DB

This was my last read of August, like I finished this on the last day of August, sometime after midnight. I think I was watching Tarzan, actually. So maybe I was too into Tarzan to properly pay attention

I really thought the characters would have powers linked to death because it's called Graveyard Wars so that's where my line of thinking was. But actually they can just access people's skills sets? So like, if you need a doctor right now, boom you know how to do open heart surgery, I guess. I didn't understand some of the restrictions on their powers – like can they access ordinary people's skill sets or is it limited to dead people who also had the ability (to access the skill sets)? Maybe that'll be explained further down the line but I also don't know if I'll want to carry on with the series.

I realised (a couple of pages had passed) that there was a difference between 2 characters – I thought like it was the same girl. but it was actually 2 different girls. Another thing I did have an issue with was it the wasn't a lot of dialogue. so all I'm left with is stills of the characters instead of, say, narrative. With narrative, it makes it easier to follow the characters whereas with stills you have to sort of draw your own conclusion and I wasn't really interested in doing that. Might've been a reason why I didn't like it it as much as I was hoping I would.

I did not know that there were so many Grimm Brothers stories. Honestly, my knowledge mostly comes from The Brothers' Grimm movie – with Heath Ledger (RIP) and Matt Damon. And then some of the more popular stories I know. But this had so many stories you could probably read this to your kids for years and still not reach the end. I even skim read most stories and that was still quite long. I think probably the most famous Grimm stories is Hansel and Gretel, but did you know they also wrote The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, and Cinderella? And most of the stories are... quite dark (which I'm not exactly sure you'd like to tell them to little kids, but I guess some kids' movies are also violent and can get dark).

All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I'm definitely wanting to read more retellings that have the dark themes in common with the original. Or manage to find other, smaller collections of their tales and reading those. I think every storyteller has something different to contribute. My favourite storyteller is still Hans Christian Anderson because I love the way he tells the story. I now also really like the Brothers Grimm, also because of how they tell the story – very different to Anderson.

Read this post on my blog!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc through A Novel Take PR in exchange for a free and honest review. The link in the book's details is to the book's Goodreads' page. The summary and all the graphics were provided by A Novel Take PR. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'll admit, I usually like to summarise the summary myself, because it makes it really fun. But then I saw the graphics and knew I'd have to put off the summary revision for another day. So this review will look different because I wanted to showcase some of the graphics! Thank you so much to A Novel Take PR – for the review copy and the slot on the blog tour. Go check them out!

I did not realise this was like 764 pages!! I thought it as a nice 300-400 somewhere fantasy, and my eyes grew a tad bit wide because the last time I read a book over 600 pages was I think The Wise Man's Fear? And that took me a month or two to finish ahaha. So I thought I would take a week or even two to finish this one, because it's so huge. But I actually finished this really quickly!! It was so so good that I didn't even notice how much I was reading at a time until I looked at the time? Which is definitely a tell (for me) that I really enjoyed a book.

This book gave me everything, from a brief mention of currency (which, oddly, is a thing I absolutely love to read in fantasies), to characters I knew I could root for and absolutely love, and which ones I should watch out for.

Tauren Darrica and Kalai Ro-Ani were two characters I had such fun reading about. I loved meeting them and getting to know them; seeing them meet each other and getting to know each other. Tauren is that type of character who likes to think they're tough but he's actually really soft and he cares about people and wants to help them. I loved seeing how fierce Kalai gets because he takes on a job as an archivist, which isn't really known for its action and drama.

Another thing I really loved was seeing them become closer to one another and, furthermore, wanting to be closer to each other – which really really warmed my Grinchly heart. They brought out the best in each other and made each other go for what they wanted! I don't normally go seeking romance out (in books), but I'd seek this romance out.

Yes, there are dragons in this novel. Is dragon a genre? Well, it's one now. I loved seeing the dragons and reading about the different types of dragons – I could read about dragon types and wings, scales, even how strong the tail is, for ages. The dragons in this are funny and compassionate. Even though they don't speak, they have bounds of personality – does that make sense? I feel like that makes sense.

