Sweet Nightmare by Tracy Wolff

This is your typical YA fare: energetic but stupid protagonist, emo love interest, big secret separating the two, clueless/stupid adults, and facile worldbuilding. You could probably do worse so I will shelf this as a brainless Summer read. Note: this is based on the author’s Crave series: I had not read that series and could tell that there were some side characters who looked to have a lot of history that wasn’t discussed in this book. But I was not lost.

Story: Clementine’s mother and family run the Calder Academy – a place for the more dangerous supernatural teens in the world. Clementine has been best friends with Jude and eventually fell in love with him – until the night she lost her other best friend and Jude turned his back on her. Now she just wants off their crazy gulf coast island. She’s about to get her wish: a hurricane is approaching and things are about to get very, very bad at Calder academy.

The story follows the events of a very short amount of time as a tense situation slowly degrades as a hurricane approaches. The island has a magical containment that prevents the supernatural students from using their powers: those creatures are everything from vampires to witches to shape shifters. It’s really nonstop action as our heroine is dealing with either dangerous fellow students, monsters in the basement, or the approaching storm.

The romance is just silly: the usual “Oh I love you but I have to pretend I don’t to protect you!” schtick we’ve seen in so many YA romance. At least since we have a childhood friend to lovers story we are spared the instaluv. But emo boy and emotive girl have the depth and originality of a cardboard box.

If you liked the Twilight series, this is more of the same. The world building is simplistic and illogical. We are given a lot of tell but very little show (ok, the dark fae are dangerous – you’ve told us a zillion times but never showed us why other than that they are annoying). It is a fairly quick read and not one you’re likely to remember much afterwards. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

The Salad Lab by Darlene Schrijver

This is a nicely presented book with full color photographs and a large variety of salads – from arugula to tabbouleh, Waldorf to cowboy caviar.

The book’s philosophy and recipes follow this process: prepare, experiment, toss, enjoy. There is a cheerful introduction about the author’s love of salads followed by shopping tips, equipment, and salad making fundamentals. The recipes are broken down into the following sections: basics, celebrity inspired favorites, travel destination inspired recipes, seasonal and holiday favorites, other more unusual salads, and then dressings.

You can definitely see the Tik Tok inspiration here. Everything is bright and cheery and even includes a section on salads you might have seen a Kardashian or super model eating and wanted to copy. By the introductions, you’d think that every salad is better than a trip to Disneyland.

There really is a huge variety of recipes: Summer wedding salad, french fry salad, Autumn fruit salad, pita croutons, hot girl salad, avocado bruschetta, pizza salad, first lady spring pea salad with asparagus and pea shoots, orzo pasta salad, fattoush, bibimap salad, viral sesame chicken and many more.

The presentation is clean and nicely geometric. There is a large title, serving size, introduction, tips/experimenting suggestions, a large photograph, and ingredients grouped by: start out, whisk, toss. Directions are also divided by the start out, whisk and toss groupings, presented in unnumbered blocky paragraphs. There are no nutrition information or storage recommendations.

In all, there are a lot of salads here to enjoy for all tastes. It is friendly and nicely laid out. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

This is a fairly short (175 pages) novel/novella that takes place over a small amount of time. Those familiar with the Witcher series/games/books will recognize a lot of the mythology as well as Slavic fatality.

Story: Dymitr has one goal left in life: to achieve it, he will have to obtain a fabled flower and then use it to barter with a dangerous supernatural creature to find the famous witch Baba Yaga. It is a dangerous path but he has long since given up on fearing death.

The synopsis would lead you to believe that this is about an idealistic young man and a woman he is thrown into meeting in order to achieve a quest. It isn’t: the main characters feels very much like a Geralt from the witcher: burned, jaded, and single minded. Ala, the other POV, is a means to an end for Dymitr and not a love interest. Indeed, the love interest here may just surprise you. This is very much an adult urban fantasy and not a YA novel.

The book takes place in a perpetually dark Chicago in seedy areas – you almost expect blinking neon lights and dumpster fires to be described in the background. Dymitr is almost an antihero in his single mindedness and ability to take pain as long as it achieves his purpose. Ala is brash and kind of stupid – just there to survive while she deals with a curse. I never really got into her character and felt she should have played a smaller part.

