Clean Sweep (the graphic novel) by Ilona Andrews

This book is great with setting up the world building. We've got Dina Demille who is an innkeeper. Her parents disappeared and she's wondering where they are. Her sister married and moved away. Her brother is a wanderer. Maybe not a hard world to build until you realize that Dina is actually linked to her inn and that they people that stay at her inn are beings from other planets using Earth as a place to stop on their travels. 

From the opening chapter, we actually get a glimpse of this one Dina approaches one of her neighbors. Something has been killing dogs in the neighborhood and she wants Sean Evans to take care of it. At first, he denies responsibility (and the fact that he's a werewolf) but she finds him staking his territory on her apple trees later that night. It's a hilarious encounter that only gets better

The graphic novel adaptation is pretty good but I still like the Graphic Audio better. 

Four stars

The adaptation came out March 5, 2024

Kindle ebook

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 9 by Tatsuya Endo

Anya and her "parents are still on board the princess Lorelai. Yor is battling a group of villains while Loid is trying to disarm the bombs on board. Anya is trying to help, all without letting her family know she is psychic. 

We get a story with Bond saving a number of people though Loid doesnt know what is going on.

The last story introduces Mistress Schlag. She lives to give the children a tonitrus. She expels students the fastest of any other teachers. It does give Anya a chance to put Damian in her debt when he forgets a handkerchief.

Another great addition to the series.

Four stars

This book came out April 4, 2022

Follows Vol. 8

Followed by Vol. 10

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Big Nate: Next Stop, Superstardom! by Lincoln Peirce

I knew that Big Nate had been turned into a TV show and wondered if this was the book version of that. It is. And, at some point it may be successful to go that way with a comic book but this book... is dark. Like, physically dark. There's a running internet joke about how hard it is to see television and movies these days because the producers make things so dark and I feel like the artists in this book took that to heart. I thought at first it might be a metaphor for being at school because some panels have Nate in his house which is fully lit but I was really overthinking the process. 

There are three stories in the book. The first is a decent one about a baking competition against Jefferson middle school and trying to fake a haunting and Nate's dad dressing up as clown to go to a funeral. 

The second has Nate being pushed into figure skating for gym. He needs a partner to make it work but the only decent skater, Chad (who seems to have a lot of chest hair?) is forbidden from skating by a family curse. 

This one has a subplot with Nate's friends trying to teach his dad how to say no to Nate. 
The third story is Nate's dad trying to find a job which leaves an opening for Nate's band to step into a wedding. 

At the end of each of the stories is a page from the original comic is was based on. And, I feel like a curmudgeon typing this but, the (original) book was better. 

Two and a half stars

This book comes out May 25, 2023

ARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 8 by Tatsuya Endo

 The Forgers are on a cruise. Yor is supposedly on a trip for work but really is trying to protect the last of a crime family. And that is most of the story. Loid and Anya are also on the boat and Anya is trying to help her adoptive mother but mostly gets in the way.

Four stars

This book came out November 4, 2021

Follows Vol. 7

Followed by Vol. 9

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 7 by Tatsuya Endo

The Forger family is becoming even more tight-knit with Yor even considering making her latest assignment her last now that her brother seems to be all grown up. We get a large section of Loid trying to connect with the opposition's head (Damian's father) and not succeeding. Anya's last chance to stay in the same group as Damian is coming up. Loid is given some vacation time that just happens to coincide with the trip that Yor is taking to protect the last of a family that someone is trying to wipe out. 

Four stars

This book came out June 4, 2021

Follows Vol. 6

Followed by Vol. 8

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 6 by Tatsuya Endo

Twilight and Nightfall are entered in an underground tennis tournament. If they win, they can take anything they want from the tournament host's vault. In that vault is a piece of information that may restart the war between East and West. As with most underground tournaments, the rules are that anything goes. During the tournament, Nightfall is still determined to prove to Twilight that she is the better choice to be his wife. But when she plays Yor later, she finds that she may not be as good a player as the current Mrs. Forger. Even though she wins, Yor is feeling uncertain about her place in the family as she is beginning to develop feelings for Loid. 

We also get to see Anya hanging out with her best friend and at school where she is still trying to make friends with Damian.

A lovely book and nice addition to the series. 

