Knights Club:The Bands of Bravery by Shuky

"Introducing a new series of interactive, pick-your-panel graphic novels for middle grade readers, full of adventure, magic, and fun! Knights Club is a hilarious, medieval-themed quest for bravery and glory.

The year is 1012 in the kingdom of the good king Louilepou. Three brothers dream of joining the Royal Order of Knights: fearless adventurers, able to travel long distances, slay the most dangerous theives, and defend the valorous peasants. And one of these brothers is you!

But the road to knighthood is long. You must journey through snowy mountains, haunted lakes, and dark forests in search of the bracelets of bravery. During your expedition you will come face-to-face with a troll, an old wizard, or a warrior. You must solve riddles, discover hidden compartments, learn combat techniques, and gather magical objects. Your success depends on your choices alone, because the hero is you!"

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Originally published in 2012 in France as Chevaliers: Journal D'un Heros , this book feels like a throw back to the build-your-own adventure goosebumps books I read as a child. Couple this with me being an avid Dungeons and Dragons player and DM, I had a blast following this adventure! It has a few "game overs" and some surprises that break the 4th wall.... but all of this will keep kids coming back to this story. 

Its full color pages are engaging, and knowing where to go is easy with a quick three page "how-to" at the front. The digital copy I received had 6 character trackers that were dotted (unsure if they will be perforated or simply dotted and need cutting out) but could easily be copied onto lined paper, or in a machine if this book is bought for a classroom.

This story is set apart from other "choose your story books" by having you keep track of what you have done/earned and makes reading feel like a game. The puzzles in it add an extra layer of problem solving that isn't always there in a book, let alone a game.

I cant suggest this book for a Kindle read, as the way you read this book is difficult on a computer (how I received my ARC copy) and I imagine would be slightly frustrating on a small screen as well.

This book is set to release on September 4th 2018 on Amazon here And is now available for preorder!

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Here are a few of the pages from the book to give you an example of the artwork and how this choose your own story flows! (I purposely didn't get the frame # in that second picture as to not ruin the story! And please excuse the grainy quality, that is my phone not the comic!)

   

   

As you can see, your decisions have numbers attached, and you follow the numbers to whatever panel is next in the story progression. This means that sometimes you will visit the same page several times, and that each read through can be different than all the previous ones! You can also see how vibrant and colorful this comic is, and wonderfully detailed in ways it doesn't have to be but it is!

Shields Down, The House of Baric Part One by Jillian Bald

"Long before the time of the Frasers, Poldarks or Crawleys, lived the Barics—Mauro and Resi. Theirs was not an obvious love story, nor set in a place given a lot of attention in history. Croatia was a playground for the decadent Venetians in the lavish baroque era, and Mauro had just reluctantly inherited his father’s noble title of Baron Baric. Mauro’s impending marriage was arranged as a child by his father to settle a debt. Neither he nor his bride cared if the day ever came when Resi would be sent to Baric Castle in the Venetian Empire. When the summons finally arrived in Thessaloniki, it was met with dread. The saga begins as Resi leaves her Ottoman home to an unknown land to marry a stranger: Mauro. Her story—and those of the Barics, their friends, servants, and soldiers—is told in three parts, spanning a continent across empires, bringing together a group of unlikely friends and lovers in the eventful summer of 1649."

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A tentative love story set in the mid 1600's in Croatia. This story brings about a whole new world for those of us who have heard little in our lives of the history behind the country of Croatia. We get to follow the newly weds in this "slice-of-life" like saga, that follows Baron Mauro Baric, and his young bride, Teresa (Resi), as they navigate their (semi) newly found world of aristocracy. From grand balls to everyday life, Shields Down is a beautiful way to introduce a new up and coming indie author.


The first installment is well written, full of vivid description, and transports you to 17th century Croatia with its wordplay. While still being fiction, Jillian makes sure to add a history lesson at the beginning, so you can better understand what is at stake for our main couple, and put yourself into their shoes as far as the backdrop for the story.


In this first novel, you not only get to meet the Baron and Resi, but a whole castle worth of characters that help set up what is sure to be some big plots points in the next two books. While not so much an emotional ride, this series definitely intrigues and is not short on pages! With 612,146  words between the 3 books, you have plenty to read, and with the last book releasing just this past week(!!!) you have no reason not to jump in and read up on the Barics!

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Jillian Bald is an Indie author, new to the scene with her first book (TRILOGY!!!). You can read all about her, and even get a hold of her, through her website jillianbald.com . 
She is already working on her next novel and has some more ideas for 2 other books! So if she has become your favorite up and coming author, then you are in luck, and wont have to wait long to read more by Jillian Bald.

