Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
Fans of the hit webcomic Aurora, will delight in the second installment of the fantasy series in print, which continues the heroes’ epic journey to save the god Vash and discover more secrets.
Following the exciting events of Aurora: Volume 1, Kendal and his heroic companions continue on their quest. Looking to rescue Vash and uncover more secrets about the Void Dragon, Kendal, Erin, Alinua, and Falst travel to new cities and meet new friends and foes alike. Will they save their kidnapped god, defeat the Void Dragon, and learn more about the Collector’s plans to stop her in time? Find out in Aurora: Volume 2!
Are you looking forward to Aurora: Volume #2? What books are coming out in the near future that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
Witness the epic conclusion to the webcomic phenomenon about star-crossed lovers and misunderstood monsters in this third and final graphic novel!
Last we saw Dr. Jekyll he was on stage about to welcome everyone to his grand exhibition—the event meant to save his Society for Arcane Sciences and his way of life—when he collapsed, pulled under by his devilish alter ego Mr. Hyde. When he wakes, Jekyll assumes everything is doomed, but in a surprise to just about everyone, he couldn’t be more wrong. The event was a success, his band of rogue scientists now all have patrons, and business is booming. What’s more, he even plucks up the courage to do the scariest, craziest thing of all: confess his feelings for Lanyon. Everything is finally coming up Jekyll!
Oh, if only the good scientist remembered his physics, because what goes up must inevitably come crashing down. Just when everything Jekyll has worked and hoped for is finally within his grasp, the barrier between his dueling personalities is shattered. Both Jekyll and Hyde are thrown into a constant wrestling for control of both their minds and bodies, which seem to switch without rhyme or reason. In the chaos, Jekyll’s secret has never been more at risk of being exposed, and he won’t get any help concealing it from his other half. Hyde has finally gotten a taste of life as a free man, and if Jekyll (or anyone else) dares to take it away, well, we should all brace for impact.
My Review
“Will you please… help me save the Society?”
Yes! I’m finally posting this review! And then I’ll be all caught up on my book reviews and stuff!
Anyway, as with the other two volumes of this graphic novel, I really enjoyed The Glass Scientists: Volume Three. It concluded the very well-done retelling of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that Cotugno started years ago in a very satisfying way. I won’t spoil anything, but I will say that the ending here is definitely different from the story this is based on.
Everything I said in my review of volume one of this comic still stands, regarding some of the plot and especially the characters. So I’m not going to really talk about them as much because I feel that I’d be being a little redundant there. A lot of the stuff I said in my review of volume two can also be applied here, but so much of Volume Three builds on a lot of the set up in the last couple of chapters of Volume Two in particular, so I’ll be talking about that more. (Not that anything isn’t set up in Volume One but… you know.)
In this volume of The Glass Scientists, everything between Jekyll and Hyde is finally coming to a head. Lanyon and Jekyll’s slow-burn romance finally culminates here, and it’s lovely while it lasts. Because after that everything kind of starts to unravel. And it’s a wild emotional ride to the end from there. I touched on the angst that starts in Volume Two. Well, it’s in full force here. Jekyll and Hyde have a lot of shit to sort out, and said sorting out is what takes up most of the pagetime in this volume. And it’s awesome.
The art is still amazing and I really enjoy it. I really like the author’s art style in general, actually. And, of course, there’s extra stuff here like in the other two volumes. And I loved it. Cotugno not only gives us insights to their creative process and development of their characters, but also provides us with an open-ended epilogue that was very good.
So yeah, I’m sorry if I’m not talking about the plot or characters as much as I usually do in my reviews, but this is Volume Three in a graphic novel and I don’t want to spoil too much. The Glass Scientists is a solid retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde though, and I loved all of the references to other stuff written in the 19th century. I still super enjoyed this volume and definitely recommend it to fans of volumes one and two, gaslamp fantasy, comics and graphic novels and the original novel The Glass Scientists is inspired by.
As always, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!
Fans of the hit webcomic Aurora, will delight in the first series installment in print, which follows a found family of heroes on a journey to save a god from an immortal witch.
