Mini review: Croquette & Empanada by Ana Oncina

Hi everyone!
Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve sat down to write a blog post. Today I’m going to share my review of Croquette & Empanada, a very cute comic about a sweet love story!

Croquette & Empanada:  The Book Romeo Would Have Given Juliet by Ana Oncina

  • Genre: graphic novel, humor
  • Published: June 4th 2019 by Andrews McMeel Publishing
  • Pages: 128
  • My rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5
  • Plot: A classic love story: doughy appetizer boy meets doughy appetizer girl. Together they exist in a world cohabited by humans. Croquette is looking for love—his sweet, silly other half.  Empanada hopes she can find someone who accepts her for who she is. It’s a match made in tasty, tasty heaven. Internationally bestselling author Ana Oncina’s Croquette & Empanada explores modern love and domesticity with charming comics. Enjoy the antics of this adorable, culinary couple as they navigate romance and cohabitation, from deciding to move in together to purchasing their first pet.

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Review

First of all thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to the publishers for featuring my review on Netgalley.

This book is a quick and sweet collection of stories about Croquette and Empanada’s life. I loved the “scary bedtime stories” with Empanada stealing all the covers and the stories about their pets.
I think it’s adorable that the these characters are actually a croquette and an empanada Ana Oncina is an amazing illustrator and when I found her account on instagram I was far from disappointed, I probably prefer her usual style over the one she used in this book, but I think this one is adorable!

Specific Ratings

  • Plot: 3 out ot 5
  • Cover: 4 out of 5
  • Writing: 4 out of 5
  • Interest: 3 out of 5
  • Art style: 4.5 out of 5

So what do you think about the book? Have you read it?

Thank you for reading,

Mini Review: Colored – The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin

Hi everyone!

It’s been so long since I’ve read and reviewed a book, so as always I used some graphic novels to get me out of my reading slump!
First of all I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin by
Emilie Plateau
Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin by
Emilie Plateau
  • Illustrator: Emilie Plateau
  • Genre: Biohraphies, Graphic Novels
  • Pages: 135
  • Published: 17th April 2019
  • My rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 out of 5!

  • Plot: Based on the book “Noire” by Tania de Montagne
    A few months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, kicking off the U.S. civil rights movement, making headlines around the world and becoming an enduring symbol of the fight for dignity and equality, another young black woman refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was the wrong person at the right time, and so History did not choose her. Her name was Claudette Colvin and this is her story. 

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Review: Camouflage – The Hidden Lives Of Autistic Women by Sarah Bargiela

Hi everyone!
I just finished this great book about autistic women and autism. I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

 

42415482Camouflage by Sarah Bargiela
  • Illustrator: Sophie Standing
  • Genre: Non-fiction, Graphic Novels
  • Pages: 48
  • My rating:  out of 5!
  • Plot: Autism in women and girls is still not widely understood. It is often misrepresented or even overlooked. This graphic novel offers an engaging and accessible insight into the lives and minds of women with autism, using real-life case studies. The charming illustrations lead readers on a visual journey of how women on the spectrum experience everyday life, from metaphors and masking behaviours to communication online, dealing with social pressures and managing relationships. Fun, sensitive and informative, this is a fantastic resource for anyone who wishes to understand how gender affects autism, and how to create safer, more accommodating environments for women on the spectrum.

 

ADD TO GOODREADS   AMAZON

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REVIEW

I was looking for some cool graphic novels on NetGalley when this gorgeous cover caught my eye! This book is about autism and autistic women. I’ve always been very curious about how the human brain works. I had already read some articles about autism and the fact that usually autistic women camouflage better.

This novel analyzes in depth what it means to have autism and the differences between autistic men and women. It covers some issues in the tests for women. It also features 4 autobiographies about their lives and diagnosis. I loved hearing about their experience with the diagnosis. In fact sometimes autism can be confused with anxiety, depression.

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Review: Book Love by Debbie Tung

Hi everyone!

I’m back! I’m drowning in homework and I don’t how long it will be before I post anything else, but I promise I’ll try as hard as I can. Another problem is that I’m in a reading slump and this is a book blog, soo you know I need to read books.

By the way I’m also doing other projects: I have an art instragram @arvenig_art and soundcloud @arvenig. So if you like art or music please check them out!

First of all thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It’s been raining all day here, so I decided to procrastinate with my homework and read this cute and heart-warming graphic novel by the lovely author Debbie Tung!

