Reading Wrap-Up | February 2015

February was another good reading month for me! I didn't read as many books as I read in January, but so far this year I haven't read a single book I've hated. In fact I enjoyed pretty much every book I read this month.

(And to any of my fellow book bloggers who happen to live in Wales, Happy St. David's Day!)

My Life as a White Trash Zombie

by Diana Rowland

My Rating: 

Angel Crawford is a loser.

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.

Literally.

Reviewed here!

The Earl & the Fairy, Vol.1

by Mizue Tani and Ayuko

My Rating: 

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor, one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man! Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces!

Reviewed here!

Judas

by Damian Walford Davies

Judas Iscariot—one of the Bible’s most notorious characters—comes to life in this dramatic and thought-provoking new collection of poems by Damian Walford Davies. Fully aware of how ancient enmities shape modern conflicts, the author draws on 20 centuries of representations of Judas to set out a tale that challenges our preconceived notions of holiness and betrayal.

I got to read this poetry collection pre-publication at work! It's a really interesting collection; I'm a big fan of poetry collections that draw on history, mythology and theology, so I'm glad I got to read this. I've refrained from rating it for the timebeing because I never know how to formulate my thoughts on poetry and I don't think I can rate it. Sadly, I'm no poetry expert.

Even White Trash Get the Blues

by Diana Rowland

My Rating: 

Angel Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she’s beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that’s right--the zombie mafia.

Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel’s going to need all of her brainpower--and maybe a brain smoothie as well--in order to get through it without falling apart.

Reviewed here!

Fairest

by Marissa Meyer

My Rating: 

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now. 

Reviewed here!

Ms. Marvel, Vol.1: No Normal

by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona

My Rating: 

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City — until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm! When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear? Kamala has no idea, either. But she's comin' for you, New York! 

If you haven't been able to tell, I've gone on a bit of a graphic novel binge this year. 

What a fantastic start to a series. First of all, I'm ashamed to say I don't think I've actually read a book where the main character has been a Muslim. Evidently that's something I need to change; I like to think I read quite diversely, but I know I still have a lot I can improve in that respect when it comes to my reading habits. 

Kamala is such a fun character, and I really loved her relationship with her family, particularly her father. I could understand why Kamala was clashing so much with what her parents wanted for her, but her parents were still portrated as likable people which I really appreciated. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series!

What did you read in February?

Review | The Earl and the Fairy, Vol.1 by Mizue Tani and Ayuko

The Earl and the Fairy, Vol.1

by Mizue Tani and Ayuko

My Rating: 

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor, one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man! Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces!

This book is a difficult one for me to review because I am by no means a manga expert; I'm much more likely to watch anime than I am to read manga, and sadly I rarely watch anime nowadays. Of course Inuyasha and Fruits Basket will always have a special place in my heart.

I picked this book up in WHSmith on a whim; the art is very pretty, and the story sounded cute. This is technically historical fiction as it's set in 19th century Britain, but it's historical fiction with a fantastical twist - my favourite kind!

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor. She's someone who specialises in fairies, she can see them unlike most people, and she helps people who are having problems with them; if someone has some pesky pixies digging up their hydrangeas then Lydia's the person to call! But Lydia's always been something of a laughing stock among her contemporaries, as she lives in a world that's stopped believing in fairies for the most part.

Edgar Ashenburt, a gentleman, is one such sceptic. However, he needs Lydia's help to find the sword of the Blue Knight Earl, as he claims to be descended from the human ruler of the Fairy Kingdom. But he also looks a lot like a man who's been murdering people in America...

I didn't quite know how to rate this book when I finished it. I eventually settled on 3 stars because it's very cute; if you're a fan of mangas which have heroines so sweet they'll give you diabetes then you'll enjoy this. I also loved the idea. Not only did I find the idea of a fairy doctor adorable, but I was intrigued by the concept of the Fairy Kingdom belonging to a man who doesn't believe in fairies, but perhaps wants to. There's a lot of character depth and growth to be had with someone like that.

But character depth and growth is not what I got. The two leads are very stereotypical characters; in fact they felt more like caricatures than people. I finished the volume feeling like nothing had happened, and given that this manga is only 4 volumes long in total I expected each volume to be packed with detail.

So it's a whimsical, cute little book, but it's nothing special. When I started writing this review I couldn't even remember the main characters' names, so I very much doubt I'm going to continue with the series unless I find the other volumes very cheap.

What's Up Wednesday! | 11/02/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Since last week I've read My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland and The Earl and the Fairy, Vol. 1 by Mizue Tani. Both of them were pretty unexpected reads, but I enjoyed them; I loved My Life as a White Trash Zombie and I can't wait to read the other books in the series. The Earl and the Fairy I didn't like as much - it told more than it showed, meaning everything developed too quickly for my tastes - but I'm probably going to read the rest of the series because there are only four books in the manga, and I don't think I've ever come across a manga series so short. Plus the main character's a fairy doctor, so it's kind of cute.

Right now I'm reading Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland, and I'm loving it so far!

What I'm Writing

Still working away on short fiction!

What Works For Me

I'm not really feeling very inspired this week, sorry to be a downer. I'm having one of those existential crisis weeks where I feel as though nothing I ever write is ever going to be good enough, so why bother? I'll work my way through it, I just need to shake off the funk.

What Else Is New

Last Thursday libraries all over Britain were having Harry Potter Book Nights; Bloomsbury sent around a bunch of activity sheets, and I volunteered at my local library to help out with the event. I got to be Head of Ravenclaw House (mainly because I told one of the librarians I have a Ravenclaw shirt and a Ravenclaw scarf) and three other volunteers were the Heads of the other Houses. The kids designed dragon eggs, went on a treasure hunt, played 'Petrified Potters' (AKA musical statues), ate some of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans and there was a quiz, too, as well as prizes for the best costume. A little girl in my House won one of those prizes for her amazing Tonks costume; not only did she have a pink wig on, but she even had a name tag written like this: Nymphadora TONKS. It was really cute.

Slytherin came away with the ultimate House Cup, but Ravenclaw were a close second, and I think that's impressive considering there were only three kids in my House!

On Sunday my niece turned 4 - 4! I feel like she was only born yesterday! - and she had a big party where pretty much her entire nursery were invited. She also got a buttload of presents, I have no idea where my sister's going to put them all, and she had a great day running around with her friends.

My sister had the most amazing cake made for her. My niece asked for a unicorn and a rainbow, so that's what she got!

Then on Monday I announced the Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge! I've partnered up with Amy Bruno @ Passages to the Past to organise a reading challenge that's been created with the intention of encouraging people to read more diverse historical fiction.  You can find my announcement post here with more information, and I'd love it if some of you decided to join in or just spread the word! This is the first reading challenge I've ever hosted, so it would kind of suck if no one signed up.

Look how beautiful he is...

I've also been rewatching Inuyasha this past week, which ties with Fruits Basket for my all-time favourite anime, and it's been such a comfort. I first watched it when I was around 16 and I still love it just as much as I did then; one minute it'll have you laughing and the next minute it'll break your heart, but that's what makes it so darn good. I wish I could get them all on DVD, but each season is still around £25 each and there's no way I can spend £200 on anime!

What's new with you?