The shining city of Vash in the world of Aurora is protected by a great and powerful god of the same name, but even Vash’s incarnation cannot withstand the Collector, an immortal sorceress bent on unmaking the world. Vash’s city is destroyed and his soul abducted, leaving only ruins and the wounded, empty body of his incarnation. When newborn soul Kendal awakens in the body, he is driven to rescue the imprisoned Vash. Now Kendal must grapple with living as a mortal and defeating a force powerful enough to sunder the gods.
Kendal is aided by the friends he makes along the way: Alinua, a volatile elven hermit terrified of her uncontrollable life magic; Erin, the prideful Elemental Magus, master of all six elements, who is burdened with a world-shattering curse; and Falst, a surly beastman trying to find his way in a world that hates him. Together, they will journey through magic and mystery, explore perilous environments, and confront ancient forces. Stars dance beyond the shimmering curtains of Aurora; it is time to draw those curtains back…
With exclusive author commentary and bonus story content, Aurora (Volume 1) has plenty for both fans and new readers to enjoy.
My Review
There is more to this world. More to this story
But first, we must begin to tell it…
Aurora is a webcomic that I’ve been following for years, and I’ve hoped for a long time that it might get the physical release treatment. Red’s art is absolutely beautiful and her storytelling is amazing. I could gush all day about this webcomic.
The story follows a group of six protagonists, though as of Aurora: Volume 1 only four have officially joined the party and been properly introduced (though protag number five appears frequently throughout the novel). The story (so far) follows their journey towards another continent in order to help one of the group from an antagonistic force that is directly affecting them, as well as the long-term goal of stopping the Collector, the other primary antagonist of the comic.
The Characters
“What fills a vessel that was crafted to contain a god?”
Our lead is 🌀 Kendal 🗡️ who awakens in the god Vash’s abandoned incarnated body after the Collector steals Vash’s soul. His goal is to save Vash from her, and he learns to live along the way.
🩹 Alinua 🌿 is the first person Kendal meets, and is also the first one to join him on his quest. She has a fascinating backstory that is introduced when we meet her, as well as an interesting connection to the Life primordial that is still unanswered.
📚 Erin ✨ is the third member of the group, and he has quite the introduction to Kendal and Alinua. He’s the mage of the group – and his connections as the Elemental Magus specifically are a huge advantage to the party. He’s got a weird thing going on with the Void Dragon, another major antagonist in the comic along with the Collector, though the two are unaffiliated.
The last member of the group introduced in this volume is 🌳 Falst 🐾 a Ferin. The Ferin are a group of people whose ancestors were tragically altered by depraved mage and who passed their curse – that of a strong and sturdy animal-like form – to their descendants. He’s kind of the rogue of the group.
The Story and Art
“Do you want to go alone?”
“Not really.”
“Me neither. Easy choice.”
🖊️ The plot 📒 is still ongoing and is continually intriguing the more it unfolds. The story we get here is the first half of Act I, so a lot of it is introductory, but it’s still very good and it never feels like the plot is slowing down. 🖋️ The lore 📜 of Aurora is also fascinating, and it never feels forced whenever the story dips into it. Red’s world building and magic system are also impeccable, and the world of the story feels lush and lived in. I also really love the extra stuff that Red added in for the physical release, like Erin’s journal entries and the new supplemental comic fragments. It all really fleshes out the story more, and is gonna make cohesion a bit better when the story gets further along.
I adore 🖌️ the art 🎨 of this fantasy comic. The art direction is great and the colors are so pretty. I just love Red’s art style in general, and as someone who is still following the webcomic, it gets even better as the story goes on. I also love all of this extra stuff that’s been added to the physical release, like Erin’s journal entries.
Final Thoughts
“Mages like to think it’s our power that makes us special. It’s the other way around. Without us, magic has no power.”
