UNFORGIVABLE LOVE BY SOPHFRONIA SCOTT {review}

Paperback, 517 pages

Published September 26th 2017 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Rating: ★★★★

I'm so glad I found this book. I absolutely adore all retellings of Dangerous Liaisons; it's a story that lends itself particularly well to almost any time period and there's been adaptations set in 18th century Korea, late 1990s Manhattan prep schools, 1920s Brazil. Sophfronia Scott sets Unforgivable Love in 1940s Harlem to great effect.

As in Les Liaisons Dangereuse, Unforgivable Love mainly focuses on the machinations of two of society's most privileged, most beautiful and most cunning - the Vicomte de Valmont, here named Val Jackson, and the Marquise de Merteuil, called here Mae Malveaux.

I adored Mae Malveaux immediately. I've always had a penchant for prickly, complex female characters and Mae is certainly that. I know that Les Liaisons Dangereuse is often cited as an exploration of human malice, a morality tale about the corruption of the rich. Like the other adaptations, Unforgivable Love is also about the affluent, the upper echelons of society that has its own rules, but I've always found that what attracted me to the story, to so many adaptations, is that underneath it all, it's about gender. Merteuil's character is always frustrated by the freedom, sexual and otherwise, that maleness grants Valmont, yet she will use the very chains that bind her to destroy other women.

Unforgivable Love alternates viewpoints between Mae and Val as well as the intelligent yet inexperienced Elizabeth Townsend (Madame de Tourvel) and the young and naive Cecily Vaughan (Cécile de Volanges). I enjoyed Val's chapters, particularly the way Scott describes how meticulous he is, in business as well as in his sexual conquests, though I prefered the women's chapters. I enjoyed that each woman's perspective felt unique, their voices elegantly crafted by Scott.

What I liked about the perspectives of Elizabeth, Cecily and Mae was that they were all such disparate women. Mae is beyond complicated, intensely beautiful, clever, cunning, and worst of all, viciously empty, whereas Elizabeth is open, compassionate, devout, and ultimately changeable. Cécile de Volanges can often be played as a joke, the ingenue who lacks the depth and cleverness of the older women, but what I loved about Cecily's chapters is that Scott didn't do that at all. Cecily is young, naive, perhaps wholly without a calculating mind, but she's solid. She watches and learns, she finds peace in the simple labour that makes her body feel strong and roots her to the earth.

I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that there's enough of a deviation that even ardent fans won't find it a complete retread. All in all, I really enjoyed Unforgivable Love and I'm looking forward to more of Sophfronia Scott's novels.

THE WIFE BETWEEN US BY GREER HENDRICKS & SARAH PEKKANEN {ARC review}

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published January 9th 2018 by St. Martin's Press

Rating: ★★★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I'll admit it, the twist halfway through pretty much got me. My mind had lighted upon the reveal in only the briefest and vaguest terms before then so when I got there I was nodding my head, totally into it, because the story was clearly just revving up.

Nellie is young and beautiful, a nursery school teacher about to be married to Richard, a rich, charming, handsome businessman. Everything seems perfect, except for the phone calls with no one on the other end and the creeping feeling that she's being watched.

Vanessa is Richard's ex-wife, the one being replaced by someone younger, fresher and with less baggage. She drinks to excess and fixates too much on Richard and her replacement.

The first half of the book alternates between these two viewpoints, setting the stage for the second half of the novel. I found the first half of the story to be frustrating; it felt as though it dragged, particularly because I couldn't understand why either perspective was so fixated on Richard when he was so crudely drawn. Having finished the book, this dreamy unfinished quality to his characterization was clearly an intentional choice on the part of the authors. I immediately disliked him as he came across as controlling and manipulative with very little actual personality and it was starting to become frustrating to read chapter after chapter of that.

Luckily, the drag of the first part was immediately forgotten, as parts two and three were fast-paced and had me just devouring it. A lot of questions were answered and a lot of 'blank' spaces were filled in. I don't want to give anything away but ultimately, The Wife Between Us is a satisfying read, hovering on the cusp between psychological thriller and a complex story of a marriage. I do wish that the authors had dug a little deeper into Vanessa though, I felt like there was slightly more there than we got and I also felt the ending was a little too pat but those are the only two criticisms that jump to mind.

