Book Review: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

 

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

Usually I don’t read graphic novels, the only other graphic novel I ever read was “Watchmen” which is a classic. So needless to say I don’t have a lot of experience with them, so when Ariana at The Quirky Book Nerd recommended it to me I wasn’t sure. Pretty much everyone who read it loved it and gave it raving reviews, I was intimidated. There’s no way this graphic novel could live up to that much hype, right? Wrong. “Nimona” lives up to all of the hype. For me “Nimona” is going to be a gateway book into the graphic novel world, I can just tell.

The storyline was very engaging, there’s never a dull moment in this book! I couldn’t stop turning pages until I got to the end of the book and even then I was wishing there was more. It’s pretty fast paced, I finished it in no time.

We don’t just get a straight forward plot either, nope we get a series of flashbacks as well. A glimpse of everyone’s past, kind of like a super hero origin story. It made the characters feel a lot more real and interesting. While the plot wasn’t exactly predictable there weren’t too many shocking instances either. I’m used to Gillian Flynn plot twists so it takes quite a lot to really surprise me. But that doesn’t mean you’ll see some of the twists in “Nimona” coming.

I also loved how Noelle Stevenson did the humor in “Nimona”, I swear I was laughing during more than half the book!  Nimona herself was absolutely hilarious and that’s really one of the main reasons I found the book to be so entertaining.

Speaking of Nimona, talk about a GREAT protagonist. She’s quirky, fierce, and lovable all at the same time. She does what she wants when she wants, she’s completely unpredictable and I loved it. Nimona is also very well-developed, we get to really know her personality as well as her backstory throughout the book.

Then there’s Blackheart and Goldenloin, also excellent characters. Although Goldenloin’s character, to me, really wasn’t all that important or exciting. He was kind of just there to move certain plot points along, I didn’t care for him. Sorry! I did love Blackheart though, if there was any competition for favorite character it was him (with Nimona as the winner of course). He’s supposed to be the big, bad super villain when really he’s one of the only ones with a conscience.

I also really enjoyed the relationships between Nimona and Blackheart as well as Blackheart and Goldenloin. So much friendship, it warmed my heart!

Not to mention I loved the artwork, the illustrations were so vibrant and fun! I don’t really have a ton of experience with comics illustrations but I loved Stevenson’s work!

I wish I could do “Nimona” more justices by writing a better and longer review but alas I cannot gush anymore.

Dang right I do! I also think this is a great “starter” graphic novel, a graphic novel for people who haven’t really read a whole lot of them. It’s a truly wonderful book!

Links: Goodreads / Amazon