The first Stephen King novel I read was Carrie followed by The Green Mile. Carrie is the novel I enjoyed the most due to how much I rooted for Carrie as the protagonist. Carrie’s mother is one of the creepiest fictional mothers I have ever read about. Sitting on my “to be read” shelf on Goodreads was Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes trilogy which is more detective series than horror. I liked Mr. Mercedes a lot and I look forward to continuing the series.

Detective Bill Hodges is retired, overweight, and unhappy. His job was what he lived for, so without it, he wouldn’t find meaning in his retirement. When Detective Hodges retired, he left a few cases unsolved. One unsolved case was the “Mercedes Case” which involved a person driving a Mercedes into a job rally in 2009 killing eight including a young infant baby. In a private chat, Hodges is contacted by the “Mercedes Killer” nicknamed Mr. Mercedes by the media. This private chat brings Hodges purpose in his retirement as he is willing to risk his safety to catch this killer. 

Let’s be serious, Detective Hodges isn’t a character I particularly like. He seems somewhat selfish allowing him to put his eighteen-year-old house helper and a mentally ill woman in danger to apprehend Mr. Mercedes. I’m more attached to who Detective Hodges teams up with including Jerome Robinson and Holly Gibney. Even though Hodges puts their lives at risk, they both make him more human.

Brady Hartsfield is revealed to be the Mercedes killer early in the novel. He has an inappropriate relationship with his mother and kills his poor disabled brother, Frankie, by pushing him down the stairs. He’s racist, misogynistic, ableist, and more. There’s nothing unique about his character and reading his story was probably the least interesting, but necessary to build up this dual between Hartsfield and Hodges.

The mystery isn’t the identity of the Mercedes killer, but what his next plan of attack is. It’s hinted at, but his end goal isn’t revealed until the last 100 pages. The latter half of the book moves quicker than the first half and I did have trouble getting invested into the story because of the slow build-up with all the characters. I will say Brady gets what’s coming to him.

Overall, I liked the book. It wasn’t my all-time favorite Stephen King book, but it still kept my interest throughout the story. I’m planning on reading the other two books in the series, but it’s not a high priority right now. I rated Mr. Mercedes three stars on Goodreads. 

Two years ago I reviewed the first book I read by Ashley Elston titled This is Our Story.. I named it as my favorite book I read in 2017. Ashley Elston can create in-depth, young adult characters and make you sympathize with those characters. When I found out that in November of 2018, she released The Lying Woods, I immediately pushed it to the top of my TBR pile. The Lying Woods isn’t as good as This is Our Story, but it might depend on your book reading preference to determine which book you will enjoy more.

Owen Foster is the stereotypical rich kid: He goes to an elite private school, has gone on amazing trips with his family and basically has a life any kid would dream of. Suddenly, Owen’s mother shows up at his school to inform him that his father stole money from the people who work for his company, Louisiana Frac. Owen is forced to leave his private school and return to his home town where people despise him. Owen’s mother has been receiving death threats as many believe she knows where his father has gone. Where is Owen’s father and why did he steal the money?

The Lying Woods is more of a contemporary young adult story versus a mystery thriller like This is Our Story. Owen was someone I originally couldn’t connect with based on his background and how he viewed his upstate lifestyle. However, once Owen becomes more situated in his small town in Louisiana, I start to feel for him and what he has been going through. My biggest complaint with this book is it took me a little while to truly get into the story. I read This is Our Story in a day where it took me about a week to read The Lying Woods. Although, once I had 150 pages left in The Lying Woods, I did read it all in a day.

I don’t want to spoil this one because I truly believe all of Ashley Elston’s books are worth purchasing and reading through, but if you want to know what happens in the end, I did include spoilers in my good reads review. If we aren’t friends on Goodreads, we should be! I will link my Goodreads profile in this post. I also started following Books on the Book Shelf and they had a nice review of The Lying Woods in case you aren’t convinced about reading it yet. The Lying Woods is a great blend of contemporary young adult fiction and mystery. Ashley Elston’s books make me want to visit Louisiana, so who knows maybe I’ll take a road trip to New Orleans someday.

