So It may surprise you or at least my friends who read this blog but this was the first graphic novel I’ve ever read. Yeah, I know. I talk a good game. Kate and I watched the Saturday morning cartoons of X-Men and Spider-Man when were kids and, well, I pay attention. I listened to my friends and customers when they talked about various superheroes. I’ve pretty much seen all the movies. I’ve read various articles and critiques. I love Agent Carter. So I’ve paid attention and have been able to piece together this and that, enough that when I talk about comic characters and movies, I’ve come off as I know what I’m talking about. I’m a total fraud and I know it. I’m trying to fix that.
Nimona isn’t your typical superhero story. Actually she a villain’s sidekick. One day she shows up at Lord Blackheart’s place telling him she is going to be his sidekick and help him take over the kingdom and finally defeat his nemesis, Sir Goldenloin and the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics. Blackheart is resistant at first since there are rules but Nimona will not take no and once she shows him her shape-shifting abilities, he gives her a chance. At first, she’s a little bit too enthusiastic and dives in head first but eventually she and Blackheart find the perfect working relationship. After their first mission into the Institution, they come across the Institution’s questionable plans and it makes you ask who are the heroes and who are the villains.
There are many things I liked about this book. One is Nimona. She’s spunky, funny, loyal, brave, vulnerable, angry, lonely, friendly. She’s all those things and more. She clearly hasn’t had an easy upbringing. Her ability has made her an outsider, a monster, but really she is just a little girl looking for somewhere to belong. Lord Blackheart is a smart, curious man who feels he has been wronged and then took up the role he thought he was expected to play. He is really the first to see Nimona for who she really is. The world is not black and white. There is both good and bad and all of us. I was really taken with the story. The artwork was very nice. I liked the medieval aesthetic with a modern twist. Nimona is drawn as a sorta emo girl with pink and purple half shaven hair. She’s round not thin. She’s real. I was really touched by the story. It wasn’t just good versus evil or what does it mean to be good and evil but also finding our place in the world. Hoping to be judged on who they actually are and not what they are perceived to be. Isn’t that what we all ultimately want? I truly loved this book and I can say my first foray into graphic novels has been a success.
Since I have already done a 
Cruel Crown is the collection of two prequel novellas to Red Queen. The first novella is Queen Song where we get the backstory of Cal’s mother and what really happened to her. The other is Steel Scars that follows Farley as she leads the Scarlet Guard into Norta. They both were pretty good. Giving more insight into world the books take place. Since Red Queen is told from Mare’s point of view, things like how the silver hierarchy is set up and how the Scarlet Guard works isn’t give much detail because Mare doesn’t know these things in much detail. That’s what kind of great but these little novella’s. I’ve written in the past about how it’s trendy for YA authors to write novellas or short stories that take place in between books or prequels. Sometimes they are just filler but other times they serve the purpose of filling in wholes that didn’t have time to get to in the narratives. They also usually focus on supporting or minor characters instead of the protagonists in attempt to flesh out the world a little bit but usually they are of little importance. If readers don’t read them, it’s no big deal. They will still be able to the novels without missing anything.
As I read this book, I go back and forth being enthralled and “why am I reading this again?” I’m interested enough in the story to keep reading to find out how it’s going to end but some of the cutesy words is well eye rolling. I know that it takes place under the sea and they are mermaids but I find it annoying. They call each other merls instead of girls but why don’t they call boys, moys or something like it? It’s a small thing. The other thing that bothers me is that there are six mermaids who must come together to stop the evil Orfeo but only Sera, Astrid and Becca seem to get the limelight. Ling (who is on the cover) Neela and Ava are little more then afterthoughts. I realized there are a lot of characters and not easy to give all them equal time but Marissa Meyer did a wonderful job of doing just that in the Lunar Chronicles so it is possible. I want to know more about the other mermaids. I was excited when I saw the cover and Ling on it. The last time we saw the merl (god I hate that) she was captured by the big bad guy on her way to find her piece. You would think that would be center stage but we don’t even get to Ling until 50-60 pages into the book. The little we get from her is exciting as she tries to escape from Orfeo, find her piece and also escape from the work camp she is sent too. At least she got a couple of chapters. Ava got one and Neela none, which is weird since she was a big part of the last book. Maybe that means we will get more of them in the final book coming out later this year but I have a feeling it’s going to be more of Sera and Astrid. Not that I don’t like them but I want to know about the others.
*Spoilers*
If you are on the internet and you follow fashion, especially celebrity fashion then you probably know Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan or as their known, the Fug Girls. Their fashion blog, 
*Spoilers Ahead*
With all of our talk about whether or not to reread previous books before starting the latest book in a series, this should have been one that I did that. This series has so many characters, subplots, locations and so many dead characters it’s hard to keep track. It’s very Games of Thrones like that. Which is actually what I think it’s trying to be or at least the teen version or it. While not as ambitious, it’s the same concept of multiple parties fighting over thrones and kingdoms but also looking for the mysterious kindred that grant to the owners with unprecedented powers to rule them all. So there is a lot going on. *Spoilers* 
There is so many things to love about this book and this series in general. It’s beyond funny. Sophornia is in finishing school but it’s not just any Victorian age finishing school. Yes, Miss Geraldine’s teaches her girls how to behave like a lady and how to land a good husband but also how to kill them too. Miss Geraldine’s develops the best lady intelligencer’s in the majesty’s realm. Sophronia and her friends may still be students but they are all that stands in the way from the evil Picklemen taking over the realm and keeping peace with the vampires and werewolves. So don’t take these girls lightly. They may have all the charm and manners of a lady of quality but that only makes them more deadly. If there was one downside to this and that it needs more Soap. Soap is Sophronia’s one true love. In a world where social class is important, they are a forbidden match. Sophronia doesn’t come from most wealthiest of families but she is expected to marry a certain class of gentlemen and a black sootie is not that class. At the end of the last book he is turned werewolf to save his life. In this Steampunk London, supernaturals are granted equal footing with the upper class but he’s still the wrong race and well now the wrong species. His role is a little lesser then in past books since he is no longer at the floating school. He is not really given much to do but he does make the most of the time he does have. All and all it was a good ending to a great series. I’m going to have to read Gail’s other series that take place in the same world because if these are any indication, they will be a hoot.
2 Women, So Many Books 