Look at how great that chapter logo looks! I had to upload it to show you. And the character art? So good!

I can't say much on the plot, the book is really long so the plot develops a lot and there's some twists and turns (which I loved). But there's also mystery and intrigue, which is done really well! I kept wanting to know more and turning the page so quickly, I must've paged more than one page

This book is basically Supernatural if the brothers weren't so close. And if they kept to hunting demons. And if it were a less likable story. What did I mean by that statement? I mean that the book's got all the makings of something I would highly highly enjoy! But it falls terribly flat. And then I ended up not liking it. Like I have so many notes on my Kindle about this book but if I had to write down everything this post would be super long.

Jennifer moans on and on about Savannah, Georgia and how she doesn't like it. And that it's too hot. She breathes, and it's too hot. She walks, and it's too hot. And it's too much for me. She was just an unlikable character – which made me sad because I did want to like this book a lot. She goes on about how her dad didn't tell her anything (okay, sure, that's fair. I can't blame her for that) – but the dad didn't leave any contact number? She's underage and he's her legal guardian? Or don't they have other relatives who might know about this? Did the main character maybe mention this and I didn't pay enough attention? Maybe.

The dad's journal plays a big role in the book. My issue is that it's probably touted as this know-all, be-all type of a thing – which can be written well – sometimes. The main character here is too fixated on the journal – but maybe that's because her dad suddenly left her by her sister with just the journal and no questions answered.

Another thing – regarding the dad, and his leaving. Jennifer has a phone – and most probably access to the Internet. Why don't we see her searching stuff up that show up in the journal – different types of supernatural entities. She's a teen with access to the Internet!! Why wouldn't she research it?

A lot of things were confusing throughout the book? To me it felt like there should've been a lot more – both character and plotwise – because they needed a lot of work. But I can tell you that I didn't like any of the characters. I didn't feel much for any of them, sad as that is to say. And it's not that I didn't want to like them! I did, I did try to like them, they just didn't hold any interest for me. I think the one character I did sort of like was Marcus, but then his character development was so confusing I don't even know if he had one?

Also, I know this isn't a final copy, I know how arcs aren't properly formatted, that's all fine and well. I'm used to arcs not being a 100% formatted. But this book could've been a little better formatted imo?

Did anyone ever contact the school to excuse her from classes?

Goodreads says it's a trilogy!!!! Which I'm very excited about! I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to see what the other books will hold. Especially after that ending! This post will be mostly be just rambling about how much I connected to the characters (well, mostly the main character). So it might be a bit long.

If you were wondering what on earth I was doing, rambling on in the summary; the main character (Nick) has ADHD. The book is ownvoices for its queer rep and the neurodiverse rep. I have ADHD, so I was pretty excited to see a MAIN character have it too. And while I can't speak for medicated ADHD rep (because I haven't been on meds since like high school), I do think it was great representation of how a person with ADHD thinks and reacts and speaks.

I have so so many notes in my Kindle that's just ME in all caps and etc etc because I RELATED so much to the main character!! And that's really really important for me (someday I'll do a post on what makes or breaks a book for me) – to connect to a character and to relate to them. Nick was definitely one of them, what he said I felt. Like when he said something embarrassing and immediately regretted it? I've spent multiple nights thinking back to literally anything mildly embarrassing I've said in the past.

And when he rambles and goes on about x or y topic and other people are like... and they don't exactly know what to do or say; or sometimes (and this does happen) that even your best or closest friends or family do say something rude about the ADHD. And it hurt Nick, and it hurt me as well. Because that is something that happens alll the time. I don't think people really get how it affects our day-to-day life/living. There's never a moment where my ADHD lets me like... rest. Not even at night, when I'm ‘trained' to sleep. My brain is always on overdrive and multitasking and thinking and thinking and thinking.

