Twirling Book Princess

I received this comic collection from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I was so excited for this one. The art looked amazing, and I just adore Nancy Drew. I was excited about the story, what kind Nancy would we get this time (which is always a question I ask when I start a new incarnation of the famous girl detective), what kind of adventures and mysteries would come our way?

When we first meet this Nancy she is hauling a goat with her, apparently for a case. It had me in stitches to see her try to guide that goat to the right places, and ending up with swimming in the lake. I loved the look of this Nancy, she seems as tough as the original, and just as much fun. Then we meet her friends and I was severely confused, who are these people? Where is my Bess? Where is George? Hello! Did you ditch your friends/family? Thankfully, we quickly get an answer when Nancy receives a threat message and heads to Bayport (apparently she wasn’t even living there any more, OMG, I need details).

Bess is delighted to see her, but George? George isn’t that happy with Nancy. Apparently Nancy moved years ago and they totally lost contact. I agree with Nancy, but if I hear George/Bess talk it seems like you, Nancy, also didn’t do the communication thing correctly.

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG fangirls The Hardy Boys are in this one!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOEEEEEEEE!!!! FRANKKKKKKKKKK!! And they looking fricking adorable and awesome in this art style. heart eyes Joe is exactly how I expect him to be, and Frank, Frank is still the smart one of the brothers. :P

Things get really exciting when THAT happens to Nancy, and then we got a nice flashback to what happened 7 years ago (so right around the time Nancy moved away). Which I loved, but also made me feel unhappy because I wanted to know if Nancy ended up all right. I am guessing yes, given that this story is all about her and we are still 100 pages from the ending. ;P But still!
OK, holy crap at that flash back. Poor Nancy, I can imagine why she moved, and why she probably forgot to communicate so much with her friends.

Haha, Nancy please. Your friends are passed out, you are down in a cave, and all you can do is focus on the handsome stranger in front of you. :P Oh Nancy. I was at first not too happy that she went with that guy, but I guess it is also typical Nancy especially since she knows what she is doing.

Though I did wish she would have told her friends/family where she was going. They know about the threat letter, they were there when things went dangerous, and yet you don’t let them know anything? That is not how things work.

We do find out why that person send that letter, and I am happy that Nancy was able to forgive them and also wanted to help them out.

EEP, I was just so delighted with the Bess and Joe romance. It made me delighted. Also I loved George and her girlfriend. <3 Oh, and I can’t forget Nancy and Pete, I was definitely hoping they would get together. :)

The story got more and more exciting with each new issue and I just had to continue reading as I wanted to know more of what was going on.

OMG, that ending! No, I thought this was a pretty much stand-alone bundled part with the whole story included, but that ending. That cliffhanger! Arghhh. I was already planning on checking out the rest should there be more, but now I definitely need to get my hands on it.

I adored the art in this story, it was just a style that fitted Nancy perfectly. I loved seeing all my favourite characters in this amazing style.

There was one little thing, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the book per se, but more with Netgalley. It was at times quite hard to read. It didn’t help the pages were a bit blurry which made it even harder. I do want to mention this, as it is part of my reading experience.

All in all, I had so much fun reading this one, it was exciting, mysterious, it had romance and friendship, the Hardy Boys were there, and I would recommend it to all.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this graphic novel from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I was pretty excited to read this book because of two reasons, Zidrou and Aimée de Jongh. The subject of the book wasn’t that interesting to me, though I did like the finding new romance aspect. Maybe I will, when I am as old as this couple, also appreciate the other things. :)

This book is about Ulysses and Mediterranea, two people in the autumn of their lives (they are old, but not that old yet) both of them had their share of things happening. Medi lost her mother, Ulysses lost his job due to forced retirement. They meet at, of really all the places to find someone, Ulysses’s son’s OB/GYN office. I loved that you immediately saw a spark between the two of them. Sure, it was a bit of a hesitant spark because both of them didn’t expect to find someone at their age and at this spot, but that spark soon grew to much more. I was so rooting for these two to truly get together, because people weren’t always that accepting of them.

We read about their lives, their youth, their family, about Ulysses and how he feels now that he is out of a job, and how they feel now that they have older bodies. I really loved that this was added, it gave so much more to this book. It made me love the characters more, and root for them further. These two souls needed to be together. To walk hand in hand through the autumn and winter of their lives.

