The Dresden File Series by Jim Butcher

Author: Jim Butcher
Narrator: James Marsters

Publication: 2000- present

Publisher: Roc

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Audience: 18 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Purchased/Public Library

Photo credit: Google Images via www.ichimonchi.com

I probably have no right to discuss this series, as it is one that I have been working on for some time. I believe I got all the way to Small Favor before graduate school took over my life. So I get credit for reading over half the series, right? This series was ruined for me by the friend who likes to ruin all book series for me. However, since he told me this ending, more books have come out to add onto the series. Anyway, I am currently re-reading them and prepping for the new book, Skin Games which is due out on May 27, 2014.

When I meet people who love to read, especially love to read urban fantasy, I suggest this book. My friends and patrons who have actually gave this book a chance have ALWAYS come back telling me how great it is OR they ask me the title of the next book.  I strongly suggest listening to the audiobooks. Especially if you are a Buffy fan, that guy that played Spike, yeah, he is the narrator and a darn good one too! If you are not into audiobooks, then go to your nearest library and check it out or buy it on Amazon. Sorry hardback book lovers, but the first three are super rare in hardback and worth lots of money, so it will be paperback. Better yet, just get the audiobook, you won't regret it!

So you are probably wondering what the book is all about. It is essentially a grown up Harry Potter, set in our world, Chicago to be exact, during modern, current time. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a Chicago wizard who is listed in the phone book and sometimes works on police cases for the Special Investigations Department. The book series really develops Harry in a way that he almost feels like a real person you know. He is awkward, but strong. He even battles with himself over the good and the bad he could do. This is something we all battle with at times. He is just a real-life like character and so loveable (to me anyways). You want to help defeat his adversaries, and unfortunately, Mr. Dresden has quite the army against him. However, he does not go into battle alone. He has his own army of friends to support him.
I like most of the characters in the book. A few really creep me out like the skinwalkers and the fallen angels. Of course, any friend of Harry's- I pretty much like. I love Molly, Toot Toot, Mister, and Mouse, and Thomas. I especially love Mab. She works herself into Harry's life...and he can't really wriggle free of her icy grasp.
You get a little bit of everything in this series. From faeries to Santa being of the high faerie court himself to a walking, talking, breathing archive of the world, to the Billy Goats Gruff to dinosaurs. It seriously has some fantasy topic for everyone.
 Sorry if I am being a bit vague, but I don't want to ruin anything for you because seriously you HAVE to go now and get Storm Front ASAP! NOW GO!

On a side note, my husband and I went to a convention in February and got to meet the author of the series, Jim Butcher. He is such a cool guy. I said some really awkward, uncool, fan-girl stuff in front of him, but I managed to keep my cool. Inside though, I was flailing about, crying, and screaming. It was one of the best days of my life. Here is a picture of me, Jim Butcher, and my husband. My husband had made each of us a wizard's staff before meeting Mr. Butcher, and we carried them with us. Have you ever met a favorite author?

Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds

Author: Gail Simone
Illustrators: Ed Benes, Alex Lei, Rob Lea

Title:Birds of Prey: Of Like Minds

Publication: March 1, 2004

Publisher: DC

Genre: Graphic Novel, Comic Book

Pages: 144

Audience: 16 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from the cover): After being paralyzed from the waist down, former Batgirl Barbara Gordon took on the persona of information cyber lord oracle and began a successful crime-fighting partnership with the Black Canary.
But when the two femmes fatales are confronted by Savant, a villain whose physical and mental abilities equal their own, they become drawn into a deadly and elaborate trap. Now with the madman holding Black Canary hostage, Oracle- who reluctantly enlists the aid of the Huntress- must choose between revealing Batman's secret identity to her captor and saving the life of her friend and partner.

My thoughts:
Gail Simone is one of my favorite comic book writers. I also follow her on Twitter and she is hilarious and extremely opinionated. Either way, the lady can write. I'm not sure if this is volume three, or if she took over and made it her own. Amazon claims it is volume 1, Goodreads says volume 3. I feel like it could be a continuation of Chuck Dixon's story, but starting in this graphic novel, Black Canary knows who the Oracle is. Either way, I believe this is where the story really picks up. I gave the other two a 4 out of 5, but I could not put this book down! I was taking a 15 minute break at work, and accidentally took a longer break because I was reading. 
This story adds a more human aspect to the characters. Even though they are superheroes, they are still  human and can get hurt. It also deals with relationships- business, romantic, friendship. It just made the storyline more rounded. No matter what number in the timeline, this graphic novel falls in, it is a perfect stand alone graphic novel and I highly recommend it!