But anyway! Let's carry on from all the rambling. I loved the other characters. Seth

THE MAGIC
Okay, you know I'm a huge fan of magic in books and the magic system. I especially loved that in here. The type of magic seen in this book is called Forging, and includes both mental and physical abilities – like I believe you would be able to change an object's appearance, or be able to tell its history – who the owners have been, where it was made, etc., just by a touch. The amount of intricacy involved in the art of each Forging and how the character used it every time is definitely something I'd love to see on screen. Will the magic be conveyed by sparks? By swirls or streams of colour? Only visible to those with Forging abilities?

The book also showed what each forging ability could do and couldn't and what their caster's limits are too. I love it when magic has limits, because then it shows that magic can't do everything; that in the end, we're all so helplessly human.

THE COSTUMES
If a movie/tv series gets a good wardrobe budget and costume designers, then you have outfits that are truly amazing. And because The Gilded Wolves is a historical fantasy, you're able to have gorgeous historically accurate clothing, rather than what's in style at the time that the book is set in (I've recently been watching Hannah Montana and... what was the fashion back then and why was it so bad?).

The outfits described in the book sound so elegant and fashionable and while we do get to see that with the occasional art, I would love to see that depicted on the screen. Great, swooshing amounts of fabric, each character showing their style – their way of dressing, their favourite clothes to wear when they're just at home; all good things I must see.

THE FOOD
Laila is the resident Mom™ Friend of the group and makes sure everyone's eating. She also likes to bake a lot, which is amazing, because I always prefer to eat rather than bake (like if you ask me to help you roll out cookie dough and the recipe says makes 40, the tray will end up making 20 if I help).

The food was described in ways that just made me want to reach into the book and pull out the food. You could almost smell the fresh food, almost feel the piece of let's say, donuts – did they have donuts back then? Maybe you could even imagine tasting whatever you were eating – I know I was thinking along those lines.

I would love to see that on screen, just be able to to see the food and it'll be almost as good as actually smelling and eating the food. Or, can you imagine, if they released a cookbook made exclusively out of Laila's recipes or recipes submitted by Roshani, something like that. Or maybe the cast's favorite foods – I would buy that book and possibly make the food in there.

THE CHARACTERS
This group of characters is definitely going in my book as one of the best cast I've ever read. There were more than just characters in the book, having to perform jobs and missions together. They were friends, wanting to be with each other, have fun and laugh with each other. They felt more like a family than just a team working together – which is great, because the whole concept of the found family trope is that they want to spend time with each other. Sure, you can add a whole bunch of banter and Feelings™, but you can't fake becoming closer.

I can't even begin to think who is my actual favourite, because it's ALL of them! Even Séverin who gets on my nerves a lot with how he thinks and treats the other characters, I still like to read his view. I loved reading how each character feels about Forging and what they think is their role in the group versus what their role is actually (which made for a lot of my comments to be ‘soft').

I'd love to see Zofia and Laila become friends, everyone crowding around Laila and asking about the food. Hypnos just randomly coming over and making himself at home, sitting too close to Enrique and flirting with him. I want to see Enrique getting all excited over something historical or linguistical (same, Enrique. Same) and no one's really interested. Tristin, even walking around casually with Goliath in his hands. is something I'd even want to see (and then he has to be back in his cage – Goliath, not Tristan, that is). And let's be real, we all want to see Séverin moping, don't lie. We all love the angst.

THE REPRESENTATION
This review would have been shorter, but I couldn't not include this, as it's so vitally important. So, the entire cast is all super diverse and I think it's extremely, majorly important that the casting respects and follows the representation. Maybe there's a Jewish Polish girl who's autistic and always thought herself to be extremely weird and unlikable – what if she sees The Gilded Wolves (with or without reading the book, we don't shame here), sees Zofia on screen, sees herself in Zofia?

Titles, whether or not they're book adaptations suffer a lot through whitewashing or dancing around labels. Either because they're afraid how the audience will react, or the studio doesn't want it; taking away a label, an identity, is something that can be harmful, and shouldn't happen. Whenever this book is adapted (I'm choosing not to say if), it should be correctly casted. Someone who understands why Laila's dancing is so important should be playing Laila. Enrique's actor needs to be played by someone who understands him and his heritage.

