Friday Reviews 2: September 9th-15th

🍂 Friday Reviews Week 2: September 9th- 15th, 2017 🍂

🍁 Book 1: The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell 🍁 

Audiobook Read by David Tennant- Listened to Sept. 10th, 2017

Will be released: October 3rd, 2017

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I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of this novel. The fantasy story was interesting and also cute. I rooted for all of the characters especially our two main characters, Xar and Wish. Also, the witches are interestingly different than I have ever seen before and are creepy. 

This is the story of Xar, a son of the King of Wizards, who cannot even cast a spell. Also of Wish, the daughter of the Queen of a warrior tribe that does not want magic in the land. Wish though has a magic object of her own. In the wood, both Xar and Wish find each other when the disturbance of a witch pulls them into an adventure. And witches are supposed to be extinct. 

Cressida Cowell is great at story building and writes with a voice throughout the story that I could not get enough of. Her use of wit and narration are great parts of this story. This is the first book of Cressida's that I have picked up and know I will pick up others of hers. She is known for writing the popular How to Train Your Dragon book series that the two Dreamworks movies are based on. Middle-grade fantasy is a genre that I have always loved and this is an incredible example of one of the best. She builds this world that I felt like I was walking around in when listening to this book. The creepiness of these witches and also just the deep dark forest was perfect for the story. She says at the beginning that we may have heard of deep dark forests before but we really don't know what we are getting into. Her descriptions throughout were perfect to show this. 

Another great aspect of her storytelling is her wit. This book made me laugh out quite a lot while listening. It was quite an enjoyable experience for me and I was so glad that I was given the opportunity to read this novel.

David Tennant did a great job creating a distinct voice for each of the characters. I have loved David Tennant since I first saw him in The Goblet of Fire movie and also in a few episodes of Doctor Who. He is a great actor and I was excited to hear him read this audiobook. For the longest time, I have loved only one audiobook the most and that's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (read by Stephen Fry). This is definitely another top favorite right below The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. David Tennant gave each of the characters a voice that seemed to fit their characters. My favorites were for the sprites, which were amazing. So adorable. He could literally read any audiobook and I would listen to them. That is because he made these characters come alive and created this atmosphere of a reading experience that I will never forget. Saying that I enjoyed listening to this book is an understatement. He made this book so much for me and I know that I will be picking up the rest of the series once they come out.

If you get the chance to read this book, I would recommend it and if you want to get a great audiobook I would recommend this one. David Tennant did a phenomenal job reading this wonderfully written book. 

*I received this book from the publisher for review purposes. 

Thank you!

I cannot wait to get a physical copy of this book

Also if you are interested in other reviews of some other great audiobooks you should check out the website AudioFile. They have great recommendations for audiobooks that you may enjoy. 

🍁 Book 2: Fowl Language: The Struggle is Real 🍁

By Brian Gordon- Read Sept. 13th, 2017

This will be released on October 10th, 2017

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This book was a surprise for me. I expected to really like this book but not to adore it as much as I did. Brian Gordon has become popular online for his Fowl Language comics on his website: https://www.fowllanguagestore.com/collections/book

This is his second collection of his comics and they are highly enjoyable. Most of the comics in the collection not only made me laugh but laugh out loud. 

I used to love reading comics such as Garfield and Mother Goose and Grimm when I was a kid and this reminded me of the humor that I enjoyed in those books. All of the humor was directed at jokes about the author's children or parents and their children. I do not have children of my own but I could still relate to the jokes in this collection of comics. They were funny and some were very touching. 

If you love comics, great humor, or have heard of Brian's comics I would recommend picking up a copy of this book. It was highly enjoyable and funny. 

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. 

Thank you!

🍁 Book 3: Taproot by Keezy Young- Read Sept. 13th, 2017 🍁

This will be released on September 26th, 2017

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I don't read a lot of paranormal stories, but when I first saw the art style of this book, I wanted to read it. This was a stunning graphic novel that I enjoyed. It has a quirky story of a ghost that has fallen in love with his best friend who is alive. Blue has had a hard time moving on into the afterlife and Hamal can see ghosts so Blue haunts him. Something is going wrong in the town and Blue is trying to protect Hamal no matter what he has to do.

The style of this graphic novel is different from what I have seen before and was beautiful. I really liked the story and the characters. The romance was cute, also it was a healthy relationship that was built from a great friendship. 

This overall was a great read that I would recommend. 

*I received a copy of this graphic novel from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. 

Thank you!

🍁 Book 4: Dear Future Boyfriend by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz 🍁

Read Sept. 11th- 15th, 2017

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This was a re-read for me of this poetry collection. When I read it again, it made me remember how much I enjoyed reading it over five years ago. It was in my first year of college and the topics she wrote about were very relatable for me. I connected with the poet Cristin then and I continue to connect with her now. There are many poems in this collection that I have read multiple times over the years since I had first read it: "Mother," "Father," "Lit", "Science," and especially "Ode to the Person Who Stole My Family's Lawn Gnome". 

I have read plenty of poetry collections, whether that be through a college class or in my own free time but I have not connected to a poet like I have this. I adore poetry, writing and reading it and this is a collection that I know I will get something out of everytime I read it. 

Cristin writes about love, heartbreak, family, and even about someone who stole something very important to her. The poems are funny and also heartbreakingly sad. 

As a poet myself, I enjoy analyzing poems for their content and as a reader, I love the stories that she can create. 

I will be picking up more of Cristin's poetry collections, hopefully soon. 

🍁 Have a great weekend everybody and happy reading! 🍁