Junko Mizuno is a Japanese artist whose style is usually described as “Gothic kawaii”. Her illustrations are cute and childish but also erotic and grotesque. After Cinderalla and Hansel and Gretel, Princess Mermaid is her third and darkest retelling of a classic fairytale, and the one that differs the most from the original version (I’m referring to the Hans Christian Andersen story, not the sanitized Disney version). Princess Mermaid tells the story of three mermaid sisters who have sworn to avenge the death of their […]
Deliciously scary graphic stories.
Add this book to the list of things I would’ve never picked up in a bajillion years if I hadn’t found it on CBR. Add this to one of my favorite books ever. I thought I hated graphic novels. I thought I hated horror. I thought I hated creepy gothic stuff. Apparently not. Who even am I? I don’t know. This book is just gorgeous. The illustrations are stunning and mysterious and creepy and terrifying. It’s like five little illustrated ghost stories. In “Our Neighbor’s […]
I accept that I am a writing-craft snob
If I hadn’t read “The Night Circus”, I would probably be giving this book a higher rating, but I think many of the things this book does well, “The Night Circus” did better. “Cruel Beauty” is also a YA, and I habitually have issues loving YA as much as I love adult books with similar themes. I had serious issues with the craft, and I realize after looking back through my other reviews, that I’ve become kind of a writing-craft snob, but this book was all tell […]
A love letter to the lovers of letters
One of the characters in The Thirteenth Tale has a strict rule: start at the beginning. Tell the story in order. Well, all due respect to that awesome character, but I’m going to start at the end. My end, at least. When I had about 60 pages left in the book, I decided to stay in my car after work and finish it there, rather than read the end at home. I knew I would drive myself insane in traffic, knowing this book was just […]
1920s Haunted Assylum? Yes, Please!
This is the second novel by Simone St James I’ve listened to, and both were gripping. A little bit of a slow start, but they pick up and just race to the finish. I picked a good one to start my Cannonball Read adventure! We start with Kitty Weekes, a poor London girl on the run, pretending to be a nurse at a psychiatric facility for Shell Shock patients returned to Britain after the first World War. But of course, not everything is as it seems […]
I keep wanting to love Kate Morton’s books, and it keeps not happening.
I was ready to love this book from the moment I heard about it. The Secret Garden is one of my favorite books, and stories about family secrets and hidden rooms and stuff like that are like catnip to me. And the bare bones of this story is indeed pretty satisfying. Unfortunately, the execution of it ruined most of my enjoyment, and I decided halfway through that I wasn’t going to read any more of this author’s books. I’ve been really excited about two of […]
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