River Readers

This was an intriguing murder mystery that centers around a soap opera. Since I have been known to enjoy one now and again, it was a familiar setting. Of course, it ends successfully and with a new romance or two.

On the glittering set of a popular daytime drama, fantasy and reality are fatally intertwined in a brand-new, red-hot trilogy that continues Graham's successful series of contemporary blockbusters. From the author of "Drop Dead Gorgeous". Author signings.
Goodreads.

I enjoyed this fun graphic novel. I like hockey and love baking. The idea of college boy who is an athlete and likes to cook, reminds me way to much of my youngest son. However, the crush on his captain is handled nicely and it is fun to meet the varied cast of players. I look forward to the next issue.

This was a very strange take on the journey of Norma Jean Baker to Marilyn Monroe. While I'm sure some of these "monsters" were very real. Not sure, but maybe that was how Norma Jean saw her life before it spun out of her control.

The famous Hollywood Hills. A strange spooky forest filled with freaks and old trailers. This is where movie stars are born in this alternate world. Determined to become one, shy Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe) comes to this ghost-town with hopes and dreams. She'll have to face all kinds of monsters to reach her ultimate goal.
Goodreads.

Since I am a huge Batman fan especially when it involves Catwoman, this graphic was a must read. I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't more of the couple, but the collection of stories about the others who would be a part of this wedding were quite intriguing. It was a bit disconcerting to have Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood in the same set of stories, but understandable too, since they each have a giant place in Batman's life/wedding. I'm going to be on the lookout for the wedding volume.

In downtown Chicago, a young woman named Esther Vaughan disappears from her apartment without a trace. A haunting letter addressed to 'My Dearest' is found among her possessions, leaving her friend and roommate, Quinn Collins, to wonder where Esther is and whether or not she's the person Quinn thought she knew.

I give this 3 stars. The twist at the end was good, but unless you read these books in order, it throws in unrelated items that tie in to the main characters and not the current story. Not as gripping as I thought it would be.

While the graphics and color was wonderful, this story was not what I expected. It was much more violent and hard to follow. Not much background on each of the three women, so I found it hard to keep them separated.

I was excited to read this memoir of Sally Field as I was/am a HUGE fan. I always thought of her as a bubbly, easy-going person but this memoir tells a different story. I did think, however, that it could have done with a bit more editing as I didn't feel it was the best written thing I'd ever read. It did read completely as her voice, though, so maybe that was intentional. It is a great example as to how we, as a society, think we "know" someone who is a celebrity when in reality we have no idea who they are and what they have gone through.
 

Because Tory doesn't take flak off of customers and has a little temper, she keeps losing jobs as a waitress. She goes to apply in a sketchy neighborhood, and is asked to take the evening shift as a tryout. During this shift she throws a drink at one of the customers who was hassling her, saying "after all this trouble, if you're not going to drink it, you'll wear it". The next day she finds out, she's been serving magicians, who could really make her life miserable.

This collection celebrates women fantasy artists. I am familiar with some of the artists like Kinuko Craft, Ruth Anderson, Anne Yvonne Gilbert, Sulamith Wolfing.
I'm not sure the artists' best works were featured. For example Anne Yvonne Gilbert had a drab vampire scene, when she had so many other delightful pieces(try googling her images). Same thing with Jody A. Lee (who illustrates for Mercedes Lackey). It was quite interesting to see the connection between fantasy literature and fantasy art.

Sounder is a loyal family dog, determined to help his owners through thick and thin. This is the story of a great coon dog and the poor sharecroppers who own him, and of the courage and love that bind a black family together in the face of extreme prejudice from the outside world. -Fantastic Fiction

Annie Browne transfers to a new school and is afraid she won't make friends. On the first day, outcast Elsie latches on to Annie and insists they be best friends. Except Elsie is not the kind of friend Annie wants. She lies and tattles and is super possessive and mean. When Elsie gets sick Annie becomes friends with the other girls in her class and they ostracize Elsie when she returns. The girls are bullies to Elsie and each other. When the Spanish Flu hits their town they start attending funerals for the sweets and cakes. One day they end up at Elsie's funeral without realizing it.

We know Circe from Greek Mythology and from The Odyssey. What Madeline Miller does is reimagine her life from birth to mortality. Circe is the daughter of the Titan Helios. She is raised in the houses of the Titans, unloved and unappreciated. She begs for scraps of attention, but gets nowhere. It is only after she is banished to her deserted island and becomes a witch that she truly becomes the goddess she was meant to be. She is banished for creating Scylla the monster of legend and devourer of men. She meets heroes and gods like Hermes and Athena and Ulysses.

Ramona is a six foot tall lesbian with blue hair in her small town of Eulogy, Mississippi. She lives with her dad and big sister Hattie in a FEMA trailer they moved into after Hurricane Katrina and never left. It is the beginning of senior year and Ramona has plans to get out of Eulogy. Then Hattie gets pregnant and Ramona believes she has to stay and take care of her sister and future niece. Then childhood best friend Freddie moves back to town with his grandma and things go sideways for Ramona. Suddenly, she is having feelings for a boy!

Two Queens have been prophesied, one a Blood Queen and one a Sun Queen. Rielle has kept her magic hidden because she is able to manipulate all of the elements (eg. water, fire, shadows....) which is impossible. When she rescues the crown prince Aubrick, she unveils her multipowers and is forced to prove herself worthy of being the Sun Queen. At the same time an angel starts communicating with her in her head. Many generations later an assassin for the empire named Eliana witnesses the abduction of her mother (who was supposed to be safe because Eliana was working for the empire.