But, getting back into it...
{ Spotted & Sampled } is a little weekly meme I started for myself to share books I've spotted that I'm excited about, and also books that I've been able to sample to get a taste of the plot and the author's writing style.
{ Spotted }
Beware the Night
by Jessika Fleck
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audioboook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Expected publication date: March 12, 2019
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 12-18), fantasy
From Goodreads:
"On the island of Bellona, life is peaceful--as long as the citizens dutifully worship the Sun, which protects them from all harm. Seventeen-year-old Veda knows that keeping the Sun happy will protect her and her grandfather from the Night, the dangerous people who snatch innocent citizens from their beds under the cover of darkness, never to be seen again. As long as Veda follows the rules, she will be safe.
But when Veda's grandfather is offered up as the next sacrificial offering to keep the Sun's favor, she starts to see that the safety she's been promised comes at a dangerous price. Maybe there is more to fear above than there is below.
With a mysterious young man, Dorian, at her side, Veda has to figure out if the scary bedtime stories she grew up hearing are real--or dangerous lies."
Reviewers are using phrases like "Roman society" and "plot twists" and "deception," and I couldn't be more ready to read this. I kind of love when a synopsis gives you just the smallest taste of what a book is about, but you can tell from the reviews that it is so. much. MORE. That sounds like what's going on here and I can't wait to get my hands on it!
{ Sampled }
DC Ink Samplerby Mariko Tamaki, Lauren Myracle, Kami Garcia and Danielle Paige
Available as: paperback
Pages: 100
Publisher: DC Entertainment/DC Ink
Publication date: July 6, 2018
Suggested tags: young adult (ages 13-17), fantasy
From NetGalley:
"DC Ink is for readers 13 and up, and features coming-of-age stories that encourage teens to ask themselves who they are and how they relate to others. DC Ink features storytelling that focuses on real-world situations and relatable characters who are not perfect, but are nuanced and complex–just like our readers. "
Sampled from: NetGalley
This is a sampler of DC Ink titles coming out in 2019 featuring some amazing ladies who will go on to become the superheroes and supervillains that we know and love. (Or, for some - like me! - they will become the superheroes and supervillains that we are just now getting acquainted with, as we haven't read much in the way of DC comics before.) It has samples from Mera: Tidebreaker, Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, and Teen Titans: Raven.
That synopsis from NetGalley doesn't really say a lot about what's inside, but my e-version had full-color samples of Mera & Raven, black & white for Catwoman, and kind of a mix for Harley (mostly B&W but with some color highlights). It seems like it's giving you the first 20-ish pages of each book, as they all seem to start at the stories' beginnings.
This is my first time reading anything about these characters... gasp! what?? I know. I just wasn't ever really introduced to superhero comics. My comics as a kid were Archie, Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck, Little Mermaid, Barbie, etc. ... So you can see that I've missed out on a HUGE chunk of the world of comics. And therefore I am going into this with no knowledge of these characters' backstories or origin stories or, really, anything about them. So keep that in mind as you read my mini-review...
Here's my take on which ones I'm most excited to read (with #4 being "meh, I'll get there when I get there" and #1 being "I will be first in line when this comes out"), just based on this sampler:
4. Teen Titans: Raven - I'm not not excited to read this... it just was the least interesting for me out of the four. Raven's story starts with a traumatic event, leaving her with amnesia and a new family taking her in. Later she falls asleep, and there's a huge 6-eyed red demon-looking thing standing over her saying their fates are intertwined. This probably means something to people who know her story already, but to me, it was just kind of a "meh" introduction to her and her story. Also, at some points, the expressions on the characters' faces seemed to not match what the characters were saying, which bugged me a bit.
3. Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale - Again, this wasn't bad - it just didn't really tell much of Selina's story. It showed how she had to put up with all the guys her mom has dated as she was growing up - really terrible, disgusting, violent guys. Now there's Dernell, one of the worst, and her mom is clearly not going to stand up for her. I did like the ending - it kind of left me on a cliffhanger, showing that she's about to make a big move in her life, and it did leave me wanting to read more to see what happens. I also liked the art in this one, especially when it was showing some of the things she imagined doing and becoming.
2. Mera: Tidebreaker - I liked this one a lot. I had never even heard of Mera before I found this sampler, so she is completely new to me. The plot was a bit confusing for me as a newbie, but I gather that she's the daughter of the king, who used to rule an underwater kingdom called Xebel, but now the Atlanteans have come in and become the new rulers? Maybe? Anyway, Mera is running around vandalizing Atlantean stuff and escaping Atlantean guards with her water-powers ... but then she has to get ready for a ball, since she's the daughter of the king, and he clearly wants her to marry someone named Larken ... I mean, I'm completely lost, but I'm intrigued and I want to read more! I also really liked the blue-green color palette, with Mera's red hair standing out starkly against everything else.
1. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass - This was hands-down my favorite of the four. I loved everything about it!! The selection gives a great intro to Harley and what's going on in her story - she goes to live with her grandmother, but finds out she's dead, so she ends up staying with a gay man named Mama instead ... she starts at a new school, and meets a girl named *Ivy* (ok, even I know who that is!) ... I thought it gave a lot of detail in a short amount of pages, and it left me wishing the whole book was already out so I could just keep reading. The art style was also my favorite of the four - very detailed, and the characters' expressions and movements were spectacular. I usually prefer color to black & white, but I found that I didn't even notice the lack of color in this one. There are some panels that have a red/orange scheme, and I liked those too. Overall, definitely the strongest one for me! I can't wait to read it!
That's all for this week! Hope to see you next week for more spottings & samples!
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