The Adventure Zone by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy and Carey Pietsch, follows the adventures of three very different individuals who are trying to complete a simple mission, but get dragged into a much larger adventure. 

Tako —  an elvish wizard with a prideful personality, Magnus Burnsides — a human fighter that is pretty much the human version of a golden retriever, and Merle Highchurch — a dwarve cleric who seems to get the bad end of the stick. All they wanted to do, was rescue Merle’s cousin and get paid. Obviously, it became much more than that.

This beautifully illustrated comic book is an adaption to a Dungeon’s and Dragons podcast with the same name, that has a large fanbase emotionally invested in the journey of these three boys (Much like me and Critical Role — another D&D campaign available online).

As someone who went into the comic book story blind and with very little knowledge of the podcast I was immediately captivated by the characters personalities and their interactions with each other. 

Pietsch’s illustrations are beautiful and simple. Her cartoon art style truly matches the general gist of what “The Adventure Zone” is; goofy characters making poor and silly decisions while trying not to die.

You will laugh, you will gasp, you will hold your breath, but most importantly you will want to go on your own adventure.

“‘But tonight I'll go alone. You're about as stealthy as a lame elephant. See you later.’ She patted me on the shoulder and took off down the path, leaving me behind, both charmed and insulted. The side effects of hanging around Charlotte Holmes.”

“A Study in Charlotte” by Brittany Cavallaro is a modern twist on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson (or at least their descendants). It is a thrilling adventure where readers will be pulled into the mystery of Charlotte Holmes.

James Watson was forced to move to a boarding school in Connecticut after earning a scholarship for rugby. There he meets Charlotte Holmes, the great-great-great-granddaughter of the famous Sherlock Holmes — a girl he used to dream up going on adventures with. When a rival student with suspicious connections to the Sherlock Holmes stories mysteriously dies , the pair decide to work together to solve the case and clear their name.

“The two of us, we're the best kind of disaster. Apples and oranges. Well, more like apples and machetes.”

Ms. Cavallaro’s fast paced story and quirky dialogue is able to replicate the atmosphere and the sensation of the well-known Holmes and Watson adventures. There is suspense, mystery, shock,  agitation, and relief.

“A Study in Charlotte” is told through the perspective of James, as he is trying to adjust moving to the middle of nowhere and near the father he is upset with. We get an insight of what it is to be young, frustrated, and scared with everything that can happen in one’s life. 

Fans of shows like Elementary and Sherlock, will be captivated by Ms. Holmes — a genius and violin player, who performs forensic experiments with a volatile temperament and a slight drug addiction, just like her famous grandfather. However, unlike Sherlock, she has a more human side to her —  filled with emotions she continuously tries to repress.

This novel is not a re-telling of the old classic, but a what-if future where the Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty all kept the essence of their famous relatives in a modern society. Ms. Cavallaro creates a beautiful what-if scenario of a younger super sleuth duo, with well-known Sherlock Holmes plots weaved into the narrative.

“We weren't Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I was ok with that, I thought. We had things they didn't, too. Like electricity, and refrigerators. And Mario Kart.” 

While “A Study in Charlotte” is a YA novel , it is not a romance novel. It is about a fateful friendship that is brought to light as these two characters complement each other.

Ms. Cavallaro’s writing is fresh, fast, and gripping. Her characters are well-drawn and developed, and secondary characters are equally as important to the narrative as the main sleuthing duo. This is a book you will pick up, get gripped, and not want to put down.

“Everyone is a puzzle, Tea, made of interlocking tiles you must piece together to form a picture of their souls. But to successfully build them, you must have an idea of their strengths as well as their weaknesses. We all have them, even me.” 

“The Bone Witch” by Rin Chupeco is a dark fantasy novel mixed with various asian cultures that gives it a different feel from popular Euro-centric novels. It felt unique and new. However, an attempt to be out of the norm made the novel lose its mystery and tensions. 