 

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Book Love by Debbie Tung

Genre: Graphic Novel, Books about Books
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Expected publication: January 1st 2019 by
My rating: Screen Shot 2018-10-28 at 16.50.27 4.5 out of 5
 

PLOT: Bookworms rejoice! These charming comics capture exactly what it feels like to be head-over-heels for hardcovers.
Book Love is a gift book of comics tailor-made for tea-sipping, spine-sniffing, book-hoarding bibliophiles. Debbie Tung’s comics are humorous and instantly recognizable—making readers laugh while precisely conveying the thoughts and habits of book nerds. Book Love is the ideal gift to let a book lover know they’re understood and appreciated.

ADD TO GOODREADS   AMAZON

 

 

Review

I was browsing some books on Netgalley and as soon as I saw this book I recognized the author’s style and immediately downloaded it!

This book is an adorable collection of comics about book lovers: our daily struggles, moments of joy, bad habits, etc. It also features some great book recommendations, advice for reading slumps and a list of things book can teach all of us. more “Review: Book Love by Debbie Tung”

Review: Queen Of Kenosha by Howard Shapiro

Hi everyone!
It’s been a long time since I posted a review both because of school and an annoying reading slump.
First of all thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

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Queen of Kenosha by Howard Shapiro

Genre: Graphic Novel, Music, History
Illustrations by Erica Chan
Publisher: Animal Media Group LLC
Expected publication:October 9th 2018
My rating:  Screen Shot 2018-06-20 at 12.49.50 3.75 out of 5
 

PLOT:A coming of age tale, this is the first installment of the Thin Thinline Trilogy, the fiercely independent Nina Overstreet has an axe to grind. A talented singer-songwriter slogging her way through the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk music scene of 1963, the Queen of Kenosha, Wisconsin, realizes that standing on the cusp of stardom gets her little respect and barely a cup of coffee in New York City. It finally comes, but in a way she could have never imagined. A chance encounter with the mysterious Nick Ladd at a late-night gig spins her life in a different direction–one that becomes a daily balance between life and death, right and wrong. Nick recruits Nina to join him and a team of ex-FBI operatives in a clandestine agency to stop the establishment of the Fourth Reich by undercover Nazis in post-War America. It’s a cause Nina believes in … until she’s forced to compromise the very principles of fairness and patriotism she holds dear. As she and Nick grow closer as partners, she forces him to question his own intentions. But as the body count mounts in pursuit of the Nazi ringleader, the evasive Alex, the stakes grow even higher for Nick and Nina.

ADD TO GOODREADS   AMAZON

 

 

Review

So I just signed up on Netgalley and while I was looking for some books to request I found this book and without even reading the description I requested it because of the awesome cover!

This book is set in the 60s (which I didn’t know until I finished it and read the back cover :D) and it deals with a young singer that discovers an organization that has to take down the Nazis that escaped to America after WWII. more “Review: Queen Of Kenosha by Howard Shapiro”

Review: The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

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Hi everyone!
FIRST OF ALL MERRY CHRISTMAS 💕!
After four months I finally finished reading this and I quite enojyed it, so this is my review! By the way I read this with the best buddy-reader ever Chloe @Blushing Bibliophile!

 

35606560  The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
  • Genre: Poetry
  • Pages: 256
  • My rating:  out of 5!
  • Plot: this is the recipe of life
    said my mother
    as she held me in her arms as i wept
    think of those flowers you plant
    in the garden each year
    they will teach you
    that people too
    must wilt
    fall
    root
    rise
    in order to bloom.

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REVIEW

 

So this is the new book by Rupi Kaur author of Milk and Honey and I waited soo much for this book to be published! This book, like Milk and Honey, is divided into chapters: wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming.
It’s a poetry collection about grief, self-abandment, honouring one’s roots, love and empowering oneself according to the book… But it’s so much more: it’s about loss, heatache, self love, femminism and immigration as well.

 

I think this book is really inspiring in fact I wrote notes in it, I don’t know why but there I felt free to write poems that were inspired by her poems and to doodle whatever came into my mind (okay not actually whatever but all the things linked to the poems).
The writing is amazing: I love her voice and the litotes she uses. I also liked most of the poems.

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The Bookish Naughty Or Nice Tag

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Hi everyone!

I saw the Bookish Naughty Or Nice Tag on Lia @Lost In A Story, she didn’t tag me, but I really like this tag… so these are my answers! 🙂

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Received an ARC and not reviewed it

I don’t receive ARC copies, so no I didn’t.

 

Have less than 60% feedback rating on Netgalley

I’m not on NetGalley, so again I don’t.

 

Rated a book on GoodReads and promised a full review was to come on your blog (and never did)

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Yes… One time and I’m actually writing the review today.

