Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 13, by Haruichi Furudate

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2017

Volumes: 28+

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 1. 12. 14.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don't need to be tall to fly!

Ever since he saw the legendary player known as "the Little Giant" compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! He decides to join the team at the high school the Little Giant went to—and then surpass him. Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?

Karasuno fights their way through the preliminaries and wins, earning them a spot in the October Qualifier Rounds of the Spring Tournmanet. Their first opponent is a team of partiers from Johzenji whose motto is “play hard”! They're a highly unorthodox team that improvises crazy attacks on the fly, leaving Karasuno baffled on how to counter them!

Review:

We start the next round of the tournament, and now Karasuno is up against Johzenji.

Johnzenji has only recently started doing well with their new coach. They have a good team manager, who wants them to do well and will push them in the right direction. I like that their main player also just wants to have fun. I also liked that they were willing to try anything, and they tried a couple new moves just because they saw the other team do them. They held nothing back and were really carefree about it. I think that was something that Karasuno needed to be reminded of.

Given all of that, the result was not surprising, though it was a good fight.

After that, we get to start a new game against Wakunan. It looks like it should be a good fight for Shoyo, but then there's that cliffhanger! I really need to read the next one, I have to know what happens next.

Man, I love this series. It's just so fun and cute and exciting! I love it.

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

Manga Review: Queen's Quality, Volume 1, by Kyousuke Motomi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2017

Volumes: 4+

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 2.

Previous Series.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The adventures of mind Sweepers continue in this supernatural romance!
Fumi Nishioka lives with Kyutaro Horikita and his family of Sweepers, people who specialize in cleaning the minds of those overcome by negative energy and harmful spirits. Fumi has always displayed mysterious abilities, but will those powers be used for evil when she begins to truly awake as a Queen?
Fumi has never shown much romantic interest in Kyutaro, the quiet but formidable Sweeper who may be the only one who can keep Fumi's power under control. But when Kyutaro tells her that he'll never leave his side, she unexpectedly starts to fall for him!"

Review:

This volume starts fresh after the previous series' conclusion. Fumi is continuing to work for the sweepers, and trying to figure out and accept who she is. Kyutaro has decided that he's going to be there for her and help her and protect her, no matter what it takes.

We meet a new character in this volume who tests Fumi, and then later we see more of the enemies and what they're planning to do. We've learned that Fumi is the queen, and each side is trying to form her into what they want.

I will admit that the bad queen inside of Fumi can be awful in its violence; but I also have to admit that I love the intensity in her. She gets angry and intense—there's a complete change in her demeanor, and I kind of love it. I hope the good queen in her can be just as intense.

I also really like the romance in this series. Kyutaro and Fumi are so sweet together, and Kyutaro is so good to her. I'm hoping that we don't have to wait too long for him to be honest with her, especially since the consequences have pretty much happened already. I think it would be good for her.

This series is fun and intense. I'm excited to see what happens next in it.

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

Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 12, by Haruichi Furudate

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 2017

Volumes: 28+

Spoilers?: Yes.

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

Volume: 1. 11. 13.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don't need to be tall to fly!

Ever since he saw the legendary player known as "the Little Giant" compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! He decides to join the team at the high school the Little Giant went to—and then surpass him. Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?

Thanks to their practice games with Tokyo’s powerhouse teams, Karasuno now has a whole new arsenal of weapons at their disposal. Hinata and Kageyama’s new quick set is also starting to come together! When the Spring Tournament preliminaries begin, Karasuno has high hopes of turning all their past frustrations and losses into victories!

Review:

I love how the rivalry is played out in this series. When they first meet a new team, some of them just instantly turn into thugs, and I love it. Shoyo gets super intense sometimes, and it's intimidating. But then, on the other hand, they also form such close camaraderie and friendships through the rivalry; even as they work hard to win, they also appreciate the other team and understand them.

In this volume, the prelims start. The first round is rather easy for Karasuno, but it's nice to see a smaller team attempt to get their enthusiasm back and try until the very end. Even when it's a short game, there's inspiration to be had there.

Next, they go up against a team featuring a giant, a guy who is 6'7”. This team puts up a bit more of a fight, but Karasuno works hard to make it even. And after that, there's an interlude for more practice. More practice games and more technique refining. The next volume will be the start of the real spring tourney, and it should be good.