I'm not saying that the adaptation will be a total flop if the actors aren't a 1000% copy of the characters. I'm just saying that you don't know who's watching and who sees themself in a character, and I think that's an extremely important point to consider.

THE STORYTELLING
Okay, so, I have no idea how they'll be able to transfer the sheer and utter art of the narrative and the storytelling – the way the paragraphs were weaved together and how they seamlessly followed another onto the screen. I invite them to try, though.

I suppose that's one of the pros of the book over the movie/series. You're able to see how the characters feel about a situation, whereas with actors, you just have to hope they can convey the same feelings. Or with dialogue – we all know our favourite lines in our favourite books, but who knows if they'll be carried over 100% to the screen.

I've loved Matilda (the book and the movie. Have not seen the musical) ever since I first read it. I mean she loves to read, I love to read. She's got telekinetic powers, I wish I could have powers. We're basically twins, right? So when I saw this I instantly snapped it up. I did not know it was going to be this, actually. Just thought it was maybe a reprint of Matilda or something. But I was pleasantly surprised by what I found inside.

I would definitely hang a bunch of these up in my house. My favourites are: The books transported her into new worlds & introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives and Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it

It's a super quick read but really adorable if you want to gift it to someone who loves reading (because to be honest, readers always could do with one more book).

I mean my only knowledge of Monty Python and everything is basically just the Holy Grail (the movie they made), so

If you've spent some time around the humour side of the Internet (which I recommend you do sparingly as Internet users have weird ideas of the word and meaning of ‘funny') – you've most likely seen some of Sarah's Scribbles. They're short. They're funny. They're so darn relatable.

This was no different from her other work I have seen. She blends humour with everything that I'm feeling – yes, coffee might make me more anxious, but it might also make me productive. Yes, I am known for calling my cat everything under the sun (he's my sunshine, my lamb, my chicken, etc etc), but does he know what his actual name is and can he tell other cats what his name is?

But at the same time it speaks about humour and cats and life – it also speaks a little about how we treat ourselves – burnout, seeing our accomplishments as failure and all. And that it's okay to take a break once in a while or to be happy and proud of ourselves even when we create something that's not a total 100% from the start.

I remember going to the library (to take out a whole stack of books I'd return in a few days to get more stacks – listen, I was a very busy child. But like only with reading. Definitely not Maths. I liked stopping at the magazine shelves and quickly read the Nat Geo Kids – I liked all the short and sweet articles and bright pictures.

Which I think is great because kids are definitely entranced by bright pictures and most kids, if they're not used to reading a lot, they like short articles. And animals – fun facts about them and even funnier stories. It also gives out information in an easy way that any kids could understand.

Of course I chose this because of my kitty cat (he's just too fantastic and I love him even if he uses me for food) but I'd definitely be interested in other National Geographics about other animals – dogs or whales (just not spiders. Please no).

Let's focus on the narrators first. This book is narrated by two people – cousins. One's Mark, and the other Talia (whose name I forgot for a few seconds. I only remembered Mark's because his is on a Note on my Kindle as my Notes are currently pulled up). And I felt both narrators were pretty boring. I liked Talia a tiny bit more, but that was it.

I mean, Mark, to me, felt so self-centered and boring and privileged and just, sorry, but boring again. Like instead of helping around the house he decides to have fun. He should've paid more attention to Paige, seriously. He tries to act funny but it just fails. Talia, while the (slight) better of the two narrator, tries to act like she's awkward and cool at the same time and it only makes her look more awkward and not in that cool type of way. While she is very proud of her identity, and she can most certainly be, it just felt like she was pushing all her ideas and opinions onto other people and trying to make them think like her. And people don't feel the same way and that's okay!

I love this cover so much. The font's super cool, the rainbow road and the car, all so great. But... that's about it. The third star is solely for the cover. Paige is mostly the reason why I didn't star it lower – she was at least funny, adorable, and she reads Magnus Chase so ☝

Yes, I've recently read like 2 or something comics about books and stuff. But I will also read 500 more. I loved all the comics in here. It is very similar to Book Love – which is why I probably picked it up, so I definitely liked that.

