My Giant Nerd Boyfriend

My Giant Nerd Boyfriend otherwise known as My Giant Geek Boyfriend is another webcomic that I
binged in a half day and must tell all about.

It is a slice of life comic about a girl who is about 5'1" with a 6'5" boyfriend and most days in their relationship. Moments from dealing with parents, to arguments in their relationship, to laughing about everything, to how they met, to dealing with cramps, to getting their new dog, frustrations, good times, differences in height problems, and many nerdy things that I have grown accustomed to in my own relationship with my spouse. There are many gaming moments with hints at games alongside real problems that many people face.

I think the situations here are honest and do occur. These are real people in comic form. It was simple, but very much fun and had me laughing out loud in many spots.

A book with some of the comics has been published but you can find all of the stories on webtoons.com . On the book cover here says for "mature readers only" though I'm not 100% sure as to why... It was a good set of stories.

Siren's Lament: Season 1

Siren's Lament is a web comic I was introduced to by my best fwiend (yes, that was intentional) and it's artwork is BEAUTIFUL!! The second I opened it up on my phone I was take aback by the beautiful artwork (and cute chibis) that make of Siren's Lament by instantmiso.

This story is about sirens and the curse that it is to be one. Sirens seek out brokenhearted people, kiss then, then trade places with the human becoming human again while the person becomes a siren with no memories of their previous life. Lyra watches the boy that she's liked for years be with the most beautiful girl whoever mo-ped-ed into the city. Not wanting to change the friendship that they do have, she says nothing. One night, after a "not-date" is canceled with Shon (the boy) she goes to the ocean crying. Hearing a strange song she falls into the ocean and is saved by a siren's kiss. However, something goes wrong and they both end up on land with legs, except for when they are submerged in water when they gain fins. Neither Ian nor Lyra wants to be a siren so they must find a way to break the curse before time runs out and she loses everything.

This was a sweet story even though it has a nasty love triangle. Normally I don't like them, I blame a specific vampire novel for that. So if I know that the main point of the story is a LT I tend to skip it. However, if it isn't the main focus or if both guys are awesome I can over look it. LT's often have too much unneeded YA drama. This, because the characters are older, out of high school, most of the flaring drama recedes. Yay for this story!

I do really like the characters here. Both of the guys because they are very different and Ian is hysterical. Lyra is funny too and while Shon isn't as outwardly comical, he definitely has his funny moments. Their chibi's and the way they act around one another is great. It seriously made my day. There is some mild bedroom humor, but nothing overly obnoxious. Pele and Tua are great fun too and I like them both a lot, especially together. Over all, for everyone there were times when I busted up laughing and had my husband look at me strangely. It was great fun.

The basis of the story is compelling and the world that is made around it is an interesting one that I want to dive more into. Trying to get the curse lifted alongside gaining enough courage to say how you feel work well together. It also brings great conflict amongst the characters even as they are growing closer together. The ending of Season 1 was particularly thrilling and I busted chapter after chapter very quickly wanting to know what was going to happen.

It is only available online as a web comic (at webtoons.com) or an ebook. It appears most of Season 2 is published online where you can read it, but because it hasn't been completed as of 9/2018, I'll wait to give my review of Season 2 once it is done. It comes out weekly with new updates, so read the continuing story.

Enjoy.

P.S. Here are some photos of the beautiful artwork that is just amazing.

 

They make me laugh so much! 

Tortall: A Spy's Guide

This book is a compilation of guides and letters with relevancies to all of the series that Tamora Pierce has published set in Tortall. There are letters from George to Myles, reports from other members of the Tortallian spy network, guides on how to be spies, notes on immortals and killing devices, and more. Pretty basic.

For those who are initiated into the series already, pick it up from a library and check it out. If you want to go on a nostalgia trail without wanting to read all of the series again (which, why wouldn't you want that awesome journey?) this would be a good one to pick up. It's a really quick read.

 If you aren't initiated yet, there are technically no spoilers so it's safe to then go back, but I'd suggest starting out with Alanna: The First Adventure before you think of picking up anything else and start out the right way.