Tea Pahlavi was 12 years old when she accidentally brought her older brother, Fox, back to life and learnt that she was a bone witch. Then, a veteran bone witch finds Tea and takes her away (and Fox) to be trained in the way of the asha — women who are proficient in magic. 

Once she arrives to the Willows, Tea begins several years of training in the way of the asha — in magic, song, dance, craft and battle — as she unravels the mysterious of what it means to be an bone witch and the new world she lives in.

“The Bone Witch” promises magic and a new world, but instead it gave occasional magic and an inside to look to the geisha-like asha. The way of the asha was beautiful, and Chupeco stayed true to what many maikos (apprentice geisha) go through — their lessons, their life, their requirements — but it focused too long on it, making the pacing of the novel suffer.

“Then perhaps we should carve a world one day where the strength lies in who you are, rather than in what they expect you to be.”

The story telling of the novel was new and unsuccessful. There was a future and a present storyline. At the start of each chapter we got a glimpse into the future — an older Tea. In this future she is exiled and telling her story to a young man as she brings to life the demon-like deava she was originally trained to destroy in her younger years. 

This glimpse into the future took away from any mystery, shock, and excitement the novel could have produced. This dual storytelling is tricky and it either can ruin the reader’s adventure or enhance it. In this case it was the former. 

Th diverse cast of characters were able to keep the story afloat after each chapter was essentially ruined by the future section at the start. There were characters of various ages, backgrounds and sexuality with different goals, motivation and interests that motivated them throughout the novel. Such as, Likhn — a young boy who wants to become a dancer asha more than anything in the world but cannot due to old traditions and Fox — a devoted and protective brother who is grateful at this new chance at life, but holds secrets and mysterious intentions. 

The novel occasionally was thrilling and as a whole it was a bit underwhelming, but it still showed promise. There are still questions to be answered and we still don’t know how and why Tea was exiled from the asha life. 

I look forward to see how Chupeco will continue the dual storyline and how she plans to end to bring them together.

“The first are performing asha, known for their dancing and their singing, though their magic may be weaker than others. The second are fighting asha, known for their magic and their prowess, though they may not be the most gracious of hosts. The third are Dark asha like us, the strongest of them all.” 

My Rating 3/5
GoodReads

The minute the words— student, magic and school — compile into a sentence the mind immediately pictures a magnificent stone castle in the middle of nowhere in England and a boy with a lightning scar. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is considered a modern classic, and anything remotely similar may be accused of having a sameness. However, the concept of a school where magic is its main curriculum and a boy with a destiny is not new. Novels such as “A Wizard of Earths” by Ursula K. Le Guin (1968) and “The Worst Witch,” by Jill Murphy (1974) both follow a similar concept — the boy who lived is not an original idea per se, but the way the story was told was what made it memorable.

“The Crowns of Croswald” by D.E. Night follows the same suit.

When Ivy Lovely is forced to leave the house she grew up in, she finds herself enrolled in the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and power the Croswald’s gems. There, Ivy starts unpacking a mystery around the school - paintings awaken, forgotten things are remembered and a dark magic brews. Through her studies and her adventures Ivy learns secrets about her past and the world she lives in.

The world of “Croswald” is rich with magic, mystery and adventure, both new and familiar. Ivy is a 16-year-old girl who thought she was nothing more than a scaldrony maid. When Ivy is exiled from her home in Surry for saving a little scaldrony dragon she is immediately pulls herself together and tries to move on— only to be swooped up by a magical cabby that takes her to a magical school. There, she begins her studies as a Scrivenist.

Lovers of YA and fantasy will swoon over Night’s magical creation. I know I did. She builds a complex fantasy world where pixie-like creatures are used as a light source, a magician’s ultimate goal is to be knowledgeable and ghosts are the executive chefs to every meal. Following common motifs and lore that come with magic school shenanigans — Ivy’s adventure is still unique and she stays true to her beliefs (which is always nice — not being swayed by the random “love interest”). 