This is a heartwarming comic about books and the love of books – which is definitely something I can get behind on. And also that comic of recommending a book to someone? Me with a total stranger who became a close friend of mine and is still a very close friend, all because I took the plunge and recommended a book to her. So, recommend books to people! You'll never know what'll happen!

And also – the page where it talks about wanting to beat the tablet's estimated reading?? That is me to a t! I love to constantly looking at the Kindle's estimated time and see how quickly I can make it go down

I've seen a bunch of Debbie Tung's comics before – her other work is hilarious and usually, if you're a bookworm and you're on Facebook, you'll be tagged on a whole bunch of book-related posts – so I definitely have seen some of Book Love before out in the wild (the wild meaning Facebook, of course).

So I was very happy to receive the arc through Netgalley! And sometimes, yes, it does have its reservations – a lot of these comics about funny bookworm problems do use book reader stereotypes. Even though those stereotypes are fun to read about – for the first few times, because I've had so many older people assume that because I like to read, I prefer physical books. But I don't. I like e-books so I can enlarge the font, or audiobooks so I can clean my room and listen to a book. Or a lot of people assume that because I read a lot, I love the classics. Which, yeah, I actually don't. And people do ask for book recommendations but they're not interested in YA or diverse books

The first 50% of the book had me thinking it was very close to A Cinderella Story – probably because I was watching it before reading this book. But while it reminded me of A Cinderella Story at the beginning – their texting to each other, how close Jack and Pepper were to each in other in correlation withe their online anonymous texts; the similarity ends at the texts. Because this is way different than A Cinderella Story. It's being compared to You've Got Mail, which is a movie I still haven't watched.

I thought that Pepper was very me – when she has this sarcastic view on things, and then I thought I was Jack when he admits that he sometimes he doesn't think before he says things. So basically I realised I was all the characters, which sounds like a very YA thing to say

I would kill for Adam

Read the review here: https://dbsguidetothegalaxy.wordpress.com/2020/05/07/eclipse-the-skies-more-like-this-book-eclipsed-my-heart/

Spoiler-free review! Well, except for the warnings, I guess. But then again, warnings aren't spoilers. So, it's still a spoiler-free review!

Warnings: Major Character death. Depression. Racial discrimination. PTSD. Please comment if you've read the book and I'm missing some.

Is it just me or are writing sequel reviews really hard? Because you have to figure out what you wanna talk about (obvs) but also you can't talk about the review too much because what if someone is reading it and they didn't read the previous book? But then again, why are they reading a review about a sequel they haven't read about? I myself don't read reviews of books I haven't read unless they specify it's spoiler-free (she says as she keeps on forgetting to add the words spoiler-free to her posts).



I would like to say ONCE MORE that I love these characters so so much. Honestly. Where's the pill to make fictional characters come alive? Because I know what my one of my wishes from a genie would be.

So I don't cry that much in books. I'll cry a bit more in movies or series – especially if it's a hospital scene or if someone is terminally ill and it's their last scene etc (because that has personal memories for me and also a huge reason as to why I didn't watch Five Feet Apart – but also because the movie didn't seem interesting hgh) but I DEFINITELY FELT like I wanted to cry big time in here, which is another reason to read this series, please.

I just... REALLY want to see this duology become a series? But I think an anime/animation would suit it WONDERFULLY rather than a live action. And that's totally because of my utter love for Wall-e, but also Titan A.E. and Treasure Planet. I mean honestly, we need this duology as a series. Someone start a business where us book bloggers just (get paid) to read books and tell you which ones to make into movies or series.

It's hard because like I loved Brinn so much in the first book and when something happens in this book, I thought I would stop loving her but I didn't? I just kept on loving her. When we were first introduced to Goner, I instantly loved him and hoped we would have more of him. Same with Vetty. I just LOVED Vetty and how he bantered with Knives and then they became friends. I love it. Ia, as usual, keeps holding my heart because she's my favourite and she went through such a lot in this book?? Give this girl a Happy Meal, please. With a cute little plastic spaceship as the toy.