The story is compelling enough that you want to see it through to the end. Think of it as a Witcher side story set in modern day Chicago. There are several twists/surprises and certainly it doesn’t overstay its welcome at the short length. Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrators did a decent job with the Polish. It gave the book much more atmosphere to have the accents/language in place. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Imperial Marine: Star Dragon Book 1 by James David Victor

This is a novella (175 pages) that feels more like an extended prologue rather than a complete first story arc. The storytelling is ok – just felt like it hit far too many Marty Stu cliché branches as it fell down the military sci fi tree.

Story: Keel is a pit fighter – and a very good one. It’s a surprising career for the son of a planetary governor but it suits him just fine. That is, until he doesn’t throw a fight with the god-emperor’s favorite fighter and finds out his luck has run out and he’s annoyed the wrong authority figure. Cue an assignment to guard deadly space-dragons that ends up ultimately killing him. But death is not the final frontier in this empire and he soon finds himself resurrected into a military armored robot as its consciousness. Cue training exercises where he gets to save everyone several times over.

So yes, the clichés are here: top of his game fighter, problem with authority and refusing to listen to ‘the man’, chances to show his superiority by upstaging more authority figures or turning an enemy to respecting him……it was Fight Club without the psychology or depth.

This first book pretty much is a) die and b) go through the typical power ups as he learns his new abilities as a sentient robot. Of course, he is pretty much the Marty Stu unique snowflake that continues to impress everyone with his fighting skills (while also mouthing off all the time). It was hard to take him seriously at times since there wasn’t much in the way of depth, nuance, or really even any world building. Even the marines didn’t come out well here – everyone above his pay grade was pretty useless or authority figures for Keel to upstage.

So, not much happens here except training exercises. We’re given glimpses into what is to come but it is hard to judge the series on this first volume. It was a bit too rah rah gun ho machismo for me – I like my military sci fi to have politics and intricacies rather than one man saving the world with his attitude.

Note: I listened to the audio version of this and the narration is ok – nothing great and I think to make this work a lot more energy and enthusiasm would have helped make the hokey aspects into something a bit more fun. It needed a lot more self aware tongue in cheek, I feel, rather than a straight faced read.

Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

The Ministry of Compliance by John Ridley, Stefano Raffaele

I enjoyed this series, compiling 5 comics into a single arc. It was original, had plenty of twists and turns, and was engaging throughout. My only quibble is that the end of this first volume came very fast and overly abrupt.

Story: The Devolutionists have come to Earth to destabilize governments and prepare for a take over. They look and act like Earthers – will all their weaknesses and strengths. One of the most powerful is Avigail – head of the Ministry of Compliance. Her job is simple: in the years-long time it will take to accomplish their aims, Avigail ensures that the various ministers do not become corrupt or complacent. She is rock solid, loyal to a fault – and absolutely deadly. Now 38 years into a mission that should have taken 16, the Devolutionists are dealing with their own infighting and interracial children. When word comes that the leader on their homeplanet has been removed and communication cut off, they aren’t sure what to do – leave or stay, fight or flee. Because it appears the Earthers might just know they are there. Complicating things is a whole generation of half-Earther/half Devolutioner children who play a double sided game.

It is an intriguing concept that is handled well. The vibe is Men in Black or The Matrix with the Devolutionists at times feeling a bit too “Mr. Smith” at times. But each is drawn and portrayed very distinctly which helped a lot with character distinction and credibility. Main character Avigail is nuanced and not a killing machine (that she would like to think she is). New assistant Kingsley is suitably ambiguous – both hard and strong, motivated yet ambivalent.

This is graphically violent with good visuals and strong paneling. The action was easy to follow and the book neither too wordy nor needing more narration. The graphics added to the story as one would hope with a graphic novel.

I was fully invested right up until the ending – then things suddenly shifted without much in the way of explanation or even a bit of foreshadowing. I’ll be curious to see where it goes in future volumes but really wish the end of this first arc didn’t feel so rushed and sudden. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Wildflowers of the Mojave Desert by Pam Mackay Thomas, Timothy Thomas

This delivers what you would want from a guide: a nice layout, enough photographs to make identifying easy, and plenty of cross referencing in the back. There is a solid amount of time put into the geography, boundaries, topography, climate, and human presences over the history. This third edition updates previous editions with new maps, more classifications, and new photographs (this time all by the authors). As the authors noted, there have been several superblooms in recent years to help with updating the book.

