Really Short Reviews: Psy-Changeling Novella Edition Part One!

Guys! We're less than a week from the release of Wild Embrace, the latest novella bind-up for the Psy-Changeling series, and I couldn't be more excited! In celebration, I decided to review all of the previously published Psy-Changeling novellas. Since these are novellas or novella bind-ups, I'm going to review these a little differently. I'm going to make a comment on where each story falls in the series and give you my overall opinion of the novella. That way I don't spoil them for anybody.

Whisper of Sin

(Psy-Changeling #0.6)

Nalini Singh

Release: February 2, 2014

Goodreads Amazon

A PSY-CHANGELING NOVELLA BY "THE ALPHA AUTHOR OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE" (Booklist)

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her phenomenal Psy-Changeling world as a woman in peril finds herself in the arms of a dangerously beautiful shapeshifter…

San Francisco is under threat from a violent gang…a gang that has no idea who they’re challenging. The DarkRiver pack of leopard changelings has already claimed the city as their territory, and they will fight with wild fury to protect its residents. Emmett, a lethally trained leopard soldier, isn’t about to let outsiders muscle in on his home ground—especially when they target a human named Ria.

Emmett has one word for the smart stranger with her curvy body and tough spirit: mine.

Possessive, dominant, unyielding in his demands and desires, Emmett is unlike anyone Ria has ever before met. But while the sexy leopard changeling makes her body ignite, his kisses molten and his touch addicting, she’s no pushover and she has a few demands of her own. This leopard has met his match…

"Please note that Whisper of Sin is a reissue. It was first published in the multi-author anthology, Burning Up. This is the worldwide stand-alone ebook release for those who wanted to buy only this novella from the anthology.

For those of you who have Wild Invitation, this novella wasn't in that collection." - Nalini Singh

Review by Rose Red:

Place in Series: Whisper of Sin was previously published in the Burning Up anthology and is also available as a separate ebook. The story is set before events in Slave to Sensation while DarkRiver is first establishing its hold over San Francisco. In my opinion, you'll probably have more appreciation for the characters if you're already familiar with the world building so I would recommend reading at least book one first.

Opinion: Whisper of Sin is the first Nalini Singh novella I ever read and while it's good, it's not my favorite. I loved Ria and her family! They're a bunch of firecrackers! I'll be honest that my favorite part of this novella is Ria's grandmother! She had me giggling every time she made an appearance. As for the romance between Ria and Emmett, I thought it was cute. I ship it. What I really loved is that we got a glimpse of how DarkRiver became such a power in San Francisco. They weren't always the powerful Pack that we see in the series.

Rating:

   

  4 / 5 Stars

Wild Invitation

(Psy-Changeling #0.5, 4.5, 9.5, 10.5)

Nalini Singh

Release: March 5, 2013

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In Beat of Temptation , innocent Tamsyn has always had a place in her heart for Nathan, a blooded DarkRiver sentinel. But is she ready for the fierce demands of the mating bond?

In Stroke of Enticement , a wary young teacher, skeptical about love, arouses the man—and the animal—in an aggressive leopard changeling who must prove his affections are true.

Plus 2 NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED NOVELLAS

In Declaration of Courtship , Grace, a shy submissive wolf, finds herself pursued by the last man she ever would have imagined: a SnowDancer lieutenant said to be “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.”

In Texture of Intimacy , SnowDancer healer Lara discovers the searing joys—and unexpected challenges—of being mated to quiet, powerful Walker, a man used to keeping his silence.

Review by Rose Red:

Novella: Beat of Temptation

  
Place in Series: Beat of Temptation is a prequel novella set before events in Whisper of Sin a few years after the attack on DarkRiver that is mentioned in Slave to Sensation. In my opinion, you'll probably have more appreciation for the characters if you're already familiar with the DarkRiver Pack as well as Tammy and Nate. I would recommend reading at least book one first.

Opinion: I had read half of the series before I picked up this novella collection so I already knew and loved Tammy and Nate and their relationship. They're like the ideal that I hope each new book's couple can achieve. So learning about how they came to be mated was fascinating! I will admit that I almost didn't recognize Tammy and Nate in this because they've changed so much in the years between this novella and Slave to Sensation. I adore them together!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Novella: Stroke of Enticement

  
Place in Series: Stroke of Enticement is set after Mine to Possess and can be read when ever after that.

Opinion: I adore Annie and Zach! They're only brief mentions in the series until Heart of Obsidian but this story makes them one of my favorites! Annie is not crippled but her leg isn't 100% how it should be either. How she ties into the rest of the series is quite awesome too. I loved watching her gain confidence in herself despite being told for years that she couldn't do what others did because of her leg. And I adored how Zach treated her! To him her leg was no big deal and I loved that! I hope we see more of them as the series continues! That being said, as much as I love Annie and Zach, the novella felt a little too rushed to me.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Novella: Declaration of Courtship

  
Place in Series: Declaration of Courtship takes place in between Passion of Play and Kiss of Snow and should be read in between the two. It's also available in ebook as a standalone novella.

Opinion: This novella is the first time we see a relationship develop between a submissive and a strong dominant and I found it fascinating! Things that weren't problems in the other books come to the forefront of this one! I loved watching Cooper chase Grace and I adored how Grace learns to handle the SnowDancer lieutenant. They balance each other well and I can't wait to see more of them!

There's an epilogue to this story that can be found on Nalini Singh's site here and it's super cute! Although, the epilogue itself should be read after you finish Kiss of Snow.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Novella: Texture of Intimacy

  
Place in Series: Texture of Intimacy takes place directly after Kiss of Snow and should be read before you continue on to Tangle of Need. It's also available in ebook as a standalone novella.

Opinion: This novella is my absolute favorite of this whole collection! I adore Walker and Lara! It was so cute watching them learn to live together after they mated in Kiss of Snow. Walker has a fascinating and tragic history so it takes him a while to learn to trust and I loved watching him come to rely on and trust Lara. I also adore everything about Lara so it was a given that I'd love this story. Walker and Lara are one of my favorite couples in the series!

Rating: 5/5 Stars!

Overall Anthology Rating:

   

  4 / 5 Stars

My reviews of other books in this series:

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh

Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh

Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh

Passion of Play by Nalini Singh

Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh

Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh

Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh

Waiting on Wednesday (94)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. So here's this week's WOW pick:

Guys! Guys! Next week we get new Psy-Changeling novellas! I'm so excited! Not only do we get to find out about what the heck is going on between Jem and Kenji, we finally get a story about the mysterious Arrow, Stefan, who is stationed on the deep-sea station, Alaris! I'm so excited for this book! I need it to be next Tuesday already!

Wild Embrace
(Psy-Changeling #15.5)
Nalini Singh
Release: August 23, 2016
Goodreads Amazon

The “alpha author of paranormal romance”* presents a stunningly sensual collection of four all-new Psy-Changeling novellas, in which taboos are broken, boundaries are crossed, and instincts prove irresistible...

Echo of Silence
In a deep-sea station, Tazia Nerif has found her life’s work as an engineer, keeping things running smoothly. But she wants nothing more than to break down the barrier of silence between her and her telekinetic Psy station commander...

Dorian
A changeling who can never shift lives a life of quiet frustration—until he learns how to let his leopard come out and play...

Partners in Persuasion
Still raw from being burned by a dominant female, wolf changeling Felix will never again risk being a plaything. But for dominant leopard Dezi, he’s the most fascinating man she’s ever met. She just has to convince this gun-shy wolf that he can trust the dangerous cat who wants to take a slow, sexy bite out of him…

Flirtation of Fate
Seven years ago, Kenji broke Garnet’s heart. Now the wolf packmates have to investigate the shocking murder of one of their own. And the more Kenji sees of the woman Garnet has become, the deeper he begins to fall once more. But even his primal instincts are no match for the dark secret he carries...

*Booklist, starred review

What book are you waiting on?