The plot was amazing. And to those in the know – sure, the ending might not be cool or what an avid reader would want for the end to a series but for me, it fits? Was I sad? Sure, definitely. Very much. But was it also an amazing end? Absolutely.

Also, Nowhere Ramen ✌✌✌✌

The Pan's Labyrinth movie is probably my absolute movie, one that I've watched about ten million times. So when I heard there was a BOOK coming out WITH Cornelia Funke, aka one of my favourite writers – I know I needed to get my hands on it. Luckily I was approved to read it and I was so excited because my favourite director plus my favourite children's author – sounds like a recipe for YES PLEASE.

I'm very glad to say that it delivered far beyond my expectations! It was literally like I was watching the movie but in book format – which was exactly what I wanted. Funke was definitely the right co-author for this. I could absolutely feel her influence in it. It felt like I was reading one of her books but with the added benefit of also being told it by my favorite director. Literally like a dream come true.

I loved that they added little stories in between the normal (i.e. – what happened in the movie) – it added to the overall creepiness of the story and never felt out of place. Also The Pale Man? Just as creepy written down as he is in the movie, and I both loved and was once again, scared of that. It wa

Content Warnings: Violence, racial discrimination, murder.

I keep mistaking this title with its sequel – Eclipse the Skies – so I often refer to this book as Ignite the Skies and the sequel as Eclipse the Stars. I don't remember whose blog post I read who spoke about this series and made me decide to pick it up – I really should've.

I really enjoyed this book (and its sequel). I was also moving between if I wanted this series to be like 9 books long and just revolve around the characters just like chilling in space, watching movies. Or if these two books were excellent just as two books. I'll probably keep that argument in my head for a long time.

REASON NUMBER ONE:

Ia Cōcha was just a fun character to read and I loved her so much. Like yes!! Stare down a general and tell him how to pronounce your name, girl!!! Be badass and excellent!! I just loved everything she did and rooted for her alllll the way, no matter what she was planning to do because she is excellent and if you say anything else, well, then, you're wrong, sorry.

Ia is the best and I'd gladly let me kill her (if she wanted to, of course). Like I wanted to punch those who wanted to punch her. And give her all the awards?? Like sure, she's a criminal. But she's a cool criminal (get that reference?).

REASON NUMBER TWO

KNIVES KNIVES KNIVES. I just loved him so much? Can we just??? appreciate him, please? Yes, he's a little soft and he just likes to fly and people want him to be more than what he wants and I just wanted to cry?? because just like let him fly?? and watch his movies!! Sorry, if you can't tell I really loved Knives.

He was just such a interesting character – definitely one of my favourites and will go in my favourite box and also into the ‘will adopt this character' section. Which by now is turning into such a large project I think I'll need to rent a town to hold all the characters.

REASON NUMBER THREE

BRINN TARVER YOU BEAUTY. She's just so strong???? And I clapped when she started to be proud of herself and started a friendship with Ia. She's such a strong character and I lived for all her moments because she's been through a lot and will still go through a lot. She continues to be strong and realise her confidence in herself and her race.

REASON NUMBER FOUR

The Academy that they're all in – was really interesting to read about. I'm always up for reading school set books (even though I'm not the biggest fan of school? Maybe I like reading about characters who are smarter than me?) I liked all the classes and just being in the whole Academy environment was exciting to read. Definitely a favourite book of mine – where books are set in a school environment!

REASON NUMBER FIVE

There's politics involved in the book, ranging from immigration, to slavery, to if the government is a good government (which is just an all-around theme, I guess). I think I've mentioned before that I'm not the biggest politics person, but I did really like what was said in the novel and how it was portrayed. It's also interesting how the novel focused on people and how some of them are seen as lesser than others because of their race – which is still a problem today, unfortunately.

OTHER (SUB) REASONS I LIKED THE BOOK

I liked the slang they used in the book. I know some people didn't like it but I've always enjoyed slang in sci-fi books.