THE CHURCH OF DEAD GIRLS BY STEPHEN DOBYNS {review}

Paperback, 388 pages

Published June 15th 1998 by Owl Books (first published 1997)

Rating: ★★★★★

Wow. That was a wild ride from start to finish. Intense, complex and unique, I thoroughly devoured The Church of Dead Girls. I often read on my walk to work in the morning but today I sat down at my desk and just had to finish the last few pages, I absolutely could not tear my eyes away from the page.

Ostensibly, The Church of Dead Girls is about the disappearance of three girls in a small New York town above the Finger Lakes. Told from the outsider perspective of a high school science teacher, the lives and secrets of his fellow citizens are revealed slowly, their layers peeled away as the tension between friends and neighbours ratchets up. The abduction of the girls is both horrific and a catalyst, the townfolk growing increasingly mad with frustration and suspicion, and fear. Not only fear of their daughter being taken next, but of their secret desires, their illicit actions being exposed and revealed to the cruel eye of the town's populace, the only judge that matters.

As I was reading I was often reminded of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, to which The Church of Dead Girls seems to be a spiritual precursor. There's a creeping, unsettling feeling that only grows as you advance in the story. Like Sharp Objects the disappearance and probable murders of the missing girls, barely in their teenage years, is only part of a larger whole. The narrator relates decades worth of information, gleaned from years of personal interactions or heard secondhand from his friends, piecing together the story from what he's been told into a rich, meaty narrative.

The real story that lurks behind the abduction of the three teenage girls is the unknowable nature of the other. Even those closest to us have their secrets, the thoughts they keep to themselves, a persona they show the world that reflects only a portion of their true self. The mercurial nature of a community influenced by gossip and speculation, suspicion and fear, is as fascinating as it is frustrating. The 'other' is always targeted, the African college professor and his Marxist reading group, gay men, anyone who stands out from the 'norm' suffering from hysterical scapegoating.

Overall. The Church of Dead Girls is slow, but taut, deftly portraying the way a small community operates, the way lives intersect and affect each other. The way the town reacts to the missing girls as scarring and long-lasting as the abductions themselves, mob mentality showing the unintended dark sides of even the innocent.

THE RULES OF MAGIC BY ALICE HOFFMAN {ARC review}

Hardcover, 384 pages

Expected publication: October 10th 2017 by Simon Schuster

Rating: ★★★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Hoffman's classic Practical Magic, perhaps even more beloved because of the 1998 movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. I confess that though I have seen the movie many times, I've never read the book it was based on. Luckily, as this is a prequel, it does not matter one whit whether you've read it or not.

In this story, you're treated to a previous generation of Owens siblings: Frances, called Franny; Bridget, called Jet; and the first son born to the Owens family, Vincent. All three are imbued with the magic of their bloodline and when the story starts they are curious teenagers shuffling from their Manhattan home to the small Massachusetts town where the Owens house on Magnolia Street has stood for 300 years. It's this summer that truly starts their journeys towards themselves, towards acceptance of who they are and the magic they wield. Many years pass within the novel, something that on occasion left me slightly confused as to the ages of the Owens, but you follow them along from teenagers until Sally and Gillian of Practical Magic come to live with them as children.

I was thoroughly enchanted by The Rules of Magic. It reads like a fairytale or a bedtime story being told to the reader, pulling you in, wrapping you in the lives of the Owens siblings. Each sibling is different, coming to accept themselves and their magic at different times, each of their voices unique. Romantic and gentle without venturing into 'romance novel' territory, Franny, Jet and Vincent each have vastly love stories that nevertheless leave their marks. I found each of them so enjoyable and my desire to know each character was fulfilled in such a satisfying way.

