Wishlist Thursday[68]: Black Rose Alice, Volume 1, by Setona Mizushiro

Black Rose Alice 1 by Setona Mizushiro

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 5, 2014

Volumes: 6 (Hiatus)

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

The young tenor singer Dimitri miraculously escaped with his life after a severe accident. But soon after that, strange cases of group-suicides started to happen all around him… A vampire-romanesque tale of love and survival!

Why?:

I tend to pick up just about any series that Shojo Beat releases. And I tend to love them. This series I will definitely be picking up. It sounds very interesting. The art looks a little iffy, but I’m still being optimistic. I never got the chance to pick up Mizushiro’s other series up, After School Nightmare, but it looked good, too. I hope this one's good.

What are you looking forward to reading?

Manga Review: Say I Love You., Volume 2, by Kanae Hazuki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: June 10, 2014

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: Not really.

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

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either a boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures the most popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!

Review:

This volume shows why this is a more mature shojo series, and in the best way. This is also when it starts expanding to really show the other characters and their stories.

Mei and Yamato are a little shaky, but slowly getting to know each other. Mei is very hesitant and embarrassed, but they are still so cute together.

We meet a close friend of Yamato’s, Kakeru, who does not hit it off well with Mei. And then we get to really see why, what his story is, and it has some sex in it, but it also has a very sweet conclusion. And then some focus starts to get put on Aiko, the girl who has been giving Mei a hard time (or just glaring at her), because she wants Yamato. That storyline will be going into the next volume, and I look forward to reading its conclusion as well.

And through all of this, we also got to see more of Mei growing as a character. I do really enjoy meeting the other characters and seeing their happily-ever-after-ish conclusions, but I’m also enjoying seeing Mei and Yamato grow. As I said, they’re adorable together, and Mei is very slowly discovering who she really is as a person, but also who she is as a person in a relationship, along with how to actually be in a relationship. She’s easily embarrassed, and a little hard to get to know, but also rather honest. I like her. And Yamato is just adorable.

I’m really excited for the next volume.

Teaser Tuesday[109]: The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publisher: Little, Brown

Release Date: January 2013

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. But without music in her life, Lucy's not sure who she is, or who she wants to be. Then she meets Will, her brother's new piano teacher, who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy find her way back to piano-not for an audience, but on her own terms.

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes readers inside one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music, life, and herself in this stunning novel about finding joy in unexpected places.

Excerpt:

“After a minute of silence, Gus said, ‘Don’t be one of those people who drinks.’

God, was I that bad? She tried to make a joke. ‘Ever? The whole rest of my life?’” (Paperback, pg. 152)

What are you reading right now?

Manga Review: Inu x Boku SS, Volume 4, by Cocoa Fujiwara

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: July 22, 2014

Volumes: 11

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The elite and beautiful Ririchiyo Shirakiin has a bad habit--she can't help but lash out at people with her vicious tongue, all while hiding behind a mask of haughty cool. This attitude has a lot to do with people minding her business because of the Shirakiin family name, but it troubles Ririchiyo to no end. In search of independence and solitude, she moves to the Maison de Ayakashi, an apartment building full of wealthy tenants and with its own Secret Service. Ririchiyo is eager to be alone, but upon her arrival, she is greeted by Soushi, an SS agent arranged for her by her parents. Ririchiyo tries to turn Soushi away, but Soushi's dogged devotion to his new mistress will not be deterred. The threat against the residents of the Maison de Ayakashi are not to be taken lightly, after all. And despite his puppy-like demeanor, Soushi is not to be trifled with either...

Review:

I don’t even know what to say about this volume. I want to cry and rage and throw the book at the wall and re-read to try to understand all at the same time. I just don’t understand what happened or why it happened or what’s going to happen next.

I’m going to try very hard to not spoil anything, but I don’t know how to talk about it without… talking about it.

So it started out pretty good. There was some focus on Nobara and her relationship with Sorinozuka, which was nice. There were some humorous comics, which is always nice. The comedic element of this series is just gold, perfectly done, and truly hilarious.

Ririchiyo and Soushi went to her home, and we got to see some more of their relationship, and ohmygod they are so cute. Then something happened with Roromiya. Which just expanded into something worse. And then exploded into the worst thing ever and I don’t know how to handle it. And then slowed into something that purely has me confused.

I don’t understand. That’s all I can say at this point. I don’t understand what’s going to happen next, or how anything can be done about what happened. I actually want to cry, because my heart is breaking over what happened. But also my head is exploding and I don't know how to handle it.

So I don’t want to wait for the next volume. I want it right this instant, because I need to know what happens. Which means that the wait till it's release in October is going to be just horrible.

Sidenote: I love the cover on this volume. I'm not sure why it stands out so much more than the others to me, I'm not even sure if it's Roromiya, but I just think it's gorgeous.