Showing posts with label paranormal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paranormal. Show all posts

Saturday 30 July 2016

Month In Review(s) - July 2016

Ahhh, July - funny old month, some good things, some not-good things.

But, y'know, I'm still standing, and blog-wise things are looking uber-awesome if I do say so myself! :)




This is me this month. #TrueStory ;)




This month has been rockin' as far as blog-stats are concerned:

I hit over 20k page-views in all, with over 5k views just this month.

A lot of this was due to my most popular post of the month - my review of Luna the Vampire, which hit over 2k page-views all on its lonesome! (Honestly, I don't know why that post was so popular, but I'm not complaining!)

Diary of a Reading Addict now has 50+ followers on BlogLovin'.

I now have 900+ followers on Twitter!





I reviewed some awesome-a*s books this month - stand-outs for me include Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi and Monstress, Vol: The Awakening. But honestly, I reviewed a lot of rockin' stuff this month!

And yes, before you say anything - I realise that of the 8 books I reviewed this month, 4 were graphic novels *shrugs* - there's nothing wrong with that!





As July 2016 faffs off into the sunset, I'm going to shamelessly point you at my post for The Diverse Books Tag.

I will also point you at Naz's awesome Read Diverse Books blog - check it out :)




And without further ado, here are the book reviews I wrote this month:





Kids






Thor: Dueling with Giants by Keith R A DeCandido - Fantasy, Media Tie-In







Young Adult




Panic by Lauren Oliver - Contemporary






New Adult




Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi - Contemporary, LGBTQ+ (M/F and F/F)






Adult





Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson - (Modern) Classics, LGBTQ+ (F/F)








Graphic Novels




 

   



Luna the Vampire, Vol 1: Grumpy Space by Yasmin Sheikh - Humour, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Vampire
Mythic, Volume 1 - Fantasy, Mythology








Wednesday 6 July 2016

Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Luna The Vampire, Volume 1: Grumpy Space by Yasmin Sheikh










Luna The Vampire, Volume 1: Grumpy Space title image with fangs, a planet icon, and a space background









Title: Luna the Vampire, Vol 1: Grumpy Space

Author: Yasmin Sheikh Genre: Graphic Novels, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Humour, Vampires

Series: Luna the Vampire

Release Date: 14 July 2016

Amazon: UK - USA










Tuesday 28 June 2016

Month in Review(s) - June 2016

We're half-way through the year folks! Which is kind of rocking, really, because it means we're that much closer to Christmas.

(I love Christmas!)





Anyway, back to the summer-ish-ness of June, and I can honestly say I read a little bit of everything this month.










Plus it was a pretty fab month blog-wise: I reached over 750 Twitter followers, over 15k blog page-views (ARGH!!!!!) and over 30 Bloglovin followers.




AND JUNO DAWSON LIKED MY TWEET!!!!!!

(I'm a massive Juno Dawson fan - so this was kind of a fantabulously big deal to me.)






So catch up on all my reviews this month with this handy link-list (and I've added cover images, because I spoil you.)




Kids










Young Adult







Say Her Name by Juno Dawson - Horror, Ghost Story
These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly - Historical Fiction, Crime







Adult







Life Blood by V M Black - Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Novella
Landline by Rainbow Rowell - Contemporary, Chick Lit, Magic Realism, Romance* (*ish)






Graphic Novels






Codename Baboushka, Vol: The Conclave of Death - Spy, Gangster, Thriller, Crime
Klaw, The First Cycle - Young Adult, Fantasy, Superhero*, Paranormal* (*ish - there are shifters of various types and somewhat of a superhero origin story.)




Tuesday 14 June 2016

Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Klaw, The First Cycle

Title: Klaw, The First Cycle

Author: Antoine Ozanam

Contributors: Joel Jurion, Yoann Guille, Mike Kennedy

Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Fantasy, Superhero*, Paranormal* (*ish - there are shifters of various types and somewhat of a superhero origin story.)

Series: Klaw (#1-3)

Amazon: UK - USA






A few starting notes:


I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

This looked interesting - shape-shifting and all that jazz! (Woo!)

Plus the cover rocked, and covers are usually a good indication of graphic novel rock-itude.



Premise:


Angel Tomassini is about to learn a few truths - one is about his father, and his father's business.

