Rainbow Children" oil paintings with huge eyes and melting rainbows. 

Pop Manga Coloring Book is an adult coloring book unlike any other I have seen.  It is full of gorgeous art that blends cute, creepy, surreal and beautiful all together.  Some pages you have adorable children with creepy monsters, others you have cuddly animals with sad, unsmiling kids.  Each page in this book is amazing.  There are so many little details in each illustration that you could sit and look at each one for ages before remembering that you are trying to color the page.  Many of the pages are done in a sketchy, pencil feeling style.  I love it!  It adds to the surreal feeling of the art and reminds me that this is an unfinished project waiting for me to add the final touches.  The pencil sketch feel adds a soft, home made quality that other coloring books lack, it doesn't feel mechanical or mass produced at all.

Camilla d'Errico has cute little mascots that accompany her work.  The mascot for this book is Ayako.  Ayako pops up periodically to tell you about a piece of art or to remind you that you can color outside the lines.  Pull of the slip cover and look both the cover of the book and the underside of the slip cover.

I love this coloring book.  It has an amazing blend of feelings in it.  It isn't just candy sweet art or super creepy.  It blends them together in a a unique way that comes out gorgeous.  I honestly can't wait to drag out my colored pencils and start coloring!  The only downside I see is choosing which page to color first!

I got this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

I Draw on Cats

This is a review of I Draw on Cats by A. R. Coffelt
I gave this book ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ 2 stars, I disliked it.

I Draw on Cats is a collection of connect the dots puzzles laid over top of silly cat photos.  It is designed to demystify cats and show us what they are really thinking and doing.  The cat photos are pretty cute and the connect the dots add a layer of humor to the photos.  We have silly cats from "The Karate Cat" to "Vampire Cat" hanging out in a tree to "Captain Cat" the super hero.

This book is a bit of a mixed bag.  There are cute photos.  There are humorous connect the dots.  I feel like it is going to appeal to small children the most.  The draw back with that is the weird accordion style pages.  The book doesn't have traditional pages, it has one giant double sided, accordion folded page.  The pages fold ok one direction but it gets complicated the other way.  Each fold is perforated so you could tear them apart but then you have a bunch of loose pages floating around or disappearing under the couch.

To sum up, it is a cute book with cute pictures but it is difficult to use and may prove frustrating.  My son lost interest in it pretty quickly when faced with the frustrating layout of the pages.

I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Long May She Wave

This is a review of Long May She Wave by Kit Hinrichs.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 3 stars, I liked it.

Kit Hinrichs is considered one of the world's most influential graphic designers and is partner in the global design firm Pentagram. His personal collection of Stars and Stripes artifacts has been exhibited at the American Institute of Graphic Arts in New York and the San Jose Museum of Art.

Long May She Wave is a curated collection of postcards featuring Stars and Stripes artifacts and art from American history.  The cards include photos of antique quilts, WWI soldiers, carvings in whale teeth, patriotic playing cards from WWII and other wonderful historic items.  Some of the cards feature newer art and artifacts as well such as, a hand stitched flag made out of dollar bills in 1997, a flag made of 2500 colored pencils, and a collage of paper flags, fans and ribbons.

These cards are a brief glimpse into history.  It is interesting to see the various ways that the American flag has been used throughout history.  From car dealerships in the Navajo nation, to cigarette wrappers in prisons, to honoring the Allies at the end of WWII and protesting the Vietnam War.

This collection could have been better.  There is very little information about each card.  Some have a single line "Wood and Paper 'Red Star Line' promotional fan circa 1900" to tell you about the card.  When I saw that the author is "considered one of the world's most influential graphic designers" I really expected some gorgeous cards.  I have to admit to being disappointed, many of the cards feature a single item on a plain white background.

With slightly more thought put into the cards by the graphic designer and a bit more information about each card this could have been a truly stunning collection of postcards.  As it is right now it is still a pretty good collection of cards. 

I received this book from blogging for books in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderland

This is a review for Wonderland- A Coloring Book Inspired by Alice's Adventures by Amily Shen.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4 stars, I liked it a lot.