I can't wait.

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

Manga Review: Kigurumi Guardians, Volume 1, by Lily Hoshino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: August 2017

Volumes: 3 (Hiatus)

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

THE CHOSEN ONE
Hakka Sasakura's life is about to turn upside-down. She comes home from a day of admiring her student body president to discover that a mysterious creature resembling a man in an animal suit has taken up residence her home. What's more, she has been chosen to work with this strange being to fight off invaders from another dimension and save the world...and she has to kiss him to do so?! Lily Hoshino, the beloved artist behind Mawaru Penguindrum, offers her cute and twisted take on the magical girl genre. You probably never thought Sailor Moon needed more hot older guys in full-body mascot costumes, but Kigurumi Guardians will bring you around!

Review:

I wasn't too sure what to expect with this volume, but I was surprised with how fun it was.

Sasakura is starting a new school, and she's surprised to arrive home one day and find a weird costumed person there. He can't speak and communicates with little white boards, and she doesn't know what to do with him. The next day, she finds out that her and two other classmates have been chosen to be guardians, and they have to kiss these creatures to release them to fight.

The people/creatures that they're fighting are a little odd, but I don't think we know much about them yet. It was a little farfetched of a story, but I think it works given the odd plot to begin with. It's cheesy, but done in a comedic way, and not too serious about it. Though there is something deeper going on, we only got a couple hints here.

Sasakura and her penguin-guy are cute, and already starting a fun dynamic. The other girl chosen is a prissy popular girl, and I think they'll form an odd friendship, which should be fun. Her boy partner is also quite adorable and sweet, and I like him. One part I really appreciate, though, is that the other student chosen is a boy, and his creature is also male. I don't think too much will be made of it, but they're cute, and I like how nonchalant the boy is about it. I also liked that it was pointed out that they're chosen as partners because they're supposed to be together, destined to like each other in one way or another.

This was a really fun volume, and I'm quite excited to get the next one.

Teaser Tuesday[260]: All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

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!

------------------------------------------

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: October 10, 2017

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

 

Here is a thing everyone wants: a miracle.

Here is a thing everyone fears: what it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

Excerpt:

“The box truck, he thought, had to be the answer.” (Hardback, pg. 111)

What are you reading?

Manga Review: The Ancient Magus' Bride, Volume 5, by Kore Yamazaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Seven Seas

Release Date: July 2016

Volumes: 8+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A Fairy In Need

Chise has taken great strides in overcoming her dark past, and is ready for a brighter future by Elias' side. As for the magus himself, he is finally able to put a name to the strange emotion he's been feeling for Chise. Meanwhile, a deadly threat looms. When a panicked fairy appears at Chise's bedside, begging for help, is there anything the young, novice mage can do...?

Review:

We are once again shown the mortality of our heroine. Chise wants to help a sidhe, and she decides to make a risky concoction to help her and the man she's loved from afar. It's a really sweet plot, but we see the consequences for Chise.

I really like seeing Chise and Elias' relationship here. While we don't get a lot of development in this volume, we do get bits and pieces of them working together and trying to understand each other.

We get to meet a few new creatures, and we get to see the beginnings of Yule, which should lead to something, I'm sure. In the middle of the volume, we also got to see Silky's backstory. I wasn't expecting this, but I really like her, and it was nice to see how she came upon Elias and Chise, and how attached she is. It's sweet.

This was a slow and sweet volume. There's always a bit of quirkiness to these volumes, but this one was a bit slow in plot progression. Still enjoying it, though.

Manga Review: Anonymous Noise, Volume 4, by Ryoko Fukuyama

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2017

Volumes: 13+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Music and longing collide in this ballad of unrequited love!
Nino Arisugawa, a girl who loves to sing, experiences her first heart-wrenching goodbye when her beloved childhood friend, Momo, moves away. And after Nino befriends Yuzu, a music composer, she experiences another sad parting! With music as their common ground and only outlet, how will everyone's unrequited loves play out?
Yuzu thought he'd resigned himself to just being friends with Nino, his "Alice." But now that he's faced with the prospect of losing her voice to Momo, he's having second thoughts--and has resolved to take them to Momo directly! Meanwhile, the feelings that Momo has been hiding for so long seem to have reached a breaking point!