The other... well, the other is about shape-shifters.

It's going to get interesting.




Best bits:


There were parts of this with a superhero origin-vibe. Which I kind of dug - it's nice to see superheroes who aren't the property of Marvel or DC.

And it didn't over-shadow the character-driven aspects (character-driven superhero story? Hallelujah!)

The artwork was adequate - verging on rockin' in places - and the character design in particular really shone through.










I loved the way that the post-shape-shifting animal-people looked - the tiger in particular (which as the tiger is the focus here, is a good job too!)

The shape-shifting is based on the Chinese zodiac - which was a nice twist, and added another layer to the whole deal-y. :)

And I liked Angel - a likeable protagonist with the right level of gung-ho stupidity to fit the storyline, but not make you want to throw things at him repeatedly.




Not so great bits:


There were moments when I was a little lost as to what the hell was going on. Brief, but mentionable.

And there was much blood and violence. It's more comic-style than anything, but it's definitely noticeable.













I can't remember any swearing... but there might've been some tucked in there somewhere.

My bug-bear here is a big time-jump in the middle, which I felt was fairly unnecessary.

Also, some of the supporting characters were a little thin-on-depth for my liking.

The girl - whose name I can't remember - was pretty much the only female character of note, and was disappointingly flimsy, all-in-all.




Verdict:

This was an interesting take on so many tried-and-tested tropes.

I enjoyed it, I just would really have preferred some stronger roles for female characters.














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Wednesday 8 June 2016

Mini-review! - Life Blood by V M Black

Life Blood V M Black coverTitle: Life Blood

Author: V M Black

Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Novella

Series: Cora's Choice #1


Amazon: UK - USA





Verdict:


I picked this book up because free e-books are my kryptonite. Particularly paranormal romances. They're like alcopops or junk food to me, honestly.

So yeah... this went on the e-reader!

This is one of those 'get-you-hooked' series-starter novellas. Like a drug dealer who gives you the first hit for free.

(Reading is an addiction - I keep telling you people this.)

As such, it's pretty short, and is series-foundation-setting rather than a full-blooded (ha! Blooded. Vampires. I just noticed that,) romance in and of itself.

The sexy-times only start to appear near the end, and aren't all that graphic (but I still don't want you young 'uns reading this! It does get a li'l steamy.)

And I'm not entirely sure I'm sold on the love-interest/s.

Luckily, the main romantic-al feller/vampire is more a lust-interest at this stage, so has time to develop in other books into (potentially) something deeper before everyone starts declaring undying love, or whatever.

Oh, and personal-safety-wise? It was nice to see Cora being careful to tell people where she is... even if some of her other decisions are a little ill-advised to say the least.

At least someone would be able to find the body if she was murdered and left in a ditch. Better than what most heroines manage, Cora - 10 points to Gryffindor!

(I don't know if she's in Gryffindor... I just kind of assumed...) (No, I actually haven't had coffee - which is more worrying than having it to be honest...)

This, then, is a short and very readable para-romance novella. If vampire romance is your thing, you'll probably devour this. :)









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Tuesday 8 March 2016

Review Time! - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Carry On Rainbow Rowell book coverTitle: Carry On

Author: Rainbow Rowell


Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy, LGBTQ+ (M/M)

Amazon: USA


A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publishers Pan Macmillan via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

I had the opportunity to review this in connection with the new edition released by Pan Macmillan on 25th Feb.

I've heard loads about Rainbow Rowell, but had never read any of her books before (I can hear your collective gasping from here.)

I figured 'Carry On' would be the Rowell book I'd be most likely to enjoy, so decided to give it a shot.

I know this is kind of a spin-off of Fangirl (UK - US) - but figured since it was a book based on the fictional series mentioned in Fangirl (so... it's a book based on a series in a book about fanfiction... my head hurts,) that it would be OK to read it standalone (and it was.)

Premise:

Simon Snow is a Mage; probably the most powerful Mage ever to live. And with the World of Mages about to fall into about ten kinds of war, that's probably not the best thing to be.
And then there's his room-mate: Baz. Who may or may not be a vampire. And who may or may not be plotting against Simon.
Alongside that is the threat of a mysterious force called the Insidious Humdrum, and a mystery surrounding the death of Baz's mother.
Lots of challenges ahead for Baz and Simon: will they face them as friends, foes, or something else?


