book reviews – Kristen Brand

Turn Back the Pages: Secret Six

Turn Back the Pages is a feature where I spotlight a comic that is not fresh and new. It may have come out a few months ago or even a few years ago. Maybe it was hyped and popular, or maybe it was an underappreciated gem. Whatever the case, it’ll be a great comic that’s well worth a read.

Ah, villains. Some, we love to hate. Others, we hate to love. And some, we just can’t get enough of because despite their poor decisions, twisted moral code, and tenuous grip on sanity, they’re just so darn charismatic and fun.

Enter the Secret Six.

Continue reading Turn Back the Pages: Secret Six

Turn Back the Pages: Gotham Academy

I love gothic mysteries. I love Batman. I really should have read Gotham Academy sooner.

This book is full of gothic tropes. Gotham Academy is old, mysterious, and has a dark history. One building is even boarded up and abandoned for secret reasons. The girls’ dorm is possibly haunted. A group dressed in cloaks and masks conducts arcane rituals on campus in the dead of night. There’s even a vampire! (Okay, so he’s a bat-mutant made by science, but he looks super vampiry.) It’s seriously the best. Continue reading Turn Back the Pages: Gotham Academy

4 Haunting Halloween Reads (that even a wimp like me can’t put down)

I’m a total wimp when it comes to horror. My imagination is so overactive that just watching the preview for a scary movie or reading a recap can freak me out. So when I do read something spooky, it’s because I’ve been sucked in by the amazing atmosphere, characters, or premise.

Like Crimson Peak. It’s terrifying, but I couldn’t resist that gorgeous gothic atmosphere.

Here are some books that are undeniably scary yet so good I couldn’t put them down and hide. If you’re looking for an atmospheric Halloween read, look no further. Just don’t blame me for any nightmares. Continue reading 4 Haunting Halloween Reads (that even a wimp like me can’t put down)

Book Recommendation: Rebellion’s Song by J.E. Brand

The battle is over. The heroes lower their weapons as the crowd cheers. The evil overlord has been defeated, and the hero’s people are free.

…what now?

That’s the question asked in Rebellion’s Song by J.E. Brand. Earlier this year, I posted about how much I love The Freedom Game, my sister’s first book. Now, the sequel is out, and I have to gush about how great it is, too.

The rebellion is over. The real fight has just begun… Continue reading Book Recommendation: Rebellion’s Song by J.E. Brand

Turn Back the Pages: Red Sonja

Turn Back the Pages is a biweekly monthly feature where I spotlight a comic that is not fresh and new. It may have come out a few months ago or even a few years ago. Maybe it was hyped and popular, or maybe it was an underappreciated gem. Whatever the case, it’ll be a great comic that’s well worth a read.

My first exposure to Red Sonja was that weird movie from the 80s, so while I was aware the character existed, I wasn’t a particular fan. The chainmail bikini is not a fantasy trope I generally enjoy, and I doubt I’d have been interested when the comic series was announced if the writer hadn’t been Gail Simone—one of my all-time favorite people in comics.

I caught previews and snippets of the issues online and was hooked. When the first trade paperback came out, I had to buy it.

Best decision ever. Continue reading Turn Back the Pages: Red Sonja

8 Great Superhero Anthologies

I love a good anthology. Getting a dozen stories in one collection, discovering new authors, diving into new worlds—what’s not to like? Fans of superhero fiction are particularly lucky, because there are a lot of good superhero anthologies out there. In honor of the release of Heroes and Villains, the new boxed set that contains Hero Status along with nine other novels, I want to spotlight four of my favorite anthologies and four on my to-read list.

Wild Cards

Back in print after a decade, expanded with new original material, this is the first volume of George R. R. Martin’s Wild cards shared-world series. Continue reading 8 Great Superhero Anthologies

Turn Back the Pages: Spectacle by Megan Rose Gedris

I love when stories have circuses. From the magic and mystery of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern to the weird and eerie Dead Moon Circus in Sailor Moon, the setting has so much to offer. I can even appreciate the creepy circus aesthetic in horror movies even if I’m way too much of a wimp to watch them.

So I was hooked when I first learned about Spectacle by Megan Rose Gedris. Here’s the blurb:

Pragmatic engineer Anna works as a psychic in the Samson Brothers Circus, but she doesn’t believe in anything supernatural—until her twin sister Kat is murdered and comes back as a very demanding ghost. Sharing a room with her sister was hard, but now they’re sharing a body while trying to identify the killer. With few leads, a troupe full of secretive folk, and strange paranormal occurrences popping up around the circus, solving the case seems near impossible. But the murderer in their midst may be the least of their problems… Continue reading Turn Back the Pages: Spectacle by Megan Rose Gedris