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jilljemmett's review against another edition
5.0
I had the amazing opportunity to be a beta reader for the script of this book! It was a great experience. I loved that I was finally able to read it with the graphics.
This is an exciting story. Nina is a musician, but her world changes when she meets Nick. He gets her to join a group who is fighting to eliminate Nazis in America. Nina is the only woman in the group and that stirs up a lot of tension. However, she proves that she is as much of an asset as any man.
The final chapters in this book are very fast paced. There are some action scenes that happen quickly. There is also a final twist at the end of the story. Even though I knew it was coming, I was excited to read it again.
I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
This is an exciting story. Nina is a musician, but her world changes when she meets Nick. He gets her to join a group who is fighting to eliminate Nazis in America. Nina is the only woman in the group and that stirs up a lot of tension. However, she proves that she is as much of an asset as any man.
The final chapters in this book are very fast paced. There are some action scenes that happen quickly. There is also a final twist at the end of the story. Even though I knew it was coming, I was excited to read it again.
I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
becks_books's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to Netgalley for the free review copy.
I liked some parts of this a lot. Every few pages there's a "recommended listening" page with songs on it on a picture of vinyl and for most of the book I listened to them as I read it which was nice, and I just generally liked the way music was linked to the story. I sort of wish that was delved more into though... and also the story is set 60s and some of the music was from way after that so that was a bit weird. I'm pretty sure U2 is on there at one point.
The storyline was ok, not super intriguing- it's about spies and Nazis which aren't things I would usually be interested in reading about.
I didn't like the art style really, the cover is really cool and so are the pages with the vinyl and songs on but apart from that it just wasn't my kind of thing. It was clear enough though what was going on so that was good. Overall, it was fairly enjoyable but I don't think I'll be carrying on with the series.
I liked some parts of this a lot. Every few pages there's a "recommended listening" page with songs on it on a picture of vinyl and for most of the book I listened to them as I read it which was nice, and I just generally liked the way music was linked to the story. I sort of wish that was delved more into though... and also the story is set 60s and some of the music was from way after that so that was a bit weird. I'm pretty sure U2 is on there at one point.
The storyline was ok, not super intriguing- it's about spies and Nazis which aren't things I would usually be interested in reading about.
I didn't like the art style really, the cover is really cool and so are the pages with the vinyl and songs on but apart from that it just wasn't my kind of thing. It was clear enough though what was going on so that was good. Overall, it was fairly enjoyable but I don't think I'll be carrying on with the series.
arvenig's review against another edition
4.0
READ THE REVIEW ON MY BLOG
First of all thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My rating:
3.75 out of 5
So I just signed up on Netgalley and while I was looking for some books to request I found this book and without even reading the description I requested it because of theawesome cover!
This book is set in the 60s (which I didn't know until I finished it and read the back cover :D) and it deals witha young singer that discovers an organization that has to take down the Nazis that escaped to America after WWII.
I love the plot even if don't like the ending, at all (I nearly cried) and the storyline was so entertainingthat I finished it in less than a day without putting it down and got me out of my reading slumpBut I have to say it wasn't really intriguing for me, probably because it's an historical graphic novel.
To be honest I requested this book because of the amazing cover and its art style... but when i lookedinsidethe bookI was disappointed because there is a completely different style. The style inside the pages is similar to the "american comic style" which I'm not a fan of and the colors aren't as vibrant as the cover. Overall the art is good but pretty minimalistic, as if the authors wanted the readers to concentrate on the plot and not on the art.
The characters where very defined and different from each other. The main character, Nina, is a songwriter which is helped in the music industry by her manager and cousin Christina and Jimmy a mysterious guy she meets at a bar. There is also a great character development that surprised me!
The writing is simple, which I like when I'm reading comics, even if I didn't like the constant debates between Nina and the organization.
