REVIEW: Good Girl, Bad Blood (book) by Holly Jackson

Good Girl, Bad Blood is a YA mystery/thriller, the second in a series. I bought my copy new.

Review:

After the events of the first book, Pip is determined to no longer do detective work. She's still working on her true-crime podcast, but now it's focused on the murder trial related to the case she'd previously investigated. There won't be any new investigations.

That lasts until Connor, a friend of hers, asks for her help after his older brother Jamie goes missing. The cops aren't taking his disappearance seriously because he's disappeared a couple times before and come back, but Connor and his mother are convinced that this time is different.

Pip agrees to look into his disappearance and ask for leads from her podcast listeners. But as she starts to get as obsessed with this case as her previous one, she and those around her wonder whether she can handle this kind of strain again. Surely it's worth it if she can find Jamie, right?

REVIEW: Leather & Lark (book) by Brynne Weaver

Leather & Lark is a dark romance with an edge of suspense and black comedy. It's the second in a trilogy. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This second book in the trilogy stars Lark (indie singer-songwriter, beloved and pampered daughter of the wealthy Covaci family, and serial killer Sloane's best friend) and Lachlan (Rowan's older brother, and a contract killer who'd like to retire and focus on his leatherworking). The first time they meet, Lachlan is wearing a mask and a wetsuit and has been hired to clean up after Lark's latest "accident." What Lark can't bring herself to tell anyone, not even Sloane, is that she's a serial killer who's deliberately targeting men like the teacher who abused her when she was younger. Lachlan, however, assumes she's a spoiled, rich, walking disaster and treats her as such...which gets him in trouble with his boss when it affects his boss's contract with Lark's wealthy father.

A year or so later, Lark learns that someone has been killing members of her family, and that her parents suspect Lachlan might be responsible. Unfortunately, by taking care of this "problem," they'd be hurting Rowan and, by extension, Sloane. Lark can't let that happen, so she latches on to the best solution she can think of - pretend that she and Lachlan have suddenly fallen in love and decided to get married, and then work with Lachlan to find the actual culprit. Lachlan agrees to the plan because mending things with the Covaci family might make his boss more willing to let him retire, and because he genuinely wants to help Lark figure out the truth, but he and Lark haven't exactly gotten along since that time he locked her in the truck of a car. Still, there's an attraction between them, and as they spend more time together they start to realize that they might have misjudged each other.

REVIEW: Perfectly Imperfect Pixie (book) by MJ May

Perfectly Imperfect Pixie is a m/m fantasy romance, the first in a series. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Phil (short for Philodendron) is just like any other home-and-hearth pixie - pink wings, long ombre pink hair, and desperate to find a home and family that he can bond with, care for, and protect - except for one thing: he's six feet tall. Unfortunately, the only jobs he seems to be able to find are ones entirely unsuited to his pixie nature. His newest job, as a bouncer, is a disaster.

It's a dream come true when werewolf Sedrick Voss shows up looking for a home-and-hearth pixie who's a bit sturdier than usual. Sedrick has recently become the guardian of his brother's two young children, Ruthie and Dillon, after their parents' untimely death, and he desperately needs help, but young werewolves can be a bit of a handful. Phil seems like a perfect fit.

It starts to look like Phil has finally found the place he belongs. Unfortunately, as Sedrick's custody battle for Ruthie and Dillon heats up, there's an increased risk that Phil will lose his newfound sense of security and happiness.

REVIEW: Fright Night (book) by Maren Stoffels, translated by Laura Watkinson

Fright Night is YA horror. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This follows two groups of characters: Sofia, Dylan, and Quin, a group of friends who've decided to take part in Fright Night, a super-scary event in the woods that tailors its scares to the real-life fears of its participants; and Kelly and Sandy, a pair of troubled teens who've just gotten a part-time job as scarers at Fright Night.