Honestly, you will be won over by the intricate magic system and world revealed throughout the story. Unfortunately, this brilliance in the world building may sometimes be lost when common young adults tropes force themselves through the plot (*cough* random forced romance *cough*). There is also a strange blend of middle-grade and young adult in Ivy’s personality, in moments you feel that she is 12 or 13 in other she feels 16 years old.

While this blend may be strange it does not take away from Ivy’s story arc and wonderful character development. She, like any new-to-school-in-YA girl, struggles making friends and staying out of trouble. Ivy also teaches the audience that only persistence will get you what you want — even if it means getting your roommate locked in The Forgotten Room for several hours, which is a really nice message.

Overall, “The Crowns of Croswald” was a solid start to the Croswald series and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Rating: 4/5

GoodReads

Author Website

For many years Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into that treacherous world - and face the power of her own extraordinary destiny.

Before receiving this book as a Christmas I was unaware this book even existed, and I am quite upset. Why doesn't this book have a big following like some other books? It deserves it, because it is marvelous.

When follow the story of Sabriel, an 18-year-old girl who lives in a world where magic and science combine, one night while at school she learns that her father is in danger so she leaves the comfort of her to go rescue her only family. She receives her father's magical items, a saber and a set of seven bells, which aid in keeping the Dead dead. Along the way she learns more about who her father was and it means to be the special necromancer called Abhorsen.

Sabriel through out the stories learns from her foolish mistakes, and does her best to not get her pride in the way when she has to make dire decisions where lives are at stake. It is a bit refreshing find a character who makes mistakes, is aware of their mistakes, admits their mistakes, and remembers the original mistake when a similar situation rises. Most characters, like most people do not admit their mistakes and while they may learn from it admitting one is wrong is not frequently seen or read.

Garth Nix writing is fast-paced, lush and hypnotic. He describes people, places and scenery poetically and thoroughly and he does not spend two pages doing in doing. We are given a complete picture with all the five senses and it only took a few paragraphs.

Nix's world building is interesting, for he sets the foundation of his Old Kingdom world without it being a massive information dump. The details seep through the narrative passively, because Sabriel has grown up in this land and nothing to her nothing is new, but we as readers everything is mysterious and we only learn bits and pieces along the way making the world actually feel like a magical unexplored world (leaving a number of things with no real explanations at times). The magic system in the Old Kingdom is unlike anything I have read before (and I read a lot of fantasy), Nix blend and mixes magic and science, not as enemies, but as equals. Science has strengths and weaknesses in the world just as magic has its own strengths and weaknesses. There was never a time where one was superior than the other, which was so strange and new.

Elementals: Ice Wolves by Amie Kaufman

Everyone in Vallen knows that ice wolves and scorch dragons are sworn enemies who live deeply separate lives.

So when twelve-year-old orphan Anders takes one elemental form and his twin sister, Rayna, takes another, he wonders whether they are even related. Still, whether or not they’re family, Rayna is Anders’s only true friend. She’s nothing like the brutal, cruel dragons who claimed her as one of their own and stole her away.

In order to rescue her, Anders must enlist at the foreboding Ulfar Academy, a school for young wolves that values loyalty to the pack above all else. But for Anders, loyalty is more complicated than obedience, and friendship is the most powerful shapeshifting force of all.

I loved Kaufman’s sci-fi book, Illuminae, and when I was given the opportunity to pick up her book at a book festival, I was quite excited!

I had very little knowledge on what the book was about other than it being a Middle Grade novel filled with Viking like magic. I went into the book blindly, which was quite nice to do since everything was a surprise. 

We follow the story of Anders, who is an orphan surviving the streets alongside his twin sister Rayna. Due to a series of unfortunate events, Rayna and Anders get separated and Anders enrolls to an academy for people who are able to shift into wolves (actual wolves not the werewolves thing). Anders does everything he can to get his sister back and learns some mysteries along the way.

The best part of the book was the diverse cast. There were characters of all shapes, sexualities, and color. The main character is a young boy with brown skin and black curly hair. He has a non-binary friend who uses “they” pronouns and a bad ass fighting teacher who protected a section of the city all by herself with her wife. It was nice to have representation be so normalized, having no one in the story question it and just accepted it.