The classification system is broken down by the color of the flower: blue/purple/lavender; pink/rose/magenta; red/orange; white/cream; yellow; green/brown. There is also a section on grasses. The introduction includes chapters on: geography, climate, topography, geology, desert soils, rock surfaces, past vegetation, past human use, early botanical exploration, present vegetation, plant adaptations to the desert climate, threats to the flora, climate change/global warming, present conservation. There is a glossary, index of synonyms, and further reading recommendations at the back.

The layout is clean and easy to follow. We get 1-2 photographs (a close up or pull back where needed), description, bloom season, habitat/range, and comments. Comments can include everything from how the flower/fruit was used, how they are pollenated, viability, similar varieties, how the genus was named, etc.

In all, a great guide for identifying and better understanding the plants/flowers in the Mojave desert area. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Keeper of Scarlet Petals

This was a problematic read: the characters are overidealized cardboard templates, the plot contrived, the writing simplistic, the worldbuilding non-existent, and the clichés heavy. Out of all those issues, I had the most problems with the very basic writing that felt more like a fan fiction than a published work (don’t get me started on the anachronistic dialogue).

Story: Jasmine is treated poorly: she comes from the slums of the city and is of a racial heritage that is despised for their wanton magic use in the past. But she has no magic and has found a way out of the slums by using her fighting skills to become a Keeper – a bodyguard of the magic elite. Too bad she is too stupid for every other aspect of the position and failed everything but sword fighting. When she is assigned (before her training is completed) to an annoying young noble, she will have to use all her skills to keep him alive. He is being stalked by a secret organization hell bent on destroying his bloodline.

When the books begins, our heroine is sparring with a smug and handsome young man named Asher. As soon as I read the name, I knew a) this was her love interest and b) the book would lack originality, subtlety, and any kind of depth. 50% into the book I gave up – it was silly, the characters were unrealistic and illogical, the romance was a joke, the main character continually mouthed off to people and was obnoxiously rude (the trope that being rude means being spirited is so overused in YA) and could not body guard a kitten, nonetheless a human being. That anyone trusted her with her poor judgement was a joke.

Of course, she was thrown in with emo boy who seems to be a masochist since she physically and verbally abuses him most of the time. But hey, that’s what love is built upon, right? Let’s not even get into the ludicrous ‘magic’ and non existent worldbuilding that did nothing to prop up the cardboard characters.

This was a solid DNF – life is too short and there are far too many better books with which to invest my time. If you want a simple/simplistic romantic YA fantasy that skews somewhat young, here you go. A harmless Summer time waster. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Made in California Volume 2 by George Geary

This is well written, fascinating, and a fun read. A continuation of the first volume of restaurants started in California, this details chains/stores that were founded from 1951 (Hof’s Hut) to more recent ones like Pinkberrry in the 2000s.

There are 50 restaurants profiled from all over California, though the majority are from Los Angeles and a few from San Francisco. Several of the restaurants have common origins (e.g., Mrs. Fields and Chevy’s Mexican Food both started in Pier 39 of San Francisco) or currently share common owners (such as Landry’s owning several now). And some started life as one thing (Rusty Pelican) and then became something else (Bubba Gump’s). Some are even the result of opportunity: e.g., a restructuring of the Glendale Galleria mall in 1983 that turned a defunct Orbach’s department store location into a food court prompted the Glendale Galleria people to see if a local Chinese restaurant would like to do a fast food version – Panda Express.

I greatly enjoyed reading about the restaurants. I knew nearly all of them and it was surprising to learn how they started and when. Most of the early ones were original concepts but it is interesting how so many later restaurants are based on other restaurants or chains (e.g., Jamba Juice was inspired by the success of Starbucks).

In all, each chapter is easy to read, has several photographs, and quite a few interesting vignettes. You can tell that the author spent a good amount of time on research and interviews for each restaurant profiled. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

SubZero 1 by Junepurrr

Beautiful illustration work but the story is so silly as to be ludicrous. The manga influences are obvious but greatly watered down to be pigeonholed into a hackney romance devoid of logic or any semblance of depth. I’m afraid that not even the pretty pictures could save this one.