Happy Reading! <3

Being Alpha by Aileen Erin

"For the first time since Tessa met Dastien, life is quiet. The evil witch, Luciana, is six glorious feet under, St. Ailbe's is closed due to human trespassers, and people are finally getting used to the fact that supernaturals exist in the world. It seems like the perfect time for a honeymoon.
After traveling to Dastien's house in Provence, clubbing in Paris, and attending Meredith and Donovan's Full Moon Ceremony in Ireland, Tessa and Dastien head to the Caribbean. Their trip is turning out to be the honeymoon that fantasies are made of-sunset cruises, long walks on the beach, and every romantic cliché you can imagine. Tessa couldn't be happier. Except that Tessa's visions are on the fritz. She hopes that means that nothing is brewing. That everything is quiet because all is well. But Tessa's never been one to assume anything.
When she's magically attacked and nearly dies, Tessa knows she can't ignore the signs anymore. Something huge is going on. As much as she doesn't want to call an end to their six-week honeymoon, it's time to head back to Texas.
Whoever messed with Tessa is in for a rude awakening. Because if there's one thing fighting rogue witches and werewolves has taught her, it's how to be Alpha. "

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Book 7 of the Alpha Girl series. I haven't read the first 6, so going in I was ready to not know ANYTHING about this world. and to see just how much I could garner from the book, I didn't even read the description first, but that didn't matter. Aileen does an amazing job with summarizing what has happened in previous books in a natural way. Within the first couple chapters I knew most of what I needed to, to fully grasp what was going on; and while I continued to gather new information through Being Alpha, about previous books in the series and the history behind the current events, it was a natural process that didn't make me feel overloaded or confused. This process was so subtle and well worked into the book that I could probably go back and read the first 6, and be (mostly) surprised.

This being an early copy of the book, I did find a significant amount of grammatical errors, but more often than not, some smaller words were simply missing. The meaning still came through but it was a little distracting. This should be fixed by the time the book is released, for all I know this is a very early copy and hasn't been through as many edits.

Being Alpha was so easy to get into. Everything is so well described that it leaves you with no questions on what you should be seeing or focusing on or what Tessa is feeling or thinking(or Dastien for that matter, because ya know, werewolf mate bonds.). The pacing is nice, if not a little slow in the beginning.

The relationships involved feel real, and for the most part, are an example of healthy ones. Tessas' marriage to Dastien is supportive both ways, and while that loving "mine" feeling is there, Dastien isn't this possessive "get your hands off her" wolf that is typically seen in books featuring werewolves.

Over all I highly enjoyed his novel and will probably be going to go find the first 6 as well as Lunar Court, which is listed as the 8th book in the series but follows a different character.

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Book1: Becoming Alpha  Book2:Avoiding Alpha & Coming out July 17th 2018 Book7:Being Alpha 

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

"   Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.
Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world. When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain. Sheets illustrates the determination of a young girl to fight, even when all parts of her world seem to be conspiring against her. It proves that second chances are possible whether life feels over or life is over. But above all, it is a story of the forgiveness and unlikely friendship that can only transpire inside a haunted laundromat."

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A look into the life of a child who has to take on more responsibility than she should have to, when she loses her mother. This story of a strong willed young teenager, helped (and even a little hindered at first) by an old friend, while she tries to cope; and help her family cope, and the story of  little ghost who finds himself needing validation that the other ghosts cant give him.

Its a wonderful story, and could easily be adapted to use in a school setting, or counselors office, to help children deal with and understand grief and loss, depression, and alcoholism in themselves and their friends. Perfect for late elementary and middle school children, possibly for younger depending on the child. The artwork is different, but good. It works well with the story.

Definitely not for everyone, very slow (which works for the story) but I had trouble relating with Marjorie, but I am looking forward to the next Thummler novel.

Herakles by Edouard Cour

"Author Edouard Cour revisits one of the greatest Greek myths by painting the often-heroic Herakles as, well . . . somewhat of a jerk. Crude and stubborn at times, in little glimpses we meet a man-half-human, after all-with a psychology more complex than he appears, entangled in guilt over the ghosts who have haunted him since childhood.

A mournful sadness seizes him as he crosses the fleeting silhouettes of a woman and her three children. "Friends or foe, all those who cross his path end up stiff and worm food," ??comments Linos, the ghost of his childhood music teacher. Brimming with pathos and dark humor, this portrait of Herakles is a graphic whirlwind leaving little respite and often revealing beautiful surprises."

