Comfort Reads: Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova

From the author's website:  "When Christie settles in the Artist Alley of her first ever anime convention, she only sees it as an opportunity to promote the comic she had started with her boyfriend. But conventions are never what you expect and soon the whirlwind of events sweeps Christie off her feet and changes her life. Who is the mysterious cosplayer that won't even take off his sunglasses indoors? What do you do when you fall in love with a guy who is going to be miles away from you in just a couple of days?"

Fun fact:  when you get to link to a manga artist's website, it usually is a graphic beauty as opposed to the eyesore many an author's page can be.   Today, while perusing my list of read books, I decided to put up another comfort read, but a vastly different one than last time.  Instead of a much older, almost classic novel of a young woman, I wanted to tell you all about another weakness I have -- a love of mangas about teens. 

When I first picked this up, I wasn't too hopeful. It was an OEL (Original English Language) manga, and I had been biased to the Japanese mangas prior to reading Dramacon. However, Johanna at Comics Worth Reading highly recommended it and I so rarely disagree with her when it comes to manga that it seemed silly to not try it.

It was the most perfect manga I had ever read.  I hadn't even conceived of a manga possibly being as good as Dramacon.  Prior to reading it, I had decided manga was good for light reading and somewhat silly romances, but, after reading, I knew manga could tell a hell of a story if it wanted to.

Christie's adventures at an anime convention are easy to relate to even if you've never been to a con before (I never have).  Her first meetings with Matt made my stomach flutter, as it was easy to see that she could easily fall in love with this guy she had just met.  Both Christie and Matt are simply so well-realized.  Their interactions feel real and their feelings come across as legitimate.  After all, isn't it silly to get super attached to a guy you've just met, when he lives across the country?

The other people that Christie meets and befriends also come across as real people, not simply characters fulfilling needed roles. Quite truthfully, this is even better done in the second and third volume, but even in the first volume, it's obvious that Chmakova can write a believable character and their personality in just a few short panels.

To top it all off, the art is pretty good for this series too.  All the characters were easily differentiated and the scenes easy to follow.  God knows it's hard to say that about a lot of comics!  If you've never read a manga, I heartily suggest starting with this one.  Just don't fall in love too hard.  You're not going to find many of this quality.

The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols

From the author's website:  "Lori lives for summertime at her family's lake house. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties in the cabin next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard..."

I started this book highly suspicious of it. I've heard numerous wonderful praise for Echols and her writing, and the covers look nice enough at the book store, but most of the summaries of her books have made me snooze or say to myself, "boring". When I read what Wondrous Reads thought of The Boys Next Door, I was intrigued. Here was a concept that I could get behind. As I told my husband later, I'm always a huge fan of friends turned romantic interests in my fiction. (Almost as much as I love hateful enemies turned epic romantic lovers, in fact!)

However, with the book in hand, with its vaguely silly cartoonish cover, I was prepare to be underwhelmed. Well, you all know what is said about judging books by their covers. I started the book with disinterest, but only a few chapters later, I was more than into the story. In fact, I read the book twice in a row because I loved it so much. What did I love? Lori, Adam, McGillicuddy, and the relationships between this long time group of friends! Lori and Adam felt real. They had real flaws, but real passions. I hate reading a book and being told what the main character is passionate about or what their flaws are but then never seeing these flaws or passions put into action in the book. Here, you get the feel for the characters' adoration of wakeboarding, Adam's ADHD, the main romance, Lori's need for female friends.

Also, this romance is smoking. I mentally cheered whenever Adam and Lori hooked up, and whenever Lori thought about the brothers. I knew I was a goner when it ended and I was like, "But I want to know more!"

The only, only, only quibble I have with the whole book is how quickly it wrapped up at the end. I think I was so angry at certain characters that Lori's willingness to forgive drove me a little mad. Perhaps I just don't want characters I find understandable to be better than me, though. (I say with a smile!)


Verdict:  9.  I am so so happy that book bloggers love Jennifer Echols because now I know about her and I've read this book.

Thoughts: This book has a sequel! I've already ordered it from my library.

Friday Links: For The Children

I appreciate it when bloggers post links to articles and interesting finds on Friday because so many other bloggers just don't post on Fridays. I think I'm going to be following that format, such that when I do have links, I'll mention them on Fridays! Since this is an inaugural post for such a Friday, let's start it off small.

Many people I know who have read The Giving Tree tell me it is a hideous book. In this, a mom tries to convince her daughter of this fact with little success. This is great for the punchline at the end!

Want your child to read comics, but have no idea where to start? Put Down the Book has their girl review her favorites! I think my favorite part of it is the child's plaintive complaint, "Dad, this is like homework!"

A Quick Review: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

From the author's website:  "The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so fifteen-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza's world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Corn resists being harvested; dandelions have thorns. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Still Liza feels safe. Her father is strong and has protected their town by laying down strict rules. Among them: Any trace of magic must be destroyed, no matter where it is found.


Then Liza's sister is born with faerie-pale hair, clear as glass, and Liza's father leaves the baby on a hillside to die. When her mother disappears into the forest and Liza herself discovers she has the faerie ability to see--into the past, into the future--she has no choice but to flee. Liza's quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds."

