Comic Book Tuesday #1: Aladdin: Legacy of the Lost #1

Last week I talked about how I discovered comic books and how I'm slowly (but surely) becoming an avid fan of this form of literature. This is going to be a weekly feature in which I'll share the stories I discover in my new bookish adventure and I'll hope it will help you discover new books. Keep in mind that some of these books are freebies. However this does not in any way influence my review or my enjoyment of the books.

Blurb:

From the mystical city of Shambhalla to the ends of the Earth comes a tale of magic, mystery and the motivations of power. It is the world of Ala ad-Din, better known as Aladdin. A thief, gambler, liar and cheat, Aladdin’s reckless soul falls under the eye of the sorcerer Qassim. Qassim has spent his life scouring the sands for the Dreaming Jewel. This powerful lost relic could enable Qassim to steal the magic of the Djinn of the Lamp and reshape the world in his own malicious design. But to do so, he requires a mystical ability carried within Aladdin's blood... Power that not even Aladdin himself knows of.

The story of Aladdin has been told and re-told so many times and in so many mediums that for me it is always a challenge to try to read a new version of it. I am curious about how artists will interpret his story, but I'm always trying to keep my expectations a bit low.

Obviously, some of the themes in this version of the myth are familiar: the villain wants to find the magic lamp and control the Djinn imprisoned inside it, and the thief, a young man named Aladdin is the only one able to get the lamp. What was new was the darker, slightly dangerous side of Aladdin. This wasn't the charming young man Jasmine fell in love with in the animated version. He was angrier in a way, more troubled and less charming. I have a feeling the Djinn himself is not similar to the beloved Genie.

The art is beautiful, with gorgeous colors and very interesting details. I really want to see a paperback version, just to see if the colors are as beautiful in real life as they are on screen. I'm also really interested in the rest of the story, so I will definitely check out the next issues.

Book Review: 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt

Author: Leo Hunt
Series:
Publisher: Orchard Books
Release Date: February 19th 2015
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

When Luke Manchett's estranged father dies suddenly, he leaves his son a dark inheritance. Luke has been left in charge of his father's ghost collection: eight restless spirits. They want revenge for their long enslavement, and in the absence of the father, they're more than happy to take his son. It isn't fair, but you try and reason with the vengeful dead.

Halloween, the night when the ghosts reach the height of their power, is fast approaching. With the help of school witchlet Elza Moss, and his cowardly dog Ham, Luke has just thirteen days to uncover the closely guarded secrets of black magic, and send the unquiet spirits to their eternal rest. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Hachette Children's Books in exchange for an honest review.

I always enjoy taking a chance with new-to-me authors. Usually this forces me out of my comfy reader box, which I will admit is something that I need sometimes. This book presents a new take on necromancers and ghosts and I have to say, it was an interesting perspective. The fact that the story is told from a male character's POV was also a welcome change for me.

I really was intrigued by the idea that someone can "inherit" someone else's ghosts. This was the first thing that stood out when I read the blurb. One would hope they'd inherit money, estates or really pricey possessions from relatives, but ghosts? And not just any ghosts, but angry, creepy, scary as hell ghosts. I think Luke reacted like any other person would, which basically means to freak out at first.

Luke was an interesting character. I feel like he could have done things differently at the beginning of the story, mainly regarding his decision to hide certain things from his mom. I liked that he had the sense to be scared when he was. I did however wanted to shake him a few times, like I said before. But, all in all, it turned out great and I really did feel like he grew as a character by the end of the story.

 Elza was an interesting character. She was the voice of reason on some occasions. And I liked her willingness to help him, even though they weren't friends exactly. There is a romance element to their relationship, which I saw coming, to be fair.

This book was an interesting read, very fast paced and, like I said, new and fresh. I did hear that there's going to be a sequel and I hope that's not just a rumor and that it will be out soon. I want to see how Luke and Elza move on and how their relationship grows, but I also expect to see some new take on another supernatural element or creatures.

Trailer Reveal: Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

We are beyond thrilled to bring you all the Trailer Reveal for Jennifer L. Armentrout's OBLIVION! OBLIVION is a Young Adult Paranormal Romance being published by Entangled Teen, and is a part of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling LUX Series. It is being released on December 1^st, 2015!! Watch the trailer then pre-order your copy today!