Four stars

This book came out December 28, 2020

Follows
Vol. 5

Followed by Vol. 7

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 5 by Tatsuya Endo

The Forger family is still working on their various missions but they are starting to function as a family. Yor is learning to cook so she doesn't poison her family; Anya is trying to get good scores on her tests so she doesn't flunk out of school; and Loyd, well, he's mainly focused on the mission but is somewhat distracted by his wife.

We see Yor's brother Yuri again and he still has that weird obsession with her. 

Loyd is trying to help Anya but, when he sneaks into the school to change her scores, he encounters another spy. One who is codenamed "Daylight." But.. he's not really as good as he thinks he is.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 4, 2020

Follows Vol. 4

Followed by Vol. 6

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 4 by Tatsuya Endo

The Forger family is growing! In the last book, Anya got the first of 8 stars she needs to join the elite of her school and her reward is a dog. However, the first stop (Loid's agency's training facility) does not yield any results. When he's called away to deal with a young terrorist, the family is pulled into a bomb plot which also, surprisingly, yields a dog. Even more surprisingly, this dog has a deep and unexpected connection with Anya.

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 4, 2020

Follows Vol. 3

Followed by Vol. 5

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family Vol. 3 by Tatsuya Endo

Loid, Agent Twilight, has put together the appearance of a perfect family so that he can pass under the radar. His wife, Yor, has her own reasons for needing to be under the radar and welcomed the marriage. His "daughter," Anya is trying to be helpful as well, using her telepathic abilities to the best of her power. Currently, they are all trying to get Anya to succeed in school so that she can get closer to the son of a man Loid is trying to take down. However, there is a recent spoke in the wheels as Yor's brother has come to visit and seems to be suspicious of their marriage.

Yor's brother is a creepy dude who seems to be in love with his sister. I'm sure that's the way he's meant to be portrayed, especially as he works for the bad guys and is trying to track down Twilight.

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 4, 2020

Follows Vol. 2

Followed by Vol. 4

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 2 by Tatsuya Endo, Casey Loe

Anya has made it into a prestigious school. She makes a new friend but not the one that her father would have liked. Lots of story potential there and her new friend seems a little suspect but we'll see if more comes out of the relationship. 

We are also getting a new character in Yor's little brother who seems to be on the hunt for... her husband.

Lots going on but starting to create a really interesting story.

Three and a half stars

This book came out September 1, 2020

Follows Vol. 1

Followed by Vol. 3

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Spy x Family, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo, Casey Loe

I had heard about this book on a number of podcasts and though it might be interesting. I think it is probably a very good book but I might not be the exact demographic for it. 

Three people have been put together to form a family of spies. Well, I don't think they know each other are spies. Even the daughter who is psychic. There is also a dad who frets and a mom who is the muscle. Oh, and a new dog who is also sort of psychic. But precognition rather than reading thoughts.

Three stars

This book came out July 4th, 2019

Followed by Spy x Family, Vol. 2

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn, Violet Charles

With charming pictures and a dedication to keeping the story close to what was described in Quinn's earlier books, this is a bonkers romance. Playing with the over-the-top themes of the gothic romances of the 1800s, this book follows Miss Butterworth from when she was born and most of her family died of the pox, through her drudgery as a child, being reunited with her mother only to watch the woman being pecked to death by pigeons. No, literall.

A short, quick read that you will definitely need an enjoyment of the bizarre to relish. 

Four stars

This book came out May 10, 2022

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy, John Jennings

Oh man was this a hard book to read. Dana time travels. She doesn't know why or how but she goes from the 1970s with her white husband to the antebellum South where she is considered a slave. Not an easy transition.But she meets Rufus Waylin. First as a young boy and then as he ages. The hope she has for him becoming a better sort of person than his father slowly drains every time she comes back.  And it is not made any easier by the fact that Rufus is her great-great-whatever grandfather.
I can see why "Kindred" is a classic. Octavia Butler is a powerful storyteller, making you care about the characters even when they are despicable.

Four stars
This version came out 
Borrowed as a hard copy from the library
Opinions are my own

What If We Were... by Axelle Lenoir

Nathalie and Marie are typical teens with outsized imaginations and a wonderful friendship. Games of "What if we were.." are interspersed with pages where we get to know more about the each of them. Each girl gets her own, fully-developed personality and along the way there are some learning moments (such as what the Vikings really looked like.) There's also a touch of romance between Nathalie and her crush, Jane Doe.

Good premise, cute book. Probably better to read in paper format.