This was marginally better than the other book I read by this author, Escape Room, but still not very good. The translation/writing is stiff and clunky, and the story itself doesn't have anything I'd call scary moments. One of the characters does eat a cockroach on-page, though, so...ew. There's that.

The details of Dylan and Kelly's pasts were relatively interesting, and I felt a bit sorry for them when everything was revealed. Overall, though, this was at best a lukewarm reading experience.

REVIEW: The Neighbor Wager (book) by Crystal Kaswell

The Neighbor Wager is a contemporary romance. I bought my copy new.

Review:

When they were kids, River lived next door to Lexi, the beautiful girl of his dreams, and her sister Deanna. He never really felt like he fit in. Lexi and Deanna basically lived in a mansion, and the only reason River's grandmother could afford to live in the same area was because she'd bought her house ages ago. Meanwhile, his mother was an addict who'd basically left him with his grandmother. Still, that didn't stop him from fantasizing that, one day, Lexi would realize that the two of them were meant to be.

Years later, Deanna and Lexi are in business together, trying to find investors for their dating app, Meetcute. Lexi is in her longest lasting relationship ever, 6 months with a guy she met through the app. Although she's happy, she isn't ready for a commitment, so she's horrified when one of their potential investors wants to make her, her boyfriend, and their future wedding (he hasn't proposed, and she doesn't want him to) the face of the app and the things it can accomplish for users. 

Still, Deanna figures they can work with it somehow. Until River turns up again, and Lexi, who'd previously never paid much attention to him, is suddenly intrigued by his attractive looks and tattoos. Knowing that the future of Meetcute depends upon it, Deanna becomes determined to keep Lexi and River from spending much time with each other. As sparks start to fly between Deanna and River, everyone finds themselves having to figure out how they really feel.

There's also a drunken bet, Lexi taking a brief "break" from her boyfriend, River worrying over his grandmother's health issues, and everyone talking about romance and sex at some point or another, but you get the idea.

REVIEW: The History of the Adventure Video Game (nonfiction book) by Christopher Carton

The History of Adventure Video Games is nonfiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This calls itself a history of adventure video games, but in reality it's more like a collection of adventure game descriptions, plus a little more in-depth info about three specific game developers/publishers (Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, and Telltale Games) and their adventure games. If you really want to know more about those companies, however, Wikipedia has more detailed info than this book does.

This is best read as an adventure gaming nostalgia-fest. Almost every adventure game I ever played that I in any way found memorable had an entry here - the only gaps I can think of are the Blackwell series from developer Wadjet Eye Games, Lost in Time (I can't remember whether this or Myst was my first adventure game), and few more recent titles like Fran Bow.

Almost every game mentioned included a screenshot, even the text-based adventures. In the chapters about specific developers, series were discussed in chronological order, so you could see, for example, how the graphics changed throughout the course of the King's Quest series. Each game entry gave an overview of the story and basic gameplay, what made it stand out, how it was received, etc.

As a long-time adventure game fan, I found this to be a fun read, even though it wasn't what I'd expected it to be.

REVIEW: Repatriate (book) by Jaime Maddox

Repatriate is a mystery/thriller with lesbian romance elements. I bought my copy new.

This review includes spoilers.

Review:

At the beginning of this, Ally Hamilton is an ER physician assistant who is confronted by her ER director about her opioid use. She voluntarily gives up her license and goes into rehab. Six months later, she's out of rehab and starting her new job at Hart Home Health & Hospice as a home health aide. While visiting one of her patients, Brodrik Rogan, the "Cadillac King," she admires the artwork around his house and realizes that he has copies of every piece of art stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum over 30 years ago. But what if they aren't copies? 

REVIEW: Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe (nonfiction picture book) written by Scott Riley with Sambat Meas, illustrated by Huy Voun Lee

Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe is a nonfiction picture book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

I don't normally read and review picture books, but I couldn't resist this one, which focuses on demining efforts in Cambodia, a Cambodian deminer named Malen, and the beginnings of efforts to use African giant pouched rats to more quickly and safely find explosives in Cambodia. The specific rat mentioned in this book was Magawa, an African giant pouched rat trained in Tanzania - Magawa spent five years sniffing out mines in Cambodia and located over 100 mines.

