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jenny_librarian's reviews
1111 reviews
Star Wars: Age of the Rebellion - Villains by Greg Pak, Simon Spurrier
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Not my favourite, but it wasn’t bad.
Tarkin was downright evil (as we already knew). I’ve never cared much for Boba Fett so his comic was fine. I’m surprised that I actually enjoyed the Jabba one. And I still don’t understand why the special has Yoda on the cover when he’s nowhere in the actual story?!
The best was definitely Vader. Greg Pak knows exactly how to get to me whenever he writes him. The flashbacks killed me.
Tarkin was downright evil (as we already knew). I’ve never cared much for Boba Fett so his comic was fine. I’m surprised that I actually enjoyed the Jabba one. And I still don’t understand why the special has Yoda on the cover when he’s nowhere in the actual story?!
The best was definitely Vader. Greg Pak knows exactly how to get to me whenever he writes him. The flashbacks killed me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Slavery
Betrayal by Arthur Slade
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
I’m sorry I can’t. It’s just way too bad. And every time Amber says literally anything about librarians it’s 1) false and 2) tasteless. I’m done trying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
The Edge of Balance: Precedent by Daniel José Older
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
I’m not a fan of Daniel José Older’s SW work, but this was all right. The drawing wasn’t that great when it came to action scene, which made me lose the flow a few times. But the general storyline and the plot points it hinted at were good.
Loved Master Ravna! Of course we stan the little old lady who kicks asses without even trying. I’m a bit mad she didn’t make it tho. Must like the Jedi we lost on Starlight it feels like Disney knew they had too many characters so they’re cutting down hard and it has the result of characters with cool concepts being cut down ☹️
ZZ was also pretty cool (minus the name that has a very different meaning in French).
I liked this more than the first book. Volume 2 wasn’t available at the library, but since this one happens mostly in the past I figured I’d be fine reading it. Gives me a little more hope for volume 2 since I didn’t love volume 1 all that much.
Loved Master Ravna! Of course we stan the little old lady who kicks asses without even trying. I’m a bit mad she didn’t make it tho. Must like the Jedi we lost on Starlight it feels like Disney knew they had too many characters so they’re cutting down hard and it has the result of characters with cool concepts being cut down ☹️
ZZ was also pretty cool (minus the name that has a very different meaning in French).
I liked this more than the first book. Volume 2 wasn’t available at the library, but since this one happens mostly in the past I figured I’d be fine reading it. Gives me a little more hope for volume 2 since I didn’t love volume 1 all that much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death and Grief
Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is for the romance trope lovers. Ashley Poston even notes in her acknowledgements that she made sure to include all the tropes because Beauty & the Beast is her favourite story. Is it cliché? Totally. But it's heart-warming and cheesy and it's the perfect pick-me-up read if you need a cosy read.
Having now read all Once Upon a Con books, I can say this is my favourite. Like Poston, I'm a huge fan of the original (Disney-version) story and this gave me everything I could've asked. It has the same nerdy vibe as the previous books, with puns and namedrops every other page that will only make sense to the geeks.
So why not rate it 5 stars? Unfortunately, I'm also a major Star Wars fan and having to read Rosie and her friends talk about The Last Jedi as if it's the greatest SW movie ever made me want to vomit. I could excuse the HP references since this came out in 2020, but that was the line for me. So -0.25 stars for that.
Having now read all Once Upon a Con books, I can say this is my favourite. Like Poston, I'm a huge fan of the original (Disney-version) story and this gave me everything I could've asked. It has the same nerdy vibe as the previous books, with puns and namedrops every other page that will only make sense to the geeks.
So why not rate it 5 stars? Unfortunately, I'm also a major Star Wars fan and having to read Rosie and her friends talk about The Last Jedi as if it's the greatest SW movie ever made me want to vomit. I could excuse the HP references since this came out in 2020, but that was the line for me. So -0.25 stars for that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use, Sexism, and Classism
Star Wars, Vol. 5: Yoda's Secret War by Jason Aaron
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
2.75
Meh. I love Yoda but this whole side plot felt unnecessary. I just wasn’t interested, and the native caricature didn’t help.
The annual was all right. We stan a good butch lesbian character. Hopefully we get to see Pash again.
The annual was all right. We stan a good butch lesbian character. Hopefully we get to see Pash again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Star Wars, Vol. 4: Last Flight of the Harbinger by Jason Aaron
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Meh. It’s probably my least favourite so far in the series. The drawing was the worst, it looks like caricatures.
Still not a fan of the Obi-Wan issues. And this one is really stretching it. It’s on the verge of diverging completely from what happened in the OT.
The small addition at the end was cute. Nothing amazing, but cute.
But in general I didn’t like this issue all that much. Kreel is fine as a villain, but the whole Task Force 99 thing is just the Bad Batch with stormtroopers. I could even tell which trooper corresponded to which clone. This is how similar they are.
Still not a fan of the Obi-Wan issues. And this one is really stretching it. It’s on the verge of diverging completely from what happened in the OT.
