Manga Review: Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Volume 25, by Karuho Shiina

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Volumes: 27+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 24. 26.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sawako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine...for a horror movie. Nicknamed "Sadako" after the haunting movie character, everyone is afraid to come near her for fear of being cursed. But her whole life changes when she befriends the most popular boy in class, Shota Kazehaya.

Review:

There can never be enough of this series. Each volume is finished way too quickly.

There’s a big moment between Ryu and Chizu in this volume; it’s a big decision for Chizu to make, and it makes a big impact on them both. It’s very sweet to see it work out like that, though.

Then, finally, Sawako and Kazehaya have a big talk, possible fight mixed in, though they’re interrupted before they can make any big decisions. It’s still really good to see them talking things through, arguing and trying to explain their sides. It’s both sad and super adorable. It makes me so happy, honestly.

I just love everything about this series. Every little piece of it is amazing. I am always eager for the next one.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Love at Fourteen, Volume 4, by Fuka Mizutani

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: September 2015

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

As the weather cools down--bringing with it a change of pace and uniforms--preparations for the upcoming sports festival begin to heat up. But when Kazuki is picked as an executive member of the festival committee, Kanata can't help feeling a little left behind. Will these two manage to keep up their mature smiles and endure this time apart?

Review:

Kanata and Kazuki try so hard to be mature, sometimes it’s even to their detriment. Especially since they’re trying so hard to keep their relationship a secret. Sneaking around to see each other after class, between classes sometimes. Trying to coordinate uniforms, working on the sports festival and organizing time together around it. They’re cute, even if they’re trying not to be.

Then there’s Nagai and the teacher, and how even though she teases him relentlessly, she still gets flustered by him. Real feelings are developing there, and it’s sweet how they’re both trying not to. We meet a new student, with a fascination for an older lady. Then there’s a new pair of students, a boy with a crush on the teacher, and the girl with a crush on him. Of course, we get to see more of Aoi and her fantasies for Kanata, which is sweet.

This series is a delight, every time. It’s subtle and slow and sweet. I’m always happy for another volume.

Teaser Tuesday[221]: And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga, #1) by Kiersten White

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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And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga, #1) by Kiersten White

Genre: YA Paranormal/Historical

Publisher: Delacorte Press (Penguin)

Release Date: June 2016

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

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL.

And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.

Excerpt:

“Or perhaps, looking at her and seeing nothing, they understood perfectly well who she was already.”  (Hardback, pg. 166)

What are you reading right now?