May & June 2015 #K8Approved Books & Reviews

May and June were some amazing months! Yours truly went on a month and a half travel blitz after wrapping up college. From seeing my best friend’s senior project (Bad Seed), getting stranded on an ATV trail in my little car, visiting a new aquarium, seeing Zoomations (the Chinese lantern festival), speaking at BookExpo America and BiblioCrunch’s Startup Book (terrifyingly awesome), to seeing my little sister graduate college. With four states visited it only makes sense that I’d have four books for this edition of #K8Approved books.

Legend: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon

Love this! I feel like I got the entire story again in a beautiful new format. When I first heard Legend was going to be converted into a graphic novel I was excited and nervous. Excited because I love the series and nervous for the same reason. I grew up seeing pictures of Day made by the author and I wasn’t sure how a new artist would portray her characters. Would the artist take on a completely new look? Luckily artist Kaari brought the characters I know and love to life in her own way while staying true to the author’s vision. I’m a very happy camper with this adaptation of Legend and I cannot wait to see more.

Peace in Amber: The World of Kurt Vonnegut by Hugh Howey
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon

Emotional. This story is the first adult story of Hugh’s I have read and my first introduction to Kurt Vonnegut’s world. I didn’t know what to expect since I had never read Slaughterhouse Five, but I got the audiobook cd and figured since Hugh wrote it, it would be worth the listen anyway. I was in my car driving as I listened to Hugh recount his memories on 9/11. I’m not an emotional person by nature and I was very young when 9/11 occurred, yet the description of this day from Hugh’s memory left me with watery eyes and an aching heart. I considered pulling over and having a good cry for all the lives that were lost that day. This is a powerful story coupled with a powerful narration by Hugh. I’ve met Hugh at different events and listening to him narrate his story is like sitting in a room with him as he tells his story, captivating. After researching Slaughterhouse Five, I can also appreciate the genius of Hugh’s story. Hugh went beyond telling his own story in the world of another author and told his story in a similar style as well. As much as I enjoyed Hugh’s picture book Misty the Proud Cloud, Peace in Amber is my new favorite from Hugh.

Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction
Source: Gift
Purchase: Amazon

One of my dear friends and fellow comic book lover was telling me how much he loved Hawkeye. I’m an archery fan but had never read anything with Hawkeye before so when I opened up my inbox to this gift waiting for me, I was thrilled. Hawkeye is a great look at the life of one of the lesser appreciated Avengers. I really enjoyed getting to meet Kate Bishop who completely rocked (as us Kates should) and seeing the life of a character I didn’t know much about. The only thing I wasn’t totally crazy about was the artwork. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t my preferred style. I love very detailed artwork (as seen in the last comic of this collection). But for those that enjoy a good story, Hawkeye is a great comic to read.

Compulsion (The Heirs of Watson Island #1) by Martina Boone
Source: Gift from the author
Purchase: Amazon

Well, I had a very interesting experience with Compulsion. Compulsion had all the elements of the type of book I LOVE but yet it took me half a year to read it. Now this is granted the fact that I’ve also had a lot going on that cut back on reading time (graduation, over a month of travel, etc). The beginning is very contemporary which isn’t my favorite genre, so for me with everything going on it was hard to get sucked into the story. But then about half way through the book we get into the paranormal side of the story and Compulsion became a page turner for me. There are a lot of elements I really loved in the last part of the book that makes me very excited for the next books in the series. Add that to the wonderful book boyfriend (Eight), beautiful setting, and the yummy food you’ll find in the book overall I think I’ll be a great fan of this series. My biggest issue is the slow start, but I believe that comes more from my personal reading preferences than the book itself. If you are a contemporary and paranormal fan than Compulsion should be on your reading list!

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