The small addition at the end was cute. Nothing amazing, but cute.
But in general I didn’t like this issue all that much. Kreel is fine as a villain, but the whole Task Force 99 thing is just the Bad Batch with stormtroopers. I could even tell which trooper corresponded to which clone. This is how similar they are.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexism
Star Wars, Vol. 3: Rebel Jail by Jason Aaron
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.75
The annual included at the beginning kinda spoiled the big reveal of the prison, but it was alright. This wasn’t my fave volume so far. It was funny in moments (the nerf herder hint was really good), but it was a bit convoluted.
Also didn’t love the art this time around. The emphasis on Leila’s clothes… you can tell it’s drawn by men and I don’t love it. And the Kenobi excerpt at the end put me off. Really didn’t like the art for that one.
I know I keep saying it, but Disney retconning their own stuff makes me mad. The Kenobi excerpt was once again a different storyline than what the Kenobi show let us to believe, so I’m going to ignore it.
The callbacks were good tho. “Nerf herd”, “I am what you made me”; tidbits that made me smile.
Also didn’t love the art this time around. The emphasis on Leila’s clothes… you can tell it’s drawn by men and I don’t love it. And the Kenobi excerpt at the end put me off. Really didn’t like the art for that one.
I know I keep saying it, but Disney retconning their own stuff makes me mad. The Kenobi excerpt was once again a different storyline than what the Kenobi show let us to believe, so I’m going to ignore it.
The callbacks were good tho. “Nerf herd”, “I am what you made me”; tidbits that made me smile.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: War
Minor: Torture
The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I’m not sure exactly what I think of this book. It was… interesting. And triggering. Seriously, if you have triggers check the warnings. Most of it is off page, but still pretty heavy.
The two major plot twists are pretty obvious from the get go, but easy to forget you figured them out as you read, until the reveals.Kat I knew right away was Ghost. Jonathan… I still don’t see how he can be Aaron. It’s like his personality completely changed. And I get he had to adapt and survive, but the guy is autistic-coded AF in the prologue. That doesn’t just go away because you get abducted in a cult. If anything, I would’ve believe Nicky to be Jonathan a lot better.
I didn’t get attached to any character, mostly because all the POVs and the nicknames made my head hurt. I could barely distinguish them from each other.
I’m not much of a reader of survivalist stories in general, but as a thriller it was good enough. I wouldn’t put it in any top list, but a good read.
The two major plot twists are pretty obvious from the get go, but easy to forget you figured them out as you read, until the reveals.
I didn’t get attached to any character, mostly because all the POVs and the nicknames made my head hurt. I could barely distinguish them from each other.
I’m not much of a reader of survivalist stories in general, but as a thriller it was good enough. I wouldn’t put it in any top list, but a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Sexual violence
Star Wars: Vader Down by
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Has to be my favourite of the 2015 comics so far. Not only because it contains both Vader and SW comics, but also because there’s a lot of really good classic Star Wars in there.
✅ Han being Han
✅ Luke being okay simply because everyone else is too busy trying to kill each other to get rid of him
✅ Leia being a badass
✅ Droid nonsense
✅ Vader plagued by his past
There’s just so much good stuff. I like Aphra a lot, even though she’s just a female version of Han (as demonstrated by the waspworm thing). I’m looking forward to reading her comics now to get a little more character development that will hopefully get her out of that comparison.
Larbin was hilarious. I know he’s supposed to be this big bad guy, but every time he praises the future with his bio mechanical enhancements I can only think of Grievous. And we all know how that ended. I got a feeling if Obi-Wan was there we would’ve gotten a lot of sarcasm.
Talking about Obi-Wan, Vader’s ghosts! I always love seeing Vader fight against Anakin and his past. It was very quick and short but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
✅ Han being Han
✅ Luke being okay simply because everyone else is too busy trying to kill each other to get rid of him
✅ Leia being a badass
✅ Droid nonsense
✅ Vader plagued by his past
There’s just so much good stuff. I like Aphra a lot, even though she’s just a female version of Han (as demonstrated by the waspworm thing). I’m looking forward to reading her comics now to get a little more character development that will hopefully get her out of that comparison.
Larbin was hilarious. I know he’s supposed to be this big bad guy, but every time he praises the future with his bio mechanical enhancements I can only think of Grievous. And we all know how that ended. I got a feeling if Obi-Wan was there we would’ve gotten a lot of sarcasm.
Talking about Obi-Wan, Vader’s ghosts! I always love seeing Vader fight against Anakin and his past. It was very quick and short but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Toxic friendship
Star Wars: Darth Vader, Volume 2: Shadows and Secrets by
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
A good continuation to Vader and Aphra’s team-up. It was interesting to see them go up against Thanoth. At times it’s almost like everyone knows what Vader is up and are just waiting for him to mess up enough to get caught. Except we know he won’t. So it’s almost moot. But still a nice ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Torture