Best bits:

This book was like Harry Potter fanfiction on steroids - and yes, that's a compliment. (From me, that's a compliment.) 

It takes a Harry Potter-esque world and gives it a healthy dose of the 21st Century; it works.
I loved the sense of humour here - it's not a book that takes itself overly-seriously. And the school being at Watford? Just brill.
It's witty and self-knowing - which I really enjoyed.
The characters are great. Particularly Baz - Rowell knows her audience, and has created a deeply vulnerable Draco Malfoy/Loki hybrid; he's sharp, he's smart, he gives all you fangirls the feels. Well done Ms Rowell, well done.
I also loved Agatha - a sentiment that isn't shared by everyone, I'm sure. I think that the problem is, she's a fabulous character... who belongs to a different story.

She's not a part of this story - she's a part of her own; so she always feels a little out of place.
I also adored the way that spells are created from language - from the way people use language, and the way that it evolves. I thought that was really poignant.

Not so great bits:

This book, to me, waxes and wanes - there are parts that are slow, and parts that are fast. And, personally, there are aspects I would've explored to greater depth, and aspects that I would've trimmed down a little.

That's fine - and, obviously, down to personal preferences. But I can't help but think that with a few changes it could've been something truly special.

And the first quarter-ish of the book is basically Simon having a small pout over nothing and everything. Hold on - it gets so much better!

I also predicted all the twists - it didn't bother me that much, because I was just chuffed that I'd figured it out, but I know a lot of people don't like to be able to figure out plot-points.

There's also a bunch of the usual: some swearing, some violence, etc. If that stuff bothers you then it's maybe not the book for you.

And not everyone is going to appreciate the humour - but, personally, I loved it.


Verdict:

I surprised myself by really enjoying this book. True, there were some minus-points, but they didn't really detract from the whole. And I love Baz; he's just awesome.



UPDATE: 16th May 2017 - Some people have problems with this book with regards to bisexual erasure. If anyone has any blogposts or reviews which discuss this, please let me know!







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Monday 29 February 2016

The Month in Review(s) - February 2016

Ah, February - a month of storms and Valentine's cards. And books of course.
 
Check out all my reviews from this month...
 

organising, categorising

Kids

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (aka just 'The Lightning Thief') by Rick Riordan - Fantasy, Mythology

Adult

Today Means Amen by Sierra DeMulder - Poetry
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Classics, Romance
The Trouble With Wolves (aka 'The Trouble With Weres') by Leigh Evans - Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Fairies/Fae
Omega Beloved by Aiden Bates - Romance (m/m,) Paranormal, Fantasy, Werewolves, LGBTQ+, Short Story

Graphic Novels

Grumpy Cat Volume 1 - Kids, Humour, Media Tie-In
Red Sonja/Conan: The Blood of a God - Fantasy, High Fantasy 

Popcorn Reviews (Film)

Seventh Son (2014)

Monday 22 February 2016

Mini-Review! - Omega Beloved by Aiden Bates

Omega Beloved Aiden Bates coverTitle: Omega Beloved.

Author: Aiden Bates.

Genre: Romance (m/m,) Paranormal, Fantasy, Werewolves, Short Story, LGBTQ+

Series: Omega Beloved #1

Amazon: (UK - US)

Verdict:

This is an 18+ book - I mean it! (Stay in school, don't commit crimes, etc. etc. - don't let your parents yell at me. Please.)

This is a book that I mentioned in my post on guilty pleasures - and how we need to ditch the 'guilt' part.

Basically, what we have here is a fairly steamy m/m werewolf romance. It follows the Omegaverse trope - something which will be fairly familiar to fanfiction readers like myself.

It's also quite sweet in places, very well-written, and there's signs of real character development, and real heart.

So, yeah, I thought it was pretty damned awesome - even though, at 35 pages, it's short to say the least. Time well spent.

Saturday 20 February 2016

Pleasure, Not Guilt

reading

No more guilty pleasures.

I refuse to feel guilty about what I read.

The other day, I stopped, I stalled, I hesitated. I didn't want to record books I'd read on my Goodreads - even though that would've upped the number-count on my challenge.