Three themes reiterate themselves throughout the novel: that being the most authentic version of yourself is important above all, not to live a little but live a lot, and that the only remedy for love is to love more. Vincent, Jet and Franny all struggle with each concept, taking steps forward only to take more steps backwards. As the reader, you're aware of where Jet and Franny end up, as aunties wise in the ways of magic and love, so to see these characters not only young but conflicted and combative about their own natures is fascinating. Vincent in particular is a revelation because he's unique to this story; it's easy to connect to him and the affection that Franny and Jet have for him matched my own.

Overall, I found The Rules of Magic to be a, well, magical story following the trials and loves of three intriguing characters.

SWEARING OFF STARS BY DANIELLE WONG {ARC review}

Paperback, 280 pages

Expected publication: October 3rd 2017 by She Writes Press

Rating: ★★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Swearing Off Stars is about a young American named Amelia, called Lia, in England to attend a semester of university in the 1920s. There she meets Scarlet, a beautiful aspiring actress and activist, who is part of a group pushing to allow women to actually matriculate and earn degrees. Lia joins the group, finding purpose in the gender equality group and finding love with Scarlet. However, Scarlet lives in fear of their homophobic society and of their relationship being discovered. Their relationship falters and Lia moves back to America, attempting to move on from Scarlet until she finds a letter in her father's study many years later that inspires her to seek Scarlet out and perhaps rekindle their love affair.

I wish there was more to the plot, but unfortunately that's pretty much it. Probably my biggest criticism is that Swearing Off Stars is too short. Far too short. I wanted to invest in these characters and once I realized that the book spanned decades I wanted to know far more than the story offered. Thirty years passes between the beginning of the story and the end, yet the characters seem to grow more flat and dull as the story progresses rather than richer and more vibrant. We learn the most about Scarlet and Lia as college students, but the years between their meetings are summed up in a few quick paragraphs. That was intensely frustrating for me as Danielle Wong is clearly not without talent but there just wasn't enough of the story to elevate it.

There's not much differentiating the narration of Scarlett and Lia, despite Lia being an American and Scarlett being British; both their internal and external voices sound alike. As the years wore on, I wanted their voices to become more distinct. Scarlet lived the life of a movie star and Lia was a journalist and, during WWII, a military medic. Their adult voices should have felt very distinct and distant from when they were naive university students. Scarlet's surprisingly short perspective chapters almost seem as if they're there to remind you that the their love is mutual. I'm not sure whether that works entirely.

One thing I liked quite a bit, but like everything else suffered from lack of development, was Lia's relationship with her boyfriend-turned-best-friend. He goes from being in love with her to a lifelong best friend that deeply cares for her and their relationship is sweet and steady.

As it is now, homophobia was a spectre hanging over the lives of the queer characters in the story. However, I found the characters' conitnued behaviour frustrating. Queer people have always existed and found ways to exist, yet Scarlet was unable to even attempt it. Back in New York, Lia maintains a long term relationship with another woman, even living with her. Scarlet's reticence felt less related to the sword of homophobic Damocles than to her own issues, but this was not fleshed out at all. It stood out for me because Lia and Scarlet seemed to live lives completely separate from any sort of queer community or connection as well as being met with acceptance from almost all who find out about their lesbianism.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Swearing Off Stars as queer historical novels aren't nearly as popular as contemporary ones and because Danielle Wong clearly has talent, but it was just too short, lacking the depth of character that I need to get really connected to a story.

SHARK ISLAND BY CHRIS JAMESON {review}

Paperback, 320 pages

Published June 27th 2017 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

Rating: ★★★★

This is what I want a thriller to be; quick, exhilarating, tense, and enjoyable.

Shark Island starts by introducing Naomi, as close to a main character as the book has, losing part of her leg to a shark attack while photographing seals off the coast of Cape Cod. Several months later has her joining a scientific expedition experimenting with a beacon that would lure the masses of seals, and thus the feeding sharks, to a remote island far from people. Throwing a wrench in their plans is a huge storm, environmental terrorists following them in another boat, and the discovery that the beacon while the beacon does entice the seals to move, it also drives the sharks into an intense frenzy. And it only gets worse from there.