Four stars

This book comes out December 8th

ARC kindly provided by Top Shelf Productions and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way

I kept seeing this as a series on Netflix and figured I might as well read it because I like quirky stories. This was a little TOO quirky for me. I love character development and this had none. We meet the characters. That's about it. We don't even get much information about what their powers are. It's definitely an interesting set up, seven children, born of a spontaneous birth, adopted by an alien, and raised to be heroes. Well, five of them were. Or maybe six? I, honestly can't think of six people other than the villain who is the seventh child. She apparently had no powers but someone in this present knows what she is and what she could potentially do and they get her on her side because... basically because she's still hurt that her siblings were treated better because they had powers. Or something.
There are a lot of holes in the beginning of this book but I'm going to at least read the next volume in the hopes that some information is filled in, the characters develop, and this turns into the hope of what I can see it maybe being.

Three stars
This book came out July 22nd, 2008
Borrowed this book from OverDrive
Opinions are my own

Check, Please! Book 1 by Ngozi Ukazu

Bittle is a former figure skater who is now playing hockey for Samwell University. He tends to faint if he thinks he's going to get checked. Amazingly, his teammates poke fun at him but it isn't

malicious. They are a loving family that we get to know through his first two years in this one book. I would almost label this an epistolary novel since much of it is told through vlogging and, at the end, tweets. It is utterly charming, though it lags in spots. The romance is barely in in the story, only popping up really in the last pages. Worth a read for sure.

Four stars
This book came out September 18th, 2018
Hard copy from Library

Reread as ebook from Libby August 2023

Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern

Swashbuckler Lucy loves to kill vampires.  And maybe people. But using her sword is awesome. So when she meets Lord Byron (yes, that Lord Byron,) who is also hunting vampires,  she hops right on board his giant, psychic eagle, Napoleon. Granted, her first choice would have been to be inducted into the secret vampire society but Byron keeps interrupting her interludes with Lady Violet (who may be a secret vampire cult leader....or a great pretender, if you believe Gladys De Harridan, an EXTREMELY old vampire.)
As Lucy adventures, she and Byron meet a strange cast of characters most of whom have secrets. Except Virginia. Well, she has a secret but she's also pretty inept so.... There is also Sham who, dressed as a lady, is the person Lucy is most interested in.
I was pretty bemused by this book in general (I could mostly follow but got lost a couple times.) I think fans of McGovern's "My Life as a Background Slytherin" will enjoy this book immensely as the wit and drawings are very similar.

Three stars
This book comes out September 17th, 2019
ARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Reread as hard copy from library November 2024

Cici's Journal by Joris Chamblain

This is almost like a modern-day Harriet the Spy with a young girl making observations about the world around her and then writing them down.  Like Harriet, Cici makes some missteps in her personal life, her journal becoming more important than her friends or listening to her mother. It's a charming book with a built-in mystery. It is a little preachy and, like most graphic novels, it takes a loooong time to load the pages on an ereader.

Three stars
This book comes out today
ARC provided by NetGalley

Phoebe and Her Unicorn in the Magic Storm by Dana Simpson

Phoebe and her unicorn are back and as adorable as ever. This time they not only have to deal with Dakota and her goblins but with a serious cold spell and a sudden lack of magic. Marigold and the goblins are able to figure out most of the story but they still have work to do to clear everything up. Through their explorations, they manage to charm the reader as well as help facilitate another human/magical creature pairing. All this and yet there is time for a costume montage.

Four stars

This book comes out October 17
Followed by Unicorn of Many Hats

Clover Honey by Rich Tommaso

I requested this book from Edelweiss because I liked the cover and the description of a woman working on becoming a hitwoman really hooked me. As I started paging through the ebook, I noticed that this is a reprint, that this book was originally published in 1995. And that makes a lot of sense, not only from the subject but also the illustrations.
The description is a bit disingenuous. I don't see that Abigail is really wanting to become a hitman (hitwoman?) as much as move up in her uncle's organization and be more helpful to him. Unfortunately, as she gets deeper, she realizes that she's a lot more naive than she thought she was. In fact, this whole story is about her world turning upside down as she realizes that almost everyone in her life has sides that she didn't realize.
I wish this book had been a little longer and that we had gotten more of Abigail's story. It's a book that I definitely would have enjoyed a little more when I was younger but still liked today.
This book comes out June 30
Three stars