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Review: The Demon of River Heights (Nancy Drew: Girl Detective Graphic Novels #1)

Title: The Demon of River Heights (Nancy Drew: Girl Detective Graphic Novels #1)
Author: Stefan Petrucha
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Release Date: April 1, 2005
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Everyone’s favorite girl detective makes her dazzling graphic novel debut!

An all-new series of full-color Nancy Drew graphic novels, with all-new comics stories based on the series by Carolyn Keene, starts right here! Join Nancy, along with Bess and George, as they search for missing student filmmakers and discover the deadly secret behind the local urban legend known as “The Demon of River Heights.” Ages 8 to 12.

Review:

I’ve always loved Nancy Drew. I have my mom’s copies of the books from when she was a kid, and I still play the games. I was excited to read this graphic novel!

It was a pretty good story. I read some bad reviews of this book before I read it, so I didn’t expect much. However, I enjoyed the story. The characters were very familiar. Bess, George, and Nancy had to solve a mystery together. Meanwhile, Deirdre Shannon was getting in the way. The only character I didn’t see was Ned, and I hope to see him in later comics.

The graphics weren’t the best. They were flat and one dimensional most of the time. Later in the story, some panels had more depth. The background was blurry so the people in the forefront stood out more. That made it look three dimensional.

I enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading the next one.

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – October 17

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.

The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Renegades Trilogy continues, in this fiercely awaited second installment after the New York Times-bestselling Renegades by Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles.

Time is running out.
Together, they can save the world.
But they each other’s worst nightmare.

In Renegades, Nova and Adrian (aka Insomnia and Sketch) fought the battle of their lives against the Anarchist known as the Detonator. It was a short-lived victory.

The Anarchists still have a secret weapon, one that Nova believes will protect her. The Renegades also have a strategy for overpowering the Anarchists, but both Nova and Adrian understand that it could mean the end of Gatlon City – and the world – as they know it.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Doctor Who: Sick Building

Title: Doctor Who: Sick Building
Author: Paul Magrs
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: BBC Books
Source: Library
Release Date: September 6, 2007
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Tiermann’s World: a planet covered in wintry woods and roamed by sabre-toothed tigers and other savage beasts. The Doctor is here to warn Professor Tiermann, his wife and their son that a terrible danger is on its way. The Tiermanns live in luxury, in a fantastic, futuristic, fully-automated Dreamhome, under an impenetrable force shield. But that won’t protect them from the Voracious Craw. A gigantic and extremely hungry alien creature is heading remorselessly towards their home. When it gets there everything will be devoured. Can they get away in time? With the force shield cracking up, and the Dreamhome itself deciding who should or should not leave, things are looking desperate…

Review:

This is my first review of an audiobook! I have listened to a few audiobooks in the past when I had a long commute to school, but now I don’t have a commute so I haven’t been listening to them. I found these Doctor Who audiobooks on my library app, and they are nice and short, so I will be listening to and reviewing them!

The narrator was Will Thorp, and he was amazing! He did different voices for all of the different characters. His voice for the Doctor sounded exactly like David Tenant, who plays the Tenth Doctor in this book. I will definitely be looking for more books narrated by him.

I also liked how short this audiobook was. It was only 2 hours long, so I was able to listen to it two days, while I was driving around and doing errands. Sometimes, I lose interest and get distracted when audiobooks are too long. This story was short and succinct.

I loved this book! I’m looking forward to listening to more Doctor Who audiobooks.

Top Ten Tuesday – Bookstores/Libraries I’ve Visited

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Bookstores/Libraries I’ve Always Wanted to Visit, but I thought it would be easier to list the ones that I have visited. Here’s my list:

1. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (Toronto)

2. Toronto Reference Library (Toronto)

3. Indigo (Toronto)

4. Barnes and Noble (Buffalo)

5. British Library (London)

6. Waterstones (London)

7. Foyles (London)

8. Book City (Toronto)

9. Ben McNally Books (Toronto)

10. Type Books (Toronto)

(All photos taken from Google)

Blog Tour Review: The Flight of Swans

Title: The Flight of Swans
Author: Sarah McGuire
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Source: Thomas Allen & Son (book distributor)
Release Date:October 1, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Based on the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale Six Swans, The Flight of Swans follows Ryn’s journey to save her family and their kingdom.