This super fast read was pretty middle of the road.  I liked aspects of it, such as the world building and the supporting characters to Liza, but I never found myself getting fully immersed in the story.  I think part of the problem is that you come into the story without getting any time to get to know the main character before grand sweeping changes come into her world, and it's not handled well.  I never felt I really knew Liza and that made for a disconnect with her quest to find her mother.  I certainly think that this book was adequately written, but it just was not for me.

Verdict:  4.  Didn't mind reading it, but I'll never pick it up again for fun.

Thoughts:  I actually liked the werewolf in this book.  That never happens since I generally hate any type of shape shifter in any book whatsoever.  Good on you, author.  That and the inclusion of the cat bumped the grade of the book up a notch!

Fallen by Lauren Kate

From the author's website: "There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her."

After reading a few fairly negative reviews of Fallen, including one from a blogger I trust,  I was remarkably hesitant to read this novel. I wavered back and forth, back and forth. Did I want to read a novel that was receiving good reviews from people who mostly loved fated love and Twilight? The answer was no for a long time, and then I spotted it in my library and I couldn't resist that cover. God must really love his angels because he makes sure their books look the prettiest, even if the angels are fallen!

I started the book the day I got it and finished it rather quickly, perhaps several hours later. And my immediate reaction was, "Well, besides Luce and Daniel being kind of boring, that wasn't so bad. I don't know why it got such bad reviews." Then, I took the time to think about it, and here's why I think it got bad reviews.

Let's face it, Luce and Daniel are boring and that makes their romance kind of boring too. Besides being good looking and mysterious, what does Daniel got going for him? He both growls and stares at Luce in meaningful ways. He is mean to her, but also sweet to her. He's basically Edward Cullen in angel form, and I didn't like Edward Cullen either. (To be fair to Edward, Daniel isn't half so interesting as he never, not once, plays vampiric baseball, which is my favorite WTF moment from the first Twilight novel.)

The main villain of the novel is barely fleshed out, and the motivations behind the villainy are not explained in any meaningful way. They never explain why all these angels are hanging out at a reform school since they don't appear to expect the main character to show. Do angels just like hanging at reform schools?

The climax is rather a let down, and I think I'm growing to hate badly done love triangles. (Ask me how I feel about a good love triangle in which the guy I like wins or in which I like both guys and I'll give you a completely different answer.)

So, why the verdict of a four then, I'm sure you're asking. Because it has two redeeming characters who I very very quickly grew to love. Arianne and Penn. Those two characters are the reason I'll probably read Torment. (That, and the cover. Again, pretty.) Both of these friends of Luce made me interested in what was happening and what they were doing. The moment Arianne commanded Luce to chop her hair, I think I fell a bit in love with her. Why did Luce cut her hair? Because she was forced to, due to the 'incident'. Why did Arianne? Because she's got a will of iron and a strange impulsive nature! However, even better than Arianne, was poor poor Penn.

Penn deserved to be the real star of this show. She was odd, sneaky, an interesting friend, and not very impressed with the people at the school with her. Her back story gave her an interesting reason for being at the school, unlike ANY ONE else in the book. She stole every scene she was in with Luce.

In fact, trying to remember this book that I read over three weeks ago, the scenes I remember most clearly are those with Arianne, Penn, or Cam, and that's because they were the most interesting and most memorable scenes.

I am betting I'll read the second book in the series, but I'm hoping that Daniel and Luce get personality transplants between the books.

Verdict: 4.  Thinking about it and discounting Penn and Arianne, I wanted to punch every one of the characters.  Well, and besides Cam.  I'd totally make out with him before punching him.

Thoughts: No, seriously. Angel covers? The prettiest. I have read hideous reviews of Hush, Hush, but would I turn it down if I saw it at the library?  No. In fact, I want to buy these just to have them to be pretty on my bookshelf. I have the same problem with the Luxe series (especially Rumors) that is gorgeous, but rather boring.

Comfort Reads: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

The book blog, Giraffe Days, had a wonderful entry about comfort reading. The blogger defines a comfort read as "...a book that, no matter your mood, you can snuggle down with. A book that you know, because you’ve read it before, has the power to absorb you, de-stress you, shine a little light on your soul for however long." I'm completely addicted to comfort reading. There are some books I reread annually, others I read whenever I'm slightly depressed, and still others I read when I've got nothing else that appeals to me. I was happy that Giraffe Days listed one of my own comfort reads in her top ten list of comfort reading, so I've decide to highlight it in my first Comfort Reads post. I'm not going to give a verdict on any of these books, but you can pretty much assume that the verdict is a ten, because, why else would I be reading these books at the drop of a hat?


I'm sure the majority of people who place a L.M. Montgomery book on their comfort read list will have named Anne of Green Gables.   While I've got nothing against that book, and it might even find its own way into a Comfort Read post, I've got to say that given my druthers, I'd always choose The Blue Castle.  I vividly remember sitting down with this book with no expectations other than perhaps an orphan being involved with the story (that Montgomery does love her some parentless characters), and I remember getting sucked into the story swiftly.

