Tag: humour

Book Review

Moon Reads: Worst Man

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Worst Man by Brandt & Stein

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection. 

I like graphic novels and I had been in a bit of a slump, so I decided to grab one and give it a punt.

Worst Man is about the wedding of Domino McElligott and Battista Lovely, they are getting married in a remote island far away from everything, a nice secluded perfect wedding. 

Introduce Radcliffe Raleigh. He is a professional "worst man", who works to stop weddings from happening to avoid people who aren't truly in love or that others think are a bad pairing or shouldn't marry. He is hired by the mother of the bride, who is a tech mogul, Valentina McElligott. She had previously hired him to break up her other daughter's wedding, which Rad failed to do as they were truly in love and therefore was against his policy, but for that he had six months.

To stop this wedding, he is now given 32 hours and a threat on his life. So he gets to it and tries hard to pull all the tricks he can muster in such a short time. But what he doesn't plan on is the best man who is on his own mission to see this wedding succeed for his friend. 

Add to the mix the fact that Domino's sister came and they vaguely remember Rad from the time he was their own worst man, and that she is upset that her perception is that their mother gave them the island to Domino and Battista but didn't even show up to her wedding. A groom who insists on being blindfolded so he doesn't see the bride before the wedding because it is bad luck. A mother of the groom with a terrorising pooch that is also the ring bearer. A hotel that had their staff scared away by Rad so it's only him and his hacker friend, alongside the best man and the two friends he brought up to help.

And Valentina is also helping by bringing quite literally a boatload of people from her company and a wedding planner that is having a crisis and frustrated and determined to somehow still make this the best wedding ever (she's in a war path). 

This was so so funny. Between Rad desperately slowly falling for the best man and trying his best to at the same time ruin this wedding, but also frustrated because how is he going to undo this when the best man seems to be undoing whatever he does to cause chaos. 

Chaos is just everywhere. One of the fun things is you get to see loads of very messy family and friends relationships. Like the misunderstandings between the sisters and how they see the other different than they themselves perceive who they are. You get to see a bossy mother of the groom who knows best. A bride and groom who truly love each other and are just trying to have a good wedding without too mcuh chaos and somehow with Valentina involved that feels impossible. 

But, will love prevail, both for Rad and for the couple? 
Go read to find out, it is worth it and a very fun journey.
Book Review

Moon Reads: Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle Vol. 1

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Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle Vol. 1 by Kagiji Kumanomata

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Read before: No

Ownership: Bought for me since it sounded fun

I can’t remember if this was a recommendation or if it was an accidental find while browsing for new manga to read, but what I do know is that I bought it, and forgot about it until I felt like reading manga again and decided that I really ought to read this first volume and check if I wanted to keep it or not.

Well, I have to say at first I went unsure how this could be a whole series given the premise of a princess that just wants to sleep and is being kept prisoner in a castle by a demon. I was so wrong and I am glad about it.

Our princess is an interesting character that doesn’t actually want to escape, all she wants is to be able to sleep well and you know, have a little bit of peace. So when she starts finding demons and items that might make her sleep better, well, she is a princess on a mission and nothing, not even death will stop her!

I laughed a lot as I read this one. It is a light read because the adventures of her finding a specific item/quest/idea are just small manga chapters and are all very enjoyable. They introduce new demons or characters that the princess focuses on and also new areas at times or new mechanics, and it is fun because you keep seeing what is happening outside the castle and then comparing it to what the princess is doing in the castle and you can’t help but enjoy the whole chaos of it.

I think if you like chaos, a humorous take on the princess kept captive by an evil enemy and what demons do, this is a delightful and funny read with easy breaks in the story and lots of potential and surprises that keep coming through it.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Quarantine Comix

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Quarantine Comix by Rachael Smith

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered since it sounded interesting and I was ina comic/graphic novel mood.

Quarantine Comix was born out of the dread created by the pandemic and being put into quarantine/lockdown, so Rachael started drawing. The first few comics are more or less about how the pandemic hit her and her life and how much she misses her boyfriend, and to be honest those first few pages weren’t that good or entertaining, but I could understand the feeling behind them and therefore I kept going.

The comics and panels get more relatable and you can see she starts looking back and making it a bit more fun and interesting rather than just staying in bed and being filled with existensial dread. Whcih meant I ended up taking pictures of the pages and sharing them with friends because I found them relatable but also amusing and I could sympatise.

