May The Verse Be With You

TO BE A JEDI OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS NOT A QUESTION

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So my sister went to another one of her mini adventures and one of those places was Stratford, the place known for theater. She was only there for a day, but she still managed to get me something. She bought me the trilogy of Ian Doescher; William Shakespeare’s Star Wars.

I have been planning to get these books someday, because I thought it was ingenious. I love Shakespearean time and Star Wars, having both in one is just awesome! I actually was not aware that they had a box set for this series, I always saw them separately in bookstores. These books are quite beautifully designed, from the sleeves to the covers, the pages and the artwork inside.

Inside the box contains these three books: Verily, A New Hope, The Empire Striketh Back, and The Jedi Doth Return. I love the way these covers are done, look at the details and their attires! Can you imagine seeing these as theater posters? The paper quality for these sleeves are so nice and these are just the front sleeves. The back of the sleeve shows different illustrations that are in the book with a little blurb underneath and the first page have these colored patterns. The inside of the sleeves show the chapter illustrations used inside the book itself as shown below. The actual book covers are simple with a worn-look to it, the book titles are sort of embossed in gold.Not only is the book itself designed well but they also added in a poster in the set, sized at 8 x 34 inches and it’s quite amazing. The only thing I do not like about it is how the posters in these box sets are always folded which ruins the whole imagery. I do not know if that’s just the designer in me, but I’m sure most fans would not like a folded merch. It’s too long in fact that I had to make a GIF of it, to show the whole thing.

This was such a nice surprise, I cannot wait to read it. The artwork is illustrated by Nicolas Delort, this talented Canadian and French illustrator designed all the art pieces you see here. My sister also got me a Rheo Thompson candies chocolate, the house I got had cats on them and she did not even realize, it was meant to be in my opinion. :p She also managed to give me TAZO English Breakfast tea, just because of course ha. I’m so happy that I have the trilogy of this series, I know there are others but these were much needed. A bit late to celebrate the 40th anniversary, but better late than never. 🙂

Are you a Star Wars fan? Do you like Shakespeare? If so, leave a comment below about your thoughts of this series. If you read it, please avoid spoilers in the comments! That’s all for now, fellow bookworms.

The Love That Split The World Review — 3 out of 5

“Sometimes the most beautiful moments in our lives are things that hurt badly at the time.

We only see them for what they really were when we stand at the very end and look back.”

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The quote I chose above pretty much sums up this book, I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. Natalie went through some traumatizing experiences but she learned and grew to understand these experiences as the story builds up. She was hurting from her past and even her present, it does not help that she was told her future would be grim as well. An old lady shows up in her room and called herself “Grandmother”, tells her these stories that were to help her understand life better. Some parts were obvious, even the ending was and I don’t really know how I feel about the ending.

This review does contain spoilers just like all my reviews, so please continue reading at your own risk!

Now let us talk about Beau Wilkes, this man has been through some crazy things in his life. He loses his father and his mother is not really there for them while his brother is a drunk. Beau too picks up this habit only to find himself between worlds, there he finds Natalie Cleary who he falls in love with. She too fell for him; the two just seemed to be made for one another. The problem was that they both lived in different worlds, literally. He needs her, because she is the only thing that makes his life feel less like a shit-hole while she needs him because he is the only one that makes her feel safe and sane. He thinks his life just gets darker and that there is no reason to hope for anything more while she sees how talented he is and how he can have more. Beau can play football, is artistic and musically gifted. The way these two found one another would be what most would call fate, I rooted for these two. When he entered Natalie’s life things just got even more complicated for both of them. I would say more but I would prefer that you read this book!

I quite enjoyed it though. I laughed, I was teary-eyed, and I was angry and as I kept reading it was getting harder to put the book down. I found Henry’s approach towards time travelling quite different from the norm and I liked that. She found a creative way to set a time travelling story without making it too obvious and bland. It was complex at some parts, especially since she mixed them up with nightmares and different worlds but it hooks the readers to keep reading. To find out how and why this is happening and she explains it. Not in a way that would confuse someone, nor was it in any way difficult to understand either. It was written in a way for the readers not only to comprehend, but to have already witnessed their understanding through the story itself. She has the reader trying to figure out the story and the reason behind it, and once the explanation kicks in, the reader finds it easier to grasp due to the events that occurred within the story itself.

One of the things I loved about this book was the stories told by “Grandmother”, how they fit in with her experiences. She knew how to get Natalie to understand them once they happen in her life. See, Grandmother is actually Natalie in the future and she already witnessed these events. She not only helps Natalie learn from them but she eases the pain for her when they come. These were all done through stories she heard or read in the past, chosen for the specific event in her teenage life. It was sort of a reflection for Natalie, to realize how the stories that were told correlated to her life experiences and how she ended up retelling and recalling these stories whenever she felt a relation towards them. It was a neat way to show the difference between Natalie as a teenager and her as an adult. She saw it herself and as the story was coming to an end Natalie grew to love herself without knowing it. Natalie was quite the strong character, she did not let others manipulate or take advantage of her. She did not let peer pressure get to her and she knew when to say no or draw the line. Especially with all that was happening to her, she knew how to control things.

