Books · Graphic Novels · Judging Book Covers · Review

Book Series Review: Paper Girls by Brain K. Vaughan | Graphic Novels Vols 1-6

Goodreads Synopsis:
(Vol 1)

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.


My thoughts:

I picked up this series as I love Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and needed to pick up more by him! Plus 80s, sci-fi and time travel – sounds so good, right?!

You’re thrown right into the story right away from vol 1.
The pace is pretty fast and for a while, I had no idea what was going on. (But in a good way) The plot does all make sense with each volume.

The focus of this story is definitely the friendship between the girls. With the time travel element, they are thrown into unknown times and have to work together to try and get back to the right year.

As expected, it is not an easy journey. It has twists and turns all throughout. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat. You will definitely need all volumes to hand as you’ll need to know what happens next!

The ending was a little meh. Bittersweet. Not sure whether I liked it or not. It was a weird and wonderful series, it didn’t quite go out with a bang like I expected.

It’s a great series to just binge. I borrowed all volumes from my library, luckily the series is complete and no wait for the next volume! It’s something I would definitely consider rereading in the future.

Series Rating: 3.5-4 Stars

A TV series was released on Amazon Prime, I might have to check it out. (I always say this about adaptations but I’m not much of a TV/Film watcher) However, I did like this series and the show has diverse casting, so I might give it a go.
Updated since I first started writing this post, Amazon have now cancelled Paper Girls. Very disappointing to see they won’t be making more seasons. A lot of shows with diverse casting and rep seem to not get renewed.

Blogmas · Books · Judging Book Covers

Blogmas Day 9: US vs UK Book Covers 2021 Releases

Welcome to Day 9 of Blogmas!
Today I thought I’d bring back an old series I used to post, UK vs US book covers. I haven’t done one in forever! I think it’s really fun to hear peoples’ opinions depending on where you’re from.

UK covers on left – US on right

Gilded by Marissa Meyer

These covers are essentially the same. However, the UK (left) feels a bit more matchy. It keeps with the golden tones with the title being gold. I like the font on the US one, that looks cool. The US is also more black and dark – which I actually think suits the tone of the book.
Verdict – Tie


Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

Both of these covers are super cute! It also nice to see Black rep on the cover, glad neither shied away from that. I prefer the UK cover. I think the US looks more adult? The novel is very much YA.
I also like the art style more on the UK cover.

Verdict – UK cover wins


The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

I think these covers fit their respect countries. The UK looks British and the US looks American, if that makes any sense. I’ve not read this one yet – it’s on my tbr. I love Beth O’Leary’s cover! They’re simple but cute. Again I’m going to have to go with the UK cover. I prefer the colour palette.
Verdict – UK cover wins


Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

Another one I didn’t manage to squeeze in this year. I love the covers of this authors books, they’re always gorgeous. Though I will say the UK is slacking here. I’m usually a fan of a white cover but the US darker cover is so much more aesthetic. I can’t comment on which fits the book better as I’ve not read it yet.

Verdict – US cover wins

Do you agree with my verdicts? Let me know which ones you prefer and your thoughts in the comments!
Books · Judging Book Covers

US vs UK Book Covers #3 {My Recent (ish) Reads}

us-vs-uk-book-cover

Hey guys!
Quick, fun post today as I am busy with finals (sigh)
I’m doing another US vs UK Book Cover comparison because we all judge books by their covers! …Right?! I was looking for books to include and realised I didn’t know what a few of my recent reads US cover was, so here I am comparing them today!
( I say ‘recent’ but I haven’t really read much this year so far (CURSE YOU UNI WORK!) so some of these books are from January but they’re all books I’ve read this year.)

Left US, Right UK

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

I actually really like both covers. I feel like both fit the book very well and you can get a sense of what the story will be from the way these look.
However, the US cover takes it to the next level! Such a pretty art style and I love how it gives the sci-fi vibes more than the UK one.

My Winner: US

 


Knock Three Times by Cressida Cowell

Going to be completely honest, I hate the US cover. I don’t like the colours and I don’t like the way the kids look (lol). The UK has pretty colours and a cute art style; this fit the middle-grade/kids book more, in my opinion.

My Winner: UK!


Hold Back The Stars by Katie Khan

I reread this book this year and it’s still one of my favourite.
I realised I had never seen a US cover, so writing this post was the first time.  This is the only cover I could find, so I assume it’s the US one?
…I’m SHOCKED. The US cover is h i d e o u s.
The green and the font…  Just no. It doesn’t look like a sci-fi novel AT ALL!

My Winner: UK


What are your thoughts on these covers? Which ones do you prefer?
Let me know in the comments!