Review – The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente

The Refridgerator Monologues
By: Catherynne M. Valente
Illustrator: Annie Wu
Release Date: June 6, 2017
Publisher: Saga Press
Rating:


Catherynne Valente’s The Refrigerator Monologues is a slim novel that packs one hell of a punch. It is at once a collection of short stories and a novel. While there are multiple stories from different women being told, they come together and paint a very vivid world filled with superheroes and villains, an afterlife rich in community with a certain life of its own, and the women who were used, hurt, and forgotten by those who were supposed to love them.

Review – My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol. 2 by Hideyuki Furuhashi & Betten Court

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol. 2
By: Hideyuki Furuhashi
Illustrator: Betten Court (artist); John Hunt (touch-up art and lettering); Julian Robinson (designer)
Translator: Caleb Cook
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: VIZ Media
Series: My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


October 2nd saw the release of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol. 2 by Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court. This volume explores the quirk based society from the eyes of a vigilante hero while continuing with themes and questions presented both in the first volume and the series proper.

Book Haul – An Update and Books I’ve Gotten from Publishers Recently

Some of you may be wondering why things have been a little slow over here at Looking Glass Reads. This is two-part. I was sick twice in the last three weeks. After it took a solid 30 minutes to read three pages of a book, and retaining none of it, I decided to call off reading for the time being. Then, upon getting well, I immediately dove headlong into some heavy editing of a nonfiction title for work. So…I’m a little behind.

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#MangaMonday Review – Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Frankenstein: Junji Into Story Collection
By: Junji Ito
Release Date: October 16, 2018
Publisher: VIZ Media
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


If a manga bears Junji Ito’s name you can be certain I’ll be reading it. Recently, I received an early copy of Frankenstein: Junji Ito Short Story Collection by Junji Ito.

A caveat I want to note – the e-arc I received only had Frankenstein. There are two other short stories included in the collection. One of these is the Oshikiri story cycle, and I believe there is something featuring Ito’s dog as well. Once I get a copy of the final copy this review will be updated to include my thoughts on this as well.

Review – Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne

Kill the Farm Boy
By: Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Publisher: Del Rey
Series: The Tales of Pell
Rating:


I was very curious when I first heard about Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne. Written by two authors I really like and with a fun premise, I was excited. After all, who doesn’t like a trope smashing, funny, romp through a fantasy world?

#Spookathon TBR

This readathon was originally begun by BooksandLala with the intent of reading a thriller in October. The hosts this year are booktubers BooksandLala, Bookerly, and Peter Likes Books. The rules of this readathon are pretty loose, especially compared to other readathons I’ve been participating in recently such as the NEWTs Readathon. There are five challenges in all this year. One book can count for two or more challenges. And for the fourth challenge – read a book with a spooky word in the title – readers can pick whatever word they feel is spooky. The readathon will be running from October 15, 2018 to 21.

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Review – Witchmark by C. L. Polk

Witchmark
By: C. L. Polk
Release Date: June 19, 2018
Publisher: Tor.com
Series: The Kingston Cycle
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


This book has been sitting on my kindle waiting for me to read it for quite some time. Now, my only wish is that I’d gotten to it sooner. Witchmark by C. L. Polk is an absolutely fantastic novel about magic, love, family, war, and the bonds between siblings.

Review – The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood
By: Melissa Albert
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Series: The Hazel Wood
Rating:


I am quite far behind in reading this book, but I am certainly glad that I finally picked this up. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a truly fantastic novel about a teenage girl in search for mother, the mysterious Hazel Wood where her grandmother once lived, and the legacy of her great storyteller grandmother herself.

#MangaMonday Review – My Hero Academia Vol. 15 by Kohei Horikoshi

My Hero Academia Vol. 15
By: Kohei Horikoshi
Illustrator: Kohei Horikoshi
Translator: Caleb Cook
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: VIZ Media
Series: My Hero Academia
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


The third season of My Hero Academia might be winding down, but there’s still plenty of manga volumes to go. Tomorrow, October 2, 2018, marks the release of My Hero Academia Vol 15 by Kohei Horikoshi. This volume explores heroism in a post All Might world, precaution and careful planning versus immediately jumping into a probably dangerous situation, among other things.