Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Paper Girls, Vol 1

Title: Paper Girls, Vol 1

Author: Brian K Vaughan

Contributors: Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson, Jared K Fletcher

Genre: Graphic Novel, Sci-Fi

Series: Paper Girls (#1-5)

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.

I was totally prepared to not like this - and I'm not entirely sure why.

I guess maybe I thought it was just going to be about boring paper-delivery-girls and their struggles to buy roller blades...or something. It's not. Don't worry.

So when I decided to see what the fuss was about?

Wow. It's... something else.

Premise:

A group of paper girls get wrapped up in something waaaaaaay bigger than themselves.

Something happens to them on their paper route. And nothing's going to be the same again.

Because now... now they have to survive.

And there's some mighty weird sh** going down.

Best bits:

These girls rock. Witty, brave, but uber-realistic, I absolutely love seeing girls like this in the world of comics.

The whole thing has kind of a Super 8 (UK - US) vibe. Maybe because it's set in the 80s, and maybe because loads of random sh** is going on, and the kids are a witness to all of it.

Either way, it's a compliment, not a criticism.

The artwork manages to catch the retro-ness of the 80s while still keeping a fresh feel to the colours and lines. Not an easy feat, and definitely something that deserves a mention.

I love the sci-fi elements - and the fact that we only really know as much as the girls at any given moment; it's pulled off with what can only be described as finesse.

This also struck me as a great graphic novel for newbies - I don't mean that in a negative way.

I mean that it is really accessible to people who maybe aren't so keyed into the genre as die-hard graphic novel fans. It's not intimidating. So newbies are welcome here :)

Not so great bits:

I might be one of the only people on earth to think this, but I don't like the cover.

It's too neon, overly-retro, and I just don't like it. Maybe that was one of the things putting me off trying it out.

I know a lot of people adore the cover - so, to each his own.

I know I say this a lot, but there's some swearing and violence. So if you don't like that, you know what to do.

Although, unlike The Private Eye (UK - US) - the other Vaughan title I've reviewed, it hasn't got any sexual content. So that's a change to my usual list of warnings.

Verdict:

A really awesome graphic novel, with an awesome set of characters.

This is really great - and has a lot of potential for the future of the series.

Plus, it's enjoyable for new graphic novel readers and seasoned comics addicts alike. What more could you want?

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads

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• Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - The Beauty, Vol 1 by Jeremy Haun and Jason A Hurley

The Get To Know Me Tag

Thanks to Emily @ The Paperback Princess for tagging me. Check out her blog. It rocks.



Vitals

Name: You lot don't need to know that. But you can call me Cee Arr. (Said like 'C. R.') ;)

Nicknames:

Cee/C

My family call me Bear/Care Bear/Baby Bear/Little Bear, and even Bear-y. Because... family are just like that sometimes. (I moan, but I like it really.)

via GIPHY

Birthday: Older than I look, younger than I feel

Star Sign: Virgo

Occupation: Ninja-warrior princess, obviously ;)



Appearance 

Hair Colour: Chestnut-ish with the odd strand of red, black, blonde, etc.

Hair Length: Long. Very long. It's been long since I was a dwt - wait, you don't understand that, it's Wenglish - since I was very little.

Eye Colour:

I actually have central heterochromia, which means that both of my eyes are two different colours.

The outside of my iris is a green-ish blue (or should that be blue-ish green?) but there's a circle of amber-brown around the centre of my pupil.

Best Feature: Umm... pass.

Braces: Nope

Piercings: Hell no - even the idea makes me shudder. I'm such a wimp ;')

Tattoos: No - I'm hugely needle-phobic and allergic to most inks. I can't see me getting a tattoo ending well.

Right or Left handed: Right handed.



Firsts 

Best Friend:

I don't know - a girl from down the street? And then there was the girl who ate crayons.

And then there was my first 'proper' best friend - because she was way smarter than the other idiot 6-year-olds. I was really picky as a kid ;)

Award: I used to get certificates for 'being so perfect' - I kid you not. They just ran out of excuses and kept giving me cr*p. Possibly because I could both say and spell 'certificate.'

