Tag: NetGalley

Eternal Victim – Dexter Morgenstern

Game Name: Eternal Victim

Creator: Dexter Morgenstern

Player 1: The Witness

Instruction Manual: Missing. Please work it out as you go along.

Level Bosses:

  • Level 1 – The Whistler
  • Level 2 – The Constrictor
  • Level 3 – The Director
  • Level 4 – The Father

PRESS START

The most important thing you need to know going into this novella is that you only know what the Witness knows, which in the beginning is very little indeed. This made for a serious amount of confusion on my part and significant helpings of “What the hell did I sign up for?!”

If this story is of interest to you please don’t give up when you get the feeling you’re hallucinating; when every time you think you know where you are the scene changes on you and you don’t know how you got there. Your patience and attempt to retain your sanity will be rewarded if you stick with it. Know that things will fall into place. I graduated from confusion to intrigue and then to fascination and compulsion. I had to know what was coming next and how it would all come together in the end.

Dexter Morgenstern writes at the start of the novella that he wants to write stories for games and as I read I could see this story translating into the gaming world quite easily. I viewed the story much like a game as I progressed and ultimately came to see the story as having four main levels, each with a level boss to face at the end. While there was a cyclical nature to what the player needs to accomplish within the level, each level takes place in a different time period and with different characters.

During each level the Witness gains information, mostly fairly cryptic at the time, which they hope will eventually help them make sense of who they are and what their connection is to the characters they encounter within the game. The characters that remain consistent throughout the levels (besides the Witness) are the girl in the mirror and the Preta, which is translated from Sanskrit as ‘hungry ghost’.

Because characters come and go you get to know their stories but I didn’t find I had the time to connect emotionally with them. Having said that, there’s so much action and running around that it’s not as though any of the characters have time to sit down and have a chat over a cuppa with you anyway. If it helps you to put all of this into context, Dexter describes it himself as a “chaotic trifecta of Buddhism, history, and ghost-zombies”. Intriguing, huh?!

Because I seem to be fairly immune to feeling fear while reading, I wasn’t scared reading Eternal Victim. I was unsettled by it though and for me, feeling unsettled over a period of time is more uncomfortable to sit with than scary moments that come and go. I haven’t been this unsettled by a book in a long time so I was suitably impressed by that.

If you’re squeamish and/or the content warnings apply to you then you may want to skip this book or at least approach it with caution. If you can handle graphic details of tortuous murders committed by deranged serial killer types you should be okay, but you’d be forgiven if you cringe at certain points as your already overactive imagination works overtime. If you can eat while watching a Saw movie you should be fine too.

This novella is certainly not going to be for everyone as it truly is one of the strangest books I’ve read, but it happily transformed for me from being close to ditching it for the first 10% to being glad I persevered fairly soon after. I’d like to reread Eternal Victim to see how the reading experience changes now that I know how it all fits together. I’m definitely interested in reading more books by this author.

Beware the fog!

GAME OVER

Credits: Thank you so much to NetGalley, Dexter Morgenstern and BookBuzz.net for the opportunity to read this novella.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Follow the Witness as she travels through a perpetual series of nightmares, haunted by a mixture of pernicious serial killers and their imprisoned, undead victims, known as preta. As she wanders through time and memories shared by the killers and their victims, she fights to solve the puzzle of their connection to each other and to herself. Her only hope of salvation lies in connecting key victims to the souls who can rescue them, thus waking her from the nightmare, but one killer follows the next, bringing forth a new set of victims, a new score of preta, and immediately landing her in a new terror.

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My Life in Smiley: It’s All Good – Anne Kalicky

I love 💕 books 📚 written in diary form! I especially love 💕 books 📚 written in diary form that are illustrated! I love 💕 emojis 😃😍😋🤪😎! Unfortunately I didn’t love 💕this book 📖. Maybe I’m comparing it too much to others I’ve read like Dork Diaries but I found this book 📖 bordering on boring 💤.