It was also quite refreshing to see a Native American main character, one that was determined to be who she was and to find who she was rather than just continued to try and fit in. We all try so hard to fit in when being different helps us get to know ourselves better and help us grow to love ourselves. We rarely see Native Americans as the protagonist in books, especially in Young Adults. This was overall a good read; I recommend it to those who enjoy a good sci-fi romance. Though I still feel unsettled with the ending, I refuse to say more because it would be too spoiler-y but I must say this book was thrilling to read. Emily Henry really knew how to end this book, I was both happy and angry about it. Ha. The only thing I did not like about this book though was how some parts were too predictable, but other than that I enjoyed it. It was a great book chosen by Owlcrate 🙂

First Comic Con

CON HAUL

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This year, one of my “New Year’s Resolutions” was to attend more cons (book, comic or expos) and today, I went to my very first Comic Con. The first thing I did after claiming my wrist band was line up to donate and take a photo-op with the Storm Troopers and R2-D2!

I was geek-ing out, I didn’t even know how to pose for this photo-op. I did wish Vader and Chewbacca were in this as well but I didn’t know they were arriving later on. Still, it was a great way to start my con! My plan for the con was to head to the Artists’ Alley to purchase some awesome keepsakes, grab some food (because it’s a must) then head to meet up with my friend to line up for Robbie Amell’s panel 😀 While walking around the con, I saw some really great cosplays! I didn’t get to take a lot of photos due to my phone’s terrible camera quality and the fact that I missed a lot of photo moments, but I have to post about these characters:

The first pair are Bubble Head Nurse and Pyramid Head from Silent Hill. Second photo is Celty from Durarara! The last photo is one of the most favourable character that people enjoy to cosplay, Marvel’s Deadpool. Now the reason why I took a photo of him was due to the fact that he decided to set up an unofficial booth and started drawing people. Not only did he draw them using crayons, but he drew them in a way Deadpool would while jamming to Salt N Pepa’s Shoop. Couldn’t get the song out of my head, not that I’m complaining. As for my round about the Artists’ Alley, I saw Angelina L.B. (also known as Albinwonderland) but I was too shy and nervous to say hi to her. I have met her before and hung out with her for a bit and she is super cool and quite gorgeous! Do drop by her table if you’re heading to the con tomorrow! I saw some really great art pieces, jewelry, clothing and yes books! I didn’t end up buying much due to a budget but I did purchase some awesome keepsakes.

From left to bottom: This tote bag was actually from my friend, on top of the tote bag is the code to the ebook copy of Kaz Lefave’s first book of The Nemecene series; Nemecene: The Epoch of Redress! The next tote is actually from OwlCrate’s February box (click here to know more about it), I used it to carry my collectibles of the day. On top are the business cards from artists that I would like to check out: Yien Yip, Rhody Belo, Mel Fin, The Dragon’s Lair Unleashed (they had the best weaponry collection by the way) and Geek Studio. I saw quite a few artists that I have met and started following from last year’s FanExpo. The next image is the Toronto Comic Con’s schedule guide, below that is the poster for Batman versus Superman film which also came with the wrist band and the thundersticks you see below. The second row displays Pop! Funko’s Sauron! I have been searching everywhere for this and they never have him, I finally found and bought him 😀 Beside Sauron is one of the coolest jewelry I have found there; The Emerald Cauldron. This jewelry is called the fairy glow bells, they have these detailed cages of your choice and inside rests a spherical bell that glows in the dark when it absorbs enough light. You get to choose the color of sphere you like, the type (a bell, one that glows or both), and the kind of cage it’ll rest in (heart shaped, gold, egg, circle, open or closed) I decided to purchase the open-centered-egg-shaped cage with a teal sphere that contains a bell and glows in the dark. It’s really cute and I do love the fact that they had teal. They also sell these really cool wire elf ears that have a steam punk flare to it. The last two you see are books that I actually purchased from Chapter’s Indigo, (all thanks to Lore) it’s Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire series: Prince of Thorns and King of Thorns! Sadly Emperor of Thorns was no longer available, but still, I am happy about this haul 🙂

Now, for the main event, Robbie Amell’s panel! The line up for this panel filled up in less than 15 minutes. Half an hour before the panel started, the floor was filled and more people were still coming to line up. Robbie and his fiance Italia Ricci are both hilariously adorable! Robbie showed a teaser for his upcoming film, Code 8 which you can subscribe at here, then he spoke about the shows he took part in, from Life With Derek, Cheaper By The Dozen 2, The Tomorrow People, Max, The Flash and The Duff. We found out an exclusive that during the Think Rock scene from the Duff, they improvised a part from there. The director almost didn’t use it but decided it was too good a scene to put aside. Robbie actually didn’t want to play the role due to the fact that Wesley was such and I quote, “an unapologetic douche bag”. Albeit, after reading the rest of the script and some convincing from Italia, Robbie ended up taking the role (and we are quite thankful for that decision!) The panel ended earlier than we all had hope, but I quite enjoyed it. Italia was super sweet, she allowed my friend and I to take a selfie with her (excuse my face)