 

OBLIVION Pre-Order

Amazon ** Kobo ** BAM ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks

   

OBLIVION Synopsis: Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black… I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it. And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are. But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game. Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger.It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

   

And don’t miss the first books in the LUX Series!

 

LUX: Beginnings Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

LUX: Consequences Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

OPPOSITION Amazon ** Barnes and Noble

 

About Jennifer L. Armentrout: # 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.  

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads

 

Confessions Of a Weird Reader #5: Me and Comic Books

Ever since I can remember I've had this big moments in my life as a reader. The first books I ever read were the Disney tie-in books that I absolutely adored. Then came the moment I discovered my love for fantasy. Then I discovered vampires, romance novels and contemporary books. Last year I discovered TV fanfiction and I have never been the same (because really, sometimes I need more scenes with my OTPs than I could ever get from the show itself). Aaand now I've gotten the comic book/graphic novel bug. 

The first time I was ever read a comic book was when I was around 9 I think, when my parents got me Asterix and Cleopatra. I remember looking at that book and noticing how pretty the drawings were (though Cleopatra did have a big nose in that book). But I also remember being utterly unable to wrap my mind around how to read it or how the dialogue bubbles made a story. It just never made sense to me. Then as I got older and I started reading more and more books, I didn't quite find a subject or story that made me want to delve into the world of comicss. Sure, I grew up watching Wonder Woman and Superman (the movies and the TV show), but I didn't exactly wanted to read more about them. And I know, it sounds strange when you think about it, especially since I'm the one who refuses to watch certain movies The Hunger Games before reading the books. Then earlier this year I decided to try one out, mostly because I was frustrated with the short and few scenes that Hawkeye got in the first Avengers movie. He needed more screen time.

Fast forward to this week and I now am exploring. Best way to explore? Free comic issues on comiXology and Amazon. I might have created a monster with this. But I've discovered a few things this week:

             -  I like colored comics more than black & white ones (although if I ever get to buy paperback versions of b&w comics, I could try to color them in... don't judge me!);
             - I do, in fact, want to read lesser-known graphic novels, not just those with the famous superheroes;
             - I might be willing to read an insane amount of movie/tv show tie-in comic books *cough*Buffy*cough*;
             - The most important discovery of all: comic books are fun to read!

I never thought I'd get to enjoy reading comic books as much as I am currently. I also caught myself searching for old issues at flea markets. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever have enough money for those. Shame, really.

Anyway, it's nice to spread my wings as a reader and discover new books. I feel proud of myself, to be honest.

So let's talk about comic books. Do you read them? How did you start?

PS.: If you happen to read comic books and know some good ones, do recommend me some. I am new to this and looking at the different story lines for the superheroes I have to admit, I'm a lot a bit scared. But don't limit yourselves to superheroes. Like I said, I'm willing to read other comics besides Marvel/DC books.

I'm baaaack!

Hey guys! So I finally can get back to blogging. I graduated last week and it feels amazing!

One of the perks of finally graduating is being able to read and binge watch TV shows. So that's what I've been doing for the past 6 days. Oh, and let's not forget sleep without dreaming of scary-as-hell scenarios in which I either don't graduate, forget to go to my final exam or even don't have my thesis ready to present. So that's good, right? Thought so too!

Now that I've graduated I can start blogging again. Which I've missed like crazy, to be honest. So be ready folks, because I've got stuff to talk about, books to review and covers to obsess over and I'll share it all with you :D

It is so good to be back!

Shelf Love: Perils of Book hoarding

The perils of book hoarding. Oh man. I am guilty of this. Especially when I visit thrift stores. Why, you ask? Because that is the moment when I realize that "OMG, I need this book in my life now". I've bought tons of books from thrift stores. Not because I'm cheap or anything, but because I find really good books there, books that I either can't find in bookstores or books that I never thought about buying. And usually the thrift stores from my town are associated with charities.

Another book hoarding habit that has been growing and growing and growing recently... Freebies. You know how we had that topic about where you get your freebies a while back? Well, bargains and freebies are so easy to hoard.

I, however, don't like to think of it as "hoarding". It's a slightly ugly word. I like to see it more as "building my own live-in library". See? Much better this way! There is one...problem here. I don't think I'd ever make enough money to buy a house big enough for all of the books I want to have to fit in. Which is why I thank every day for having an e-reader! Also, each new book means one step closer to a new visit to the furniture store for yet another book shelf.

So how about you? Do you hoard books?