Wishlist Thursday[140]: Honey So Sweet by Amu Meguro

Honey So Sweet 1 by Amu Meguro

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 5, 2016

Volumes: 7+

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

                                 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Little did Nao Kogure realize back in middle school that when she left an umbrella and a box of bandages in the rain for injured delinquent Taiga Onise that she would meet him again in high school. Nao wants nothing to do with the gruff and frightening Taiga, but he suddenly presents her with a huge bouquet of flowers and asks her to date him—with marriage in mind! Is Taiga really so scary, or is he a sweetheart in disguise? 

Why?:

This book has been on the top of my list ever since I first heard about it. I’m a big follower of Shojo Beat, of course, but this one is also an intuition thing. The cover, the art, the description… Everything about this book says that I need to read it. It sounds perfect for me, and I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on it.

What’s on your list?

Manga Review: Livingstone, Volume 1, by Jinsei Kataoka and Tomohiro Maekawa

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: November 3, 2015

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: Minor.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

At the beginning of the 20th century American Doctor, Duncan MacDonald, engaged in a series of unethical experiments. Those experiments concluded that should one suffer a death not ordained by fate the human body lightened by an average of 30 grams, the weight of a man's soul stone.

Today, two men, Sakarai and Amano, are in the hunt to find people who are about to die before their time and either prevent their unnatural death or recover these stones, "Livingstones."

Review:

Since the artist is from Deadman Wonderland, I was intrigued. I’m a little unsure, though.

This is definitely a dark series, and the artwork is of course the same as Deadman Wonderland, which is very nice to look at. The expressions are dark and striking. There are a few color pages at the front of the book, and those are always nice to look at.

The concept—that people have a set path but sometimes stray when imprints get dark, and there are people who can see these things and fix them—is very interesting. And of course get dark, when people get depressed and angry and want to kill themselves. That’s when the main characters step in, to clear things up and set them right.

Sometimes the story lines are depressing, like the first one; conflicting, like when a women doesn’t really want to end things and comes to a compromise; or just depressing, like when there’s an accident and a dog gets angry in the aftermath. There are some interesting characters, and I’m sure there will be more depth and more characters introduced later.

I’m intrigued, but not quite sucked in yet.

Teaser Tuesday[182]: Girl, Stolen by April Henry

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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Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Genre: YA Thriller

Publisher: Square Fish (Macmillan)

Release Date: 2010

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

                          

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen–year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen. Griffin hadn't meant to kidnap Cheyenne, but once his dad finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there's a reason to keep her. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare? Because she's not only sick with pneumonia—she's also blind.

Excerpt:

“‘Okay,’ he finally said, ‘but I’m going to have to tie you to the couch. And if my dad comes in and starts yelling, you have to promise to be quiet and follow my lead, okay?’” (Paperback, pg. 84)

What are you reading right now?

Manga Review: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Volume 1, by Izumi Tsubaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

To the eyes of classmate Chiyo Sakura, high school student Umetarou Nozaki--brawny of build and brusque of tongue--is a dreamboat! When Chiyo finally works up the courage to tell Nozaki how she feels about him, she knows rejection is on the table...but getting recruited as a mangaka's assistant?! Never in a million years! As Chiyo quickly discovers, Nozaki-kun, the boy of Chiyo's dreams, is a manga artist...a hugely popular shoujo manga artist, that is! But for someone who makes a living drawing sweet girly romances, Nozaki-kun is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart in reality. And so Chiyo's daily life of manga making and heartache begins!

Review:

I’ve heard so much hype for this series, that of course I had to pick it up. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’ve enjoyed other Tsubaki series, and this sounded interesting. I didn’t know that it was going to be all 4-koma comic-strip-based, though.

This is definitely more comedy-based than I realized, but it is enjoyable. Chiyo tries to confess her love to Nozaki, only to find out that he’s a mangaka when he mistakes her for wanting to be his assistant. She gets roped into helping him with his manga, and meets new friends by other classmates who know Nozaki.

Nozaki is pretty straight-faced, oblivious, not expected to write shojo manga. Chiyo is a somewhat average girl. Mikorin is Nozaki’s friend, who tries to be cool but freaks out when being nice to people. We meet a couple other classmates, all of whom are odd and hilarious in their own ways. There are definitely a lot of antics going on, and a lot of jokes about each other.

This was a fun volume to read, funny and cute, and I do look forward to picking up the next one. I was expecting more of a shojo, but I’m happy with the comedy of it instead.