Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 3, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2014

Volumes: 12+

Spoilers?: Not really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s hate at first sight... Rather, a knee-to-the-head at first sight when Raku Ichijo meets Chitoge Kirisaki! Unfortunately, Raku’s gangster father arranges a false love match with their rival’s daughter—who just so happens to be Chitoge! However, Raku’s searching for his childhood sweetheart from ten years ago, with a pendant around his neck as a memento, but he can't even remember her name or face!

When Chitoge transfers into Raku's class, they're forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families. Everyone at school's fooled by their act—even Raku's crush, Onodera! Raku wants Onodera to know the truth, but he just can't seem to find a way to tell her. Meanwhile, the ever-vigilant CLAUDE sends his protégé Tsugumi to watch over Raku and rescue Chitoge from his evil intentions. What chance does Raku stand against a highly trained assassin?!

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

Review:

This series is a bit much at times, but it’s still rather enjoyable. It’s a very fluffy harem series.

There’s a storyline with Tsugumi, Chitoge’s bodyguard, who is actually a girl. I like her so far. Then there’s a chapter where Raku is sick and Chitoge and Onodera come over to take care of him and make him food, when neither one of them can cook.

The key and lock storyline is getting complicated. I was perfectly happy with the solution  being Onodera had the key, but now Chitoge has one, too, and hers is sounding more like his, even though I think it looks wrong. It also looks like the characters are pushing off finding the answer, which I don’t particularly like (although it doesn't surprise me).

And then the group goes on a school trip, and Raku is surrounded by the three girls. There’s a bath scene that is just way over the top, and a little too long. It was funny, I guess, but it was mostly too much for me. It was ridiculous. (But my brother would probably find it hilarious.)

Now the harem part: I think it’s a little repetitive how all three of them react the exact same to Raku. But I am enjoying getting to know the characters, and I do actually like all of them. Few series does it seem like all of the girls are necessary, nor do I like all of them; or the guy just doesn’t seem worth it. But here, I like all of the girls. I’m not even sure who I’m rooting for at this point, because I like them all so much. And Raku is a very good main character. He’s nice, if a little embarrassed, but a very likeable characters. That in itself makes this series stand out to me.

I am really enjoying this series, and I look forward to the next volume.

Manga Review: Loveless, Omnibus 4 (Vols 7-8), by Yun Kouga

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: July 2013

Volumes: 12+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: Omn 1. Omn 3. Vol 9.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Deluxe 2-in-1 editions of the best-selling series, a masterpiece tale of intrigue and innocence lost.Ritsuka Aoyagi is alone in the world—never fitting in at school and alienated from his own past by a fragmented memory. When his beloved older brother is brutally murdered, Ritsuka is heartbroken but determined to find answers. His only lead is Soubi, a mysterious, handsome college student who offers him an intimate link to his brother’s other life: a dark and vibrant world of spell battles and secret names.

Before Ritsuka and Soubi can demand answers from Septimal Moon, the organization behind everything, Seimei undergoes a macabre resurrection! Ritsuka finally asks what he should have from the start: was Seimei a good person?

Includes 50 pages of never-before-seen bonus comics!

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen audiences.

Review:

This series is intense, and messy. This volume was a bit messy in plot, so I’m really not going to go into detail.

Quite a bit happened, for all of the characters, though, including some backstory. I’m really enjoying the development of Soubi and Ritsuka, and their relationship. There are a lot of other characters, too, and I’m having a hard time remembering their names, but I am mostly liking seeing them develop. I feel bad for Ritsuka, and am eagerly waiting to see what happens with him and his brother. I’m not really liking his brother right now. And I feel kind of terrible for Soubi.

Also, I love both of them.

There’s a lot happening in this series, and I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes to next. 

Oh, also: I’m kind of going to miss the omnibus editions. Surprising, but I like how big they are, all the color pages and extras. I know there are some in the single volumes, but still. I kind of grew fond of these ones.

Novel Review: The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: September 2013

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

The Cover:

I love the cover. It's pretty, the artwork is really nice, and I love how well it portrays the book. It's clearly showing that this book is focusing on Ronan, and it's emphasizing his dreams, along with the raven theme. The colors work great for the feel of the books, too. It's a really good cover.

Quotes:

•  "Gansey had been excited; he was the sort of boy who didn’t necessarily believe everything, but wanted to.” (Pg. 9)
• "'When does the potential start being a real thing?’ […] ‘I just want to know when it stops being potential and starts being something more.’” (Pg. 44-45)
• "If you never saw the stars, candles were enough.” (Pg. 60)
• "It hadn’t been joy, but instead, the absence of pain. He couldn’t forget that lightness. The freedom.” (Pg. 78)
• "Ronan didn’t reply. Silence was never a wrong answer.” (Pg. 167)
• "If he had no one to wrap their arms around him when he was sad, could he be forgiven for letting his anger lead him?” (Pg. 372)

Review:

"Every day, thousands of confessions are kept from their would-be confessors, none of these people knowing that their never-admitted secrets all boil down to the same three words:  I am afraid.” (Hardback, pg. 1)

I am in love with this book. I really enjoyed the first book, but I wasn’t expecting this one to be even better, to such an extent. But my god, I love it. And this makes me so, so excited for the next one.

I absolutely love the characters in this series. So much happened with them in this book, there were a lot of surprises, and I love it. I’m glad that I have no real idea of where the story is going. And that each book has only given me more questions.

Ronan is just surprising me at every turn. A lot happened with him in this book, he was given a lot of attention, and now I’m just intrigued by him. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I have so many questions about him. His whole dream thing is really neat, if also a little destructive. I like his bird, Chainsaw. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens with him next. There's also some possible sexual tension (and fan shipping) that I'm wondering, or hoping, if will be explored later.

Adam I am a little unsure about. I’m not really sure what’s going on with him. I liked what happened with him and Blue in this book. Adam could go in any direction from here, and I think I’m just waiting to see where that it.

I like Gansey a lot. A lot. I’m enjoying seeing him develop, grow. We haven’t actually seen a lot of him, I don’t think. He hasn’t got as much of the spotlight as some of the others. But I like him.

I like Blue a lot, as well. She’s great, and I relate to her in some ways. I like her and her family a whole lot. I also like her and Gansey together quite a lot, and look forward to seeing that develop. We really only saw the beginnings of it in this book, and I look forward to more. And I like how she handled Adam.

I love Blue’s family, the psychics she lives with. Her mother is great. And I was surprised by it, but her mother even has a romance in this book. It was surprising, and I was really wary of him at first, but I honestly love how it all worked out. I wasn’t expecting there to be an actual romance for the adults, but I loved it. I look forward to seeing their relationship grow in the next book. And just getting to know him better, because he's such an interesting character.

I loved everything about this book. The writing is gorgeous and quirky and makes me want to keep reading. Stiefvater writes exactly the way that I want to write. The characters are great, and I’m really enjoying seeing each of them develop and grow into new, sometimes better, people. So much happened in this book, but I won’t spoil anything, so I’m not going to go into detail. I have no idea where the story is going next, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.