Story [such as it is]): Clove is beautiful but stupid yet has no issue with up and marrying emo prince to save her people. Emo prince smirks a lot, poses like a true bred studmuffin, and says things to annoy Clove while smirking even more. Clove reacts in appropriately overwrought ways that is supposed to make her look spirited but instead just comes off as being insulting, clueless, and unpleasant. Fortunately, she’s good looking!

So yes, this was painful to read. There wasn’t a cliché not tread upon here, the magic system was a joke, everything was pigeonholed in a shallow story, and none of the characters evinced even a thimbleful of logic or grounding. Honestly, it became hard not to roll my eyes or cringe involuntarily at nearly every page. Not sure which was more derisive: the plot or the characterization.

Illustration work is lovely but about as shallow as the story. Very bright and colorful though. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

I have read several Cat Sebastian books now (mostly the Regencies) and what she brings to the table is a lot of character nuance and introspection rather than melodrama. This book is no different and certainly we get well rounded characters who are not perfect and just trying to live their lives in difficult situations. Those looking for high drama or prolonged romantic moments won’t find them here and that’s ok – this is a quiet and thoughtful tale set in the 1960s.

Mark works for the newspaper but is mourning the sudden loss of his boyfriend. Eddie is a baseball player just traded to a NYC team and very unhappy to have to leave his hometown in the Midwest. Mark is given an assignment to write a ‘diary’ about the once-great player Eddie who is now in a particularly nasty slump. Together, the two get to know each other and overcome their personal demons.

Mark is older, has been very closeted to ensure his politically active boyfriend didn’t get exposed, and greatly mourning his boyfriend’s sudden death. Eddie is 22, frustrated, hot tempered, and shot his mouth off one too many times, causing great disharmony and offense among his fellow teammates. Mark’s articles could make or break Eddie’s career. Worse, the two have found common ground and Mark fears that once again he could be the factor in destroying the career of a more famous boyfriend.

I appreciated that neither man was perfect and each made mistakes suitable to their different ages and backgrounds. Eddie dealing with his slump as well as the cold shoulder by teammates he insulted when learning of the trade was well written and compelling. Mark’s emptiness and loneliness while living with everything that was his former relationship was also poignantly written. Both men felt like their ages.

The milieu was well researched – from pay phones you have to keep feeding to landlines always busy. Of course, the homophobia is there always hiding in the background ready to spring on anyone foolish enough to attract notice.

In all, a gentle read with pathos. Some readers may find it a bit slow because the drama is about character development rather than deus ex machina plot devices. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Queen of Shifting Sands by Kaitlyn Carter Brown

This is a decent book though perhaps too long winded and lacking in impetus. It feels like a prologue that was elongated into an entire book; one where the author wanted to spend a LOT of time developing the characters. As such, the characters do have nuance but the plot and placing did suffer a lot as a result.

Story: The country of Istanolde teeters precariously on the brink of war. The previous king was a vicious war monger well hated by both hisecountry and its neighbors. His son and heir was just brutally murdered in a desert ambush by a foreign country. And now all that is left to hold the country together is a disabled prince and the former fianceé of his brother. Together, Elerek and Lystra will have to unite a country, prepare for all out war, and scramble to find allies amidst nobles and neighboring countries who bear ill will to Elerek’s throne. But unknown to either enemies or allies is that Elerek bears a curse that could destroy them all.

Admittedly, it felt like most of the book was Elerek bemoaning his curse and the effect it has on those around him (if he touches someone, they will eventually die a horrible death) and Lystra bemoaning the loss of her beloved fiancé prince, Elerek’s brother. The rest of the book was the politics in preparing for a war. It doesn’t mean the book isn’t decently written; rather, it is that nothing much happens except for a lot of inner dialogue (whose sole purpose was to show that the characters are good people who care about others).

I appreciated that we had a very able disabled protagonist. The politics were somewhat interesting and certainly we could feel the very loose grip Elerek has on the Kingship since attaining the throne at his brother’s death. Quite a bit of this first book is about Elerek’s curse and his deadly touch; so much so that Lystra’s POVs felt almost superfluous at times. That said, I appreciated that time was given to develop the characters so they were not wooden cardboard figures.