There’s a dire warning ⚠️ about not reading this book 📖 until 2126 with the threat of such cool 😎 stuff as hundreds of tarantulas 🕷 jumping out of massive black blisters on your hands 🤚. I read the warning ⚠️ page and got my hopes up but it turned out that this was the only page that really showed the kind of personality I’ve come to expect in diary format kid’s books 📚.

It’s not like nothing happened. We follow Max, who’s 11, through his first year at middle school. Max lives in France 🇫🇷 with his parents and sisters Marion, who’s 14 and super annoying and Lisa, who’s 8 and the favourite child. He’s best friends with Tom, a skinny nerd 🤓. Together they play Zombieland 🧟‍♀️ 🧟‍♂️ on Xbox 🎮 and they have their own chicken 🐔 nugget eating record. Max has a crush on Naïs who is consistently described as pretty.

At school there is assigned seating and of course Max has been assigned to sit next to his arch nemesis, Raoul. Max recounts gym dramas and other classes he attends. There’s a field trip to the retirement home, exchange students visit from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and there’s a field trip to the Eiffel Tower. There are also visits to Max’s grandparents, skiing ⛷ and parties 🎈to plan and attend. During the school year there is an ongoing mystery of who is responsible for the graffiti on the wall on the way to school and how the artist knows so much about Max.

So, with all of this happening why wasn’t this a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book 📖? There wasn’t the humour I expected. The main character barely had a personality. There were cute illustrations and emoji overload, but I’m not desperately needing to read the second book 📖 in this series. Perhaps this one was just setting the groundwork for future incredible stories. Maybe some of the humour got lost in the translation.

What it boiled down to for me was that this book 📖 was just okay 👌. I’m not jumping up and down excited 😆 about my new discovery but I also made it to the end so it didn’t completely suck either. I may relent and try the second book 📖 (maybe) but it won’t have the honour of going straight to the top of the TBR pile.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read this book 📖.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Follow the middle school misadventures of Max, as recorded in his hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid–style journal that is unconventionally illustrated with the internationally recognised emoticons of the SmileyWorld brand.

Warning: Do not read before 2126! My Life in Smiley: It’s All Good is meant strictly for people of the future, chronicling the life and times of Max, an average eleven-year-old. Annoying siblings, stage fright, love at first sight – can you believe what kids in the 21st century had to deal with? Follow his illustrated diary as has embarks on a great journey – the first year of middle school in France. Max’s journal entries, humorous drawings and colourful smileys recount his adventures in making new friends, dealing with bullies, and surviving a ruthless P.E. teacher. Along the way, Max starts to figure out how to interact with his peers, and he realizes that at the end of the day, no matter what life throws at him, it’s all good!

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FRNK #1: The Beginning Begins – Olivier Bocquet

Illustrations – Brice Cossu

Ths cmc bk bcm qt hrd t rd n sm sctns!

Did you get that?

After being exchanged by three previous families Frank is due for an appointment with a fourth potential family, Mr and Mrs Fugly (I kid you not! 😆). He “drops in” to the meeting with the director of the orphanage, who accidentally admits she doesn’t know what happened to his parents. Deciding to run away (again!) Frank is caught by the gardener who tells Frank the truth, that he found Frank when he was about a year old. The gardener shows Frank a map of where he found him then sends him on his way.

After a journey on foot to find his parents, complete with some pretty funny falls, directionally challenged Frank finds himself sucked through a portal of sorts and winds up in prehistoric times. There is no phone service, no internet and apparently vowels haven’t been invented yet, so the locals tlk lk ths (talk like this). It does take a bit to get used to the way they talk and because of this, FRNK may not be the best comic book for reluctant readers. There’s one swear word in this book but your kid most likely already knows it anyway and its use is really funny.