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Edouard Cours' take on Herakles is more than worth it. Notably different than the Hercules you are used to seeing on the Disney Channel, Herakles is meant for the adult reader as it follows the mythos. With nudity and the humor to match, this is probably not something you would want you kids to get a hold of, but oh boy should YOU! Just the artwork alone is incredible. the colors were dark and gritty in a good way, helping set the tone for the comic and giving you a sense of how Herakles sees his world.

The story is done well, taking the legend that is Herakles and adding to it. The language used is modern,which makes this an easier read, though you can go pages at a time here and not see a single word and still have the story progress.

The Taco Tuesday Cookbook by Laura Fuentes

"The Taco Tuesday Cookbook is the cookbook your family’s been dreaming of, because if there’s one thing we all can agree on, it’s that tacos are awesome. They’re customizable. They’re quick. They’re tasty. And most importantly, they make us all happy!"

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So I haven't ever reviewed a cookbook before but who can pass up Tacos?? I mean they are tacos! The most awesome thing in the world.

So first off, it is exactly what it says it is : A cookbook about tacos. This book gives you 52 taco recipes so you can literally have a different taco every Tuesday for a whole year. It also provides sauce and drink recipes to add to your amazing main dish! One of the more interesting parts is the recipes for gluten free, vegetarian and paleo options, which means that dietary restrictions shouldn't stop you from 1.) purchasing this book and 2.) eating some freaking tacos on Taco Tuesday!

I did learn something from this book. I have had breakfast burritos before, but until this book I hadn't thought about breakfast tacos, and that alone made me so very excited to keep browsing this book. (Yes browsing, its a cookbook, I'm not going to read every single recipe) Also, the my daughter caught me looking at the breakfast tacos and we ended up having them for breakfast (Totally recommend the black bean and queso breakfast tacos!) and insisted we have tacos for breakfast this morning.

The last thing I would like to say about this cookbook, is that you dont have to have a ridiculous amount of time or money to make these tacos. The breakfast one we had actually said "1 can black beans" because this author KNOWS that soaking beans overnight just for breakfast tacos isn't always something someone can do when you have kids. These are easy recipes that would make a great edition to anyones house.

Hanger by Hirotaka Kisaragi

"In a futuristic Neo-Tokyo, crime is rising rapidly in the wake of a new generation of super-drugs capable of enhancing the user's physical and mental abilities. Hajime Tsukomo is a new recruit on a federal task force trained to go after these powered-up criminals. Now he must team up with Zeroichi, a so-called Hanger looking to reduce his own jail sentence in exchange for helping to take down these chemically-boosted bad guys."

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What appears to be another hit from Kisaragi, Hanger is set up to be a great new manga series that is a must read for fans. Unfortunately I had a hard time reading it due to format issues, which hopefully will not translate out into the actual novel copies.

Hanger jumps right into the action with a nice opening scene presenting us with both main characters front and center. It gives us readers a sense of Zeroichi (01) and Hajimes' relationship and sets us up for great character development throughout the series. The backdrop for this relationship is well thought out and (even if a tad cliched) seems to work well with Kisaragis' style.

The Peoples Awards by Lily Murray

"Welcome to the People Awards! The ceremony is about to begin. Who will win the Best Hat award? Who will be named Bad-Tempered Musical Genius? Who gets the Stand Up For What You Believe In prize?

A celebration of 50 famous people from around the world who made history and changed the world for the better, with stunning art from award-winning artist Ana Albero."

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With full color illustrations, and pages brimming with information on everyone involved, The Peoples Award is a wonderful introduction to history both recent and not so recent, for curious kids! This book introduces you to a historical figure with a 2-3 paragraph blurb of what that person is famous for and gives you 4 great reasons that they have received their award at the bottom of the page. A cartoon representation of each person is given "portrait style" along with a quote. The second page devoted to each person is full of "snapshots", or illustrations of events that happened in that persons life as if a camera had been thee to see it. These are all followed up with descriptions.

Some awards have multiple earners, such as the Trailblazer Award. These pages contain 4 award recipients each who have a kind of "sub award"(ie: the shoot for the stars award) and a short description is given for each person.

Overall this book is a great addition to any curious kids bookshelf, or even a supplement to a history lesson in a school!

