Shaenon K. Garrity

Gothic romance novel fans or anti-fans will get a kick out of the satire and fun in this quick paced and original graphic novel.

Haley loves gothic romance novels and catches negative comments for it at school. When she dives in a river to save a drowning man, she enters a parallel universe...one just like her novels. While she's convinced, at first, it's her gothic romance dreams come true, things take a slightly different twist. Soon, she's not only dealing with rifts through the universe show more but an evil, which she has no clue how she can defeat.

Although I read the blurb, this read still was anything but expected. Haley is a wonderful character—overly dramatic, a true dreamer, and yet, a carries a bit of bite when needed. Her 'over-the-top' way of seeing life is endearing and funny, especially when the other characters flow in totally different directions of their own. Every one is ridiculous, and still, it's hard not to cheer for them the entire way through.

The illustrations are well done and make the tale very easy to follow. They add all the drama and settings needed to make this novel work. They allow the extreme moments and humor to wiggle its way into the drama nicely. I enjoyed flipping through these.

This is an odd tale and did make me raise an eyebrow more than a few times. So, don't expect normal because this is not it. The science fiction additions twist the satire in very original directions...and yet, it's addictive. Even when I really wondered about several twists, I didn't want to put this one down because I was curious what would happen next. show less

A sequel to possibly the funniest graphic novel of 2021! In this one, the Willowweep universe takes in some refugee characters from a cozy 1930s mystery universe—something like if Agatha Christie were collaborating with P.G. Wodehouse. More characters, more genre. Still very funny!

A farcical tweaking of gothic romance and steampunk that amused me with its nonsense and silliness. Amongst the many characters who become endearing despite their annoying personalities, the housekeeper is one to watch.

It sort of reminded me of Don Rosa's Uncle Scrooge books in looks and tone.

If you've also felt there's some sort of secret key to winning at the universe and understanding (NT) people then you're probably going to like this. Ruby, an escaped science experiment only programmed to fix things is also a barista and the thing she's become focused on fixing is love. This story is kind and sweet and was a delightful place to inhabit for a while.