I UHHH also REALLY LOVED how the Monitor (classic character) played heavy metal because that's seen as classical music in the universe and I thought that was hilarious. Heavy Metal and Rock were two of the first genres i listened to (thanks, big sis).

This book. Just wrecked me and I was very happy to let it wreck me. Much like I know the third book will probably make me cry. As in actual tears. I will stand and recommend this series all the damn day because I need everyone to feel what I felt and go pick this series up!!

I just wanted Esmae to sleep and rest throughout the book. Like I literally have a note saying NO YOU NEED TO SLEEP. My girl has gone through so so much and she'll be going through even more in the next book. Even I felt like sleeping for her during this novel. But she still remained one of my favourite characters. She remained strong and powerful and just amazing.

Titania had a POV and that's everything I wanted. Once again, she is my favourite. And she cares so much about Esmae it's so good. She wants the best for her and she knows secrets and things yet she can't talk about them. There's also a Dramatis Personae, created by Titania, in the beginning of the book and now I want more of that in every book.

I didn't actually mention this in the previous review – of the first book – but I loved Sybilla the first instance we saw her and my love for her doubled in this book. I definitely hope she has an even bigger role in the third book because I really enjoyed her character. They also mention Sybilla's monthly bleeding and that's what I want – casual talk of periods!!

Max was definitely a character that crept into my heart during the first book and that was the same in this book. He's just so good? Same with Bear – I liked his character.

I'm not going to talk about something specific that happens in a book – but there's something that happens on a Moon and it completely destroyed me. It was the right amount of perfect and also the right amount of heartache.

Is it 5 stars because they have like 5 or something cats? What? No! I'm not that superficial (honestly it probably is). But even if there were no black cats I'd still rate this a full 5 stars. Because it was so so fun and adorable. This had me grinning from ear-to-ear and I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a wholesome graphic novel.

I loved seeing the forest creatures – I wanted to know more/see more of them. I loved how they were drawn – I mean I loved how the entire book was illustrated, but I think the forest creatures have my heart the most.

I liked how the plot was laid out and how everything happened. It kept me intrigued and I was never bored even though it's a short book. Although, as it's over 200 pages – is that considered big for a graphic novel? The element of mystery was done well and I didn't suss out the plot twist!

Nova and Tam were two absolutely adorable characters and I loved getting to know them. They had such a sweet relationship and made me feel warm all throughout. This is certainly a warm hug in a book – in fact it's like a warm hug for every page in the book. Nova's grandmothers were also sweet and funny and I loved how welcoming and caring they were!

Ending the review off with a happy review! Avant-Guards is definitely one of my favourite graphic novels now and I'm wanting to read the other issues! I loved every aspect of this and enjoyed every minute I spent reading it.

The characters were so much fun and I wanted to read it again and again to spend more time with the characters. Or just have a cute animated series that's just them being all cute and having fun team times. They all had such fun personalities and I just loved them all.

Olivia is adorable and I can definitely relate to her. While I could possibly count her as my favourite, the entire team are all my favourites. If you're looking for a cast you could probably all love, then this is the book for you!

Trigger/Content Warnings: They are at the the end of the book (!! Love to see this!), but I'll add them in here. – as in this is lifted from the end of the book and not me noting which tw/cw I pick'ed up. Discussions of racism, homophobia, past minor characters' death and alcoholism. Depictions of homophobic bullying, and a scene involving brief sexual harassment/racial fetishism.

I love this book so so much! Julian is such an incredible writer. Everything that Julian writes I immediately love and snap up and as soon as I finish reading the book, I instantly want to read it again. Seriously, if you haven't read one of his books before, you need to! Either this or his debut, Running With Lions. Please and thank you.

A thing I've always loved about Julian's writing (one of the SUPER SUPER many, ok) is that he writes SUCH relatable characters – like I can easily imagine seeing these characters on the street, and what's more, easily being able to chat with them. Also!! The secondhand embarrassment I get from these characters? Is a super big YES from me because it allows me to further connect with the characters and bond with them. And I just love secondhand embarrassment – mostly because I still get to FEEL that awful embarrassing feeling, but it's not happening TO me.