This is the first comic in a series of three so there’s the inevitable ending just when you’re really getting into it. I’ve read this comic book twice now. The first time I was so frustrated by the lack of vowels in the prehistoric world that it took my attention away from the story. Having said that, after a break and coming into it knowing about the vowel situation, I really enjoyed reading this the second time.

There’s a fair amount of humour I missed the first time around and this time I really focused on the awesome job Brice Cossu has done with the illustrations. The expressions in both present and past add to the humour of the text and the details in the landscape, plants and animals are wonderful.

The vowel situation will be off putting for some readers, although it’s only for a portion of the book. If you can get past this, you’ll find a series that has a lot of potential. Besides the humour and time travel, there’s action and fight scenes, along with the mysteries of where Frank’s parents are (if they’re still alive) and whether Frank will go home in the end. I suspect he may find home in prehistoric times but I haven’t read past the first comic so that’s only my gut feeling.

What this comic proves to me is that if you’re not entirely sure what you think of a story it’s completely fine to cleanse your reading palate with other books before you attempt a reread. Had I reviewed this book straight after I read it for the first time you’d be reading a very different review. I’m definitely interested in getting my hands on the rest of this series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the opportunity to read this comic.

P.S. That first sentence? If you didn’t get it, it reads “This comic book became quite hard to read in some sections!”, but I’m sure you already knew that! 😜

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

When a 13-year-old orphan sets out to find his parents and ends up in prehistoric times, he realises he’s got a lot of work to do: so many things haven’t been invented yet, like fire, soap … and vowels! Not to mention all the terrifying creatures and knuckledragging cavemen he has to deal with!

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I’m Not Your Sweet Babboo! – Charles M. Schulz

I grew up with the Peanuts gang. I read the comics and knew all of the TV specials by heart. I loved It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas every year. I have a Peanuts book with black and white comics that I read to death as a kid. While its pages are yellow with age, they’re thankfully all intact. I know I’ll never part with it.

One of the first stuffed toys I ever received was Snoopy and I have photos of me sitting holding it before I was a year old. I still have that Snoopy, although he kind of doesn’t have a nose anymore. It wasn’t me! 😇 Oh, who am I kidding? I’m sure it was me. It’s not like I have any siblings to blame. I even completed a cross stitch as an adult of Lucy sitting at her psychiatry booth, which is as cute and funny as it sounds.

So, that was a long winded way of saying that it basically feels like the Peanuts gang grew up down the road from me, so reading I’m Not Your Sweet Babboo! felt like I was catching up with my childhood friends. I knew a lot of the stories already so they felt like the gang and I were reminiscing about the good ol’ days. I was also excited to find some comic strips I’d never encountered before (I guess I wasn’t home those days and they had adventures without me).

”If life were a camera, I’d have the lens cap on.”

Charlie Brown

Charles M. Schulz created such a wonderful cast of characters. There are just so many smiles in this book. Peppermint Patty is excited that she doesn’t have to go to school anymore because she’s just graduated. Snoopy is her attorney when the public school wants evidence of her graduation. She has graduated – from dog obedience training. Peppermint Patty and Marcie learn how competitive golf can be when they become caddies at the Country Club. Marcie calls Peppermint Patty ‘sir’ all of the time, as usual.

Snoopy and Woodstock have some talks with ‘World War II’, the mean cat next door, who doesn’t talk so much as bowl Snoopy over every chance it gets. Snoopy also meets the beagle of his dreams, plans his wedding and invites his brother Spike to be his best man.

Charlie Brown waits by the mailbox for Valentines, chats to the kite-eating tree and learns why you can’t trust 3’s. Sally welcomes the new school building.

Schroeder plays the piano and Lucy fawns over him, and naturally, Linus and his blanket hang out. I would have liked Franklin and Pig-Pen to show up but I’m sure they’ll make appearances in other collections.

“No, ma’am, I wasn’t daydreaming … I was conceptualising!”

