Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

"As an orphaned child, Jane Eyre is first cruelly abused by her aunt, then cast out and sent to a charity school. Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education, and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers. Charlotte Bronte’s classic tale of morality and social criticism takes on an entirely new life in this Manga Classic adaptation of Jane Eyre."

The tale of Jane Eyre as told by Charlotte Bronte and illustrated by UDON entertainment. Part of the Manga Classics series, this novel brings Jane Eyre to life. Closely following the original book, ( but missing our Mr Rochesters favorite descriptor of dear Jane) it does a wonderful job at showcasing this truly beautiful work in a new light, making this long ( and for some, hard to read) novel accessible to those of us who enjoy some pictures, and maybe not 500 pages of words. This version hits on all the major scenes and themes from the original book. It keeps Jane's personality, independence, and strong will and let's it shine through.

Personally I found it a little fast, but I understand that they are trying to fit a large novel into the size of a manga; and that's not easy! Having read Les Miserables and The Scarlet Letter in this same format, you kind of get a feel for how the structure of the book has to change only so slightly to accommodate.

This novel is great for any reader. If this is your first time or your 20th time reading Jane Eyre, this adaptation is a great choice.

Page Count: 329 ( But it's mostly pictures I promise <3 )

Your can find it HERE on Amazon for Kindle, Paperback, or Hardcover!

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 

Les Miserables

So after writing my review for Manga Classics The Scarlet Letter, I found the Manga Classics Les Miserables, is curretly released for Free Comic Book Day!, You can find it Here . I will eventually change this page to a review of the book, when I get done with my current list. XD

Hunters by Maybury, Tierney, and Valderrama

"Famed warrior Azarias has gathered a small army of varied adventurers on a quest to gather the dust of a distant island god in order to save the life of their king. Along the way, they encounter numerous beasts and monsters all in the process of gathering artifacts necessary to locate the island god before ultimately defeating it."

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Hunters is a beautiful comic with new ideas in a throw back to the traditional Fantasy adventure.

 The artwork is detailed, stunning, and in full color you really get to know the world being presented to you. One thing that both surprised me and made me enjoy this more was that each chapter is drawn by a separate artist. You get to see so many different styles and tones for the adventure. The art does  distract from the story a bit at first, (When you get used to one style then get swung into a new one out of no where for the first time) but overall I enjoyed the differing styles.

Hunters is available now on Amazon in Kindle or Paperback edition.


The full roster of talent contributing to this epic tale include Paul Maybury, Josh Tierney, Miguel Valderrama, Carlos Valderrama, Devin Kraft, Anas Awad, Meg Gandy, Jared Morgan, Irene Koh, Kyla Vanderklugt, Benjamin Marra, Alexis Ziritt, Travel Foreman, Carlos Carrasco, Vlad Gusev, and Ramon Sierra.

Truth Seer by Kay L. Moody

"Egypt, 2121. Imara Kalu knows how she wants her future to go: Become a police interrogator in Kenya and then graduate as a truth seer in her last semester of the summer training program. But her plans fall apart when a group of terrorists take over the school and carry out a desperate kidnapping. Devastated that her sister is among the victims, Imara leads a rescue team and descends into the dangerous catacombs where the hostages are rumored to be hidden.

Although suspicious of others because of the truth she sees, Imara knows the rescue team will need her help as a truth seer to bypass the lethal illusions laid by the abductors. But as the terrorist traps escalate, Imara realizes how much truth she’s been ignoring and that holding back could get her sister killed. Throughout the journey, Imara confronts her past and amplifies her abilities as a truth seer only to discover that her sister’s kidnapping is just one piece of a much darker secret."

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When I fist read the Synopsis above, I didn't know quite what I was getting myself into. It didn't sound like something I would normally read. Personally I would class this book as Dystopian Fantasy. Its Universe is not overtly fantastic and borders real life. Its set a hundred years in the future with new tech and most humans have developed a new power known as hila. But this book does deliver. The author is obviously skilled at developing multifaceted characters who do grow and change with their environments. They react and speak how you could imagine someone similar, reacting and speaking. Imara, the main character is given this immense ability that gives her an almost omniscient view of the world and people around her, but she is still in the process of learning to wield it properly which becomes a major source of distress in her life. Her voice is strong and wavers when it makes sense. She has her ticks, and her own quirkiness that makes her relatable, 

I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this read, to anyone interested in the Fiction genre. Its easy to read, suitable for older children as well as adults. It is part of a Trilogy and I am really excited to be able to read the next two. 

To order your copy from Amazon follow this link! (Opens in new window) : Truth Seer

Wings of Ice by G Bailey

"Isola Dragice thought she knew what her future would bring. Only, one earth-shattering moment destroys everything.

