A Darker Shade of Magic preview excerpt (V.E. Schwab)

Release Date: February 24th 2015

Synopsis:  
From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.
Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands. There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped.

Review:
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review. 
I have heard nothing but amazing reviews of Victoria Schwab's books and writing, so when I saw this on Netgalley I immediately requested it... without realising it was just a preview excerpt. So I guess you could say I felt mixed things when I found out I had been accepted to review it.
I think that was part of the reason this took me so long to get through. I knew that I wouldn't get to see how it ended for a long time, and that it wouldn't count toward my reading goal (what a great excuse).Still, I don't regret reading it at all. How could I?
Victoria's writing feels so complete and labyrinthine (as in complex and rich - probably not making myself very clear, but that's how it felt to me). The world was so well built, from what I could see, and I can only describe it exactly like the writing: complete and labyrinthine. They complement each other in a way that brings to life what I believe will be an amazing full book, once I get to read it.
I am wholeheartedly in love with every single character, especially Kell. You could fell his story unfold with every chapter and I would love to know more about him, and what he learned after the end of this preview. Lila was a badass and I think she will be an amazing female character. I would love to see how this two character's stories intertwine. For some reason, I really felt a connection with Holland. I love the mystery that surrounds him and I'm intrigued to see where he fits in the end.
In conclusion, I loved what I read and I hope I get to read the full book once it comes out, which should be, like, yesterday. This was so good I had to look up words in a dictionary, and I still couldn't find the right ones. Basically, magic, multiple Londons, blood and did I say magic?

Shutter, Vol. 1: Wanderlost (Joe Keatinge - writer, Leila del Duca - illustrations, Owen Gieni - colors and Ed Brisson)

Release Date: November 25th 2014

Synopsis:  
INDIANA JONES FOR THE 21st CENTURY!
Marvel Knights: Hulk and Glory writer Joe Keatinge teams up with artist extraordinaire Leila del Duca for her Image Comics debut in an all-new ongoing series combining the urban fantasy of Fables and the globe-spanning adventure of Y: The Last Man.
Kate Kristopher, once the most famous explorer of an Earth far more fantastic than the one we know, is forced to return to the adventurous life she left behind when a family secret threatens to destroy everything she spent her life protecting.
Collects Shutter #1-6.

Review:
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review. 
I don't even really know how to describe this book.
Wanderlost was an immensely original and weird collection of comics.
It was basically a gigantic emotional rollercoaster. It was sad, exciting, fun, adventurous, mysterious and mind blowing, all at the same time.
First of all, the story was incredibly fast paced, powerful and energetic. It kept me on the edge of my seat for two hours and I couldn't put it down until I was sure I had finished it. Although I was a bit confused in the beginning, (almost) everything became clear as the story progressed.
The art was so colorful, dynamic and actually kind of poignant and nostalgic, exactly what the story was trying to portray. I can't see it being any different. It was perfect during the entire book.The main character, Kate, has been though a lot in her life, and as everything she believed to be true shatters into nothingness, she develops in ways we couldn't imagine when we saw her at the age of seven. She was badass and a very strong female character, that just had to accept that everything was changing.
At her side, we meet a diverse and interesting set of characters, all fascinating and important to every part of the story, particularly her sidekick, Alarm Cat, and Chris (spoiler?). They were absolutely adorable and a great source of comic relieve in the intense plot.
I really appreciated the flashbacks that we got through the story that gave the backstories of some of the main characters. They were precisely where they were needed and ended at exactly the right place to give us enough information but keep us hooked to see the aftermath of such memories.
In general, I can say without a doubt that that cliffhanger might have ruined my life, because Gods know when I will be able to read what happens next.
Recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind a few splattered guts every now and then.

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act (Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie - Illustrations)

Synopsis:  
Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. The team behind critical tongue-attractors like Young Avengers and PHONOGRAM reunite to create a world where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods. But remember: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forever. Collects THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #1-5.