It was good for what it was. We got a little after story for Alanna and a few things about her kids, but there wasn't much gained in the story or plot of any previous series. In general there was no plot here at all. Mainly it was a recap of events that happened previously which you would have gotten if you read through the series in general. Part of it is supposed to be the "Cooper files" where I was expecting bits on Beka or more on Aly, but there was little to no information at all. Very much a put down.

I was hoping this would be "George's story" or some of the like while Alanna is out doing her daring dos. But there were only a few letters, mainly too him, instead of a story that he gives. *sigh*

The setting is obviously Tortall, but there are no land descriptions, only setting ones. The plot is pretty much non-existent on its own. The characters, while they are people we love, you have to really know them before stepping into this book. While new readers could probably guess-timate who they are and what is going on, I don't think they would enjoy this on its own just picking it up from the library or bookstore shelf. This is a series for the initiated as a work of nostalgia.

Part of me is also sad that it isn't just a Tamora Pierce book, but that there are three other writers that got in on it (it feels like they might have done a hardy portion of the work here). I could tell a difference, subtle though it was, between writing styles, which I could chalk up to "different people are writing different letters/guides, so it's okay." It was kind of a let down though.

For what it was, it was good. The set up and pros in it was cohesive and interesting to read. The guide to actual spying was pretty cool, but there were some parts what I willingly skipped because I knew about them well enough already. I very much like the overall timeline at the end of the book as well as young Thom's list of Tortallian Royalty, he's got humor that boy. The way it was presented was probably one of its biggest assets. Letter can be hard to write in a story, especially when that is all that the book compiled. There are little side comments on many of the documents from the Whisper Man or evidences of where wines were spilled or children got to important documents. Also, on documents from important people it has each of their seals, which is a fun little tidbits. The font is not the typical font style either, it has more of a cursive feel to it which makes the feel of the letters more authentic and letter-esque.

Would this be a book that I would buy for my collection? Probably not. (I'm kind of picky.) Does it add very much to the world? A little, but nothing I'd rave about.

Not If I Save You First

A survival stand alone.

One would suspect the President's son and the President's Head of Security's daughter would become friends, right? They have. They know every nook and cranny in the most famous house in the world. But after an incident, Maddie's dad is injured and they leave the luxury of the White House of the barren forests of Alaska. Six years pass and not a single letter has come back from the White House even though Maddie has sent them religiously. Maddie has learned to survive with the help of her bedazzled hatchet with no one else around for tens of miles--no one but bears that is.

Suddenly, Logan is here. In Alaska. Six years of no reply and he is here. And Maddie hates him. Can't stand the sight of him.

Her father leaves to go rescue someone before a storm and Maddie is left to watch over Logan (with the help of his Secret Service agents just outside the door). But suddenly, the agents can't be found and Maddie is thrown off a cliff and Logan is taken hostage by a Russian who forces him to cross the wilderness. Maddie is injured but managest to follow the two young men. No one gets to kill Logan except her. That is the rule.

It was a good story, much like the many that Ally Carter has written, and this race for survival was fun. Unlike her other books, this is a real place. Not some made up country where she can do her own political thing. She did her research well, from my vantage point.

The kids also felt very real to me. They were who would bedazzle a hatchet or make multiple social media accounts that your parents wouldn't know about. This one is very different from Ally Carter's other books where they are so many characters; here the pertinent characters number four or five. And I think it worked well enough. Maddie's voice was very prominent and sounded very much like a teenage girl who at least used to adore some frills and bedazzling. I very much liked her voice.

It isn't my favorite book  in Ally Carter's arsonal, but it was decent. It still had the "heist" feeling that I got from the Heist Society where Maddie is very smart and thinks ahead. I also really like how she jumped points of view with Maddie and Logan. It was needed to tell this story, and I think she did it well.

If you want a standalone book, feel free to pick it up and enjoy. A quick read, but full of adventure.

My Neighbor Seki

In one word, I'd call My Neighbor Seki "delightful."

This slice-of-life manga is about two middle school aged kids in the back of a classroom. Seki, the boy, is always goofing off in class and is never paying attention. But instead of simply staring out a window, Seki has a teddy bear rescue going on via remote control helicopter. His games are elaborate and well thought out and Yokoi, the girl, is constantly being distracted by everything he does. Simple games of "Go" get turned into a massive battle between good and evil. Seki refinishes his desktop to look like stained glass and so on. These are small skits are comical and good for a much needed laugh or (at the very least) a good smile.