When war threatens her home, Isola returns from earth to the world of dragons she knows nothing about, and to Dragca Academy. 

When the four most powerful dragon guards in history are ordered to protect her, they didn’t expect to be protecting an accident prone princess. One who, accidentally, nearly kills her whole class at Dragca Academy in her first week. 

What happens when fire falls for Ice?"

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This is my first read from this author, so I was excited to dive in and see what G. Bailey was made of. I don't typically read a lot of Romance, but I was interested (because dragons!) in the synopsis I was given(above) and because you don't often get to read reverse harems since not many people write them.

Wings of Ice is a fast-paced, Romantic Adventure, featuring a young Isola with a distant father, and almost no other family to speak of. She is sent to live with humans early on in life and is essentially left there for her safety, (Ya know, since she a freaking princess.) Events lead her father to come and get her from the human realm early and bring her to Dragca Academy, where she is surrounded by boys. Men really, who are set to out to protect her out of fear of a curse.

Bailey is quick to set up her world and launch you into the action. Obviously I don't recommend Wings of Ice to anyone that isn't an Adult yet, but it is a book you should consider reading if you don't mind being in the mind of a 18 year old dragonic princess who doesn't quite know what to do with all the men life has thrown at her.

Personally one of my critiques of Wings of Ice is that the fast paced storytelling left me wanting more. More description of the rooms, the people. Each character was given very little physical description, and getting to know them was hard as several of them seemed to have the same personality. Fantasy novels are typically full to the brim with descriptions of everything and I found myself having to stop to try and imagine what Isola was looking at and coming up with this half-formed picto-thought.

The dialouge in the book was also a little weird for me. Some of it was trying to be banter like and came across flat, or just rude. And some of the dialouge is just something I can't imagine being said.

Despite my critiques, I did enjoy Wings of Ice. It is a work that is definitely for Romance lovers more so than Fantasy lovers, and while I will definitely be checking this author out again, I'm not sure if it will be reading the next one in this series or picking up a new one.

G. Baileys Author Site 

Buy Wings of Ice

The Tarot Cafe Manga Collection by Sang-Sun Park

"Meet Pamela, a tarot card reader who helps supernatural beings living in the human world. She'll help anyone, whether they're a love-stricken cat, a vampire spending eternal life running from his one true love, an unattractive waitress looking for the man of her dreams, or even a magician who creates a humanoid doll to serve the woman he loves. Although she is good-natured, there is a deep dark secret that she must deal with before she can move on to the next life."


At first this Manga screamed XXXHolic at me. Maybe just the fact that it was based in a shop and had all kinds of mystical people coming through, or perhaps the similar art style.

At first I didn't think I would be interested in reading another one. The manga seemed to be focusing on the mini stories (any of which could be their own series if fleshed out a bit) more so than its overarching plot line, where a woman, Pamela reads Tarot for the supernatural. As I continued to read, the story became more clear, and I became more interested, but it didn't really get good until the last chapter which was disappointing. I would have liked more Pamela less "other" 

The artwork was nice, but grainy and kind of broken up in the version I read. You could tell that it had a nice throwback style ( maybe using the same artwork from the original release?).  I would probably read the next 2 ( I'm assuming there will only be 2 more since the first release had 3 total as well) But its not a Manga I would personally add to my collection. I could see some people really enjoying this though.

This was originally released in the early 2000s.  

Chimera 1 The Righteous and the Lost by Tyler Ellis

 "Haunted by their pasts, a crew of thieves is hired for a covert mission in the midst of a galaxy being ripped apart by an interstellar holy war. If they want to survive - much less succeed - they must navigate hostile worlds, vengeful aliens, a deranged demon, and betrayal from within.  Collects the first six issues of the acclaimed sci-fi/fantasy series, as well as a pin-up and cover gallery."

If Star Wars and Firefly met and made a Dungeons and Dragons game, this would be the story they create. Its intriguing  plot and wide array of characters and backstory make it an easy-to-finish-in-one-sitting novel. The artwork sets itself apart and helps bring the whole story together.

The author uses "then" and "now" headings to give backstory which helps to differentiate whats going on and when. ( Especially helps when you are reading on a tiny screen, and are having trouble seeing the words already.) This first installment describes how the group came to be together and sets up for the next few books in a way that doesn't seem so information heavy.

I honestly cant wait to read the next one, and for this to become an overnight must have in the Manga/Amine/Otaku world.

It is currently available on Amazon, Here (Link will open in new window)

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After writing this (and when looking for the Amazon link) I discovered that this is not the first time this story has been told. This Edition is brand new, and includes the first 6 of Tyler Ellis' Chimera novels as well as exclusive artwork. It appears that he is not ready to stop writing this series and is reviving this fairly new story. Either way my original review stands, and I'm excited to see the next one.