Review:

For a while there, Nino is struggling between Momo and Yuzu. Thakfully Yuzu talks his way out of what he did. In this volume, we pretty much find out that everyone is lying about their true feelings.

Nino gets to hear about the story of In No Hurry's creation. How they all met as kids, and how they started the band. It connects with Nino herself, of course, which is a surprise to no one but Nino herself. I did like seeing how Haruyoshi grows into himself, too, and his side of everything. We get to know Kuro and Miou a little more, too, which is nice. I feel like I know them better than I did, as well as can see their relationship with each other better now.

I'm still wondering what is up with Yuzu's mother, though.

Aside from that, Nino gets to accept what is going on between her and Momo. She's struggling to find out why she sings anymore, and has to come to terms with what happened and how to move on from it. The competition between the two bands is definitely heating up now, though. They're all trying to prove something to each other and themselves.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the concert in the next one.

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

Manga Review: Naruto: Chibi Sasuke's Sharingan Legend, Volume 1, by Masashi Kishimoto and Kenji Taira

Rating (Out of 5): ~1.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2017

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: Light.

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

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Naruto’s rival, cuter than you’ve ever seen him before!

Uchiha Sasuke, the brooding loner who will do anything to avenge his clan and kill his older brother… Yes, this is his story, but with a hilarious twist! In Naruto: Chibi Sasuke’s Sharingan Legend, the characters and story have been flipped on their heads, all for the sake of comedy! With his Taka teammates Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo, Sasuke travels the land and gets into all kinds of wacky adventures. This is a side of Sasuke you’ve never seen before. One bit of advice: do not mock the Uchiha!

Elite ninja Uchiha Sasuke travels the land with his teammates, searching for his brother Itachi. Pillow fights, video games, Christmas parties… There’s nothing this ninja won’t do to avenge his clan!

Review:

This is a parody of the Naruto verse, featuring Sasuke and his odd gang, and later it even moves into the village with Naruto and the main people.

This volume was rough. I'm sure some people loved it, and I will admit that I didn't read much of the main series. But I just did not find this volume enjoyable.

It's made up of normal-length chapters with short comedic arcs. Sasuke fights a couple people, banters with his friends. He's searching for his brother, and finds him pretty early on. Later, he also goes back to the village and runs into Naruto and the original gang.

This was just not funny. It was more annoying and stupid to me, honestly. I will say that my biggest annoyance was how there was constantly a character pointing out how crazy or dumb something was when it was happening; it just brought me out of the story every time.

This was dumb, honestly. I don't want to read any more of it.

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

Manga Review: Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 13, by Sui Ishida

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: VIZ Signature (VIZ Media)

Release Date: June 2017

Volumes: 14 (+ Novels and Spin-Off).

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 12. 14.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ghouls live among us, the same as normal people in every way—except their craving for human flesh.

Ken Kaneki is an ordinary college student until a violent encounter turns him into the first half-human half-Ghoul hybrid. Trapped between two worlds, he must survive Ghoul turf wars, learn more about Ghoul society and master his new powers.

Investigators from the 20th Ward launch an initiative to take out the Ghoul known as the One-Eyed Owl, who has possible ties to both Akira and Yoshimura. An all-out assault on the Anteiku café, where the Owl is supposedly hiding, results in full-fledged battle.

Review:

At the beginning of the volume, we get a backstory for Suzuya, then some little interludes for the characters. But all of it is leading up to the big, final fight, and it's happening at Anteiku.

In most of this volume, there's a lot of fighting. It gets messy and bloody, and it also gets complicated. I honestly had a hard time following some of it, as there are a lot of different fights happening, and we only get glimpses, and a lot of it is with new characters. Another part of it might be that I just didn't really care about any of these people. I wanted to know what was happening with Touka and Yoshimura and Kaneki's other friends. We only got to see Kaneki near the end of the volume, and the big fight is being held for the next and last volume. I'm really looking forward to seeing the end and how it wraps up, though there feels like a lot left.

Manga Review: Behind the Scenes!!, Volume 4, by Bisco Hatori

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 2017

Volumes: 5+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ranmaru spends his whole life not fitting in, until the oddballs of the Art Squad adopt him as one of their own.