Remember, It’s Only a Game. . . 

Caraval by Stephanie Garber is my first official book read in 2019. I originally became aware of this book based on Super Space Chick’s book channel. I don’t read a lot of YA (young adult), but I thought the premise sounded intriguing, and I happened to find Caraval on display at my local library. Caraval is spellbinding and it perfectly demonstrates the unbreakable bond between two sisters.

Caraval initially reminds me of Frozen mixed with a psychologically compelling carnival. Scarlett Dragna has become increasingly aware of her awful living situation as she and her younger sister, Donatella [known as Tella], are regularly abused by their father. To escape the abuse, she dreams of attending the faraway carnival known as Caraval. Caraval is a magical game run by Legend, a mysterious man who grants one wish to anyone who wins the game. Eventually, Scarlett meets a sailor who allows her the chance to leave the island she has known all her life while also being able to attend Caraval as the guest of honor.

Unbeknownst to Scarlett, Tella is kidnapped by Legend, and Scarlett is forced to participate in the game to secure her sister. Everyone tells Scarlett to remember that Caraval is just a game, but she becomes intertwined with the performers and doesn’t exactly remember what’s real or what’s become a fantasy. Scarlett needs to be clever enough to rescue Tella otherwise she may be lost or worse, killed.

The first positive comment about the book is the description of Caraval itself. It seems to be this light-hearted, fantasy carnival with a darker twist to it. Scarlett is forced to face her fears and give out her deepest darkest secrets to save her sister. It seems Scarlett often has to question her sanity throughout the book. I couldn’t imagine being in Scarlett’s position having to save a loved one while contemplating what’s actually happening in reality versus what is magic or fiction.

I also felt Scarlett evolved into a completely different character by the end of the game. Before Caraval, she was a scared, shy, and distrustful person due to the abuse inflicted by her father. By the end of the book, she takes numerous risks while also recognizing her feelings for Julian, the sailor. Originally, I wasn’t a fan of Scarlett’s character based on her personality and how she looked down upon her sister for flirting with men. However, Scarlett truly opened herself up and I genuinely started to feel sympathetic toward her experiences in Caraval.

Caraval reminded me of Frozen because of the bond between Scarlett and Tella. Tella reminds me of Anna as she is the outgoing one while Scarlett is similar to Elsa as she is more reserved but extremely protective of her sister. The bond between the Dragna sisters is probably one of the best parts of the book.

Another point I wanted to make is how I wasn’t a huge fan of Scarlett and Julian as a couple. Sure, Julian is attractive as there are many descriptions in the book of the muscles on his back. Although Julian is somewhat shady I’m surprised Scarlett would be willing to trust him so easily. Clearly, he’s hiding something and I wish Scarlett would have questioned him a bit more.

Caraval was a captivating read for me. I became enamored by the Caraval setting along with the character development of Scarlett, the main protagonist of the story. The second book in the series, Legendary was released in May 2018 and the final book Finale will be released in May of 2019. I’m hoping movie rights get picked up for this book as it would make for an amazing movie.

Hush, Little Baby don’t say a word. Mama’s going to buy you a mockingbird. 

After completing Batman: Arkham Knight for the second time, I became fascinated with reading more Batman comics. I’m currently reading through Knightquest which is the storyline in which Batman’s back is broken by Bane. This storyline is what inspired the Dark Knight Rises film in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. Recently, I finished reading Batman: Hush written by Jeph Loeb. This graphic novel is probably one of my favorite Batman stories I have read thus far.

Batman: Hush begins with Batman attempting a rescue mission for a kidnapped boy being held by Killer Croc. After saving the boy, he chases Catwoman around Gotham City for money she stole from Killer Croc. When Batman catches up with her, his grapple gun line snaps and he falls to the ground. Bruce Wayne has devastating physical injuries which are repaired by his childhood friend and renowned surgeon, Thomas Elliot. Throughout the story, we see past memories interwoven in the story detailing Bruce and Thomas’s friendship.

