HELP WANTED: Graphic Novels

This worked so well when I needed help picking audiobooks, so I’m going to give it another try. I’m participating in the Popsugar reading challenge and one of the items is to read a graphic novel. This is definitely outside my area of expertise. I plan to check one out from one of my local libraries so keep that I mind when you’re making suggestions. It needs to be mainstream enough that my library will probably carry it (and preferably have it in stock so I don’t have to wait for it).

What graphic novel or graphic novel series should a newbie like me read?

Tangled Webs by Lee Bross [ARC]

Arista is an orphan. When she was five years old she was brought to live with a man named Bones. He taught her and others how to steal and pick pockets. As she grew older, he started to use her as part of his blackmailing scheme. Now Arista is known as Lady A. She collects secrets and delivers them to Bones. She desperately wants to escape, but she has no way to make money without Bones finding out. Arista thinks she may have been able to find a way out by working with Bones’ rival, Wild–but switching sides may cost more than she expected.

This book had a really intriguing concept to me, but I thought that Lady A was actually doing the blackmailing instead of working for someone who was. I think that story line would have been a bit more interesting to me. All the same, I thought the characters were interesting and definitely individuals. I really liked Arista’s relationship with Becky. I thought it was just a really sweet friendship. I also liked the friendship that was with Sophia, but it did feel a little less genuine. Sophia starts chatting her up right away and I don’t know if I really find that believable. Grae was also an interesting character but he might be a little too perfect. Wild and Bones were both extremely hateable.

Overall, the plot was just pretty good. Nothing (really) unexpected happened even though the author tried to throw a twist in there at the end. I thought the romance was too rushed. It went from Grae saying, “I don’t trust you” to “Marry me” in about 20 pages. I know they supposedly had this connection, but it was just too fast. I wanted Arista to work harder for it and I also wanted Grae to have to work for it as well. Again, he was just too perfect and too accepting of who Arista is and what she’s done as Lady A. I mean, I wanted him to forgive her eventually, but I thought it just happened too fast.

Another thing that kind of bugged me was that I felt like the author made a big deal about Sophia and Louis. Louis is just some random poor guy that Sophia likes (loves?). Arista then reports their relationship to Grae and…nothing happens. Literally, it’s as if Louis was never even mentioned. It was so strange! When it was happening Arista was super suspicious–especially because it looked like Louis had some dealings with Wild. But then we never hear about it again. Was he a good guy? Was he just going after Sophia for her money? I just felt like this point was made to feel important, but then it was never resolved.

Overall, this book was pretty good. I liked most of the characters and the plot line moved at a good pace. There were just a few things that I felt were missing or could have been done better.

Overall Rating: 4
Language: Mild
Violence: Heavy
Sexual Content: Moderate (prostitution).
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.