Peppermint Patty

I adored this book, particularly the comic strips that were new to me. Having mostly read black and white Peanuts comics I loved that this collection was in colour. Because these kids were a significant part of my childhood, nostalgia will always play a huge role in how I look at any of the characters but from my point of view Mr Schulz’s characters have stood the test of time.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this wonderful trip down memory lane.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Pick up a glass of milk, curl up with your security blanket, and enjoy the timeless brilliance of Peanuts in this new collection of comic strips!

Everyone’s favorite classic characters are back: Peppermint Patty enrolls in a private school to end her academic troubles – only to discover she’s just graduated from obedience school. Linus finds himself entangled in a love triangle (and stuck on top of a snow-covered roof). And Charlie Brown runs away from the law and becomes a vagrant baseball coach.

The Peanuts crew is lovable, popular, and charming, but please whatever you do, don’t call Linus “My Sweet Babboo!”

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On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back – Stacey Dooley

I’ve followed Stacey’s career from fashion loving teen travelling to India through to the professional journalist she is today, watching and rewatching every documentary each time they’ve aired on television. When I first heard she was releasing a book I was so keen to get my hands on it ASAP. I read the blurb and immediately thought of DVD Special Features. I imagined Stacey’s book as a combination of Deleted Scenes and Director’s Commentary, but it was so much more.

What I love about Stacey’s work with social issues women face around the world is that she gives you information about emotionally loaded topics in a thoughtful and respectful way. You don’t just get to hear her opinion; you learn about people whose lives that issue directly effects as a victim, their family and friends, along with any officials in the area or perpetrators that are willing to be interviewed.

Stacey and her team focus on some locations and issues that I was vaguely familiar with and others that sadly I had practically no knowledge of. In this book Stacey delves into issues relating to prison, immigration, drugs, child abuse, femicide, high-end to low-end prostitution, trans prostitution, abortion, child sexualisation, murder, war and survival. Your heart will be broken and warmed by the womens’ stories. For women who have had to survive such horrendous circumstances in their past and oftentimes present as well, their courage and resilience are extraordinary and inspirational. It’s up to you as the reader to form your own opinions about what’s presented to you and whether that will change your mind or not, but you cannot walk away uninformed. I hope you also walk away with your empathy enlarged.

Whenever someone starts talking politics my brain goes into standby mode so I was really surprised that Stacey could explain political issues to me, including what Obama stood for versus Trump, and I not only heard her but I understood what she was saying. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll never understand American politics. However Stacey explained policies and the way people are affected by them in such a down to earth way that I knew what she was talking about and if she’d done nothing else in this book, she’d deserve a medal for that alone!

Having seen most of the documentaries that Stacey refers to in On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back I could picture the people and scenes she was referring to, as well as hearing her voice in my head as I read. I was enjoying reliving some of my favourite documentaries with additional information and insights, yet wondered how well this book would translate to readers who have been living under a TV-less rock and hadn’t seen any Stacey documentaries.

Then I came across a chapter featuring [Shock! Horror!] a documentary I had never seen before! In hindsight I’m pleased about that because not only do I have a documentary to watch in the very near future 😃 but it also gave me another perspective on this book. I found it didn’t matter that I didn’t have previous knowledge of this documentary. The writing sucked me in and in a way I felt like I was watching along as Stacey described what was happening. I understood the need for a documentary on that topic to be made in the first place, the experiences of the people interviewed, information about the political atmosphere at the time in that country and Stacey’s own view.

While watching the documentary prior to reading each chapter is certainly not a prerequisite it is nice to be able to put faces to names. If, like me, you find gaps in your documentary viewing experience I expect that you’ll come away with a viewing list to complement what you’ve read. While there are currently some of Stacey’s documentaries available for viewing on the BBC website I would love to see (if it doesn’t already exist) all of the documentaries mentioned in this book available for viewing at a central location.