Sport:

I'm a British kid with an older brother. I was made to be football (soccer) goalie from the time I could stand. Our goal was the garden gate. It clanged every time the ball hit it.

And brothers? No qualms about kicking the ball at your head - hard.

Real Holiday:

I've never been further from Wales than England. Which shocks a lot of people... but I feel weird when I even go that far. I could never live outside Wales *shivers.*

My first holiday was probably either Paignton or Torquay - both of which are in Devon.



Favourites

Film: I don't know! Why ask me these questions?!

TV Show: Nope, no clue.

Colour: Orange. It's bright and unexpected - like yours truly ;)

Song: WHY DO YOU KEEP ASKING ME THESE QUESTIONS?!

Restaurant:

Pizza Hut. There is pizza. There is buffet. There are clearly labelled choices for vegetarians.

AND PIZZA.

via GIPHY

Shop: There's a Costa coffee me 'n' the BFF tend to frequent, so it'd have to be that.

Book: NO. THAT IS NOT A QUESTION I AM ANSWERING.

Shoes: I've got a pair of marks & sparks boots that I wear to death. I've re-heeled them several times, and replaced the soles once. The heels need replacing again.



Currently: 

Feeling: Like I'm arguing with a questionnaire. A lot.

Single or Taken: Single. And that's fine by me.

Eating: I just ate a chocolate biscuit. Living la vida loca ;)

Thinking About: Lots of stuff - none of which is probably safe to share with you. I think I corrupt you lot enough as it is.

Watching: Futurama, actually. You gotta love a bit of Futurama.

Wearing: Clothes. I usually wear clothes.



Future:

Want Children? No. Not really.

Want to be Married: Nope.

Careers in Mind: Author, poet, blogger, magical unicorn, aeroplane: y'know, the usual.

Where you want to live: Wales. Always and forever. Near my family. Like, next door if possible.



Do You Believe In... 

(Quick note here: If you're easily offended, you may want to skip this section. These are my own beliefs, and they're not intended to offend/upset anyone.)

God?

Urm... difficult one...

QUICK! LOOK OVER THERE! A DISTRACTION!

Oh you're still here? Ok, I'm not saying no, but not saying yes either.

Miracles: Depends what you count as a miracle. Coincidences/the universe moving itself into place? Yes.

Love at First Sight:

Not impossible - just hugely improbable. Apart from with animals.

Me and my boy-cat had an insta-love moment the first time I met him at the shelter.

Ghosts: Definitely.

Aliens: Again, not impossible. But I don't think they'd ever reach here.

Soul mates:

Depends in what context. I think people tend to use it as an excuse for some damn creepy/unhealthily obsessive relationships. But then some people are really cute with it.

And of course, it's totally possible that both of you come to the conclusion that you're going to track down the other's soul throughout all of their incarnations in order to protect them throughout time :)

(Ok, you're all looking at me weird now... LOOK! A DISTRACTION!)

Heaven: Urm... I think that whatever there is, or is not, will exist, or not, whether, or not, I believe it exists, or not. ;)

Hell:

I hope not. For many reasons:

A) if there is, let's face it, I'm going there.

B) I like to think if there is a God, then he's not a jerk, and wouldn't be so vindictive.

C) the poor devil gets all the shaming when he's only doing God's dirty work.

D) I don't wanna go to heaven (if it exists) if there's a system in place that allows people to go to Hell. I'm officially that stubborn.

Kissing on the first date: Depends how you both feel!

Yourself: Urm... where's that distraction when I need it? ;)



Thanks for tagging me Emily, I'm going to tag these lovely folks (no, you don't have to do it if you don't want to.) Check out their blogs.

Emma Jane @ The Book Crunch
Olivia @ Olivia's Catastrophe


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Nerd Church - Millennials Are Gonna Get There... Somehow

Life is hard for us millenials

Life is difficult. And everyone seems determined to convince we of the millennial breed that we're lazy, ungrateful, little so-and-so's.