Before I close out this review, it would be remiss if I didn’t mention a couple of things about the creator of Aurora. Mostly because I think people reading this are probably going who the heck is Red? Well, Red is one half of Overly Sarcastic Productions, a YouTube channel that focuses on summarizing literature, mythology and historical events. In a bit of a sarcastic fashion, of course. Red focuses on the literature and mythology side, while he co-conspirator Blue does the historical stuff. (Interestingly enough, Blue also has a book coming out this year that I’m also looking forward to reading.)
Anyway, those were my thoughts about Aurora: Volume 1. I think it’s great so far and – knowing what’s coming up since I follow it online – it’s only gonna get better. Hard recommend to those who enjoy comics and graphic novels as well as fantasy.
And as always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!
Hello and Happy Wednesday everybody! There’s a lot of books coming out lately that I’ve been interested in! Two weeks in a row!
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings (and was previously hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where it was known as Waiting on Wednesday) to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. They’re usually books that have not yet been released.
This week’s book is:
Aurora: Volume #1 by Red!
This is a fantastic webcomic by Red of Overly Sarcastic Productions from YouTube, and it’s finally getting an official release in print! I’ve actually been following the webcomic for a few years, and it’s amazing and I love it. I’m so excited for this – Aurora’s first physical version is definitely one of my most anticipated releases of the year!
Fans of the hit webcomic Aurora, will delight in the first series installment in print, which follows a found family of heroes on a journey to save a god from an immortal witch.
The shining city of Vash in the world of Aurora is protected by a great and powerful god of the same name, but even Vash’s incarnation cannot withstand the Collector, an immortal sorceress bent on unmaking the world. Vash’s city is destroyed and his soul abducted, leaving only ruins and the wounded, empty body of his incarnation. When newborn soul Kendal awakens in the body, he is driven to rescue the imprisoned Vash. Now Kendal must grapple with living as a mortal and defeating a force powerful enough to sunder the gods.
Kendal is aided by the friends he makes along the way: Alinua, a volatile elven hermit terrified of her uncontrollable life magic; Erin, the prideful Elemental Magus, master of all six elements, who is burdened with a world-shattering curse; and Falst, a surly beastman trying to find his way in a world that hates him. Together, they will journey through magic and mystery, explore perilous environments, and confront ancient forces. Stars dance beyond the shimmering curtains of Aurora; it is time to draw those curtains back…
With exclusive author commentary and bonus story content, Aurora (Volume 1) has plenty for both fans and new readers to enjoy.
Have you heard of the Aurora webcomic? Are you looking forward to its physical release? What other books are coming out in the next few weeks that you’re looking forward to?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and have a fantastic day/night!
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve participated in this post, but I’ve been busy. Sorry. 😣
First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.
What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?
If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:
📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page 📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 📙 Finally… reveal the book!
Here’s the first lines:
“You… You’re that mage lady…”
Do you know what book it is? Here’s another hint if you’re still having some trouble guessing…
Still not sure? Here’s some awesome pics of books to look at while you consider…
Annnd the book is… 🥁🥁 Tristan & Lancelot: A Tale of Two Knights (An Arthurian Love Story) by James Persichetti & L.S. Biehler!!
In this queer reimagining of Arthurian legend, Knights of the Round Table Lancelot and Tristan set out on a quest to find the missing magician Merlin, but instead discover an unexpected romance. An inclusive, magical twist on the enduring legend of Arthur that is a tale for the ages.
Merlin is missing, and Camelot is under attack.
When King Arthur calls for aid, Morgan le Fay answers her estranged half brother’s plea—for a price. She’ll locate Merlin in exchange for the mysterious magical sapling their father bequeathed to Arthur on his passing. Much to her chagrin, Arthur insists on sending two Knights of the Round Table with her.
Sir Lancelot has carefully built himself a reputation as the most well-liked of Arthur’s knights, but he can’t crack quiet Tristan’s brooding exterior. Sir Tristan is silently battling a curse—one that has bound him to the lady Isolde against his will, and one he grows ever more desperate to break.
As the trio journeys through Albion, sparks begin to fly between the two knights. But before they can unravel the tangle of feelings and secrets between them, they will have to face a threat that could destroy all of Camelot—unless they and Morgan can learn to work together to destroy it first.
What books have you been reading lately? What’s on your TBR that you’re currently the most excited about?
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you have an great day/night!
Elliot Torres is kind of in a rough patch. With no career, a seemingly useless chemistry degree, and a near pathological addiction to online gaming, Elly needs something in her life to go right especially when her family asks her to start pitching in with the rent.
Enter Doctor Vlad Stein. After a series of failed part time jobs, Elly desperately answers Dr. Stein’s ancient classified ad: ASSISTANT NEEDED. But when the doctor ~who, according to rumor, is the creepiest mad scientist in human history demands an in-person job trial at his spooky lab, making ends meet might be the least of Elly’s worries. Or maybe she’s been playing too much survival horror.
Originally published on DeviantArt as a bit webcomic, and even adapted by fans into a YouTube audio drama, this is the first print collection of the hilarious series from rising star writer/artist LINDA SEJIC (Tales of Honor, Wildfire).
My Review
“I heard from a friend of a friend… that that guy… is a mad scientist!”
I’ve been kind of getting into graphic novels and webcomics recently, so when this came up on my feed it looked right up my alley. Dark, mad scientist aesthetic? Comedy-horror? Yes, please!
Alas, it just… didn’t live up to my expectations. A huge part of said anticipating was, of course, my fault, but I still had a different idea as to what kind of graphic novel Blood Stain was, as opposed to what it ended up being.
But let’s start off with what I liked about it…
Pros
The characters ▼
The characters were the star of the show here. (As they should – they’re characters! – but whatever.) Out of everything in these graphic novels, the cast was what shone the brightest. Particularly our leading lady, Elliot Torres.
Elliot Torres is a recent chemistry graduate who’s currently experiencing the first big hurdle of a young adult – finding and keeping down a job. As someone who’s been in her situation before (rather recently, in fact) she was extremely relatable. She’s also a spunky nerd who loves video games, which also helped me like her – as I too am a spunky nerd who loves video games. I also loved how her family (aka: her motivation) is always first in her mind, and how much she throws herself into everything she does, so as to help them out.
Vlad Stein – accidently christened “Blood Stain” by Elliot, hence the title – is our protagonist’s new workaholic, socially awkward boss. And no, sorry to burst everyone’s bubble, but despite his name, he isn’t a vampire. He’s a bit of a mad scientist though… At least, he has the aesthetic for it. I know, I know, I was a little disappointed as well (particularly since the covers and synopsis seem to imply supernatural connotations that don’t seem to exist). He was an okay character, one that I neither like nor dislike.
I really liked Serge though. He seems a bit out of place at first – like seriously, why is he here? But he’s a difficult character not to like, and I fell hard and fast. His purpose also becomes clear somewhat quickly in the story, which also helps. He worked as an excellent straight man to balance out Vlad’s and Elliot’s different kinds of weirdness.
The art ▼
The art is so good, guys. And the character designs were awesome. I also really liked the way that Sejic draws environments and backgrounds.
I also really liked how the panels would sometimes just change fantastically for seemingly no reason (at first). Elliot’s hyperactive imagination and weird dreams were always hilarious to witness.
Cons
The dialogue▼
I didn’t really like the dialogue at first. It felt very clunky to me. The conversations between characters didn’t always come off as natural, or how people talk at all. It did improve a little bit as the story went on, though.
The genre ▼
As for the genre… Contemporary fiction isn’t bad or anything like that, it’s just not my preference. But the covers of these graphic novels kind of like to you, and the summary is vague enough that certain things… might be inferred.
For example, I was sure Vlad was gonna be a vampire or something, and that there’d be other subtle supernatural stuff hanging around in the background. But. No dice. This is simply a very non-supernatural, slice-of-life comedy.
Final Thoughts
Blood Stain by Linda Sejic is pretty fun so far, if you like contemporary, dark comedy. Its illustrations are also beautiful – Sejic is really a talented artist.
This might also be a good comic to curl up on the couch with during October. Though it’s not supernatural, and not quite a horror, it still has a dark aesthetic perfect for spooky season.
As always, thank you so much for reading, and have an excellent day/night!
