Month: May 2021

Review: Dark One, Vol. 1

Title: Dark One, Vol. 1
Author: Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Publisher: Vault Comics
Source: Diamond Book Distributors via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 18, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Visions of a dark and fantastic world haunt Paul Tanasin, but when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus–a world in which he’s destined to become a fearsome destroyer–He’ll have to embrace the fear, rise up as The Dark One, and shatter everything.

Review:

Paul Tanasin is haunted by visions of a girl who claims to be his sister. He is sent to therapy but he can’t explain what is going on. One day he is captured and brought to a fantasy world, Mirandus, where he is destined to be the Dark One. Meanwhile, his mother is a attorney representing a serial killer. This murderer has an unusual request that she hasn’t seen before, but she must do her best to give him what he wants. Both Paul and his mother must face their demons in the real world and in Mirandus.

I like it when fantasy stories begin in the real world and then transport the characters to a fantasy land. There were some hints that something greater was going on in Paul’s life when he was haunted by a girl claiming to be his sister. He was destined to fulfill his role in the “narrative” that the people of Mirandus had to follow.

This story had the narrative trope of the “chosen one.” When Paul reached Mirandus, he was told that he was meant to play a particular role there. It didn’t take long for Paul to start to fill in that role, even though he didn’t want to at first. If someone is told that they are something enough times, they start to believe it, whether it’s good or bad.

This graphic novel finished on a cliffhanger so I’ll have to read the next one!

Thank you Vault Comics for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

White Sand, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin, Julius Gopez

Have you read Dark One, Vol. 1? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – May 3

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brendan Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – May 2

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 8 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… Dark One, Vol. 1

The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

This Sunday I’m reading Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Visions of a dark and fantastic world haunt Paul Tanasin, but when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus–a world in which he’s destined to become a fearsome destroyer–He’ll have to embrace the fear, rise up as The Dark One, and shatter everything.

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Stories Set in Spring

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Stories Set in Spring. Here’s my list:

1. Paper Towns by John Green

2. Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot

3. The Prom by Saundra Mitchell

4. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

5. The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

6. Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: A Universe of Wishes

Title: A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology
Author: Dhonielle Clayton (editor)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, LGBT, Short Stories
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased from Owlcrate
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: December 8, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best own-voices children’s authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).

In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, Victoria Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone, and a to-be-announced debut author/short-story contest winner

Review:

This is a collection of fantasy and science fiction stories written by diverse authors. These stories had characters of a variety of races, religions, and gender identities.

I used to think that I didn’t like short stories because the ones I read in school were literary and complicated to understand. If I had been introduced to collections like this book when I was younger, I would have read many more short stories before now!

Two of the stories are from the worlds of fantasy book series. The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libby Bray is from the Gemma Doyle series. A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab is from the Shades of Magic series. I’ve only read the Shades of Magic series, so it was fun to see this story from before the events of the series. I really want to read the Gemma Doyle series after reading that story.

I enjoyed all of these stories. I would read any of them if they were expanded into a full length novel. I had only read a handful of these authors before. I will definitely be reading more of the authors that were new to me.

I highly recommend this collection to YA fantasy and science fiction readers!

What to read next:

Vampires Never Get Old; Tales With Fresh Bite by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker (editors)

Fresh Ink: An Anthology by Lamar Giles (editor)

Have you read A Universe of Wishes? What did you think of it?