Last but not least the music theme: I really like this costant theme throughout the story and I love the "recommended listening" pages with lists of 3-4 songs to listen (which always had a song by the main character). At the end of the book there are also the lyrics of Nina's songs that I really liked, but I'm sad that the songs don't actually exist.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Specific Rating
Plot: 4 out ot 5
Cover: 5 out of 5
Writing: 4 out of 5
Interest: 4 out of 5
Diversity: 2 out of 5
Characters: 4.5 out of 5
The Feels and emotions: 2 out of 5
Final thoughts
Overall I enjoyed reading this book and I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars (4 on goodreads). I really liked this book and I'll definetely read the sequels.
This book is a fast-paced novel with amazing themes such as spies and music. The captivating cover and the great recommended songs definitely make this graphic-novel stand-out.
So what do you think about the book? Have you read it?
Thank you for reading,
READ THE REVIEW ON MY BLOG
First of all thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My rating:
3.75 out of 5So I just signed up on Netgalley and while I was looking for some books to request I found this book and without even reading the description I requested it because of theawesome cover!
This book is set in the 60s (which I didn't know until I finished it and read the back cover :D) and it deals witha young singer that discovers an organization that has to take down the Nazis that escaped to America after WWII.
I love the plot even if don't like the ending, at all (I nearly cried) and the storyline was so entertainingthat I finished it in less than a day without putting it down and got me out of my reading slumpBut I have to say it wasn't really intriguing for me, probably because it's an historical graphic novel.
To be honest I requested this book because of the amazing cover and its art style... but when i lookedinsidethe bookI was disappointed because there is a completely different style. The style inside the pages is similar to the "american comic style" which I'm not a fan of and the colors aren't as vibrant as the cover. Overall the art is good but pretty minimalistic, as if the authors wanted the readers to concentrate on the plot and not on the art.
The characters where very defined and different from each other. The main character, Nina, is a songwriter which is helped in the music industry by her manager and cousin Christina and Jimmy a mysterious guy she meets at a bar. There is also a great character development that surprised me!
The writing is simple, which I like when I'm reading comics, even if I didn't like the constant debates between Nina and the organization.
Last but not least the music theme: I really like this costant theme throughout the story and I love the "recommended listening" pages with lists of 3-4 songs to listen (which always had a song by the main character). At the end of the book there are also the lyrics of Nina's songs that I really liked, but I'm sad that the songs don't actually exist.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Specific Rating
Specific Ratings
Plot: 4 out ot 5
Cover: 5 out of 5
Writing: 4 out of 5
Interest: 4 out of 5
Diversity: 2 out of 5
Characters: 4.5 out of 5
The Feels and emotions: 2 out of 5
Final thoughts
Overall I enjoyed reading this book and I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars (4 on goodreads). I really liked this book and I'll definetely read the sequels.
This book is a fast-paced novel with amazing themes such as spies and music. The captivating cover and the great recommended songs definitely make this graphic-novel stand-out.
So what do you think about the book? Have you read it?
Thank you for reading,
READ THE REVIEW ON MY BLOG
underscorelsa's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 🌟
This book. This book just made me feel all the feels, and it usually just doesn’t happen. FRTC.
This book. This book just made me feel all the feels, and it usually just doesn’t happen. FRTC.
glitterandtwang's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this, but ended up pleasantly surprised - Nina is a really compelling main character. She is talented, determined, and deeply moral. The world could use more people like Nina Overstreet, especially right now, and I'm very much looking forward to reading more in this series.
Bonus: there are some great track lists included for suggested listening.
Bonus: there are some great track lists included for suggested listening.
novelbloglover's review
3.0
Book Review
Title: Queen of Kenosha
Author: Howard Shapiro & Erica Chan
Genre: Graphic Novel
Rating: ***
Review: So, Queen of Kenosha is a coming of age tale, that is also the first installment of the Thin Thinline Trilogy, that follows the fiercely independent Nina Overstreet who has an axe to grind. A talented singer-songwriter slogging her way through the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk music scene of 1963, the Queen of Kenosha, Wisconsin, realizes that standing on the cusp of stardom gets her little respect and barely a cup of coffee in New York City.