 

Birds of Prey Volume 2: Old Friends, New Enemies

Authors: Chuck Dixon, Greg Land, and Drew Geraci
Illustrators: Greg Land and Drew Geraci

Title:Birds of Prey Volume 2: Old Friends, New Enemies

Publication: February 22, 2011

Publisher: Vertical

Genre: Graphic Novel, Comic Book

Pages: 224

Audience: 16 and up

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from the cover): 
Recruited by the mysterious Oracle to act as her agent, former justice leaguer Black Canary now travels the globe fighting injustice and forcing the guilty to pay for their crimes. Through their adventures an odd friendship has developed, even though Black Canary has never even seen Oracle face to face.

But their friendship and their lives could be cut sort when Black Canary finds herself. in the middle of a deadly hunt being led by the ruthless cult leader Kobra for a long forgotten piece of Russian technology, and as Black Canary fights for her life, Oracle has her own troubles when the U.S. Army begins tracking down the person hacking into their systems, There's no rest for anybody here, wicked or otherwise.

My thoughts:
This comic was action packed. My husband loves Chuck Dixon and I can see why! He is a great writer and I just love him for spawning The Birds of Prey storyline. Black Canary is still doing what she does best- kicking bad dude's butts. Oracle is still utilizing her librarian skills and finding the bad guy's hideouts. They make a great team, which in turn is a great read. I found the individual stories intertwined, but not as closely as volume 1. The last story in the book was kind of crazy and involved time travel and a lake in Minnesota. It was just really odd. Even though, the last story kind of threw me for a loop, the entire book is worth reading!

 

Li'l Gotham Volume 1

Authors: Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen
Illustrator: Dustin Nguyen

Title: Li'l Gotham Volume 1

Publication: February 25, 2014

Publisher: DC

Genre: Graphic Novel, Comic Book

Pages: 128

Audience: 10 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from the cover): Life in the big city just got crazier with this year-round all-ages holiday fun, featuring Batman and all of his adorable allies and adversaries! Crimefighting and celebrating go hand-in-hand in Gotham with Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and more!

My thoughts:

 I have been waiting since September or October for the trade of this graphic novel to come out! It was sooooo precious! I'm not sure every character stays in the "li'l" format, but this is the cleanest novel I have ever read. I would share it with a younger audience. It is really perfect for all ages. I love corny jokes and puns, and this comic was filled to the brim with them- I laughed through the entire book. The artwork appeared to be done in watercolor, which was beautiful, but at times lacked in detail or was a bit faint. However, when you are making all your characters little, I guess small details can be forgiven.
If you are looking for a clean read or a place to jump start into comics, this one is perfect!

Audiobook Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book One: The Lightning Thief

Author: Rick Riordan
Narrator: Jesse Bernstein

Title:Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book One: The Lightning Thief

Publication: June 28, 2005

Publisher: Listening Library

Genre: Middle-Grade, Mythology

Pages: 416
Length: 10 hours and 1 minute

Audience: 10 and up

Rating: 3 out of 5

Source: Public Library

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself. Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp. Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends-one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena-will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

My thoughts:

 I know, I know. This book has been out for almost 10 years. It was something I always meant to pick up, but I always had something else to read. So now I'm making up for lost time. My husband and I went on a road trip a couple of weeks ago, and we now have a tradition of having an audiobook to listen to on the trip. He had tried to read The Lightning Thief a couple of times, but he always turned it off. I thought, AH HA! We are stuck in a car and I will not allow him to turn it off. The book started out slow for me, and I was able to figure every single thing out a chapter or in some cases many chapters ahead. However, the audience for this book isn't adult it is for middle-school aged kids. I think this book is perfect for middle schoolers and they might learn something in the process. I learned a few things even!
The characters were straight out of mythology, so nothing too new. Annabeth is the annoying little sister type character. Grover was the traditional best friend. Percy was the confused, main hero. It is like Harry Potter, but he isn't orphaned and it is mythology not magic. 
I listened to the audiobook and Jesse Bernstein did a great job. He did different voices for every single character. He is a talented narrator, and if you have a middle schooler, you should make them listen to this book. He only had one tic that kind of annoyed me. Every time he said "Grover" it was more like, "Grover?", but in a mom type voice. You know, when you get into trouble and your mom says, "Susie? What did you do?" He seemed to do that a lot, but it is nothing major, just something I noticed.
So if you're bored, this is a great listen. I'm not sure I'll listen to the others because I'm older, but if I had read them when they came out, I probably would have loved them more.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Author: Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant

Publication: October 22, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Pages: 544

Audience: 15 and up

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis (from the cover): The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered- fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature- and of herself- wile facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

