Comic Book Reads: July 2017

I read quite a few comics in the last month, so I decided to put them all together in a review.

First of course I read more Saga!  You can find it on Goodreads. I can’t help it, I always love these issues. This one is #45 and it follows Hazel and her family as they are looking to get help for Alana. It ended with a bang! And now I really need to read the next issue asap. I gave this issue 5 stars on Goodreads.

I finally bought Rat Queens Vol. 1! So of course I had to re-read it. I think I loved it more the second time I read it. It’s fun filled, and all the women are so badass. I gave it five stars on Goodreads.

Lazaraus is actually a comic that Grant picked out the last time we were at the comic store. I did enjoy parts of this story, but it felt a little to super-hero like for me. Plus the art wasn’t my favorite. I think I’ll read the next book in the series, but I only gave this comic three stars. You can find it on Goodreads.

I was finally able to get a copy of this! I really like the art for Alex + Ada. The story isn’t the most unique, but it’s also a love story and that’s cute.  I gave this four stars on Goodreads.

A Mad Woman’s Voice – Blog Tour Update #2

I am so thankful to the people who responded to my blog tour! It’s been so wonderful to see the different posts go up, so I’m going to put links to them here and I hope you all check out other posts done by these two wonderful people.

I did an interview with nevillegirl, and she asked some really great questions! You can find the link to her post here. 

Also my friend, and fellow worker at Cauldron Anthology, did a post for my book. You can check that out here.

The blog tour will also go out on two other blogs, later this week.  If you would like to feature A Mad Woman’s Voice on your blog, you can sign up here.  I’m also open to trading book reviews!

And don’t forget, you can get a copy of my book on Amazon, Payhip or Createspace. You can also find it on Goodreads. 

Thank you all for reading!

Whiskey Words & a Shovel III – By r.h. Sin

Goodreads Synopsis: r.h. Sin s final volume in the Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel series expands on the passion and vigor of his first two installments. His stanzas inspire strength through the raw, emotional energy and the vulnerability of his poems. Relationships, love, pain, and fortitude are powerfully rendered in his poetry, and his message of perseverance in the face of emotional turmoil cuts to the heart of modern-day life. At roughly 300 pages, this culminating volume will be his lengthiest yet.

“I hope something good finds you.”

So I thought I was getting the first book when I ordered this from my library, but apparently I was a goofball and got the third book.  Anyway…

Overall I found that I liked this book, but it wasn’t as good as I had been hoping.  I really liked the themes of the poems, the cover of the book, and the style of the poetry was good as well. I liked that it dealt a lot with relationships.

But I also felt like this book was super repetitive. After you get about halfway you start reading a lot of the same poems again. I felt like maybe it should have been shorter.

That said I do plan on going back and reading the first two Whiskey Words books, I think that r.h. Sin has a lot of talent and I’m excited to read more by him.

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

The Blue Castle – By L.M. Montgomery

Goodreads Synopsis: Valancy Stirling is 29, unmarried, and has never been in love. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt, she finds her only consolation in the “forbidden” books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle–a place where all her dreams come true and she can be who she truly wants to be. After getting shocking news from the doctor, she rebels against her family and discovers a surprising new world, full of love and adventures far beyond her most secret dreams. 

Find on Goodreads and Amazon.

Since L.M. Montgomery was a Victorian era writer I was interested to see how her works have aged, and was pleasantly surprised by this story.

The Blue Castle is about a woman whose lived her whole life doing exactly what her family and society tells her to do. She takes care of her mother and aunt, who are both rude and at times emotionally abusive to her. But after being told by a doctor that she’s going to die within a year she realizes that she has to take control of her life and do the things that make her happy.

I loved this story. Valancy’s rebellion against her family was exactly what she needed to do, and I enjoyed watching her character grow throughout the story.  I have always loved Montgomery’s writing, the prose and the way she describes woods and land and places is just stunning.  I was also pleased by this strangely feminist (for it’s time) story.  Montgomery does not believe her family knows what’s best for Valancy, especially since they’ve never taken the time to actually get to know her.  There’s no moral at the end of this story either.  Valancy’s path takes her to happiness, even if she had to hurt some people along the way.  I also loved that Montgomery showed the blatant hypocrisy shown by Valancy’s family.

All in all I enjoyed this story and would read it again. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

Parable of The Sower – By Octavia Butler

Goodreads Synopsis: In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others. When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.

Find on Amazon and Goodreads.

This was actually a re-read for me. Originally I’d read it in 2014.

Parable of the Sower is a dark book, it’s set in the middle of an apocalypse and the characters have to do whatever they can to survive. The book terrified me the first time I read it, this time around it wasn’t so bad.

Lauren herself makes an interesting character. She’s strong, logical, and a natural leader. I love her character and plan on reading the next book in the series soley because of her. Lauren is a writer and also the founder of a church. She has a way of talking to people that makes them want to follow her. She also has a disease (I’m not sure if that’s the right word for it) that causes her to physically take on the pain of others around her. All of these make for a very well rounded character.

The plot is fast paced, it is (like I said before) at times frightening. This book does not shy away from the apocalypse and just make it a backdrop. The Parable of the Sower shows just how shitty the world and people can be. I really liked that even if it was disturbing.

The other characters are great as well. Most of them are people of color, I think there was one white guy in the main characters. It made the book very realistic to show the racial divide and how it added to the tension of the apocalyps.

The one thing I didn’t like about this book was the constant talk of religion. Lauren’s father is a christian pastor and Lauren ends up creating her own religion. It was annoying how much she went on and on about it. The book even shared bits of the religious text she wrote and to be honest I skimmed those parts. It just felt preachy and I didn’t want to read it.

Overall though I did like the book. I’m not sure it’s right to say that I enjoyed the book, seeing as it’s the end of the world. But I did think it was a well written book. Very thought provoking. I gave it 3.5 stars on Goodreads.

Out Now – A Mad Woman’s Voice & Issue 2

I am so excited to share with you some of the work I’ve done this year! Today both my poetry collection, and the second issue of my magazine come out.

A Mad Woman’s Voice is just over 40 pages, and filled with the work of over 2 years of writing. This volume explores the act of finding one’s voice and realizing the ability to speak one’s truth. From coming out to exploring the death of loved ones, A Mad Woman’s Voice is a tiny peek into my life.

You can find my book on a couple of platforms.  Find on Goodreads, Payhip, Createspace, Amazon.

Also you can find Cauldron Anthology Issue 2: Sphinx on the website.