Mini-review! - Life Blood by V M Black

Title: 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. :)

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

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The 6 P's of Blogging

Now, I'm far from a blogging master - but over the past year-and-a-half of blogging, I've picked up a few things.

(Hopefully. Maybe. Kind of.)




6 of these things start with the letter P.

So, here are my 6 P's of blogging - handy little words I keep in mind when throwing my brain onto the page (screen? Still trying to figure that out,) for your amusement, enjoyment, education, and possible traumatisation.

I hope they help with your own bloggy-ness, or at the very least, provide light entertainment for your coffee-break.




Passion

(Not that type - gutter-brains!)


This one is a bit of a no-brainer. If you're not interested in what you're writing about - it's going to show.

So if you blog, blog from the heart (cheesy grin and thumbs up.)

Blog about something you honestly care about - and just give it your best shot.





Patience


Very few blogs grow quickly.

Yes, you may see all these success stories on the interwebs, but those are the minority.

Your blog? It's going to take some time.

It's going to grow so slowly that sometimes you feel like you're going backwards with it.

Unfortunately, I'm not a patient person. So this is one I kind of have to work on. A lot. (Grow blog, GROW!)



Perseverance


This is kind of tied-in to patience - you have to ride things out, you have to keep going.

Blogs fail. A lot.

The internet is littered with the abandoned half-formed blogs of dreamers and bored dabblers alike.

The key? Keep going.

Keep posting. Keep social media-ing. Keep sharing your posts.

Perseverance is half the battle; you have to give yourself the time to succeed. (And I mean years, not weeks.)

via GIPHY

Personality


This is your little corner of the Internet. Own it, and be yourself.

You don't have to be all-out and in-your-face to blog. Some of the best bloggers are actually the quiet ones (you always have to watch out for the quiet ones...)

So let the bit that's you shine through - it's what'll keep people coming back (hopefully!)





Politeness


Be nice. Don't be a jerk.

Respect other people. Don't be a jerk.

Basically, don't be a jerk - I don't think I can say this enough. Nice will win out in the end.

(Oh, and other bloggers will appreciate it and support you in return if you comment, retweet, share, etc. other people's blogs.)

Progress


Keep making progress - writing new things, trying new formats and images, etc.

And celebrate the small victories - progress is progress, and should be appreciated for being a step forward, no matter how small. :)





So there you have it - 6 handy little P's to keep in mind when blogging. Enjoy :)



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Nerd Church - Moving Around Europe

For those of you who live outside the UK, I can tell you that we here in Britain have a referendum coming up.

This referendum will decide whether we leave the European Union (EU) - an economic alliance of European countries.

Honestly, it's not that riveting an institution - but it is important. It allows free trade and free movement in Europe.

Unfortunately, the issue has become firmly focussed on migration. Because people don't know enough about the EU to discuss any other issue.

And also because it is, honestly, very boring stuff - and the 'sexy' issue is the migration one.

(Yeah, I know, it's not that sexy - but here's a gif of Gerard Way. And he is.)

via GIPHY

People who are citizens of countries within the EU are permitted to migrate and generally travel about within the EU without a Visa.

Migration is also an issue in the USA if Mr Trump's over-compensating statements are anything to go by (seriously, even if you build a f**king wall, Mexico isn't going to pay for it - why the hell would you think they'd agree to that? They don't have to do anything you say.)





Generally, people who dislike migrants do so because:

• Politicians use migration as a distraction - if you blame foreigners, people won't blame you.

via GIPHY

• People like to have a scapegoat to blame when things are out of their control. (E.g. the economy is bad, but it must be because of migrants that I don't have a job.)

via GIPHY

• People fear things they don't understand - like other cultures, customs, and languages.

via GIPHY

And, unfortunately:

• Some people are just bigots.

Let me explain to you a few proper, non fear-mongering facts about migration in the UK and EU:

• The migrants in the Calais jungle are not EU citizens - and the UK takes below the EU average in asylum applications.

• EU migrants contribute £2bn to the UK economy per year.

• The NHS is supported by migration. 1 in 7 migrants living in the UK are working in the health and social care sector. These people are benefiting the country.

• Irish people are EU migrants. Spanish people are EU migrants. Italian people are EU migrants. EU migration does not just mean Eastern Europeans.

• 1.2 million British-born people live in the EU. 2 million British citizens live and work in the EU.