It's not ungrateful to want to work for a fair wage.

It's not ungrateful to want good working conditions and some dignity.

It's not ungrateful for us to want something better than working our ever-loving butts off just to live at a basic level of existence.

It's not ungrateful for us to want a future - a home that we can actually own one day, the prospect of something better, and the hope that one day we may even be able to retire.

(Ha, yeah, that's gonna happen! I'm going to drop dead at the age of 100, still trying to meet a deadline so I can pay the rent. Yay.)

 

In no way is it ungrateful to want to be happy.

So it doesn't matter what the generations that came before us think - they're not exactly winning prizes for what they've done to this world.

Maybe... maybe this is our chance to make things better? Somehow?

To stop this merry-go-round before our children (provided we have any) are forced to fight it out in the arena for the glory of their Districts? Maybe?


Breaking the mould

Don't be afraid to take the path less travelled guys - no matter how scary it may be.

via GIPHY

 

After a looooong story which involves some gut convulsions (as fun as they sound!) I ended up not going to university.

 

And yes, the road I've found myself on in the years since is hard - financially and emotionally - but I am so glad that my life is on the path that it is.

 

Because it's a path I chose for myself, albeit as a reaction to circumstances.

 

So keep going guys - because the way we millennials are going to leave our mark on this world?

 

By being the generation that kept going. And never gave up.


Nerd Church is a weekly post where I rabbit on about 'issues.' Feel free to continue the discussion, but please link back here ;)

 

 

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Mini-Review! - Play Hard by J T Fox

Title: Play Hard

Author: J T Fox

Genre: LGBTQ+, Romance (m/m,)Short Stories, Contemporary

Series: Hot for Him (#1)

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

18+ only

I picked this up for free on Kobo, because I have an addiction to free smut.

This is about two American football players who play for rival teams... and just happen to fancy the pants off each other (quite literally - this is a steamy romance dammit!)

I didn't understand a word of the American football stuff, but luckily it served as background more than plot.

Amongst all the naughty goings-on (which are mighty hot, might I add!) Jordan and Eric are dodging match-fixing scandals, helping out sports programmes, doing news interviews, and hiding in the closet so far that they can probably see Narnia!

The closet-thing is for their careers (the inference being that gay players will be dropped from the team.) But they just can't seem to keep their hands off each other...

And all this in just over 50 pages!

Seriously, this is quick and breathless and damned hot. Luckily there are plenty of references to showers, so you can cool down.

There's also actual relationship stuff: will-they-won't-they moments and some feelings stuck in for good measure. So it's not just about the pretty faces ;)

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads – Author's Facebook

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Friday Fics Fix! - Loving the Loki

Warning: I should probably not be allowed on giphy, where there are Hiddles/Loki gifs.

Now, if you've read my Friday posts before, you'll probably know I have a Loki obsession.

I make no apologies for this, and Loki will be here this week. I'm most definitely both one of Loki's Goddesses/Army, and a Hiddlestoner.

(Fangirl note: In case somehow you don't know, the Loki fandom is referred to as Loki's Goddesses and/or Loki's Army (as in: I have an army - of fangirls.)

The Tom Hiddleston fandom, which contains a lot of the same stalkers people, admittedly, but which is more focused on the actor than the character, is the Hiddlestoners - sometimes other names, like Tom's Goddesses, are used instead.

I think this is because fangirls have a bit of a megalomaniac streak high aspirations.

I unapologetically approve of the nuttiness of both. So many naked Tom gifs. So very many.)

via GIPHY

So, any Loki fans among you will utterly adore this week's fic- and I just love that it's tagged on AO3 with 'so fluffy you could stuff a plushie with it.'

That's when you know it's gonna be good ;)

via GIPHY

 

 

So, this Friday's piece of fanfiction, for your pleasure (but with no sex - for once,) is:

 

 

Soft Loki, Sleepy Loki, Little Ball of Cuddles by Atypical Owl

 

It's cute, it's funny, it's fluffy, there's a dash of angst, and Loki sleepwalks and ends up cuddling with various Avengers. It verges on crack in places, but in the cutest of ways.