As Batman figures out who deliberately cut his line, he recognizes other supervillains coming after him within a few days of each other. It becomes clear to Batman that someone is trying to take him down while also knowing incredibly personal information about him. The main premise behind this story is who could be the mastermind behind the vicious attacks against Batman.

I truly ship Batman and Catwoman together. I enjoy their romantic partnership as Batman and Catwoman are both anti-heroes who think they are doing the right thing while also bending the law to fit their needs. 

Batman: Hush is perfect for introducing comics to new fans. Within the first two chapters, famous Batman villains are introduced which has been a common complaint from other fans about this story. I personally loved it because it fits the plot.

Who else has read Batman: Hush? I would love to hear your comments below along with your favorite Batman comic.

This is my 4th year participating in Perpetual Page Turner’s End of Year Survey specifically relating to books, graphic novels or manga read this year. I started this in 2015 and I will continue to participate for many more years to come. Last year, I read 46 books which was a record turnout for me. This year, I only read 39 books although for 2019, I’m going to attempt to read fifty books. In the meantime, here are my 2018 End of Year Book Survey answers.

2018 Reading Stats

Number of Books You Read: 39

Number of Re-Reads: 1. I re-read the first issue of Hawkeye #1 My Life is a Weapon. 

Genre You Read the Most From Graphic Novels, but to be fair, it’s much quicker to read a graphic novel than a traditional book.

1. Best Book Read in 2018

Ship It by Britta Lundin. I absolutely adored the premise behind this book because it takes place on a convention tour. Britta is also a writer on Riverdale which encouraged me to purchase this book on the boyfriend’s Kindle. I’m debating purchasing the paperback version to add to my book collection.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Would Love More But Didn’t?

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. To summarize the book’s plot, Louise is an insecure, single woman living in England. While staying at a hotel, she meets David at the hotel bar who is irresistible. Louise is devastated to find out David is married to Adele who looks like a supermodel. As Louise develops a friendship with Adele, she finds their relationship to be unhealthy and it becomes clear something is odd about the two of them. Without spoiling the plot, this book has a supernatural twist at the end which was off-putting and I didn’t like it.

3. Most Surprising (In a Good or Bad Way) Book You Read?

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn had a nice surprise twist at the end. Imagine the classic Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window meets Gone Girl. There’s still time to read this book before the movie is released in October 2019. The movie will star Amy Adams in the title role.

4. Best Series You Started in 2018?

Warcross by Marie Lu is a great book especially if you consider yourself a gamer. Emika is a hacker who enjoys playing the world-renowned game called Warcross. When she accidentally hacks into the Warcross World Championship, she’s flown to meet Hideo Tanaka, the creator of Warcross. He tasks her with finding the identity of another hacker who Hideo believes is going to ruin the Championship game. Emika becomes involved in the scandal which has its consequences for everyone involved.

I’m shocked because I found out today that the sequel, Wildcard, was released a couple months ago. Initially, I thought Wildcard was being released in 2019. I’m going to use some of my Barnes & Noble gift card money to purchase Wildcard and it will become my top priority to read it next year.

5. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I really liked Amy Schumer’s autobiography titled The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo. I know there’s a lot of controversy with her regarding whether or not she steals jokes. I personally haven’t looked into that much, but I do like Amy’s sense of humor. I found her book to be funny with a nice touch of personal stories from her past. I appreciate the story she wrote on gun violence as I also believe we, in the United States, have to do something to end mass shootings.

6. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2018?

Even though I didn’t like The Post Mortal by Drew Magary, I thought the book posed fascinating hypothetical questions. In this book, the cure for aging is discovered which poses the question of whether or not humans should take the cure. I personally wouldn’t because I would hate to live for eternity without my loved ones unless my loved ones could get the cure as well. Unfortunately, this book’s pacing was a little too boring for me so it ended up taking forever for me to finish it.