Blog Tour and Giveaway: The Sight by Chloe Neill

You all know that we love Chloe Neill and her books a ridiculous amount here on Goldilox and the Three Weres. So we're ecstatic that we get to participate in the blog tour for The Sight, book two in the Devil's Isle series! Rose Red and Gretl are bringing you a review of the book, a swag pack giveaway, and information on Chloe's awesome tour wide Grand Prize Giveaway.

The Sight
(Devil's Isle #2)
Chloe Neill
Release: August 16, 2016
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

The paranormal war that engulfed New Orleans seven years ago is over. But the battle for the city is just beginning . . .

Claire Connolly is a Sensitive, infected with magic when the Veil that divides humanity from the world beyond fell. Magic can easily consume and destroy a Sensitive, and if Claire’s secret is discovered she’ll be locked into the walled district of Devil’s Isle along with every other Paranormal left in the city.

Bounty hunter Liam Quinn discovered Claire’s secret, but refused to turn her in. Together they saved New Orleans from the resurgence of magic that nearly destroyed it. But now a dangerous cult is on the rise, and it will take both Claire and Liam—and magical allies within Devil’s Isle’s towering walls—to defeat the occult threat before magic corrupts them both...

Review:
We're doing something a little different with this review - a pros and cons list. You might notice that the pro list is much longer. We really loved The Sight!

Pros

• The Heroine

Claire is one of my favorite parts of this series. She is often afraid but she doesn’t let her fear stop her from doing what she needs to. She has a backbone and I like that. I love that she’s sensible and thinks out most of her actions. She’s always trying to do her best by everyone and I respect that.

• The Magic

Not only do we see Claire training to be a bounty hunter, we get to see her training to use her powers. This book portrays her powers and her learning curve in a much more believable way than in book one where Claire discovers she has magic and five minutes later she’s saving the world.

• The Villains

I liked that the “villains” in this book aren’t supernatural, but human zealots. Just like in our world, they’re dangerous and I loved seeing how that transferred into Claire’s world. The cult-like faction made for a different kind of villain than we usually see in UF (even though it's not the first time we've seen it from Neill.)

• The Supporting Cast

I love that even though Claire has no family of her own anymore, she makes one out of her friends. I need more Moses, Gunnar, Tadji, Burke, Gavin, and Eleanor in my life! I also get excited about new types of supernaturals, so I loved the scenes where Claire traveled around Devil’s Isle and learned about its diverse inhabitants.

Cons

• Potential love triangle

I’m so sick of love triangles! Without being too spoilery, I didn’t think there really was a love triangle. Rather one of the characters is messing with the other two, but it was just weird and kind of creepy.

• That ending!

Maybe it’s not quite Hard Bitten level rip your heart out and stomp on it, but OW MY FEELS! And I’m not sure that I like the fact that Neill always has the hero doing something idiotically tragic that leaves the heroine bereft in every series.

    1/2

 4.5 / 5 Stars!

and

Our reviews of other books in this series:
The Veil by Chloe Neill

Thanks to the author we have an awesome prize pack to giveaway on our stop of the tour!
The prize pack will include:

• Devil’s Isle tote bag, pen, and sticker sheet
• Royal Mercantile Koozie and bookplate
• The Veil screen wipe
• Chicagoland Vampires and Devil’s Isle bookmarks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The fun doesn’t stop here. Want more chances to win? You can also enter Chloe’s Grand Prize Giveaway, which will run August 8 through August 19 on Chloe’s web site.

What’s included in the Grand Prize Giveaway?