I will likely pick up the next book in the series since there is promise here. Hopefully, the pacing is a bit tighter and we get fewer chunks of soliloquys and musings by the main characters. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Draw Down The Moon by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Although sold as a YA novel, this feels much more attuned to the less sophisticated tastes of middle graders. The plot is simplistic, characters clichés, the plot well trodden, and the logic of the world is head scratchingly silly. That said, it is an easy read. Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrators were ok – again, nothing special here.

Story: Wren may have had magical parents but has long since given up the idea that she has any magic herself. Even her best friend Lee has healing powers and has been to the secret magic academy. But on her 18th birthday, magic strikes her and she is whisked off to the school with Lee at her side. She hasn’t shown any particular gift (or any magic at all) and fears she has been miscast in the role of magic user. But then weird and deadly things start happening at the academy and she may have the only magic that can save the world!

So yes all the eye wincing clichés are here: – unique snowflake denies she has abilities but it turns out she has the most powerful of all. Childhood friend is madly in love with her but afraid to say anything for fear of losing their friendship, so moons over her most of the time. All the adults in the academy are clueless, stupid or evil and no one will help her with her true power. Cue bumbling attempts to knock her off before she can use her power to save the world. Oh noes!

This is clearly just another Harry Potter fan fiction – just minus the extraordinary world building, lore, and magic. What magic there is feels very underwhelming and underdeveloped – and pretty random. Plot twists are well choreographed, to the point where only the heroine is unable to figure out simple truths. No one has any brains – even the supernatural creatures. I was bored through – except the times I was rolling my eyes at all the cliches.

So, if you are not a very demanding a reader, go for it. It’s an easy book to follow, ends on a bit of a cliff hanger, and has the usual romance clichés. The audio version is fine – it was nice to have a male and female set of narrators for each of the POVs, though the male POV is pretty much there only to expound about how madly he is in love with the female. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

What a Fool Believes by Michael McDonald and Paul Reiser

This comes after two interesting biographies/Autobiographies that have been published on the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan’s Donald Fagan (both bands Michael McDonald worked in). Not an unkind word was said about McDonald in those and so his biography is a bit of a contrast in which it seems he spent most of the time drunk or stoned. A lot of the book is spent on musings and perspectives: on why he messed up relationships, why he was susceptible to substance abuse, and the complicated relationship he had with his parents.

The book is chronological and goes into a bit of the history of his family and how he landed into music growing up in St. Louis. As with most successful artists there are always those strokes of luck or coincidence that bless some into the heights of fame while overlooking others in their obscurity. With McDonald, it was all about connecting with the right people at the right time for things to happen.

McDonald is honest though he does shy away from the negatives in any of his bands/bandmates. So this is definitely not a bitter tell-all so much as an exploration of his past and how he made it to where he is today. Some might feel frustrated that he doesn’t really go into detail too much – about how songs were created or what happened on tours. At times, I got the impression that he was probably so stoned he likely doesn’t remember much anyway. But we do get some info on how the bigger hits were created.

There are some quibbles – e.g., bringing up the frustration of a special needs son briefly and then never touching upon it again. Similarly, the reasons for leaving bands always seem to be rather random and for capricious ambivalence – hinting that perhaps there was a lot more too it and he doesn’t want to bring up the negatives. At the same time, he has fun addressing topics such as being ‘the voice’ of 1970s/19802 bands (appearing everywhere as a guest vocalist or duet) as well as the controversy over whether he changed or ‘ruined’ the sound of the Doobie Brothers.

In all, it is a very easy read with some interesting insights. It does feel very shallow though and at times you’ll likely be wishing he went into much more detail. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

In Perpetuity by Peter Hoey, Maria Hoey

In perpetuity has an interesting style in that it is illustrated and written to be as disaffecting as purgatory must be to those trapped in an endless limbo. I was reminded of the matrix (though with a far less bombastic plot) but it is something that keeps you reading.

Story: Jim is dead; more specifically, he now spends eternity working a gas station at night in Hades’ afterlife. But there are shades who want to find a way back into the living world and Jim might just have a rare ability to do so. Ripe for exploitation, the criminals who offed him show up to find a way to return to the living.

The story is languid, moody and purposely disaffecting; providing a suitable milieu for the drudge of an endless aferlife under a black sun sky. Jim spends the time doing crossword puzzles while doing the night shift at a gas station. It’s all ho-hum and not something he really cares about either way. His key to the living is to travel to someone’s near death experience; it is there that he meets Olivia dying from a bee sting’s anaphylaxis death. Where he is the key to the conmen’s plans on the afterlife side, Olivia will be become a necessary tool in the living world – much to Jim’s regret and dismay.