The story focuses on the importance of friendship and family, like most middle grade novels tend to these days (Something I feel YA should write about too). 

Even though this is considered a middle grade novel, it is a novel that any age group can enjoy. I personally found enjoyment in it, and Kaufman is still able to build a mystery in her lore that will have the older audience trying to piece things together just as the intended young readers.

I believe if you enjoyed books such as Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan, Magisterium by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare or Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer you will defiantly enjoy Ice Wolves.

This book was given to me as part of the Rockstart BookTour for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

This was one of the worst reads I made myself go through in a long while. Between information dump that is unnecessary to the story, outrageous descriptions, writing inconsistency and cliche after cliche. 

At first I thought maybe Hinder was aimed for a younger YA audience, but with all the sex and wet dreams involved I wouldn't feel comfortable with a 13-year-old reading this. Hinder is a mess. Also, I tend to enjoy MG books so I don't believe I have outgrown YA or MG the whole problem was the book. 

Hinder feels like a fanfiction written by someone who is starting out a writing where the writing feels clunky and choppy, and in fanfiction it is fine, because it is fanfiction. Also, during the information dump (aka the story lore) everything was shoved into my face and I felt quite aggravated by it. These characters obviously known the lore of their world so logically they wouldn't be repeating it to themselves (the completely history of how everything works in their world ). I think it would have been better if the reader found out rather than being told…by three different characters.

We have the leading lady Alex who is perfect and slightly clumsy. She is at some point described as the most beautiful girl in the world, and she just can't help it because she is an Earth wielder (the rarest that there is). There is a point in the novel that Alex describes herself as a runway model and it is quite ridiculous. All of Alex’s “perfect” features are overall ridiculous.

“I had raven-black hair with midnight blue. My skin, which had never seen real sunlight, looked sun-kissed. I was tall and slender, more like a runway model than someone who’d been on the run for most of her life“

In order to protect Alex from her godly beauty her mother forces her to wear a magical glamour, which ends up with the nickname of Ugly Ducky. As Alex is in this disguise all she does is complain about how she is no longer beautiful, it's quite dreadful. For Alex all that matters is her beauty and frankly it is quite a damaging message to be promoting in the YA genre. Beauty is not everything, unless you're Alex, which then it is the only thing. 

Because this a the optimal cliche YA book, the leading boy, Ethan is also perfect. He even says it himself. 

"I was a senior at Sky View High, a jock to be exact. I played varsity football and tried to be a regular human, even though I was far from it. If I was honest, I wasn’t doing such a bad job at fitting in."

But of course he is a good quarterback who can do no wrong, but is still a general jerk and classifies women to animal. So dreamy. Ethan is Alex's bender and they are forbidden to be with one another, because it will lead to Ethan's death. This, of course, does not stop them, and definitely doesn't stop Ethan from cheating on his blonde, perfect body cheerleader girlfriend with Alex. ( It could be argue that it's not cheating because Alex and Ethan were only having sex in their dreams...that they were sharing...and 100% conscious and in control of their action..)

I think the only positive part of Hinder is that unlike other YA books, Alex's parents are an important part of Alex's life and actually appear in the story and try to protect their daughter (maybe not the best methods but the intentions are there).

If you want to read an enjoyable YA book filled with elemental magic, forbidden love and heart stopping twists. This book is not it. Please do yourself a favor and pick up something else like A Court of Thorns and Roses or Fallen Kingdom. Don't waste your time on this book. On top of all the cliches you can pretty much predict the whole book by chapter four.

My Rating: 2/5 

When street magician Carter runs away, he never expects to find friends and magic in a sleepy New England town. But like any good trick, things change instantly as greedy B.B. Bosso and his crew of crooked carnies arrive to steal anything and everything they can get their sticky fingers on.