I found I liked the same things about Stacey’s approach in her writing that I do when I watch her on television. She’s so down to earth. There’s at once a sweetness and strength to her manner. She knows what she believes but isn’t close minded when she hears opposing opinions; she’ll weigh them against her own to determine if what someone else thinks changes her mind or strengthens her own views. Whether she agrees or disagrees with someone she treats them with respect. She asks the questions you want the answers to but aren’t sure if anyone will have the guts to ask.

She gets to the heart of the issue and the people she’s interviewing. You can tell she has a genuine fondness for the girls she encounters and her friendliness appears to open people up to having real conversations with her about difficult and painful things. Scared or not, she gets on with it. As a viewer and now a reader there’s just something innately likeable and relatable about this woman and when you watch her documentaries it’s easy to think, ‘Yeah, I reckon Stacey and I could be mates if we ever met’.

While you may see the problems presented in this book and feel overwhelmed by their enormity, ultimately this book is a call to action. You are left to consider the power that you have to make a difference. To borrow some of Stacey’s words, what she’s doing in this book and her documentaries is raising awareness and presenting “what’s going on in the world so that people can make up their own minds about how best to fight back.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley, BBC Books and Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. I’m left feeling inspired!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Put yourself in their shoes.

In 2007, Stacey Dooley was a twenty-something working in fashion retail. She was selected to take part in the BBC series Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts which saw her live and work alongside Indian factory workers making clothes for the UK High Street. This sparked her series of hugely popular investigations, establishing her as one of BBC3’s most celebrated presenters.

Through the course of her documentary making, Stacey has covered a variety of topics, from sex trafficking in Cambodia, to Yazidi women fighting back in Syria. At the core of her reporting are incredible women in extraordinary and scarily ordinary circumstances – from sex workers in Russia, to victims of domestic violence in Honduras.

In her first book, On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back, Stacey draws on her encounters with these brave and wonderful women, using their experiences as a vehicle to explore issues at the centre of female experience. From gender equality and domestic violence, to sex trafficking and sexual identity, Stacey weaves these global strands together in an exploration of what it is to be women in the world today.

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The Scarecrow Princess – Federico Rossi Edrig

”You know what, Morrigan Moore? Your endless whingeing is wearing a bit thin.”

I couldn’t say it better, Mr King of the Crows. Morrigan Moore is a fairly impressive tantrum thrower. Throughout the story she winds up yelling at pretty much everyone.

Morrigan is fourteen and isn’t happy about moving (again!) to the middle of nowhere. Edgar, her older brother and Sophie, her mother are gathering information about the King of the Crows and the Scarecrow Prince for their next book in the Myths of Albion series.

After a crow steals her hair pin and she gets cranky (again!), Morrigan winds up meeting Alma, a potential friend if she can put up with Morrigan’s anger issues, and Dandelion, one of the dogs Alma is paid to walk by rich people.

When Dandelion pulls hard on her leash to chase a crow (yes, they’re everywhere in this story) Alma’s bracelet breaks and ends up in Widow Abbott’s yard, a recluse and the oldest woman in town. Although Alma tells her not to, Morrigan decides to find the broken bracelet.

As soon as she retrieves it, Widow Abbott appears, warns Morrigan that she’s exposed, that shiny objects attract him and he has eyes and ears everywhere, before hustling the new girl inside. Who has eyes everywhere? The King of the Crows and apparently underestimating his threat only makes him more dangerous, so pay attention! Arming Morrigan with a button for protection, Widow Abbott sends her on her way. Yeah, that’ll help! Thanks, scary old lady!

Then there are some action scenes and kidnapping, followed by watching Morrigan masturbate before she has a suggestive conversation with the creepy Crow Man, who incidentally is not just her senior but at least several hundred years older than her. That’s if he’s not immortal. I don’t know. I’m pretty sketchy on some of the details. Maybe I missed some of the really important links but some of the scenes appeared jumpy, without the connection needed to get the full picture.

