[ARC REVIEW] Monstress: Awakening Volume 1 (Parts 3, 4, 5, 6) by Marjorie Liu

Title:  Monstress: Awakening Volume 1 Part 3

Author:  Marjorie Liu

Artist:  Sana Takeda

Genre:  Adventure / Steampunk / Fantasy / Drama

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  5/24/2017

Publisher: Image Comics

Series: Monstress Issue #3

Source: eARC (NetGalley) / Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Image Comics for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What is this story about?

Continuing from the previous issue, Maika tries to evade the Warlord’s assassins as they are sent out to capture Maika at all costs!  But when Maika discovers that she has a terrible new demon inside of her, after she activates the mysterious mask that she had stolen from the witches’ stronghold, Maika will soon discover that this new frightening power inside of her will cause her a lot of turmoil in the long run.

What I loved about this story:

Marjorie Liu’s writing continues to be extremely strong in this series as this issue focuses more on Maika discovering this terrible new demon that has hijacked her body after she activates the mask and how she is trying to learn more about herself and about the demon that is now inside of her.  I also loved the way that Marjorie Liu continues to bring so much mystery to this story as we, the readers, try to find out exactly what Maika is and how she is able to possess such terrible power inside of her.  I am also curious about the Warlord herself as she seems like a mysterious character who knows so much about Maika’s mysterious powers and I cannot wait to see what kind of character the Warlord will prove to be in the future issues!  I also enjoyed the way that Maika and Kippa’s relationship with each other had developed over the series as it went from Kippa being terrified of Maika and not wanting to have anything to do with her to still being frightened by Maika’s terrible powers, but is trying hard to understand Maika as a person.  Sana Takeda’s artwork continues to wow me as the characters and the environments they are in continue to glow on the pages and I loved seeing the demon itself as it looks truly terrifying as it is a dark figure that is covered with tentacles and has eyes all over its body.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like gory violence, there is a bit of graphic violence in this issue as there are people being skewered by large objects and having their limbs ripped off their bodies.  Some readers might want to skim over these parts if they make them feel uncomfortable.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Monstress Volume One: Awakening Part Three” is a wonderful issue that fans of Marjorie Liu’s “Monstress” series will greatly enjoy and now I am off to read the next issue of this series!

Title:  Monstress:  Awakening Volume 1 Part 4

Author:  Marjorie Liu

Artist:  Sana Takeda

Genre:  Adventure / Steampunk / Fantasy / Drama

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  5/24/2017

Publisher: Image Comics

Series: Monstress Issue #4

Source: eARC (NetGalley) / Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Some Scary Moments)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Image Comics for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What is this story about?

In this issue, the Warlord continues to be on the move to discover the whereabouts of the mysterious power that Maika holds.  Meanwhile, Maika is starting to have trouble controlling the demon that is inside of her as the demon continuously wants to eat a living being and it seems that Kippa the fox child is on its menu!

Can Maika control her new terrible powers before it causes even more harm? 

Read this issue to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Marjorie Liu has done it again with her masterful storytelling as we actually get to see Maika Halfwolf struggling with the demon inside of her and it was interesting seeing that the demon is also having trouble with controlling Maika’s body and trying to understand about Maika herself.   Marjorie Liu really provided an interesting dynamic between the demon and Maika as it is rare that I read fantasy stories where the protagonist and the evil being inside of them are trying to understand each other instead of trying to fight each other. I also like the fact that we start to see more humanity in Maika as it shows that she cares for Kippa and does not want any harm to come to her, which is quite heartwarming given that Maika tends to not trust anyone she comes across to.  Sana Takeda’s artwork is as gorgeous as always as the characters look so realistic and I love the different environments that we get to see in this book as they convey the atmospheres of the situations that characters get into such as the majestic temples that represent the animal royalty in this universe and the scary forests that represent the fear and terror that Maika and Kippa have to experience in their journey.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Readers be warned that there are some scary moments in this issue, such as the demon inside Maika threatening to eat any innocent being in its path and that might creep out some readers.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Monstress Volume One: Awakening Part Four” is another fantastic issue of the “Monstress” series that any fan of fantasy and horror should definitely check out!