There was at least one thing that had me going eh, and that was the scene in which Ulysses pays for sex and gets a blowjob. Not something I needed to see. I did feel kind of sorry for the woman later, I have a feeling she wasn’t doing it that much for the money, but maybe also had feelings for Ulysses in a way or another.

The ending? I am kind of on the fence on how I felt about it. On the one hand very sweet and romantic, on the other hand… no. I won’t spoil anything, so I will stop here, but it was a very conflicting ending for me.

The art was pretty great, I am always amazed at how fabulous Aimée can draw. I have seen many of her works, read many of them, but I never stop being amazed. What a talent.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this graphic novel!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. 

I saw this one on Netgalley and I just laughed so hard when I read the title and the description. Good grief, what could possibly go wrong with absurd ads and people reacting to it?

Just sad that I couldn’t read this one on my Kindle as the format got quite scrambled and the illustrations didn’t show. I had to read it on my PC which made my eyes cry.

But this was just such a delight to read, though I have to be honest and say that I highly doubt the authenticity of these stories. Maybe she did write all those ads, I can believe that (as I have seen some hilarious ads myself in newspapers and magazines, but the conversations? I have no idea if any of that is true, it just seems too weird and absurd and I just can’t imagine people going that far or her taking it that far. Plus I do feel it is a bit shitty to lie about things, making up an ad is one thing, but lying about things/making up a whole story seems a bit too far. Then again, I guess if she hadn’t done that the conversations would just have ended quite soon, now they went on and on for quite a bit, getting sillier and more and more absurd. Like the cocoon one, I didn’t think it could get even more hilarious but then she told about the previous years and all she wanted with it and I was just laughing.

There are various categories, we first start with stuff for herself, then there are events. There may have been more, but I was mostly concentrating on the ads/the conversations. I only noticed these two because it was such a change.

All in all, this was hilarious, I do hope she will write another book filled with these hilarious ads and conversations.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this comic from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just ADORE BL, and I was excited to see a manga-style BL comic on Netgalley. Of course I had to try it out, plus the idea that it was Servant x Lord made it all the more tempting. :P

The story starts with Daniel coming into Christian’s life when he is around 9/10 years old, which see that Christian is instantly happy with Daniel and that they both have a great bond. Something happens and we skip over to the next time which comprises of the next two chapters, when Christian is around 16/17 (at least I would guess so given how he looks and acts). Next up is 3 years later and I am guessing Christian is now 19/20. Which made me finally be able to root for these two to get together. Yes, sorry, I have my principles. I don’t care about age differences as long as both characters are 18+ otherwise it is just a no. It was cute that they both had feelings in chapters 2 and 3, but it made me slightly uncomfortable given their ages. So I was glad that nothing happened/that Daniel was able keep his feelings in check (because you could see he was tempted when Christian was licking his arm).

I had a laugh when Christian came back and found out that his love had other interests now. Yep, that is what happens, plus I can imagine that Daniel didn’t go after Christian. He was still the servant, and Christian the higher-up. He didn’t want to lose his job or reputation. But oh my! We find out some juicy things from Victor. Before that moment I loved Victor, especially had a laugh when he was called Christian’s girlfriend by Daniel. Later on Victor shows he just really cares about his friend, and I can imagine, but that is just not the way to do things.

I was expecting it to be a bit longer before Christian found out about what Victor is hiding, but nope, just a few pages after the juicy things… Christian also finds out. You may now all take a good guess at his reaction, and how his friendship with the guy is now.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh yes, go go Christian! I was rooting for this guy to finally tell Daniel how he felt and also to find out if Daniel felt the same way (yes, duh, everyone can see that he is just trying to not feel that way). On the one hand I loved the couch scene, on the other hand, not that much. I am getting a bit tired of things having to be forced in BL. :|

I had a laugh at how Daniel reacted when he found out Christian was working in his workplace. And then what he did after that. His other employees were all wondering what was going on and what their boss relationship was with Christian (a very hot one, well as soon as Daniel finally decides that a relationship with Christian is good and he finally accepts his feelings. I get that he wants the best for Christian, but come on!!!!!!!!!).

“Wait a minute.. is my birthday today? Thought too much about Chris and totally forgot.” snorts Oh Daniel, you are in so deep. :P

Daniel in reaction to what Christian said: “Haha, you’re asking for my permission to stalk me for the rest of my life? Who would agree to that?” That look on Daniel’s face was just too precious.