Morrigan has some wicked eyebrows and one of the best angry faces I’ve ever seen,

but I don’t know why a fourteen year old is wandering around preparing for battle yet forgets to put on her underwear. Seriously! Why did we need a naked fourteen year old girl facing off against a naked man of indeterminate age but somewhere in the ‘why aren’t you dead already?’ range?!

While I’m asking questions, why are Morrigan’s older brother and her mother consistently referred to as her folks? Was something lost in the translation? Why does Morrigan’s brother look positively evil in some of the panels where he’s smiling?

While I was really interested in this graphic novel based on the blurb and cover image I found a lot of the scenes with Crow Guy really hard to decipher. There’s plenty of black swooshing around the pages but it’s hiding the detail of what’s actually happening a fair amount of the time.

While I was initially hooked because we were setting off to investigate a local legend and that should be awesome, I wound up disappointed. I guess I should’ve listened when Morrigan’s mother said at the beginning:

”It’s not the job of an author to give the reader what they want … It is the job of an author to give the reader what they need.”

I didn’t get what I wanted or hoped for. Did I get what I needed? I guess the author thinks so. Unfortunately I won’t be recommending this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lion Forge and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Morrigan Moore has always been moody, but her new home is the worst. Her novelist mother has dragged her to the countryside, drawn by the lost myth of the King of Crows, a dark figure of theft and deceit, and the Scarecrow Prince, the only one who can stand against him. When Morrigan finds herself swept up in the legend, she’ll have no choice but to take on the Scarecrow Prince’s mantel, and to stand and fight. For her town, her family, and her own future. This lushly drawn graphic novel will pull you into its sinister secrets and not let go till the final page. For fans of Coraline and Over the Garden Wall.

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The Best Damn Answers to Life’s Hardest Questions: A Flowchart Book – Tess Koman

Am I a nerd? ✔️
Do I like flowcharts? ✔️
Do I like gift books? ✔️
Do I like laughing? ✔️

I found The Best Damn Answers to Life’s Hardest Questions: A Flowchart Book and thought I’d hit the quadfecta. It turns out that just because something ticks all the right boxes it doesn’t always mean you’ll find the gift book of your dreams.

I wouldn’t need a flowchart for a lot of the questions anyway:

  • Room for dessert? – Duh! Always!
  • Do I need a vacation? – See above.
  • Do I need more coffee? – Again, see above.

I’m too nerdy to fully appreciate the carefree look of these flowcharts. They don’t have different symbols for each action type and without arrows a messy flowchart can be kinda difficult to navigate in sections. Also, some of the questions don’t result in a flowchart, just a rant or a pros and cons list, which didn’t make sense to me as it’s a Flowchart Book.

Maybe we can chalk it up to the fact that this book is asking questions of millennials when I’m too old to even pretend to be one, if I actually wanted to. However, regardless of my age, I doubt this ever would’ve been the book for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for the opportunity to read this book.

Once Upon a Blurb

A hilarious and utterly relatable collection of flowcharts, rants, and lists about adulting.

A humourous guide to adulthood in a collection of 54 charmingly illustrated flowcharts and pros-and-cons lists that each address an all-too-real question, from the mundane to the life-changing. Will I survive this hangover? (Probably not.) Should I cancel my plans? (YES! Cancel immediately.) Am I having a quarter-life crisis? (Probably.) Do I even like this person? (Nope, nope, nope.) This inspired book of humour disguised as invaluable advice is a gift to make anyone feel better, proving that every question, thought, and decision, no matter how ridiculous or irresponsible, is completely valid. 

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Hopeless Heroes #2: Hera’s Terrible Trap! – Stella Tarakson

Illustrations – Nick Roberts

We first met Tim Baker when he accidentally broke an antique Greek vase while dusting to help his mother, who struggled to work two jobs to support herself and her son, in Here Comes Hercules!, the first book in the Hopeless Heroes series.

Hercules had been trapped inside the vase by his evil stepmother Hera, and upon his release Hercules decides to ‘help’ Tim complete his chores. Hercules’ brand of help tends to end in disaster and ruins the garden in the process.