Title:  Monstress: Awakening Volume 1 Part 5

Author:  Marjorie Liu

Artist:  Sana Takeda

Genre:  Adventure / Steampunk / Fantasy / Drama

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  5/24/2017

Publisher: Image Comics

Series: Monstress Issue #5

Source: eARC (NetGalley) / Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Image Comics for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What is this story about?

In this issue, Maika, Kippa and Master Ren the Cat are cornered by a mysterious winged man who came from an organization called the Dusk Court and according to him, he was sent by Maika’s longtime friend Tuya to accompany him to the Dusk Court.  Maika agrees to it, even though the demon inside of her warns her that the Dusk Court means Maika no good.  Meanwhile, the Warlord is on the move and is extremely close to capturing Maika!

Will Maika and her crew be safe at the Dusk Court and will the Warlord finally capture Maika?

Read this issue to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Marjorie Liu just continues to amaze me with her intriguing and creative writing of this series as more mystical creatures are introduced into this issue, especially the dark majestic winged man who is shown to be a mysterious character that I would love to see more of in the future issues.  I also loved the way that Marjorie Liu drops in little hints that the Warlord may not be who she seems as she seems to possess unearthly powers that are different from her minions and I cannot wait to see what kind of character or creature the Warlord really is!  Sana Takeda’s artwork is magnificent in this issue as all the characters are drawn in a creative way and I especially loved the image of the winged man who comes in to take Maika to the Dusk Court as he looks mysterious yet gorgeous at the same time!  I also loved the cute little images of Kippa the fox child as she is just so adorable throughout the whole ordeal.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Some readers might be uncomfortable with some of the strong language in this issue, such as some “f” bombs being dropped in a few places (although it is not as bad as the previous issues).  Some readers might want to skim over these words if it proves to be too offensive for them.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Monstress Volume One: Awakening Part Five” is a fantastic issue from Marjorie Liu’s “Monstress” series that really shines out in this series in terms of great tension build up and new acquaintances!

Title:  Monstress:  Awakening Volume 1 Part 6

Author:  Marjorie Liu

Artist:  Sana Takeda

Genre:  Adventure / Steampunk / Fantasy / Drama

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  5/24/2017

Publisher: Image Comics

Series: Monstress Issue #6

Source: eARC (NetGalley) / Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Some Scary Imagery)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Image Comics for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What is this story about?

In this issue, Maika and her crew finally make it to the Dusk Court, only to be ambushed by the Dusk Court themselves and they ended up locking Maika up in a casket in order to experiment on her.  Meanwhile, the Warlord wages war against the Dusk Court, effectively cornering Maika and her crew in the process!

Will the demon inside Maika wake her up in time to defeat the Warlord and her army?

Read this book to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Marjorie Liu has done it again and this time, this issue not only has great character moments between Maika and the demon, but it is also the most action packed of the series!  I loved the way that Marjorie Liu wrote Maika and the demon’s relationship with each other as it is quite unique to see the demon and Maika trying to come to an agreement to save themselves from both the Warlord and the Dusk Court and I really enjoyed the funny quips that the demon and Maika has with each other.  I also enjoyed the way that Marjorie Liu wrote the action sequences with the Warlord’s army fighting against the Dusk Court as it was written extremely well and exciting to read about as I was sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was going to win this battle!  Sana Takeda’s artwork never fails to amaze me as the war sequences between the Warlords and the Dusk Court are beatifically detailed and I also loved the scenes of Maika and the demon exploring Maika’s inner memories as Maika takes on a ghostly appearance to separate herself from her memories which are in color.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

There are some scary images in this issue, especially of the demons that are shown in this book.  I will not reveal which characters are the demons in this issue since I do not want to spoil this story for anyone, but these characters’ true demon forms are truly terrifying to look at.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Monstress Volume One: Awakening Part Six” is a truly fantastic finale to the first volume of Marjorie Liu’s legendary “Monstress” series and I definitely cannot wait for the second volume to come out!