Yayyyyyy! Finally!!!!!! I was already wondering when it would happen, we only had so little time left in this book, and I needed them to finally confess and see their feelings.

Oh my, Christian:”I don’t know what’s going on… but if you change your mind tomorrow, and try to escape again… I’ll handcuff you to the bed.”

The ending was fabulous, haha what a brilliant plan by Daniel. That is one way to get Christian to go to LA. :P

*bleeds to death due to that character page at the end*

All in all, a very well written BL story about two guys who were meant to be together and finally found each other again. Finally managed to confess, finally could be together. EEEEEEEPPPP! *swoons* Fantastic characters, lots of cute scenes.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.


So what does one do when one can’t sleep (too much on my mind, wedding, dentists, moving)? Read some books! I decided it was the right time for this one. Sadly, I have to say I didn’t like it that much, and that was mostly to do with Sibby. Oh, and Freddie, oh and Charlie Parker Drysdale. But the biggest problem was Sibby.

Sibby who seemed like a very cool kid, I have never done skateboarding, but I do love people perform tricks, so I was excited for a girl character who could skate like no other. Or well, she is pretty good. She still has tons to learn but I feel that she may turn pro if she keeps it up.

My biggest problem with Sibby is how she acts. What she says. What she thinks.

*Standing up against a bully? Yes, that seems simple, and in this book it is all made very simple, but sorry in real life that is just not always a possibility. I can tell you that if standing up against a bully, or bullies was the thing to fix it that I would have been way less damaged now. Sadly, standing up isn’t always the solution, if anything it can make things way way more worse. So I would say pick your battles wisely. Sometimes you just need to step back, or keep silent.
*Borrowing means you ask someone’s permission. Stealing is when you just take things with you. I don’t give a hoot that no one is using that board. There is still an owner somewhere, and you can just do all sorts of tricks without asking around first. Now she had to do a lot of grovelling and saying sorry before things were OK again.
*That she kept calling Charlie Parker Drysdale for his full name. Yay, great that he wears those clothes, still not a reason to keep on calling him that whole name. Gosh darnit. Just call him Charlie.
*How rude she was to her new friends. And sure, they were pretty EH at times (will talk about that in a bit). How she kept longing for her old home and old friends instead of opening her eyes and see that in just a few shorts days she was accepted in a new group. That doesn’t always happen that easily.
*Wearing no helmet/safety stuff. What the hell girl. You doing all kinds of tricks that could easily land you in the hospital even with protection and you do it without? Dumb. So so dumb. I get that she wanted to skateboard, but come on. Safety first.
*How she kept saying that rules weren’t for her. And even saying that Skateparks shouldn’t have rules. So you want everyone to just skate and not give a dang about anything? Whut? Girl… Or the rule about safety? Not important? shakes her head
*Taking someone’s phone, editing a video, and then sending it to that person’s best friend. No. Privacy please.
And yes, I could go on, but I feel this is enough reasons why I didn’t like Sibby.

Freddie is just your classic bully and I didn’t like him. Oh boohoohoo, does your life suck? So? Sorry, you can’t just go around bullying people. Sorry, this sounds very mean, but I am tired of having bullies in books that have excuses, like we should feel sorry for them. Bullying is bad.

Charlie. Please, boy, could you just tape your mouth? It is so very rude that you keep blabbing anything people have told you. And that he didn’t even notice until Sibby mentioned it. Wow.

Esther. I did like her, but I did get tired of her saying certain things. Like that she would buy a board, or that she would do x and y, and some stuff about parents. Thankfully, Sibby is able to tell her how she feels.

The big show down was fun though, I was rooting for Sibby (yes, even if I didn’t like her she is still better than the bully).

I also liked Jake. He was quite a nice surprise and I am happy to how his character turned out.

So yeah, skateboarding was fun. The ending was good. The showdown was exciting. Jake was a good character. But the rest just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

So after the success of John McNamee’s other book: Goldilocks and the Infinite Bears: A Pie Comics Collection, I was highly excited to try out this collection.

However… it was a disappointment. Whereas last time I had so many comics I loved, that made me laugh or snicker, this one was more miss than hit. Especially the first half of the book was just mostly boring and not that funny. The latter half though brought more and more comics that I loved and that made me laugh. Still not as much as the previous book which was an all around laugh-a-ton.