I couldn't say what children might think of this picture book, but I, personally, enjoyed it. I've loved the HeroRATs since I first heard about them, and I liked learning a little more about how Magawa helped Malen do her work more quickly and efficiently.

Extras:

A couple pages on the perspectives of the writers and illustrator of this picture book, a page about Magawa and the other rats trained by APOPO, a page outlining the steps involved in training one of the HeroRATs, a pronunciation guide, and a timeline. There are also photos of Malen, Magawa, a rat being trained, and demining work being done with a HeroRAT.

REVIEW: Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison and How We Stayed Connected (nonfiction graphic novel) by Jay Jay Patton, with Kiara Valdez & Markia Jenai

Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison and How We Stayed Connected is a graphic novel memoir. I bought my copy new.

Review:

In this graphic memoir, Jay Jay Patton talks about what it was like growing up with a father in prison, how the two of them stayed connected during that time, and the work the two of them did on the Photo Patch Foundation, an app designed to help children more easily stay connected with an incarcerated parent.

Patton's father was incarcerated from when she was age 3 to about age 10. She was only able to see him a couple times during that period, and calls to her dad's prison were expensive. They wrote each other as often as they could and Patton's father, who learned coding while in prison, would send her math puzzles to solve.

REVIEW: I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation (nonfiction graphic novel) by Natalie Nourigat

I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation is a nonfiction graphic novel. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Natalie Nourigat has worked on Bee and Puppycat, Encanto, Raya and the Last Dragon, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and more. In this short but text-heavy graphic novel, she talks about moving from Portland to Los Angeles to pursue a career in animation. There's lots of advice, notes of caution, and more here for those interested in working in animation and considering following a similar path. Nourigat talks about finding a place to live and what she wished she'd done differently, the perks of working in animation studios in L.A. versus her time in Portland working as a freelance commercial storyboard artist, what a typical day is like for her, the pros and cons of living in L.A., advice for getting a job with an animation studio, networking advice, and lots more.

In addition, Nourigat also includes the perspectives of several others working in animation in L.A.: Angie Wang, Antoine Ettori, Dave Pimentel, Diana Huh, Drew Green, Kellye Perdue, Megan Nairn, and Sam Spina.

REVIEW: If Anything Happens I Love You: A Graphic Novel Based on Academy Award-Winning Film (graphic novel) written and created by Will McCormack and Michael Govier, illustrated by Youngran Nho

If Anything Happens I Love You is a graphic novel. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This is the story of Rose and the people she left behind when she was killed in a school shooting. The focus is primarily on Rose's parents' feelings of grief in the aftermath, and how they, together with Rose's spirit and their memories of her, gradually start to heal.

Although this is marketed as a graphic novel, it reads more like a picture book to me.

I read this before watching the short film it was based on, expecting the two works to basically be the same. Although that was sort of true, and both works involved the same artist, the film centered the parents and their grief and kept Rose more in the background, while the graphic novel highlighted Rose's emotions and concern for her parents more. Also, the film was wordless while this book was not.

Both versions of the story are tearjerkers, and I couldn't tell you which one I prefer more.

REVIEW: The Art of Princess Mononoke: A Film by Hayao Miyazaki (nonfiction book) English adaptation by Takami Nieda

The Art of Princess Mononoke is a nonfiction book about the art and making of the movie Princess Mononoke. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This starts off with several poems written by Hayao Miyazaki to present his vision for several of the characters and beings in the movie. The book is filled with concept art, background art, storyboards, cel art, and CG images, arranged pretty much in the same order as the movie's scenes. The book wraps up with a few text-heavy chapters covering the movie's use of CG, digital compositing, and digital ink and paint. There's also a collection of layouts created by Miyazaki himself, and an English translation of the movie's production diary.