• Cafe Du Monde Poydras Street Gift Basket
• Kindle Voyage
• $50 Amazon Gift Card
• Devil’s Isle tote bag, pen, sticker sheet
• Royal Mercantile Koozie
• Devil’s Isle and Chicagoland Vampires bookmarks

The Sight Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 8 – Paranormaly Yours
Tuesday, August 9 – TSK, TSK What To Read?
Wednesday, August 10 – Redd’s Reads | The Book Crumb Trail
Thursday, August 11- Dandelionn Wine  | Vicarious Bookworm
Friday, August 12 – NovelKnight | Urban Fantasy Investigations

Monday, August 15 – Parajunkee | Book-Marks The Spot
Tuesday, August 16 (Release Day) – YA Reads | The Saucy Wenches | Bad Ass Book Reviews
Wednesday, August 17 – Goldilocks & The Three Weres
Thursday, August 18 – The Book Nympho | Angel’s Guilty Pleasures
Friday, August 19 – The Book Swarm | TruBookiesReview | Lake’s Book Reviews | | Fangs, Wands & Fairy Dust

Release Day Review: Mission: Improper by Bec McMaster

Mission: Improper
(London Steampunk #6)
Bec McMaster
Release: August 16, 2016
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ARC provided by the author

Three years ago, London society changed forever, with a revolution placing the widowed Queen firmly on the throne her blue blood husband tried to take from her. Humans, verwulfen and mechs are no longer considered the lesser classes, but not everybody is happy with the new order…

Entire families have gone missing in the East End. When Caleb Byrnes receives an invitation to join the Company of Rogues as an undercover agent pledged to protect the crown, he jumps at the chance to find out who, or what, is behind the disappearances. Hunting criminals is what the darkly driven blue blood does best, and though he prefers to work alone, the opportunity is too good to resist.

The problem? He’s partnered with Ingrid Miller, the fiery and passionate verwulfen woman who won a private bet against him a year ago. Byrnes has a score to settle, but one stolen kiss and suddenly the killer is not the only thing Byrnes is interested in hunting.

Soon they’re chasing whispered rumours of a secret project gone wrong, and a monster that just might be more dangerous than either of them combined. The only way to find out more is to go undercover among the blue blood elite… But when their hunt uncovers a mysterious conspiracy, Byrnes and Ingrid must set aside their age-old rivalry if they have any chance at surviving a treacherous plot. 

Review:
The last London Steampunk book, Of Silk and Steam, was one of my favorite books of 2015 so I had some pretty high expectations for Mission:Improper. And it lives up to many of them. There's even more action, including rooftop chases, vampire battles, and rappelling reminiscent of the movies that inspired the title.

The Duke of Malloryn has assembled a covert team featuring several characters from previous books to investigate a new terrorist group. If you had asked me which characters I wanted to know more about, this team might have been my whole list. (Charlie Todd, who was a child at the start of the series, would be right at the top.) I'm really looking to forward to the rest of their stories! I also liked getting see a different side of Byrnes who played a big role in Forged by Desire. I would not have pegged him as a dirty talker!

But I felt like maybe there was just a little too much stuffed in to the story. It focuses on Byrnes and Ingrid, but I feel like all of the other couples are already set up, which probably wasn't necessary. And I wonder if it might have been more effective to peel back one layer of the conspiracy in each book instead of all of them at once. It seemed to take me entirely too long to read the book even though I can't point to any obvious lulls.  It's not unusual for the first book in a series to get bogged down in backstory, but since this isn't exactly a first book and so many of the characters were familiar it's frustrating.

I also kept feeling like I missed a novella. Byrnes and Ingrid's story begins with a case they worked a year prior to the start of this book. That case is referenced several times but I wanted to know more. I wish that Byrnes and Ingrid had gotten the same treatment as Garrett and Perry who had a prequel novella before their book.

Still, I loved being back in the London Steampunk world and I'm so happy that more books are on the way.

Recommended for fans of: Gail Carriger and Kristen Callihan

    

4  stars

Our reviews of other books in this series:
Kiss of Steel (London Steampunk #1)
Heart of Iron (London Steampunk #2)
Forged by Desire (London Steampunk #4)
Of Silk and Steam (London Steampunk #5)

Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless
(Parasol Protectorate #1)
Gail Carriger
Release: October 1, 2009
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Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is the first book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Review by Rose Red:

I've been a fan of steampunk and alternate history stories for a long time and I'm always looking for new books and series. I read Soulless ages ago because one of my friends recommended it to me and I loved it. Unfortunately, I never carried on with the series. I decided that with the release of Gail Carriger's latest book, Imprudence, that it was time to marathon all of her books. So I reread Soulless and I think I love it more than when I first read it. It's a delightful mix of witty banter, romance, and the supernatural. Think Pride and Prejudice meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer but with a twist.

