Mysteries are one of my favorite genres, but the execution sometimes leaves me wary. Coming up with a compelling story which leaves you guessing isn’t easy. When I came across The Strange House, the cover of this manga immediately caught my attention as it had a blueprint of a house on the cover. Combined with the title, I wanted to find out what was so strange about this house.
Ever on the lookout for sports themed books, I tried to find a story about two coaches for a change of pace instead of a story about two players. After a brief search, I stumbled upon Caught Running by Abigail Roux. With the World Series in full swing, I thought maybe a baseball story would be appropriate.
While looking for something spooky to read this month for Halloween, I stumbled on the new manga release Monster and Ghost by Himemiko. The cover immediately captured my attention in addition since it appears to show a man kissing a spectral hand. I also wanted to learn more about the title. I ended up going into this fairly blind, choosing to avoid the summary before I started reading.
As a long time Alien fan, when I first saw the teaser announcement for Alien: Earth, my biggest question was ‘how are they going to do that?’. Anyone who has watched the previous movies knows that if ONE of those xenomorphs made it to Earth it would be game over man.
As the seasons change and temperatures cool, we still want to cling to the stories which remind us of the fun and enjoyable parts of summer. Combine summer romance with hockey and childhood friendship to lovers and you have my full attention. From the summary, Snapshots in San Diego by Wendy Hawthorne captured me with these elements and a title which reminded me of a classic 90s romcom.
Anyone who has ever been invested deeply into a story has thought about what they would do if they were in that same story. Whether you’d call the main character an idiot for trusting someone they shouldn’t, or tell your favorite side character not to do something because you already know it would lead to their demise. Would you change the story or let it play out as intended? The Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint answers those types of questions.
Remedy Entertainment is known for its heavy story driven games, diverse characters, and rich world building. As a company, Remedy has always tried to innovate in the gaming medium. As their first self-published game and first co-op First Person Shooter, FBC: Firebreak is a departure from their previous style of games. However, for new and current Remedy fans, this game is entertaining and worth your time.
The breathtaking cover of Touch Within the Abyss immediately captured my interest and prompted me to purchase a copy. I almost found it impossible to believe this manga is the debut work of Moyori Mori. As I continued reading, I found myself swept up in a sweet and gentle story between two men who feel trapped by the world around them.
Long have I underappreciated a short story. While growing up, I devoured any book I could get my hands on, never caring about its length. I had all the time in the world it seemed between being the passenger in a vehicle or staying up late at night secretly reading beneath a bookshelf light after bedtime. In adulthood, I lost a lot of the free time I took for granted. Between working a full time job and managing other responsibilities, my free time is something precious and hard fought. Sometimes that free time isn’t more than an hour or two before bed—the perfect time frame for reading a oneshot story.
As luck would have it, a short story crossed my timeline and provided a chance to show me how strong a short story could be.
The Prince in the Basement is the latest graphic novel from Mira Ong Chua (MOC). Known for other graphic novels such as ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip to Love and Vampire Blood Drive, MOC offers a distinct art style and storytelling to fans of queer romance titles. Their kickstarter was successfully funded the same day it launched because fans couldn’t wait to get their hands on their new title.
Gravity by Tal Bauer redefined the way I consume sports media, and my view of the sport of hockey. I enjoy all sorts of sports media, everything ranging from manga to movies. Hajime no Ippo is a boxing manga that made me appreciate a boxer's physical and mental journey, and Remember the Titans is a movie ANYONE can enjoy whether you like football or not because it not only tells a important and great story, it shows how sports brings people together.
Still, I have never had one blend the MM Romance genre with sports in such a flawless way as Gravity has done.
Sports and a close family dynamic is a combination that had me picking up Puck Drills & Quick Thrills by Eden Finley and Saxon James. I was also curious about the dual authorship as I had not previously read a book that was written by two authors. With its catchy title and interesting relationship premise between a college professor and coach, I decided to dive in and see if this book lived up to my expectations.
While browsing through Reddit looking for a new m/m romance to read, I saw someone describe one of the main characters of Heat Stroke by Tessa Bailey as a “muscular himbo puppy who dotes on his love interest.” While I haven’t read anything from Tessa Bailey previously, I am 100% into the doting character trope. Because of this, I decided to take a chance and picked up this book to see if it lived up to this particular user’s description.
The meet cute is one of the most important parts of a story. It sets the tone for how two characters will interact throughout the rest. Whether they’re total strangers brought together by happenstance or they just happen to turn a specific way in a crowd and catch a special someone’s eye, the meet cute is the building block of any romance story.
But what happens when the meet cute builds a rocky emotional foundation for a relationship? For me, Beautiful Things by Nao Inui has one of the shakiest starts.
A new title was added to Shonen Jump’s lineup this past weekend. Joining its ranks is Embers by Kei Kurumazaki and Sotaro Nishii. While there are several exorcist, comedy, and action titles already in serialization, there is only one other sports manga which is the sports/romance series Blue Box.
As the seasons change and temperatures cool, we still want to cling to the stories which remind us of the fun and enjoyable parts of summer. Combine summer romance with hockey and childhood friendship to lovers and you have my full attention. From the summary, Snapshots in San Diego by Wendy Hawthorne captured me with these elements and a title which reminded me of a classic 90s romcom.
Despite being an area of historical interest to me, I haven’t read many books set during the Great War. Much of my previous historical fiction experiences have involved World War II, so when I stumbled upon No Man’s Land by Sally Malcolm, I was intrigued by the premise and setting and eager to dive into this story.
Alan Wake 2 is a unique masterpiece and my personal game of the year for 2023. This game sets a new standard for story based games. I loved this game so much and needed to have my thoughts organized into a proper review. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a new game to sink their teeth into!
Anyone who has ever been invested deeply into a story has thought about what they would do if they were in that same story. Whether you’d call the main character an idiot for trusting someone they shouldn’t, or tell your favorite side character not to do something because you already know it would lead to their demise. Would you change the story or let it play out as intended? The Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint answers those types of questions.
I probably can’t convey in words just how excited I was to read this series after so long, but I’m certainly going to try. I added it to my local comic store pull list as soon as it was announced and even double dipped digitally to have it on my kindle app to read first thing in the morning on release date. Like I said I was EXCITED.
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