About the Author: Amily Shen is a renowned Taiwanese artist. She has worked as shoe designer and is now a full-time illustrator and art instructor. She has published three bestselling drawing books.

Wonderland is a whimsical adult coloring book inspired by Alice in Wonderland.  The coloring pages are beautiful.  A lot of attention to detail was put into this book.  The pages are a lovely mix of whimsy and symmetry. 

This book is inspired by Alice in Wonderland so a lot of the pages and pictures will feel familiar.  The framework of the book shows injects some of the artist's personality into it.  The first page is a coffee shop and out the window of the coffee shop you see a familiar rabbit slipping through the trees to lead you into Wonderland. 

The story running throughout the pages feels a little childish at times.  There are little activities that you would normally see in a kids book; things like addressing an invitation to a friend, decorating some blank butterflies and searching for hidden items. 

The illustrations in here will not immediately bring to mind either the original illustrations from the Lewis Carroll novel or the Disney adaptations but they are unmistakably from Wonderland.  I quite enjoyed looking through this book and I am definitely going to enjoy coloring each page.  I suggest picking this up if you are looking for a coloring book that feels familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time.  If you do pick it up be sure to check under the removable cover for a surprise!

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Franklin Barbecue- A Meat-Smoking Manifesto

This is a review of Frankling Barbecue- A Meat Smoking Manifesto by Aaron Frankling & Jordan Mackay.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4 stars, I liked it a lot.

Aaron Franklin and his wife Stacy started out in the barbecue business in a small trailer on the side of the highway in Austin Texas in 2009.  Franklin Barbecue took off from there.  Today Franklin Barbecue is one of the most popular bbq places in the country and Aaron Franklin has won every bbq award that exists.

Jordan Mackay is the wine and spirits editor of 7×7 magazine and the author of Passion for Pinot. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times and has written for Food & Wine, Gourmet, Decanter, and Wine and Spirits.

Franklin Barbecue is not a recipe book.  If you want recipes this book is not really going to do much for you.  If you are looking for information on how to properly smoke your own meat and make it mouth-wateringly delicious, this book will help you. 

This book will give you an in depth and detailed look into bbq.  Franklin Barbecue covers every aspect of making your own amazing bbq; from building or modifying a smoker, to choosing the best wood and meats and seasoning them correctly.

I started off reading this book with mild curiosity but by the end I wanted to run out and build my own smoker.  I love good smoky bbq.  It is the one thing I miss from my days living in the south and it is the one thing that is hard to find in Colorado.  This book makes me want to try my hand at making my own southern style bbq.

I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Merman in my Tub vol 2

This is a review for Merman in my Tub volume 2 by Itokichi.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

This is the second volume in a series.  You can find my review of the first volume right here.  Given the nature of this series there is little in the way of spoilers though you may find some if you choose to read this review before the first volume.

Tatsumi is a serious, studious boy who lives alone in his grandfather's old house.  One day while walking along the river he finds a man in distress and rushes in to save him, he takes the man home to help him and soon discovers that he didn't save a man at all but a merman!  Soon Tatsumi has a permanent house guest and a steady stream of strange sea creatures passing through his bath tub.

The antics continue in the second volume.  Wakasa's friends continue reappearing and a new one joins the cast in this volume.  Each of them have their own personality that is partly defined by the type of sea creature they are.  Each new character adds a fun new element to the series.  It is interesting to see how they interact and how their fishy nature shows itself.

With Wakasa around the simple things that happen throughout the year are all new and exciting.  He loves Valentines Day, White day has to be extravagant and over the top.  Watching the Olympics isn't enough, he has to try all of the sports even the ones that seem impossible for a merman! 

I still highly recommend this series.  It is a wonderful, light, fun read.  It will have you laughing with every new chapter.  Go check it out if you are in need of a silly series to lift your spirits or if you want something fun to make you laugh!

Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic

This is a review of Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Charlie Laird has a dream life.

1) He has a weirdo stepmom who runs an herbarium.
2) He lives in a purple mansion with a portal to the Netherworld.
3) Since they escaped from the Netherworld, he and his best friends have been sleeping like babies.