The style of this book was very different from the Disney movie art books I've seen, which took some getting used to. The bulk of it feels a little like rewatching the entire movie via sketches and cel and CG art. It's good-looking stuff, but I appreciated this book most during the more text-heavy portions near the end. I enjoyed learning more about how the CG aspects were integrated. Also, while the production diary was a lot, it still made for interesting reading.

REVIEW: A Court of Silver Flames (book) by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Silver Flames is the fifth book in Sarah J. Maas' fantasy romance series. I bought my copy new.

Review:

The King of Hybern has been defeated, although there are still ongoing problems with the mortal queens, particularly Briallyn, and other machinations among some of the faerie courts. Rhysand has both Azriel and Cassian working to address these issues. However, Cassian's time and attention is devoted to an issue of personal concern to Feyre: Nesta and her self-destructive behavior.

Nesta is given an ultimatum: either she moves into the House of Wind and divides her time between training with Cassian and working with the priestesses in the library, or she'll be banished to the human lands. She reluctantly agrees to go to the House of Wind, but Cassian soon learns that every inch of ground he hopes to gain with her will be a battle.

REVIEW: Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator (nonfiction graphic novel) by Darryl Cunningham

Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator is a nonfiction graphic novel. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This biography follows Vladimir Putin from his birth to sometime in 2021 (near the end, it's mentioned that this was being written while Alexei Navalny was still recovering from his 24-day hunger strike in prison). 

As a graphic novel, this isn't particularly good. It's extremely text-heavy, with much of the artwork based on photographs from news articles and videos. Could this have been a short, text-only book? Probably. Still, the format makes it somewhat easier for folks (like me) who prefer to tackle their nonfiction in audio or graphic novel form to trick themselves into being less daunted by the content, so there's that.

This was not an easy read, and I could feel my hands shaking in anger during parts of it, particularly when I recalled the many instances of Trump praising Putin. This isn't something I'd recommend if you want to feel particularly positive about the next few years.

REVIEW: The Awakening (book) by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

The Awakening is the first book in the Zodiac Academy series. It's marketed as fantasy romance, part of the "bully romance" subgenre. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Darcy and Tory are twin orphans who were raised in various awful foster homes. They were promptly kicked out of their final foster home when they turned 18. The only problem? Their secret savings stash is still in the house. They're able to get their hands on it, but their lives are almost immediately upended by the arrival of Professor Orion, a hot-looking guy who claims they're both Fae, Changelings who were swapped with human twins when they were babies. They have powers linked to the elements and their Zodiac sign, Gemini.

It's a lot to take in, but there's some appeal to going with Professor Orion (plus, he doesn't really give them much of a choice) - if they can graduate from Zodiac Academy, they'll inherit a sizeable inheritance and finally have the freedom and security they've always wanted. They'll also have the chance to reclaim their parents' throne - this, unfortunately, makes them a target of the Celestial Heirs, the young Fae men who've been raised on the understanding that they'll share the task of ruling over Solaria, the land of the Fae, together.

Right from the start, the twins are separated, required to be in different Houses. Although they still share a lot of classes, they're generally surrounded by potential enemies. It's tough to tell who they can trust, and it doesn't help that at least one of the Heirs may be keeping secrets from the others. 

REVIEW: Character Design Quarterly, 23 (magazine issue)

Character Design Quarterly is a magazine, although each issue has its own ISBN and it's possible to purchase individual issues, which is how I ended up with this one.