The plot's basically about Remy trying to figure out what to put into the essay, how he's meant to define himself if he's still trying to find and define himself; and I thought that was great because a lot of contemporary novels are set like that – characters trying to figure themselves out, playing different roles until they find the one that works for them.

There's other sub-factors; Remy tries to find out more about his biological family – which I thought was nicely written (I'm not adopted, so I can't speak on that rep). There's also graffiti that pops up and now and then and lemme tell you, I had my suspicions about the artist, but I was wrong and pleasantly surprised at that.

You get some books where you can sort of tell the author wrote the book, you know? Sure, their writing voice can either be strong or weak, but there's another voice, a more personal voice than the writing voice. With Julian's books, there's just so much of his personal touch that shines through and that's something else I love really a lot.

I keep on thinking of this as Here Be Monsters because one of my wips (currently on pause) is titled similar. But that's definitely where the similarity ends

The cover is absolutely stunning. I'm now more for illustrated people on covers but this model did a really good job in holding up an animal skull in the creepiest way ever (which sounds weird because I don't think there's a non-creepy way of doing it

I... might have cried a bit while listening to the last chapter. Review to come once I've stopped MY HEART FROM SCREAMING
just read this book pleasepleaseplease

Jay Reguero, a Filipino-American teenager, travels to the Philippines after the death of his cousin. His aunt and uncle are not at all willing to talk about what happened, leaving him to piece together the mystery of how his cousin died, what the country's going through, and how that all connects to his identity.

Content/Trigger Warning: Drug use, addiction, death, death of an animal, human trafficking (discussion of).

FIRST OF ALL, I am not Filipino, so therefore I am unable to speak about the issues addressed in the book. I recommend you search for ownvoices reviews about this book, because it deals with a very real and current and intense issue, which I do not have much knowledge of it. But I did absolutely love and adore this book, which is why I wanted to review it and talk about it.

I LIKED how the book took me along with Jay – I could feel myself sitting in the same room as him, felt his pain, shared his feelings about Jun. And that's always a way to tell if a book is a favourite – if I am able to be in the same place as the character, if I feel what they feel. I liked seeing the Philippines, I like seeing new places and this book also deals with having to claim your identity, who you are, and what all that means. And while I can't exactly connect with all of that, I can try to understand it.

JUN was definitely my favourite character, I did really like Jay, but the letters Jun wrote to Jay just took my heart and ran with it. There was so much of Jun that I absolutely loved – his personality, his way of speaking, the way he looked up to Jay, how he started to look at the world as he grew up. And the letters, oh my goodness, I could literally go on for about hours about the letters he wrote. Jun had so much going for him and I think one of the reasons why I like him so much is because this is a case of the character having a lot (to do in their life or a lot to look out for etc) and then by circumstances (whether they be beyond their control or social-environmental); those plans begin to fall apart.

THERE'S this trope – well, it's sort of a trope but maybe more like a subgenre, or a subject if you will – I like (and I think I usually come across it in movies and series) where the kids/teens get justice or try to get justice. Like they see something's wrong and they try to fix it. It's probably because I grew up with Enid Blyton and all her books about kids solving mysteries. And this is important because so often we see things happen and adults do nothing about it and it's the kids who decide to take action, it's the kids who see something wrong and want to fight for the right thing. And especially now – in a world where people try to put kids or teens down because

JAY – oh my goodness this boy. I felt so much for him and he just needed to be held!! Like just let someone hold him. He wanted to know more about his family and the culture and what's all going on. And that even though not everything in his family might be good or that the country has its wrongs and faults, he still wants to claim that identity. He still wants to learn more.

I ALREADY mentioned I spoke about the letters, but I'm going to speak about it again. I loved reading Jun's letters to Jay. They're little parts of him (Jun) and then you get to see Jay's reactions to the letters – rereading them, and how he feels about Jun now and everything going on around him and it's so good. They deserved to spend more time with each other and I'm sad they didn't get to do that.