**SPOILER ALERT**
This is the second book in a series.  As such this review may contain spoilers for the first book.  If you want to read my review of the first book you can find it here.

 Charlie Laird is a fairly average not quite teenage boy.  He has an annoying little brother, an average dad and an absolutely weird stepmom.  He lives in a giant purple mansion with a tower.  The tower houses a portal to the Netherworld, the world of nightmares.  Most people only visit the Netherworld in their sleep during a nightmare, Charlie has been there in person while he was awake.  He and his little brother are the guardians of the portal.  They make sure it is closed and keep the nightmares locked away in the Netherworld where they belong.

Charlie and his friends start to notice that the people from the next town over are acting a little strange.  They shuffle, drool, groan and they are very clumsy.  One of them crashes into a streetlamp and knocks himself out right in front of Charlie!  The soccer team loses 37 to 0 because their entire team are acting like zombies.

Charlie and his friends have to investigate.  Everything they discover adds to the weirdness.  No one is sleeping in Orville Falls and there is a strange new shop in town.  When the new shop puts a branch in Charlie's town they realize they have to kick their investigation up a notch and get to the bottom of the mystery before their town becomes the next victim of this weirdness.

As with the previous book this one is delightful.  Many new lessons for Charlie to learn.  Jealousy, fear, hope and despair are all themes in this book.  The last one taught kids that you have to face your fear to overcome it.  This one teaches kids that being fearless isn't the same as being brave.  Doing something because it is necessary despite being scared to death is bravery and it is very different than being fearless.

I highly recommend this book.  If you have a kid struggling with being brave, this book may be helpful.  It has great lessons to teach both young and old, plus it is just a fun read.  I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading. 

Tokyo ESP

This is a review for Volume 1 of Tokyo ESP by Hajime Segawa.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

 Rinka Urushiba is your average high school girl.  She goes to class, works a part time job after school and helps her dad around the house, they are poor but happy.  One day on her way home from school she sees a flying penguin and chases after him hoping to catch him and sell him to help her finances.  Instead she is thrust into a completely different life than the one she led before.  A strange boy shows up everywhere she goes trying to convince her to become a 'hero of justice' and that is the least strange thing in her new life!

Rinka is a sweet character who is easy to relate to with one heck of a strong kick.  Azuma seems like a nice lighthearted kid with a big sense of adventure but the brightest smiles sometimes hide the most tragic pasts.  Each new character that joins the cast has their own unique personality that adds to the depth of the story.  Whether they are an ex-cop, a professional thief, a yakuza boss' daughter or a helpful barkeeper each character has something to add to the story.

I highly recommend this book.  Really what is not to love about it?  It's got a flying penguin, mysterious superpowers, great characters, an intriguing plot line and a few beautifully colored pages!  You should definitely give this a chance if you enjoy sci-fi or mystery manga.

Alice in Murderland vol 2

This is a review of Alice in Murderland volume 2 by Kaori Yuki.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

This is the second volume in a series.  This review is likely to spoil the first volume for you.  If you would like to read my review of volume one you can find it here.

 Stella Kuonji and her eight siblings are all adopted.  They belong to the very powerful, and slightly eccentric, Kuonji family.  They are required to return home and attend a "Mad Tea Party" once a month.  During one of these tea parties their mother announces that they are to fight each other to the death until only one remains.  That remaining one will be the head of the family.  They have one year to battle it out.  During the initial chaos Stella's favorite brother Zeno is slain and Stella herself undergoes a physical transformation into "Bloody Alice" complete with blond hair and a blue dress.

In the second volume the murdering contiues.  At the end of the first volume two siblings were out of the running.  Sid and Zeno are both dead though Zeno has been resurrected, but he isn't quite the same as before.  Stella faces off with Little Red Riding hood in the this volume.  Red has planted an impressive number of traps for Stella but Bloody Alice is not easily fooled. After her fight with Red Stella remembers some things from her childhood that make her distrust one of her few allies in this battle. 