Review:

I enjoyed the other issue of this publication that I read, so I decided to pick up a few more. This issue features:

- An interview with Kenneth Anderson about his art and career
- A step-by-step look at Kenneth Anderson's process for creating the cover art
- A step-by-step look at Angel Ren's process for creating a white lion rock guitarist
- An interview with Dave Guertin
- A step-by-step tutorial on Kaining Wang's process for creating a pair of characters meant to work together as a team in an ongoing narrative
- A tutorial from Nathanna Érica focused on color schemes
- A gallery of artwork by Raahat Kaduji, Paige McMorrow, and Maxine Vee
- A character design tutorial from Michaela Nienaber, focused on the creation of a stylized anthropomorphic character using the keywords "engineer, plant, excite."
- An interview with Jackie Droujko
- A tutorial from Eléonore Pelluau on the creation of an anthropomorphic vegetable character intended for a younger audience
- A step-by-step look at Marjolaine Roller's process for creating a reimagining of the Bluebeard character for a younger audience
- Insider the cover flap, there's a tutorial from Lorenzo Etherington on creating flip-shape characters

I don't have anything new to say about this. As usual, it's got great artwork and a nice look at several different artists' process for creating various kinds of characters.

REVIEW: Here (graphic novel) by Richard McGuire

Here is an experimental graphic novel. It doesn't really fit into any genres, although it has elements of historical fiction, domestic fiction, and science fiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This is a very experimental graphic novel. Apparently it started off as just a six-page work and was later expanded. The story, such as it is, is presently nonlinearly, through glimpses of a single room (or location, since the room doesn't always exist) over the course of hundreds of thousands of years. Several time periods are shown simultaneously, via little slices of the overall picture. We see how things are in the room's location before people exist. We see history happen in that location (I think the one character is Ben Franklin?), we see the house get built in 1907, and we see people grow, live, and die there. The house itself is destroyed in 2111, but things continue to happen in that same location.

REVIEW: Unicorn Vs. Goblins: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure (graphic novel) by Dana Simpson

Unicorn Vs. Goblins is the third Phoebe and Her Unicorn comics collection. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Phoebe goes to music camp for a week during the summer. Dakota has some issues with her magical hair gaining a mind of its own - this eventually results in problems with goblins. We meet Marigold's sister, Florence Unfortunate Nostrils. Then it's time to go back to school. Phoebe accidentally becomes briefly famous for being Marigold's friend. She worries about PE and really looks up to Sam, an older student she thinks is cool.

I don't really have anything new to say about this series. It's just a nice, fun, low-stress read with enjoyable, slightly flawed characters. I love the character designs - the new little goblins are cute.

Extras:

An introduction by Cory Doctorow (with Poesy Taylor Doctorow, age 7, his daughter). Also, instructions for drawing various supporting characters, a recipe for "Questing Mix" (trail mix), and a page on the appearance of a unicorn in the original Alice in Wonderland.

REVIEW: Multiverse: The Art of Aleksi Briclot (nonfiction book)

Multiverse: The Art of Aleksi Briclot is an art book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This was an impulse purchase inspired by the little sliver with Deadpool on the cover. I didn't recognize Aleksi Briclot's name, although I'm sure I've seen his art a bunch of times - he's done concept art for several Marvel movies, Magic: The Gathering (he apparently designed the five planeswalkers of Lorwyn), a game called Remember Me (which I've never played, although I recognized the related artwork in this book immediately), and more.

The book starts with a section on Briclot's movie-related artwork, then moves into graphic novels and book covers, then game art, and finally artwork Briclot has mostly done for himself or that is otherwise less conventional. The artwork is all accompanied by text written by Briclot (in parallel French and English).

One thing I wish had been given a little more attention was Briclot's mindmaps, sketchbook pages in which he worked through ideas for characters and projects. Several mindmaps were included in the book, but they were always small enough that it was difficult to really read through them. I did appreciate that Briclot discussed his mindmaps in part of the text, though.

Overall, this was a really nice art book.

REVIEW: The Wild Robot Protects (book) by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot Protects is the third book in Peter Brown's middle grade sci-fi series. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Roz is back on her beloved island, and life seems good until an injured seal washes ashore and warns everyone of something called the "poison tide." When the poison tide reaches the island, everyone realizes how horrible it truly is. Roz does her best to save any animals in immediate danger and comes up with a plan to provide everyone with fresh water, but those are only temporary solutions. When Roz discovers that she's immune to the poison tide, she decides to go on a journey to find the Ancient Shark, who many say is the only one who knows how to defeat the poison tide.