One night while playing a gig Nina meets a man named Jimmy and when she tries to return his wallet which she left at the bar Nina is attacked and knocked unconscious by a mysterious woman. We soon learn that “Jimmy” is actually Nick Ladd, a government operative, who works gathering intel and arrested a rogue band of Nazis who can to the USA before the end of World War II. Seeing that Nina has some skill Nick asks to recruit her into their organisation as she would be unknown to the people they are tracking and her career as a singer is the perfect cover for having to travel a lot.
2 and a half months after joining the government agency Nina and now on a similar level as all the other agents, but she is still seen by some as a second-class citizen because she is a woman. I did have a little bit of problem with the sexist comments made by some of the characters, but context is key given this is set in the early ’60s when this type of attitude was still very common. Another month goes by before Nina goes on her first assignment and it a massive flop. They catch two Nazis, but Nick has been ordered to kill them which Nina refuses to do and it turns out that she was right. Their inside man informs them they were more valuable alive because they held a wealth of information, but the fault is pinned on Nina rather than the man who ordered their deaths.
Over the course of the story, Nina is faced with a lot of moral decisions and has to make a lot of moral compromises on her part while dealing with bigoted, sexist and racist comments from the men around her but Nick does provide some comfort to her. As she is drawn further and further into a world where everyone walks the line between right and wrong and Nina is struggling between sticking with the decision she made or calling it quits altogether.
In the end, I found the story to be compelling, the artwork is beautiful but there are two things I had issues with, the first is Nina and Nick’s relationship, it is set up as romantic but never gets that far and I felt certain plot points would have had a greater impact if the pair had a romantic relationship. The second is the sexist comments, now I know it is meant to highlight the society at the time the story is set and give some conflict between the characters but there is so many of them it kind of put me off the story a little and apart from the ending I don’t really see where the story can go from here but I will be picking up volume 2 to find out what happened to Nina.
Title: Queen of Kenosha
Author: Howard Shapiro & Erica Chan
Genre: Graphic Novel
Rating: ***
Review: So, Queen of Kenosha is a coming of age tale, that is also the first installment of the Thin Thinline Trilogy, that follows the fiercely independent Nina Overstreet who has an axe to grind. A talented singer-songwriter slogging her way through the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk music scene of 1963, the Queen of Kenosha, Wisconsin, realizes that standing on the cusp of stardom gets her little respect and barely a cup of coffee in New York City.
One night while playing a gig Nina meets a man named Jimmy and when she tries to return his wallet which she left at the bar Nina is attacked and knocked unconscious by a mysterious woman. We soon learn that “Jimmy” is actually Nick Ladd, a government operative, who works gathering intel and arrested a rogue band of Nazis who can to the USA before the end of World War II. Seeing that Nina has some skill Nick asks to recruit her into their organisation as she would be unknown to the people they are tracking and her career as a singer is the perfect cover for having to travel a lot.
2 and a half months after joining the government agency Nina and now on a similar level as all the other agents, but she is still seen by some as a second-class citizen because she is a woman. I did have a little bit of problem with the sexist comments made by some of the characters, but context is key given this is set in the early ’60s when this type of attitude was still very common. Another month goes by before Nina goes on her first assignment and it a massive flop. They catch two Nazis, but Nick has been ordered to kill them which Nina refuses to do and it turns out that she was right. Their inside man informs them they were more valuable alive because they held a wealth of information, but the fault is pinned on Nina rather than the man who ordered their deaths.
Over the course of the story, Nina is faced with a lot of moral decisions and has to make a lot of moral compromises on her part while dealing with bigoted, sexist and racist comments from the men around her but Nick does provide some comfort to her. As she is drawn further and further into a world where everyone walks the line between right and wrong and Nina is struggling between sticking with the decision she made or calling it quits altogether.