Like for example the above made me laugh, in all honesty I didn’t feel I had to go back to bookshops and have not gone back to one just yet because I do not deem it essential. I do deem essential having books, so I kept well stocked. But I did completely relate with the “what am I meant to read?” and then being surrounded by books. At times nothing I owned seemd to do the trcik but slowly that is getting easier as life becomes its own new normal.

And I think that is what makes the comics work, they shift to a new normal, and you can relate to them in one way or they remind you of a friend or family member and a situation experienced in the last year or so, and therefore I feel like this would be a fun gift to give to some friends as a “meet up after the quarantine” in a share the feelings way, but it is also a nice little graphic novel about how normal has changed and we adapt.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Happy Narwhalidays

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Happy Narwhalidays by Ben Clanton

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

Read before: No

Ownership: Preordered as I love this series.

Spoiler free review: No

Before the year ends and the holiday season is behind us, I had to share my review for the fourth Narwhal and Jelly book, which is all about their version of the holidays. There is a magical mermaid unicorn that brings gifts just for giggles to the sea creatures and as per usual Jelly is skeptical but ends up wanting to give a gift to Narwhal, and Narwhal is the cheerful bundle of joy as usual.

I had a lot of fun reading this just before setitng the Christmas tree up and while trying to finally get a feel for the Christmas spirit which I wasnt feeling very much this year due to circumstances *points at world and situation*. But Narwhal is so chirpy and so hopeful that you just can’t resist it and suddenly you feel a little bit more cheerful, a little bit more into the holiday spirit and maybe even wishing a magical mermaid unicorn had brought you a gift or something to spread the holiday cheer.

The artwork is simple but it doesnt take away anyting from it, as it is very expressive and fits well the story, there are still waffles and a lot of sea creature friends alongside Jelly and Narwhal and I can recommend it as a feel good cheer up read where you need all the books from this series because one is just not enough, in a good way.

Recommended for those who love sea facts, narwhals, jellyfish, friendship and cute cartoons. It is a read on your own, or just look at the pictures or share a giggle with someone kind of book.

Book Review, Books

Narwhal’s Otter Friend Review

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Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

This is the fourth book in the Narwhal and Jelly series and it is as delightful as the previous ones have been.

The artwork is “simple” but it still manages to convey a lot of emotion and environment, plus the text is big and eays to read. Tehre is a lot of cuteness and humour and you get some true facts about the characters (or rather, the animals behind the characters).

In this book, we encounter an otter who insists it has had all sorts of adventures, one crazier than the other, and Jelly is very skeptical about this. But also, Jelly is a little jealous of how easily Narwhal seems to have replaced their friendship for Otter.

So Jelly sets out to find a new friend.

As per usual, the level of cuteness, amount of necessary waffles (yum, this is always a perfect thing), plus the superhero mini comic and the facts we get make it a fun easy read. It is also great for children and I find it a great read as an adult when I want something to give my brain a respite from work or a tedious/intense task. It is a little bit of sunshine and joy in the day.

The only complaint is that the books are too short, I wish they were longer, but they definitely are great and I will keep getitng thema s they come out (I certainly hope for more of them). Highly recommended!

Book Review, Books

Peanut Butter and Jelly Review

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Peanut Butter and Jelly by Ben Clanton

Narwhal’s obsession with his new favorite food leads him into hijinks and hilarity in the third book of this all-star early graphic novel series!

Narwhal and Jelly are back and Narwhal has a new obsession . . . peanut butter! He’s so obsessed he even wants to change his name to . . . that’s right . . . Peanut Butter! Ever-sensible Jelly isn’t so sure that’s the best idea, but is all for Narwhal trying new things (instead of just eating waffles all the time, no matter how delicious waffles are).

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px MoonKestrel Logo2 20px

This is the third book in the series and though you don’t need to have read the previous ones, they definitely help! You can see my reviews for the first one and the second one.

As per the previous books, this is ultra cute and sweet. Jelly is trying to find out if Narwhal has tried peanut butter (or several other foods) but Narwhal is in for a surprise and so is Jelly!

Charming, fun, very positive and just overall cute, this book wins and made me giggle and smile as I read it, so I highly recommend it.

Plus it has a narwhal and a jellyfish and they’re friends and there’s loads of waffles, and in this particular one, even some peanut butter cookies and peanut butter in a jar! Yum, now I am getting hungry, so I will finish the review here saying you should buy them all and have them around to give yoursefl a soft smile and some warm feelings when needed. Meanwhile I am off to find a jar of peanut butter…