I enjoyed how they seemed to get closer and closer as the series went on though a romance doesn't actually happen, no matter how much Gato (Yokoi's friend) believes there is a relationship between the two. At the beginning Yokoi gets so very angry that Seki and his games are so distracting, but as the series goes on she gets into it. On the book covers, their desks move closer and closer as Yokoi becomes more engulfed in the stories Seki ends up telling as well as the intricacies of the contraptions.

I also think it's fun that not only does Seki have the imagination to come up with his games every class period, but that Yokoi gets it. She gets upset that he's playing and distracting himself from studying, but then she is distracted as well and ends up understanding what Seki is trying to do.

It is also interesting that throughout the whole series, Seki never says a word. A lot of it is Yokoi's internal dialog with little bits of dialog from surrounding students, though they don't actually notice the games. This way of conversing and getting the information across to the reader is different and is helped out a lot by the artwork. This too is well done and fun to look at and read through.

This would be a good series as in introduction to slice of life for anyone, most especially middle schoolers. It is a simple series, but very much fun.

These Broken Stars

Definitely a different story than I anticipated.

These Broken Stars is the story of the heiress of a massive, galaxy wide industry that has its fingers in everything and a war hero who hates the spotlight. On a spaceship with 50,000 other people on board it was by chance at a ritzy party where Tarver sees a beautiful girl bored across the room. Lilac forgets herself and flirts with this man who doesn't know who she is. Refreshing. But then is forced by society to make him hate her. It would have been easy, as soon as they landed, he would go his way and she would go hers. But when the massive ship is tossed out of hyperspace they find themselves in the only escape pod that actually survives the descent into a planet's atmosphere. Being the only two people within a hundred miles and a need to survive they are forced to rely on each other. However, they may not be the only beings on the planet. Invisible whispers are everywhere and they aren't only from the dead.

I first started read this a long time ago, but wasn't in the mood for a prissy heiress and soldier boy story. But as I listened to the audiobook (read by Cynthia Holloway, Jonathan McClain, and Sarge Anton) I found I started to like it. I was expecting the story to stay on the ship, but when it suddenly went down my interest was peaked even more. It wasn't what I expected. A fight for survive with a plethora of snarky comments between the two had me invested. The plot became engaging and I really wanted to know what happened next.

Lilac was a made good progress through the story. She is a very proud girl to where she wouldn't even take off her stilettos while hiking. As the story progressed she gained confidence, not just pride. She was going to survive and stand up for herself. Tarver could have used more of a character arch, I think. I don't feel like he grew too much throughout the story. I wish there had been more of that. Over all there weren't many other prominent characters throughout the story. It was just them, which is okay, though I would have liked a village of hostile colonists or something. Outer hostile colonists were mentioned a lot by Tarver, so I assumed that was were we were heading. In the end though, there was a lot of blank space and internal dialog.

"There were trees." "There was grass." "We climbed mountains." "More trees." That was most of the setting. I can't complain too much, though. When they reached structures I knew where they stood and what was around them.

I think it was an interesting story, one that I didn't anticipate. I'd be interested to read more of the series, though it's not the highest on my priority list. It still gets a 4.5/5 for me because I couldn't find anything really wrong or that I disliked about it. Not a favorite, but good.

Orange

This manga was a sweet book that I constantly wanted to go back to. One that I would curl up with in bed.

This is a story of a group of friends who suddenly receive letters from themselves ten years in the future. They are told to save their new friend, Kakeru. These letters are accurate about the day to day things and tell Naho, our main character,  to do things that the older self has regrets of not doing. 

From stepping up to the plate in a softball game to confessing to Kakeru. She isn't the only one to receive letters,  so together with her friends they work to save Kakeru.

It is well drawn with lovable characters. Although there are six of them,  each character has his/her own temperament and quirks. I really like Sawa.

This book, though, is about coming together as friends to support and lift one another. Suicide is very prevalent throughout the story. The grief and depression associated with it is real. I think Ichigo Takano did a good job conveying that emotion, as well as the need to help but feel like you're not doing enough.

The day when all of the letters were revealed, I cried. That is one of the biggest recommendations I can give. Tears were shed. Read it!