Robbie almost photobombed us, but he was called over to start heading out the room. They’re both so chill, it was quite refreshing to see how easy going they were around such a huge crowd! Alas, as we all know all good things must come to an end, so as the panel ended I took one last stroll around the Artists’ Alley, said goodbye to the Storm Troopers (who waved back!) and off I went. Overall it was a fun time, I must say, FanExpo is a much bigger event here at Toronto but it was nice to see what our Comic Con was like. I’m hoping that next year I’ll be able to do a full weekend to see more panels and have more time to check out the Artists’ Alley! If you were at or plan to attend Toronto’s Comic Con tomorrow do leave a comment below! I’d like to know what your thoughts were about the event and whether it was your first con as well!

Guess Hoo’s Finally Here?

MY VERY FIRST OWLCRATE

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I’ve never tried ordering a subscription box before and this lovely box was my first one! It was a birthday present from my dearest brother! It was quite funny really, I received the email for this gift subscription on the day of my birthday, but my brother and I didn’t realize that I had to claim the gift in order to get my order. We realized this the day before the deadline, I was freaking out at first, but thankfully the lovely Korrina managed to add my order in just in time! I’ve been anticipating this box for over a month and it’s finally here 😀

The theme for the February book box was Sci-fi Love. I was really excited for it, and I tried so hard not to spoil myself for last month’s box but what can you do when you follow OwlCrate’s instagram and twitter accounts? :p

What contained this beautiful box you ask?

The featured book of the month: A hardcover of The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry, not only did we get a book from her but we also received a signed bookplate and a letter she had written for her readers and subscribers! She’s such a sweetheart. A wooden Doctor Who brooch made by the talented Vector Engraving, also known as Jacqueline Burnette. Then, the lovely OwlCrate creators outdone themselves by designing a red Cinder Lunar Chronicles inspired tote bag for all your shipments 😉 Normally I hear you only get one book per box, but for this month we also received The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, (insert joyous scream hear). This beautiful render of the cover was designed by Rock Paper Books! A bookmark to match the book also came in this crate. Wasn’t last month’s box a great haul?!

I really did not expect this, it’s such a great surprise and the contents inside the box  just had me all giddy. I am truly happy and grateful for both my brother and for Korrina’s amazing effort in getting this package to my doorstep 😀 ❤ Love the Danbo on the card by the way 😉

 

For those of you who haven’t heard of OwlCrate, they’re a monthly themed subscription book box for all bookworms! Each monthly box contain one new Young Adult novel, as well as 3-5 other book related items that fit the theme chosen for the month! You can choose from a one month plan, a 3 month plan or a 6 month plan. You can click here to subscribe!

Do leave a comment below to tell me what your favourite keepsake was from the February crate or what other book subscription book boxes do you like to subscribe from? I really like the books that were chosen for this box, the brooch and the letter from the author was quite a nice touch!

Saga: Volume 4 Review — 4 out of 5

What the f*** just happened?! Prince IV has gone nuts. Drowning himself in Sextillion while his wife just died, along with the castle’s guards and help due to Dengo. This risky bastard has the son as hostage when the Prince didn’t even know he has a son nor is he aware that he’s born! I did love the part when the Prince blasted Mama Sun to death. About damn time that someone did that.

Alana popping the Fadeaway drug, and not realizing how bad it’ll affect her. Tsk, shame on you Alana. Shame on you as well Yuma! Now look at what happened!!

F****** Alana and her drugs ruined their relationship. But then again, Marko was also saying Ginny’s name in his dreams. They split and not in the way I thought they would. He went to Ginny, but left after he found Hazel’s toy. She was forcing him to stay, but he left the bitch. Marko should just listen to Hazel, she called Ginny ugly, she doesn’t approve plus Alan is so much better. I never liked Ginny, I knew she was bad news the moment she flaunted herself towards him. Why is she trying to be a homewrecker for??

Just when I thought both Alana and Marko would make up during this tantrum, freaking Dengo ended up on the tree house, because of Yuma. She told him about their family, because she didn’t want to die, yet she was shot anyways.

Now the rocket flew away towards Dengo’s destination while Marko was just arriving to give Hazel’s doll. Then Yuma shows up, bleeding to apologize for her stupid mistake while Prince IV arrives thinking Marko took his son. Now both Marko and Prince IV are teaming up to find their family with the help of Ghüs. He’s going to track Friendo to find their families.

I NEED VOLUME 5!