 

Folded down the page of a book

NEVER!! I love my books and I don’t like to ruin them…

 

Accidentally spilled on a book

I don’t like to admit it, but yes… I love to read books while drinking a cup of tea and that sometimes leads to disasters *cries*.

 

DNF a book this year

I usually don’t DNF books but I left a lot of books at page 40 but not beacause they’re boring just because I don’t have enough time

 

Bought a book purely because it was pretty with no intention of reading it

Nope, I tend to judge books by their cover: if I like the cover I read the blurb if I don’t like the cover and noone recommended me that book, I’m never going to read it!

 

Read whilst you were meant to be doing something else (like homework)

I don’t know when I did it, but I porbably did that many, many times…

 

Skim read a book

I did but only with Galileo by Bertol Brecht because I didn’t like it and I had to read it for school.

 

Completely missed your GoodReads goal

Well, the year hasn’t finished yet and I have to read “only” 4 more books, but if I read 4 comics I can do that!

 

Borrowed a book and not returned it

I didn’t technically do that: my grandma lended me a book and I still haven’t read it, so I can’t give it back.

 

Broke a book buying ban

No, I didn’t.

 

Started a review, left it for ages then forgot what the book was about

Literally me every time. I just did that for the review of Nimona.
HACK: always write your thoughts about the book you’re reading, so it’s more easy to review it!

 

Wrote in a book you were reading

Okay, so I HATE to write in books but I am reading The Sun and Her Flowersby Rupi Kaur and I had to write some lines of a poem that came to my mind, so I wrote those few lines in pencil on the page, and I don’t feel guilty about it!

 

Finished a book and not added it to your GoodReads

I think GoodReads is one of the best site for readers and I love to use it and keep track of my reading progress, so no I always add my books on goodreads as soon as I start them!

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That’s it for the naughty or Nice Book Tag and since I’m so late, I’m not going to tag everyone in particular, but if you want to do it consider yourself tagged!

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Are you on the Naught or on the Nice list this year? What are you hoping to get for Christmas?

Thank you for reading,

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Review: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

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Hi everyone!
I’ve finished this book a loooong time ago, then I forgot to write the review. I think that this is my first “unpopular opinion” review, so let’s begin…

 

19351043Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

  • Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
  • Pages: 272
    • My rating:  and half a star out of 5!
    • Plot: The graphic novel debut from rising star Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic, which Slate awarded its Cartoonist Studio Prize, calling it “a deadpan epic.”
      Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and is sure to win Noelle many new ones.
      Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.
      But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

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REVIEW

This is a really fun and cute graphic novel… but nothing more for me??
Before buying this graphic novel I read a lot of reviews, really good reviews, so my hopes were very high.

The plot was simple, with very short chapter, but interesting with amazing characters. The main character is Nimona a SHAPESHIFTER that dreams of becoming a villain, though I didn’t get along well with her; another important character is Ballister a villain that is in his way caring and precious.

Fantasy is a genre that I like, but maybe this was too much fantasy for me? I’m sorry I’m weird, but there were dragons, magic and everything. But I really enjoyed the world: loved the mix of medieval and science!

I have mixed feelings about the art as well. I love the cover and the colors are amazing (for example she used sepia for the flashbacks)! But I didn’t really like the style of the characters and their proportions. Anyway I liked that the text is handwritten and the fanart at the end. Also the quality of the paper is great!

 

Final thoughts

Even if I gave it only 3.5 stars it is a cute and funny story and I’m happy I read it.

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FINAL RATINGS

  • Plot: 3 out ot 5
  • Design: 5 out of 5
  • Characters: 3 out of 5
  • Writing: 4 out of 5 (AMAZING)
  • Interest: 3 out of 5
  • The Feels and emotions: 3 out of 5
  • Ending: 3 out of 5

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So what do you think about the book? Have you read it?

 

Thank you for reading,

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Review: A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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Hi everyone!
I’ve finished this book a loooong time ago, then school started and i completely forgot about it. So now I’m so excited to post this review, because finally a 5 star read!! Also I read this book with Chloe @Blushing Bibliophile, go check her review here!

 

22055262A Darker Shade Of Magic by V.E. Schwab
  • Genre: YA, Fantasy
  • Pages: 399
    • My rating: ⭐ out of 5!
    • Plot: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

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REVIEW

First of all THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST FANTASY BOOKS EVER!

This is a really engaging novel even if it is, for me, a little bit slow paced. I could describe this book with just one word VITARI (for you, mundane, it means magic in arnesian). The plot is slow in the beginning, but the characters and world were more than enough to keep me interested in the story. The action picks up a lot toward the end and I read the majority of this book in one day.

