Fairest, Volume 4: Of Mice and Men by Marc Andreyko (Writer), Shawn McManus (Illustrations)

Fairest, Vol 4: Of Men and Mice by Marc Andreyko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Huge Warning! Do not read this if you haven't read the later volumes of Fables. I made that mistake, and there's a pretty huge spoiler. I had accidentally spoiled myself already on the DC.Wikia website, but that doesn't make it any better. That aside, this was good. Kind of a freaky story. About one of Cinderella's Mice turned Human carriage drivers who becomes acquainted with the pleasures of human woman, with long-lasting consequences.

Cinderella is like a female version of Bond, in ways I don't really like. But overall, I like her lethal abilities and her spycraft. I find it really cool that her helpers are the non-human fables, like the three blind mice. Some aspects of this are pretty dark, but readers of the Fables and Fairest series should not find that surprising.

Good, but not my favorite of this series, and not on the level of Fables.

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Brainrush by Richard Bard

Brainrush by Richard Bard
My rating: 3.75 of 5 stars

This book hovers between 3.75 and 4 stars for me. Some parts I really liked. I liked Jake a lot. He was a very good guy and some awful stuff had happened to him. I liked the different acts of the book. The author kept the story moving and incorporated lots of twists and turns so that the reader would not have time to get bored. I feel that the writing was a bit amateurish at times. The author was clearly excited about this story, and that's great. However, I think the plotting suffered at times. I am a science-oriented person, and so I wanted a specific scientific explanation for why the MRI machine rewired Jake's brain in such a fundamental way. I can buy and believe in "gift from God" scenarios, but if you make something scientific in origin, I want a little more explanation. Jake's abilities were pretty darn cool. I love when someone has enhanced mental abilities and I can't read enough of that. It was well-done how Jake's powers develop with practice, and as he pulls away the layers of his abilities.

The romance didn't really hook me, if I'm honest. I felt that the connection between Jake and his love interest, whose name I can't remember right now, was a bit thin. I think that Bard wanted us to buy into a soulmate/love at first sight connection, but I didn't really feel that. I can appreciate if they had chemistry and were willing to see where that went. One thing I loved was the kiddos that Jake bonds with, especially in light of the tragedy of his past.

The terrorist angle, I have not decided about. Some parts of that were very suspenseful and Bard gives a unique twist. It was a bird's eye view into extremism and what motivates people to become terrorists, although I still don't and probably never will understand it. On the other hand, I feel that the villain Battista, was a bit too much on the melodramatic side, especially with his sadistic henchman.

I think there is a lot to like about this book, but I feel that it does also have "First Book Syndrome." But we all have to start somewhere, and I'm definitely interested in continuing this series. I like Jake a lot, and I can't help rooting for him to save the day yet again.

Now I'm a big fan of the ragtag team-up, and I loved that aspect. If we get to see more of them working together in future books, I'm all for it.

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Nightmares! by Jason Segel, Kirsten Miller

Nightmares! by Jason Segel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a neat little audiobook. I know Jason Segel as an actor, but he's a pretty good writer as well. It was a nice bonus that he narrated the story. I only gave it three stars because it wasn't ground-breaking for me. I thought it was a cute idea, and I liked the message about conquering your deepest fears, and dealing with grief. I felt bad for Charlie's step-mother, whom he treated really awfully, because of the fact that she wasn't his mother and his dad and brother seemed to be moving on and he wasn't. I actually thought stepmom Charlotte was pretty interesting. I would have liked more interactions between her and Charlie, especially more positive when he dealt with his issues towards her. Ultimately, this never got to the point that I didn't want to turn it off when I had something else to do.

The nightmare world was a bit creepy. The descriptions and the characterizations of the the nightmare realm were on point. I think for a young reader, it might be genuinely scary. Some of the nightmare characters were actually the real draw of this book, like Meduso and his mother (you know who). And who would have thought a clown would be a good guy (yes I do have a bit of coulrophobia).

I think this is one you definitely want to get the audiobook for. I think it's the best way to experience this book.

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Daredevil, Vol. 4: Underboss by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev (Illustrator), Joe Quesada (Editor)

Daredevil, Vol. 4: Underboss by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is straight-up crime fiction. A new guy in town wants to take away Kingpin's supreme rule over crime in Hell's Kitchen, and is not above betrayal to do it. I haven't read the first book in this run, so there are some things I had to figure out by context. However, it's clear that Daredevil and Kingpin have reached a sort of equilibrium in their relationship, but the apple cart is about to be upset. And the bid to bring down Kingpin has far-reaching consequences.

While Batman is my favorite crime-fighting vigilante, I have to say that I have a very healthy appreciation for Daredevil. Matt Murdock's sort of a soulmate of Bruce Wayne, although their situations seem far different in some ways. Deep down, they are avowed to fight corruption and crime in their resident cities, and are willing to give every little piece of their bodies and souls in the process.

The artwork is very good. It's gritty and dark, but it fits the mood of this story. I will admit I stay far away from Mafia movies, and this feels uncomfortably close to one of those. However, I do love stories about dark avengers and seekers of justice, especially in our world where might seems to mean right far too often.

As an Elektra girl, her nice little cameo of sorts did my heart glad. I wish my library had more Daredevil. Sigh.

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Fables, Vol. 15: Rose Red by Bill Willingham

Cinderella, Vol. 2: Fables are Forever by Chris Roberson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this quite a bit. It follows the superspy motif perfectly, with a solid foundation of fairy tales and folklore. It's a fun read and definitely for fans of spy thrillers. Cinderella's arch nemesis is someone very familiar, but never seen in this particular way. I can't say anything more without it being an absolute spoiler. I absolutely love the cover art by Chrissie Zullo. Her style is so distinctive. Just her artwork makes these worth checking out. A lovely adjunct to the Fables series, and this falls in shortly after Fables, Vol. 15: Rose Red.

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Cinderella, Vol.2: Fables are Forever by Chris Roberson

Cinderella, Vol. 2: Fables are Forever by Chris Roberson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this quite a bit. It follows the superspy motif perfectly, with a solid foundation of fairy tales and folklore. It's a fun read and definitely for fans of spy thrillers. Cinderella's arch nemesis is someone very familiar, but never seen in this particular way. I can't say anything more without it being an absolute spoiler. I absolutely love the cover art by Chrissie Zullo. Her style is so distinctive. Just her artwork makes these worth checking out. A lovely adjunct to the Fables series, and this falls in shortly after Fables, Vol. 15: Rose Red.

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Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer

Half-Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very fun take on the hardboiled detective novel from the viewpoint of a thirteen-year-old Irish boy who takes a correspondence course and gets his detective license. It's very tongue and cheek, but that's a huge part of the fun of it. Colfer takes the story very seriously, in that it's serious enough for Fletcher Moon. He's really in everyway a bonafide detective. However, people don't seem to believe he's what he says he is. Fletcher's heart and soul is in detective work, but everything is rather theoretical until he gets a case that involves him up to his ears.

Kids make me laugh and I love reading middle grade stories because they're never boring. While it's been a long time since I was thirteen, I can identify with the angst of that age, and the aspects that are pretty darn funny.

The cast of characters are awesome. Fletcher is very likable, and to my surprise, Red became one of my favorite characters. He has some built in pathos in his situation as a Starkey, a family known for its criminal nature. Just because he's in the family, he's going to be seen as a criminal, even if he's honest. But it turns out the same person who frames Fletcher framed him, and together they expose a conspiracy that impacts their whole school.

I have tons of respect for Colfer as a writer. He writes books that a child and an adult can enjoy. His humor is accessible enough to entertain young readers, but sly and wry enough to appeal to an adult who likes that bit of sarcasm.

This was a great book to listen to. The narrator is probably Irish, so he had the accents down pat, and each character has a different feel to their vocalization. I would recommend this book for a fun and relatively short audiobook read. I think a family would enjoy listening to this together.

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