7. Book That Shocked You The Most

Calamity is Brandon Sanderson’s concluding book in the Steelheart trilogy which is one of my favorite trilogies I read. This trilogy stars David, a teenager who exists in a world where once the star, Calamity, appeared in the sky, humans were given powers. David joined the Reckoners, a rebel group that sought to fight evil Epics (humans with powers). Calamity reveals the history behind the star which is what shocked me the most because it wasn’t what I had anticipated it would be.

8. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) *One True Pairing*

Claire & Tess from Ship It is so cute together! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

9. Favorite Book You Read in 2018 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

I’m going to nominate Saga for this one. I read the first volume in 2017 and I read both volumes #2 & #3 this year. Unfortunately, Saga is on a hiatus right now, but the only positive part about this news is that I have time to catch up since there are eight volumes in the series.

10. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

It’s going to be a tie between Warcross and Calamity. Both books created equally thrilling environments. Honestly, I wish both Warcross and the Steelheart trilogy were getting movies. This would be visually stunning to see, but never say never I suppose.

11. Hidden Gem of the Year?

The Manhattan Projects is a series I wish I had read earlier. It combines history, science, and aliens into one epic graphic novel. 

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/YouTube channel you discovered in 2018?

I enjoy watching Super Space Chick’s YouTube channel even though we don’t always have the same book interests. Kristin reads a lot more Young Adult and Contemporary novels than I do. However, our interests coincide with her recommendations of Fantasy and Science Fiction novels. One of my favorite books I read in 2017 titled This is Our Story by Ashley Elston was recommended to me after reading one of Kristin’s blog posts. I hopefully plan on following more book bloggers in 2019.

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2018?

I really liked my post regarding my love for the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. This is one of my favorite series of all time. This post also acquired more comments than I initially thought it would which is a nice bonus.

3. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Can I say being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?? I try to read before bed which doesn’t work out because I end up falling asleep at 8:30 PM instead of reading a chapter and then going to bed. When I was in college, I read a lot more books than I do now. That’s why I’m setting my reading goal in 2019 to be 50 books to encourage myself to read more next year.

4. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Most of my comic book posts never get any comments or likes which always makes me sad. Comics are such an important part of my life and I wish these posts were more well received. I write what I want to write about which means I may not get any attention on blog posts that I feel deserve the spotlight, but that’s okay.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2018 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2019?

My top books I’m Looking Forward to Reading Are:

• Wildcard, the sequel to Warcross by Marie Lu
• The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston. I mentioned This is Our Story a couple paragraphs ago which is also written by Elston. She’s one of those authors where I will be on the lookout if she releases a new book.

2. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2019?

I’m going to attempt to read Game of Thrones this year, wish me luck. This is mostly because of my friend’s obsession with the TV series.

3. 2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

The Princess & the Fangirl by Ashley Poston who also wrote Geekerella. Geekerella was a fairy tale retelling of Cinderella but with a comic con twist. It’s being released April 2nd, 2019 and I’m considering pre-ordering it.

If you end up completing this book survey, link your post in the comments below. Happy New Year book readers! 🙂

CONTENT WARNING: This novel contains violent depictions of rape and sexual violence.

To unwind after an eleven hour day, I like to curl up on my sectional sofa with a fuzzy blanket and read a book. I try to end my night reading, however I end up crashing at 8:30 with my boyfriend removing the book from my hands. I’m a self proclaimed bibliophile as they’re certain books on my shelf I treasure more than others. One of these books is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

When I was a junior in high school, I enrolled in a Detective and Gothic Literature course. It was one of my favorite high school classes where I read Frankenstein, Dracula, and A Study in Scarlet. One assignment was a book report to present to the class. As you can predict, I chose The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo begins with Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist who lost a case of libel against a powerful industrialist. Immediately after the sentencing, he’s summoned to Henrik Vanger’s mansion. Vanger is a retired CEO of a successful company who originally heard of Blomkvist following his trial. Vanger says he will give Blomkvist evidence of this industrialist’s illegal activities in exchange for helping Vanger solve the murder of his niece, Harriet Vanger which occurred over 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, we have Lisbeth Salander. She’s an intelligent computer hacker who has been assigned to conduct research on Blomkvist specifically for Vanger before Blomkvist meets with him. Salander and Blomkvist become entwined when she helps Blomkvist unravel the mystery behind Harriet’s disappearance along with revealing a horrific family secret.