Soulless follows our heroine, Alexia Tarabotti, a curvy, opinionated spinster who possesses the remarkable distinction of being born without a soul. As such, she is able to nullify all traces of the supernatural by merely touching the skin of any vampire or werewolf. The caveat is that this unique ability only works while maintaining physical contact. If that contact is broken, the person's supernatural powers are restored.

When Alexia is attacked at a London ball by a rather disheveled vampire, she is forced to kill him which she does with a wooden hairpin and a parasol. This event sets the story in motion as Alexia soon discovers vampires are appearing and disappearing all throughout London. The Vampire Hive thinks Alexia's responsible. Lord Maccon, Alpha of the Woolsey werewolf pack and Head of BUR, knows she isn't and tries to determine who is. To top it all off, a shady villain and frightening henchman have their sights set on Alexia.

Soulless is one of the wittiest and smartly written books with one of the best heroines that I've ever read. Rather than rely on the traditional male hero to swoop in and save the day, Alexia embodies tenacity, critical thinking, stubbornness and independence. She is NOT helpless, she is NOT passive, and she is NOT stick thin. Alexia is a twenty-six year old half-Italian woman with a large nose and figure who loves food and dishes out plenty of sass. Not only is she witty but she has a temper that makes reading her interactions with Lord Maccon fun to read. That alone makes the book worth reading.

Add to that a fascinating blend of alternative history where werewolves and vampires helped shaped the English Crown and British politics, and you end up with a brilliant book that moves at a quick pace and delivers a solid story. There was not a single moment this book didn't have my interest. I read it in one sitting and I immediately started the next book after it. I can't what to see what shenanigans Alexia gets into next.

Soulless is exactly what it sells itself as: A comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking. It was utterly charming and I can't recommend it enough!

Recommended for fans of: 
Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster
Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato
Prince of Hearts by Margaret Foxe

    

  5 / 5 Stars!

Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Nevernight
(The Nevernight Chronicle #1)
Jay Kristoff
Release: August 9, 2016
Goodreads Amazon
Book Depository

The first in a new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Review: 

My good blogger buddy Laura, from the blog Little Read Riding Hood joined me via Skype to review Nevernight collaboratively so that we could both share our thoughts on this highly anticipated August release!

Nevernight is the first in a new series by author Jay Kristoff, who is known for making young adult that is dark, mysterious, and unique. It's technically a YA book, but I would highly recommend it to older teens and adults as that's certainly the audience it seems to be intended for. Nevernight is a spectacular combination of murder, mystery, murder, personal growth, murder, facing a tumultuous past, and murder! The main character, Mia, is complex and sometimes even unlikable...but I still liked her. What?

Also, Skype is the biggest hassle of both of our lives AND we battled thunder!

Check out more thoughts that Laura and I had on Nevernight in our spoiler-free video below!

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Click on the little red youtube button below to subscribe to the new channel!

You can also view more videos on the channel by clicking here: 

Goldilox's Booktube Channel

  

    

  4 / 5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday (93)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. Here's this week's WOW pick:

I wanted to post this a few weeks ago but I was waiting for the cover reveal. And it was worth the wait. Such a badass cover! (Except that it looks a lot like a comic and I wonder if that might confuse people.) It sounds like a badass story too. Really looking forward to Necrotech.

Necrotech
(SINless #1)
K.C. Alexander
Release: September 6, 2016
Goodreads Amazon

Street thug Riko has some serious issues — memories wiped, reputation tanked, girlfriend turned into a tech-fueled zombie. And the only people who can help are the mercenaries who think she screwed them over.