After a fateful encounter with the local purveyor of illusion, Dante Vernon, Carter teams up with five other like-minded illusionists. Together, using both teamwork and magic, they'll set out to save the town of Mineral Wells from Bosso's villainous clutches. These six Magic Misfits will soon discover adventure, friendship, and their own self-worth in this delightful new series.

—

The quick way to describe this book is: six kid magicians solving a mystery narrated by a goofy Lemony Snicket

We follow the story of a runaway away magician Carter, a young boy who wants to belong to a proper family. When Carter ran away from his uncle's clutches he found himself in a little town called Mineral Wells and tangled in a mystery. There he meets Leila, Theo, Ridley, Olly and Izzy. Together they create a small team called the Magic Misfists and try to reveal B.B Bosso for the crook that he is!

Between the narrator and the diverse character cast, Harris created a modern Lemony Snicket. No one character is the same and the narrator himself is a character of his own. 

Carter is benevolent young boy who mysteriously lost his parents and was forced to live with his crook uncle Sly Mike. Just a young boy desperate to fit in and have a real family again. 

Leila is a fiery ethnic (of unknown origin so far) girl who lives with her two dads, a magician and a chef (I see what you did there NPH). She dreams of being an escape artist magician and learning more magic with her friends.

Theo is a black gentleman who always wears a suit and lives with a musician dad and an artist mom. As a magician who specializes in levitation, he uses his violin that he keeps in his suit at all times to make things move. 

Ridley is intelligent girl who is bound to a wheelchair, but it doesn't stop her from making things appear in the blink of an eye. She makes sure the misfits don't get into too much trouble. 

Olly and Izzy are a performing twin duo who know how to magically appear in random places to entertain the audience.  

With such diverse characters there is sure to be someone that any kid picking up the book can identify with...without being magicians of course. 

Throughout the Magic Misfits, the reader is given quick magic tips that makes one feel like a magician too, and that maybe it is not that hard. The narrator makes sure to explain some tricks in such a simple manner that even a dog could do it. 

I was really impressed with Harris' way of story telling, while it can be argued that it is very similar to Lemony Snicket's style of story telling, Harris created a quirky-go-lucky narrator that wants the audience to laugh and cheer for the characters rather than feel pity for the character's life. Even though Magic Misfists is a Middle Grade novel I believe it is still a novel YA readers will find themselves enjoying, especially if you are a Lemony Snicket fan. 

My Rating: 4.5/5
Goodreads: 3.84/5
Amazon: 4.6/5

Make sure to solve the puzzles for an extra fun treat!

This is not the type of book I would normally pick up, but I got it when I went to Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Gemina book signing. 

I was a in a big mood for something sci-fi and this was one of the few things left on my bookshelf that was unread…a Titanic story in space, told from a dual point of view.

From the start I felt that the main characters, Tarver and Lilac, were kinda meh but a little interesting…interesting enough to keep me reading. I knew this book was roughly Titanic in space, but it turns out that the Titanic in space part is just the first four chapters. The rest of the novel is about these two kids trying to survive on a planet that they have never heard of.

A soldier and an heiress. 

The book was mostly Tarver making sure they both didn’t die (if we are being honest) because Lilac did not know much about the outdoors. 

Throughout the story we see their bond grow, it was a bit of a slow burn which was nice…even though at the start they both had a small crush on each other, that eventually turned to disgust.

The story’s plot focuses on Tarver and Lilac’s need to survive and get rescued, rather than them falling in love. You see Tarver put up with Lilac’s "I need to be stronger than you even though I am way out of my element" attitude. I would have personally left Lilac behind at some point but Tarver is a good person so there is that.

Alongside the main plot, there are the intriguing mysteries of the whispers and the lack of people on the planet. I think my favorite part of the plot was the mystery behind the whispers that Lilac kept hearing. 

Halfway through the book I saw myself growing attached to these two, and actually worrying for their wellbeing even though you know Tarver survives the planet (not a spoiler, it's given away literally at the start of the book).

I enjoyed the book, but I do not think it pulled me in enough to justify reading the two sequels that come with it.

“And there it is, against all hope, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. The smallest hint of a smile.”