Some of the victims of the Mad Tea Party who have been in comas are starting to wake up.  Sol and Maré are Stella's older twin siblings.  Maré has been in a coma but has finally woken up and is not happy.  Stella is the object of Marés anger and another fight breaks out. 

Three more of the Kuonji siblings have been introduced, leaving just one that is still an unknown.  The backstory of Claire, Stella and Zeno has been established to some extent.  Olga-sama, their adoptive mother, hints that there is some very specific reason each child was adopted by the Kuonji family.  A very big hint was dropped in this volume as to the reason that Zeno's personality has changed so much.

I am interested to see the continuation of this story.  Each new character adds something new to the plot.  The siblings are interesting, they each have their own motivations for playing along with their mother's sadistic game, or for not wanting to play along. 

I highly recommend this series.  It continues to be an interesting take on Alice in Wonderland.  Just know, it definitely deserves its rating of "Older Teen" for the violent nature of the story!

Chaika: The Coffin Princess vol 1

This is a review for Chaika: The Coffin Princess volume 1 by Ichirou Sakaki, Shinta Sakayama & NitroPlus
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4 stars, I liked it a lot.

Toru Acura lives a quiet, peaceful life.  The war ended five years ago and with it, his reason for getting out of bed every day.  He was a Saboteur in the war with a unique ability but without a war to fight what is a man whose only skills are on the battlefield to do?

Toru lives with his sister Akari.  She is about fed up with his lazy ways.  Is it so much to ask that he get out of bed and get a job?  Akari forces Toru out of bed to find a job or at least some breakfast.  Toru goes into the forest to forage for food and there he runs into Chaika. 

Chaika is a strange girl from another country.  She caries a huge coffin on her back and speaks in broken sentences.  The chance encounter between her and Toru in the forest is about to shake up Toru's mindnumbingly peaceful life.

I enjoyed this manga quite a bit.  Toru feels like a relatable character and Chaika is a mystery waiting to be solved.  Akari is not wonderful in my opinion.  She is the typical little sister with a brother complex that is mostly just annoying.  She does seem like a capable fighter and maybe she will grow to be something more than the token annoying little sister with a brother complex.

I am interested to see where this story ends up.  It feels like a good set up for a great story. So far it is a little short on detail but it feels like it could be something wonderful.  I recommend it to anyone who likes a good adventure series.

Merman in My Tub vol 1

This is a review for Merman in My Tub volume 1 by Itokichi
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4 stars, I liked it a lot.

 What happens when a merman moves into your bath tub?  Serious, studious Tatsumi is about to find out.  One day he rescues someone by the river and takes him home to help him only to realize that he didn't rescue a human, but a merman.

Wakasa is a very energetic merman who had to leave his home after tourists started flocking in trying to catch a glimpse of him.  Tatsumi rescued him from a dirty, trash filled river and now he is living in Tatsumi's bath tub.

This manga is very silly and fun.  It follows the day to day life of Wakasa the merman and Tatsumi the student as they learn to live together.  Wakasa has many strange friends who come over and complicate things.  Tatsumi has to try to keep Wakasa a secret from his family and friends. 

I enjoyed this manga a lot.  It isn't very serious or very deep.  It is a light, fun read that just makes you laugh.  Wakasa and Tatsumi are such extreme opposites, their daily interactions are frequently full of misunderstanding.  When you add in Wakasa's eccentric friends and Tatsumi's overprotective sister and friends and you have a real recipe for disaster.

If you are looking for a light story that will make you laugh I highly recommend this series. 

Warren the 13th & the All-Seeing Eye

This is a review for Warren the 13th & the All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio, illustrated by Will Staehle
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Warren the 13th is the heir to his family's hotel.  It has been in the family for hundreds of years.  When Warren the 12th was in charge it was a gleaming beacon visited by hundreds of guests who booked months in advance and were served by fleets of waiters, butlers, bellhops, maids and gardeners.  Now it is a shabby, run down hotel with no guests and only Warren the 13th and one chef left running things.  