The art style is very simple and reminiscent of 1940s comics. Indeed, the afterlife also has a midcentury illustration feel that conveys the ambivalence of the story. The artwork is clean, unhurried, and straightforward.

The story takes many twists and turns and at times it can feel like it was unnecessarily elongated in the middle to make two parts out of one. The Greek mythology connection felt random and unnecessary and I especially thought it jumped the shark a bit when Hades appeared. I would have preferred a more realized and original world rather than drawing on the Greeks interpretation of life after death (which felt very random in a modern setting). But in all, it was a solid story and read. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Ocean’s Godori by Elain U. Cho

This was a bit inscrutable at first – a lot of Korean terms with little explanation and certainly the author isn’t going to hold anyone’s hand. That said, about the 25% mark I found myself hooked and really enjoyed the story and characters. There is a lot of nuance and depth with very conflicted characters that made for an interesting read.

Story: Ocean saved a life at the expense of not following orders, a result that did not please the Alliance authorities. Now relegated to a fourth class freighter, she focuses on getting through her service. Unfortunately, Ocean is about to find herself stuck between Alliance politics and illicit smugglers – with the lives of her crew caught in the balance.

There are three POVs: Ocean: strong willed, resigned, testy. Haven: recently assigned medic who is fascinated with Ocean. Teo: spoiled son of a tech empire and Ocean’s on again/off again friend. All three are fighting their own demons: Ocean’s demotion, Haven’s cultural history being an anathema in Alliance space; Teo’s willingness to disappoint his father and over-achieving brother.

The Alliance is a Korean culture construct that is both interesting and frustrating – the author uses all the Korean terms without translation. It does provide a bit more for the milieu but also it sure does help to have a more solid understanding of South Korean culture and language. There is a glossary at the back but it doesn’t have the more common terms – only explanations for the sci fi setting terms.

This is the first book in the series and I will be eagerly looking forward to the next book. The characters were fully formed and people you want to root for and follow. Although the book ended at a sharp cliffhanger, it did complete a full first arc. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

There are three POVs: Ocean – cantankerous, strong willed, but resigned. Haven – a new medical officer assigned to the ship and with a fascination with Ocean.

Avatar The Last Airbender: The Bounty Hunter and the Tea Drinker

It is exciting to witness the continuous expansion of the Avatar universe and these comic book extensions of The Last Airbender universe consistently excel. This latest addition, featuring the beloved Uncle Iroh and the enigmatic bounty hunter June, offers a fresh narrative set after the conclusion of the TV series.

In brief, the story unfolds as Iroh, renowned for his tea shop in Ba Sing Se, encounters June, who arrives to claim a bounty on him. What ensues is a poignant exploration of life after war for old soldiers and those whose livelihood depended on the war.

Personally, I’m a huge advocate for narratives that spotlight supporting characters and delve into more intimate, personal tales rather than grand-scale world events. This comic achieves both brilliantly, portraying June and Iroh with spot-on characterization. The story strikes an emotional chord without veering into didacticism, maintaining the delicate balance of humor and drama reminiscent of the original TV series.

The artwork, consistent with the TV series style, is exceptional as always, adding to the immersive experience.

For fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this is a must-read, whether you’re familiar with previous comic book installments or not. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga, Vol. 2 by Yusuke Osawa

This manga adaptation of The Mandalorian focuses on the ‘Child’ arc from Season 1, condensing the story to concentrate on the key plot points. Like the original material, the storyline remains compelling and translates well into this new format.

Assuming most readers are already acquainted with the story, I’ll refrain from revealing spoilers. In my view, this rendition epitomizes the essence of Star Wars, capturing its gritty sci-fi essence akin to the original trilogy. The titular character, reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s nameless gunslinger, adds to the allure.

While the adaptation is commendable, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the source material. Our protagonist’s silent demeanor, which lends weight on screen, isn’t as effectively conveyed in manga form. Additionally, the abundance of close-up shots doesn’t translate seamlessly, especially with a helmet that lacks expressiveness. Unlike its live-action counterpart, the manga lacks the evocative soundtrack, although readers can enhance their experience by playing the OST while reading.