Because, putting it frankly... it was m/m werewolf porn.


moon
Felt the need to put a full moon in here... just because.
So I hesitated - I didn't want family and friends seeing what I'd read, because I didn't want them thinking I was weird (well... ship has probably sailed on that one... weird-er.)

(By the way, the reason that I don't share my Goodreads profile with you lovely people is that it's linked to personal social media accounts, and, knowing my luck, I'll be the one who the crazy mad-axe-murdering stalker decides to fixate on. It's just inevitable.)

So, did I actually add those books to my account?

Damn right I did!

I suddenly realised that I had to - because otherwise I'm sending a message that some types of books are 'worthier' than others. And you know what? That's simply not true.

Those books (Omega Beloved by Aiden Bates and Omega in Heat by Heather Silver - you can tell that I usually read a lot of fanfiction, right?) while short, and not what many would consider 'literature,' still had things to say.

And, actually, Omega Beloved in particular was very well-written, and gave a lot of scope for development in the further books of the series.

books on bedTo further fan the flames of controversy -

I've tried to read Possession by A S Byatt not once, but twice. This is a 'literary' and 'worthy' book that a lot of people flap on about and are over the moon for.

I couldn't finish it. I couldn't get on with it. I just couldn't connect; I found it too pretentious and wooden.

Would I say that, to me, the time spent reading Omega Beloved was time better spent than the time I spent trying to force my way through Possession? Completely and utterly.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't read things held in critical regard.

Quite the opposite. I'm saying people should be accepting of both.

I didn't like Possession - a lot of people did. To those who genuinely enjoyed it - good on you. It wasn't my cup of tea, so what?

And if m/m romance isn't your cup of tea? Fine. I don't mind. But please don't think there's anything wrong with reading it - or anything else, for that matter, just because other people don't.

Reading is the key part - and then, you can judge the book on its own merits, instead of on preconceptions of genre or style.

No more guilty pleasures! We shouldn't have to feel guilty about reading what we enjoy.

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Monday 15 February 2016

Review Time! - The Thing About Wolves by Leigh Evans

The Thing About Wolves book coverTitle: The Thing About Wolves (also published as The Thing About Weres)


Author: Leigh Evans

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Fairies/Fae

Series: The Mystwalker Series (#2)

Amazon: UK - USA


A few starting notes:

This was another pretty random read from my library. Honestly, I wander around just going 'ooh! mine now!' and that is how I choose what to read the majority of the time.

This is a sequel (not that I've read the first one,) so I will keep the spoilerage to a minimum (i.e. the level that's in the blurb for this book.)


Premise:

Hedi Peacock-Stronghold is half-fae (fairy,) and half-werewolf.

She's trying to keep her mate's werewolf pack (that's mate in the animalistic sense, rather than a friend) together in his absence. But what about when he returns?

She thought it would be all her wishes coming true: her mate, Robson Trowbridge, returned to her, and bringing Lexi, her brother, in tow. But things are rarely that simple.

Oh, and there's people trying to kill her. Can't forget those!


Best bits:

A lot of this was really fun - I love Hedi's sarcasm, and some of the situations she ends up in are so complex and random that I enjoyed the sheer 'hell, just go for it!' attitude of the author.

I found Lexi an exceedingly complex character - if you don't feel at least some sympathy for him, you are made of stone. Simple as.

And my mental squeals at Hedi to 'not be stupid and do this instead' seemed to actually be heard! I know! I'm so used to characters taking the stupid route, that it's a pleasant surprise when they decide to do the smart thing for once.


Not so great bits:

There were moments when I lost interest because the plot slowed down or the author seemed to lose some degree of control - these were noticeable, but overall the book managed to scramble its way back on-track.

There are, obviously, spoilers for the previous book in the series - if you want to avoid that then read the books in order.

There's a bunch of swearing and some violence that won't be to everyone's taste - and a few sex-bits (fans self,) so if that isn't your thing, you've been warned.

There's also references to torture, addiction, and child abduction - and probably some other stuff too - that some people may find distressing.


Verdict:

I really enjoyed this book - and it grabbed me. I felt sorry for Lexi, loved Hedi's attitude (and willingness to listen to my mental suggestions,) and the whole fae and werewolf deal-y that was going on; really enjoyable.



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