• Between 1.2 million and 1.3 million British-born people live in Australia.

I hope that's given you a few things to think about, I'll be writing two more posts around this topic for 'Nerd Church' before the referendum on the 23rd, because it actually is an important issue.

I'll try to make the posts interesting - y'know, stick some of my patented Cee Arr flair in there, because... economics, blech!

I'll make it interesting somehow though! Please read my posts! :)

Nerd Church is a weekly post where I rant a lot discuss issues. Feel free to continue the discussion, but be respectful & link back here :) Please share if you liked this post.






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Review Time! - Say Her Name by Juno Dawson

Title: Say Her Name

Author: Juno Dawson

Genre: YA, Horror, Ghost Story

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I read Hollow Pike (UK - US) by Juno Dawson ages ago because a paperback copy in my local library had purple-edged pages.

So I picked it up because, y'know, I'm easily amused/attracted by pretty colours. Lucky for me, that book rocked.

So, since then, I've wanted to read the rest of Dawson's books - and I eventually got around to this one! (Again, lucky for me!)

Premise:

People fool around with it all around the world - say 'Bloody Mary,' five times, in front of a mirror, at midnight, by candlelight.

Then her ghost is meant to show up... apparently.

People do it all the time. Nothing ever happens... right?

So, when Bobbie and her friends agree to it as a dare, nothing will come of it... right?

Or so they think. But time's running out.

In five days, she will come.

Best bits:

I loved this book - hands-down loved it!

It could have been soooo clichéd - but instead, every time it started to ever-so-slightly veer in that direction POW! - a new twist.

(Yes, I just used 'POW!' - In a book review. Deal with it.)

The characters were fab, believable, and not intensely stupid. (Which is always good.)

Bobbie? I loved her. She was really relatable and quite bookish (yay!) without being pretentious.

She's also really sweet - which is always nice - but not boring, which was a relief (yay for nice-but-not-boring characters!!!!!)

(Yes, I've had coffee. Coffee is good.)

The plot a) keeps you guessing, and b) refuses to be held down by all the urban legend Bloody Mary stuff that came before, while also not ignoring it.

(Which is skilful - and impressive. *Nods approvingly.*)

This was one of those books which was like: one more chapter - just one. And six chapters later, you're still there, and still reading.

And while it is creepy, it's not so creepy that you want to give up half-way through. (But then, I like horror, so other people may have a different opinion.)

I'll say it again: I loved it ;)

Not so great bits:

There's not a lot of things I can really argue with here...

It does deal with subjects that a lot of people may find distressing: references to self-harm, abuse, murder, suicide, etc. etc. But it doesn't feel overly-heavy with it.

And if you have a mega-fear of ghost-girls, mirrors, and/or ghosts in general, this is probably not your book.

There's some mild violence, gore, etc.

There's also some mild swearing (cr*p, etc.) Honestly, I doubt it'll bother anyone, but if I don't mention it, someone's bound to come back on me about it. Because that's usually how my luck goes.

Oh, and there's some references to sexy-times, but nothing overtly graphic.

I guess my only real issue is the whole absentee-parents thing that YA gets away with a lot.

But as that trope goes, I really can't argue with the way it's handled here - the boarding-school deal-y neatly sidesteps the issue.

Verdict:

I loved this book - it's fresh and original where it could've been clichéd and rusty, it draws you on, it has great characters...

Basically, this is a great YA horror. And I definitely recommend it.

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

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Friday Fics Fix! - Sweet as Snow

Before I start this post this week, dearest nerdlets, I'm just going to put in a shameless plug for my discussion post 'The Case For Fanfiction.' :)

On with the post!


I'd never read Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire (dependent on whether you're in the book or TV tribe,) fanfiction before.

While a lot of the stuff I read was the level of depraved you would expect from a series that allows fans to see that much sex and violence in canon, (Fangirling note: canon is the official book, TV series, whatever...) a great deal of it was a lot more family-friendly than you'd expect.

via GIPHY

In fact, this fic that I'm going to recommend for you, dearest nerdlets, is actually very sweet.

What we have is a little Jon Snow and a mini Theon Greyjoy finding comfort in each other as the outsider kids of the family - the ones without the Stark name.

To use a fangirling proverb, there's romance if you squint - but there doesn't have to be.

via GIPHY

You can totally take this as a platonic bromance - particularly given that they're kids in this fic.