Nevertheless, despite these shortcomings, this manga offers a captivating journey into the origins of The Mandalorian, making it a delightful read for longtime fans and accessible to newcomers alike. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Secrets and Sacrifices by Cath Lauria

I had hoped for a fun melding of a bit of the Victorian gothicana with Regency romance. But honestly, this was very wooden, overly simplistic, and not very realistic. I can’t even say it was very thrilling – it felt like someone asked Chat AI to mix a bog standard Regency romance story with a Cthulu world undertone; all with underwhelming and unbelievable results. Fans of Call of Cthulu will likely find a lot of fun Easter eggs here, though.

Story: Cassandra Wright is left with nothing after the mysterious death of her father. Years later, she returns to the scene of his death, hoping to find some clues and validate him. Helping her is childhood friend Thomas. Soon, they discover there are nefarious other-world plots afoot.

Cassandra and Thomas were overidealized to the point of simplicity – caricatures rather than flawed and nuanced characters. The bad guys were suitably nefarious but more than a bit one dimensional as well. The romance was just silly and I had a hard time placing this in the Regency era. Cassandra did too many “too stupid to live’ actions and everything always fell just a bit too neatly into place.

It’s not a terrible book and easy to read and follow. But it lacked a sophistication in the writing and felt a bit too much of a ‘plot by the numbers’ story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Star Wars Visions: The Manga Anthology by Kamome Shirahama, Keisuke Sato, Yusuke Osawa

Star Wars: Visions is a manga-style adaptation from Season 1 of the TV series of the same name. The concept for Visions is to create a whole new story in anime/manga style set to the premise and theme of Star Wars but without being actually in the same universe. The concept is great and allows the creators to let completely loose, though perhaps the output is still rather tame and predictable Star Wars.

This adaptation is faithful and even the art style is basically copied from the series. This is both great and bad – if you’ve already seen the TV series, there’s not much new here. If you haven’t then honestly you might still enjoy the TV series a bit more than this adaptation.

Stories: This volume collects four stories from the TV series (from the original 9 episodes), “The Elder”, “Lop and Ocho”, “The Ninth Jedi” and “The Twins”. “The Elder” is the most traditional of these and could easily be dropped into the Star Wars universe as-is. “Lop and Ocho” feels like it could be a traditional manga, just with a Star Wars vibe. “The Ninth Jedi” is my favorite, having a bit of a ‘whodunnit’ vibe to it. Finally “The Twins” is a story of twins, one light and one dark, with crazy visuals.

Each story has its own art-style and as mentioned is very faithful to the original. I like them all, though weirdly “The Twins” , which is the most easily recognized as manga actually worked better animated.

I’m a big fan of Visions, and this collection does the concept and series justice. My only beef is that if you’ve seen the animated TV show, there’s not much new here. Often a comic adaptation works nicely as it adds a new style or you have more time to process what is going on, but here I feel like the original work is so close to this adaptation that you might as well just rewatch the show. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Modern Sourdough by Michelle Eshkeri

This is a beautifully presented and fairly thorough book on sourdough – from bagels to muffins to loaves. Each recipe has a large photograph and the steps are cleanly laid out. The range and quality were such there were few recipes I did not want to jump in and try immediately.

The book breaks down as follows: Introduction, bread, sourdough pastry, sweet sourdough, savory sourdough, Margot specialties, jams/spreads. index. The breadth of the recipes is spectacular: from shortbreads to babka, bagels to flatbread, pain au chocolat to blood orange polenta cake. I especially appreciated that they had breads from around the world.

The instructions for making the crucial starter are detailed – though I always wish there was a section on “what went wrong” so you can analyze your mistakes and fix them easier. That said, it was very easy to follow the directions and you weren’t limited by expensive equipment or tools.

Each recipe has a large title, a full page image, ingredients separated by stage or groups, and numbered paragraph steps. Unlike most books, the paragraphs are not too bulky and are broken down by action. There are no alternative recommendations, tips, substitution suggestions, allergy information, or nutrition information. There are no storage recommendations.

In all, there are a lot of great recipes in here that all make sense for a sourdough starter. It is cleanly and beautifully presented/photographed. The author(s) clearly have a lot of heart and passion for sourdough and it comes through in the recipes. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.