With Hercules safely returned to Ancient Greece, Hera’s Terrible Trap! begins at the outdoor garden centre with Tim and his mother shopping for plants to replace those Hercules destroyed while ‘helping’ in the first book.

Tim has taken it upon himself to protect the newly mended vase. Evil Hera and her servant Hermes have already attempted to steal the vase to recapture Hercules so Tim is on guard. Despite Tim’s best efforts Hermes manages to steal the vase, along with a stowaway. Tim grabbed hold of the vase as Hermes made his escape and is now stuck in Ancient Greece.

In this book Tim reunites with Hercules and meets his wife Agatha and daughter Zoe. Against overprotective Dad’s wishes Zoe decides to steal the vase from Hera so she can’t use it to recapture Hercules. Unable to talk this determined little miss out of her plan Tim follows Zoe and the kids wind up on an adventure.

Together they come across other mythological figures including vain Theseus (who Zoe, despite how smart she is, hero worships), one of Medusa’s sisters Stheno and Zoe’s Grandpa Perseus. Along the way they encounter a labyrinth, weaponised fruit and guard dogs peacocks! Yet even if they make it out of their adventure alive Tim has no idea if he will ever find a way to return home to present day England, where his Mum is no doubt frantic that her son is missing.

In this book we get a glimpse at one of Leo the bully’s family members and it becomes clearer why Leo is a bully in the first place, which I liked and look forward to getting to know him better in future books. I wasn’t, however, a fan of Tim getting back at Leo for tripping him by then tripping Leo. During this scene I heard my dreaded adult voice chiding Tim for his actions. Thankfully my adult voice shut up for the rest of the book.

Whereas the first book obviously needed time to set up the story and mythology, there was more action and adventure in the sequel. I did find the first book funnier although that’s probably more a reflection of how much fun I found Hercules’ bumbling attempts to help Tim to be. I thought that Zoe, being a strong and independent girl, would have been somewhat immune to Theseus’ alleged charms. It turns out that even smart girls can become groupies to doofus types.

Overall I enjoyed the sequel more than the first book and plan to continue reading this series. If you haven’t read the first book you could get away with starting the series with this one as it begins with a recap of the first, but to get the most out of it I’d recommend you read them in order.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. I’ll be looking out for Tim’s next adventure in Arachne’s Golden Gloves!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Tim Baker thinks his adventures are over until he hitches a ride to Ancient Greece on a stolen vase. Soon Tim finds himself trapped with an army of peacocks and a hero who can’t stop admiring himself. Put that mirror down, Theseus!

Thank the gods his new friend Zoe is there to help. Just don’t tell her dad …

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Disney Manga: Descendants – The Rotten to the Core – Jason Muell

Illustrations – Natsuki Minami

Let me begin by telling you I’ve never seen the movie and haven’t read volumes 1 or 3 of this Disney Manga trilogy. Based on the blurb and cover illustration, we’ve got some kids who spend a considerable amount of time at the hairdressers and who usually live on the Isle of the Lost with their Disney baddie parents – Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil.

I don’t know how or why but these baddies in training have been invited to attend a yuppie prep school in Auradon alongside the goody two-shoes Disney hero kids. Our baddie Descendants are Mal (purple hair), Evie (blue hair), Jay (really long hair and probably brushes it a hundred times a day to keep it silky smooth), and Carlos (likely to be bleached, extremely likely to be highly styled, spiky hair).

Baddie parents are counting on baddie kids to act the part in their evil scheme to overthrow the goody two-shoes and take over the kingdom (or maybe just the Auradon part or is Auradon the kingdom?!). Will baddie kids be bad or will they save the kingdom by “embracing their innate goodness”. Hmm… “embracing their innate goodness”. I suppose we are in the Wonderful World of Disney. 🧚‍♂️

I’m not overly sure what happened in this volume other than it being a set up for the grand finale where our baddie heroes decide if they’re more baddie or hero. Other than that there were enough “I need a boyfriend” conversations, makeovers, cheerleaders and insta-love magic style to make me extremely grateful I’m done with high school.

