Lenni Reviews: "Oria’s Gambit" by Jeffe Kennedy

(Image Source)

*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

With her kingdom, Bara, captured by the Destrye, Oria gambles on a marriage with the conquering leader; Lonen. Since Bara is ruled by magic, the highly powerful and sensitive Oria takes a huge risk in marrying Lonen since he cannot use magic and Bara has never had a non-magic using ruler. The main reason for this gamble is Oria's cruel and despotic brother, Yar; who may likely begin another war despite the peace her kingdom has just attained.

Having not read the first part, there is enough here to make you understand there was a brutal war and that our main pair would like to spare their respective kingdoms any further bloodshed. Oria and Lonen are well developed enough and the writing is competent enough for you to get emotionally invested enough to want them to succeed. But the book does spend a great deal of time meandering around Lonen and Oria's obvious attraction to one another and their hope to overcome Oria's inability to even touch Lonen without her magic causing her pain. The pacing lost it's sense of urgency when the book spends so much time on the romance. The love story didn't distract from the major fantasy elements but once Yar came back into the picture, I felt the characters should have spent less time making gooily eyes and more time getting ready.

Don't get me wrong; Lonen and Oria have good chemistry and the overall story kept me interested enough to not only finish it but to want to know what happens in the next installment. If you like fantasy in your romance, this isn't a bad offering despite being pretty short and ending on a cliffhanger. 3.7 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Goodnight Batcave" by Dave Croatto and Tom Richmond

(Image Source)

*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review.

In this parody of Goodnight Moon, Batman is lounging in his cave when some bad guys show up. He beats them up, then goes to bed. The whole rogue's gallery is there and the character design calls back to the Batman: The Animated Series character designs.

This book is clever and funny. The joke works better if you're familiar with Goodnight moon and I read this to my kid (who loves comics) and she laughed and did want a copy of her own.

For a book put out by MAD Magazine, it's pretty kid friendly. The art is in their typical style but there's nothing in it I would feel hesitant to show a kid who is already familiar with comics. There's a justifiable amount of violence (superheroes don't tend to cuddle the villains to jail) and I think this will give both kids and adults a few good chuckles. I read this on my Kindle but I think this is worth a hardcover purchase if you love Batman and love MAD. 4.5 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Timing" by Mary Calmes

(Image Source)

*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+.

Stefan Joss has been invited to be in his best friend's wedding. Not only does his boss take this as a chance to take on a sales deal to the trip to Texas, Stefan has to deal with his friend's brother, Rand Holloway; who has made no effort to restrain his hatred of Stefan. With the chaos of the wedding and meeting with his client, Stefan learns there is more to Rand's feelings than hatred and his business deal ends up risking his life.

While meant as a romantic mystery kind of story like Mystery of Nevermore, the mystery in this book took far back seat to the romance. Not a criticism, just something I noticed. I can see either adding more of the mystery or taking it out entirely and just having the wedding be the backdrop that brings Stephan and Rand together.

Anyways, Rand as a hard-ass cowboy coming to terms with how he fucked up and will do his part to fix it and Stefan putting in effort too worked for me. I liked them both and I wanted to see them together. The smexy times are prevalent and positively indulgent so if you want a healthy dose of manluvin, this book is more than happy to dole it out along with some romantic sappiness.

When it came to the action/mystery parts, I kinda got whiplash. You're crusin along in this lovey dovey romance and WHAM! Rape! Murder! Guns!

"Well... That took an uncomfortable turn..."

Even so, I enjoyed this book. You can feel the love all over; even aside for our main pair. The details in describing ranch life (Rand owns a ranch) were written well enough to get a real feel for the setting and I ended this book with a cheesy grin because it was so damn sweet. 4 out of 5.
 

Lenni Reviews: "The Thirteenth Man" by J.L. Doty

(Image Source)

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Charlie Cass - the unacknowledged son of a duke - is freed from a POW camp, he returns to find a kingdom on the cusp of war. The dukes are plotting against one another and the king and now with the presumed dead Charlie back in the picture, they fear he will interfere with their plans. But Charlie refuses to go down without a fight.

I'm not usually a fan of military sci-fi but I honestly have to say this was the characters that kept me interested in this book. Charlie is a compelling, sensible character who is smart enough to surround himself with competent, loyal, and colorful people. Especially the prostitutes. They made me laugh. The techno jargon and political dancing were a little much but I just let it wash over me until the cool stuff started happening again. All that posturing and double meaning give me a headache. It's why I could never be a politician...

As this book was filled with all these thrilling space battles and has a satisfying conclusion to the main conflict, I felt the epilogue deflated everything; especially after such a climactic ending. I honestly can't think of another way to mend all those plot threads together without adding a few hundred pages to the book so I'll let the exposition dump slide. For unexpectedly entertaining me despite being out of my usual tastes, I give this a 3.7 out of 5.

For more reviews, check out Lenni's blog: Haunting Hypatia.

Lenni Reviews: "Like Heaven on Earth" by Jaime Samms

(Image Source)

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+.

Cobolt Winslow is involved in an unhealthy, long-distance relationship with Calvin Denvers. Calvin infected Cobolt with HIV, which cost Cobolt his dancing career in their ballet company as his body became too weak to put up with such strenuous activity. The only stable person Cobolt has come to rely on Malory Preston; a driver who works for Cobolt's brother, Azure. As his health takes a turn for the better, Calvin comes back into the picture and Cobolt is faced with choosing between dancing and his growing attraction to Preston.

I cannot go any further without mentioning the naming conventions in this book. Yes, they are a little odd (at least for me) because it was like reading characters from a fantasy novel but this isn't fantasy. I did get used to it as the book went on.

The relationship between Cobolt and Preston works and makes sense the way those characters are written; even if there are times where I felt Cobolt needed a swat of sense on the back of his head. If a character can frustrate you, he/she is well written.

Other than that, this book is short, sweet, sultry when it needs to be, but standard. Cobolt and Calvin's HIV status is handled with maturity and not used as a crutch or a lame gimmick to make the characters act a certain way. The dancing was immersively written and the subtle nuances of stage culture were there but not as dark as something like Black Swan. I enjoyed it and by the end I was cheering for Cobolt but - and it's likely my personal bias here - the attempts to make Calvin a sympathetic character failed miserably. It would take MUCH more than 204 pages for an abusive cheater to redeem himself in my eyes but this is certainly not the book's fault. I'm betting since this is the third in the "Dance, Love, Live" series (and yes, this novel can totally stand on it's own), I'm sure Calvin has or will get an entire book to himself to work out his issues. As for this book, a happy 3.5 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: "Don't Be Cruel" vol 1 by Yonezou Nekota

(Image Source)

Facing the possibility of losing his scholarship, Takashi Negugasa cracks under the pressure and cheats during a test. Unfortunately for him, school delinquent and known playboy, Kideyuki Maya, catches him in the act. In exchange for keeping it secret, Maya blackmails Negugasa into sleeping with him.

As this is a 2 in 1 volume, we see Maya's interfering cousin, Akira, and the obvious feelings Maya has for Negugasa despite Negugasa's obliviousness. It's that "I really like you but I can't say it" scenario. Once I got passed the coercion (yeah, it's a little close to straight up non-con) the pair to make a cute couple. As soon as they get out of their own way, that is.

This may be a typical sort of boys love story but its well drawn and the main characters are likable enough to endure the will they/won't they back and forth (which thankfully doesn't last all that long). I found it a little odd for Maya to turn around and say Negugasa was manipulating him when Maya was doing the blackmailing in the first place (what an odd character flip...) but hey, at first neither man would admit any feelings at all and I'm a  mush. I'll admit I like the happy ending. 4.5 out of 5 and I would love to read the next one!

Like Lenni's writing? This review and more are also posted at literaryloon.com

The Transporter: Refueled Review

In the south of France, former special-ops mercenary Frank Martin enters into a game of chess with a femme-fatale and her three sidekicks who are looking for revenge against a sinister Russian kingpin.

Can the Transporter film franchise survive without Jason Statham? Yes it can, only if it in capable hands. The Transporter Refueled is a hit or miss depending on your taste. If you're a person who loves action over story then this is a good film. If you're a person who values story over action then you might be disappointed. The Transporter Refueled is not a bad film. I actually had some fun with it. The film is just a basic action film with the usual cliche of you have your family member hostage. While I did enjoy the dynamic of Frank showing more heart than previous films. The movie became predictable by time the second act hits. Frank is forced into a situation he has to get of. He finds a way and onto the next set piece. The movie did more humanity to the cold heart transporter which fans will love. 

The acting is okay. Ray Stevenson as Frank's Martin father steals every single scene he's in. He is a great comedy relief to the film and a good moral compass for his transporter son. The female leads were enjoyable to watch and to see these anti heroes was refreshing. Ed Skrein replaces Statham and he did a good job. I enjoyed his performance but it's one of those roles that you can't see anyone else in but the original actor. Overall the film gives you exactly you expect from the franchise and that's not a bad thing. The villain could have been better and the story less cliche but it's pretty decent.

Secret Wars #1 Review

Image Credit: Marvel Comics

Hey O&G fans, today Marvel's long awaited Secret Wars starts and the Marvel multiverse is coming to an end! Previous events that ran through the Avengers: The Incursions,The Avengers World, The Great Society, Avengers: Time Runs Out, Avengers: The End of Everything, led up to these events and this series is the end result of Hickman's work on Avengers Vol. 5 and New Avengers Vol. 3 (both of which concluded last week). Hickman has been busy weaving a massive saga about the death of Marvel's multiverse and the failure of the Avengers to protect their world.

The issue opens with Ultimate Universe's  Nick Fury leading an all-out assault on the Marvel U., various other factions seek their own ways of cheating death and surviving the coming apocalypse. (After the events of Original Sin I think this Nick Fury may survive). The battles in this issue are epic! 616 Universe and Ultimate Universe going head to head. Superior Ironman unleashing his arsenal against the Avengers only to be knocked back by the Hulk, Colossus, and Captain Marvel. There are alot of geek-out moments, fans can see some of their favorite heroes and some they may have forgotten about back in action.

This first issue was great and although it seems the Marvel universe as we know it may be coming to an end, it looks like it might be one hell of a story. My hope is that this epic event doesn't start strong and disappoint as it comes to an end.

Secret Wars #1
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Esad Ribic and Ive Svorcina
Lettering by Chris Eliopoulos
Published by Marvel Comics

by Sean Tucker

Lenni Reviews: The Supervillian Field Manual by King Oblivion

Ever wonder how to style your lair? Aquire minions? Dress to distress? Well, wonder no more because The Supervillian Field Manual by Matt Wilson and Adam Wallenta will show you the do's and don't's towards supervillain etiquette.

For me, this book is right up there with Vampire Haiku and So Now You're a Zombie, I enjoy these books despite the fact I can't really see reading them more than once. These are the ultimate comics fan coffee table books; chock full of good "advice" and comic factoids from multiple universes. And it's hilarious to read since I can recall Wilson's work on Cracked.com, I expected the jokes to be exactly what they were; dry and a bit sarcastic. Perfect for me.

If you already own books like this, this is a worth addition to your collection. The illustrations are cute, the jokes are funny, and all in all, I'm left with a smile on my face. I declare it a success.

Can't get enough of Lenni's writing? See more here.

Lenni Reviews: Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms by Fumiyo Kouno

Image Source

Towards the tail end of WWII, the US made the decision to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As you can imagine, it changed the course of history for the entire world. Any history class will teach you the political and military implications of such an event but what about the day to day lives of the survivors? There are many tales, including the groundbreaking Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa. Unlike the gritty realism in Nakazawa’s work, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms takes us ten years later to the lives of ordinary citizens and how the end of the war affected them.

First we meet a young woman named Minami Hirano, a young woman living in Hiroshima. She goes about her everyday life not wanting to think about the bomb, why she survived, and how it has changed her. Then we meet Nanami Ishikawa and follow her has she visits her friends in the hospital as a young girl, then go back to visit Hiroshima when she’s grown to deal with not only her father's memories, but her own.

I did enjoy this book. The dichotomy between the light and breezy art style and the very serious subject matter (warning: you may tear up) tugs at your heartstrings. Despite the melancholy, the book ends with a feeling of hope that will make you smile. The book is a poignant sigh you can hold in your hands; calm, painful, but beautiful and I highly recommend picking this book up.

Lenni Reviews: Girl Friends The Complete Collection 1 & 2

Image source                                Image source

Any manga fan knows about yaoi and possibly knows about yuri as well. Alas, finding yuri as good as some of the yaoi out there is hard. Many yuri titles have the main female characters in a sister type relationship, where any romance is implied or strongly hinted at. It never gets as hot and heavy as yaoi, where the boys are boning so fast, they may or may not know each others names. Not to say this is a bad thing but it hardly seems fair, right?

"Girl Friends" by Milk Morinaga was a very pleasant surprise. In the two volumes, we see the shy Mariko Kamakura become fast friends with the outgoing Akiko Ohashi. As their friendship develops, Mariko finds her feelings deepening to much more than friendship and in classic manga style, they both fumble around each other till it’s all worked out.

Unlike anime like "Maria Watches Over Us" or manga like "Strawberry Panic," there is no question as to what sort of relationship these girls are in. They are in love and attracted to one another and the manga doesn't hesitate to show it (hence the 16+ rating). The art is classic manga, complete with super deformed cuteness that is sure to melt your teeth with sweetness. Half the time I was rooting for the couple, the other half I wanted to just squish all the characters for being too damned adorable.

If you are looking for a cute yuri manga where the characters are explicitly romantically involved and you want a cute, light-hearted story, I think "Girl Friends" is worth the pick up. Watch out for some intense lovin' in volume 2.

The Legend Of Zelda Ocarinas From STLOcarina.com Review

One of the most iconic items in the Legend Of Zelda universe, besides the master sword or shield is Link's ocarina. If you love the Legend Of Zelda you might want to check out the ocarinas available from http://stlocarina.com/. I had the pleasure of getting two of them. I received the 12-Hole Zelda Tenor Ocarina and the 6 Hole Legend Of Zelda Potion Ocarina. After spending time with them I' am happy to report the ocarinas are awesome. Each ocarina comes with an instruction manual and song book. The song book is very helpful detailing where each finger should go to play the song. It also gives you detail instructions on how to start off your breathing method. Some songs that are included are Zelda's Lullaby, Ocarina Of Time, Epona's Song, Requiem Of Spirit and Song Of Time just to name a few. I found Ocarina Of Time the most challenging song to try. Great thing is even if you're still confused with the song book, you can always go to the STL Ocarina site and watch videos of others using the product. 

The difficulty level ranges from easy to hard and that is depending on your musical ability. For beginners I would start off with the 6-Hole Ocarina since it will be more easier to perform songs. This way you will be able to learn, breathing techniques for high pitch songs and learn how to handle and hold the ocarina properly. Appearance wise the ocarinas are great replicas from the one's in the game. STL Ocarina did a great job of making the ocarinas authentic as possible including the shape of the ocarinas and the classic tri-force logo. The ocarinas are made of glaze ceramaic which means it's smooth like glass, so you might want to be careful giving it to small children. Finally the price is ranging from 70 to 100 dollars, which is not much more than you pay for a Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 game. I consider that an investment if you're a Zelda collector. This is a great gift for any fan of Zelda or for somebody looking to try something new.

Final Grade - A+/9.5


by Nathaniel Jean-Pierre

The Dark Knight Rises Review

The long wait is finally over. The Dark Knight Rises has come at last. The epic conclusion to The Dark Knight legend. Was this worth all the hype? Does Nolan give the epic conclusion the Batman deserves? Or does this suffer from the same fate of other trilogies?


Eight years have passed since "The Dark Knight." The citizens of Gotham are at peace. Commisoner Gordon has cleaned up the streets with the new bill "The Harvey Dent Act." Batman is viewed as a murder for taking the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes. Bruce Wayne is depressed, never leaving Wayne Manor. However this are about to change when a terrorist by the name of Bane enters the picture to reek havoc on Gotham.

The Amazing Spider-Man Game Review

Is he strong listen bud, he's got radioactive blood. Can he swing from a thread, just press the shoulder button overhead. Hey there let's review The Amazing Spider-Man! All joking and my horrible bad lyrics aside. "The Amazing Spider-Man" returns Spider-Man to his playground of New York City, in addition the web head returns to his free roam form. Is this game worth the title of amazing? Or is it time for Peter to return to the lab?


Story - Due to major spoilers this game gives out regarding the movie. I will not say too much on the story. The story takes places after the events of "The Amazing Spider-Man" movie. That is all I will say about that, because it spoils that much of the movie. Let's just say Spider-Man has to find a cure and that is all I will reveal. However I will say the story is pretty decent for the most part, and Spider-Man will have to do battle with some of the more lackluster villains in this one.


Gameplay - The Amazing Spider-Man gameplay is a little different from the other adventures we had with Spider-Man, however at the same time some things haven't change. This is a good and bad thing. First the good. Spider-Man fighting mechanics have been revamp to appeal to a more free flow fighting style. Not to compare to any other game but fans of the Batman Arkham series will feel right at home with this fighting style. Just like the Arkham series, the free flow works well, where ever you tell Spidey to punch and kick he will go to that direction. Spidey sense will highlight above his head for incoming danger, so you can easily dodge or reverse an attack. However not all enemies can be defeated the same way like previous games. Some enemies will have to be taken down with stealth attack. This usually will have Spidey hanging above the ceiling picking his targets quickly from the shadows and taking them out. Others will require to be damage by Spidey's Web Shooters or Web Rush attack. Web Rush can be used for various things. It can be used as a quick attack against enemies, slow down time to pick a place to web zip, it can indicate when to do a stealth take down and finally interact with objects.


The highlight of Web Rush is when you are swinging in Manhattan. Spidey can zip from place to place and it makes the swinging feel really epic. Speaking of swinging "The Amazing Spider-Man" has the best swinging so far. The physics in this makes you really feel like Spider-Man, you would think the developers actually had someone do the physics in the studio. The feeling is smooth, free and most importantly fun. This game is fun to play, however there is some stuff that hold the game back from pure epicness. When announced that this game was going to free foam I jump for joy, and started to question what would the side missions be. If you played "Spider-Man 2" than you already played  "The Amazing Spider-Man." The side missions are repetitive! Stop people from being assaulted, help the police with a car chase, get people to the hospital in time, take pictures for a reporter. Don't get me wrong the side missions are fun, but with a city alive like New York City, you think Spider-Man would have more to do. There are some cool ones though the side missions with Bruce Campbell are the most challenging ones.  You also have to collect 700 comic books scattered around the city. The great thing about that is these are actual comics you can read in the extra section. The only flaw with collecting the comic books is that there is no indication of where to find them, you just randomly stubble upon them. Overall the game is fun to play, minus the repetitiveness but then again all games are repetitive.


Gameplay Video



Graphics - The graphics are pretty good. Spidey looks good, New York looks okay minus some few landmark inaccuracy's, however that is just nitpicking from a native New Yorker. There are sometimes where character designs and locations look bland, and I did have a little trouble with a certain camera angle like a building loading as you were swinging, but that only happen once. Otherwise the graphics are good and the city looks okay.


Sound - The voice acting is solid for the most part. Spidey is witty, and he will make you laugh, but there will be times you'll wish he will shut up. Not because he is talking, but because he is repeating himself. If I have to hear him say stay frosty one more time! The music is not better than his previous installment "Edge Of Time."
The music doesn't gives us that same epic feel and you really don't feel really encourage to save the day, there are some nice tracks but nothing really stands out.


Replay Value - If you have the Stan Lee DLC that is replay value right there, tons of comics to collect and side missions to handle. Spider-Man does offer some replay value but it might not be enough for some gamers. There is comics to read and extras and character concept art to check out as well.


Final Grade C+/7.5 - The Amazing Spider-Man isn't bad game. It just doesn't give you a full course meal. The game is fun to play, but can feel repetitive at times, the voice acting is solid but repeated dialogue can get annoying, overall it is still worth checking out for any web head.