 

(Fangirl note: Crack fiction is a fic that is so very random, that the only possible deduction is that the person who wrote it was on drugs.)

 

Honestly guys, you'll love it. I spoil you ;)




via GIPHY

 

 

 

 

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Comics Wrap Up - And It's Better Off This Way

Film Trailers

A teaser for the upcoming Captain America: Civil War -

Not sure that I can't take much more of this - release the film damn you!



Graphic Novels



On Tuesday, I reviewed Golem (US - UK) by Lorenzo Ceccotti (LRNZ.)

This is a dystopian graphic novel which I kind of had mixed feelings about. You can check out my review here.

What I will say is that Golem has some truly stunning full-page artwork which, to me, made the whole thing worth the read.



This week, I read Paper Girls Vol 1 (US - UK) - a Brian K Vaughan title that I stupidly thought I wouldn't like.

I did like it. I liked it a whole damned lot.

My review for Paper Girls will be up sometime next week... when I've finished writing it!


Other Stuff

The lovely Olivia from Olivia's Catastrophe told me about DC commissioning YA novels based on a lot of their characters. So, I had to look it up, didn't I?

Over on Comics Alliance, I found the full story - including that the authors involved are Marie Lu, Leigh Bardugo, Matt de la Peña, and Sarah J Maas. Which should make a lot of you guys very happy.

So my TBR isn't thanking them, but still looking forward to it.

-0-

I also read this post by B C Kowalski about how geek/nerd culture is all-inclusive and THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FAKE GEEK GIRL.

Oddly enough, I couldn't agree more.

Like this post? Try these:

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• Comics Wrap Up - Better the Devil You Know



Review Time! - Eliza Rose by Lucy Worsley

Title: Eliza Rose

Author: Lucy Worsley

Genre: Kids, Historical Fiction

Release Date: 7 April 2016

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publishers, Bloomsbury Children's/Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

A children's book, written by uber-awesome presenter and historian, Lucy Worsley?

I heard about it and I was there! I was metaphorically standing at the front with a banner reading 'I heart Lucy,' and jumping up and down, squealing.

So, we have a Tudor-set book, written by one of the most passionate and engaging historians on TV. Bring it on.

Premise:

Eliza Rose Camperdowne is her father's only child. It's up to her then, to save her family's fortunes.

But the world of Henry VIII's court is not all Eliza had hoped it would be, and she is forced to walk the tightrope of court life, sticking close to her cousin, an ambitious girl named Katherine Howard...

Best bits:

You know what's awesome? When authors know their stuff. And Lucy Worsley knows her stuff. With bells on.

She's able to create a sound Tudor setting without sticking your face in all the detail 'til you're sick to death of it. And she clearly loves history, loves writing in the setting, loves the period.

Worsley's passion is the life-and-soul of this book, complimented by the lovely silhouette-style illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. Sometimes the little things bring a smile to your face ;)

What I also liked is that she doesn't write-down to kids - there's no condescension here, just the story Worsley came to tell.

Also missing is insta-love (thank God!) Instead we have slow-burn and icky-sticky missteps. More realistic, and far more interesting in my view of things.

Not so great bits:

This isn't a quick read - the chapters are bite-sized, but I tended to take breaks between them to allow my whirring brain to take things in a bit; there's a lot going on here!

And it's not one for very young readers, for sure, but ages 12-13+ (dependent on the maturity levels of the kids involved,) should be able to cope with the violence and facts-of-life/sex references.

Not all parents will be happy with the honest approach Worsley employs. There are references which the prudish will not want little Jimmy or Jenny to read.

I personally would also have loved just a chapter or two more at the end to round things off.

But that's me - I just would've liked to bask in the ending a bit more!

Verdict:

This is a great book.

This book is perfect for any fan of Tudor-period drama, and any fan of historical intrigue told through the eyes of an ordinary girl in an extraordinary situation.

I think you'll enjoy this, I did!

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA - Goodreads – Author's Site

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