Like the previous time I Whatsapped my fiance with comics I loved and I knew he would love as well. And he was very happy with them, and he had quite a laugh.

The book is divided into various themes, which I quite liked. It was fun to see the comics that fit in that theme.

I had a laugh at the “And now, a brief summary” which summed up how the Earth started, animals started living, how wars were fought, and ending with a microwave taking wayyyyy tooo long. :P

That certificate at the ending? Fantastic. I would so print that out and use it.

So a weak beginning/first half, a stronger second half, and a funny ending with a great certificate. 2.5 stars it is. :) Will I read the next comic collection? Yes. Despite this one being a disappointment, the comics that I did enjoy were hilarious and funny and I want more of them.

Review first posted https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

First up, thank you to the publisher for fulfilling my wish on Wish. Yes, this sounds as funny as it was when I got the mail. I had to read it a few time before I figured out that one Wish was the book. :P

But I just couldn’t resist this book, just LOOK at this adorable and beautifully drawn cover, how can you say no to that?

In the land that Rabbit lives wishes take flight and if you are lucky you may do a wish if you are chosen by one. But Rabbit is extraordinary lucky as he gets three wishes!

I loved that he went to consult his friends, and that he tried to imagine if those wishes were also for him. Or if they just weren’t for him. With each new friend I wondered if Rabbit would find his wish with his friends, or if he would eventually find a wish (or three wishes since he has three) for himself.

I loved reading the wishes of Rabbit’s friends. From a Fox who wanted to be a writer (I just ADORED the illustrations for this wish) to a Bear who has done much exploring but hasn’t explored the waves and the sea yet.

Then he makes his wishes, and I just loved that. It was so beautiful, so sweet, so inspirational that he would chose to have his wishes to be that, however I could already see what would happen after.

But the ending was just so sweet, and yes, due to stress of so many things I am very emotional, but I think I would have cried regardless of that. It was just so sweet, so pure. I am sure everyone will love this ending.

So, I would highly recommend this beautiful picture book about friendship and wishes. It will warm your heart.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I read the other two books by this author not that long ago and I was excited for this book. So, when I saw it on Netgalley I couldn’t resist requesting it, it meant I could read it immediately and not have to wait a few more months.

First up, I love the content page: The Sky, The Shipwreck, The Song, The Surviving.

This was for me the weakest book of the three. Which also has to do with my own comfort levels. I saw the warning at the beginning (thank you for that), I knew what would happen, but as a year resolution I wanted to push my boundaries a bit more. Now I am kind of crawling back and wishing I hadn’t done it. There are just a few things that I truly cannot read, never will be able to read. Child abuse. Rape.

There were still other poems/verses/whatever you want to call it that this was, and while I did like them at points, they didn’t strike an emotional chord as the second one did so so much. Which is a shame, I was kind of hoping that would happen again.

I did like that not only were these poems about things that happened (in childhoods or through the years), but also about healing, about getting better, about getting stronger.

I adored those Romeo and Juliet stories though. I loved those various worlds, various situations.

I loved the (broken-up) poems/verses/etc. more than those lumps of text without much punctuation.

This book also features work by others on the theme. I did like their messages, but… and how to explain this, it just didn’t work for me. Poems/verses/etc. are still hit and miss to me, and with Amanda Lovelace I found someone whose poetry I liked, she writes in a style that is perfect for me, however the guest writers just didn’t have that spark, or at least most of them. That feel. Maybe someone else will love them, and again, I did love their messages, but the poetry just missed something.

All in all, I still was fascinated and in awe of this book, it is an important one to read, and I am sure that, while it didn’t strike such a chord with me, it will for someone else. Someone else will be able to use the words written down in this book.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This book sounded really funny, I do love puns, provided they are done right. Sure, I am not a fan of avocados, but that shouldn’t be in the way of enjoying this book. The title was hilarious, and I looked forward to tons more of those puns.

And at first I was thinking this was quite funny, but after a few more pages I started getting bored, it was just so far-fetched at times, and often I didn’t even see the effort. Oh look, Rolling Stones, hahaha, or Brad Pit, haha. Yes, so so funny. No. I am sorry, but I had expected some cleverer puns instead of simple ones.