As I first read this book, I was disgusted by the sexual violence Salander was subjected to. It was uncomfortable to read this book while comparing how society handles sexual assault. I will never forget reading the section where Salander gets revenge on her rapist. It made me really like Salander as a character because even though hypothetically, this was not the way to seek justice, it was a relief to see her rapist get what I felt he deserved.

I was feeling inspired to write this post since I finished reading the first volume of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo graphic novel released in 2013. I’m preparing to read the second volume shortly as it’s a nice recap of the story while also showing some gritty artwork in each panel.

Before I end this post, I wanted to share a story Stieg Larsson told. When Larsson was fifteen, he witnessed three men raping a friend of his while he stood by and didn’t intervene. This moment altered him as he pled for forgiveness to his friend and they never forgave him. Let’s stop sexual violence by believing survivors when they come forward and intervening if there might be unwanted sexual activity occurring. We can all be allies to prevent sexual violence.

I started watching Riverdale back in the Fall of last year and it became one of my favorite shows on the CW’s lineup. One of the writers on the show, Britta Lundin, released their debut novel combining geekiness, LGBTQIA+, and fandom together in a book titled Ship It. Ship It is easily one of my favorite books I read in 2018 despite the controversy surrounding the novel which I will discuss below.

Ship It details the life of Claire, a sixteen-year-old who recently became obsessed with the show Demon Heart with similarities to Supernatural. She has shipped her two favorite characters Smokey and Heart together as romantic partners even though it isn’t canon. Claire attends the Demon Heart panel at a local convention and asks the cast about her ship between Smokey and Heart. Forest Reed, the actor who plays Smokey comes across as a jerk and calls Claire crazy. Claire is immediately stunned and leaves the panel as fans boo the cast.

The crew makes amends with Claire by inviting her on the convention press tour to help renew Demon Heart for a second season. Throughout the convention tour, Claire starts to realize maybe she isn’t straight herself and Forest recognizes what he has to do to save his career from being tainted by the Smokey and Heart ship.

I enjoyed this book for multiple reasons. The book is excellent in exploring the downsides of toxic masculinity. Forest Reed when prompted about the chance of his character being gay on the show reacts negatively. Forest reacts this way partly because he’s also auditioning for a role in a hyper-masculine action movie. He doesn’t want the chance of playing a gay character to ruin his chances of attaining the role. Apparently, gay men can’t be action heroes? Is this because of how gay men are perceived as being less masculine? All of these horrible stereotypes play a role in toxic masculinity. Forest has quite the character development as he starts to fully embrace his own geeky personality along with becoming more educated about Tumblr and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Most of the book takes place at various conventions across the U.S. I absolutely love attending conventions and I feel it’s the perfect atmosphere for me to thrive. I liked reading about Claire’s reactions to attending her first convention along with Forest and the rest of the Demon Heart cast.

After reading multiple reviews on Goodreads for Ship It I discovered the multiple controversies surrounding this book. This book doesn’t depict fans in a flattering way. Claire hijacks Jamie’s Twitter to convince him to make Smokey and Heart fall in love with each other. Jamie being the creator of Demon Heart has every right to be angry with Claire. Claire comes across as a ruthless fan trying to get what she wants even though Demon Heart doesn’t belong to her. As a fan, I personally would never attempt to do this.

Besides how fans are portrayed, Claire makes questionable decisions which leads to quite a few readers disliking her character. One such example is when Claire writes fan fiction about Forest revealing a secret kiss between Forest and another man. Forest told Claire in secret about this interaction without knowing Claire would publish it on Tumblr. This is unacceptable as Forest shared this in confidence with Claire. I stand by Claire as a character partly because of her age. Being sixteen, I remember being selfish at this age. Being a teenager shouldn’t be an excuse for behavior, but I find teenagers in their immaturity say things they don’t mean and Claire isn’t an exception.