In the end, I found the story to be compelling, the artwork is beautiful but there are two things I had issues with, the first is Nina and Nick’s relationship, it is set up as romantic but never gets that far and I felt certain plot points would have had a greater impact if the pair had a romantic relationship. The second is the sexist comments, now I know it is meant to highlight the society at the time the story is set and give some conflict between the characters but there is so many of them it kind of put me off the story a little and apart from the ending I don’t really see where the story can go from here but I will be picking up volume 2 to find out what happened to Nina.
sinamile's review against another edition
ARC Review: Received for free via Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
DNF: 22%
CW: murder, blood, death
I kind of DNF'd 22% into it and spent the rest of the time looking at the art because I liked the art style. The way everything is drawn is really pretty but I just could not get into the story no matter how hard I tried!
DNF: 22%
CW: murder, blood, death
I kind of DNF'd 22% into it and spent the rest of the time looking at the art because I liked the art style. The way everything is drawn is really pretty but I just could not get into the story no matter how hard I tried!
tiedyedude's review against another edition
3.0
I read this as a digital ARC via NetGalley.
While it was an enjoyable read, I kept hoping for something more unique in the story. The musician angle was interesting, but nothing much came of it. Some of the conversations felt very cliche and none of the plot developments made much of an impact on me. I'm sure there is an audience out there, though, who hasn't been jaded by overconsumption of spy thrillers.
That being said, I had no problem reading through the whole book. The plot moved quickly, with pauses for character development that were just long enough. The art was well done. I especially liked the design of Nina. I also had fun pulling up some of the song suggestions from the divider pages.
I didn't realize this would be the first of a trilogy. I would be interested in checking out the next chapter, but I hope to see the author stretch out of the basic Cold War spy formula a bit as the story continues.
While it was an enjoyable read, I kept hoping for something more unique in the story. The musician angle was interesting, but nothing much came of it. Some of the conversations felt very cliche and none of the plot developments made much of an impact on me. I'm sure there is an audience out there, though, who hasn't been jaded by overconsumption of spy thrillers.
That being said, I had no problem reading through the whole book. The plot moved quickly, with pauses for character development that were just long enough. The art was well done. I especially liked the design of Nina. I also had fun pulling up some of the song suggestions from the divider pages.
I didn't realize this would be the first of a trilogy. I would be interested in checking out the next chapter, but I hope to see the author stretch out of the basic Cold War spy formula a bit as the story continues.
aquavenatus's review
5.0
"Queen of Kenosha" is the first volume in the trilogy series, "The Thin Thinline." The setting is 1963 in the Tri-State (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) and Pennsylvania. Musician Nina Overstreet is trying to make ends meet when she accidentally becomes involved with a U.S. Government Agency whose purpose is to prevent the uprising of the American Nazi Party. A woman working with a government agency in 1963 is essential to the story. In addition, Nina's relationship with her new co-workers and her cousin/manager is what drives her throughout the narrative.
Part music industry story and part mystery/thriller, "Queen of Kenosha" delivers a realistic and gritty story of the present and the hidden social issues during Post World War II and the realities of fulfillment through desire. The characters are what you expect from this genre of fiction, but the pace and the events make it worth your while. The cliffhanger at the end makes you craving for the next volume immediately, but that's what makes a great story!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Part music industry story and part mystery/thriller, "Queen of Kenosha" delivers a realistic and gritty story of the present and the hidden social issues during Post World War II and the realities of fulfillment through desire. The characters are what you expect from this genre of fiction, but the pace and the events make it worth your while. The cliffhanger at the end makes you craving for the next volume immediately, but that's what makes a great story!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
sinamile's review
ARC Review: Received for free via Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
DNF: 22%
CW: murder, blood, death
I kind of DNF'd 22% into it and spent the rest of the time looking at the art because I liked the art style. The way everything is drawn is really pretty but I just could not get into the story no matter how hard I tried!
DNF: 22%
CW: murder, blood, death
I kind of DNF'd 22% into it and spent the rest of the time looking at the art because I liked the art style. The way everything is drawn is really pretty but I just could not get into the story no matter how hard I tried!
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