I really had to drag myself through this book, by page 70 I was already so bored that I started watching some Netflix to get myself motivated. :P

The art was fun though, I really like the style. Just a shame that my review copy was a bit blurry/grainy. :(

But all in all, maybe you really need to be crazy about avocados to love this book, maybe that is why it didn’t work for me. I am not sure, but sorry, this wasn’t the book for me.

Review first posted https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this manga from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Come to Neo-Venezia, Aqua with Akari. Discover beautiful places, see Akari grow, meet new friends, and more. I was so happy that this one showed up on Netgalley and that I was able to read it, I do hope that the other books in this series will also pop up, I need to continue reading this.

So I watched Aria years ago, back when it was still airing, and I just loved the show. It was a bit slow at times, sometimes a bit boring, but I just couldn’t stop watching because of so many other fantastic elements. I also tried the manga, but it is hard to find it because Tokyopop quit years back. I hope that they will be able to finish this whole series now, I will be waiting for it to be finished before I buy it though.

And this was a gorgeous read, I loved Akari so much more in the manga than in the anime. In the anime she is often a bit more immature/childish, whereas in this one she is quite mature. Of course, at times she shows a fun/less mature side and it was quite nice to see it, because it made her more interesting and more likeable. I loved how hard she worked, how hard she tried her best to become an outstanding undine, just like her mentor Alicia.
I had quite a laugh that she trained (at Manhome) how to do the gondola the wrong way. But hey, if there is an emergency just flip her rowing the other way and she is a speedboat. :P
I loved reading the emails she was sending, though at times I found it a bit inappropriate when she was typing. Like with the fireworks show, instead of truly enjoying it with her new friends, she had her laptop on her lap. I get that you want to send a mail, and I get that you want to share those new feelings before they fade away, but really… I am sure it can wait.

We see more and more of Neo-Venezia as the story unfolds. We see tons of little sideways, alleys, secret paths, we see busy waterways and quiet ones, we see outside of it during Akari and Alicia’s picnic time, we even see the floating island and what goes on there (and what it does). I would so love to visit Neo-Venezia, find out the secrets, enjoy some delicious foods at fabulous restaurants, go in a gondola and let the undine take me to magical places.

I did feel that the training/how the time goes by was a bit weird. We do see some training but not that much, so it felt odd to see Akari get promoted. Yes, it was a few months after she has gotten there, so she worked hard for it, but I just wish we had seen a bit more of it. Of course, not too much because that would just not work out well.

I loved President Aria, he was just so silly, but at times you could indeed see that he is very intelligent. I have forgotten if he ever managed to get Hime’s love/attention, so I am eager to see that happen/see those scenes between those two.

We also meet other characters and while I don’t always like them, for instance Aika takes some getting used to, but eventually I liked her so so much.
However some, like Akatsuki, I never really truly like him. :(

The art is absolutely gorgeous. The backgrounds/scenery are just stunning, and I also like the character designs.

All in all, I need more Aria in my life. Maybe until the next volume comes out I will just re-watch the show again. :P

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. 

I was definitely excited when I spotted this one up on Netgalley, I am always looking around for some new horror/ghost/haunted house stories and this one seemed to be right up my alley. 

Sadly, while it was scary at points, it wasn't as scary as I had hoped. Up until the point that they went into the house, and then a few bits of the house it was scary. Then it suddenly went way different and to be honest I wasn't scared any more. And not just me, the kids also were barely scared of things which turned me off even further. 

Plus, I can imagine that you are shocked to find out what your family did in the past, but I did think the reactions were maybe a tad bit too much. Yes, your family, and families of the town did something horrific, and yes it is terrible that it happened, and yes you will have to live with the fact they did that, but it still felt a bit too much.

In the end I had just wished the people had talked about what had happened. Instead of acting grumpy and suspicious. Because, hello? Kids are going to be kids, they are only getting more and more curious as you withhold stuff from them. I didn't blame them at all that they went inside the house, I think I may have done the same. :P 

I am glad that they found the source of why the house kept regenerating. And that they could help it out.

The story is written in simple/easy and often short sentences which didn't make it easier for me to read, but I can imagine it delights kids, especially those who have a hard time with reading. 

All in all, still an OK book with some scary moments, the Salem-trials is also named, and the house was interesting (though in the end also a disappointment).