Overall Ship It was a fictional geeky novel I enjoyed reading although I empathize with readers who disliked this book. I do recommend purchasing the novel and reading it for yourself because it’s crucial to support novels written or including LGBTQIA+ content. Don’t forget to watch Riverdale on the CW premiering on Wednesdays 8/7c and watch Britta Lundin’s writing skills in full force.

My favorite way to spend my one-hour, unpaid work break is to read comics. Thirty minutes is plenty of time to delve into a story without feeling fatigued. My comic backlog is slowly decreasing as a result of my comics reading at lunch. Included in this backlog was the first volume of the Image Comics Manhattan Project series. I was able to snag this at CONvergence a couple months ago when one of my favorite comic book stores appeared as a vendor. They were doing a buy one get one 50% off which to a comic book reader, is the perfect deal. This trade is equally intriguing, historically accurate, and entertaining.

Imagine if the Manhattan Project was more than creating the atomic bomb, but to cover up the fact the U.S. was collaborating with aliens. The inventors or contributors to the Manhattan Project are as follows:

Joseph Oppenheimer: physicist, multiple personalities, slightly psychotic

Albert Einstein: German, beer drinker, and physicist.

Richard Feynman: Genius, narcissist, slightly annoying

Harry Daghlian: super genius, fried in a radioactive accident, consists of a skeleton with black smoke around his head.

Wernher Von Braun: Nazi, rocket scientist, fake arm.

Leslie Groves: Recruiter, smokes, enjoys bombing other countries

FDR A.I: Yes, this actually exists.

Harry S. Truman: Illuminati?

This first volume details how all of these people interact with each other along with the alien species they cooperate with. What’s so intriguing about this novel is how all of these characters are real people with a twist. Harry Daghlian was a physicist who unfortunately died because of accidental exposure to radiation which I never knew about. Joseph Oppenheimer is a real physicist who is apparently not a serial killer. I felt this novel allowed me to learn more about U.S. history in an interesting way.

The Manhattan Project was written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Nick Pitarra. Hickman has been Eiser-nominated for a couple of other indie series such as Nightly News, Transhuman, and Pax Romana however, he’s also known for writing at MARVEL on books featuring the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Pitarra has completed covers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, God Hates Astronauts, and Judge Dredd. Both of their talent is being utilized in this ongoing series which has 6 volumes total chronicling U.S. history, science, and the supernatural.

Honestly, this trade is fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed how each of the characters introduced was actually a part of the real Manhattan projects and I like the twist on each character, especially the design of Harry Daghlian.  Who knew learning about U.S. history could be so enthralling.

Facebook Marketplace is where I have found cheap furniture for our apartment. Me and the boyfriend bought our living room comfy chair for $30 along with a used TV stand for $50. As I was browsing through Facebook Marketplace, I found someone selling a complete run of the 1980s Defenders from Marvel. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to acquire these comics for my collection. Three months later, I have read every single comic in the stack. It surprised me how little I knew about this supergroup.

Before Luke Cage, Iron Fist, or Jessica Jones, there was Doctor Strange..? The Defenders in the 1980s comics I had been reading were led by Doctor Strange featuring the Hulk, Valkyrie, Namor, and Nighthawk. Nighthawk was a supervillain belonging to the Squadron Sinister attempting to flood the Earth by melting the polar ice caps which by the way aren’t we as a population doing that already? Realizing how horrible this would be, he seeks out The Defenders who defeat Nebulon, a golden god reminding me of David Bowie in comic book form. Nighthawk becomes a hero and fights for the Defenders trying to right his wrongs.

Guest appearances include the Silver Surfer, Hawkeye, and Luke Cage before he became a full-fledged member of the Defenders and the Fantastic Four. Hellcat aka. Patsy Walker also appears in a couple of the comics as a friend to the Defenders. One of my favorite issues features a comic inspired by Dr.Seuss and shows the Defenders being transported to a cartoon-themed planet.

As someone who is relatively new to comics, I’m a huge fan of reading older series. This comic run helped shape the comics universe and we wouldn’t have the new Defenders without Doctor Strange or The Hulk.