#quick review

I believe Stolas is the best character in Helluva Boss. His character just brings such emotional rawness. Idk if that's the right phrase, it just feels right. I will never understand why people are constantly trying to find a way to criticize him.

Chae Ha didn't get a happy life since his dad was branded as a murdered and died in prison. He was left to live with his uncle and we saw this man probably abused him and treated him poorly. Tae Seon may think he is living with scars since his father's death, but he forgot or he didn't know that it's the same for Chae Ha. He never wanted this and nothing seems to explain well why would his father do anything like what he was accused of. In fact, it looks more and more like something that was made up. Chae Ha would like to find the truth just as much as Tae Seon wants it. This event left them with a lot of traumas and they both think that finding the truth is their only salvation.

I want to say that the love scene in the last part of the fourth episode is truly showing something about both of them and their relationship. The kiss was a real catalyst. Chae Ha initiated the kiss and that's what prompted Tae Seon to respond with such "urgency" as if he had been bottled down all his craving for Chae Ha. Behind the so-called hatred there is something deeper and out of control that snapped when Chae Ha kissed him. Despite the need and physical attraction, there is also the vulnerability of two broken souls and a certain desperation. It showed when Tae Seon covered Chae Ha's eyes or his mouth, but he heard the moans. Chae Ha looked at him, at that look was too much for him to bear and he entered him from behind, which is a way of avoiding his eyes, but also avoiding dealing with his own emotions. I wish we'll get in the upcoming episode, Chae Ha's thoughts about this.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me cheer. Go see it. 10 out of 10.

The God of Endings, Jacqueline Holland

After several visits of picking it up and then deciding to wait til next time, I finally rented The God of Endings in an audio book through Libby. I really enjoyed the world building and childhood sections. Ultimately though, the book falls apart and commits (in my opinion) the worst story crime. It’s unsatisfying. I finished this book less than a year ago and cannot remember a single character’s name.

The concept of a young girl from a grave stone carving family in colonial America receiving the “gift” of immortality from her estranged Eastern European grandfather is a clever enough one. The inherent conflict of feeling she ought to have died and the plot device of coming from a family that respects and values death instead of fearing it really carries the book up until plot points of vampires killing Nazis, the central modern day conflict inflated past a point of logical stakes, and our narrator hypocritically giving up her centrally held tenets without demonstrating any growth or change to bring her there. The ending is unearned and the use of mythological figures and teachings (such as Chernobog) leave more questions than answers that matter little to the narrator’s over all arc and growth. With that in mind, I think about the first half of the book, its complexity, and “vampire rules” all the time with fascination, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the ending.

The Marble Queen is a an amazingly drawn book, Gabrielle Kari is one of the greatest artists out there and her brilliant craftsmanship truly captures a unique voice in comics. I am impressed her illustrative style was captured on so many pages of the books really showing the level of heart that went into this work. The amazing use of paneling and page layout allowed for very dynamic use of the medium of comics breaking conventions from each other while feeling like bold artist moves on the page.

The book is hampered some what by being a YA book, it feels like at times there are areas that maybe would have been better served with more details but it does really edge what most YAs feel their able to do in a first novel. With lots of death, some blood and some implied sex. The pacing was a bit fast, there were moments that felt like they could have lingered longer and taken more time and perhaps the beginning starts a little slow but the romance does feel satisfying.

I think there are feelings I'd like to see explored more, the ending appears to set up a potential follow up book but it's ending is satisfying enough to simply imply potential conflict that is not needed. Anna does do a great job capturing Amelia's anxiety and the ways it manifests, the ways she tries to treat it, and how it affects her life. It is a great deception of that mental health struggle. I do wish we could have seen more into Salira's perspective, the white woman who doesn't know about being gay being the POV makes sense in the like cynical ways but I would have liked to get more into the interiority of Salira who does fall a bit into the "more butch brown woman who dots after he innocent white GF trope." I think that would have been felt a little less if we saw the world a bit more from her eyes. That said the book does do a solid job of showing plenty of fem brown women so I think it be an oversimplification to say it's just an example of that. It's worth noting only in that i know several other BIPOC women who might hesitate at it but I think we're in the clear here.

My heart melted when they all hugged will after his coming out. I was sobbing ong im so bloody proud for my guy🙏🙏