A List of all people featured: Albert Einstein • Wangari Maathai • Abraham Lincoln • Valentina Tereshkova • Leonardo da Vinci • Marie Curie • Mahatma Gandi • Trischa Zorn • Pablo Picasso • J. K. Rowling • Vincent Lingiari • Tim Berners-Lee • Ellen de Generes • Nelson Mandela • Mary Anning • Alfred Nobel • Frida Kahlo • Louis Pasteur • Gabriel Garcia Marquez • Olaudah Equiano • David Bowie • Anne Frank • Confucius • Cleopatra • Pelé • Beethoven • Maria Montessori • Tegla Louroupe • Malala Yousefsai • Isaac Newton • Erno Rubik • Sejong the Great • Jan Amos Komenský • Katherine Johnson • Roald Amundsen • Hanae Mori • Eva Peron • Joan of Arc • Sir Donald Bradman • Queen Anna Nzinga • Rosa Parks • Muhammed Ali • Antonia Rodrigues • Simon Bolivar • Rigoberto Munchu • Antoni Gaudí •Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • Hans Christian Andersen • Sappho

The Night Dragon by Naomi Howarth

"“I wish I could fly, and breathe fire, and fill the sky with great grey, sooty clouds,” Maud said to her friend, Mouse.

Maud is picked on by the other dragons, so stays cooped up in her cave, sad and lonely. But when the chance comes, will her friend Mouse help her pluck up the courage to fly? A beautiful picture book about individuality and friendship from Naomi Howarth."

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Bright, brilliant, and intuitive, The Night Dragon is a perfect book for bedtime. Its a very "wind down" style of writing that keeps a kid engaged in the story without riling them up with excess excitement at the crucial point in the night.

Its presents kids with a You-Can-Do-It story, (especially helpful in a time where kids are being faced with bullies more often than not) that shows them that, it doesn't matter what other people say, as long as you believe. It is also a reminder to always stick up for and encourage your friends, because you'd be surprised at what they can do with your support! 

Its nicely paced. The pages do not have a ridiculous amount of text, (which is a deterrent if you have a kid that wants 3 or more stories at bedtime!) and the text is set so that it doesn't detract from the wondrous almost watercolor like illustrations. Definitely recommend.

Welcome Back!

Hope everyone had a great 4th! I know I did! Lots of sun and swimming and a TON of explosives! So I've set up a bunch of stuff today. I've created a profile on Goodreads specifically for this blog. It has a "Currently Reading" section that I will try to keep up to date, and since I can post from here directly to GRs, It will be updated daily(ish) as well!

I also created a Facebook page that is empty at the moment, but everyone uses it so I figured I would need it at some point! XD It also occurred to me today that I had this blog listed as mine on Netgalley using my real name as an ID, so I changed that, Lol. And I will be going by my middle name, Anne, for anything that requires a name for now.

I added 2 more pages that can be found up top there ^ and one reads "Socials". You can find all links there for now. The other reads "Comics" and is blank. It is gonna be that way for now, but i'll let you know when there is content for your perusal!

10 Reasons to Love...a Lion by Frances Lincoln Children's Books

"Lions are magnificent animals! Did you know that lions are the only big cat to live in groups? Or that their roar can be heard for miles? Discover ten reasons why lions are amazing and five ways you can show they love them in this gorgeous picture book. A must for any young animal enthusiast and a fantastic introduction to environmental issues."

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10 Reasons, is a childs' book with full page color photos. It educates the reader on lions using text and images! The text tells you facts, IE: They are social cats. While the images present locales, and other animals, as well as plants that might be found in a lions habitat. This was my favorite part of the book honestly. The facts were something I would look up if a had a question about lions ( which you often have random questions you need to answer if you have kids!) But the illustrations brought the book to life with me.

The facts in the book are well presented and geared towards a 1st or 2nd grader, but are very child friendly even for the younger child.


10 Reasons releases on July 5th 2018!

Mae Vol 1 by Gene Ha

"Mae's beloved older sister, Abbie, has been missing for years. Mae has her theories about where Abbie might be. But nowhere in her wildest imagination do those theories encompass a fantasy world full of terrifying monsters, power-hungry nobles, and nefarious scientists. That is, until Abbie suddenly reappears in Mae's world. And not alone."

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This fully colored novel, has its roots in what has to be some of the Author/Artists fandoms, while still being its own book. Its' hints at Dr Who, Oz, Narnia and others make it a comfortable book to get into. The artists rendering is beautiful and its no wonder way hes won awards for previous work. I feel like Gene Ha is in a unique position because of his many talents, to be able to match the text to the illustrations and vice versa. The pictures and text play well together, and enhance your journey with Mae and Abbie.

With the semi fast pace, you kind of feel rushed to take everything in, but it wasn't a deterrent to keep reading. If anything it made me want to keep reading.

Despite it being a pretty great read, I doubt I would buy it. I usually buy books that I can't stop thinking about, and this one is one that hasn't particularly crossed my mind since reading it.

Mae releases soon July 10th 2018! You can get it here

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It has come to my attention as I was grabbing the Amazon link, that this is a new printing/ new artistic rendering?? of Gene Has' comic released February 2017.