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this comic from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just can't resist books with cute covers, and this one, a manga-styled comic, was right there with cute covers! I wanted to know more about this duo, would they be together? Would there be romance?

It all starts when Fynn's girlfriend breaks up with him, and he is left flummoxed about the whys and hows. As he contemplates things he meets up with the cute Niko who gets angry at Fynn for smoking when he is looking for stars. Fynn reacts like how most smokers do, though I also could see his side. Generally this is his spot, his space to calm down and have a smoke. I can imagine he isn't amused that someone just pops up and goes complaining.

But from that moment Fynn is hooked, he needs to find out more about Niko, especially after getting a tiny telescope from Niko. And I was also hooked. I loved seeing Fynn go to school (which is apparently a rare event) and searching for Niko. It was adorable to see these two get together, to see the sparks light up between them.

However, I did think the pace was a bit fast. I mean, Fynn just got dumped by his girlfriend, and he is already drooling over the next person (as you could see that he was quickly interested in Niko in a different way than friendship). Plus, that he was totally fine with kissing a dude. Yes, he questioned things, but he was quick with accepting and it just felt weird and off. Normally people don't just go Oh, I just kissed a dude, and I like it. And then want more. I would have liked more of that, it would have made the relationship that is blooming between Niko and Fynn a bit more realistic.
While I did like that he made things up with his ex-girlfriend, I did feel sorry for the girl as it must also hurt her to see him just move so fast.

I liked that we saw more of Fynn's home situation, find out more about him, and see why he is so stand-off-ish.

There was also some drama, and yes, at times I was rolling my eyes at it all. Come on guys, please.

And the Perseids thing that Fynn got notoriously wrong also got on my nerves. I did have a laugh though that Niko got it wrong once as well. :P Persieds.

The art was just gorgeous. I loved how the characters were drawn, there were so many details to them. And then there are the backgrounds, dang. Nice!

So all in all, I had fun reading this one, and I was shipping these two together. I loved the stargazing aspect to it, and how Fynn also started liking it. I will definitely have to check out the next volume in this series to see how their relationship goes on.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this comic from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

A little boy who loves to read is preparing bit by bit to become that what he wishes to be the most… an adventurer!

I will write this review as I read, just like how I do the Harlequin Manga.

Timo loves stories it seems, loves them much more than frolicking around, and he looks forward to the day his parents bring a new book to him (apparently that isn’t easy, this village doesn’t have a library). I love that Timo devours books, finds new worlds and new skills, and that he was even eager to go adventuring on his own to get books. Man, that is me. If I was Timo I would also have gone for adventures. To find new books, new stories, to learn new things. dreams

But I can imagine his parents are hesitant. He is still a tiny one, and I can imagine they want to protect him.

Yay, Timo is on his way to adventures! He left a book for his best friend who listens to his stories, and I hope that he also left a note for his parents. I know he said he didn’t say goodbye, but who knows, maybe he left something written. I hope so.

I had a laugh at his adventures to get through the woods. He acts all smarty-pants, and indeed a bit show-offish, but you can see that he doesn’t know all the things. He is learning as he goes, and that makes me happy. I was already thinking he would just manage his way out in a flash, but no.

I liked the red-haired woman who is protecting the valley. I did agree with what she said to Timo, he is quite arrogant which is something he should ditch very fast or it indeed will bite him in his ass.

Ohhhh, I do like that we see journal parts. OK, sure, it is mostly a recap of what we just saw which is a shame, but still fun to see Timo’s thoughts and drawings. As the journey continues we see more of his journal and I had a laugh at his imagination. Come on, that bear was so clearly not a sage, but oh well. He is now I guess. :P

I am getting a bit tired of Timo’s whining and fancy talking. Yes, questing is hard. Yes, adventuring isn’t always fun and happiness. I am sure your books would have told you that as well. : But at least he is continuing his journey and not giving up.

I just adore seeing this world, the animals (they are so many adorable and fluffy ones, but also bigger tougher ones), the landscape, I wish I could explore this world.

Um Timo, you had to go through some wall/glass thingie, you see something in the midst of a ruined room chained up as much as it can be, and you free it? Dang, that is just not something you may want to do. Then again, this is Timo. He doesn’t seem to get various things. I wonder what Broof is and why he was chained up. Why did the animals go all weird when he was freed. What kind of consequences will come because of this?