My thoughts:
 I finished this book a few days ago. I actually started the book back in October right after it came out, but a friend of mine ruined the ending...so I kind of put it off. I'm also doing that to another series. I hate it when people do that, but I eventually get over it because I get to experience the journey. It's just I know I won't have a raw/true reaction to that event because I'm expecting it. Anyway, I'm really not sure how I feel or what I think about this book. I read some reviews about it, and I think the best one described it as Katy Perry's song, Hot and Cold. I think that perfectly sums it up. 
Unlike some fans of the series, I did enjoy reading the book for the most part. I did not like the varying viewpoints because to me Tris and Tobias were written so much alike, that I would forget whose perspective I was in until another character said something, then I was thinking, "Huh? When did we switch perspectives?" 
Of course, Mrs. Roth has no issues killing off her characters. In a way, I respect authors who want to rip your hearts out, but after a while, I start to detach myself from the book and characters so I'm not hurt every three chapters or so. I think she did an overkill for the series, even though it is a dystopian series, she killed off way too many loveable characters. She killed off one of my favorite characters and I had to stop reading at that point and let myself be angry and upset over it. I'm pretty sure I'm still not over it.
As for the ending, I felt one ending was too abrupt for one character. The other character's ending was a bit fluffy and sugary sweet for my taste. Otherwise, the book was fine. It was a conclusive ending to the trilogy. I honestly liked it. There were a couple of quotes about information and one about love that I wrote down to remember. I can say I like Divergent and Insurgent better, but Allegiant makes an okay ending for the series. What do you think? Were you a lover or hater of Allegiant?

 

Superman: Red Son

Author: Mark Millar
Illustrators: Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett

Title: Superman: Red Son 
Publication: February 1, 2004

Publisher: DC
Genre: Action

Pages: 160

Audience: 13 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Bought

Synopsis (from Amazon):
From acclaimed writer Mark Millar (Ultimate X-Men), and artists Dave Johnson (100 Bullets) and Kilian Plunkett, comes a revolutionary alternate reality for Superman! It's an American nightmare! What if baby Superman had crashed on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain and grew up to become Stalin's right-hand man? And what if insane genius Lex Luthor was employed by the US government to develop their own countermeasure against the Man of Steel, turning the Cold War hot?! Alive with historical figures and starring a host of familiar superheroes, including Batman and Wonder Woman as you've never seen them before, this superb graphic novel takes the arms race and infuses it with the thrilling powers of Kryptonite!

My thoughts:As I stated before im not a big Superman fan, but if a Superman story comes highly recommend, I'll give it a try. Now love him or hate him, Superman is an American icon, and that's why I found an alternate storyline where Superman, as a baby crashes in Russia during the Cold War rather than America so interesting. He is The Man of Steel raised on Communist ideas, but he is still Superman. He still wants to help people and do what he thinks is right. I highly recommend this book to any comic book fan. Comrade Superman wont let you down.

Y the last man Vol. 1 Unmanned

Author: Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrator: Pia Guerra

Title: Y the last man Vol. 1 Unmanned

Publication: January 2, 2003

Publisher: Vertigo

Genre: Action
Pages: 128

Audience: 18 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Bought

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble):"Y" is none other than unemployed escape artist Yorick Brown (his mother was a Shakespeare buff), and he's seemingly the only male human left alive after a mysterious plague kills all Y-chromosome carriers on earth. But why are he and his faithful companion, the often testy male monkey Ampersand, still alive? He sets out to find the answer (and his girlfriend), while running from angry female Republicans (now running the government), Amazon wannabes that include his own sister (seemingly brainwashed), and other threats.

My thoughts: Not much is going right for Yorick  Brown. He's unemployed, his girlfriend in on walk about in Australia, and he's a shut in. But things aren't all bad. He's an English major, an escape artist, and he has a pet monkey. However everything changes when every male on earth dies except Yorick and his monkey. I liked this book a lot and I can't wait to read the next volume, because while  a world of only women may sound like the ultimate male fantasy, Yorick doesn't seem to be having a very good time with it.

Saga Vol.1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Author: Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrator: Fiona Staples

Title: Saga
Publication: October 10, 2012

Publisher: Image

Genre: Science Fiction, humor, action

 Pages: 160

Audience: 18 and up

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Bought

Synopsis (Amazon):

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. From New York Times bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. This specially priced volume collects the first six issues of the smash-hit series The Onion A.V. Club calls "the emotional epic Hollywood wishes it could make." Voted one of the top graphic novels of the year by the NYT, IGN, the Examiner, and SF Weekly. Voted Best Comic of the year by MTV Geek and Best New Series by Paradox Comics. Voted a finalist in the GoodReads Best GN of 2012 contest. Voted #2 Graphic Novel of 2012 by Amazon editors.

My thoughts:  Saga. Wow, what can I say about Saga? I picked up this book on a recommendation from a friend, without knowing one single thing about it other than, "Dude it's amazing you need to read it." So I did, and was blown away. This is the story of two military deserters from two opposing planets at war and their newborn child, on the run from a cruel universe. I loved Saga, it has everything from guns and swords to spaceships and ghosts. Keep in mind this book does have nudity, strong language and heavy violence, but don't let that scare you away, because this is a very touching and action packed story. I can not wait till the next volume.