Princess Andaryn’s six older brothers have always been her protectors–until her father takes a new Queen, a frightening, mysterious woman who enchants the men in the royal family. When Ryn’s attempt to break the enchantment fails, she makes a bitter bargain: the Queen will spare her brothers’ lives if Ryn remains silent for six years.

Ryn thinks she freed her brothers, but she never thought the Queen would turn her brothers into swans. She never thought she’d have to discover the secret to undoing the Queen’s spell while eluding the Otherworldly forces that hunt her. And she never thought she’d have to do it alone, without speaking a single word.

As months as years go by, Ryn learns there is more to courage than speech . . . and that she is stronger than the Queen could have ever imagined.

Review:

This is a great fairy tale story.

At first, I thought it was going to be a Snow White story because I’m not familiar with the Grimm tale called Six Swans. It started out like Snow White, because Ryn’s father married a woman who turned out to be an evil witch. I was immediately sympathetic toward Ryn’s situation. The way that her dad suddenly ignored her was so sad.

The story progressed slowly, but it became exciting toward the end. There was a lot of time spent alone in the woods, which was monotonous and slow. However, the story picked up with a change of scenery.

I really enjoyed this story. It’s a great fairytale.

About the Author:

Sarah McGuire is a nomadic math teacher who sailed around the world aboard a floating college campus. She writes fairy tale retellings and still hopes that one day she’ll open a wardrobe and stumble into another world. Coffee and chocolate are her rocket fuel. She wishes Florida had mountains, but she lives there anyway with her husband (who wrote this bio in less than three minutes!) and their family.

Follow Sarah:
Website→ https://www.sarahmcguirebooks.com/

Twitter → @fireplusalgebra (http://ow.ly/zrwP30m75Rt)
Goodreads → http://ow.ly/Nz2930m75VN

Thank you to Thomas Allen & Son for letting me participate in this blog tour.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – October 15

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 The Flight of the Swans by Sarah McGuire.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada.

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

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – October 14

Here’s my weekly wrap up!

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

Making Friends ★★★
Odd One Out ★★★★★
Archie, Vol. 3 ★★★★
The Devil’s Thief (The Last Magician #2) ★★★★★
Anyone’s Game (Cross Ups #2) ★★★★★
Strange the Dreamer ★★★★★

I did 7 weekly blogging memes:

I also posted about the YA Fall Preview that I went to in August at HarperCollins Canada:

Book Event: HarperCollins Canada YA Fall Preview

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With…

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 A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi.

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.

But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

What book are you in bed with today?

Review: Strange the Dreamer

Title: Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1)
Author: Laini Taylor
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.

Review:

I had never read a Laini Taylor book before this one, and I loved it! I’ll definitely be reading more of her books.

I was hooked right from the beginning. I really liked Lazlo. He was a unique character for a fantasy novel, because he was so meek. He didn’t know much beyond his books in the library. He was a dreamer, as the title suggests. However, he was able to live his dream, which changed him.

The city of Weep was so fascinating. I loved the mystery of how the name suddenly disappeared from history. The gods and godspawn were creepy, though. It took a while to get used to the dynamics of the godspawn up in the citadel. There are a few who I really didn’t like. I would love to see a backstory to the gods and their escapades before they were killed.

The ending was quite surprising. I can’t wait to continue this series with Muse of Nightmares.

Stacking the Shelves – October 13

This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

I received two books from HarperCollins Canada:

The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah
Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas

I also got a book I preordered from Indigo:

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for those books!

What books did you get this week?

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Writ in Stone (Nancy Drew: Girl Detective Graphic Novels #2) by Stefan Petrucha

Sleepover Sleuth (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #1) by Carolyn Keene

Goodreads Synopsis:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Doctor Who: Wetworld by Mark Michalowski

Doctor Who: Wooden Heart by Martin Day

1. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (Toronto)

2. Toronto Reference Library (Toronto)

3. Indigo (Toronto)

4. Barnes and Noble (Buffalo)

5. British Library (London)

6. Waterstones (London)

7. Foyles (London)

8. Book City (Toronto)

9. Ben McNally Books (Toronto)

10. Type Books (Toronto)

(All photos taken from Google)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Valiant by Sarah McGuire

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison

About the Author:

What I just finished:

What I’m currently reading:

What I’m reading next:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah

Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera