Hope(less) by Melissa Haag

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Pages: 315

Series: Judgement of the Six, Book 1

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Shapeshifter, Supernatural

Publication date: November 18, 2013

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“It won’t be safe,” Sam said, interrupting my thoughts. He looked up from his half-empty cup. “You know it won’t be safe.”

“Sam, I’ll get a dog.” I could see by his expression that he was gearing up for another round in an old debate. Why couldn’t he understand that I’d rather get a dog than be Mated to a werewolf? I hurried around him for the bathroom down the hall.

Chapter 3

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Gabby’s brain works like a human fish finder – useful when she wants to avoid people, but not without its own challenges. Like her unnaturally strong pull to men. In her search for answers as to why she’s so special, Gabby discovers a hidden community of werewolves. She immerses herself in their culture and world, until she meets Clay. Unkempt and prone to mood swings, he thinks Gabby is his. It’s up to Gabby to use every trick in her book to convince Clay to go away – and every ounce of willpower to not fall in love with the man underneath the rough exterior.

Judgement has begun…

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This was most certainly not my first time reading this story, and it won’t be my last. It might be because I have a thing for werewolves, and it might be because I have an extra soft spot for werewolves named Clay – I’m looking at you, Clayton Danvers, from the mind of the amazing Kelley Armstrong – but I find myself coming back to this story every so often. While the story as a whole isn’t my favourite, I adore Gabby and Clay’s part in it. While I plan to reread the entire series to make reviews on the individual books, I oftentimes find myself just rereading this book or Clay’s companion story.

It also doesn’t hurt that parts of this series take place in Canada and I’m a sucker for stories that take place close to home. While the location of the Compound isn’t explicitly said, I like to think that it’s in Southern Ontario. Living here myself and adoring the pockets of nature that can be found, I love imagining that the compound isn’t too far away from me.

While my first thought is that werewolves can exist closely in fiction but stay away in reality, I wouldn’t mind if these werewolves were the ones that I ran into in real life. In general, these werewolves are compassionate and gentle. They understand that humans can be vicious and cruel, but that’s not all they are. But most importantly, they don’t go around terrorizing or hurting us pesky humans.

Looking at the meat of this story itself, I really enjoyed getting to know Gabby and Clay. Both can be quiet and reserved but also know how to stand their ground to get what they want. I can understand why Gabby didn’t want to Mate with a werewolf, to not want to be tied down when she finally feels free. I can also understand why Clay is willing to do anything – and I do mean anything – in order to keep the hope he sees in Gabby.

As much as I adored reading about Gabby and Clay, I really do like the way this series is written. Each novel follows a different protagonist. While the stories might feel a little disjointed at first, when they come together things fall into place. Each character is unique and stands on their own to the point where the male perspective novels – telling the same story just from a different perspective – read differently and can exist alone.

It also makes it that much more interesting to learn about the world. As the reader you get to explore the world as each person learns more about it and the unique situations going on. Gabby’s fish finder brain allows for a unique look at those around her, but can only take you so far. If you end up picking this story up, look forward to learning more about each female and their uniqueness.

If you’re looking for a cute and mostly lighthearted romance read, and don’t mind a fascinating werewolf spin to it, you might enjoy this story. Whether you feel like just picking up Gabby’s tale – which I’ve gone a couple of times since discovering it – or reading the entire series, it’s a fun read in a well developed world.

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October TBR

If you’ve been here for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I’m not the best at staying true to my monthly TBR goals. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop making these lists for myself. I find that compiling a small list of titles for the month makes reading the books on my shelves less daunting. After all, having a list of 6 or 7 books to choose from is much easier than staring at 100 unread books and trying to decide what to read in the moment. I might still find myself doing this throughout the month, as I can be a mood reader, but having a small collection of titles to look through puts my mind at ease – even if I’m not selecting books from it all the time.

Now that I’ve gotten into the swing of things with Yzma, I think I’ve gotten an appropriate sized list of books I hope to read this month. No, it’s not a long list. And yes, it’s still most of the books I had on my September TBR. But I still aim to finish these books before returning them to my friend and I have to do that sooner rather than later.

Without further ado, here’s what I hope to read in the month of October:

Total Books: 5

The Last Wolf by Maria Vale

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Pages: 320

Series: The Legend of All Wolves, Book 1

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Shapeshifters

 

There isn’t much that I have to say about this story. If you’re looking for a cute, mostly lighthearted romance novel about werewolves then I’d suggest giving this book a try. While it’s definitely a niche genre, this book is much better than the other books I’ve read about werewolf romance lately. The writing makes sense, the werewolf mechanics are well thought out and explained, and the world has been flushed out.

I will warn that there’s a smutty aspect to this novel. While it’s not the focus of this read, if you feel uncomfortable reading smutty scenes you’ve been warned. There aren’t many scenes like that, so you might be okay giving this book a read. However, only you know you comfort level about these things so decide for yourself.

