Bizenghast: Volume 1 by M. Alice LeGrow

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

A young girl moves to a town called Bizenghast, and she is haunted by visions and fits while she is there. She and her friend stumble upon a cemetery where they find lost souls that they must help set free.

This is a manga that I truly enjoyed reading. I was so upset when it ended since I only received Volume 1. I need more!

There is a gothic feel to the whole setting and the artwork is done in perfection with that theme. Now, in honesty, there are some places where I was not sure what I was seeing in the image because it is a little dark, but I still enjoyed the story and plan to read the rest to find out how they help the lost souls become free.

I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

The Swap by Nancy Boyarsky

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

     Nicole and her husband have arranged a house swap with a couple in London. Nicole hopes that time away from LA and time together in London will help their rocky marriage.  Once they get to the house in London things go awry. The couple that they swapped with never arrive at Nicole and her husband's condo in LA, and she cannot even reach them by phone. She begins to notice people following her which progresses to threats made against her. Nicole thinks that her husband will believe her when she tells him of these threats but he does not and neither do the police. Nicole is in a lot of trouble, and she will have to face it alone.

     I truly struggled through this story. I kept pushing myself not to discontinue reading.

     First, I really dislike Nicole. She is the main character, and it is hard for me to read a story about someone I don't like and hope that they will be ok. I would catch myself saying quite often, "She is so stupid!" I was so frustrated with the foolish decisions that Nicole made through the whole story.

     And as if Nicole's decisions weren't enough, I had to come face to face with every cliche that could be written in a thriller/mystery. It's no fun to know what's going on the whole time you are reading a story that you are supposed to be guessing at. I need some mystery, please!

     And to top off the whole thing, the romance in the story was distasteful and unrealistic. I won't go in to too much detail because I don't want to spoil anything.

     Overall, this was just a very disappointing read that I had been excited about. It all fell flat.

     I rated this 2/5 stars.

The Complete Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Erica Awano

     I received this free from NetGalley for an honest review.

     I am so torn about this review. I love the stories of Alice, and this book sticks to those stories. Where I am torn is the artwork. I like the artwork but I do not, as well. The artwork is beautifully done. The artist does a fantastic job of capturing detail and is quite skilled. I think we each have an opinion or idea of classics and how they look in our heads. I do think that this art would appeal to so many, but for me it just does not match what I think Alice and her adventures should look like. The artwork presented is very much formal and grandiose. I would like to see it more whimsical and fantastic.

     All in all, this is a beautiful rendition of a classic story, and I do not discourage others to give it a try. Just because it is not how I think it should be does not mean that it would not appeal to others.

     I gave this 3/5 stars.

Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt

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

     Dr. Catherine Bennett has worked hard to earn her title, and all is left in shambles when she is accused of a murder she did not commit. Suddenly she must gather her belongings and her maid and head to the unknown, untamed West. Her adventure offers horrific violence, lost, fear, and romance. Was the move worth it or not? She may just lose her life anyway.

     I truly enjoyed this adventure. You can't help but fully support Catherine as a woman doctor that was such a rare occurrence. The opposition that she saw for her choice of career keeping true to the time. As she runs for her life she meets the unknowns of a life in an untamed land with horrors of massacres and raids. It was awful to read of the violence, but it is not the first time I have read these things as they were based on reality. It was still awful to read as the reader feels so connected with the characters in the book. There were so many things that Dr. Bennett came up against in the book, and I was cheering for her the whole way. She does find a passionate romance in the middle of so much trouble, and it is an enjoyable romance to read about.

     There will be a second book, apparently, since there was a sneak peek at the end. I read that sneak peek, and I cannot wait until August 2016 to read this continuation of Catherine's story.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

Sugarland by Martha Conway

     This may seem a little familiar, but since I am participating in a blog tour to promote Sugarland I am posting again. This is a book that I do not mind posting about in duplicates. I enjoy books that take place in the wondrous Jazz Age. I find myself taken in by the music clubs and the bold girls. This book is no exception. Martha Conway gave us a world full of genuine atmospheres of the age and time. I think she did an excellent job of giving us a peek into the world of racism at this time in history. She serves all of this with a side of murder and mystery. 

      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.

MARTHA CONWAY BIO BLURB

Martha Conway is the author of Sugarland: A Jazz Age Mystery [Noontime Books], available via Amazon as of May 12, 2016. Conway’s first novel was nominated for an Edgar Award, and her second novel, Thieving Forest, won the 2014 North American Book Award for Best Historical Fiction. Her short fiction has been published in The Iowa Review, The Carolina Quarterly Review, The Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, Folio, and other journals. She teaches creative writing for Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program and UC Berkeley Extension, and is a recipient of a California Arts Council Fellowship for Creative Writing. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she is one of seven sisters. She currently lives in San Francisco.

Connect with Martha on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website: www.marthaconway.com

Please check out all the stops on this blog tour.

Monday 5/9: TRUE BOOK ADDICT (http://www.truebookaddict.com/) 

Tuesday 5/10: WAG THE FOX: GEF FOX’S DEN FOR DARK FICTION (http://waggingthefox.blogspot.com/) 

Wednesday 5/11: 100 PAGES A DAY… STEPHANIE’S BOOK REVIEWS (http://stephaniesbookreviews.weebly.com/)  

Thursday 5/12: WORTH GETTING IN BED FOR (https://worthgettinginbedfor.wordpress.com/) 

Friday 5/13: MYSTERY FANFARE (http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/) 

Saturday 5/14: READING WITH WRIN (http://readingwithwrin.blogspot.com/) 

Sunday 5/15: GINGER ST. GEORGE (https://gingerstgeorge.wordpress.com/) 

Monday 5/16: BETH’S BOOK NOOK BLOG (https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/) 

Tuesday 5/17: LOOKING FOR A GOOD BOOK (https://lookingforagoodbook.com/) 

Wednesday 5/18: JAY WHALES BLOG (http://authorjaywhales.wix.com/mid-western-stories#!blog/zoom/mainPage/) 

Thursday 5/19: I’M HOOKED ON BOOKS (https://imhookedonbooks.wordpress.com/) 

Friday 5/20: TONSANT WEADER REVIEWS (https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/) 

Monday 5/23: A WORLD UNDERNEATH (http://aworldunderneath.blogspot.com) You've made it here. :)

Tuesday 5/24: LITERARY MARIE (http://www.literarymarie.com/) 

Crimson & Cream by C.M. Skiera

     I received this free from LibraryThing for an honest review.

     Jetsam is a 13 year old orphan that loses his twin brother to a troll attack. He is then wrongfully accused of murder and that sends him on the run to escape punishment. His adventures lead him to run from a bounty hunter and straight into the arms of a not so innocent gang of a knight, wizard, and squire. After joining this unlikely crew, he begins to learn magic, has his mind controlled, meets a talking dragon, fights goblins, and meets a powerful wizard on the run.

     I really enjoyed this lighter fantasy read geared towards a younger audience. It is not bogged down with so much world building but instead focuses more on the adventures that Jetsam experiences. I enjoyed the fights that occurred with the trolls, goblins, and dragons. I feel that this book is a perfect fantasy for those not familiar with this genre or for those who already enjoy fantasy and want an easy read. I think the author did a great job of giving the reader a fantastical story that leaves room for more adventures to come in a later book.  I definitely want to read more.

     I rated this 4/5 stars and recommend it.

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.