REVIEW: Marvel Meow (graphic novel) by Nao Fuji, text by Shunsuke Nakazawa

Marvel Meow is a short collection of comics, some previously posted on Marvel's official Instagram. I bought my copy new.

Review:

I saw the cover for this and thought it looked cute. Plus, I'm generally a fan of comics/stories focused on superheroes living their everyday lives.

Apparently some of this volume was previously posted on Marvel's official Instagram, with additional pages created specifically for this release. I don't follow Marvel on Instagram and couldn't say how much of this was new.

Captain Marvel's pet, Chewie, (who is not a cat but rather a flerken, an alien that looks like a cat) spends time with various Marvel superheroes. Every few pages, there's a brief breakdown of the superheroes Chewie has spent time with, along with some basic info about who they are/what their powers are.

This was sort of cute and occasionally mildly amusing, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be. The action/events depicted were sometimes a little hard to follow. I had also hoped that there would be more playing with the fact that Chewie is a flerken, but Chewie might as well have been an ordinary cat for all these pages showed.

REVIEW: Studio Ghibli: The Complete Works (nonfiction book) editorial work by Kodansha, editorial supervision by Studio Ghibli, translated by Shizuka Otake

Studio Ghibli: The Complete Works is nonfiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This book covers every Studio Ghibli film from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind to Earwig and the Witch (with some mentions of The Boy and the Heron, which was still in production when this book was being written).

Every one of those movies, except Earwig and the Witch, gets approximately four full pages devoted to it, including information such as the year of release, a description, credits, plot summary, work on which the film was based (when applicable), main characters, a character relationship diagram, noteworthy scenes and trivia, posters and newspaper advertisements from the film's release (including international posters), and a few behind-the-scenes details.

Earwig and the Witch gets a whole 8-page section of its own at the beginning of the book, including an interview with director Goro Miyazaki. That's followed by a history and timeline of Studio Ghibli. The book wraps up with theatrical pamphlet or planning document text for each of the movies.

REVIEW: Episode Thirteen (book) by Craig DiLouie

Episode Thirteen is horror. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This book is set up as the written version of "found footage" horror - it's composed of journal entries, emails, text messages, and transcripts of video and audio footage left behind by the cast and crew of a ghost hunting show called Fade to Black. 

Episode 13 of the show is going to center around a place called Foundation House, which is famous for being a site of paranormal research in the 1970s. After working with several research subjects in order to find the top three most psychically sensitive, the research team planned to conduct several experiments to contact paranormal entities. One of the research subjects dropped out, but the other two stuck around long enough to be driven crazy by the experiments. The research team had planned further work when they all mysteriously disappeared.

Fade to Black's cast and crew consists of Matt Kirklin (true believer and lead investigator), his wife Claire Kirklin (scientist, skeptic, and co-lead investigator), Jessica Valenza (stage name for Rashida Brewer, the show's only professional actress), Kevin Linscott (true believer, former cop, and the show's tech manager), and Jake Wolfson (the show's cameraman). 

Matt's under some pressure - it's still up in the air whether the show will be renewed for a second season, so Episode 13 has to be really good. What he doesn't realize is that his scientist wife has become increasingly unhappy with being on the show and is planning on leaving. Jessica, meanwhile, is painfully aware that this is her biggest and most steady acting job ever, and that it could go up in smoke at any minute. Kevin is a bit sore because he originally wanted to be part of the primary investigation crew, and he'll take any chance he can get to talk about a supposed experience he had with a demon when he was a police officer. Jake prefers to stay in the background and has no interest in sharing personal details about himself.

Matt, Claire, and the others will only get 72 hours at Foundation House before it's demolished. By Day 2, things are already looking promising. They have no idea what kind of rabbit hole they've found for themselves.