The writing  is AMAZING it’s a little bit more complex than the normal books (that I read), in fact at the beginning I struggled a little bit to get into the plot without thinking about what I was reading. She has an amazing and original voice. I also took note of quotes as always, but this time I also “post-it-ed” so many descriptions and paragraphs that were amazingly written. English is not my mother tongue and I think this book actually improved my english, in fact as I kept reading I got used to the writing and got into it!

For example read this:

The vivid glamour of the world outside paled in comparison to the world within. It was a palace of vaulting glass and shimmering tapestry and, women though it all like light, magic. The air was alive with it. Not […], but a loud, bright encompassing thing. Kell had told Lila that magic was like an extra sense, layered on top of sight and smell and taste, and now she understood. It was everywhere. In everything. And it was intoxicating She could not tell if the energy was coming from the hundreds of bodies in the room, or from the room itself, which certainly reflected it. Amplified it like sound in an echoing chamber.
And it was strangely – impossibly – familiar.
Beneath the magic, or perhaps because of it, the space itself was alive with color and light. …read the book to continue reading 🙂

The book isn’t actaully full of descriptions, but I really wanted to show this one, without any spoilers. I think she deserves a prize just for this, okay??

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-15 at 18.49.14

 

I usually don’t like fantasy, but this convinced me to get more into this genre! I don’t like fantasy things when they’re all great and fluffy and there is a villain, that’s isn’t really complex or at least 3D. But with this book there’s a darker shade of magic with a lot of adventure!

The worldbuilding is amazing and intricate! In the book there are three Londons and a destroyed one, which are similar but different at the same time. Grey London is were the mundanes live and is your version of the Victorian London. Red London is full of magic an it’s like it is full of hufflepuffs and gryffindors and it smells like flowers. White London is ruled by two siblings, it is full of people who crave power and it smells like metal. The last London destroyed and sealed from the others London is Black London where magic took the power and destroyed the city.

“I’m not going to die,” she said. “Not till I’ve seen it.”
“Seen what?”
Her smile widened. “Everything.”

Characters

Notice! “New crushes and role models ahead!”

The novel deals with Kell who is an Antari, someone who can travel between worlds. He’s a part of the Red London’s royal family and his best friend is Rhy the prince of his London. Then there is Lila a Grey London’s adventurous lady, a wanted thief and an aspiring pirate.

This is one of my notes I took while reading: I really really really really really really really like Kell, you know what Rhy as well… A better version of Carly Rae Jepsen’s song I Really Like You.

The design has been created by Will Staehle and I love it so much! So extra points for that!

I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-15 at 18.49.30

 

Final thoughts This book was such an adventure, a little bit slow-paced, engaging and magical. The only thing that disappointed me is that I don’t have many feels for it, but it’s okay, IT’S STILL AMAZING!

I’m looking forward to buy the next book and I want to know more, his background story I want to know more about Lila as well! Also I want more fanart and a more active fandom!

By the way did you know that Rick Riordan reviewed it? Can you believe it?? Because I can’t!

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FINAL RATINGS

  • Plot: 5 out ot 5
  • Design: 5 out of 5
  • Characters: 5 out of 5
  • Writing: 5 out of 5 (AMAZING)
  • Interest: 5 out of 5
  • The Feels and emotions: 4 out of 5
  • Ending: 5 out of 5

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QUIZ ON BUZZFEED

Last but not least I also found a quiz on buzzfeed which tells you “Which London do you actually belong in?

And I got…. Red London!ADSOMM

 

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So what do you think about the book? Have you read it?

 

Thank you for reading,

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Mini review: Hollow City Graphic Novel by Ransom Riggs and Cassandra Jane

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Hi everyone!
I recently finished Hollow City, The Graphic Novel and this is my mini review!

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Hollow City, the graphic novel by Ransom Riggs and Cassandra Jean
  • Genre: YA, Fantasy, Graphic Novels
  • Pages: 272
  • My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5
  • Plot: After fleeing an army of terrible monsters, Jacob Portman and his peculiar friends find themselves lost at sea, but the only person who might be able to get them ashore safely, their illustrious headmistress Miss Peregrine, is stuck in the form of a bird! Hoping to find a way to get Miss Peregrine back to normal–or as normal as a peculiar can get–the children journey to London. But no matter where they go, trouble lurks after them… Cassandra Jean’s evocative visuals once again work seamlessly with Hollow City’s vintage photographs and Ransom Rigg’s twisting fantasy narrative to make for a wholly immersive reading experience for fans of the original novels, fans graphic novels, and fans of reading great stories alike!

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