If you loved the movie then you should like this trilogy because, from what I’ve read, it’s a play by play of the movie’s highlight reel. Personally I think I’ll give the rest of this trilogy a miss and will give the movie a very wide berth.

I like my villains to be of the sarcastic, funny, evil variety that is destined to die but they’re going to entertain you until then, like Hans Gruber from Die Hard or Peter Krieg, A.K.A., Simon Gruber (Hans’ brother) from Die Hard with a Vengeance. I want to love my villains, not watch them magically transform into someone we can all look to for moral guidance. If you want your villains to have a lightbulb moment and turn syrupy sweet this may be the story for you.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, TokyoPop and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read Volume 2 of this Disney Manga trilogy.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil have never ventured off the Isle of the Lost … until now. Invited to pristine Auradon to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos must carryout their villain parents evil plot to rule once again. Will the rebel teens follow in their rotten parents’ footsteps or will they choose to embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?

This is volume 2 of the Descendants Manga Trilogy.

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I Have Lost My Way – Gayle Forman

I Have Lost My Way is one of those books you need to savour. At the beginning of this book I didn’t know any of the characters, just as Freya, Nathaniel and Harun didn’t know one another. Yet as their stories unfolded I saw myself in each of them and began to feel like one of their people. I don’t think it matters with this book if you can relate personally to any of the character’s specific circumstances and why they find their lives colliding that day.

What matters is that all three have lost their way. I want to tell you all about their individual stories but it’s best you gradually get to know each character as you read. Told from all three perspectives, this is a story of love, friendship and discovering who you really are.

They each feel invisible in their own way. They all feel alone in their lives, whether they’re surrounded by adoring fans, a large family or no one at all. Their stories shine a light on the lengths we can go to in order to try to fit into the mould that others have created for us when we know deep down our shape looks nothing like that of the mould. Freya, Nathaniel and Harun share one fear: ‘if people knew the truth about me I would truly be alone’ so they hide parts of themselves from the world. I don’t know about you but this aching loneliness resonated with me.

I’m sure they and I aren’t the only ones who have ever felt this way, and that’s one of the strengths of a Gayle Forman novel. You feel. You feel for her characters and ultimately your glance turns inward and you examine yourself. There’s a feeling of inclusion in Gayle’s novels and as her characters slowly let others in and in doing so expand their lives, you feel a corresponding expansion of your own. You may begin reading with little or no understanding of where a specific character is coming from, and you may even find yourself judging them preemptively, yet as they bare their soul your heart opens.

There are some things I’ve noticed in all of Gayle’s novels. Regardless of the overall theme I get sucked into the story almost immediately, generally by the end of the first page. There’s at once a simplicity and complexity to her writing; easy to read yet with a depth you fall into without realising. I fall in love with her characters, idiosyncrasies and all, and find myself thinking about them long after I finish reading their stories. They have the ability to change me from the inside out.

Favourite Passage (of many!):

“To be the holder of other people’s loss is to be the keeper of their love. To share your loss with people is another way of giving your love.”

Best Description of Books Ever: “little empathy-delivery devices”. 💕

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for reminding me why I love everything Gayle writes and reigniting the need to devour her entire back catalogue while I wait for her next empathy-delivery device to imprint itself on my heart.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

A powerful display of empathy and friendship from the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of If I Stay.

Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from home to find the boy that he loves, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City after a family tragedy leaves him isolated on the outskirts of Washington state. After the three of them collide in Central Park, they slowly reveal the parts of their past that they haven’t been able to confront, and together, they find their way back to who they’re supposed to be.

Told over the course of a single day from three different perspectives, Gayle Forman’s newest novel about the power of friendship and being true to who you are is filled with the elegant prose that her fans have come to know and love.

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