I am still not sure how I feel about Broof, he seems to at least have his heart in the right places.. at times. I loved how he went to save Timo’s life when he found out about the bite.

That ending though, holy crap. I need the second volume of this series. I need to know what is going to happen to Timo. I need to know why letting out Broof was bad. I want to see more adventures!

The art was just amazing, I love the style oh so much. I definitely do need to check if the artist has done any other works. And then hope they are in English, German, or Dutch, or very easy Spanish/French. :P

I would recommend this fun book to everyone. Adventure, magic, fun, mysterious monsters, and a boy with a thirst to find out about this world and bring back stories to his family and friends.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just ADORE Rilakkuma, so I couldn't resist requesting this book when I saw it on Netgalley.

However, this is one of those cases were I would have had a physical copy rather than an ecopy. The book just doesn't work in ebook format. Why? Because this is a motivational/inspirational self-help book thing, you can read it from cover to cover, but I have to say it really got boring after x pages. The best is, what they also recommend at the beginning, to put it next to you and then pick a random page and see the text + flip further for some cute Rilakkuma and friends. But you cannot do that with an ebook. At least not in my experience.

I did think the book was cute, and I think it would be something I would buy. I can use some motivation on some days and the texts are very sweet and motivational (for instance this one: "Sometimes you need to close things", or this one: "It's okay to do things out of order".) But there is more! Flip the page after the motivational/inspirational text and there is Rilakkuma and his friends!

The ending had me smiling, I was really happy that they ended on that note and that Rilakkuma and his friends are there for me.

The art is just freaking adorable, I was squeeing the whole time.

All in all, I would still recommend this one, but again, be sure to get the paper edition of this book.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Wow, I am so happy I have a chance to read this book. I just had to read this book, for personal reasons. I was steeling myself for the inevitable tears that would be falling from my eyes. Yes, this would have a happy ending as the title says, but I knew I would cry when she would receive the happy news.

I agree fully with her on hospitals and their colour schemes. Indeed, they are done to make people calm, but if I am sick at a hospital I would rather see happy colours. Colours that warm me. Colours that make me smile and maybe forget being sick for just a tiny bit of time.

We see how our MC was diagnosed for leukemia after being very tired and having headaches. We see her stuck to machines as she is being tested.

We read about how she felt throughout treatment, how people looked at her with sad eyes, how they tried to encourage her and tell her happy words, while all she wanted was to be treated normally. Yes, she is sick but she is still herself. It was quite nice how they illustrated this scene. You saw dark text bubbles coming out of people, and scribblies land on our MC’s body. I do wonder why she thought that people would be disappointed in her if she didn’t get better. Why do you think that? That is not how that works. Sorry. At least not for me, so I was kind of shocked that she thought that. :(

We read about the parents, how her mom tried to make her room so much more homely, how her dad tried to ward away the sadness by bad humour (and loved how she eventually understood her dad’s bad humour was just a way to protect himself).

Wow, she didn’t even recognise that she was in love with Victor, instead thinking she was just getting new symptoms. Oh my goodness. Well, that is a nice surprise for her. No you are not getting new symptoms, congrats this is your first love (at least I am guessing it is as otherwise she would have recognised the symptoms). I loved reading on how Victor and see got closer and closer, and then had a laugh that when he visited her in the hospital he saw her bum through the nightgown and is now bragging about it. :P

I did think the story was a bit all over the place. I am sure people will be angry I said this, but we jump so much around. Like how we went from hey meet Maxine to Maxine is dead to Maxine is still alive to oh now we are burying her and back to finding out what is going on with our MC (will she get better or not). Same goes for Victor, he was suddenly introduced and then we head over to other things and then back to Victor. At times it really threw me out of the story, and that is a shame.

The waiting, oh boy, I was almost chewing my nails, would she get good news or not? I know the title of this book features a happy ending, but still I was just nervous! And then they are called and my nerves intensified. And yes, I cried at the moment she walked to the door with her parents, her family, Victor, Maxine behind her. How she said she would miss all those things and ended on Victor. :( Oh, man I was for sure she was sick due to how everything was said, but then that ending came, and yes, I was fully crying. OMG, congrats! That is fantastic news.

The art was really pretty, and I love the style, it captures everything, the emotions, perfectly.

All in all, even with the story kind of jumbled, I still loved reading it, and as I predicted, it made me cry. I would recommend this one.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/