February reading round up...

The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer
"Eve Singer needs death. With her career as a TV crime reporter flagging, she’ll do anything to satisfy her ghoulish audience.
The killer needs death too. He even advertises his macabre public performances, where he hopes to show the whole world the beauty of dying.
When he contacts Eve, she welcomes the chance to be first with the news from every gory scene. Until she realises that the killer has two obsessions.
One is public murder.
And the other one is her . . . "

A predictable and over the top genre thriller that felt like about a million other books I'd read. Just a great big meh. 2.5/5
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"A personal and powerful essay from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the bestselling author of ‘Americanah’ and ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, based on her 2013 TEDx Talk of the same name."
This was a brilliantly argued speech about what modern feminism means and why it benefits everybody that included personal experiences of Adichie growing up in Nigeria. Highly recommend. 4/5

Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
"Held captive for eight years, Lily has grown from a teenager to an adult in a small basement prison. Her daughter Sky has been a captive her whole life. But one day their captor leaves the deadbolt unlocked.
This is what happens next..."

This was my first 1 star read of the year. Marketed as a thriller it read more like a trashy soap opera full of family drama and over the top plot. I skim read the second half just to see how it ended and I wished I hadn't bothered to be honest. 1/5

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

"She wanted an adventure. She never imagined it would go this far.

TWELVE CONTESTANTS
When Zoo agrees to take part in a new reality TV show, In The Dark, she knows that she will be tested to the limits of her endurance. Beating eleven competitors in a series of survival tasks deep in the forest will be the ultimate challenge before she returns home to start a family.

A GAME WITH NO END
As the contestants are overcome by hunger, injury and psychological breakdown, the mind games to which Zoo is subjected grow dark beyond belief. This isn't what she signed up for: the deserted towns and gruesome props. Is this a game with no end? alone and disoriented, Zoo must summon all her survival skills - and learn new ones as she goes . . ."

I LOVED this! I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through this book- if you enjoy post apocalyptic reads definitely pick this up. A thrilling story of survival and the inner strength of Zoo as well as a dark, satirical look at reality TV. I also recommend this if you like Sarah Lotz. At times eerie this was such a vivid read. 4/5 

Patience by Daniel Clowes

"Patience is a psychedelic science-fiction love story, veering with uncanny precision from violent destruction to deeply personal tenderness in a way that is both quintessentially “Clowesian” and utterly unique in the author’s body of work. This 180-page, full-color original graphic novel affords Clowes the opportunity to draw some of the most exuberant and breathtaking pages of his life, and to tell his most suspenseful, surprising and affecting story yet. "

This is Clowes most recent release, and I don't know why it has taken me so long to get round to reading it as I of course loved it. The story goes back and forth in time and we get to see beautiful psychedelic and futuristic artwork from Clowes as we follow a typical Clowes protagonist (slightly weird, loser, outsider) as he desperately tries to solve and stop the murder of Patience. We also get to see the life events that shaped Patience, and although the book at its heart was a story of love and loss there was also lots of humour. 4.5/5   
Kill or Be Killed Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
"The twisted story of a young man forced to kill bad people, and how he struggles to keep his secret from destroying his life. 

Both a thriller and a deconstruction of vigilantism, Kill or Be Killed is unlike anything Brubaker and Phillips have ever done."
This was, as you'd expect from Brubaker and Phillips a dark, noir thriller but it felt very modern. You are constantly forced to question the protagonist and whether he is actually seeing the supernatural beings or whether it is a psychotic episode. The first arc ended on a brilliant cliff hanger and I look forward to picking the story back up again. 4/5

Jonesy Volume 2 by Sam Humphries & Caitlin Rose Boyle
"Jonesy has the power to make people fall in love! Anyone. With anything.There’s only one catch—it doesn’t work on herself!

She doesn’t sling arrows, only attitude! The adventures of Jonesy, the teenage cupid with a penchant for plaid, continue here. Stuff still rules, High School still sucks, and getting anyone to fall in love with her is still impossible! "

This is a pure joy to read. Fun, full of bold, colourful artwork and loveable characters. Although I feel the story wasn't quite as strong as the first volume (it seemed to loose it's way a little) I still loved it and can't wait for more! 4/5

Spell on Wheels Volume 1 by Kate Leth & Megan Levens

"Three young witches head out on an East Coast road trip to retrieve their stolen belongings and track down the mysterious thief before he can do any damage to—or with—their possessions."

I really wanted to love this book but it just fell short for me. I felt like there wasn't enough story to carry it and so kept using filler to pad it out. I also felt like the dialogue at times was just too unnatural and cheesy. On the plus side I did love the concept and the characters- I think the artwork was stunning and I especially enjoyed the guest covers as well. 3/5