[BOOK REVIEW] Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title:  Cinder

Author:  Marissa Meyer

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Steampunk / Fairy Tale / China / Dystopia

Year Published: 2012

Number of Pages: 390 pages

Date Read:  11/20/2014   

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Some Scary Moments)

I have read many different interpretations of my favorite fairy tales over the years, but there is one type of fairy tale retelling that I had never stumbled upon before: STEAMPUNK CINDERELLA!  It seriously is better than it sounds as Marissa Meyer has created one awesome retelling of “Cinderella” in the form of “Cinder!”

In the city of New Beijing, Cinder is a sixteen year old girl who happens to be a cyborg and she lives with her cruel stepmother Adri along with her two stepsisters Pearl and Peony.  Pearl is just like her stepmother Adri as she is cruel towards Cinder also, while Peony on the other hand actually cares about Cinder and is the only person who treats her kindly.  One day, Cinder’s whole world changes drastically when she meets up with the charming Prince Kai and he asks her to fix his android for him.  Of course, Cinder wonders why Prince Kai wants her to urgently fix his android and this incident led to so many events that would affect Cinder in so many ways, such as her stepsister Peony suddenly being affected by the dreaded plague that is affecting the city.  When Adri finds out about Peony’s condition, she immediately blames Cinder for getting Peony sick and she forces Cinder to volunteer for the plague research program that was responsible for taking the lives of so many cyborgs such as Cinder.  When Cinder meets Doctor Dmitri Erland, the head of the research facility, she will soon discover that she is no ordinary cyborg and the discovery of her secret origins might be able to change everything for the world!

Wow, how could I seriously not have read this book years ago when it first came out?  I mean, I had to not be paying attention to the book news during that time to not notice the rave that this book was receiving!  Anyway, I was simply blown away by the creativity and intensity of this book and Marissa Meyer did a brilliant job at retelling the classic “Cinderella” story in a dystopian and steampunk society!  I loved the way that Marissa Meyer wrote all of the characters, especially Cinder, Prince Kai, Iko and Peony (probably the most sympathetic characters in the entire book).  I really enjoyed Cinder as a character as she is shown to be a strong female protagonist who happens to be a cyborg and I loved the fact that even though Cinder is a cyborg, she still has human emotions like love and terror that makes me really relate to her character.  I also loved her relationship with various characters in this book, such as Prince Kai, Iko and Peony.  I loved the fact that Peony treated Cinder like her own sister and it was truly tragic to see her get the plague so early on in the book as it made me tear up a bit since I really loved Peony’s character and I did not want to see her get taken out of the story so early on.  I really loved Iko, Cinder’s android as she provided so much comic relief to the story and was such a great companion to Cinder and I would love to see more of Iko in future “Lunar Chronicles” books!  And last but certainly not least, Prince Kai himself and man was he one awesome hero of this story!  I loved the way that Prince Kai flirted with Cinder, despite not knowing that Cinder is a cyborg and I would have loved to see more moments between Cinder and Prince Kai in the future books!  I was also quite interested in Queen Levana’s character, the queen from the planet Luna, since she definitely seems like a threat to both Prince Kai and Cinder and she is probably the scariest character in this book since she uses her mind control to make people do whatever she wants, which is quite a frightening thought!  Marissa Meyer also did a brilliant job at developing the world of New Beijing as you can feel the Chinese influence throughout the book through the culture of the city and through the characters’ outfits, which Marissa Meyer goes into great detail with in the descriptions.  I was pretty interested in seeing how New Beijing was created after World War IV and seeing how the city has become a dystopia ever since the war.

For anyone who does not like scary moments in a book, this book has plenty moments that might scare some people such as the scene where Cinder is being operated on and the fact that Queen Levana can mind control people to make them commit suicide if she likes.

Overall, “Cinder” is a truly fantastic book that fans of the classic “Cinderella” story will easily fall in love with and I am definitely checking out the sequels, “Scarlet” and “Cress” soon!