The book is both tense and intense, with moments of real humanity. It's brutal in places and had me flinching, but I count that as a success as I was connected to the characters and I wanted them safe. There's a diverse cast of characters, there are queer characters, characters of different races, of different economic backgrounds, etc. All these things are important to the characters, yet also utterly unimportant in the face of furious great white sharks driven mad with bloodlust. Though Naomi is the de facto protagonist, there are numerous perspectives, some more major than others. Chris Jameson really managed to capture the right balance there, giving each character their own voices and motivations.

The plot moves along quickly and once teeth start gnashing at the characters, your heart starts pumping, in simultaneous dread and excitement. It's a wild ride from start to finish, thrilling even. Definitely a great summer book, but maybe not one you want to be reading by the seaside.

BEAUTY AND THE BOSS BY ALI VALI {ARC review}

ebook

Expected publication: September 1st 2017 by Bold Strokes Books

Rating: ★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I don't usually pick up lesbian romances because they're largely not to my tastes, but Beauty and the Boss sounded quick and fun. Unfortunately for me, it was neither.

Ellis is a famous fashion designer and Charlotte is an single mother and aspiring designer granted an internship with Ellis. Ellis, Charlotte and Charlotte's 10 year old daughter Sawyer, already a talented artist, soon take off for New Orleans to prepare for fashion week. Almost immediately one of two copies of the all important book of designs for fashion week is stolen by Ellis' vindictive coworkers and the entire line needs to be replaced. The tension rises as Ellis and Charlotte battle their pasts and their romantic feelings for each other, all while tirelessly work towards salvaging their fashion week.

The main characters, Ellis and Charlotte, work together and fall madly in love quickly, for no real reason as far as I can tell. The emotion just wasn't there. I couldn't connect with them at all and that was a huge disappointment for me. I wanted to like them so much but they were never elevated to vibrant characters who feel real.

Stylistically, the writing didn't do much for me. There are a few things that Vali did that I find amateur-ish, like how a character is always introduced in ways that felt like high school creative writing style.

Fashion designer Ellis Renoir...
Her best friend and partner Rueben Maddox...
"Do you have everything set?" Jennifer Eymard asked Dalton Burton as they had lunch at the Clocktower restaurant.

This sort of thing always pulls me out of a story, as it's an awkward and amateurish way to introduce characters and starts to stick out the more it's used. The sentences were in a simple, almost a fanfic-style, that prevented me from ever really connecting with the characters that I really wanted to connect with. I actually had a really hard time differentiating between who was speaking at any given time, that's how similar every character's voice was. The 10 year old girl sounded the exact same as worldly journalists and international fashionistas.

The main antagonists, Jennifer and Dalton, are hollow, evil caricatures when they're introduced and remain that way the entire story. I don't particularly expect villains to grow and change in the same way I expect the protagonists too, but there was no real explanations for their hatred of Ellis. Despite having a multitude of perspective chapters, I never felt like I understood more about them as people. They were both willing to enact horrible betrayals, ruin families and commit crimes, but their motives lacked any real emotional correlation. Why give them perspectives within the narrative at all if there's no complexities within the characters at all?

In the end, these things made what was actually a fairly short book feel like I was slogging through it, finishing more for completion's sake than enjoyment.

TRINITY, VOL I: BETTER TOGETHER BY FRANCIS MANAPUL {review}

Trade paperback, 144 pages

Published June 13th 2017 by DC Comics

Rating: ★★★★

Trinity isn't the absolute best DC Rebirth has to offer, but it has a lot of heart and that made it really enjoyable to read. This first trade paperback contains a self-contained story that is about building trust and friendship between the DC trinity and, for me, that really works.

To say I'm not a fan of Batman is a bit of an understatement but Trinity actually made me temporarily like him which is a wonder in and of itself. Batman's wanky dreariness is evened out by the goodness of Superman and Wonder Woman, the weight of the emotional burden he carries lifted when he is with people who have known pain as he had and carry the same burden.

The first and last issues are narrated by Lois Lane, who has asked Bruce and Diana to come to the Kent farm for dinner in order to facilitate a friendship between the three. The story is simple, featuring fan favourite anti-villain Poison Ivy, and a plant-induced dream world that forces Bruce, Diana and Clark to visit their pasts and interact with their younger selves.

The story is simple but pure, about parenthood and friendship. And features Lois Lane driving a car through a barn door in true Lois style. Manapaul's beautiful art really enhances the story as well, making reading the book a really enjoyable experience. I like heart and Trinity Volume 1 had it in spades.

NOW I RISE BY KIERSTEN WHITE {review}

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published June 27th 2017 by Delacorte Press

Rating: ★★★★★

Wow. Just wow. I have been eagerly anticipating the release of Now I Rise since the moment I finished And I Darken last year. It didn't disappoint, if anything it improved upon its predecessor and exceeded my expectations.

In The Conquerer's Saga Kiersten White takes on the very end of the Byzantine Empire with the fall of Constantinople and changing power in eastern Europe, but with her own twists. Here Vlad Dracul is a young woman named Lada, one of two main characters. The other is Radu, Lada's younger brother.

White gives Lada all the room she needs to be ruthless, brutal and yet also sympathetic. Her wildness cannot be tamed, her desire for Wallachia cannot be quenched, and she will kill or destroy anyone who attempts to part her from either. In a sea of very samey protagonists, Lada stands out; there is nothing she won't sacrifice to rule Wallachia, no brutality too far. Her love affair with Mehmed stagnates too as love falls to the steely strength of their twin ambitions.

Lada's younger brother Radu is a study in contrasts. Though by now he is no stranger to killing battles, Radu remains the clever, soft-hearted boy he once was. His love for Mehmed, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, brings him to Constantinople as a spy. Luckily, Nazira, our beautiful secret lesbian princess and Radu's wife, comes with him. Nazira is a breath of fresh air, for Radu as well as for the reader. She's deeply intelligent, both socially and emotionally, and is a bit like sunshine, really. In Nazira Radu has a friend, one that he can be completely honest with as she knows all his secrets and shares her own with him as well. There are moments where the friendship and affection between them is so strong and pure that you can't help but be protective of them both.

MUNRO VS THE COYOTE BY DARREN GROTH {review}

Softcover ARC, 288 pagesExpected publication: October 17th 2017 by Orca Book Publishers

Rating: ★★★½

This is the second book in a month I've read about a Canadian teenager grieving the death of a younger sibling. It wasn't a conscious choice, but rather chance; I won both Munro vs. the Coyote and Optimists Die First from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.

Munro Maddox has been struggling since the sudden death of his thirteen year old sister six months earlier. Munro hears a cruel, pessimistic voice in his head that he has named 'the Coyote' and, though it is never mentioned in the text, he also seems to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Munro's symptoms make it difficult for him to attend school, the place where his sister died, so he signs up for a school exchange program in Australia. In Australia he stays with a nice foster family that are more sympathetic to what he's going through than he expected and is assigned a volunteer position at a care community. The community is set up like a village, for adults who have developmental or physical disabilities. One girl in particular reminds Munro of his dead sister, who also had Down's Syndrome. At first this triggers Munro's issues, before eventually alleviating them. Munro's interactions with the residents are sweet and you can see how it helps him.

The story is quick and readable, the language accessible and, in many ways, quite simple. Munro's a sympathetic character, his pain is palpable and relatable, his confusion understandable. However, the length of the book made the story feel very rushed, particularly towards the end. That was a big drawback for me as it made Munro's recovery feel far too fast. I would have liked the setback Munro has towards the end of the book to have been focused on more. It felt like it wrapped up too early.

Other than that, I really liked it. There's minor romance that's sweet and doesn't overpower the story as well. The school exchange to Australia was a particularly nice conception; the location served as a reminder that you cannot run away from grief, while at the same time recognizing that sometimes the only way to come to terms with trauma is to remove yourself from the emotional triggers. Plus the culture clash was cute and fun.

CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY BY GUY GAVRIEL KAY {review}

Hardcover, 571 pages

Published May 10th 2016 by NAL

Rating: ★★★½

I enjoyed Children of Earth and Sky while at the same time wondering exactly what the point of the story was. Guy Gavriel Kay is a quality writer, so the near-600 pages felt quick and easy. Settings that echo the geography and history seem to be popular in the fantasy genre, though I admit I haven't read an overabundance of fantasy. Children of Earth and Sky is much the same; the Osmanli empire originates in the scorching deserts of the east, conquering cities like Sarantium (a clear Constantinople stand-in) and the city-states are reminiscent of Mediterranean city-states. I actually liked that aspect the most, as I found it fun to find the pieces from real history.

The things I liked were plentiful. I really enjoyed the main characters, particularly Danica, Marin, Drago and Leonora. They, along with Danica's long lost brother Damaz and the painter Pero Villani. I only wished we got more of their perspectives because they were all interesting. I particularly liked how Leonora and Danica became instant friends despite being such polar opposites: Danica is a tall teenage warrior, who simply wants to kill infidels in retaliation for kidnapping her brother a decade before, and Leonora is a young woman abandoned by her family, her child torn away from her and hired as a spy for a city-state.

I did find myself questioning what the point of the whole novel was. There's no great battle, no real plot or even a real resolution. Rather Children of Earth and Sky seems to be a slice of life, the politics of empires and city-states, following a short period in the lives of characters integral to a few different threads spread throughout the continent.

I also question the usefulness of the sheer number of perspectives included, at times giving the plot a quasi-Rashomon feel. Were they filler? A way to establish the disparity between the city-states? I would have greatly preferred more of the main characters than a few paragraphs of a random character's point of view of their own death.

Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot. It was interesting and compelling, and it definitely made me interested in reading more of Kay's books.

OPTIMISTS DIE FIRST BY SUSIN NIELSEN {review}

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published February 21st 2017 by Wendy Lamb Books

Rating: ★★★½

Review I didn't really know anything about this book when I received it from the Library Thing Early Reviewer program. Petula is sixteen and suffers from anxiety, depression and an compulsive obsession with avoiding potential accidents after the death of her younger sister. She attends an art therapy group with other teenagers that are struggling with their own issues. A new boy from Toronto with a bionic arm befriends the entire group, his own desire to pretend his past doesn't exist driving him to help Petula and the others come to terms with their traumas.

Despite being double the protagonists age, I saw aspects of my teenage self in her quite a few times. Like the protagonist, Petula, I also lost a sibling to a stupid freak accident as a teenager and I also struggle with anxiety and depression. I found myself relating heavily to Petula's anxiety-ridden habits, her avoidance of the people and things she used to love, her inability to connect in the ways she used to. The sides of grief that you don't often see in media.

The Art Therapy group that Petula goes to was one of my favourite parts. Though none of the kids in it truly want to be there or even like each other, they're all struggling with issues that set them apart from their peers. They're not all likable, but you sympathize with them anyway. At first, Petula isn't able to connect with them, but as Jacob befriends them all, each group member begins to find it easier to relate to the others, to cope with their own traumas and issues. The members of the art therapy group stand out, unique in their characterization even without major focus.

I've seen some complaints in reviews that other readers didn't like the tone of the book or didn't like that Petula's relationship with Jacob "cured" her anxiety. I'm usually the first to call these things out but I didn't find them egregious errors in Optimists Die First. I liked the tone a lot; grief is a nebulous, difficult experience and there are moments of levity within the tsunami of anger and sadness. Likewise, I didn't feel that there was some magical boyfriend fix for the way Petula's grief made her feel, in the same way Petula didn't heal the overwhelming guilt felt by Jacob. Having someone who is able to comprehend aspects of your own trauma is a large part of recovery after the death of a loved one, and I think Optimists Die First showed Petula managing a lot of that on her own, or with the help of her friends.

Optimists Die First is small in scope, its focus tight on Petula's world, but manages to have a lot to say about loss and grieving. The moments of levity keep the story from dragging or being too depressing despite the heavy subject matter.

THE ULTIMATES: OMNIVERSAL VOL I: START WITH THE IMPOSSIBLE {review}

Trade Paperback, 144 pages

Published July 19, 2016 by Marvel

Rating: ★★★

I think my biggest problem with Ultimates Omniversal: Vol I is that I wanted to like it just a little too much. America Chavez punched her way into my heart from the very first time I saw her and it's likewise hard not to adore the former and current Captains Marvel, Monica Rambeau (now Spectrum) and Carol Danvers. Rounding out the rest of the Ultimates team are King of Wakanda, T'Challa, the Black Panther, and Dr. Adam Brashear, an aged supergenius who goes by the name Blue Marvel.