Review:
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review. 
This was one of the weirdest and most original graphic novels I have read recently.
First of all, the art was amazing, I could tape it to my walls and I wouldn't get tired of looking at it. The colors were spot-on and you can tell the passion that went into every page.
The characters were all fascinating and unbelievably funny, especially our main character, Laura. The Gods were so sarcastic and rude and I loved every bit.
The plot is completely explosive (literally). It draws you in from page one and you can't help but keep reading until the end. Although the beginning was a bit confusing, the ending still let a lot of questions to be answered and I will definitely read the next volume as soon as it is humanly possible.
One thing I need to point out is that this deals with very unexpected themes, like sexuality (as in subtle homosexuality), mixed-race or non-white characters and even a transgender character.
To add to all this, I always appreciate it when the authors show some cover-art or the process of creating the story itself in the end of the book, so I was extremely pleased with it.
In conclusion, I think this was a perfect example of why I fell in love with graphic novels in the first place and I would recommend this to anyone with a gory sense of humour.

The Room (Jonas Karlsson)

Release Date: January 15th 2015 

Synopsis:  
A quirky and unsettling tale, of dark humour and strange realities, about a bureaucrat, an open plan office and a secret room..
The Authority looks favourably upon meticulousness, efficiency and ambition. Bjorn has all of this in spades, but it's only in the Room that he can really shine. Unfortunately, his colleagues see things differently. In fact, they don't even see the Room at all.
The Room is a short, sharp and fiendish fable in the tradition of Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett and Charlie Kauffman. If you have ever toiled in an office, felt like the world was against you or questioned the nature of reality then this is the novel for you.

Review:
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review. 
This is nothing like I usually read and I was positive I wasn't going to enjoy it that much. I was right and so wrong at the same time.
On one side, the characters were all detestable and extremely unreliable narrators, but I absolutely loved every minute of this book.
A little introduction in the beginning of the book compares the style of 'The Room' to that of Kafka, and I totally agree. It has the same gift of being able to mess with your mind, leaving everything out of place, while making you question everything you thought was true and everything you believed in.
It points a finger at the reader directly, making sure we see our own faults in these flawed characters and that makes us uncomfortable, the best kind.It's a psychological journey through a story were nothing is certain and, by the end of the book, we get to take our own conclusions, based on what we got out of it. That's the magic of books of this kind (and books in general, but this one takes it to levels is almost impossible to describe).
Honestly, I read this in a day. It kept me wanting more, I couldn't think about anything else but to know how it ended, even though I knew, deep down, that the ending would only raise even more questions, as it did.This was just an immensely mind blowing, surral and desconcerning story that deserves to be read by everyone.

We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a true story (Josh Sundquist)

Synopsis:   
Josh Sundquist only ever had one girlfriend. For twenty-three hours. In eighth grade.
Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down the girls he had tried to date and asked them straight up: What went wrong?
The results of Josh's semiscientific, wholly hilarious investigation are captured here. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), to a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love--or at least a girlfriend--in all the wrong places.

Review:
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review. 
My first impression when I started reading this was An Abundance of Katherines meets The Fault in our Stars meets What's your number?
Overall this was immensely quirky and adorkable and funny and, most of all, inspirational to levels it's almost impossible to describe.
I could honestly feel every word, every emotion Josh Sundquist wrote, and the fact that this is non-fiction makes makes my heart skip a beat, although it can almost be read as a young-adult contemporary fiction novel. It was brilliant.
I completely fell in love with the story and the author's voice, his way to look at things, how he looked at his disability, the way he interpreted his girlfriend-less years, the conclusion he got to in the end and, most of all, his heartwarming ending that makes you believe that, in the end, if it's meant to be, it will happen, one way or another.
Honestly, through most of this book, I just wanted to hug him and tell him we could totally hand out sometime. I was so invested in all of this I watched almost all of Josh's videos on Youtube. I wanted more.
In conclusion, this was probably one of the cutest books I will read this year. It was perfection of a memoir, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to feel happy. I have no doubt that We Should Hang Out Sometime is going to make every day better and make you feel warm and complete inside.