While there was a plot line that didn’t make much sense to me, and felt a little rushed, this might come up more in the rest of the series. While I do feel as if this book could be a standalone, I’m interested to keep going with it to see how much the characters from this book impact the romances in the rest of the series. I’d also like to see how this rushed plot line impacts the rest of the series.

Free Comic Book Day Haul

While it’s getting easier and easier these days to torrent or download something you’d want to read online, I highly recommend supporting your local book and comic book stores. My favourite comic book store, Comic Connections, is being kicked out of their location in Hamilton, Ontario (right by McMaster University) because of gentrification in the area. So, if you’re an individual that enjoys reading comics like I do, PLEASE support your local comic books stores.

Free comic book day takes place on the first Saturday of May (Yesterday in my time zone – May 4, 2019) in North America and is brought to you by the North American comic book industry. It was created at a way to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. I highly recommend checking it out next year at your local comic book store because it’ll give you a chance to read something you might not have otherwise picked up.

I’ve broken down the following comics by the price I was able to buy them at. While I’m glad I was able to buy so many comics at a low rate, I’m not happy with the cause of it. Please support your local comic book stores throughout the year if you’re one of the many people that enjoy reading these fantastic stories.

Here are the comic books I picked up:

Free Comic Book Day Comics:

1. Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor (Vol 00)
2. The Avengers plus Savage Avengers (Vol 1)
3. Under the Moon, A Catwoman Tale

All three of these comics were created for free comic book day. The Comic Connections I want to was having a sale where you got 2 free comics for coming in and a third if you spent over $10.

$1 Comics:

1. Suicide Squad (DC Rebirth, Vol 3)
2. Suicide Squad (DC Rebirth, Vol 4)
3. Suicide Squad (DC Rebirth, Vol 5)
4. Suicide Squad (DC Rebirth, Vol 6)
5. Harley Quinn and her Gang of Harleys (Vol 4)
6. Harley Quinn and her Gang of Harleys (Vol 5)
7. Harley Quinn and her Gang of Harleys (Vol 6)
8. Angry Bird Harley Quinn (Vol 39)
9. Harley Quinn: Night of the Reaper (Vol 44)

In the store, all comics that were not new releases and did not possess special covers were on sale for $1. This was not by choice but because the store needed to get rid of their stock before moving out. The owner was very vocal about wishing they could stay but the gentrification in the area meant that they were being forced to move. I know I am very lucky to have been able to purchase so many amazing comics at such a low price, but the real cost, the store shutting down, is not worth it to me. After 35 years at that very location, Comic Connects was being forced to leave.

$2.50 Comics:

1. Mr & Mrs X (Vol 1)
2. Raven: Daughter of Darkness (Vol 10)
3. Harley Quinn (Vol 55)

Once again, I’m lucky that I was able to get these new releases at such a low rate. But I can’t say enough times how HIGH the actual cost of this is. While monetarily the price was low, the cost of having Comic Connections leaving is not worth it.

$1 Mangas:

1. Dream Saga by Megumi Tachikawa (Vol 1)

As the store needs to get rid of as much of its stock as possible, even the mangas were being sold for $1. As Comic Connections has been trying to get rid of their stock for their May 11 closing date, there was not a huge selection of manga to go through. I ended up only grabbing one this visit.

Full Price, Variant Covers:

1. Catwoman by Jones and Allred (Vol 6)
2. Catowman by V and Timms (Vol 9)
3. Marvelous X-Men (Vol 1)

One of the few things that the store was still selling at full price were the variant covers of comics. I can understand why as these are just gorgeous to me. I’m happy to have paid full price for these comics and would have gladly paid full price for the other treasures I was able to pick up if it meant Comic Connections would be able to stay.

So, for the last time, PLEASE support your local comic book stores if you’re able to. Comics are a wonderful way to take in these wonderful stories and are a real art form.

March Wrap Up

Well, I completely ignored my TBR for the month. It wasn’t on purpose and I still want to get to all of the books on that list. However, school took over and greatly reduced the time for reading that I usually have. As well, I began March in a book slump that took a while to get over. I was also sidetracked by the books I picked up at the library as those are books I have to give back and I’ll always prioritize over my own collection.

Completed books:

1. Fruits Basket Series by Natsuki Takaya (Vol 9-23) [3-5 stars]

2. Pirouette by Robyn Bavati [3 stars]

3. Spirelli Paranormal Investigations Collection Season 1 (Stories 1-6) by Kate Baray [2.5-4 stars]

4. The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright [1.5 stars]

Dedicated Blog Posts Available:

1. Pirouette by Robyn Bavati

Dedicated Blog Posts to Come:

1. Kingdom of Ash (I’m still not emotionally ready to be unbiased, sorry)

2. Throne of Glass Series

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton