#bookreview: Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival | CO Bonham

Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival by C.O. Bonham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What if cartoons could come alive?

Daisy Dunlap has only one goal in mind: to find out the truth about her Grandpa's cartoons so that he'll recover quickly from his stress-induced stroke and live happily ever after with her. So begins a long night in the Cartoon Carnival, accompanied by her grandfather's most famous character, Tom Greenthumb, while being chased by his terrifying nemesis, Derby Spider.

There's a lot that Daisy doesn't know about her Grandpa and late mother - and about who she really is. It's a journey of discovery, one that includes cartoons coming to life, image-jumping, and a Reality Projector. It's also a test of her smarts in outwitting Derby Spider as they race to find the mysterious sketch book that will hopefully clear her Grandpa's name.

Unlike many children's books where parents and adults are non-existent or extremely unhelpful, I love the fact that Daisy has adults to turn to when she really needs them (even though she tries to do it all on her own at first). Jerry even has a little bit of a redemption arc, allowing him to make up for an earlier mistake.

The biggest theme in the book is about family - not just natural family, but adopted family and friends close enough to be considered family. Daisy is adopted, and struggles with the rejection of always been noted as "the adopted granddaughter". Tom is searching for a true family (despite being a cartoon!) and when Grandpa is hospitalised, he doesn't need to go searching for someone to help take care of Daisy. Jerry and Sharon, having been long-time employees and close friends of the Dunlap family, immediately step in to help. It's a beautiful view of what close community and love between friends should look like.

Daisy Dunlap is a great story for children aged 8-12, though it may be a little scary if they don't like giant sinister spiders!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Find the truth. Save the family legacy. Don't get eaten by the giant cartoon spider.

Reeling from the loss of her mother, twelve-year-old Daisy comforts herself with the cartoons and carnival run by her family's animation studio.

When an anonymous source accuses Grandpa of stealing his most famous character, the impish Tom Greenthumb, their family's reputation, and business, are on the line. The only thing that can clear their name? A mysterious sketch book hidden somewhere within the Cartoon Carnival.

Sneaking into the theme park at night, Daisy uncovers her family's greatest secret. Their cartoon creations are alive---and some of them are deadly.

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C.O. Bonham is the pen name for a commonly misspelled first name. She loves stories of all kinds, but really likes the ones that are weird, and outside the norm. A certified book geek, when she isn’t writing stories of her own she is busy reading stories by others. A homeschool graduate with a degree in creative writing, her goal is to create stories that make people think, feel, and have fun.

Her debut novel Runaway Lyrics, a steampunk fantasy retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, released in 2021.

Website | Facebook | Amazon | Goodreads | Instagram

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 Happy release day, Cathrine!!

Get your copy of Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival now! (affiliate link)

#bookreview: These Deathless Shores | P.H. Low

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These Deathless Shores is a Captain Hook origin story, where Peter Pan isn't the bright, happy, beloved kid you remember from the Disney movie. No, something incredibly sinister lurks behind that childish smile. It's darker than I expected it to be; it deals with, amongst others, addiction, eating disorders, childhood trauma, codependency, suicide ideation, gender dysphoria (? well, at least some discussion on gender) and extremely bloodthirsty revenge.

Because that last bit is Jordan's whole motivation, isn't it? To return to the island and to take her revenge on Peter Pan. Everything else is incidental, something to be utilised to serve her end goal of stealing Tinkerbell from Peter. If Low were to have focused only on Jordan, that would have made for a very boring story.

Fortunately, it's the cast of supporting characters that add colour to the story. Baron - whose love for Jordan makes him do difficult things. Tier - who's still trying to become his own man. Chay - who has somehow managed to stay on the Island past adulthood.

For a novel that the author touts as Malaysian-inspired (which was really what interested me, though it's not actually on the blurb), there's nothing that really screams "Malaysia" to me. For obvious reasons, the bulk of the book is spent on the Island, which is that magical-mystical Neverland brought to somewhere on the physical plane instead of up in the sky (and conceptually feels more Bermuda Triangle). The parts and flashbacks to Jordan & Baron's original home of Burima/Hanwa (I'm still not sure if Hanwa is a place or a language or both?) has a more generic Southeast Asia vibe in a Raya and the Last Dragon kind of way. Case in point: the opening fight scene feels more Muay Thai (Thailand); I do not know that I'd be able to find something similar in Malaysia.

Anyway, setting aside, if you're into dark fairy tale retellings, this might be of interest to you!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Orbit via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 

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Book review: The Light Between Us | Elaine Chiew

The Light Between Us by Elaine Chiew

As books go, I went in to this warily because I tend not to like WW2 (and adjacent) stories. But I also wanted to read this to support a SEA writer! So ok la #cubatry.

Excellent points:
I loved the writing and the language, the fluidity of moving between English and Malay and Chinese (of various dialects). I felt that it represented us so well. I am pretty much a banana, so I skimmed some of the Chinese phrases (note: I didn't realise there was a glossary at the end until I finished, since I was reading a digital arc), but I felt that Chiew was deft enough in her writing that you could pick up on what it was supposed to mean.

The only confusion I had was probably because of my own muddled language proficiency, where koon sah is apparently a TYPE of old Chinese dressing? I always thought it just meant pyjamas (i.e. koon = sleep, sah = clothes) HAHHAHAH. Also, Tangki as the Chinese (can't recall which dialect) term for the medium being possessed just kept me thinking of the Malay word "tangki", which is like a water tank, but that also makes sense because it's like a vessel kan. LOL

Content warning:
Slight implication of incest because of extended familial relationships, even though they're not blood related.

The setting and plot:
Yeah okay, so one of the reasons I figured I might give it a try is because there is a dual timeline of Charlie in the current day somehow reaching across the past to connect with Tian Wei in the 1920s. Which, I mean, is a cool concept. I liked it in Agnes Ong's Skyping Back in Time. But here...

So everything for Charlie is happening in the span of a few days, and at the longest stretch, maybe a month? But it's happening for Tian Wei over months and years (there's some fancy mathematical theory for this) which... I guess as a reader, I wasn't convinced their rather sporadic letters were enough for them to fall in love. It felt like first one or two letters were like hello who are you what's going on, then bam, oh the numerical-stars-are-aligned instalove.

And then there's a pretty long jump in time for Tian Wei, which (ugh) brings him to the 1940s and WW2, which YEAH. no. But this is a me thing, and also why I haven't read any TTE books (#sorrynotsorry).

Verdict:
If you're a historical fiction fan, especially around SEA WW2 stories, you'll probably love this! If you're a camera & photography nerd, you'll probably also love this! If you bangga Singapura and Malaysia (because come on, they were the same country back in those days) and you love codemixing, you'll also love this!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Neem Tree Press via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Cover reveal: Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival | C.O. Bonham

Today, I have the privilege of sharing the cover reveal for C.O. Bonham's new book, Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival. What makes it extra extra exciting is the fact that the cover designer is also my friend! 

Find the truth. Save the family legacy. Don't get eaten by the giant cartoon spider.

Reeling from the loss of her mother, twelve-year-old Daisy comforts herself with the cartoons and carnival run by her family's animation studio.

When an anonymous source accuses Grandpa of stealing his most famous character, the impish Tom Greenthumb, their family's reputation and business are on the line. The only thing that can clear their name? A mysterious sketch book hidden somewhere within the Cartoon Carnival.

Sneaking into the theme park at night, Daisy uncovers her family's greatest secret. Their cartoon creations are alive—and some of them are deadly.

PREORDER

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About the author:

C.O. Bonham is the pen name for a commonly misspelled first name. She loves stories of all kinds, but really likes the ones that are weird, and outside the norm. A certified book geek, when she isn’t writing stories of her own she is busy reading stories by others. A homeschool graduate with a degree in creative writing, her goal is to create stories that make people think, feel, and have fun.

Her debut novel, Runaway Lyrics, a steampunk fantasy retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, released in 2021.

Website | Facebook group | Facebook page | Amazon page | Goodreads | Instagram

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About the artist:

Chew Yuin-Y is an artist and an educator. Her recent notable projects include the brand identities for Malaysian swing jazz band The Frankie Sixes and the KLSwing Fest lindy hop international community event in 2023. She was also a contributing illustrator to the 2020 Penang-based anthology “Home Groan” and has exhibited at Lukis Tulis Malaysia 2019, a community art festival at Jaya One.

While she primarily produces digital work, she also uses other traditional media such as watercolours and ink. She believes art should be both pleasing to the eye and mind, and endeavours to infuse elegance and harmony into her work. Among her artistic influences are American mid-century modern graphic styles, Nyonya batik, the bold simple ink paintings of China and the patterns of Japan.

Yuin-Y is from Penang and is currently based in Kuala Lumpur.

Instagram | linktr.ee

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PREORDER

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Teaser: The Making of a Jurusihir

 Releasing this month with Bookiut!

Book review: Wishing on a Supervillain | HL Burke (and a kickstarter)

Wishing on a Supervillain by H.L. Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What do you do when the first wish you're asked to grant in your brand new Superhero wish-granting project is a wish to meet a Supervillain? What would your boss even say? Nixie decides to do it anyway. Or try to. It all depends on whether Switch will agree to take time off from villaining to help her grant a sick kid's wish.

Wishing on a Supervillain is a fun read with unexpectedly touching moments. It's part of the Romance series, so it's pretty obvious that they're going to fall for each other. But it's a very clean romance - nothing beyond a kiss - mostly because Nixie is such a goody-two-shoes church girl from a sheltered family that... this is her first everything. If Burke hadn't explicitly stated she's in her early twenties (22?), I would put her at a very naive 19 or so (I mean, she's working as a superheroine, she's probably not under-18).

Choice - and the lack of good ones - feels like a core theme in this story. Why did Switch go down the road of villainy? Why does Oliver choose to meet a supervillain when he could have his pick of superheroes to meet? Why does Nixie keep giving Switch second chances when her boss, Vibes, is adamant that villains never change? Can villains change?

Also, the name Vibes is a Choice.

All in all, a great read.

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I MOSTLY posted this today (instead of the other book I read) because Burke has a kickstarter for Tales from the SVR Universe: Superhero Anthology and I figured that I'd boost that at the same time! 

Back H.L. Burke's new DOSA Anthology! 

Book review: Queen of None | Natania Barron

Queen of None by Natania Barron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I've read any Arthurian legends. I picked this up because the author's name sounded somewhat familiar - it seems I've stumbled across some of her Twitter threads on medieval clothes (?) or something of that sort. Besides, I'd never heard of Anna Pendragon before.

Queen of None is the story of the powerless women in King Arthur's court. They seem to have titles, prestige, and honour, but their lives are orchestrated and ordered by the men around them. In Anna's case, her brother King Arthur and his advisor, Merlin. It is a powerlessness that the men around them do not - and sometimes cannot - understand. For them, there is always a choice, always a decision they can make and unmake to shape their destinies. Anna's eldest, Gawain, keeps failing to grasp this lesson.

Where the legends of Arthur that I recall reading/watching make out Merlin to be a benevolent sage, the Merlin here is much darker. There is a menacing tone to his watching and meddling, the idea that he is evil in his machinations.

Anna Pendragon herself has a tragic life - because Arthur listens to Merlin over the happiness of his own sister. Arthur tries to make amends, but it is always too little, too late. I do not like the Arthur in this; then again, I do not think I am meant to like him. It is not his story.

No, this is the story of Anna finding her hidden strength, discovering the magic that runs through her mother's blood, and uncovering the battle between her mother's line and Merlin that has scattered her half-sisters and her aunts and twisted prophecies to their own ends. And in this, with her prophecy to be forgotten, Anna finds the chance to change history - if she can manage to make the magic work for her.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Solaris/Rebellion Publishing via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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