Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

     I received this free from NetGalley for an honest review.

     In 1988, four 12 year old papergirls get caught in a very old generational conflict leading them to fight for their lives. This story includes flying dinosaurs, weird teenagers, spaceships, and futuristic laser guns.

     I really enjoyed this story line. I think that Mr. Vaughan did an excellent job creating a plot that stands alone without needing artwork. The artwork is just an incredible bonus to the story. I loved watching the girls fight for themselves against unknowns. They had to decide who is good and who is bad. We are left with a great cliff-hanger, and I can't wait to read the next volume.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young

     I received this free from NetGalley for an honest review.

     A little girl named Gertrude wishes her way to Fairyland and gets stuck there for 27 years as she looks for the key to the door that will lead her home. As she ages closer to 40 years old, she hates Fairyland even more as she battles every person she meets. Gertrude hates Fairyland and Fairyland hates Gertrude.

     I completely enjoyed the artwork in this graphic novel. Beautiful landscapes, creatures, and colors were used to tell the story of Gertrude who just couldn't find the key. I have to say that the story is a little crude in nature and there is quite a bit of bloodshed (definitely not a story for young ones), but the graphics drew me in. I thought the creators were very clever with how they portrayed the different features in the book---mountains looked like old men, the wounded moon became a crescent, and so many more creative pictures. The story line was only enjoyable when paired with the hilarious and entertaining artwork.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.

The Mysterious Case of the Mysterious Case by John Press

     I received this from PublishNation for free for an honest review.

     Susan Queen rolls her wheelchair up to Homes the iPad using genius dog and declares him hers. This is the start of some fun and dangerous adventures. They join forces with Susan's best friends, Di and Robbie, as well as some "talking" pigeons and a kleptomaniac cat. All of them come together to solve the hideous crime against animals that is occurring in their town. Someone is torturing and killing animals while filming it and distributing DVDs of the crimes. These sleuths use some unorthodox methods to try to catch the guilty leading the reader on a hilarious journey.

     This is a good book for younger readers. A cute mystery with "talking" animals with high intelligence. The humor in the book was absolutely fabulous! I found myself laughing out loud quite frequently. I would recommend this book to a younger audience to thoroughly enjoy it. It's definitely worth a quick read.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.

Smoke by Dan Vyleta

     I was sent this for an honest review.

     This book takes place in England about a century ago. In this world, people who do or think wrong smoke from their bodies to show the wrong. The gentle class does not smoke, but the lower class is covered in black soot from the Smoke. London is a grimy, sooty place of wickedness and sin, and the upper class come into the city to indulge in the Smoke by volunteering in the city to help those less fortunate.

     Thomas and Charlie are two young boys that attend an elite boarding school and are led on a journey of their own into London. Here they search for the original source of the Smoke, witness tension between those who embrace the Smoke and those set against it, and find their own way in a Smoke filled world.

     I enjoyed this fantasy story of an alternate England. I believe Mr. Vyleta did an excellent job of creating the Smoke and its history. I found myself at a tug-of-war within quite often throughout the book. What is right? What is wrong? The different points of view given gave a richness to the story line and added depth to this alternate world. This was a fantastical adventure of right vs wrong.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

Sugarland by Martha Conway

     I received this for free for an honest review from Netgalley.

     Eve Riser, a jazz pianist on the circuit, is present when a man is accidentally killed.  In conspiracy with the man she was with, Eve is sent to Chicago with money and a letter to help cover up the crime. She joins up with her pregnant stepsister, Chickie, who later disappears. There is another murder that Eve witnesses, and Eve is injured in the crossfire. Eve, along with the latter murdered man's sister, Lena, set out not only to find Chickie, but to find who murdered Lena's brother.

     This book draws the reader into a world of 1920's jazz, Prohibition, and racial tension. I did enjoy the book and its peeks of life in the 1920's for a person of color. I liked seeing behind the scenes of the clubs and glimpses of how the police cast a blind eye to alcohol to imbibe themselves. It was interesting to once again witness the racial tension of that time in novel form. I feel that the author wrote genuinely the glares and words that would have been directed at the opposite ethnicity.

     Where I found a lacking in this book lies with the mystery/mysteries. There wasn't an intense mystery and was obvious in its ending. I usually don't mind figuring out a mystery before the ending of a story, but I do not enjoy the answers to the mystery served to me on a silver platter. I want the author to give me hints and clues along the way and give me a chance to put it all together. I found with Sugarland I was given the answer instead of the clues.

     I still enjoyed this book for the setting and the characters if not for the mystery.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.

Fade Out, smile by Casey Renee Kiser

     I was given this for free from LibraryThing for an honest review.
   
     This is a collection of darker themed poetry that I enjoyed except for the cuss words that seemed to stop the poetic feel. Cuss words are just not poetic to me, and when I read them in the poetry I felt like I had hit a brick wall. The cuss words just stopped the flow of the poetry. I know that poetry reflects life and life is not always pretty, but the cuss words robbed from the poems, making them feel stunted. I did enjoy the actual poetry because it did reflect the darker, realistic side of life.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.

Faith Volume 1: Hollywood and Vine by Jody Houser/Francis Portella/Marguerite Sauvage

     I received this free from Netgalley for an honest review.

     I liked this book for the fact that the heroine is overweight but she can still be the superhero. Yeah! Superheroes can be any size or shape! I enjoyed the art style and the plot that was revealed. If you are looking for a lot of action this may not be your thing. There was a minimal amount of action which was completely fine with me. I enjoyed seeing "Summer's" day job and her normal life. I was confused about a few things, but I'm sure that these things would have been explained later on in this series. I do think that I would like to continue on with this series because I want to know more about Summer/Zephyr's past and what is trying to be solved in this volume.

     I rated this 3/5 stars.