Warren's Uncle Rupert is lazy and let the hotel become a run down decrepit old thing under his care.  Then he married a strange woman named Annaconda who is certain that there is a valuable secret hidden in the hotel.  Warren spends most of his time cleaning up the messes she makes searching for "The All-Seeing Eye."  No one except for her believes it even exists until one day Warren finds the journal of Warren the 2nd and sees it mentioned.  Now word is out and there are tons of guests quite literally tearing the place apart looking for the mysterious All-Seeing Eye.

This book is intended for Middle Grade readers.  It is perfectly paced to keep kids interested.  There are puzzles and riddles and secret codes hidden throughout the book.  They are fairly easy for an adult but they are the perfect difficulty level for kids.

This book is loaded with beautiful illustrations.  Some of them depict whole scenes, some are just decorative on the margins.  Each one is beautifully done and a wonderful addition to the book.  All of the illustrations are done in black, white and red.  They add a sort of gothic, turn of the century Victorian feel to the story.

I quite enjoyed this book and I am honestly looking forward to the sequel.  If you have kids looking for a new book to read check this one out.  If you or your kids are into old fashioned mysteries check this one out.

I received this book free from the publisher Quirk Books in exchange for an honest review.
This book will be released November 24th, 2015!

Magical Girl Apocalypse vol. 5

This is a review for Magical Girl Apocalypse vol. 5 by Kentaro Sato.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

This is a review for the 5th book in a series, as such it will not be spoiler free.  If you would like to read my reviews of the previous volumes of this series you can find them here, 1, 2, 3, & 4.

Kii Kogami's life has really gone to shit since it started raining Magical Girls.  Almost all of his friends are dead, his average, boring life is a memory now, there are roving packs of Magical Girls killing everything that moves and no safe place stays safe very long.

It has to be said; generally super violent apocalypse stories have gotten stale by volume 5.  There is only so much horror and blood you can pour into a story before it just stops shocking the reader.  That is not the case here!  This story has a great mix of horror and humor.  The jokes are irreverent and ridiculous but they perfectly balance the horror and gore to keep the story fresh and entertaining.

The plot line of this story keeps advancing at a steady rate.  It isn't just rush around just trying to survive the next 5 minutes.  The characters are forming bonds and learning about their screwed up world.  They have learned the cause of the apocalypse if not the full reasons for it.  They may have even found a way to end it and save their world.

The only down side to this series is the big reveal at the end of each volume makes you desperate to read more and you have to wait 3 months for the next part!  As always, I highly recommend this series to those of you who enjoy apocalypse tales and horror flicks, but only as long as you aren't squeamish because there is really a lot of gore!

Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer

This is a review of Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan.
I gave this book ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 stars, I loved it.

Magnus Chase is 16 years old and homeless.  His world pretty much revolves around finding his next meal, finding a safe place to sleep at night and avoiding police, social workers and anyone who says they want to "help" him.  His world is about to expand rather rapidly when he discovers that the old Norse gods are all too real, Valhalla exists and he is dragged into a quest to stop Ragnarok from happening.

In true Rick Riordan fashion the story grabs your attention and drags you along for the ride.  Magnus is a being of pure sass, snark, and witty comebacks.  Reading this felt a bit like reading Percy Jackson in that respect.  Magnus and Percy are definitely cut from the same sassy cloth but they are quite different people.  Where Percy jumps in and hacks with a sword, Magnus attempts to disarm enemies though he doesn't back down when the situation calls for it.

I will admit that I know far less about the Norse gods than I do about the Greek ones.  I can't say for sure how accurate Magnus Chase is when discussing the ancient mythology, but I would imagine it is pretty close.

There was a lot to like about this book, especially if you are a fan of Riordan's other series.  This one crosses over with Percy Jackson in a very neat way.  Riordan continues to branch out with his characters.  I think it is great that his stories have such a broad range of races and religions included, representation matters.

Personally I loved this book.  I couldn't put it down, I stayed up til 2AM reading it.  I highly recommend that you pick it up and give it a chance.  If you haven't read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Kane Chronicles series' by Rick Riordan you should also give them a shot.