SO many great characters, yet there was something that didn't quite connect with me. Whether it's that the plot didn't feel quite big enough or that the characters didn't interact enough, I'm not truly sure. It's possible that the roles Carol and T'Challa play in multiple other books as well as their own runs had an effect on the storyline. For example, I know the next volume deals with Civil War II. Now, Marvel burned me with the atrocious first Civil War a few years ago and I have absolutely zero interest in reading any other Marvel events ever so I'm not looking forward to that.

That said, there were a lot of things I really liked. America dancing with her date via their phones in the first issue to close a dimensional portal was cute and upbeat. Monica and Carol discussing how Monica feels about her powers and herself was a highlight for me; I want much more of that. I've always found that I relate the strongest to stories that base the emotional narrative on the relationships between the characters.

I also very much liked Adam's backstory and the way it tied in to the present. That he's 87 years old, a super genius, a former soldier, a father, all of that really added an emotional depth. What I'd really like to see is how his age and intelligence cause him to interact with someone like America, who is young, impulsive and likes to punch stuff. There was too much of Galactica just pondering. It felt like six issues of lead-up and personally I'd rather jump into a story.

All in all, Ultimates Omniversal Vol I was enjoyable, but didn't quite live up to its potential.

FOLLOW ME INTO THE DARK BY FELICIA C SULLIVAN {review}

Paperback, 320 pages

Published March 14th 2017 by The Feminist Press at CUNY

Rating: ★★

Follow Me Into the Dark reminded me of a lot of other books; a merging of Fall on Your Knees and Sharp Objects in particular, though I never felt like Sullivan managed to bring her novel fully into its own space. Perhaps my largest problem with the book is that the characters are chaotic but largely empty. Comparing to Sharp Objects where Camille Preaker's emotional and psychological emptiness is given shape and voice, Sullivan doesn't quite manage that level of connection between reader and subject, never truly delving into the characters and what makes them tick.

Follow Me Into the Dark was purposefully chaotic and confusing, skipping through time periods, narrative perspectives, and characters, in a way that never allows the reader to fully grasp on to anything. I read on more to find out why the hell it was so vague and choppy, not because I had a connection with any characters. I constantly felt as though Sullivan was at the cusp of something great, but pulled back for a not-particularly-surprising twist and an aura of mystery.

Follow Me Into the Dark left me with no more of idea of who the characters were than I had on the first page. Sometimes that's a totally viable option but in this case, with so few characters, I wanted more, so much more. I wanted to know why Kate chose to act certain ways, why The Doll Collector killed girls, why, why, why? There just never seemed to be enough psychological reasoning. Characters acted that way because they did.

Ultimately, I just felt like I'd read versions of this book before, but enjoyed them far more.

THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR BY NICOLA YOON {review}

Hardcover, 348 pages

Published November 1st 2016 by Delacorte Press

Rating: ★★★★

I won The Sun is Also a Star in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. I entered knowing very little about it beyond that it was a young adult romance. I don't often read romance, either adult or young adult. It's not really a genre that greatly appeals to me, particularly heterosexual romances. I feel like I'm inundated with them at all times, in life, in media, in everything. It gets tiring.

Despite that, The Sun is Also a Star still felt like a breath of fresh air that frequently caused me to smile while reading. To start with, neither of the lead characters, Natasha or Daniel, are white. That's certainly rare in a sea of blonde teenage adonises and blue eyed heroines. Natasha is an undocumented Jamaican girl on the cusp of being deported due to a drunken mistake of her father's. She loves science, believes wholeheartedly provable facts, and likes the crackling pain in 90s grunge music. Daniel is the American born son of Korean immigrants, struggling between his parents' educational desires for him and his own dreams of being a poet. They're both adorable, wholly fleshed out characters that I really, truly liked.