Ranmaru Kurisu comes from a family of hardy, rough-and-tumble fisher folk, and he sticks out at home like a delicate, artistic sore thumb. It’s given him a raging inferiority complex and a permanently pessimistic outlook. Now that he’s in college, he’s hoping to find a sense of belonging. But after a whole life of being left out, does he even know how to fit in?!

Ryoji Goda is everything Ranmaru wishes he could be—self-assured, competent and cool. But when the Art Squad works the final film camp of the summer, Ranmaru gets to see a whole new side to his idol—disappointing son! Goda’s dad seems to criticize everything his son does, and they fight constantly. Finally Ranmaru and Goda have something in common! But the pressure of paternal disapproval pushes Goda to do something shocking that might change the Art Squad forever…

Review:

We get to meet Ranmaru's family at the start of this volume. They're odd, in different ways than him, but understandably so. They set him up and follow him, and then leave rather abruptly. And yet it still makes Ranmaru freak out. After that, we get to meet Goda's father, who has a very different life style and yet is extremely similar. During this, we get to see how well Goda can direct. And, he cuts his hair for a shoot.

In the second half of the volume, we get to know Izumi a bit more. He's forgetful, but everyone loves him. After finding out his back story, I think I love him more than I did before. I love seeing how everyone freaks out about it, though. I like seeing how Soh interacts with him, and how she pushes herself a little to be out there more.

I still love all of the antics and theatre club stories and craziness. But now that we're getting to know each of the characters a bit more, I'm getting more pulled into the story. I really like this crazy bunch.

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

Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 11, by Haruichi Furudate

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2017

Volumes: 28+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 10. 12.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don't need to be tall to fly!

Ever since he saw the legendary player known as "the Little Giant" compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! He decides to join the team at the high school the Little Giant went to—and then surpass him. Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?

Review:

We're in the latter half of the training camp, and the team is still getting used to working together. They're getting the hang of these new techniques, and some of them are even starting to work. But overall, they all need a lot more practice.

I am really starting to love this series. The enthusiasm is infectious, and seeing how excited and pumped up the characters get during a game and when something works right, it makes me excited. I just can't help grinning while reading this series at this point. And I'm not even a sports person! Part of this at times is also the humor. It's just funny, it's so good.

We got to see a lot of the Nekoma team, and the Fukurodani team in this volume. I really love the unique mix of characters, and how they all stand out and get their own personality. Seeing all of the camaraderie in this volume was great.

We'll be starting the spring tourney next, and that should be good. I think they're going up against a new school this time, and we'll get to see what their competition is like next. I seriously cannot wait.

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

Manga Review: Barakamon, Volume 13, by Satsuki Yoshino

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: March 2017

Volumes: 15+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 12. 14.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ya can't see the sunset from here.

Tagging along on Handa-sensei's visit home, Naru finally arrives in Tokyo! Trains, tall buildings, the zoo-the big city's full of amazing first experiences! But what will Handa decide when his dad asks him to come back to Tokyo? Volume 13 promises growth, courage, and farewells!

Review:

So Handa and Naru are heading off to Tokyo, while Kanzaki decides to run away to the island.

Handa is helping out on Kirie's team, and for his fathers next showing. Naru is left hanging out with his mother during most of this, aside from the times that Handa is free and takes her out. We get a surprise meeting with Handa's previous marriage proposal, who turns out to be a super sweet girl, and I really like the relationship that they form. It is funny how very non-sexual Handa can be, though, and how oblivious.

At the same time, Kanzaki is just messing everything up. He's driving Hiroshi crazy, in particular, and is a pain in general.

In the end, though, Handa makes a rather big decision about his future, when he realizes what he really wants to do. It should be nice to see him pursue it back at the village.

This is a very sweet and funny series. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Teaser Tuesday[259]: There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

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!

-----------------------------------------------

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Genre: YA Thriller

Publisher: Dutton (Penguin)

Release Date: September 26, 2017

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Scream meets YA in this hotly-anticipated new novel from the bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss.

One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted.

International bestselling author Stephanie Perkins returns with a fresh take on the classic teen slasher story that’s fun, quick-witted, and completely impossible to put down.

Excerpt:

“She felt her friends staring at them with wide, soap-opera eyes as she emerged from the stupor of confusion. For the first time, Makani realized that Ollie's appearance and demeanor weren't merely acts of rebellion.” (Hardback, pg. 47)

What are you reading?