This novel of the growth of Valancy Stirling is astounding.  When I started the novel, I felt so incredibly mired by the things that are holding Valancy back.  As she lists injustice after injustice, I wanted to scream at the world to just be fair to her.  Her family is hideous and mean and incredibly shallowly vicious and they keep Valancy down in a variety of large and small ways that add up to Valancy's complete misery.  Her life looks completely hopeless and she's living with her mother who is, perhaps, the worst person in her whole family.  Then, the turning point of the novel, a trip to the doctor where Valancy learns that she is dying and that she won't live out a year.

It is completely exhilarating and awesome to see how Valancy acts when she learns this news.  Rather than being shoved down any further, this last blow frees her!  The Valancy that is hinted at in the first few chapters blooms quickly and brilliantly into the Valancy that continues from there on in.  At first, it's the small things that thrill.  The quick little snaps she takes at her uncles, the refusal to her humor her mother, and the way she tries to do whatever she feels like doing.  However, as it goes on, you get to see Valancy live the life she's always dreamt about.  I think this is where the novel differentiates itself from so many romance novels I've read.  In those, you see the struggles of the heroine to get the man of her dreams and, perhaps, her own dreams lived out, but you never see the heroine live the dream.  Here, Valancy does.  She fulfills her dreams, gets her guy, and lives a wonderful life.

Reading about how Valancy lives this last year makes me want to sing.  When she talks of her cats and her snow shoeing and her jalopy riding ways, I almost regret that I wasn't young during the 1920s and living in Canada!  Barnay Snaith, the dream guy in question, is awesomely sweet and when he finally declares his love for her, as you know he will, it's heaven.

I save this book for when I feel put upon by relatives, or when I just need to be reminded that sometimes it's better to fight against bad news rather than letting life bring me down.  We make our own luck, as it were.

The Wicked Ways of a Duke by Laura Lee Guhrke

From the author's website:  "Once upon a time, there was a seamstress named Prudence who lived in a lodging house, worked very hard, and dreamed of a better life. Then she inherited a fortune, met a handsome duke, and fell in love. Her life was wonderful, and it seemed as if she was destined to live happily ever after.

Then she found out money can’t buy happiness, handsome dukes can also be wicked, lying scoundrels, and a broken heart hurts like hell. Will Prudence ever find true love and happiness? Will the wicked duke mend his ways? Will she take him back or kick him to the curb?"

Before I come to any review, I have to say that this book title made me roll my eyes so hard that I saw the back of my skull.  Perhaps all that Ms. Guhrke requires, however, is that it is memorable.  The worst part was that the novel is so much better than the title implies.  The annoyance is similar to when I read a Harlequin romance titled something like "Marriage of Convenience to the Greek Billionaire" and that damnable novel is decent.  I like judging books by their titles/covers!

This novel of a seamstress become heiress and the money desperate duke that decides to woo her is set in late 1890s London.  It's different from the get-go with a heroine who works for a living in a realistic job and who thinks realistically about working and inheriting money.  I did find the reason for her inheritance fairly contrived, but I will tell you the truth -- I expect contrivance in my romance novels.  It's when I don't get it that I'm impressed, rather than upset when I do get it.  Prudence starts off strong in my regards, but quickly comes low.  She lets her overly-stupid relatives walk all over her and she does things which I found incredibly dumb.  She seems to care very little for the fortune she inherits even though she's seen what life is like without money.  She's not a TSTL (too stupid to live) heroine, but she's not overly intellectual.

The hero, a duke in need of a fortune, is a standard in fiction, but is especially well done in this novel.  Here is where I feel the novel excels.  Rhys knows what he needs to do, and he goes to do it.  He finds it convenient that Prudence is attractive to him from their first meeting, but he doesn't dwell on her when he thinks she cannot give him what he needs: either a quick lay, or a fortune.  He's self-serving, funny, smarmy, and pitiable.  I liked him more than I liked Prudence, and I more quickly bought into his storyline.

The Wicked Ways of a Duke moved very quickly, progressing from meeting to engagement by half-way through the book.  Since that occurred, it was easy to predict the novel's course, but it was still a compelling read.  I disliked Prudence's relatives as plot devices, especially considering that there was no need for them with regards to the romance, but what I mostly disliked about them is how her reaction to them changed my perception of Prudence.  Similarly, I felt like Prudence's friends were never properly dealt with, and I would not have minded more time with them because I think that would have improved my perception of Prudence.

Mostly this novel is worth a read, from my end, due to Rhys.  He's entertaining, and I feel like that is something I can scarcely say about a romance novel hero.

Verdict: 6. I'm glad I got this out from the library.

Thoughts: I was shocked by the setting (really late Victorian England) and I half wondered throughout the book if society was as described by this novel. I know nearly nothing about late Victorian England, but I found the change from the Regency era or early Victorian era to be delightful. Not so great cover on the paperback version I was reading, by the way.

It is worth noting that this is one of the few romance novels I've read recently where I like the hero more than the heroine.