In an apathetic society devoid of ethics or regulation, where fusing tech and flesh can mean a killing edge or a killer conversion, a massive conspiracy is unfolding that will alter the course of the human condition forever. With corporate meatheads on her ass and a necro-tech blight between her and salvation, Riko is going to have to fight meaner, work smarter, and push harder than she’s ever had to. And that’s just to make it through the day.

What book are you waiting on?

  

Really Short Reviews: White Sand and Monstress

White Sand, Volume 1
(White Sand #1)
Brandon Sanderson
Release: June 21, 2016
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A brand new saga of magic and adventure by #1 New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson. On the planet of Taldain, the legendary Sand Masters harness arcane powers to manipulate sand in spectacular ways. But when they are slaughtered in a sinister conspiracy, the weakest of their number, Kenton, believes himself to be the only survivor. With enemies closing in on all sides, Kenton forges an unlikely partnership with Khriss -- a mysterious Darksider who hides secrets of her own. White Sand brings to life a crucial, unpublished part of Brandon Sanderson's sprawling Cosmere universe. The story has been adapted by Rik Hoskin (Mercy Thompson), with art by Julius Gopez and colors by Ross Campbell. Employing powerful imagery and Sanderson's celebrated approach to magical systems, White Sand is a spectacular new saga for lovers of fantasy and adventure.

Review:

For me, I really enjoyed this first volume in the White Sand graphic novel series. I've been a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson from the beginning and I've not read a Cosmere novel I haven't enjoyed. This graphic novel was no exception. I think it was very successful for Sanderson's first foray into graphic novels.

As I said, I enjoyed it but I not much happened aside from the battle in the beginning. I was really confused at first because we were just thrown into the world. Personally, I feel like it would have been a better story as a novel where we could have gotten more details and some background information that would ease us into the world.

There are definitely limitations to writing graphic novels that you don't find when working with other forms of literature. It's harder to express the characters emotions and thoughts so the readers will not feel as much of a connection with the characters. The main one for me that makes or breaks a graphic novel for me is how the culture/world is portrayed because you don't have the page space to explain as much of the culture as you normally would in a full-length novel. And yet even with all those limitations, the story was able to be adapted into an entertaining read.

That said, the artwork was incredible and I really enjoyed the world that Sanderson gave us this time. The different kinds of magic systems that he gives us in every book he writes is so uniquely brilliant and is one of my favorite things about his work.

Overall, I thought White Sand was good but I would have preferred to have the story as a novel so we could have had more detail and more of an introduction to the world. I really want to get my hands on the next volume so I can see where the story is going.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

   

  4 /5 Stars

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening
(Monstress #1-6)
Marjorie Liu
Release: July 19, 2016
Goodreads Amazon

Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steampunk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both. Entertainment Weekly praised MONSTRESS as “one of Image Comics’ most imaginative and daring new series” and dubbed it the “Best New Original Series” in their year-end “Best Comics of 2015” list.

Collects MONSTRESS #1-6

Review:

I have several friends who are big comics enthusiasts who have been just raving about the art and story of this comics. The pictures are absolutely beautiful! They were the first thing that grabbed my attention. The detail in almost all of the pictures was astonishing. That level of detail shocked me even when I read it through a second time. I immediately ordered a physical copy of this volume after finishing the eARC because I need to have it in my collection.

The story so far is more world-building and personal background, but I can feel it rapidly moving in the direction of having an epic story line. The characters are delightfully complex where the antagonists get as much attention as the protagonist and crew. I really appreciated that.

My absolute favorite thing about this comic though is the large female cast it has. Each lady kicks ass in their own way. And I appreciated that there were both female protagonists AND antagonists. There are too few female antagonists in comics in my opinion. I also like the representation of both the women and the men in this comic. There were no bumbling idiots or stereotypical filler characters. Each character pulls their own weight and I loved that!

All in all, the story contains several familiar tropes in it but none of the story feels forced or like it has been done before. It feels unique. In my opinion, this comic is the pinnacle of what comics should be. It wins hands down over the famous and more traditional superhero comics. I can't wait to get my hands on the next issues! You all need to start this comic series ASAP!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

    

  5 / 5 Stars!