It's a little clumsy in places (what fanfiction isn't?) but honestly, it's worth the read just for the adorable-ness.

via GIPHY

This week, my rec. is:

Don't Cry Anymore by snowblowingoverafieldofdeath




Read, and prepare to be like: awwwww!!!! :)








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Comics Wrap Up - Wonder If They'll Ever Know

Film Trailers

Another teaser trailer from X-Men: Apocalypse, for your enjoyment.

I'll probably be off to see it early next week if I can drag the bestie away from work. (Damn you adult responsibilities!)

More X-Men-y type-goodness in the 'Other Stuff' section below.

Graphic Novels




My review for Codename Baboushka, Volume 1: The Conclave of Death (UK - US,) was posted on Wednesday.

Baboushka is a Russian lady-mafia-boss slash spy slash assassin slash whatever-she-needs-to-be-at-the-time.

Yes, there are definite comparison points with our beloved Black Widow, but I was actually quite impressed at how original Baboushka managed to feel.

Other Stuff

I love, love, love this MTV After Hours 'X-Men: Apocalypse Group Therapy Session' - it's hilarious.

Ooh, but there's swearing and dirty jokes, so maybe not for watching without a pair of reliable headphones? Or maybe not in public? Just a precaution.

I laughed. So much.

-0-

Megan Purdy @ Women Write About Comics wrote a post on fan power and Twitter in the wake of #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend.

-0-

Yours truly wrote a 'Nerd Church' post on when heroes disappoint, focussing heavily on the whole Cap/Hydra debacle.

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Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Codename Baboushka, Vol 1: The Conclave of Death

Title: Codename Baboushka, Volume 1: The Conclave of Death

Author: Antony Johnston

Contributors: Shari Chankhamma, Simon Bowland

Genre: Graphic Novel, Spy, Gangster, Thriller, Crime

Series: Codename Baboushka

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 decided to give this a shot because of the cover: it has this kind of cool Russian-vibe going on, and it looked intriguing.

Sometimes, particularly with graphic novels, I really don't need any more than that.

Premise:

Femme fatale Baboushka is retired from the Russian crime-boss game. Until US intelligence want her to do them a favour, that is.

They don't give her much of a choice.

So it's time for the kick-as* Russian countess to get back in the game - it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Best bits:

A weird thing to start on, but I'm just gonna go with it: I really loved the chapter title pages.

They had that whole 007 title-sequence deal going on, with a colour-scheme of red, black, and white, and it just worked.

The style of the artwork in general had its own uniqueness - which is always good in a world where it's hard to be original in anything. I would've preferred a little more depth and shadow to the art, but that's a personal thing.

Baboushka herself is awesome - and I was impressed by how much she managed to move out of the shadow of that other leather-clad Russian comics heroine, The Black Widow.

The page layouts (and this sounds like such a geeky thing to talk about, but when something's done well, it's done well,) were really thought-out and affective.

The flow of the panels worked and there had clearly been some thought put into the backgrounds and the whole look and feel of the page. I appreciate it when some effort has been put in!

Also, the matryoshka (Russian nesting-doll) weapons rocked!

Not so great bits:

To the Russian elephant in the room: the similarities between Baboushka and The Black Widow.

They are there, no question about it - the leather outfit, the fact that they're Russian, the unbeatable skills, the mysterious back-story, the stand-out hair colour (Baboushka's is white where Widow's is red, but the affect is much the same,) etc. etc.

Criticisms of Baboushka as a Black Widow mirror-image are valid.

But somehow it doesn't feel like it when you're reading.

Yes, they are very similar - but Baboushka is not Widow, she has a different feel to her character, and a different story, and there's the potential for them to move further apart in the future.

Black Widow casts a big shadow - and while I think the extent to which Baboushka manages to move out from that is admirable, I can't help but think that Marvel's Natasha Romanoff will always be in the back of the reader's mind.

There's a some (very, very, mild) swearing ('bl**dy',) and a lot of gore and violence here - so if that's not your thing, then this is probably not for you.

Verdict:

I enjoyed this - it brought a spark of originality to a character who could just have been a cheap imitation.

Baboushka, though, may never shake of Natasha Romanoff's spectre.

I hope she does. Because she has the potential to be truly great.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Antony Johnston's Website

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